Bruce Bacon: "My Reply to My Conservative Friend"

Spread the Word
Re-pinned by Bruce Bacon  |  June 1, 2014  |  Bryan TX

My Reply to My Conservative Friend: "My Reply to My Conservative Friend August 26, 2012 at 3:22pm by Bruce Bacon on NOTES in faceBook

"...Today I got an email from a conservative friend who implored me to go watch the movie “2016 Obama’s America.”

Here is my response to her.

Marilyn, please bear with me. Here is my take on the history of what has happened to our country.   Back in 1971, a corporate lawyer by the name of Lewis Powell penned a document that is known as the “Powell Memorandum.” In this document, which was sent to his friend at the US Chamber of Commerce, Powell extolled the virtues of blending business interests with political interests…attacked the hard work of people like you and me who care about our environment, attacked the education system, arts and sciences, in that they impede business interests. That memorandum eventually spawned right wing “think tanks” and created a massive lobbying effort that we are paying for today. Literally. With our tax dollars. http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_accountability/powell_memo_lewis.html"

'via Blog this'

In the later 70’s, the Republican party initiated an agenda that they called “Starve the Beast.” The purpose of the agenda was to intentionally run up the debt to a point where the cutting of social programs would be a necessity. Reagan bought in and ran up deficit and debt to previously unequaled levels. It would take a president and congress that subscribed to this doctrine to bring it to fruition. We lived that reality during the Bush tenure.  Massive tax cuts for the wealthy, a trillion dollar big pharma giveaway, and a couple of wars ensured that the beast would indeed be starved. The deficit accumulated under Republican “leadership” amounts to approximately $12 trillion dollars. Here’s proof:
http://zfacts.com/p/1170.html 
Starve the Beast analysis:
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/perspectives/paul-krugman-starve-the-beast-fiscal-calamity-is-the-gops-plan-to-shrink-government-234845/

Combined with the starve the beast mentality, came the part two of the double whammy - deregulation of the financial markets. During the first decade of the 21st century, we realized a fraud perpetrated against all the participants of Capitalism that dwarfs any fraud previously. Trillions of (non-existent) dollars were literally scooped up from the global public and created a breathtakingly unimaginable debt vacuum. Cheap credit, loans to anyone who could fog a mirror were made, and we (and nearly every Capitalist country on earth) are living the results of this mentality. State and local government who invested deeply are bankrupt. Ratings agencies rated these packaged bundles of garbage at triple A (why? Because they could) and everybody bought in.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-last-mystery-of-the-financial-crisis-20130619 

By 2007, everything was in place. The US debt had run up into the multi-trillions. The financial markets were ready to implode. Then, it happened. The global recession, brought on by conservative economic and regulatory policies, hit with a force that we still reel from. State and local governments that invested heavily started to financially collapse. Millions of Americans who trusted in our economic system were left bankrupt from the fraud. State and local governments were left in a vacuum. International governments imploded from the financial toll.  Millions and millions of people are suffering from this outright fraud perpetrated against humanity.

When President Obama was elected, within the first days of his leadership, Mitch McConnell made it clear. The first thing on his agenda was not reversing the massive unemployment brought on by this fraud. It was not turning around a battered economy. It was to make President Obama a one term president. Republicans in Congress agreed. The evidence is there for all to see. The number of filibusters in Congress is unequaled. Nothing, repeat NOTHING the president has done to help our citizens has been embraced by the Republican party. The level of vile hatred generated against our president is absolutely unprecedented via unsubstantiated lies and repeated via chain email, and talking points. A record number of anti-citizen’s rights bills have been penned by Republicans at the state and federal levels. This information is all out there, Marilyn. Women’s reproductive rights, equal pay for equal work, gay equality.

I won’t even go into the fact that Republicans have made every effort to undermine our government from within. Unqualified appointments, making decisions against the best interests of the country to “prove” that “government doesn't work.” It’s nothing but a corporate sell-out, with the blue-print being the Powell Memorandum.

