The real outrage is that we recently found out through alternative news sources that Congress can legally engage in Insider Trading, a felony if you or I do it, and even so on Wall Street when they have to present the public with an "example" to demonstrate that our In-Justice Department is protecting the 99% rather than looking the other way when it comes to the real criminals -- those whom actually profited from and caused

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It's becoming obvious that there is a national campaign, albeit under the table, to attempt and halt the Occupy Wall Street Protests occurring in cities across the nation. As we and others predicted, Agent Provocateurs have infiltrated and brought violence to some of the protests, the press was arrested in New York for attempting to cover the story -- and the sheer brutality that some of the Police are demonstrating shows that our support of the "Arab Spring" was merely lip-service as we got what we wanted in Libya and, and at this writing, I'm not sure the Egyptian "revolution" was actually successful -- or co-opted by the military.  Where is the outrage from the global community against the United States for repeatedly attempting to shut-down peaceful protests, police brutality in too many cases to list, and the failure of the government whom supported the "Arab Spring" to stand-up for their own countrymen in similar circumstances?

Like Mitch Gurney, I too have been in a Political Funk, unable to ascertain whether or not the Occupy Wall Street Protestors would be vilified by the GOP, and true to form, the 99% that had nothing to do with crashing the economy are close to being forced to pay for the greed and criminal behavior of the 1%, they are being called UN-American for attempting to stand-up against the 1% by the Corporate loving GOP -- and still, Congress is ignoring the 99% even though our voices have come across loud and clear! The GOP has totally ignored Wall Street's role in our economy's crisis, typical for those who are firmly entrenched with the 1%.

As far as I can tell,  the "Super Congress" is still dead-locked; if you've been following this closely, who in the United States didn't see this one coming? The Democrats, again true to form, have even attempted to sell us out by offering to cut Medicare/Medicaid/Social Security and a host of other essential programs -- and still the GOP refuses to make the 1% pay their fair share of taxes. The GOP is refusing to admit that the Bush Tax Cuts were instrumental in placing us in this budget nightmare, and even though that fact has been well documented, the GOP/Tea Party (Koch Brothers) still keep insisting that allowing the Bush Tax Cuts to expire would harm the economy. (Keep in mind that the "Super Congress" has already received over 64 Million in Corporate donations (Sic) ):

"Super Congress' members have already received $64.5 million in corporate donations

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Gary St. Lawrence

By now, you've at least heard of that "Super Congress" they just created in Washington that's supposed to "cut through all the bureaucracy and partisan politics to devise a clear and effective path toward America's financial management."

Should it come as any surprise whatsoever that all 12 appointed members appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction have received more than $64.5 million in "donations" from special interests groups over the past few years? Legal firms bought their lawmakers for about $31.5 million and Wall Street firms secured their puppets for about $11.2 million. And guess which corporations are at the top of the "biggest giver list: Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.

The members appointed to the committee are senators Pat Toomey (R-PA), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Rob Portman (R-OH), Patty Murray (D-WA), John Kerry (D-MA), and Max Baucus (D-MT); and Representatives Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), Fred Upton (R-MI), Dave Camp (R-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Xavier Becerra (D-CA), and Jim Clyburn (D-SC).

Of the $64.5 million, $43.7 million went to Republicans; and $20.8 Million went to Democrats. LINK

The real outrage is that we recently found out through alternative news sources that Congress can legally engage in Insider Trading, a felony if you or I do it, and even so on Wall Street when they have to present the public with an "example" to demonstrate that our In-Justice Department is protecting the 99% rather than looking the other way when it comes to the real criminals -- those whom actually profited from and caused this economic crisis. The corruption in Congress is bipartisan, and only a handful of our entire Congress would pass muster to be beyond corruption. (Not a handful -- perhaps just a few") I used to wonder why anyone would spend millions of their own money to get elected to Congress, as many of us have, and now we have one of the most blaring answers:

The Congress Insider Trading Scandal Is Outrageous

By Henry Blodget | Daily Ticker -- Tue, Nov 15, 2011 7:23 AM EST

You cannot read the description of the personal stock trading allegedly conducted by Rep. Spencer Bachus and other members of Congress during the financial crisis and conclude anything other than the following:

Our government is completely corrupt.

Yes, this behavior may be technically legal, because of an absurd loophole that makes insider-trading rules not apply to Congress.

Yes, this behavior may be widespread on Capitol Hill.

But there is no universe in which a reasonable person would consider this behavior ethical or okay. And for the 300+ million Americans who aren't members of Congress, it would be just plain illegal

Many members of Congress seem guilty here, including John Kerry, Dick Durbin, and Jim Moran. But Spencer Bachus takes the cake.

According to a new book called Throw Them All Out by Peter Schweizer, as relayed by Dave Weigel at Slate, Rep. Bachus made more than 40 trades in his personal account in the summer and fall of 2008, in the early months of the financial crisis.

