mpgrapsheet-081506-083106

'Falling Home Prices Could Trigger a U.S. and Global Recession'' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See also ...."Mike Whitney: 'Pop goes the bubble! The Great Housing Crash of '07'"

Maybe.... I've said before that I have lots of faith in "helicopter Bernanke" dropping the interest rates to keep the economy afloat, assuming all those foreigners continue buying our bonds. Of course Japan tried the same thing and it didn't work very well for them, they had a nasty bout of deflation.

But they couldn't rev. up some wars, juice the economy, and pay back the debt in inflated (i.e. cheapened) dollars like the U.S. always does. Still it'll be harder to try that trick this time around since the U.S. has so much debt. Our bonds are starting to look like some of those internet stocks.

Maybe that's the hold the Saudis have over us....hmmmmm? Oh I just realized (Gasp) one is never supposed to talk about the Saudis or money, but to do both at the same time is.....is.....well it's shameful.

What would happen however when the Fed is forced to raise interest rates to check the unleashed inflation would be nothing short of disastrous. But the wealthy elites of our country have practiced this scenario several times already. Maybe this cycle won't be as bad as people think? Any betters?

Hizbullah's victory has transformed the Middle East --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To all Israelis and to the Jewish people everywhere, this is what happens when you become a Roman and let your country become a province of the New Roman Empire. See also "Two scholars say pro-Israel lobby has warped U.S. policy" , "America's Rottweiler"

When you are a Roman these are the sorts of things you begin to do. "Amnesty: Israel deliberately hit civilian targets" , "Rationality and Israeli violence" , "Video Report From Qana Massacre" , "Lebanon's 9/11 or Why Do They Hate Us? Picture Album"

When you are a Roman this is the way you begin to think "US rabbis urge change in IDF war code"

What's next folks? Where are you going to go with this? To Abu Grahib? To Gitmo? To somewhere much worse? Are we going to see pictures of naked Palestinians piled on top of each other? Hear about worse things done to woman and children? Dead bodies in trenches? Just how far down this road are you willing to go?

Does this seem FAMILIAR to you at all?

If you continue down this path the "state" of Israel will still be there, but many years from now a person when asked, might say "yeah I've heard about Israel, I understand it used to be Jewish..... no Jews living there any more. Their children are still there, the Romans, but everyone says the Jews just slowly disappeared one by one, no one knows when the last one left, no one knows where they've gone to now."

Just remember when that fateful day comes - nobody did it to you...... you did it to yourselves.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lawyers Will Subpoena Bush White House in Phone Company Spying Case
More on how the Bush administration got the N.S.A. to spy on Americans before 9/11, almost as soon as he got into office, like it was part of some sort of plan. See also.... "Spy Agency Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11, Lawyers Say".

And everyone.... please! Considering how the Bush administration was cutting the funding for, canceling, and delaying many anti-terrorism programs in the U.S. at the time they started the N.S.A. spying program, no one should even pretend that they established it for legitimate reasons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will the Democrats Be Ready for Rove's 2006 October Fright Fest?
The short answer is....no.

How Stupor Killed the Fourth Estate ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Tinker with the newspapers all you want. The medium isn’t the problem. It’s the message. And the message is: Most people just don’t want to bother. Most people disdain serious news. Most people disdain any medium that presumes to make them think. Mass-market anti-intellectualism has always been a norm in American society. Mass-market anti-reflection is now the new normal. News as critical reflection, news as change agent, as the fourth-estate, is not just irrelevant. It's dead."

More about the decline of our "mass media", specifically the newspapers. Good riddance, see also my blog.... "Three Articles & the Press"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How Bush Won His War and Defeated the Constitution
"It could briefly be played up as a significant number, and the New York Times is certainly trying to headline it as such: 51 percent of Americans see no link between the terror war and the Iraq war. But it isn’t significant. It’s closer to pathetic,....." "That 51 percent who see no link between Iraq and terror still means a proportion approaching half, half, still think there is a link."

