American Roulette

Dr. Chris Martenson, at Financial Sense University -The Federal Reserve Plays A Dangerous Game

At this point, I’ll share a belief of mine with you: I believe the stock market is being propped up by the Fed and/or US government (PPT), who are desperately afraid of allowing the stock market to signal the true state of affairs. In some ways I can understand this; I think that the authorities who are stabilizing the markets right now are quite justifiably worried about what would happen if the stock market were “allowed” to send a correct signal to a wider audience. Because I believe that the stock market is being propped, I do not trust that it’s telegraphing useful or meaningful price signals and so I will take very different actions than someone who holds the opposite view. I might be wrong, or the person holding the opposite view might be wrong, but one of us is making a colossal mistake.

And here’s a second belief: The market is bigger than the authorities, and they will ultimately fail in their attempts to prop the stock market because they are merely masking symptoms, not treating causes. If it were possible for an elevated stock market alone to cure what ails our economy, I might think differently, but those efforts are surely misdirected.

In addition, this podcast is a must listen for those of you who want to know more about Greenspan's follies and the stupefying way our Government works concerning the market and the fed.

Financial Sense Newshour: Ask the Experts: William Fleckenstein

Today's Headline in the Wall Street Journal: His Legacy Tarnished

"The scrutiny of Mr. Greenspan's record has taken on urgency now that the Bush administration and congressional Democrats are skirmishing over how to overhaul U.S. financial regulation. If Mr. Greenspan's critics prevail, then financial companies will likely face tighter oversight and less freedom in the products they offer. If Mr. Greenspan's views carry the day, the trend toward self-policing will continue."

"Self-Policing" Yes, and let's have gangbangers design our new gun laws. How about policing some of this criminal mismanagement? How about Oversight, Accountability, Criminal penalties, and seizure of CEO and company funds when those entities have been discovered to have robbed their shareholders as a matter of policy?

"On at least one occasion, Mr. Greenspan did resist colleagues who urged further oversight. In 2000, then-Fed governor Edward Gramlich, who was in charge of the Fed's consumer affairs, proposed to Mr. Greenspan that the Fed's staff examiners look for abusive lending practices in banks' lightly regulated mortgage affiliates.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal last June, three months before his death, Mr. Gramlich said that at the time, he generally considered subprime loans a good thing. He didn't then know the extent to which the loans would become a problem, but he wanted the "Fed to be a leader" in cracking down on predatory lending.
Mr. Greenspan recalls that he demurred, saying that the Fed shouldn't have oversight of these lenders."

We've got to let go of the Self-policing myth that the Republican party has sold America. The corrupt will NEVER police themselves. These men cannot continue to be given a get out of jail free card forever by a Republican party that is in the back pocket of corporate interests. The Super-rich get richer while the rest of America rots beneath.

Greenspan's 'Legacy', hell. Let's call it what it is : A Curse. And the curse continues, under the systematic incompetence of our current government.

BAILING OUT WALL STREET

A sick feeling rises from my gut. I've rarely seen the level of asskissing going on right now with Ben Bernanke. We didn't bail out the shareholders, but we did bail out the lenders. Dodd (D-CT)and Menendez (D-NJ)stand up for regular Americans by actually asking some serious questions, especially Menendez. Shelby (R-AL) actually wasn't too bad. Tester (D-MT) was okay.

But for a majority of the others, especially Bob Corker (R-TN)- it's a mad rush to thank the Fed for saving the big corporations from the weally weally nefarious FREE MARKET.

Bernanke feels that its likely that $29 BILLION investment by the Fed with taxpayer money will be worth it. But, he stammers, they haven't assessed it yet, they are in the process...

They haven't even figured out how much the Fed will be charged by BlackRock yet. Seriously- Repeat that to yourself: BlackRock was hired to evaluate Bear's assets for an unspecified fee. And not one that they aren't just specifying TO US- One they haven't figured out yet.

As in "Trust us. We'll tell you how much of this crap is crap. And we'll charge you something, er reasonable. Yeah, that's it, Ben."

