"The real truth of the matter is that a financial element in the large centers has owned the US government since the days of Andrew Jackson," ~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1933

"It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning." ~ Henry Ford

"In the next century, nations as we know it will be obsolete; all States will recognize a single, global authority. National sovereignty wasn't such a great idea after all." ~ Strobe Talbott, Clinton's deputy secretary of state, as quoted in Time magazine, July 20th, 1992.

"We shall have world government whether or not you like it, by conquest or consent. " ~  Statement by Council on Foreign Relations member James Warburg to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 17th 1950

"The real rulers in Washington are invisible, and exercise power from behind the scenes." ~ Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, 1952

"Today the path of total dictatorship in the United States can be laid by strictly legal means, unseen and unheard by the Congress, the president, or the people. Outwardly we have a constitutional government. We have operating within our government and political system, another body representing another form of government - a bureaucratic elite." ~ Senator William Jenner, 1954

"Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one world, if you will. If that is the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it." ~ David Rockefeller (CFR founder), page 405 of his 2002 book 'Memoirs'.

"We are grateful to the Washinton Post, the New York Times, Time magazine, and other publications, whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develope our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity. But the world is now more sophisticated and is prepared to march toward a world government..." ~ David Rockefeller, 1991

A history of media disinformation, propoganda, manipulation and "advocacy journalism":

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bbnxsPgcsH0

by Michael McCoy (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 487 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 3:36:59 AM

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The link died, I have no idea why.  Several alternatives:

Noam Chomsky on Media Control click here

Noam Chomsky on US un-democracy click here

by Michael McCoy (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 487 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 3:59:01 AM

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The link died because you placed it at the end of the sentence and the close paragraph tag </p> became attached to it.  This is an HTML issue and not a Big Brother issue.

by Tom Murphy (3 articles, 5 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 2103 comments [55 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 3:07:28 PM

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No mention of 'big brother' - regarding the link.

by Michael McCoy (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 487 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 3:11:02 PM

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A compelling, current expose' of US media stategies in the US.  Bill Moyers reports:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQbXXSOQWNY

A very informative overview of the influences on the US media by government agencies in the pursuit of "advocacy journalism", through sworn expert testimony in a court of law:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=bbnxsPgcsH0

by Michael McCoy (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 487 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:19:25 AM

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Yes, but more and more people are awakening.  I think (I hope) we will see, over the next few years, more and more people opting out of consumerism, opting out of health care and the traditional medical model, opting out of economy, opting out of the educational system, and these people will form small pockets and networks which will start building small alternative  communities.  I think this is the only way.

by Sasha Viasasha (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 9:21:29 AM

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The democrat V.S. republican shell game is as Michael so eleqently stated just an illusion to give the voters the perception of choice. If that were'nt bad enough the elections are rigged. The power-elite (The central bankers) are the puppet masters who control the world economy with this fiat currency and start wars to supply the military-industrial complex. The only way out is to demolish the Federal Reserve!

by ronheri (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 256 comments [45 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 9:32:52 AM

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Well put Michael.  It's sickening to watch everyone caught up in the left/right paradigm when it's so obvious they are being manipulated by the powers that be and their minions in the msm.  Once you wake up to the fact that you have no real choice, that your vote isn't counted and that yes, there is a man behind the curtain making sure things run according to the elites plan, you can see it all so clearly.  It's just so hard to convince others to give up the arguing over which candidate is best and realize they are both one and the same.

by jersey girl (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1201 comments [734 recommended, 12 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 9:40:25 AM

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Jersey Girl. It does seem very real, that more and more people are recognizing the hidden mechanisms that dictate virtually every aspect of our lives.

The concept of a representative government here in America is, indeed, a grand farce with immense and far reaching consequences.

And the infection is deeply intertwined within the political, banking/monetary, military and media systems - the true levers of power. This is no accident. In these matters, there are no accidents, ever.

Speak of these matters often to others - the myriad, carefully manufactured illusions that surround us as citizens. Growth of public awareness seems to be the reasonable, responsible course. And with the breadth, scope and determination of the infection, a quick fix is not likely.

Let me leave you with a quote that is memorable, remarkably telling and goes to the heart of the matter, whether you hold the speaker in esteem or not:

"... the United States Senate is Israeli occupied territory..."  ~  Pat Buchannon, Fox News Political Analyist.

by Michael McCoy (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 487 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 at 4:06:36 AM

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The best way to control people is not with a gun and prison, thought that is always held in reserve, it is getting them to believe the way you look at the world and agree with their interpretation of it and how they respond to that point of view. What Chomsky calls manufactured consent. It could only happen if enough people have the information they are given by the power structure in order to come to the same conclusions expected from the data as given. A closed loop of information, a tautology created to come to a preordained consensus. It takes an extraordinary need for more information, a discerning mind, questioning constantly and analyzing the data to come to our own conclusions, not the one expected. So far we tend to be in the minority of those even interested in the world around us much less being skeptical of the corporate status quo.

by nightgaunt (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 448 comments [27 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 12:10:49 PM

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I'm curious.  Mr. McCoy et al. have no problem condemning the current election system.  In fact, the election has already been stolen and is essentially over.  So, you have no faith in what exists today.  Great!

Other than complaining about it here at OpEdNews.com and perhaps elsewhere, have any of you actually ran for and/or held a public office - local, state, or Federal - that had the ability to deal with this issue directly?  It's all well and fine that you want to point out the errors, but what have you done to promote a legitimate and workable solution?  If voting isn't enough, then I presume you've acted in other ways?

Personally, I think the article highlights the dilemma of many progressives today.  Progressive are most comfortable pointing out the "wrongs" because such action places blame elsewhere and away from them.  But when it comes to a worakable... reasonable... most likely solution, progressives insist that only their proposals will work with equanimity.  And yet, this is the very antithesis of compromise.  If the Democrats have it wrong, and the Republicans have it wrong, then who can claim that the Progressives have it right?

If you insist on dwelling in the problem and not the solution, don't expect happiness to come to you too readily.

by Tom Murphy (3 articles, 5 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 2103 comments [55 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 3:23:27 PM

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General Murphy as usual brings his negative slant to those who sttempt to express their views. I have been supporting Ron Paul with hundreds of dollars and hours of time with a local meetup group. I have been a member of a 911 truth group; spreading the word of 911 being an inside job...what has the troll  Murphy done?

by ronheri (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 256 comments [45 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 4:25:01 PM

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"General Murphy as usual brings his negative slant to those who sttempt (sic) to express their views."

There is nothing negative about the comment. It's a personal observation – an opinion, if you like. You (like I), ronheri, are more than welcome to express your views on any article, link, diary entry, poll, etc...

"I have been supporting Ron Paul with hundreds of dollars and hours of time with a local meetup group. I have been a member of a 911 truth group; spreading the word of 911 being an inside job..."

Ah... so you have let others speak for you – not unlike your state and Federal representatives? How very kind of you, but if you want the change you seem to desire, I recommend YOU get in the trenches and represent the masses. You'll find that your idealism will need to be sacrificed on the altar of compromise and workable solutions.

"...[W]hat has the troll Murphy done?"

Come now, ronheri. This is such a child-like response, "I double dog dare you!" I'm not alleging that the machine is broken – dented perhaps but not broken.

by Tom Murphy (3 articles, 5 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 2103 comments [55 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 at 10:11:25 AM

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Interesting, in your opening paragraph, that you're curious, yet pose no question - and go on to seemingly answer it. And my "lack of faith of what exists today" is anything but great - yet is on solid footing.

Faith in immense, corrupted ruses of mass manipulation just doesn't make much sense.

Pigeonholing me as a progressive, simply because of my realistic assessment of the insidiousness of the staus quo is, well, simplistic and presumptuous. If labeling me is important, I'd likely be more accurately decsribed as 'none of the above'. I think of myself as a taxpaying American citizen and co-owner of this country - and I obviously disdain a system of mass control through deceit and treachery cleverly disguised as elections.

As far as placing the blame away from myself, I can, with utter certainty, say that I have not been involved in any conspiracy to hoodwink others through eleborate, cyclical subversions of due process in order to gain their obedience, ever. The cabals of which I repeatedly refer, act far from my perview - or yours. Power certainly corrupts, but likely maore accurate - and more relevant, is that power attracts the corruptable.

I have involved myself in numerous local and State level campaigns, where the tenticles of corruption are less pronounced, yet the power of such special interest groups as AIPAC for instance, makes it's appearance, eventually. Support of a candidate that doesn't demonstrate clear allegiance to Israeli policys, agendas and actions is absurd. Try it sometime, Mr Murphy.

Attempt any deviation from the pre-determined game-plan that has been formulated by the masters. Buck the staus quo. Be a maverick.

Please point out a single US Representative or Senator that will speak out against the privately owned, self-serving central banking system scourge that was hoaxed upon the American people in 1913. (You can't possibly believe that the current US financial disaster was either an accident or unforeseen), can you?

Quote a single US president or politician, while in office, that spoke against the shadow government, the CIA's actions for fifty years on the world stage and domestically, the co conspirators throughout the media or the commanding presence of the US military industry.

Our self-appointed masters have not left the levers of genuine power unattended, Mr Murphy.

I don't claim to know who "has it right". But I do know when an immense, perverted, Alice in Wonderland hoax has been carefully engrained into American mythology - a system of control methodically designed by those with ulterior motives. Motives and agendas that are outside the concerns and benefit, and often to the very detriment of the rightful owners of this country - We, the People - through which government osensibly derives it's legitimacy. Pretty words, eh?

I dwell on few things and my happiness quotient is quite good, thank you - and not by accident. I recognize my abilities and contribute in ways I deem most realistic - even if it is just "complaining about it here on OpEdNews or perhaps elsewhere".

On such fundamental matters of breadth and scope, awareness is the reasonable, realistic and workable avenue of my choice. Freedom isn't free, it requires work. Might I assume that you are pleased with the fairy tale in which you live? What have you been doing Mr Murphy?

by Michael McCoy (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 487 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 5:39:18 PM

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"Interesting, in your opening paragraph, that you're curious, yet pose no question - and go on to seemingly answer it. And my 'lack of faith of what exists today' is anything but great - yet is on solid footing."

Curiosity does not require (a) question(s) but usually involves a process of thought. No great faith and yet what you do have rests on solid footing. Spoken like someone in denial. But okay, let's accept your claim here.

"Faith in immense, corrupted ruses of mass manipulation just doesn't make much sense."

You have presumed this as a priori and have not presented a compelling argument that such exists. No doubt, you have your beliefs that result in this opinion, but if anything, this sounds as though you have faith that there is(are) nefarious entity(ies) stripping you of your liberty and rights as we type. I'm not willing to accept this based upon your faith alone, and I have not seen any compelling evidence that has swayed me to adopt similar beliefs to yours.

"Pigeonholing me as a progressive, simply because of my realistic assessment of the insidiousness of the staus (sic) quo is, well, simplistic and presumptuous. If labeling me is important, I'd likely be more accurately decsribed (sic) as 'none of the above'. I think of myself as a taxpaying American citizen and co-owner of this country - and I obviously disdain a system of mass control through deceit and treachery cleverly disguised as elections."

In other words – a Progressive with, perhaps, a dash of Libertarian. And it's more than a label; it's a supporting belief structure that aids your thought process that results in conclusions (or opinions) – not unlike those in the article.

"As far as placing the blame away from myself, I can, with utter certainty, say that I have not been involved in any conspiracy to hoodwink others through elaborate (sic), cyclical subversions of due process in order to gain their obedience, ever."

You are an American citizen. You are responsible for your voting decisions (including your decisions not to vote) just as those you voted for are accountable for their actions.  And for your decisions YOU are responsible. Conveniently blaming (or crediting) others for this or that is a direct abdicating of that responsibility. If you don't believe this axiom, I suggest you read up on the American citizenship - http://www.apsanet.org/imgtest/AmericanCitizenship.pdf . Your assertion here, then, is immaterial, although and admittedly it might make you "feel" better about yourself.

"I have involved myself in numerous local and State level campaigns, where the tenticles (sic) of corruption are less pronounced... Attempt any deviation from the pre-determined game-plan that has been formulated by the masters. Buck the staus (sic) quo. Be a maverick."

Have you ever personally run for or held a public office? That's where you're being a "maverick" would have the most impact, no? And yet, it seems as though you have been content to point out the wrongs, find someone who kinda, sorta thinks like you (who I'm certain is on the left end of the political spectrum), and then support them. Well, there's a neat solution to your concern of election hijacking... not.

"Please point out a single US Representative or Senator that will speak out against the privately owned, self-serving central banking system scourge that was hoaxed upon the American people in 1913."

Once again, the infamous Federal Reserve Act is used as the smoking gun. Whether a senator or representative agrees with the Act or not is immaterial. The Act was voted on, passed, and signed into law quite some time ago. Get over it and stop pointing to "it" as the demise of America. It's been almost 100 years since its inception and we're still here. If anything – and were I to accept your claims, that cabal works very, very, very slow. So slow that I'm a bit lost as to what the first GENERATIONS (not weeks, months or years) of the cabal gained from its creation.

If you recall, the First Bank of the United States was established as a private company and resembled the existing Federal Reserve Bank in many ways - click here . Aside from a part ownership interest in the First Bank, the institution was very much not a part of the government, with good reason. I suppose, though, that you could assert that the cabal has existed since Alexander Hamilton and George Washington circa 1791, huh?

The Fed is an independent agency – similar to other agencies (e.g., EPA, GSA, NASA, NTSB, and USPS) - click here . As such, the Fed is authorized by Congress to do what it does - click here .

"(You can't possibly believe that the current US financial disaster was either an accident or unforeseen), can you?"

I believe this was foreseen but certainly not with the currently observed magnitude, which is based largely on people's perceptions – negative people, negative results... positive people,... A number of variables came together to create this result (e.g., rising energy costs, falling dollar value, adjustable rate increases, real estate devaluation, etc...). Separately, the variables could be absorbed by the markets and financial system, but together... we witness the see-saw going on today, along with the taxpayer bailout (which I have disagreed with from the start).

But... do I think the crisis was manufactured? No. Greed appears to be the biggest cause here with lending institutions enjoying double digit profit for mortgage selling/repackaging/investing over multiple and consecutive years running - until the bubble burst. Well, because of the avarice of the larger investment banks, all banks will be regulated more so, which means efficiency impacts, lending restrictions, credit crunches, and additional fees for services to cover the bailout's cost. But his too shall pass... given time.

"Quote a single US president or politician, while in office, that spoke against the shadow government, the CIA's actions for fifty years on the world stage and domestically, the co conspirators throughout the media or the commanding presence of the US military industry. "

Right... not a single public official has spoken out against the CIA tactics and methods... not one:

1. click here .
2. http://hnn.us/articles/380.html .
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/02/politics/02intel.html .
4. click here .
5. click here .

Where have you been for the past several decades... under a rock?

"I don't claim to know who 'has it right'. But I do know when an immense, perverted, Alice in Wonderland hoax has been carefully engrained into American mythology - a system of control methodically designed by those with ulterior motives."

Great, nice speech, put it to patriot music and you have a killer campaign ad, and yet HOW do you know?

"I dwell on few things and my happiness quotient is quite good, thank you - and not by accident. I recognize my abilities and contribute in ways I deem most realistic - even if it is just 'complaining about it here on OpEdNews or perhaps elsewhere'."

Where you complain... often – http://www.opednews.com/author/author11293.html , I find it difficult to believe that your "happiness quotient" (whatever THAT is) can be good. Research has shown that negative people (e.g., complainers) are unhappy people – click here and click here . I suggest you take the Happiness Quiz to verify your happiness quotient - http://www.elainesden.org/subpage4.html .

"Might I assume that you are pleased with the fairy tale in which you live? What have you been doing Mr Murphy?"

"Pleased" is such a vague word. Of course, some things could be better but a whole lot of things could be much worse. As to what I've been doing... I'm not the one alleging the wagon is broken beyond repair – you folks are.

by Tom Murphy (3 articles, 5 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 2103 comments [55 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 at 10:23:26 AM

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First, Mr Murphy, as much as it seems necessary for you to do so, referring to me as a "you folks" is truly inaccurate. I hold a membership to no clubs here on OpEdNews. I speak for myself and no others, no groups, no parties, no think tanks. I have no advertisers to accomodate and no homogenized, group philosophy to kneel before.

Now, regarding the "Happiness Quotient", according to Stacey Colino of BNET: "What elements do make a difference? Surprisingly simple, internal factors such as having healthy self-esteem, a sense of optimism and hope, gratifying relationships and meaning and purpose in your life have the most influence, according to recent studies on what researchers call "subjective well-being.""

The Happiness Quotient:

http://hqhqblog.com/

That having been said, while I no longer frolic in the lillies as in my youth, I have discovered my particular variety of niches along my life's journey, and am quite content and fulfilled - thank you. While the spontaneous laughter of a child remains a genuine joy to my spirit, I freely admit that digging out a scoundrel and exposing him to the bright light is, indeed, a rewarding experience.

I'm just that kind of fellow.

We are of different mindsets, indeed, Mr Murphy. In my variety of interests, even passions, I value above all things, simple truth, regardless of it's smell. Truth that requires no legal protections - no offical secrecy statutes - those special truths hidden by obfuscations. You know, the really big, smelly truths. The ones that infect through manipulation and subversion. I want to talk to those with the secrets. Therein, the why becomes self evident. I enjoy the occasional, fanciful myth as much as the next guy, but when genuinely secretive, self-serving, treacherous cabals seek control and manipulation of immense populations, I tend to pay attention.

I plead guilty to being caught in the seemingly old fashioned notion that the true will of the people - the electorial college notwithstading - should be accurately assessed, determined and carried out. It's a due process thing, pardon me for being such a stickler.

You seem inordinately determined to disprove my assertions, and that's a bit curious in itself, considering your seeming disdain for someone opining within the OPEdNews venue. You know, those generally non-professional writers that engage in wide varieties of discourse, sometimes meaningful.

Now, regarding my priori and the nefarious entities of which you reference - I must assume you have a working knowledge of the vote manipulation, illegitimate disqualifications and disenfranchisement that took place on an immense scale in Florida in 2000.

Sidestepping this critical example or muddying the practical results will get us nowhere, very quickly. This is but one, yet prime example that speaks directly to the substance of my article.

I must further assume that you supported Bush, the 'victor/selectee' in the Florida fiasco, (possibly still do), for had the situation been reversed, (i.e. Gore and minions been the organization that more effectively perverted the vote, and/or had the US Supreme Court been staffed by one less republican), would you remain as seemingly oblivious to, (or in denial of), a conspiracy and fraud to blatantly subvert the process by which the person that occupies and executes the duties of the most powerful government postion in the land, and on the planet, is decided?

Then, would you surmise that the continued, well planned and re-documented perversion of the system when it repeated in Ohio in 2004, count as the same conspiracy - or is it separate? And if this isn't a conspiracy in the classic sense through your reasoning, what - pray tell - would be?

To be clear, if large, well organized groups of people with a common agenda to commit a clearly illegal act in concert isn't a conspiracy and the epitome of corruption, what would be, in your opinion? When this elaborate ruse is verified yet suppressed by mainstream media in the months and years that follow, is that to be described as 'old news' or an additional element of the conspiracy?

When solid proof of both is established, and key officials within the judiciary simply do not act, thereby demonstrating clear dereliction of duty, could it be blamed on a law enforcement system with "higher priorities", or with more "pressing matters" at hand?

These are stakes of the highest order - regarding the highest, most powerful office on the planet - dictating events on the world stage, in addition to the agendas/priorities on the domestic front that directly affect the lives of 300 million American citizens.

You remember. The body of persons from whom the institutions of government ostensibly derive their legitimacy?

Now, for a parallel of significance. Considering the plethra of evidence on countless fronts proving the intricate manufacture and subversion of 'evidence' to support the cause for the invasion of Iraq, just what would a collection of underhanded, top-level neocons need to do to shake your seemingly undying faith in your government institutions? Remarkable that you can seemingly dismiss the travesty of industrialized murder of six years of US military occupation of Iraq as a 'mistake' in a system that might need a few tweaks.