Or it shows just how "abysmally stupid" Americans are.....or are they? Perhaps what they say in polls is nothing more than a token of "support" for their side, perhaps it's a deep desire to belong to the 'grupen' and justify the horrors that have been done in their name, even if they know they're agreeing with nothing but lies. Now that's a much more frightening thought.

Think of the Germans during WW II, they all saw the propaganda movies of the "summer camps" and beautiful "relocation centers".......and in their hearts....they knew.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's some fun videos from Jon Stewart.... enjoy

Jon Stewart - Slams VP Cheneys Fearmongering

Jon Stewart - dissects Bush's latest 'desperate soundbites'

Jon Stewart - Bush Molests German Chancellor Merkel

Jon Stewart - on the media coverage of the war in Lebanon
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thom Hartmann; JonBenet Died - And Bush Lied?
Or how 'our' press, 'our' "mass media", exist only to distract all of us from the real news. See also my blog "Was 9/11 an Inside Job & the Press" .

Get Your Assets Out of the U. S. NOW
This is NOT an asset allocation recommendation, nor a prediction on the dollar, bond or stock markets - just a word to the wise that to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Watch Out All You Frogs
Sort of on the same theme as the above article.....with a real nifty little chart.

Fox News’ rating tank
That’s using the term "news" rather broadly of course..... Now if the public would stop going from the fire (Fox news) into the frying pan (CNBC & CNN) perhaps they wouldn't be so "surprised" by what's about to happen to them. Maybe they could even stop buying - reading - watching the garbage spewed out by this nation's mass-media-entertainment complex and instead check out the thousands of good sites on the web, a few of which are listed on Reficultnias.

Oil Company CEO Pay Averaged $32.7 Million in 2005, Study Says ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In 2005, the CEOs of the largest 15 oil companies averaged $32.7 million in compensation, compared with $11.6 million for all large U.S. firms, according to the study, released today by the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy."

"The groups also examined the pay of defense contractors' chief executives. The top executives at defense contractors and military suppliers have benefited from the boom in government spending since Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq."

Gee.....I'm shocked, shocked I say. Mr. Reficul and his friends really made out, all because of that thing called 9/11. Dare I say it one more time..... what a "fortuitous" coincidence

I'm sure some Americans reading this blog will say "but gasoline prices are falling"...... yep they sure are, right before the November elections. Dare I say it again
......nahhhh, I'm just way too tired.

Oil Pressure ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Violating the very notions of freedom and democracy Bush invokes in nearly every speech on Iraq, the U.S. government has actively intervened in the restructuring of Iraq's oil industry since at least 2002".

See also "Secret U.S. Plans For Iraq's Oil", "Iraq's Oil", "The Great Iraq Oil Grab", "Read the Small Print: The US Wants to Privatize Iraq's Oil" , "It's the Crude, Dude", and of course Cheney's infamous "Maps and Charts of Iraqi Oil Fields". And dear Bushy even made the foreign (mostly U.S. & British) oil companies in Iraq immune from law suits brought against them for just about any reason see..... "Oil Immunity?" and "Bush grants permanent legal immunity to US corporations looting Iraqi oil"

Still to tired to say my favorite phrase again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GOP Candidate Says 9/11 Attacks Were a Hoax (i.e. arranged by elements in the U.S. government) ---------------------------------------------------
A quote from the article...."A Republican candidate for this area's congressional seat said Wednesday that the U.S. government was complicit in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."

This has to be a typo... a Republican voluntarily telling the truth! It's an established scientific fact that Republicans "can't handle the truth".

If a Republican attempts to voluntarily tell the truth one of three things will happen immediately. One : They suffer violent seizures as parts of their brain, never ever used before, attempt to function. Two : They burst into flames as a result of spontaneous human combustion. Three : Their hands reach up of their own accord and they choke themselves to death. So there has to be some other explanation for the incident.