Needless to say, I am passionate about this. I am absolutely disgusted that America has come from being number one in the world on nearly every aspect, to trailing far behind other western countries. Health care, public education, the list is nearly endless. By every measure, our country has suffered from the conservative-corporate collusion. We are literally living the results of an agenda that has taken 40 years to complete.

I, for one, want to see the United States Republican party outlawed as a treasonous entity. Their successes have brought on the failure of the American institution. I am thoroughly disgusted with the lies, the hypocrisy, the outright fraud perpetrated against you, me and  every participant of Capitalism. Capitalism is a failure, Marilyn, it is a failure that was ensured by a deliberate stacking of the deck AGAINST the participants.

I will never support another Republican at any level of government. The Republican agenda is poison.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. If feels good to finally get this off my chest in one sitting.

Bruce

Update: 18 May 2014 - I've seen a lot of "hate Bush" memes on FB recently and would like to comment on that. Understand this: Bush really just executed the Republican game plan. Any "good" Republican would have done exactly the same thing. That's why we need to hate the party, and not necessarily the person. That game plan included leveraging tragedy to perform a massive transfer of public wealth to private interests leaving the taxpayers holding the bag. Once you wrap your head around the depth and breadth of the fraud perpetrated against us (and continues to be perpetrated against us) you either throw your hands up in the air with disgust and say "I quit" or you choose to spread the truth. I choose the latter. And please, vote blue like your life depends on it. Because it does.

Update 1 June 2014 - I'd like to add one more point. How could they pull something like this over on us, and brainwash a large percentage of the population that EVERYTHING is "Government's Fault"? How could outright lying in broadcasting be tolerated? No opposing voice? This is the last piece of the puzzle. Repealing the Fairness Doctrine is what created today's American right wing: http://articles.latimes.com/1987-06-21/news/mn-8908_1_fairness-doctrine And these are the people we need to get through to..."

CONCLUSION
It appears that high rollers have divvied up the United States into regions that will succumb to their long range development plans regardless of any thought of people this may harm.

________________________Reference
https://www.facebook.com/notes/10151037975418017/

MooPig Trend Spotter :: "Who has all the Money?"