With 4,178 US military lives lost, it seems that those with a military background would be the most sensitive to the unwashed reality of the impetus. And undoubtedly, 100,000 Iraqi civilian deaths sure does sound better than the widely accepted 600,000 number. But, of course, these are just humans with dark skin, speaking a strange language and none were our aunts, our sons or our sisters.

"Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervour - with the cry of grave national emergency. Always, there has been some terrible evil at home, or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it." ~ General Douglas MacArthur

Is it possible that you are actually unaware of the criminal/underhanded Zionist/Masonic manifest destiny that is at the heart of the United States institutional/political hierarchy? Or is that yet another kook conspiracy?

Once again, sidestepping yet another key element of the forces that shape our everyday lives would be tantamount to a discussion of remarkable banality - and just plain silly.

How do I know? My goodness, Mr Murphy. How is it that you could not know? Regarding the respective rocks under which we lurk, are you digging around, at least sometimes, or are you enjoying the darkness - the silence - and the bliss? I am absolutely certain that you have a good working knowledge of the written word and equally sure that you have access to the internet. It requires connecting the dots, a meaningful search for empirical evidence, cross referencing and validating information, equating events to motives and motives to individuals and groups of common agenda - always carefully disguised. (Conspirators are seldom known to announce their intentions - or their accomplishments.) It takes a sensible grasp of esoteric, hidden realities not found in carefully sanitized history books - like the ones approved for American public schools.

Dig into the realities of the Balfour Document or the Monroe Doctrine. The Creature From Jekyll Island. The Pentagon Papers. The King David Hotel bombing. The chief struggle throughout the two terms of Andrew Jackson that led to a failed assassination attempt.

The Political Deception Handout:

click here

Speaking of the Creature from Jekyll Island, the federal reserve and it's inception, can you possibly be unaware of the conspiracy between Wilson, Warburg and members of the international banking cartel to hoax this beast upon an unsuspecting America - in the dark of night, in secrecy, on Christmas eve - when the US congress proper was away?

click here

And yes, powerful cabals have, indeed, lurked in wait to do just that since the days of Alexander Hamilton and George Washington circa 1791.

"History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and it's issuance." ~ James Madison

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power, (of money), should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs." ~ Thomas Jefferson

I am forced to assume that because "we are still here" your grasp of the practical results of fiat currency, the creation of money with attached debt and unregulated control of the US economy is less than stellar. The shear wealth derived from this privately owned system, by around twelve banking families, is profound.

"We have, in this country, one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board. This evil institution has impoverished the people of the United States and has practically bankfrupted our government. It has done this through the corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it." ~ Congressman Louis T McFadden

"The real truth of the matter is that a financial element in the large centers has owned the US government since the days of Andrew Jackson," ~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1933

"... instead of peace and debt-free prosperity, we have ever-mounting debt and periodic wars. We as a people are now ruled by a system of Banker-owned Mammon that has usurped the mantle of government, disguised itself as our legitimate government, and set about to pauperize and control our people. It is now a centralized, all-powerful political apparatus whose main purposes are promoting war, spending the peoples' money, and propagandizing to perpetuate itself in power. Our two large political parties have become its servants. the various departments of government its spending agencies, and the Internal Revenue its collection agency." ~ Sheldon Emry, The Real Story of the Money Control Over America

http://www.afn.org/~govern/pa10005.html

I can't imagine engaging in any meaningful discussion of historic events anywhere in the world, especially those taking place in the last century, without the critical and hidden motives that define the agenda.

"There is no nonsense so arrant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action.": Bertrand Russell

Manufacturing consent has been a growth industry throughout history, piety and dogma are not exclusive to matters of religion.

Regarding the CIA "investigations" into failed intelligence, recent congressional hearings were nothing more than a necessary sideshow - for public consumption. I referred to CIA involvement in the overthrow of democratically elected governments in places such as Iran, Chile, Greece and Italy, the instigation of war in Vietnam, the mass murder of "undesireable citizens" in such countries as El Salvador, Guatemala, Equador and East Timor. CIA created assets such as Manuel Noriega, Saddam Hussein, the Shah of Iran and Osama bin Laden.

Any of these CIA assets ring a bell regarding US overseas intrigues?

Surely, you are aware that Richard Nixon is among the collection of people - in fact, in the top ten, that have commited genocide in human history according to Amnesty International? How many Americans, would you estimate, are even vaguely aware of this startling biproduct of the Vietnam "Intervention"?

From The People's Voice: "U.S. B-52s pounded Cambodia for 160 consecutive days [in 1973], dropping more than 240,000 short tons of bombs on rice fields, water buffalo, villages (particularly along the Mekong River) and on such troop positions as the guerrillas might maintain," a tonnage that "represents 50 percent more than the conventional explosives dropped on Japan during World War II". This "constant indiscriminate bombing" was of course carried out against a peasant society with no airforce or ground defenses. The Finnish government study estimates that 600,000 people died in this first phase, with 2 million refugees produced. Michael Vickerey estimated 500,000 killed in phase one."

A journey through genocide, John Pilger, The Guardian:

When Presidents lie, and the consequences:

click here

And before I forget, regarding your disdain for the pesky "complainer class" that seemingly clogs up otherwise useful space here at OpEdNews, how would you pigeonhole the folks in the civil rights movement? Or those that were involved in the suffragette movement? The Vietnam war protesters? Indeed, the framing fathers in their dissatisfaction with the relationship with King George III? All misguided complainers?

Positive change always percolates upward - negative change is always forced downward.

One must surmise, Mr Murphy, from your apparent mindset that government, by it's very nature, is benevolent, open and well meaning. That conspiracies are relegated to the fringe obsession crowd and are best reserved for movie or novel plots.

What this philosophy completely ignores, is the nature of corruptable humans that are drawn to positions of immense power, (they always are), and the visions and agendas of those that influence them, (they always do), in addition to a history that is littered with stunning examples, (and it is). Governments don't do bad things, key persons that use government power and secrecy do.

Your obvious trust in institutional/governmental integrity, Mr Murphy, is admirable, I suppose. But based on a voluminous history of deceit and treachery of those with great power, especially with myriad, disasterous consequences usually involving theft of money, property, land and murder - all of unimaginable breadth and scope , I'll take a pass on sharing your faith in such matters.

Let's discuss religion next, shall we?

by Michael McCoy (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 487 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Friday, Oct 17, 2008 at 8:25:07 AM

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Acorn signed up Mickey Mouse,  I'm sure he makes over 250K so he can help bail America out of the Financial Debt, Fannie Hill and Freddie Mac started.  Another great idea by the Democratic Party.  Now who were we talking about stealing election votes?  How many cigarettes did it take to talk Mickey into signing..   Watch for the Amero Dollar  after Obama gets in office

by don bybee (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 206 comments) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 5:38:48 PM

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You hit the nail on the proverbial head. The two candidates are the last two I would have considered. Here is congressman Mcfadden´s take back in 1934 of the "system", here is the link to read all 24 pages if You dare:

http://home.hiwaay.net/%7ebecraft/mcfadden.html

World Enslavement Planned

"Mr. Chairman, when the Fed was passed, the people of these United States did not perceive that a world system was being set up here which would make the savings of the American school teacher available to a narcotic-drug vendor in Acapulco. They did not perceive that these United States was to be lowered to the position of a coolie country which has nothing but raw material and heart, that Russia was destined to supply the man power and that this country was to supply the financial power to an "international superstate". A superstate controlled by international bankers, and international industrialists acting together to enslave the world for their own pleasure?

"The people of these United States are being greatly wronged. They have been driven from their employments. They have been dispossessed from their homes. They have been evicted from their rented quarters. They have lost their children. They have been left to suffer and die for lack of shelter, food, clothing and medicine.

"The wealth of these United States and the working capital have been taken away from them and has either been locked in the vaults of certain banks and the great corporations or exported to foreign countries for the benefit of the foreign customers of these banks and corporations. So far as the people of the United States are concerned, the cupboard is bare.

"It is true that the warehouses and coal yards and grain elevators are full, but these are padlocked, and the great banks and corporations hold the keys.

"The sack of these United States by the Fed is the greatest crime in history.