It's much more likely that the incident was caused by a version of the well known "Republican Tourettes Syndrome" (RTS). This is a very rare and feared disorder among Republicans where under intense pressure one of them may accidentally blurt out the truth. Such an incident recently happened during one of Bush's press conferences, where an obviously inexperienced an undisciplined reporter asked Bush "What did Iraq have to do with...""the attack on the World Trade Center", Bush's reply was "nothing...". An appallingly truthful statement, but that was Bush.

For any normal healthy Republican to actually, voluntarily, let the truth pass their lips is an unheard of event.

The report however does come from a reputable and reliable source, truthout.com.

So there must be some alternative explanation for the event besides RTS. To prevent undue alarm it must be stated beforehand that the alternative theory described below should be considered highly speculative. In fact it's most probable that many of those well versed in the demanding discipline of Republicanology will dismiss the theory. It is also very likely that many of the most prominent authorities in Republicnology will flatly state the theory is a physical, sociological, and psychological impossibility and contradicts all known scientific literature on the subject. Many others will state the theory is an affront to our community and the social values which knit us together in our glorious and harmonious framework.

Those who are about to read what is to be set forth should therefore be cautioned. You may very well be horrified by what is proposed, some of you may even be traumatized or made physically ill. So for those of you who are faint of heart or weak of constitution, you are strongly advised not to read any further Again it must be stressed the theory outlined below is highly unlikely.

It is conceivable that a new breed of Republicans has arisen; due to genetic drift, some horrible mutation, some awful random set of events. A breed of Republicans that are actually able to tell the truth without suffering immediate severe physical or mental impairment. A breed of Republicans that may not respond solely to the lure of money. A breed of Republicans that may espouse ideas without first carefully checking with the lobbyist-minders assigned the task of guiding them down the correct path.

It is understood that this theory will deeply alarm many of the wealthy elites in our country and the lobbyists-minders they finance. It is also understood that if true, this new breed could threaten the very foundation of our civilization and bring about the collapse of mankind as we know it. But again everyone must realize that it's just a theory, a conjecture, an insubstantial wisp of what might be and not what is, only offered so such tendencies can be nipped in the bud if they're actually present in our society .

All of us should therefore remain calm in this time of crisis. We should look to ourselves and stamp out any unnatural desires to tell the truth. We should rigorously discipline our children to make sure such deviant behaviors are kept to a minimum. We must keep an eye out for those among us who exhibit perverted urges to investigate the facts. And most importantly we must report any citizens who display such aberrant behavior to the proper authorities.

This entire incident will have to be thoroughly investigated before a true determination can be made. To help expedite such efforts everyone should join together to propose the establishment of a commission which would be empowered to use all the scientific means at their disposable to help shed light on this grave issue.

Again it should be stated as forcefully as possible that it’s only a theory, our wealthy elites, the glorious ones we worship, the guiding lights of our country, should remain as calm as possible and not panic until all the facts are in.

How Washington Goaded Israel ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More good stuff about how the Israeli invasion of Lebanon was part of the Neocon's grand PNAC design.....but with a very interesting twist.

Here's a quote from the author above...."One of the more unsettling aspects of the broad support in Washington for the use of Israel as U.S. proxy in the Middle East is how closely it corresponds to historic anti-Semitism. In past centuries, the ruling elite of European countries would, in return for granting limited religious and cultural autonomy, established certain individuals in the Jewish community as the visible agents of the oppressive social order, such as tax collectors and moneylenders. When the population threatened to rise up against the ruling elite, the rulers could then blame the Jews, channeling the wrath of an exploited people against convenient scapegoats. The resulting pogroms and waves of repression took place throughout the Jewish Diaspora”

It's been noted by many that the Crackpot Christians support the establishment of a "greater Israel" over all of Palestine. They believe that when this occurs Armageddon will take place and those who are true Christians will experience the Rapture, whereas those who are not, including Jews, Muslims, and everyone else, will simply go to Hell.

It should be noted that the term "Semites" actually refers to all the people of the Middle East, not just the Jews.

