[dorlomin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Madpaddy', 'S')nowrunner,

I am European and I think my comments hold true for most countries here except of course for the French who are always revolting... in the political sense of course.

[Carlhole]

Vote No Bailout

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Vote No Bailout', 'D')emand that the Bailout Legislation Be Rejected

We are witnessing a bankers' coup d’etat. In the name of saving the economy from a crisis created by their own greed and immense profits, the biggest bankers have taken a country and a people hostage.

“Give us your money and tear up what’s left of your Constitution or we will sink your economy,” is the message from Wall Street and the Bush Administration. “Give us the power and money we demand or you will be left jobless from a new economic depression."

Under the pretext of the banking crisis, the Bush Administration is changing the way this country operates. This is not simply taking trillions of dollars from the people and giving it to the richest bankers to do with as they see fit.

Click here to send your letter to Congress

Congress is poised to vote to give the Executive Branch of government, and specifically the White House’s political appointees in the Treasury Department, the absolute right to take our money and give it to domestic and foreign banks and corporations without any oversight of elected officials, from the courts, or from the people.

The new legislation states: “Decisions by the Secretary [of the Treasury] pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” The Legislation allows the Treasury Department to appoint the same bankers who created the crisis to administer and dictate the use of trillions of our tax dollars.

We will not stand by and let the Bush Administration formalize its vision of a “government of, by and for the richest bankers."

The new system institutionalizes theft on a grand scale. Lehman Brothers bankers will receive $2.5 billion in bonuses after their company went bankrupt last week, but the new dictatorial authority under the White House and Treasury Department has ruled out any relief for the millions of working families who are being foreclosed.

We live in a $15 trillion annual economy. Instead of taking our tax dollars and giving it to the already rich and powerful, these funds should be used provide to decent paying jobs, affordable housing, health care and a good education for our children. There is another way!

Now is the time to hear the voice of the people. A spineless Congress authorized Bush’s illegal war in Iraq and rubber-stamped the Patriot Act. Now they are being herded like sheep again to give the White House and Wall Street dictatorial control over the people’s money.

Send a letter to Your Congressional Representatives Below!

1. Complete the form below with your information.
2. Personalize the subject and text of the message on the right with your own words, if you wish. We have provided sample language for your letter to Congress. You are free to make modifications as you choose. You may wish to consider explaining why you believe the bailout should be rejected.
3. Click the Next Step button to send your letter to these decision makers: ...

[Cid_Yama]

True revolutions are never planned or organized. They happen when the hunger gets too great and there is no food to be had, when people start watching family members die.

Both the French and Russian Revolutions started that way.

It is only afterwards that groups step forward to lay claim and try to grab the reigns of power.

I believe the pain in the US is about to become great. When people start starving and freezing to death in great numbers, the revolution will be spontaneous, and carried out by those people who are sheeple right now. Their ignorance and inability to reason will feed their anger and sense of betrayal. These are the ones the elites need to fear.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dorlomin', 'F')or all there flaws, the French remain engaged in the political process. When it comes to being pissed off with the political class they are prepaired to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

[dorlomin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Cid_Yama', 'T')rue revolutions are never planned or organized. They happen when the hunger gets too great and there is no food to be had, whe people start watching family members die.

Both the French and Russian Revolutions started that way.

[dorlomin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dorlomin', 'F')or all there flaws, the French remain engaged in the political process. When it comes to being pissed off with the political class they are prepaired to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

[shady28]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dorlomin', '
')Like burning cars? How productive.

[alokin]

Alex, you said:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')here is no conspiracy to keep the public dumb. For the average citizen in "any" country......ignorance is bliss!!!

[Cid_Yama]

Dolormin,

Both of your examples are not true revolutions, just like coups are not true revolutions. Those are merely power struggles between factions, bringing change within a system or putting new faces at the top of the same structure.

A true revolution is where a new paradigm is formed from the ashes of a previous system. This requires a total collapse of the previous system.

(Not to denigrate the starry plough. Movements and uprisings, such as this, as well as the labor struggles in the US in the 1930's, are necessary to bring about change <b>within</b> a system.)

[AgentR]

We simply have too much food here, and our climate is basically moderate. There will be no starvation and no more than the usual suspects freezing; thus there will be no revolution.

Its cheaper to feed the proletariat than it is to fight them; and fed, they're about as problematic as a tuna stuffed house cat.

Our new Lords understand the situation just fine. The processed gue will continue to flow.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dorlomin', 'B')locking motorways, burning British beef, blocking ports..... it has actualy moved government policy on several occasions. It may not have had a beneficial impact on the long term French economy but its been a damn site more effective in moving government action than bitching on an internet forum.

[Maddog78]

People, don't you know the NFL is back on again?

Wal Mart shoppers are much more interested in who will Monday Night football than a financial melt down!

[Denny]

It seems the rest of the world sees the financial "upward gush" (opposite of the now defunct trickle down theory) more clearly than the American public. And, I'll say "American" in the broader context of including Canada too.

When the Great Depression hit, it took many years for American labor to mobilize, organize and then strike. I am sure many in 1929 and 1930 tried to come to terms with what they were told, and only as the feel good tripe was disproven and the bread lines grew, did the public latch on to collective action and become more politicized.

It was the 1950's, that era which so many people, especially conservatives, see in nostalgic terms, that the income disparity was greatly reduced in America, as workers incomes grew in real terms. Also a time when progressive income taxation was so much harsher on the affluent than today, as the political process drove a greater sense of social equality.

I can say that in my grandfather's and my father's eras, the regular working person took a much deeper interest in politics than my generation and now, the next generation seems apathetic. Like docile lambs ready for a harvest.

[RedStateGreen]

What a quote at the end!

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')here, oh where, is America's Vladimir Putin, who will drive out the oligarchs who have stolen the country's treasure and debased its currency?

[alokin]

well, they might have problems stuffing the cat in future...

[Captain_Meh]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('AlexdeLarge', 'T')he average person does not pay attention until it impacts their life directly. Just like a bunch of sheep. The only design in this may be genetic..........but not a conspiracy.

[Daphne64]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1222092 ... ts_news_us

the money quote:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')r. Paulson has argued that pay limits shouldn't be part of this plan because they could discourage firms from participating. Treasury is also arguing that it isn't feasible to expect thousands of companies to change their executive compensation structure just to participate in the program and says such a move would discourage small banks and credit unions from participating. Some lawmakers are looking to call Mr. Paulson's bluff, thinking that many institutions would find the choice between limits on executive pay and bankruptcy an easy one. But Treasury is insisting that is a false choice and that the program isn't aimed at preventing firms from filing for bankruptcy but is instead supposed to help relieve pressure on firms that are being weighed down by a glut of assets they can't sell.