How We Got Here by Faith Carr
September 29, 2008
KEEP THIS IN YOUR MIND AS YOU READ ONWARD: This was ALL by design. It was ALL deliberate. ALL of it. The War (occupation) in Iraq, the private military contractors, Katrina Response. The price of oil, the loss of jobs, the declining health care network. The expensive health insurance, pharmaceuticals, Medicare Part B and heaven help us oldies Part D. “Shrink government until we can drown it in the bathtub” We been shrunk.
It’s all Thomas Wolfe’s fault. With one simple line in his book “Bonfire of the Vanities” and that same line delivered with evil glee by Michael Douglas in the movie of the same name. “Greed is Good”
First, some definitions within the context of this article.
US/WE: Noun. two or more people in a group described as (I’m not kidding here) USELESS EATERS. Also known by other names, peons, peasants, proles (see Orwell’s 1984), proletariat. Serf, esne (for you crossword puzzle folk)
THEY/THEM: Noun, The profit makes power, more power makes more profit people. Better known as the ruling class. Our Masters.
Oh, one more thing before I get started. Don’t get sick, don’t get laid off. REMEMBER to be afraid, of brown people, terrorists, plague, the weather, your food, your water, your air, strangers, your neighbors down the street., the weird, the different, the alien. And be afraid of whatever your Government tells you to be afraid of.
So, here goes…
Once upon a time as all good stories begin, we were told a fairy tale, and we were told we too could have a stake in a better life. We were told we could, now, thanks to the Neo-Cons, we could become members of the “Ownership” class. Even folks who knew better got caught up in the scam. It was supposed to be an American Dream wasn’t it? Wave that flag (made in China)
Watching on the TeeVee, we saw how easy it was to have the home of this dream. No Down Payment, No Problem. Bad Credit, No Problem. And those of us who already had homes (with EQUITY) resisted the siren song of “easy” money, but not for long… Oh those real estate ads. Such HAPPY people! Driving by all the NEW construction. VAULTED ceilings! Oh My Yesssss! Ever try to heat or cool a house with a vaulted ceiling? EEEEEespensive. I know of what I speak. I had an ATRIUM! Jeeza Lou, who in their right mind would WANT an atrium in FLORIDA?
Those of us who had modest dreams, worked hard, played by the rules, and lived our lives with real values were Snookerd, Scammed, Hoodwinked, Conned. We were told… “Well you could buy that little house, but your credit report says you can afford THIS house. Why settle for less, you work hard, you DESERVE it. Some, bit off way more than they could reasonably chew. And the lenders KNEW it. And they didn’t care, because they would pass off your mortgage, now know by the euphemism Bad Paper. And then “bundled” it with other Bad Paper, and then sold the Bad Paper to the Chinese, Europe, Japan, and to bigger, smarter, truly immoral, evil market manipulators, who KNEW they could hold the United States hostage with all this Bad Paper. Then they crushed our foolish American Dreaming. Give us money or we’ll bring down your entire economy.
And see, here’s the really sweet part, they tell the Dreamers “IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT” Stupid ignorant, greedy, foolish proles.
THIS WAS BY DESIGN: Put in motion 25 years ago with the busting of unions, and voodoo economics.
Then they really went to work on us. How many credit card offers did you get in your “Snail” mail? How many more in your e-mail inbox. Did you try to rent a car? Or cash a check without a credit card? So we, us, you, me… got one credit card with a small limit, just for “emergencies” . As the heroin dealers say, the first HIGH is always “free”. We got hooked.
On the TeeVee, they told us “Life Deserves Visa” - “Priceless: MasterCard“, You earned it, you can HAVE it, now, right NOW! See the shiny NEW stuff. It’s yours. You don’t even need money to have it. You’ve got PLASTIC. “American Express, don’t leave home without it!”
Oh Yeah, I almost forgot… You can have a loan on this big, ginormous, SUV, but, sorry ya can’t be financed for an economical used car. Clever, Sneaky Clever, Master.
THIS WAS DELIBERATE: to turn ordinary hard working Americans into frightened wage slaves.
THIS WAS BY DESIGN: This is the final takeover of America by the Corporations.
They told us, look how much your house it worth, “you’ve got equity!”. They told us we could use our equity to pay off all the pesky troublesome credit card debt (this is how they got me). Just think of the interest payments you’ll save. Consolidate your debt, make just one payment a month. Use the left over for a FAAAAboulous vacation. Buy that fishing boat. Why YOU are so SPECIAL we’ll loan you 125% of what our appraisers say your home it worth. Hoo Haa. Sing along with meeee… “We’re in the money, we’re in the money”…. By the way, DON’T lose your JOB.