Watch and Think
youtube capture by Pat Darnell | Nov 13, 2013 | Bryan TX

http://youtu.be/QPKKQnijnsM

TRANSCRIPT
0:00there's a chart SR recently that I can't get out of my head
0:03Harvard Business professor and economist ass more than 5,000 Americans
0:08how they thought well was distributed in the United States
0:12this is what they said they thought it was dividing the country into five rough
0:15group at the top bottom
0:17and middle 3 20 percent group they asked people
0:21how they thought the wealth in this country was divided NES them
0:25what they thought was the ideal distribution and ninety-two percent
0:29that at least nine outta 10 a.m. said it should be more like this
0:33in other words more equitable than they think it is
0:37now that fact is telling admittedly the notion that most Americans know that the
0:41system is
0:42already skewed unfairly to what's most interesting to me
0:46is the reality compared to our perception the ideal
0:50is as far removed from our perception is reality
0:54as the actual distribution is from what we think
0:57exists in this country so ignore the ideal for a moment
1:01here's what we think it is again and here
1:04is the actual distributional shockingly skewed
1:08not only to the bottom 20 percent and the next 20 percent
1:12the bottom forty percent of Americans barely have
1:16any the wealth I mean it's hard even see them on the chart
1:20but the top one percent has more of the country's wealth
1:24then nine out of 10 Americans believe the entire top 20 percent should have
1:29mind-blowing but let's look at it another way because
1:33I find this chart kinda difficult to wrap my head around instead let's reduce
1:37the 311 million Americans to
1:40just a representative 100 people make it simple
1:44here they are teachers coaches firefighters construction workers
1:49engineers doctors lawyers some investment bankers the CEO
1:53may be a celebrity culture now let's line him up according to their wealth
1:57poorest people on the left wealthiest on the right just a steady row folks based
2:02on their net worth
2:03color coding like we did before based on which 20 percent quintile they volunteer
2:09now let's reduce the total wealth the United States
2:12which was roughly fifty four trillion dollars in 2009
2:16to this symbolic pi love cash and let's distributed
2:21among our 100 Americans well appear socialism
2:25all the wealth of the country distributed equally we all know that
2:28will work
2:29we need to encourage people to work can work hard to achieve that goal American
2:33Dream and keep our country moving forward
2:36so hears that night deal
2:39we asked everyone about something like this occur
2:42this isn't to bed we've got some incentive as the wealthiest folks are
2:46now about
2:4710 to 20 times better off in the poorest Americans
2:51but hey even the poor folks aren't actually poor
2:54since the poverty line is stated almost entirely off the chart
2:58we have a super healthy middle-class with a smooth transition into wealth
3:03and yes Republicans and Democrats alike chose this curve nine out of 10 people
3:09ninety-two percent said this was a nice ideal distribution of America's wealth
3:14the let's move on this is what people think
3:18America's wealth distribution actually looks like not as equitable clearly
3:23but for me even this still looks pretty great
3:26yes the poorest 20 to 30 percent are starting to suffer quite a lot compared
3:31to the ideal
3:33in the middle class is certainly struggling more than they were
3:36while the rich in wealthier making roughly a hundred times that of the
3:40poorest Americans
3:41in about ten times that if the still healthy middle-class
3:44sadly this isn't even close to the reality
3:48here is the actual distribution of wealth in America
3:52the poorest Americans don't even register
3:56they're down to pocket change and the middle class
4:00is barely distinguishable from the poor in fact
4:03even the rich between the top 10 in 20 percentile
4:07are worse off only the top 10 percent or better off
4:10and how much better off so much better off the top
4:14to 25 percent were actually of the chart
4:17at this scale and the top one percent
4:20this can were his stack of money stretch is ten times higher than we can show
4:27here's his stack of cash re stacked all by itself
4:31this is the top one percent we've been hearing so much about
4:34so much green in his pockets that I have to give him a whole new column his own
4:39because he won't fit on my chart 1 percent of America has
4:43forty percent of all the nation's wealth
4:46the bottom eighty percent 8 out of every 10 people
4:50work a Dr these 100 only has
4:53seven-percent between them in this
4:56only gotten worse in the last twenty to thirty years
4:59while the richest 1 percent take home almost a quarter
5:03the national income today in 1976
5:06they took home only nine percent meaning their share of income has nearly tripled
5:10in the last thirty years
5:13the top one percent own half the country stocks bonds and mutual funds
5:18the bottom 50 percent of Americans only
5:21half a percent these investments which means
5:25P aren't investing they're just scraping by I'm sure many of these wealthy people
5:29have worked very hard for their money
5:31but do you really believe that the CEO was working
5:34380 times harder his average
5:38employees not as lowest-paid employees not the janitor
5:42but the average earner in his company the average worker needs to work more
5:46than a month
5:47turn with the CEO makes in one our
5:51we certainly don't have to go all the way to socialism to find something that
5:55is fair
5:56for hard-working Americans we don't even have to achieve what most of us consider
6:00might be
6:01ideal all we need to do is wake up
6:04in reliance that the reality in this country
6:08is not it all what we think it is
6:11gone

MooPig's Report from the Middle :: "Network of Global Corporate Control"

PLOS ONE: The Network of Global Corporate Control: "We present the first investigation of the architecture of the international ownership network, along with the computation of the control held by each global player. We find that transnational corporations form a giant bow-tie structure and that a large portion of control flows to a small tightly-knit core of financial institutions. This core can be seen as an economic “super-entity” that raises new important issues both for researchers and policy makers."

" ... A common intuition among scholars and in the media sees the global economy as being dominated by a handful of powerful transnational corporations (TNCs). However, this has not been confirmed or rejected with explicit numbers. A quantitative investigation is not a trivial task because firms may exert control over other firms via a web of direct and indirect ownership relations which extends over many countries. Therefore, a complex network analysis [1] is needed in order to uncover the structure of control and its implications. Recently, economic networks have attracted growing attention [2], e.g., networks of trade [3], products [4], credit [5], [6], stock prices [7] and boards of directors [8], [9]. This literature has also analyzed ownership networks [10], [11], but has neglected the structure of control at a global level.

" ... The TNC [transnational corporations] network has a bow-tie structure [21] (see Figure 2 A ...). Its peculiarity is that the strongly connected component, or core, is very small compared to the other sections of the bow-tie, and that the out-section is significantly larger than the in-section and the tubes and tendrils (Figure 2 B ...). The core is also very densely connected, with members having, on average, ties to 20 other members (Figure 2 C, D). As a result, about 3/4 of the ownership of firms in the core remains in the hands of firms of the core itself. In other words, this is a tightly-knit group of corporations that cumulatively hold the majority share of each other.

'via Blog this'

"... The top holders within the core can thus be thought of as an economic “super-entity” in the global network of corporations. A relevant additional fact at this point is that of the core are financial intermediaries. Figure 2 D shows a small subset of well-known financial players and their links, providing an idea of the level of entanglement of the entire core.

" ... Thus, in the hypothesis that the structure of the ownership network is a good proxy for that of the financial network, this implies that the global financial network is also very intricate. Recent works have shown that when a financial network is very densely connected it is prone to systemic risk [16], [24]. Indeed, while in good times the network is seemingly robust, in bad times firms go into distress simultaneously. This knife-edge property [25], [26] was witnessed during the recent financial turmoil.

CONCLUSION
It turns out that "global players" are all sitting on each other's Board of Directors, and have inside knowledge of operations. It is interesting to see that they all react simultaneously when a "crisis" occurs, and it causes a "knife edge" financial environment -- such as three hundred years of boom bust cycles. Throughout our financial history the "global players" of the "super entity" must after all prefer "financial entanglement of the entire core."

Much like a social structure of betters at horse racing tracks, three out of four are distressed losers, and winners restart the betting cycle with old money. And they all go along with those odds, knowing that they may be one in four next time. But few believe they "never will" win, whether that is wishful thinking or human nature, it seems to be the structure in all financial groups large or small.

That concludes our Report from the Middle where we can't seem to hold on to our money, but the women are strong, the men are good-looking and all the children are above average.


___________________Reference
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0025995
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MooPig Financial Trends Department :: "Money Laundering and Fraud"

Indictment, arrest of virtual currency founder targets alleged “financial hub of the cybercrime world.”
Aired out by Pat Darnell | May 28, 2013 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

When we say we are going to do a series of money related posts, we think we are onto something of a trend. Because we all know that MooPig is a financial trendsetter, and therefore a trend-spotter. HA! We attempted to meddle through the muddle of financial stuff HERE. We thought to interfere in and busy ourselves unduly with something that is not usually our concern.

This report in USAToday is the kind of report that makes me want to get on the phone with old friends. This kind of report makes me want to hide in a cave like a wounded cougar, and lick my wounds. This kind of report makes me want to gather my little family together in a safe and cozy room. It is the kind of report that makes me stifle myself.

Alleged $6 billion money-laundering network busted: "Detailing what federal authorities termed the largest international money-laundering case in history, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the suspects and company were indicted for allegedly facilitating 55 million transactions that concealed the proceeds of credit card fraud, identity theft, computer hacking, child pornography, narcotics trafficking and other crimes."

'via Blog this'

So, let's see, it turns out the major cyber-crimes involve:

• credit card fraud
• identity theft
• computer hacking
• child pornography
• narcotics trafficking
• all the above in money laundering

Nope ... none of those key activities come up on a search of MooPig Wisdom. But, that is where the money goes to be "recirculated." And, there were 1-million signed up with Liberty Reserve. It does prove that if you want to know where's the money, you will have to wade through some pretty debased information, photos, videos, and acid trips to find out.

Original story:

" ... The papers cited Costa Rican prosecutor José Pablo González saying that Budovsky, a Costa Rican citizen of Ukrainian origin, has been under investigation since 2011 for money laundering using Liberty Reserve, a company he created in Costa Rica. “Local investigations began after a request from a prosecutor’s office in New York,” Tico Times reporter L. Arias wrote. “On Friday, San José prosecutors conducted raids in Budovsky’s house and offices in Escazá, Santa Ana, southwest of San José, and in the province of Heredia, north of the capital. Budovsky’s businesses in Costa Rica apparently were financed by using money from child pornography websites and drug trafficking. (25.May.2013. krebsonsecurity. LINK)... ”

CONCLUSION
If you own a Jet-Ski, a helicopter, or a tank, then you are at the top of the money chain.

__________________________Reference
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/05/28/ny-indictment-filed-money-laundering-case/2366237/?csp=fbfanpage
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-new-fed-thought-for-too-big-to-fail.html
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2012/11/moopig-financial-tricky-business.html
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43656
http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/washington/2012/10/cbo-reports-federal-deficit-dipped-to-11-trillion-in-fiscal-2012.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/06/1141002/-More-Good-News-CBO-Reports-Deficit-is-down-another-200-Million
http://www.ctj.org/taxjusticedigest/archive/federal_tax_issues/federal_budget/
http://www.fedupusa.org/2012/10/08/
http://www.fedupusa.org/2012/10/the-worlds-largest-money-laundering-machine-the-federal-reserve/
http://www.ctj.org/taxjusticedigest/archive/federal_tax_issues/federal_budget/
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/money-laundering/laundrycycle.html

MooPig Creative Counsel Department :: "The 'illions Deficit"

Are we Perplexed about a $14 Trillion Debt?
Found in the creases by Pat Darnell  |  Mar 9, 2013  |  Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Glenn Thrush $14 trillion budget deficit: Politico overestimates deficit by 1600 percent.: "Now, here's the thing: If the deficit really were scheduled to reach $14 trillion in fiscal year 2013, sensible people would be freaking out. But the actual projection is that the deficit will equal $845 billion. As the old saw goes, all the numbers that end in "illion" sound the same to people. But Thrush is overstating the deficit by about 1600 percent here. In other words, the actual deficit is about $13,155,000,000,000 smaller than Thrush thinks it is."

'via Blog this'

And we thought obesity was the national threat! Here go loud mouthed politicians, loud like screaming infants in the middle of a room, getting in the way and trying to take everyone down with lies and misdirection, and gross exaggerations. Matthew Yglesias concludes:

" ... What's remarkable here isn't the occurrence of an error in the article. It's not a piece about fiscal policy, and Thrush isn't a budget specialist. It's how little difference the error makes in practice. The people who are very upset about the "$14 trillion" deficit aren't going to become less upset about it when they realize it's only $845 billion, anymore than the people worried about "out of control" government spending become less worried when they learn that government spending has been flat for almost three years. (Matthew Yglesias | Posted Monday, Feb. 11, 2013. LINK) ... "

In other words "The budget deficit would fall below $1 trillion under President Obama for the first time in 2013 and would drop to $430 billion by 2015, according to CBO’s annual fiscal outlook. (Erik Wasson- 02/05/13. LINK) "

So, next time you hear blundering, bombastic, blithering non-economists, who never completed a day's work their whole life, talking about the 14 trillion dollar debt ... JUST SAY NO!!


___________________Reference
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/02/11/glenn_thrush_14_trillion_budget_deficit_political_overestimates_deficit.html?wpisrc=obinsite
http://www.disclose.tv/forum/what-does-a-trillion-dollars-look-like-t7771.html
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=010C7748-8BC6-428D-BC5D-93480129BC21
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324900204578286050023564998.html
http://www.blogrunner.com/snapshot/D/5/5/cbo_projects_845b_budget_deficit_for_2013/

MooPig Merger Watch Department :: "Jim Hightower"

There is no Safe Harbor for the Common Person
Scooped by Pat Darnell  |  Mar 7, 2013  |  Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]

Introduction
Financial types, and they definitely are a subset of humanity, do things through sleight of hand. The reason they sneak around is because they foretell futures of money as it flows through society. They have formulas that tell them when tomorrow will be a winner or a loser. And this propriety, they think, gives them the right to lurk about. Just like a diamond dealer won't tell you where the diamonds are stashed, right?

The rest of us, in context of work-a-day, go about our business mostly ignoring the financial types. They seem to be doing nothing, and that seems foreign to one who works.

I did an experiment ten years ago. I got jobs working as an insurance agent, first with Farmers Insurance, then second with Western Southern Enterprises. I did okay in the application processes until they gave me a psychological evaluation type test. I was border line, as I was told later. But I worked in the financial industry for six years.

You see, there is no right or wrong answer to psychological test of that kind. My answers were "compared" to answers from other applicants, and/or, successful financial types. The comparisons told the company if I fell in the zone of successful financial types, or not.

Having been in Construction Management, and having grown up through the trades, my answers were "not" in the zone, but rather on the edge of that bell curve.

You, see, financial groups, like insurance companies are pyramids, only they are built out of playing cards. It may surprise you to learn that a regional manager at Farmers Insurance makes about $3 million a year; yes, that's right, and it is hardly ever publicized. The guy at the top of the heap gets the biggest check. His money is made off the backs of others.

When a bunch of financial guys get together they try to act like normal people, but their inherent hatred of anything "not financial" makes them play their hand.

I find these financial types intriguing; like being at a Cabaret, I sometimes imagine. A group of men usually who wear facades, and talk percentages, but just below the facade is a regular smelly, old wool, metallic scented pile of protoplasm that will shrivel up if it has to find common ground with a common person. Or, if you stare at their hairpiece too long they will try everything to turn your gaze from it.

"Oh, I jog three miles every morning," he'll say. This is supposed to fit into his gimmick world. Misdirection is the whole story, the only story, and the way of financial types out there.

So, when Jim Hightower reports on the sweeps of the financial district, that means we are right now in a national state of intentional "mis-direction," and maybe it is time to WAKE THE HELL UP!

Jim Hightower | Wall Street gets giddy over the urge to merge: "One Wall Street economist says, giddily, that today's urge to merge is "a sign that corporate America believes that the [economic] expansion is going to accelerate." Yeah, and run right over us.

"Confidence on Upswing, Mergers Make Comeback," The New York Times, February 15, 2013. 

"A Job-Hacking Fed Policy," Austin American Statesman, February 24, 2013.

"Buyouts a boon to investors," Austin American Statesman, February 18, 2013.

"From ketchup to computers, companies are buying each other again. Is a flurry of LBOs next?" www.washingtonpost.com, February 15, 2013."

'via Blog this'

[Read Entire Article HERE]



__________________________Reference
http://jimhightower.com/node/7975#.UTjFahyzeSo
http://www.forbes.com/sites/investor/2013/01/16/dell-the-return-of-the-prodigal-lbo-2/

MooPig's Home Schooling Department :: "Tips for Avoiding Student Debt ..."

Retrieved by Pat Darnell | 3.27.2012 | Bryan TX

[Picture LINK]
Tips for Avoiding Student Debt | Coupons and Deals Blog - Coupon Mountain:

• Take General Education classes at a community college.
• Save some cash for extra expenses.
• Explore all scholarship opportunities.
• Make sure you received the most financial aid possible from your school.
• Know what you're getting into.

Read Article HERE ::

Sound advice? We don't know. but we have learned that courses online are as good as general education courses at your big ass universities. You'll see.

'via Blog this'

_____________________Reference
http://www.couponmountain.com/blog/10911/tips-for-avoiding-student-debt
http://moopigwisdom.blogspot.com/2012/02/moopigs-home-schooling-department.html

Job Fits

You are the Job Hunter assigned the following client:

Born and raised in Chicoutimi, Quebec, Jean-Michel obtained a degree in Finance and hopped on board a train to BC in the summer of 94. "One season in Whistler" ignited a passion for the region and then in 96, he purchased a home in Britannia Beach, where he still lives and is excited about the new direction of the community. When not playing on the mountains in the winter, Jean-Michel can be found kiteboarding at the Squamish Spit, where he is involved as the Director of Finance and Operations.

As Jean-Michel's headhunter, what job would you find for him?