The fact that Bachus personally traded on private information he received as a result of his job is bad enough. The fact that he was the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee at the time is simply outrageous.

In one case, the day after getting a private briefing on the collapsing economy and financial system from Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson, Rep. Bachus effectively shorted the market (by buying options that would rise if the market tanked.)

A few days later, after the market tanked, Bachus sold his position and nearly doubled his money. MUCH MORE

These are the people who are supposed to be representing "the people," but how can they do that when our interests conflict with their personal wealth? Why would anyone expect them to vote against their own best interests? If any of them had any morals they would have passed legislation years ago outlawing Insider Trading in Congress. Instead, they have endorsed the fact that our Congress is a specifically privileged cabal of sociopathic criminals who can commit what would be felonies if Wall Street or you or I did it, and do it with impunity -- and then expect us to believe they are acting in our best interests. If you go back in history, the almighty predictor of our future, from the Roman Empire on up, there has always been a class that make their fortunes off the backs of the average citizen and it has destroyed more empires than war itself when the populace finally gets fed-up enough to take action. Here's a brief snapshot of our Congressional Leadership:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) reported at least $3.4 million in wealth, an almost 10 percent rise over the prior year. Reid had a minimum net worth of close to $3.1 million in 2009.

Much of Reid's wealth is wrapped up in land holdings in his home state of Nevada and in Arizona. Those holdings include 160 acres in Bullhead City, Ariz., worth at least $1 million. He also reported a loan to his campaign valued at at least $50,000.

As in 2009, Reid caught a Christmastime jet ride to Reno thanks to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) last year. Reported as a gift, its value was $14,500, as determined by Senate Ethics Committee staff.

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Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reported a minimum net worth of $9.8 million and remains one of the wealthiest lawmakers on Capitol Hill, according to his disclosure form. His minimum net worth grew close to 29 percent from a minimum of $7.6 million in 2009.

McConnell's wealth likewise rose in part to some smart plays in the stock market with his wife, former Bush administration Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. They exchanged some of their stock holdings for Vanguard 500 Index Admiral shares, with a value of at least $500,000.

Chao also gave several paid speeches, for which she was paid more than $1,000 per appearance, according to McConnell's financial disclosure report. She spoke to the University of Illinois-Champaign, Corning Inc. and the American Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, among other groups.  LINK

Corruption is everywhere in Congress; Lobbying is nothing more than legalized bribery -- and we all know it. To make matters even more dire, SCOTUS corrupted our entire election process with their Citizens United ruling, again placing corporations above the people -- a hallmark of fascism! How can our nation successfully govern itself when we are being ruled by what amounts to legalized criminals? Based on the behavior of our Congress, it is obvious that our government no longer functions in the best interests of the people. We have finally reached a point in history when U.S. Congressmen publicly endorse Fascism and blatantly lie and propagandize their arguments to stand up for Corporations and Elites, and then have the nerve to demonize those that seek to restore our Representative Democracy. If this happened back when Democracy was still important to the bulk of the population in the 1800 --s, the scoundrels I speak of would have been tarred and feathered when exposed -- if not worse. We need to return to the days of sanity.

The Occupy Wall Street Protestors have done our nation a great service. They have accomplished what all of the writing and Op-Eds by Liberals and Progressives have failed to do for too many years -- they have awakened the people and the nation should be grateful. That said, it isn't over yet, and if you're a true American that values our Constitution and the American Way of Life, there's a rough road ahead and we all need to pitch-in and help. I don't know if it will take a General Strike, massive social disobedience, or again crashing the phone and email systems of Washington as we did during the S-1959 debacle, but we have to do something and like Mitch and the rest of the United States, we're all searching for answers. One of my favorites is to remain peaceful, and using Social Media, start with a day when millions, or even hundreds of thousands of people flood into their local streets -- and then refuse to move. They can't arrest us all -- and the message it would send would demonstrate that "we the people" still hold the reigns of power -- but only when we choose to stand-up for ourselves and understand that if we don't take action, and fast -- this nation will devolve into a state of Fascism and Authoritarian governance that will likely be unstoppable. The only way to take back our country is to stand together in solidarity; united we stand, divided we fall.

35 Facts About The Gutting Of America's Industrial Might That Should Make You Very Angry

Authors Bio:

My Bio is as varied as my life. In 2012, my twin sons murdered a Journalist in Pensacola, Fl., for 100K worth of "Magic The Gathering" playing cards and buried the body in my backyard. I was once a regular writer here, but PTSD from my son's actions took their toll. First, I lost everything I had. Second, I lost my fiancee. Third, I almost lost my life. Recovery has been a hard and lonesome road, and it isn't quite over yet. I will overcome this disaster as I have others, and return to college to resume my quest to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism.

Admittedly, I have chosen to get back in the mix and do my duty to help destroy any chance that Trump may have of being elected to a second term.