It's been noted by the author above that many people in Europe still harbor a deep resentment of Jews, but as one has witnessed over the last several years many people in Europe also deeply resent those from the Middle East. In other words they are truly anti-Semitic.

It should be noted by everyone that Britain and the United States throughout their long history of colonization have always practiced a policy of divide and conquer to maintain their position in world affairs.

It should be noted by everyone that it was Britain and the United States who strongly supported the establishment of Israel.

Given this prior history, and recent events over the last twenty years, the creation of the Christian Right, the Saudis massive support for Wahhabism , the creation of PNAC, the playing of the "Great Game", the arranging of terrorist incidents, one could conclude that the reasons put forth by these two powers for the establishment of the state of Israel appear to lack a certain amount of credibility.

In other words to the Israelis, and to the Jewish people everywhere...... with friends like these maybe you'd be better off making peace with your enemies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why the Democrats Lose
Here's another good quote from an article...."The Democrats cannot control the foreign debt (I don't mean the balance of trade, I mean servicing the horrific national debt). The Democrats cannot control the Saudis, or Middle eastern oil sheiks, or militant Muslim mullahs, or the Arab street. The Republicans can't either, but they can, and do, strike bargains with the devil and at least in the near term profit greatly from it. And I believe that many voters, sensing this, opt for at least the opportunity to sell their futures, if not their souls, for a little immediate relief and the illusion of a profitable tomorrow. A terrible illusion, but seductive nevertheless. Of course they leave the wreckage as a burden for future generations, but as the man said: "Posterity? What has posterity ever done for me?"

By the way, I live in San Francisco. Don't let anybody fool you, the yuppiefied, cappuccino drinking, money worshipping, beamer driving, soulless, amoral, faux-liberals who occupy this city are only "liberal" in their disdain for religion and their adoption of various sexual practices. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people here actually like watching those videos coming out of Iraq.

Oh yeah, Mr. Reficul is very, very, very happy.

"what the Iraqi people want" -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"91.7% of Iraqis oppose the presence of coalition troops in the country, up from 74.4% in 2004."

Now I don't want to shock any of you Iraqis reading this blog or for that matter you Lebanese and all you other folks living in the Middle East so I hope you’re seated because what I’ve got to say could really surprise some of you. So don’t be alarmed, remain calm, don't have a heart attack but.......

Bush really doesn’t care about your opinions.

I know, I know, it’s terribly shocking to discover this after he and Israel have worked so hard to help all of you by getting rid of your excess population and all those old buildings you have in your countries…but it’s true.

So all of you in the Middle East will just have to realize we’re going to keep bringing you our concept of "freedom and democracy", no matter how long it takes, even if we have continue killing….. excuse me, I meant to say, even if we have to continue helping you whether you want us to or not.

And of course we're going to bestow these same wonderful benefits on Iran.....and Syria, and Kazakhstan, and Venezuela, and..... well I think you've got the idea by now.

It’s for your own good you know.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When War is on the Horizon, Follow the Money
This one surprised even me, and I thought I was as hard boiled, cynical and jaded as one could possibly become.

Did Insiders Milk Terror Plot For Criminal Trading?
This one didn't suprise me as much, considering the same thing happened prior to 9/11.

Where Bush's Arrogance Has Taken Us
This is NOT..... an op-ed piece, this is a treasure trove, a gold mine of information and statistics as to what Bush & Co. have done.

The Cult of the Offensive ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's an interesting quote.

"Instead, to reduce casualties in the current conflict, the Israeli military decided to degrade Hezbollah’s strength using only air power and a minimal army presence on the ground. But, just like the American experience in Iraq, to fight guerillas, one needs sufficient forces on the ground that can be more selective than air firepower in distinguishing between insurgents and civilians.

In counterinsurgency warfare, killing large numbers of civilians turns the all-important popular opinion in the target country away from the occupiers toward the guerillas. But both the Israeli and U.S. militaries have used massive firepower because it holds down their casualties and thus maintains support longer at home for the foreign adventure.

So adventure-seeking government officials are caught in the unenviable trade-off of alienating the target country’s population or their own at home, the two key groups to win support from during a counterinsurgency war."

These poor officials pressured by the corporate elites in their countries to have successful "adventures", caught between the choice of killing lots of the peons they fooled into their "adventures", or ten times the peon's numbers as civilians in the "target country".

Decisions, decisions.....endanger our poor fighting men and women or kill lots of innocent civilians...... hmmmm.

Our wealthy elites don't want peace, they've made that perfectly clear by now...... On the other hand if the wealthy elites keep endlessly insisting that the killing is to continue no matter what, and the poor in various countries don't want to kill each other, what are we as a people to do?

Everyone should think outside the box on this one, there just has to be some other solution.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Untangling the Telecom Act
More on the pending destruction of the free and open internet. No doubt so "they" can start more wars without any interference. See also my "Last Bastion of Freedom" essay.

Recession will be nasty and deep, economist says --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe..... maybe not. I have a lot of faith in the Federal Reserve's intentions to drop interest rates and keep pumping more money into the economy..... if foreigners continue to keep buying our bonds that is. Remember there's a good reason they call the Fed. Chairman “helicopter Bernanke”.

There is one caution however, the drop in housing prices will be significant for a very simple reason, the run-up in housing prices was both rapid and excessive.

Think about it this way, in many of the "hot" housing markets if prices dropped 20%, 30% or even 40%, many people would consider such a drop to be unlikely and extreme. But it wouldn't be, prices would only be dropping back to were they were just two or three years ago. And for those who bought their houses earlier then two or three years ago, the decline in prices wouldn't really matter as long as they hadn't spent their "potential" equity.

As for those who have spent their "potential" equity, purchased their houses recently, or used "creative mortgages", their situation will all depend on how quickly the housing market recovers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday August 23rd 2006

I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.

I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.

I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.

I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.

I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.

I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.

I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market.

In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues every month.

I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, has a Chevron oil tanker named after her.

I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by an U.S. President. I am the all-time U.S. and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.

My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History, Enron.

My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision. I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution. More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip-offs in history.

I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.

I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history. Oddly, Oil companies posted record profits at the same time. Hmmm

I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any President in U.S. history. I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States government.

Update - My entire understaff is currently under indictment or investigation for criminal fraud. I can assure ya however, the trail stops at Dick and Don's doorstep cuz I'm not even sure what indictment means.

Update - It's been proven that Dick and Don concocted and planted the story written by the New York Times that effectively took us to war. Course, I don't read newspapers so I don't even know what story everyone keeps talking bout.

I've broken more international treaties than any President has in U.S. history.

I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission. I also withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law.

I refused to allow inspectors access to U.S. "prisoners of war" detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.

I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election).

I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.

I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S. history.

I garnered the most sympathy for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.

I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.

I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, preemptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. Citizens, and the world community.

I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families -- in wartime, mind you.

In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq, and then blamed the lies on our British friends. I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.

I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD.

I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice.

"Bush, Cheney, Blair - and now Olmert - have demonstrated they have no grasp of military affairs"
But they sure do know how to spend this nation's blood and treasure don't they?

US extends credit line to Israel
Ditto.

Congress Poised to Unravel the Internet
Yep they're about to do it, destroy "The Last Bastion of Freedom". For money of course but mainly I think to silence all their critics. Hey you conservatives out there, what do you think is going to happen when the Democrats get control?

Bush Contemplates Rebirth of Dictatorship for Iraq
Heck....why should we be the only one's to suffer. Besides, they're used to it.

Was 9/11 an 'inside job'? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maybe people are beginning to realize the truth. Still there are a lot of theories out there.

My caution to everyone is the wealthy are very, very, clever - its how they got to be wealthy. They'll NEVER use direct methods. They use patsies, cut-outs, agent provocateurs, dupes, third, fourth, and fifth parties, the naïve, the gullible, the innocent and the criminal. Their power comes from their wealth but many do not approve of simple bribery, it's too.....vulger.