Don't you Fed guys worry your pretty heads about it, m'kay? The big businessmen will tell you what they need and when. Go back to designing your dreamhome when you resign from the Fed next year...

Well, we've sent a lesson to the Mortgage holders. And we've sent a lesson to the shareholders of Bear-Stearns (and soon to be shareholders of several other major financials). But where is the lesson for the people who have been uprating the dirty Financial Institutions? Where is the lesson for the architects of this mess? Where is the lesson for these cutthroat lenders who give the loans with no accountability, then quickly bundle them all together and sell them away to the big financials as soon as possible?

Ben Bernanke just GUARANTEED an un-assessed pile of shit at a price tag of $29 Billion. But he feels that it will all be okay in the end. The only thing this insect has really guaranteed is a future position at JP Morgan.

And a panel made up mainly of sycophant Senators prattles on, helping cover the asses of THEIR biggest lenders, Corporations.

Once again, regular Americans get screwed and Big Business- who screwed over all these people, took the cash and ran- gets a big wet kiss.

Free Market my ass. There is NOT ONE DAMN Republican in Congress that isn't a crony for Big business. Trickle down into your rep's pockets.

Enjoy it, those of you dumbasses that vote for these dirty crooked Republicans even though you can't afford to buy stock.

By the way, Senator Bob Corker is the biggest Asskissing Weasel I've ever seen. If anyone is firmly of the back pocket of corporate interests its this slimeball. God, he's practically blowing Dimon, not questioning him. Do you HAVE any questions, Corker, you sellout?

The Headline on CNBC moments ago: Dimon: I was asked the right questions

Doesn't that just say it all...

Oaths, and some damn paperwork, and no more of this "no one can understand all this durn complexity" Bullshit! I also don't want to hear what you people are "reasonably confident" about!

Slave Market

Contact the Senate Banking Committee and commend Menendez for taking a stand, albeit a small one - it still towered above the rest. Let them know this is a wee bit more important than baseball players pumping up on roids.

If Bernanke is "reasonably confident" that Bear Stearns assets AREN'T a pile of worthless paper, then why was this bailout needed? Smokescreens that aid the Financials AREN'T in the Americans best interest. Without some real oversight - these lenders will keep this going until it breaks the country's back.

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UPDATE: Welcome to everyone visiting ala Mike's Blog Round Up and C&L : Mike also had this link on the matter: Naked Capitalism: Bear Hearings Charade

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UPDATE 2: Bear Stearns goes to work For J.P. Morgan. 7000 Bear Stearns Employees fired Bear Stearns goes to work For J.P. Morgan. 7000 Bear Stearns Employees fired

How bad do you want it?

How did I miss this?

Bill Clinton does the Limbaugh show

..Bill going on the Rush show the day of the Texas primaries, when Rush was exhorting Republicans to illegally vote as Democrats just to hurt the Democratic party- That's just... ..low. Damn, it's lower than low.

Then there's this- Scaife-Hillary

"I don't know just how this went down. But the idea Sen. Clinton and her staff went into an editorial board meeting with Scaife and his lackey reporters without a clear sense that they were going to get at least one choice Jeremiah Wright question just somehow doesn't ring true to me."

The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy is baaaaack... and apparently this time the Clintons are working with it.

Rush Limbaugh!? Richard Scaife?!

I can put up with a LOT from a presidential candidate as long as they are willing to fight for the constitution against the Bushbots. But I'll be damned if I support a candidate who panders to Rush Limbaugh's crowd and then works side by side with the people who worked so hard to attempt to destroy you. Hell, how can she even sit in the same room with that man? Unless...

Unless it's all been a goddamned sham from the get-go.

Any way you slice it, it's NOT what I want from a Democratic leader. And half of Progressive Democrats in America want Hillary to be the next President?

It's times like these that I come close to agreeing with Vlad Kalashnikov on the state of American politics: America is fucked beyond all repair.

I will leave you with Vlad's thoughts on Bear Stearns and the financial symmetry of the Russian collapse with the impending American one...