Side note: this happened to me in 2000 (worked for a New York Times Newspaper), my husband in 2003(Worked for WebMD yes THAT WebMD please don’t use it for anything. Then again, just now from a high no stinkin’ (pun intended) new water filtration plant after all. Bitter? Me? Oh yeah, waaaay bitter… Don’t have any guns or gods for that matter, but you betcha I’m one bitter, nothing much left to lose, activist.Oh, let’s not miss this scam. No more pensions at your company (or employer loyalty). Now, lucky you, get to actually play in the stock market like the real Ownership Society Class. Wasn’t that 401K just so nifty. You put in a buck and after a year your employer put in a matching dollar. Hoo Boy, we’re on our way now, Honey. And after more years you became “Vested”. Still not sure what that really means but I know it didn’t have anything to do with sweaters with no sleeves. And it didn’t matter to many of us as we were “laid off”, “downsized”, “restructured”, shoved out the door by security and impoverished by unemployment checks. How much is YOUR 401K worth now? Do you even know?
THIS TOO WAS BY DESIGN: Shifting risk from the “Masters” to the “Marks” in the population..
What your employer forgot to tell you was exactly WHERE your company was investing your MONEY. Boy, those Enron Folk really got hosed (to put it in the vernacular) on that particular scam. Have you ever tried to figure out just where your 401K funds were invested? I tried over and over, and I’m pretty smart about this stuff. But I could NEVER figure out just what any of the hundreds of “MANAGED FUNDS” were invested in.THIS IS DELIBERATE
We were told that free trade meant we could have more stuff. We didn’t count on losing our jobs over it. Ever try to buy American exclusively? Try it. Go to any store and look, really look at the labels. Those little American flag pins they make Obama wear? Made in China baby. Full sized American flag for your front porch? Only ONE company in the US still makes them. And they are just about out of business. Except for our local Farmers Markets, and some handy dandy crafts folk. Everything is made elsewhere. Sam Walton must be spinning at what happened to his MADE IN THE USA slogan.
Why oh why, would they ever do this? Well, ya see, our pesky American Democracy got in the way of profit and power. The people had to be marginalized. We had to be poor, in deep debt, and ill. Each of these was a center of profit for large, powerful contributors to our political system. And as a handy and really quite elegant way of keeping us home. In front of our TV’s and computers, consuming ever more cheap Chinese stuff. The Master needed us sedated with processed food and who knows what environmental poisons. Keep us off the streets. Keep us from asserting our Constitutional Rights. Keep us from challenging the erosion of our Bill of Rights. Over 70% of our economy is CONSUMPTION. Not PRODUCTION.
What could they possibly gain? The same thing the James Bond Villains, Mr. Burns, Old Mr. Potter, and Dr. Evil wanted. Actually, it’s kinda creepy to see them all in a list, then look at what has already been accomplished by the Neo-Cons, PNAC, Heritage Foundation, Fox “News” Free Marketers’, Unfettered Capitalism. Mission Accomplished.
Dr. Julius No: Sabotage of U.S. Missiles Where did those missing nukes end up anyway?Goldfinger: Detonate an atomic bomb inside Fort Knox, irradiating the gold supply and increasing his own gold's value. Gold is heading north of $1000 per troy ounce, while YOUR scrap gold is only getting $15 per GRAM
Emilio Largo: Acquire nuclear weapons for extortion purposes. Fake WMD fear mongering. Worked pretty well up to now…Ernst Stavro Blofeld: Extort the world with viruses (bird flu?) that destroy crops and livestock (mad cow?), Create death-ray satellite capable of destroying targets anywhere on Earth. Can ya say “Star War Program”?
Francisco Scaramanga: Acquire the Solex Agitator, a vital component for a solar power plant. Just why is solar power so expensive?Viktor 'Renard' Zokas: Gain sole control of oil transit in the Caspian sea by destroying Istanbul. Ummm, this is JUST what Afghanistan, Georgia, Iraq, and Iran is ALLLLLL about. Look at the pipe lines, see where the SHUT OFF valves are. Gotta get control of the spigot. We now have 5 warships in the Persian Gulf, blockading shipping from Iran.
Dominic Greene: Stage a coup d'état in Latin America, to gain control of a piece of land rich in resources. Did ya know we moved a nuclear fleets off the coast of South America?I’m just sayin’, if our heads are in the sand guess where our heinies are.
If you’re not shocked yet, if you think I’m just a tin foil hat conspiracy nut, check THIS out:
Sep 24, 2008 Army Times
Washington - The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle, helping restore essential services and escorting supply convoys. Now they’re training for the same mission — with a twist — at home.They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.
Links you NEED to have, if you want to know and be prepared for what is coming next. Oh, try listening to Progressive Talk Radio HERE:
