The Money Tree

There once was a farmer called Mr. Corporation. The farmer planted trees, which he lovingly called The Consumers. Over the years he watered and nurtured them, and in return was rewarded with the fruits from the trees. This kept his family well fed and life was good. His wife, Mrs. CEO, would sometimes pick 30, 40 or sometimes even 50 bushels of fruit per year from each tree. He then met a man called Mr. Greedy Politician, who promised him the world on a silver platter, and more fruits than his family could eat. All he had to do was help Mr. Greedy Politician to squeeze the tree trunks with both their hands, which would make the trees bear more fruit than they normally would, by literally squeezing it out of them.

This sounded like a good idea at the time, so they started squeezing and they have been getting more fruits ever since — hundreds and hundreds of bushels more per year. Things were going so well that Mrs. CEO started buying everything she ever wanted to buy, not just what she needed, with the extra money from fruit sales. She attained so much status amongst her friends that she even changed her name to Mrs. Greedy CEO.

She and her new friends, Mrs. Criminal CFO, Mrs. Dishonest COO and the rest of the members from their exclusive, executive country club, were now able to spend as much as they had ever dreamed of, because their sleazy husbands were doing business together, reaping all the fruit the trees could produce. Of course, over a period of years the tree had been producing more fruit than a tree was capable of, and was now 10 times as worn down as it would have normally been. In fact, the other trees on other farms, which had not been subjected to such cruel punishment, had grown taller and stronger and were really flourishing.

Mr. Greedy Politician, and the farmer, Mr. Corporation, and his wife, Mrs. Greedy CEO, realized that the aging tree could not sustain them forever at this pace, and they hungered for more fruits, as there were more new things to buy with the profits. Mr. Corporation always hated paying taxes, so he and his country club friends told Mr. Greedy Politician to do something to pay them back for all their help in getting him elected; therefore, he gave them tax cuts, which kept him in good standing with them, and they allowed him to remain a member of their executive country club

They had seen in the past that other farmers who tried strangling their trees ended up killing those poor, unfortunate, insignificant trees, and they had no intention of easing up on their strangling of their own tree. So, what they did was team up with other farmers, to choke and pillage other trees on other farms around the country and globally as well. Can anyone save the trees? I’m sorry for the trees...
This is an excerpt from my book.

This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled “Shock and Awe on America” which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
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Exxon And Others To Pay Their Taxes...

It is quite annoying and indeed puzzling why the US Government has been powerless to stop the fleecing of the Taxpayers in this country, by rich Oil Companies who proudly declare massive profits, in the face of a recession that has caused record Foreclosures and Job Losses. One problem is the fact that these Large Companies...Oil and other types of Companies are now Multi National. They exist in the Clouds...in the Ether...in 1000 offices around the world, and no where in particular.


Their Money and Bank accounts are secret and wedged into little known banks in far off places many of us have never heard of. Some of these banks are actually owned by shell companies of the Multinational Companies so they can have many Bank Branches and Affiliated companies all over the world and thereby transfer funds from one place to another without having to legitimately pay dues to any one Country or entity.


In fact this "Banking Shell game" was how some Companies...one in particular, owned by Multi-billionaire steel magnate Fritz Thyssen,  hid money from the Nazis with the help of none other than...The Bushes. This is all laid out here...http://www.rense.com/general26/dutch.htm


So...Exxon Mobil and many others are due to start paying taxes...in Venezuela. The Wily Mr. Chavez apparently has the balls of steel needed to sock it to these Oil Companies who up until now, got away with large profits while paying minimal taxes to countries, including the US. Apparently Mr. Chavez has decided to charge a Windfall tax of 20% on  oil priced above $40 per barrel, the tax will raise to 80% on oil above $70 per barrel, between $90 and $100 the tax raises to 90% and above $100 the tax will be 95%.  Venezuelan Crude Oil reached $94 on Tuesday.


I guess Mr. Chavez has decided that if the US does not want or need the Taxes enough to collect it, he will...and use it to run His Country's social programs. Do you think the Oil Companies will not pay the Venezuelan Taxes? I suspect they will. Next question is, when we Subsidize the Oil Companies...Is that Socialism?

This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled “Shock and Awe on America” which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
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Single Payer...At Last !!

Yes a Single Payer bill has passed...in Vermont. This is exactly where I would expect this type of bill to pass, by real and concerned people who have the Balls to see the truth and not discount it.  People are hurting and this Single Payer system would greatly improve the conditions under which the Residents of this wonderful State live. This is after all, the turf of none other than Senator Bernie Sanders and Patrick Leahy you see.


The Bill passed on March 24th 2011, under the Leadership of Governor Peter Shumlin, who said while being interviewed on The Rachel Maddow Show on April 26th, that he was confident he will be able to meet the requirements needed to get the waivers promised by President Obama... waivers that would be given three years early, to those States who met  said requirements.


President Obama's Health Care law has a mandate to be followed. States need to have a waiver to institute any Health Care programs that do not follow the Mandate. President Obama has said that he is willing to support legislation that will allow these waivers to States who can find ways to expand health coverage to their Residents without driving up health care costs. States originally had to wait until 2017 before they could have obtained the waivers.


The Bill still has to move through the Senate, but all indications are that it will pass there as well. "
This startling and welcome statement was given through vtdigger.org... " BURLINGTON, Vt. – A local affiliate of a national physicians’ group says it has collected the names of more than 200 doctors from 39 states and the District of Columbia who say they would seriously consider moving to Vermont if it were to adopt a publicly financed, single-payer health care system. Many of the doctors are primary care physicians, who are in great demand in the state."


"Another 54 doctors-in-training, medical students, from around the country have said they’d also consider such a move, Dr. Peggy Carey said. She pointed to a regional medical student rally that happened on Saturday  March 26, at the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier as further evidence of health-professional support for a single-payer system. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Gov. Peter Shumlin were among the speakers."


This shows that Doctors are ready, willing and happy to have a Single Payer system to work with, which is exactly opposite to what the Right Wingers want you to believe. It is no secret that the Single payer option was shut out from the Health Care negotiations and was never considered. I fully expect other States to follow this fine example and get in line and offer Single Payer Health Care to their own Residents...maybe that is why President Obama did not press the issue, knowing he would be able to get around the issue with the offering of waivers.


This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled “Shock and Awe on America” which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
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True Republican Colors...

The new Alert system is going to be started today and there are serious concerns from various people that  it is a genuine problem for some. It is no secret that during the Bush era, there was a serious attempt by that Administration to find the best way to institute an Alert system that could be helpful to all. The problem arose when concerns were voiced in closed quarters that the Republican Base consisted of a large number of people who had difficulty in stringing words together in any coherent manner and were not interested in rectifying that as much as they were interested in suppressing good Teachers, Unions and Schools.


This led to many good ideas that were soon enough snuffed out and the Color Code was born. The general opinion was that since the Base was more adept to using coloring books...connect the numbers... snakes and ladders... connect the dots....lipstick on pigs...who's smarter than a fifth grader...er...sorry, drifted off there for a moment... ok, they were more adept to using coloring books than reading books, so the Color Code would be more universal in it's application to Danger...be it hyped or real. I remember seeing that "ALERT" word flashed on Fox from 2003 up to earlier this year...everyday without fail...  it is still on? ...oh...


It has been said that the Democrats now think that they are the smart kids in the room and have chosen to change the "Perfectly good and working" Color Code as some kind of smite to the Republican Base...it is being bandied about as yet another "Government Takeover" move... akin to the "Death Panels for seniors" cry from the Far Right during the Health Care Issue last year. It will take a lot of Lipstick for the Base to realize that they have been fooled again by the Republican Party, who are the real purveyors of "Death Panels" for Grandma via the Ryan Budget.


The Republican Base are now the ones most vehemently fighting the Republican Party's attempts to institute the Ryan Budget Proposals and many people in the Base are getting to see the Party's true colors...so to speak...when it comes to who is trying to dismantle Unions, Schools, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid...and generally make life miserable and too expensive for them to live. The videos of them in Town Hall meetings, standing up for their rights against those who tried to pull the wool over their eyes and voted for the Ryan Budget, are being shown all over the country and I am really happy to see that the Base is not allowing themselves to be fooled and taken advantage of any more. Kudos...

This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled "Shock and Awe on America" which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
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What...Republicans Hate Poor Kids Now?

Arizona’s now favorite News Maker, Republican Governor Jan Brewer is in yet another controversy with a new Law she signed. It is now apparent to many advocates that she is supporting the Conservative organizations like ‘The Family Research Council’, ‘Focus On The Family’  and many others around the country,  in an ongoing  'Vendetta’ against Gay Couples who want to adopt children. There are at least 130,000 of the 420,000 kids in foster homes who are available for adoption.  Many of them will be denied a loving Family…by the ‘Family Values’ crowd.


Many other states already have laws that in one way or another inhibit or restricts Gay couples from Adopting, this includes  Mississippi and Utah where Gay couples are prohibited from adopting.  North Dakota allows their agencies to prohibit or deny adoptions based on  Moral or Religious grounds, thereby denying the child the chance of having a better life, all to satisfy  in my opinion  their “Misguided” sense of logic.


In Jan Brewer’s case, her trick is to allow Married Couples to have the right to Adopt, while having restrictions on Gay Marriage in Arizona, thereby accomplishing the task of  effectively shutting the door on Gay couples.  While being interviewed of ‘Fox News’ on Sunday April 24th, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council cited some unknown Australian Study …I suspect by conservatives, which says that Kids are better off in a home with a Mother and a Father as opposed to a Gay couple.


Obviously  Advocates who are concerned with the Children’s best interests, are up in arms about this new attack on the innocent children and their prospects to getting into a loving and caring home and reaping the benefits it will bring, including a better education , a more stable and loving environment and a better chance at a more certain Future.


James Esseks, attorney with the ACLU specializing in LGBT issues,  maintains that  “This is a law based on  Stereotypes  and Cultural Assumptions  about Gay People being bad for kids. The reality is the Social Scientists  and the Psychologists who study this, say there is no basis for those Stereotypes at all. That Kids raised by Gay Couples do just as well on every measure of Child Adjustment that there is.”
This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled "Shock and Awe on America" which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
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Traitorous Republican Sabotage?

While listening to the morning talk show with Host Mark Riley on WWRL 1600 AM in New York on Tuesday April 19 2011, I was fortunate enough to catch the interview of a certain Ms Applebaum, an economist who made it clear in no uncertain terms that the Actions of the S&P on Monday April 19, which reduced the American Fiscal Outlook rating to "Negative" was in certain informed circles, being seen as a suspected clandestine attempt at political control of the Obama Administration. 


This view of suspected corrupt dealings by the S&P, is being bandied about because just the opposite is in fact the case, as voiced by some economists of well known outlets... the Economy is on the rise and the Recession/Near Depression caused by the Bush Years is subsiding, economic growth and the addition of Jobs are taking place as we speak.


This suspicious and mischievous "downgrading" comes fast on the heels of the President's speech in which he voiced his resistance, to succumb to the Republicans and Cloaked Fascists in the political Arena who all want to destabilize the middle class and privatize social programs including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It is well known that the Ryan Budget Proposal will have a real and negative affect in devastating the middle class, on whose backs the recovery is built and depends on. The hypocrisy...and no surprise... is that Paul Ryan is also a recipient of the same Social Security program he now wants to destroy.


It is no secret that since the Great Depression, Fascism has been on the rise in certain Wealthy circles, with the expressed intention of secretly taking over the US Government and using the Government's powers for their own purposes of self enrichment. An ideal that has in 2011 seen the advent of Washington being overrun with more than 11000 lobbyists entrusted with this task. This is a video of the Fascist's plot to replace F.D.R. 


It is also no secret that the Republican party has begun a National Campaign to stifle and sabotage the Economic Growth and recovery of the Country, their actions having the Ideological signature of the Old Fascist Secret order started in the Great Depression.  Ed Schultz gives his take on the subject.


The question now, is are they trying to circumvent the positive actions of the present Government by using the pressure tactics we see being displayed by the S&P, who are obviously in full understanding of what their downward rating would have done...evidenced by an immediate drop in the Financial Markets, which in turn throws much more panic and concern into the Financial Speculative Aura, upon which the Global Financial Markets thrive or die.

This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled "Shock and Awe on America" which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
Please feel free to join this blog, the Shock and Awe FaceBook page, and the Drinking Liberally New York City Facebook page.

Republicans Are Killers??

Usually there are two categories that people are jailed or charged for, one is the Attempted act and the other is the Act itself. For example, Attempted Murder if they are not successful and Murder, if  they are. Of course there are other stages,   Manslaughter...Voluntary and Involuntary... Conspiracy to Commit Murder and such. What matters is results. The Result of Stabbing a person determines which category one will end up in and hopefully be charged for, be it Attempted Murder or...Murder...you get the picture I trust...


Republicans are now and have regularly in the past advocated and in many cases instituted Draconian measures on Americans. The most recent proof of this is their Success in pressuring the Obama Government into agreeing to make drastic and hurtful cuts under the guise of Deficit Reduction. There are other ways to control our Deficit without these Draconian cuts. Judge them by their actions, not their words.


Many agree that the cuts being made against the poor are made by the Rich who will not be affected by these drastic cuts. The misinformed who support these Rich Republicans are doing themselves a great injustice, as their  families are the ones who will suffer. The Rich will not suffer and the cuts affect us all. These misinformed people listen to the lies fielded by the likes of  Rich Conservative commentators in the Media who are like Pied Pipers that lead the misinformed to slaughter...suicide...by falling for and following the Ideologies of the Rich whose only wish is to enslave the poor. 


The real fight is not between Republicans and Democrats but rather, between Rich and Poor...and the misinformed are fooled into thinking it is about Social Issues like Abortion (As if they know when a fertilized egg becomes a person), Freedom ( to starve or be advantaged by Corporations)... Marriage Rights ( Gays need not apply)... and foreign Birth Certificates...


The Results of these cuts will Kill people...plain and simple. People will be forced to do without Medical Care, Medicines, Food and things that are necessary for their survival in this harsh world. Children will have less access to Education, which will ensure that more of them will end up in Gangs, in Prisons ( feeding the Prison Industrial Complex)... or in a Grave. Women will have less access to life saving Services and many will die as a result... Is that Murder?? 


Subjecting these people to certain Suffering and Death as a result of these Draconian cuts is indeed Murder...Premeditated Murder. These Rich Republicans who can find other ways to fix Deficits and Choose to institute Draconian Cuts just for their own fancy...are Murderers. As a footnote, all who help and support these cuts are Accomplices...whoever they may be...


When The Republicans pretend to do something like reduce Deficit Reduction...which of course is a lie...in this case, they cut off America's nose with their clandestine attempt to stifle America's economic recovery... you must remember the Result of that action is the important thing to evaluate...Know Them By Their Actions...And The Results....The Results

This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled "Shock and Awe on America" which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
Please feel free to join this blog, the Shock and Awe FaceBook page, and the Drinking Liberally New York City Facebook page.

Why Should I vote?

This question goes to the heart of what has happened in the last election in November 2010 and what will happen in the Elections in 2012. The answer is simple...it is not about President Obama, The Democratic Party or What God wants... It is all about you. It is all about what you want and this is the way to get some of it.


Sure you may not like some of the things that have or have not happened since President Obama was Elected, but one thing is sure, it could have been a lot worse if his Opponents had won. Many have differing views why they should or should not vote and the results in the 2010 election brought on by those who did not vote is a stark reality of what happens when people do not vote.


Those who voted for the Republicans in 2010 got what they wanted...and the Draconian cuts coming down the pike is just a small sample of the Republican mindset. Instead of thinking of what the President has Not gotten done, I suggest you look at what he Has done for you...and your Family. 


Remember you voted for Obama not so he will be President, but for what he could do for you...It must always be about you, that is the best way to take care of your family...by voting for what you want for them... for them. If you do not vote in your own best interest, the Republicans will make more gains and make your life a living hell...more than it is now. Your kids will go through more hell...a hell brought on by Bush and the Republican Agenda. It is ok to see where the blame lies, no one will fault you for being intelligent. 


The Republicans are trying to Sabotage the Country and the President any way they can, you have to stop them with your vote. I can guarantee you that President Obama's 2nd term will be better for you and your family because he will not have a future Election to worry about and he will not have to bend over backwards to appease the Right...or his Corporate financiers.
Below is a discussion I came across which says it beautifully...


"Phil: you ask me how Obama's policies departed from Bush's? Really? 

Well, there's the repeal of DADT, there's keeping insurers from booting kids for pre-existing conditions: that's clearly not something Bush would have done. Increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act. Expanded Pell grants. Included sexual orientation under the hate crime laws. Created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (thanks to Elizabeth Warren). Cut prescription drug costs for medicare recipients in half. Extended Benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. I could go on, but your eyes are probably already glazed over.

Don't get me wrong - he's nowhere in the ball park of where I had expected (no less hoped) him to be. And the practices of Bush that he's held onto are appalling. I'm appalled, anyways.

But to say that there's no sunlight between him and Bush just seems to me like exactly the kind of resigned helplessness that I'd think that any self-respecting ruling class would want to instill in anyone motivated to change things. And that's why, despite the difficulties involved, I will continue to occupy the political process and attempt, however meagerly, to move things in a progressive direction. Because I just don't see any alternative. Giving up isn't one."


This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled "Shock and Awe on America" which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
Please feel free to join this blog, the Shock and Awe FaceBook page, and the Drinking Liberally New York City Facebook page.

If We Ignore The Radiation...Will It Go Away?

The answer is No! It will not go away...and it is getting worse...really Bad! How Bad? They are right now releasing more than 11,000 Tons of Radioactive water...that's upwards of 3 Million Gallons of Radioactive water...to make way for storage of even more Toxic water. A grave concern is the Advent of Unstable Chlorine38. Normally that is supposed to be Chlorine 35 or 37...38 is a real problem.


Unstable Chlorine 38 is the product of Stable Chlorine 37 absorbing another neutron. This is bad because it means the total shutdown of the Reactor has so far failed and there are still unwanted Chain reactions happening...uncontrolled reactions which could prove to be a real problem...Arjun Makhijani is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (www.ieer.org). He reports this to  The Asia-Pacific Journal.


It has also been found out that there is a leak from one of the Reactors that is seeping around the Plant and it would be going directly into the sea as well, this is cause for concern because this is uncontrolled and that is always the worst case. It is still better to know what you are dumping into the Ocean, in what quantities and concentration and it is always preferred to be able to have control of the thing.


Paul Gunter, author of "Beyond Nuclear" was a guest on The Thom Hartmann Radio Program today, April 4th 2011, where he made a grave comment. He said we can no longer be "Nationalists" when it comes to concern about America and the Fallout from the Japanese Disaster because when the Radioactive Particles enter the Sea it is absorbed by the Algae, which is in turn eaten by little fish, which are in turn eaten by Larger Fish and other Creatures. In other words it has entered The Biosphere. As Joe said...This is a Big Fucking Deal!!


This is how the Radioactive Particles enter our food chain...The Biosphere... and it eventually ends up on your dinner plate...everywhere the Seafood swims and everywhere it is eaten. So it is now being blown as dust in the wind to different parts of the Globe where it contaminates the Crops we eat and the infected grass is eaten by our livestock, and passed on to us through their meats and milk...and it is being swept by the Ocean currents to many other places where it is eaten by animals and then us...This is really bad...and just the beginning...


KTVN in Reno, had this to say about the Water Dumping.


Here is video of how the Jet Stream distributes the Radiation to the US and surrounding Countries... Please watch the video on full screen for best viewing, the volume is also very soft...no problem. You can get an idea of Radiation effects on Humans here. 


This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled "Shock and Awe on America" which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
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Pastor Burns A Koran, These Idiots Don't Learn...

Florida Pastor Terry Jones is an idiot, I am sure many more will agree with this statement than will disagree. This fake Pastor recently burned a copy of the Koran, an act which started a shitload of retaliation. So far a UN compound has been attacked and seven UN employees Killed, other connected retaliations have killed and injured many more. 


Pastor Crazy first threatened to burn a Koran in September but after being wooed and getting his 15 minutes of fame, he decided to postpone his idiotic idea until March 20th, when he carried out the foolish act. There is no question that he has started another chapter in the wars we face around the world. Our Troops will undoubtedly face even more opposition than before because of this act.


It is no secret that the Right Wing Republican/Conservative/Tea Party/ Birther folks are on a rampage and trying to wipe out the Muslim population in America. It seems like the Crusades are happening all over again. John Lennon asked that we Imagine a world without Religion and the Craziness that ensues when one Religious group tries to impose their rules on another. I think the world will be a better and more peaceful place without all these religions...but then again, they will just find something else to hate each other for. I am sure this is not finished yet, and we can expect to see more retaliation in the future. The Washington Post has the full story.


This article was written by the Author of the newly released book titled "Shock and Awe on America" which can be bought in print or for Kindle at Amazon.com
Or can be read in part or downloaded in different E-book formats at Smashwords.com
Please feel free to join this blog, the Shock and Awe FaceBook page, and the Drinking Liberally New York City Facebook page.