The USofA is the big authoritarian (bully) on the block. Our government invades countries killing tens, even hundreds of thousands of innocents, kills suspected terrorists in other countries without permission of the sovereign nation’s government, spies on everyone including it’s own citizens, and in general acts like the big bully of the world. Why? Because they can.

As the big bully they cant let those that dare to look behind the curtain go free. Whistle-blowers and protestors have to be punished, but not only punished, they have to be crushed, brutalized to set an example (code for terrorize) the 99% into toeing the line.

Sadly there are those among us, the conservatives, that must stand by the authoritarian leadership. They defend the authoritarian leadership to a fault. Some may ask why do people voluntarily follow these authoritarian leaders?
Here is an explanation from Bob Altemeyer’s book, The Authoritarian Specter.



Sadly we see a lot of “Follower Authoritarians” right here in DU City.

The Authoritarian Specter is available for free here: http://patrick-fournier.com/d/cours3-6607.pdf

the system is rigged. Rigged to hide the truth, rigged to keep those that want to reveal the truth quiet. I believe in law and order, but I also believe that it should be equally enforced. When I see the 1% Ruling Elite not being held accountable for heinous crimes, I have a hard time rationalizing that we should punish those that are trying to expose the Emperor without clothes.

In my opinion, those that are so very adamant for Manning and other whistle-blowers to be punished and punished severely, is because they are comfortable with the authoritarian power structure. Whistle-blowers and protestors dare to challenge this structure. This is the conservative mind-frame. They can forgive the misdeeds of the leader authoritarians but not the misdeeds of those that dare to try to reveal that their Emperor has no clothes.

The conservatives want Manning to spend life in prison because that's the most severe punishment society will allow. They long for the days they could get a rope and really teach him a lesson.

I recommend the book, The Authoritarians free here: http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/TheAuthoritarians.pdf

It's time to choose sides in the movement, support the Ruling Elite or Support the People's Movement.


Declaration of Occupation from the New York General Assembly:

As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.

They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.

They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.

They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.

They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.

They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.

They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.

They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.

They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.

They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.

They have sold our privacy as a commodity.

They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press. They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.

They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.

They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.

They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.

They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people’s lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit.

They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.

They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.

They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.

They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad. They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.

They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts. *

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

*These grievances are not all-inclusive.

some time in 2007. What suddenly made them shut-up? Seriously, who had the pull to make Cheney humble?

I knew something was wrong when Pres Obama punched the left in the gut by choosing Rick Warren to say the prayer at his 2008 inauguration. An early shot across the bow.

I knew something was wrong when Gov Dean resigned and Obama appointed Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff. You know Rahm, he who couldnt contain his contempt, if not outright hatred of the left.

These were very early, deliberate, and very clear signs that something was very wrong. And while the apologists have an answer for each and every one, the answers boil down to what one poster said yesterday. “I trust Obama.” The same thing my brother in law said of Bush in 2002.

By the way, we need to be careful with our criticism of Eric Holder. If he should resign, Pres Obama might appoint Alberto Gonzales.

Even many here in DU City live and love their denial. They should read Milton Mayer's, "They Thought They Were Free". But they either wont read it or deny it. After all, denial is painless, and essential for some to maintain sanity.

As the wealth is being sucked out of the lower class at an alarming rate, those in denial will point to Obamacare as proof things are getting better. Unless our election system is fixed, Obamacare will be gone in the first 100 days of 2016. Every advancement made in the last few years can be gone in an instant.

Some will say that revolution is the answer. No it isnt. It would be a great excuse for the Elite Fascist to tighten security, temporarily of course.

Is everything hopeless? Not entirely. According to Elite Theory, the Elites rule. Always have and always will. Kick out this bunch and they will be replaced with another bunch. The best we can hope for is that the Ruling Elite are benevolent. The USofA was lucky in the 1930's to have a benevolent Elite running the country. Italy, Germany and Spain werent so lucky.

Whose side is Penny Pritzker on? Will she trickle on us or let us have cake?

The red team has carte blanch to rape and pillage, the blue team strongly resists the red team on social issues. These are the issues that people closely identify with. But while we are watching the dog fight over gun control for example, both the blue and red teams are picking our pockets. Now some will rationalize that at least the blue team is helping us win some of the social dog fights and when they take our wallets they dont hit us in the head with a lead pipe, so it could be worse? Yes but when you get home and find your wallet is gone, your house is gone, your job, retirement and Social Security are gone, your freedom will soon follow. Then all the hard work for social issues will quickly be flushed down the fascist toilet.

When do you think the next bank bailout will occur? I'm think around 2015.

This opinion is provided free of charge with a money back guarantee.

living in a carefully guarded denial bubble. They know that if we really dig we will find corruption beyond imagination. They cant handle this, therefore they want everything wrapped up in a tight bundle. And they are willing to bully those that they think might unwrap the bundle. One DU member has suggested that CT'ers be automatically PPR'd. And I assume he thinks he should make the decision. Fortunately the Admin here is more open minded.

one party that is so radical that many Americans would vote for anyone not so radical. That's exactly what the corporate overlords want. We get the choice between the do-nothing Democrats and the whack-a-doodles. Ralph Nader was wrong to say the two parties were the same. If they were the same the American people would recognize that we didnt have a democracy. But the overlords make sure we have the allusion of choice. A choice of a whack-a-doodle or corporate friendly. Neither choice will be progressive and we, at best, will make only baby-steps toward undoing the massive damage done by the Bush Crime Family.

Here's how I see the corporate-overlord game plan. They give us Georgie Bush and Mr. Evil. After eight years of disaster for the masses the overlords back off and give us Pres Obama. Things are better and some of the population are appeased and some of the population are discouraged by the lack of real choice. Pres Obama and Sen Reid seem to have their hands tied. They are letting the Republicans run all over them.

So what's in store for 2016? I predict the overlords will run a half-way decent (not a McCain or a Mittens) candidate that will take away many votes from the Democratic challenger. Republican voters that were revolted by the 2014 clowns and voted for Pres Obama or didnt vote. The Democratic challenger will most likely be a DLC type, corporate friendly and not willing to take on the big corporations and Wall Street. So it should be a close race and win-win for our corporate overlords.

Our democracy is only an illusion.

Local foodbanks are struggling. In tight economic times, donations to foodbanks tend to dry up. And this is the time when help is most needed.

I try to keep some extra canned food on hand for emergencies and if I don’t use it when the pull date comes around, I donate it and replace it.

Please don’t throw away canned food if the pull date has passed. Most canned food remains safe after the pull date but may lose some food value. Dented cans are not unsafe. Bulging cans are probably unsafe. If you are in doubt, give them to your foodbank and let them decide. They usually know best.

It always feels good to donate food but donating money is more effective. Foodbanks have access to much better buys on foods than the average consumer. Cash also gives the foodbank the flexibility to buy what they need most.

Some foodbanks need clean glass jars with labels removed for repackaging. They often need boxes, paper sacks and plastic bags. Check with your local foodbank and see what they need. You may be throwing away things they can use.

Don’t forget to volunteer. Even a few hours a week will help.

I am against the Patriot Act, Domestic spying, indefinite detention without due process, Citizens United, unregulated drone killing, free trade, NAFTA and all the 'AFTA's.

I am for single payer health insurance, reducing defense spending, ending the wars, habeas corpus, protecting American jobs, eliminating the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, making big Pharma compete for Medicare drug contracts.

So on what issues do you disagree?