"Mr. Chairman, a serious situation confronts the House of Representatives today. We are trustees of the people and the rights of the people are being taken away from them. Through the Fed the people are losing the rights guaranteed to them by the Constitution. Their property has been taken from them without due process of law. Mr. Chairman, common decency requires us to examine the public accounts of the Government and see what crimes against the public welfare have been committed.

"What is needed here is a return to the Constitution of these United States.

"The old struggle that was fought out here in Jackson's time must be fought our over again. The independent United States Treasury should be reestablished and the Government should keep its own money under lock and key in the building the people provided for that purpose.

"Asset currency, the devise of the swindler, should be done away with. The Fed should be abolished and the State boundaries should be respected. Bank reserves should be kept within the boundaries of the States whose people own them, and this reserve money of the people should be protected so that the International Bankers and acceptance bankers and discount dealers cannot draw it away from them.

"The Fed should be repealed, and the Fed Banks, having violated their charters, should be liquidated immediately. Faithless Government officials who have violated their oaths of office should be impeached and brought to trial.

"Unless this is done by us, I predict, that the American people, outraged, pillaged, insulted and betrayed as they are in their own land, will rise in their wrath, and will sweep the money changers out of the temple.

"Mr. Chairman, the United States is bankrupt: It has been bankrupted by the corrupt and dishonest Fed. It has repudiated its debts to its own citizens. Its chief foreign creditor is Great Britain, and a British bailiff has been at the White House and the British Agents are in the United States Treasury making inventory arranging terms of liquidations!

by john riggs (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 463 comments [24 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 7:08:14 PM

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...for this article which is very interesting.

I wrote a book America in Prophecy 2009-2018, and I wrote that an inexperienced president would come on board and would face a sea of profound obstacles and problems. Problems with the economy, natural disasters and civil unrest to a name a few. During this presidency an Ultimate Plan will be revealed. You can check it out at

www.americanprophecy.org

It doesn't matter who becomes president they will still be inexperienced for what they have to face.

This article is like a much needed dose of reality for those of us who sometimes slip-up and get caught up in the hype but deep down inside I cannot help but feel that all of our elections are rigged, and it's true that we are given our choices to make by the powers that be.

But like Sasha I believe that thanks to the advent of independent media and the internet people are coming into the truth and disconnecting from the lies we've been fed for so many years and that a subculture will grow of these people. I think this election is helping to pave the way for such a subculture to grow. 

by Sharon Roach (15 articles, 0 quicklinks, 7 diaries, 184 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 at 7:52:17 PM

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Cynthia McKinney, Green Party candidate for President, has spoken out against the Federal Reserve.   She is calling for community banking and a worker centered money policy.

And then there's Ron Paul, who wants to go back to 1890. 

by wagelaborer (6 articles, 1 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 307 comments [34 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 at 12:13:11 AM

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Ms McKinney lost her congressional seat by stepping out of line and questioning the powers that be. On missing Pentagon money, ($2.3 trillion), 911 inconsistancies, the Iraq intelligence charade and, of course, she stands as much chance at the Oval Office as Ralph Nader or Ron Paul.

And it's remarkable how the media methodically marginalized Ron Paul after he won public poll after public poll during the "debates".

The game is fixed, and we have no voice in the matter.

Quite the perverted, ugly monster, this pride of America called democracy.

by Michael McCoy (7 articles, 1 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 487 comments [26 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 at 3:27:56 AM

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Right... it couldn't have been here bigoted, anti-Semetic remarks - http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/4869_12.htm , her penchant for practicing WWF Raw on law enforcement officials - http://www.wsbtv.com/news/8442213/detail.html ; or her outrageous and conveniently unsupported claim that the government murdered 5,000 American prisoners post-Katrina and dumped their bodies in a swamp - http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76841 (notice how the Green Party has remained absolutely quiet on this outrageous claim by their candidate - http://www.gp.org/press.php ). 

McKinney has 13 rooms upstairs but forgot to add the furniture.  If she's your model of the consummate politician, much is explained about your perspective on the government.

by Tom Murphy (3 articles, 5 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 2103 comments [55 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008 at 10:36:17 AM

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