Their preferred methods of control are suggestion, insinuation, manipulation and of course all the gradations of lying - spinning, twisting, shaping, framing, omitting, etc. They always try to avoid taking direct action. (i.e. traceable transactions, orders, communications, all the activities which leave trails, tapes, witnesses and documents.)

If you ever get confused remember these cardinal rules

The “mass media” are there to distract you

        Always listen where there is silence and ignore what is deafening.
        Always look at what is not shown and ignore what is blinding.

Some examples

       They never talk about the oil - It's about the oil.
       They never talk about the Saudis - It's about the Saudis.
       They never talk about PNAC - it's about PNAC.
       They never talk about the money - it's about the money.

       They always talk about the court cases - it's not about the court cases.
       They always talk about the scandals and affairs - it's not about the scandals and affairs.
       They always talk about lurid and violent crime - it's not about lurid and violent crime.
       They always talk about terrorism - it's not about terrorism.

Never believe anyone who is wealthy.
Never believe anyone who represents the wealthy - politicians, the "mass media", lawyers, etc.
Always, always, always, follow the money.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Judge nixes warrantless surveillance ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it."

That makes two decisions against the Bush program, the Supreme Court’s affirmation of the Geneva Conventions, and this one.

Now poor Bushy will have to go get his cronies in congress to override BOTH decisions. Poor Bushy, you have to feel sorry for him, the man's work is never done. All he wants out of life is to spy on Americans, torture people, tear up the U.S. constitution, go on vacation all the time and be the perpetual "war president" even if his buddies have to "arrange"the wars for him.

What's wrong with that?

Who do you think you judges are? Interpreter’s of the law or something? Everyone knows there is no law anymore, no more constitution, just the "unitary executive principal". So give poor Bushy a break. C’mon would it really hurt if he's allowed to spy on all of us, torture thousands of people and kill hundreds of thousands of others?

America in Denial (formally Abysmally Stupid)
From the FRONT PAGE

Oliver Stone, 9/11, and the Big Lie
This is a great article, it lists all the polls which show just how stupendously mind-boggling stupid many Americans appear to be. I say "appear to be” because at some point one has to consider on a clinical level whether it's physically or psychologically possible for any group of human beings to be this moronically stupid.

At some point, such behavior becomes something much more horrible, more sinister, more sick, more implausible, demonstrating the shriveling of the American soul. It becomes a vile pretense, a pretend play of plausible deniability. We all become the dwellers in an apartment building in New York listening to the screams of Kitty Genovese as she is repeatedly stabbed for over half an hour while no one calls the police.

At some point it all becomes a charade, a game of hide and seek where a Faustian barging is struck. They promise to hide the truth from us and we promise not to find out what it is. Despite our best efforts however the truth leaks out and we realize we are the enablers of torture and murder, looking the other way while barbarous ugly things are done in our name.

And PLEASE, let's not pretend shall we ...I’m not talking about water boarding, or suspending people from the ceiling, or sleep deprivation, or sexual humiliation, or beatings. I'm talking about much, much worse.

And what about 9/11, the whole world now knows what actually happened, the Great Game, PNAC, the money, oil and power, the incestuous relationships between the Saudi Royals, bin Laden and Bush families. When Cain killed Able, his very own brother, he bore the mark of shame for the rest of his life. Those of you in this country who are pretending not to know be advised your act is no longer credible.

There comes a time when a person can no longer blame the "mass media" for their indifference, their deliberate blindness, their refusal to acknowledge the truth.

There comes a time when a person becomes a collaborator, a facilitator, a co-conspirator where "I didn't know" or “I had no idea" or “they didn't tell me" or "I didn't see what was going on" is no longer believable by any moral person.

At some point such behavior violates what “a reasonable person should know”. Laws based on this principle exist in many states and people have been prosecuted using them.

At some point you cross a line and there's no going back....ever