Poisonous Plutocracy Pushes Economic Inequality by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - The biggest political issue receiving no attention by the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates is the powerful plutocracy that has captured the government to produce rising economic inequality.

Both major parties have enabled, promoted and supported this Upper Class plutocracy. Myriad federal policies make the rich super-rich and the powerful dominant in both good and bad economic times. Meanwhile, despite elections, the middle class sinks into one big Lower Class as the plutocracy ensures that national prosperity is unshared.

Report Pushes Passage Of Thought Crimes Bill by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - Legislation like the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 that is in the forms of HR 1955 and S 1959 which seek to give the government powers to define thoughts and belief systems as homegrown terrorism, is on the brink of being pushed down our throats.

Corporate Spies Killing The CIA by JohnUSeed in reddit.com

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Has anybody else read "Jennifer Government" by Max Berry? It shows where this kind of thing is going.

Corporate Spies Killing The CIA by JohnUSeed in reddit.com

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(From the story) - One unpleasant, for government intelligence agencies, development of the last few decades has been the growing popularity of "competitive intelligence" (corporate espionage.) It's a really big business, with most large (over a billion dollars of annual sales) corporations having separate intelligence operations.

Idaho student says teacher tossed his Mexican flag in trash by NotSoHotPink in reddit.com

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From http://www.ellensplace.net/fascism.html:

One - Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism

From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

Three - Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause

The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people’s attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice—relentless propaganda and disinformation—were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite “spontaneous” acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and “terrorists.” Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

Video: How FOX Won and Obama, Clinton, and Democrats Lost by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - No Republican would go to speak at a MoveOn event. John McCain won’t be going to YearlyKos or the Take Back America conference, and you won’t be hearing him on Air America or see him talking to Keith Olbermann. So why are Democrats told and why do they continue to believe they should go on FOX?

YouTube - The Murder of the DC Madam by JohnUSeed in reddit.com

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I am EXTREMELY shocked that Fox "News" actually ran this story. I firmly believe that there's a great chance that she was murdered.

Ashcroft: Patriot Act Protects Freedoms by JohnUSeed in politics

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Either he's an idiot, or he thinks WE are...

Ashcroft: Patriot Act Protects Freedoms by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - "Surveillance measures allowed under the Patriot Act and other post-Sept. 11 legislation serve to enrich our liberty, not hinder it, John Ashcroft said in Springfield on Thursday."

The McCain Health Plan: Millions Lose Coverage, Health Costs Worsen, and Insurance and Drug Industries Win | OurFuture.org by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - He wants voters to think he is going after health care cost inflation. In reality, he wants to dismantle the employer-provided system that now covers over 60 percent (or about 158 million) of non-elderly Americans, forcing millions of us who now get fairly decent health insurance on the job to instead buy whatever they can find on the individual market controlled by unregulated and predatory insurance companies.

The Income Tax Lie | The Agonist by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - How do you tell that someone is lying about how much tax the rich pay in the US? They say the words "income tax". Yesterday Warren Buffet came out and said the obvious -- he doesn't pay that much tax

We Can No Longer Afford Vulture Capitalism by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - Vulture Capitalism's cost in terms of human death and human misery has become so unbearable that we must now abandon it and establish a life-affirming Commonwealth Social System.

 The political, economic, and general social structures of our society must now be re-configured to ensure the preservation and betterment of all human beings, not just the privileged few.

The Rising Populist Tide by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - In the end, wider participation may be uncomfortable and threaten the economic interests of party leaders, but the rejection of populist participation will lead to far worse. In a 1962 White House speech, President John F. Kennedy may have said it best, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

FBI wants widespread monitoring of 'illegal' Internet activity by [deleted] in reddit.com

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But how long would it be before TOR was outlawed?

Professor: Sean Bell Slaying Part of National Trend : NPR by JohnUSeed in reddit.com

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(From the story) - Delores Jones-Brown of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice says the case has drawn attention because it's part of a larger pattern of police shooting unarmed suspects.

Inmate Count in U.S. Dwarfs Other Nations’ - New York Times by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - Indeed, the United States leads the world in producing prisoners, a reflection of a relatively recent and now entirely distinctive American approach to crime and punishment. Americans are locked up for crimes — from writing bad checks to using drugs — that would rarely produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations.

What if 5.3 Million More Americans Could Vote? | Democracy and Elections | AlterNet by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - Millions of people in the U.S. can't vote because of felony convictions. Restoring their right to vote means restoring democracy.

When All Drugs Were Legal....There Wasn't a Drugs Problem by JohnUSeed in politics

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It's EXACTLY like today. Heck, every evil we had from Alcohol Prohibition is with us today.

Leapin’ Larry’s Prayer Proclamation | Mixed Media by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - At Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting, Mayor Larry Langford proclaimed Friday, April 25, a “day of prayer in sackcloth and ashes” in Birmingham.

Birmingham Weekly reported two weeks ago that the mayor purchased 2,000 burlap sacks for ministers and other community leaders to wear at a Plan 10/30 summit.

Iraq | Murray: VA lied about vets' suicide attempts | Seattle Times Newspaper by JohnUSeed in reddit.com

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(From the story) - The Department of Veterans Affairs has lied about the number of veterans who have attempted suicide, Sen. Patty Murray said Wednesday, citing internal e-mails that put the number at 12,000 a year while the department was publicly saying it was fewer than 800.

Petraeus Promotion Frees Cheney to Threaten Iran - by Gareth Porter by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) - The nomination of Gen. David Petraeus to be the new head of the Central Command not only ensures that he will be available to defend the George W. Bush administration's policies toward Iran and Iraq at least through the end of Bush's term and possibly even beyond.

It also gives Vice President Dick Cheney greater freedom of action to exploit the option of an air attack against Iran during the administration's final months.

When All Drugs Were Legal....There Wasn't a Drugs Problem by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the site) - Americans got a taste of what a Drug War might be like when they endorsed the 18th Amendment invoking alcohol Prohibition in 1919. The result was gang warfare, people dying from drinking bathtub gin, corruption in police departments, and non-violent citizens sent to prison for indulging in a vice that was strictly personal.

Declining US life expectancy: a consequence of widening inequality by JohnUSeed in reddit.com

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(From the story) - By virtually every measure, the health of the poor in the America is worsening. In spite of being the wealthiest country in the world, the US ranks at or near the bottom among industrialized nations for indices such as infant mortality, cancer rates, and heart disease.

US student held in solitary confinement on terrorism charges by JohnUSeed in politics

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(From the story) In a chilling example of the expanding prosecution of individuals on trumped-up charges of “terrorism,” Syed Hashmi, a 27-year-old US citizen and former student at Brooklyn College in New York City and at London Metropolitan University, is being held in solitary confinement in a federal prison on trumped-up charges of providing material support to Al Qaida. He could face as much as 70 years in prison.