Everything about Bear Stearns collapse and bailout is a deja vu of collapse of Yeltsin-era banking system. Back then in the 1990s, American advisers created Russia's "market" system, and that ended in a total economic collapse in August of 1998. What is happening today in America is just a repeat. For example, the development this week of the Bear Stearns collapse reminds me so much of the same way Russian banks collapsed under American guidance in the 1990s. In Russia under Yeltsin, when a bank was close to collapse they always assured the public that everything was fine and they blamed "rumors" for causing problems; this week, the CEO of Bear Stearns and all the American journalists on Bear Stearns payroll blamed "rumors" and "irrational psychology" for causing a run on Bear Stearns' money during the week. The purpose of these lies is that it allows the insiders to cash out their money while the rest of the trusting American fools keep their money in, only to lose it later. Then after the insiders cash out, comes the supposed "panic" and "sudden" collapse, best to take place on a Friday of course. The "sudden collapse" and "panic" gives cover for the next even bigger transaction: the connected Bear Stearns banker calls the Central Bank Chief Bernanke, just as Khodorkovsky would call Dubinin or whoever was Central Bank chief then, and naturally Bernanke gives to Bear Stearns as many billions as the CEO asks for, and everyone thinks it's okay because the billions were necessary in this atmosphere of alleged "sudden panic," as if Bear Stearns and Bernanke had not been speaking to each other like phone sex addicts every day 24/7 the entire week. Reports Bloomberg:

The Fed is taking on the credit risk from collateral supplied by Bear Stearns, which approached the central bank for emergency funds, Fed staff officials said today.

The Fed, under Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, voted unanimously to lend the funds through JPMorgan because it would be operationally simpler than a direct loan to Bear Stearns, the staff said on condition of anonymity. The regulator invoked a little-used law that allows it to make loans to corporations and private partnerships, which required a Board vote, according to the staffers.

Yes, you read that correctly. In the exact replay of Yeltsin-oligarchs' strategy to steal and steal, the Central Bank bailout money is not directly from the government to Bear Stearns, because that makes it harder to steal those billions. Instead, it is funneled through another well-connected bank, J.P. Morgan, so that those corrupt bankers can also take a nice cut in the deal ("otkat" it's called). Essentially the "bailout" is a massive bribe from corrupt Bush to corrupt J.P. Morgan, and in return JP Morgan will buy the ruins of Bear Stearns with the government money (minus what they steal). Meanwhile plenty of billions make sure that major Bear Stearns principles all cash out well. Here comes the funny part. How does "free speech" America hide this outright corruption and thieving from the population? Let a Russian explain to your naive innocent little American eyes: stop all this bullshit about "transparency" because it is no longer convenient:

The senior [Central Bank] staffers declined to describe how large the loan to Bear Stearns was, and declined to say whether a private- sector bailout was attempted before the Fed extended credit through JPMorgan.

NO ONE KNOWS HOW MANY BILLIONS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT JUST GAVE TO BEAR STEARNS, AND HOW MANY MORE BILLIONS WILL FOLLOW. The ghost of Yeltsin lives in the Federal Reserve! We don't know anything, and we didn't know it was even legal, because American government and banks exploited "obscure never used" laws to justify outright corruption and fraud, according to Wall Street Journal:

The arrangement employs a little-used Depression-era provision of the Federal Reserve Act.

It is sad to see Americans imitating the very worst Russians 10 years late, what incredible fucking losers you are! And meanwhile the American masses have no fucking idea, free press or no free press, they just stand around like retarded jackasses with a sign on their backs that reads "ASS-FUCK ME", because they trust their leaders. Americans don't know anything about Iraq anymore except that they're winning, they don't know hundreds of billions being stolen in front of their fat stupid faces, they don't know anything except where to find a bargain on hamburger buns. I almost cannot blame Bush and the bankers for stealing from American fools, it's just too easy! Let the bloodthirsty corrupt elite steal from the bloodthirsty retarded masses, it will hasten the final collapse of this cruel and shameful empire called "America."

...

No, Americans have no fucking idea what is happening to them. We Russians were not such trusting dumbshits, even against all odds, we did understand when it happened to us in the 1990s. We are not trusting dumbshits Americans. We fought but we were too weak to fight against Yeltsin regime, supported with hundreds of billions of American "loan" money, sophisticated propaganda which we still didn't understand, and guns. Do not forget that the entire Yeltsin economy, including the notorious corrupt banking system, was forced upon us by United States government and the American investment bank advisers who were seated inside the Russian government at all times. That is why today's American banking collapse is so easy to understand for Russians. Russians tried as early as in 1993 to stop the vicious Yeltsin/American "shock therapy" economics that turned a proud nation into desperate paupers. I remember the dark time because even though I was just a student in 1993, my family suffered through this years together. First we lost all savings, and first my grandfather and then two uncles died quickly and brutally. Our democratically elected parliament tried to stop Yeltsin "shock therapy" and throw out American "free market advisers" to save what was left. Americans and Yeltsin decided democracy was not good anymore so Yeltsin, the democrat, ordered tanks to attack the opposition parliament in 1993. He killed several hundred brave Russian patriots, who died fighting against this corrupt ruinous American "shock therapy" economics. We were crushed with tanks, you see. Naturally President Clinton immediately supported Yeltsin, showing who was the real master of that putsch against Russian democracy. It meant something that Clinton immediately gave his support to Yeltsin. It was like a wartime defeat. I can tell you, back then we were in such awe of America, we had no choice but to accept defeat, it was hopeless. We lost the power to stop banks and government from stealing every last part of Russia, until the final collapse in 1998.

It took tanks to keep Russians down while they robbed the country. Tanks, and American money.

What is your excuse today, Americans? There are no tanks, no Russian interference to destroy you and demoralize you. Why do you let your leaders steal everything your country has? Why do you sit passively like slaves who mated with sheep, the sheep-slaves with a big stupid smile on your fat fucking faces? You are not even human beings, you deserve worse than a total collapse of you country, you deserve to be wiped off the face of this planet forever, as if you were just an embarrassing accident and it will never happen again, you sickening pussy sub-human dumbfucks!

Oh fuck, now ruined my good mood. I need to run back to my friends now to celebrate your collapse. There will be time for bitter memories of the 1990s.

And for me, I'm sure, time for bitter memories of the 2008 elections.

A Plague of three piece suit Locusts

Pestilence

EXCERPT
Under these circumstances, how can anyone seriously accept any judgment or opinion of the Federal Reserve as an honest or ethical arbiter?

The original Bear takeover agreement was forged with the support of federal regulators, and the U.S. Federal Reserve is balking at the higher price, The New York Times said, citing people involved in the talks.

The newspaper said the Fed originally directed J.P. Morgan to pay no more than $2 per share to assure that it would not appear that Bear shareholders were being rescued.

By these metrics, will Bear be valued next week at $50 or $0 per share? Better yet, is the DOW properly valued at 12,000, or does 2,000 or perhaps 60,000 sound a little closer to the mark?

Do these grotesque proceedings, from start to finish, not reek of a snake-oil-swindling carnie act?

The entire article, from Financial Sense is here: Pestilence

UNRELATED BONUS UPDATE: War Nerd splains Kosovo

Zip! Pow! Bam! Socialism bad-

... unless you are a corporation facing insolvency....

Day Traders generally ain't worth a damn... Arrogant Gordon Gecko Young Republican wannabes, bragging about how much money they made on blah blah blah. No one knows market movements like those guys, though, (they've lost enough money in one minute's time to be fully aware of sudden spikes the wrong way).

Fly at IBankcoin.com cracks me up daily, along with his flytrap of faithful followers. He's always close to the target, but it's the nature of the daytrading mentality to secondguess themselves. While they are bobbing and weaving, trading jabs- investors are standing back, waiting for the time to unload the haymaker and call it a day. Reminds me of the old Dad and son bull joke...

"No, son, let's walk down, and fuck em all".

Fly's dead on with his assessment of today's news, though -

Wasn’t it nice to find out there is NO inflation, via today’s CPI data? According to the Fed, gasoline and commodity prices went LOWER. Ha.

Something tells me the g-men are trying to save a few bad dollars in social security payments, via juking the inflation data to appear benign.

Forget about what the idiots with pocket protectors say. We have run away inflation. Trade accordingly.

Apparently, (BSC: 32.48 -43.02%) is on the brink of insolvency. As you know, should the worthless assets of Bear Sterns be recognized for what they are (worthless), the world would slip into a black hole and be eaten by dinosaurs.

So, in order to prevent world destruction, the NY Fed, in their infinite wisdom, decided to save Bear Sterns. Very nice.

Let’s sum up the bullshit country we live in:

During the worst housing crisis in 100 years, we’ve learned, NO ONE is allowed to fail. Everyone is too big. From homebuilders to money centers to low-end brokerage houses to monoline insurers, if you need a little scratch, knock on the Governments door and they’ll help you out. This, as you know, is not capitalism. This is socialism heavy, not light, which is disgraceful.

However, none of my bickering or sharp spikes in interpersonal acts of violence will help anyone make money.

Here’s how I see it:

Fuck Dennis Gartman. Ride this sucker out. When I smell panic, there is bound to be some sort of shoe to drop. Just so you know, the Fed is panicking. If you’re the nervous type, hedge some of your downside plays, with a few longs. No big deal.

Inevitably, those betting on the downside will be right, as the recession deepens and little fuckers like Bear Sterns get washed out.

UPDATE: Watching Dubya (for moral and fiscal inspiration) on CNBC: Quotes as fast as I can type them:

"Interesting times ... Envy of the Free world ... ups and downs ... this is not the first time since I've been the President that we've faced economic challenges... corporate scandals and I have the difficult decision to confront the terrorists (lol)... resilient...flexible...Fortunately we recognized the slowdown early and took action... may sound incongruous (nailed it!) to you...robust... once I sign the bill, the signal's clear... tax rebates (bitches!)... buoy the consumer. (keep em bobbing in the ocean?) ... it's coming! Those checks ...second week of May... that's what the experts say (Bernanke, Paulson?)... I respect Ben Bernanke (heckuva job, Bernie!)... we also hold dear the notion that the Fed acts independently (snort!)... adding liquidity... some financial institutions... must repair their balance sheets (no sheet!)... make more credit available (max out, Amerka!)... promote stability... foreclosure disrupts community... temptation for people to limit the number of foreclosures is to put bad law into place... anything short of a massive intervention... deeply concerned about law- ... (hang on, picking myself off the floor... people in office staring)...

a couple of ideas I strongly reject... purpose of government ought to be to help the individuals... (ouch, couple of Bush corporate supporters just felt stabbing pains in their necks)... it sounds reasonable in a speech, I guess... market is in a process of correcting itself (to the bottom)... checks...second week of May... we want to help you refinance your notes!... 300, 000 families (and their mortgage lenders!)... walked across the street in Midland Texas and said I need a little help (Daddy!)... foreign country... hard to renegotiate the note... (no speaka da english)... industry wide standards ... (AAA ratings for all!)... whole purpose is to help people stay in their houses (and keep paying those mortgages!)... beginning to help, problem we have is, a lot of people aren't responding to letters send out... pay attention.... toll free numbers (wake up Amerka- we'll gladly ADJUST your finances to uh.. a better deal, yeah, thats it)... complete transparency... too complex... better confidence...strengthen oversight (oh noes!)... rough period... long term negative effects on the economy... without paying taxes (taxes is teh bad!)...
Congress... uncertainty...major source of uncertainty... (when is he going to mention terra again?)... if Congress doesn't act, capital gains will be taxed at a higher rate (oh the poor are worried about that!)... waste some of your money... Challenge congress to cut earmarks.. (Iraq is a biiiiiiiiggg earmark)... sent Congress a budget... priority... put those troops in harm's way... beyond that... non-security spending (all money for war) ... calm people's nerves (oh, THAT'S what he's doing?! My bad)... whether or not this country is confident enough to open markets overseas (China needs YOUR MONEY)... dangerous for this country to become isolationist ( I LUV Dubai!) ... made it clear... important agreement...national security... most Americans don't unnerstand... terrible signal... false populism.. (them, the people, bad)... work the issue hard... a confident nation accepts capital from overseas (keep buying our dollar, Please?!)... NAFTA has been good... best way to describe govt policy is like a car in a rough patch... its important not to over-correct... important to be steady... deal with the issues as we see em (yeehaw,bitches!)... respects- uh....

Uh-oh question and answer time... chuckles gonna wing him some. Expect laughs and lot of "uhs". Okay, got to stem the cerebral hemorrhaging... can't take it anymore.

Oh shit- "we got to figure out what the enemy is saying on their telephones" Christ on crutches, this bastard is full of shit.

Going Down?

CAPITALISM THREAT RED!!
(Ooogah! Ooogah!)



Carlyle Group's Mortgage bond fund collapsing - someone besides me will blog it better, I'm sure...

Retail sales decline because of High gas prices...

Dollar falls below 100 Yen...

Olbermann rips Clinton, justifiably.
I would beseech her to give up for the sake of the party and, uh, the country- but Amerka, apparently, has teh spoken. They are lackwits and popularity-chasing buffoons, even among the Progressives, and they are playing right into the hands of an extremely weak Right wing. And that right wing may walk away with this election because of our power hungry candidate. Hillary defers gracefully and she might be receiving long term gains for 2012. But, you know, my fellow Americans can't see past next fucking week, so I don't expect anyone with the foresight greater than that of a housefly to prevail.

ACLU reports that we are one minute closer to Midnight

And once again- Corporate corruption and LACK of REGULATION makes America unsafer

Today's investment tip: Stock up on Salvia and Ammo Now!

And remember kids- it could be worse- at least the Zombie assault hasn't begun!

Things that make you go Hmmm

UTC Bids $3 Billion to buy Diebold

from daylife :

"We believe UTC's resources and presence in markets globally would be significant assets to Diebold in expanding its business worldwide and increasing its margins and profitability"
George David, CEO of UTC.

And Diebold's resources and presence in America would be significant assets to UTC.

Wiki on UTC

EXCERPTS:
UTC is also a large military contractor, producing missile systems and military helicopters, most notably the Black Hawk Helicopter.[2] In 2005, it received over 5 billion dollars in military contracts. George David is the current CEO.

During the 2004 election cycle, UTC was the sixth largest defense industry donor to political campaigns, contributing a total of $789,561. 64% of UTC's 2004 contributions went to Republicans.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have identified UTC as the 43rd-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, with roughly 430,000 pounds of toxic chemicals released annually into the air.[5] Major pollutants indicated by the study include manganese, chromium, nickel, and related compounds. [6] The Environmental Protection Agency has named UTC as a potentially responsible party for at least 23 Superfund toxic waste sites.

More on George David's Campaign contributions- (From Newsmeat) He certainly spreads it around.

Here's an illuminating bit from Business Week a few years back-

Then there is the protracted hand-wringing over UTC's two aerospace operations. David admits to being thrown off guard last February by the U.S. Army's cancellation of the $39 billion Comanche helicopter program with Sikorsky and partner Boeing. Black Hawk orders should fill the gap but, even so, some 700 jobs could be lost. Sikorsky is also locked in a fierce battle against Europe's Agusta-Westland to hold on to its contract to make the Presidential helicopters, known as Marine One. There's more than prestige at stake. With all the after-market support and sophisticated technology on the 27 or so helicopters that would be ordered, David says "you almost can't put a value on it."

I wonder how much easier it will be to get United States government contracts when you own Diebold? That's some major leverage for a man who buys it wherever he can get it.

UPDATE: Bradblog has all the details, of course
UPDATE 2: Hello to everyone from Mike's Blog Round Up and C&L

Infected America

In the What-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-these-people department, here's a story of one blogger taking on Big Media and the hate radio they sponsor...
Kos story

It's good to see individual Americans making a difference against Big Media. America has been infected by an rising number of bloodthirsty, dishonorable, sick bastards. For me to point this out DOES NOT Mean that I am weak. It means that I am strong enough to stand up against the sick people among us.

It DOES NOT mean that I haven't got the balls to "do what needs to be done". Killing first, blundering mindlessly into foreign countries with our guns blazing, is not an act of testicular fortitude. It is cowardly and ignorant. And looking around the middle east and the U.S. today, it is fairly obvious that this attitude has become a complete failure in dealing with Iraq. Did having Hitler make Germany more powerful? Did having Stalin make Russia invincible? For the briefest of moments, Hitler's kill everyone-but-us mentality brought them glory. For a little bit longer, Stalin's brand of fascist overlord rule gave them the appearance of strength.

But it was all an illusion, wasn't it? Hated, reviled, discredited... History now relegates these men, once loved by large groups of their countrymen, to the pile labeled monsters and madmen. To these men, the end justified the means. Surely this could not be further from the truth. Because the "end" that they foresaw was corrupted by the means itself.

The MEANS is all. It is not only how other countries see the United States of America, but it is also how we see ourselves. When I look and see, listen and hear American men and women on radio and television endorsing the worst kind of inhumanity, I see a weakened country. I see a sickness infecting our country, a disease that must be treated lest it spread. And it is not the righteous tone that is taken by these sick bastards that bothers me. It is the utter glee with which they speak when they fantasize graphically of stomping other Americans to death for their opinions, or hanging journalists they disagree with.

Fantasizing about killing people in the most painful ways imaginable is NOT healthy. It is the sign of a sick mind. It is a sign of psychotic imbalance. Someone whose mind, unhinged, races along these bloody roads cannot be reasoned with. They have lost their humanity, even if only momentarily. They have lost their ability to logically assess situations and make sane decisions.

This is Weakness. This is fallibility. This is a mental disorder that is keeping many Americans from being able to connect the dots- to put the facts together. They have lost their ability to comprehend what is going on. And so, I watch, horrified- as the men who are in control blindly and stupidly make mistake after mistake. Unable to grasp the reality of what he has done, President Bush continues to make the wrong decisions. Emotionally locked into his paranoid world view- he keeps lashing out. And his robotic followers, the acolytes of his cult of confusion, increasingly want to kill not only the enemy but also their own countrymen who are trying to wipe the fog from their minds.

When will it stop? Most of America understands that a temporary troop surge of 20,000 men just means 20,000 more targets in Iraq. Most of America understands that another 1500 American soldiers will die this year as Bush tries to hold onto the oil fields of Iraq. Most of America sees the dollar falling, the Euro rising, and even Bush's steadfast arab allies (Saudi Arabia) abandoning him, moving their investments from U.S. treasuries to European ones.

But as we are churning in quicksand, struggling to get ourselves out of the mire we are held down by the few sick bastards that are standing on our shoulders.

We will only rise when we can pull back the curtain on this illness and reveal to our fellow Americans that these hate-mongers are cancerous tumors on our society. We have to stop feeding the cancer. IT WILL take all of us working together to reach out to our neighbors and families and make them understand. It will take boycotts and expose's of the sick media talk show hosts and their murderous insanity.

We can make a difference. We already have, by the historical Democrat victory made in November, even though a majority of Americans are not in line with the actual Democratic party right now. Voting was and is important, but there is so much more to be done. Help prop up the spines of your representatives- Make sure they understand that they WILL lose their jobs (apparently the only thing most of them care about) if they do NOT help "wipe the fog" from Bush's mind. Impeachment or not- It is time to re-deploy out of a failed endeavor in Iraq. It will take the strongest Americans to defeat the corporations, the incumbents, the military-industrial complex and the neocon movement.

Find your strength. Find your honor. Find your red-blooded American sense of duty. It is time for the will of the people to be heard.