Wednesday rant

[ancona]

Today my cold/chest infection is worse than yesterday, and I feel as though I have been beaten with a sock full of nickels. My head is clogged up with a quart of snot and my chest feels like Mr. T is doing jumping jacks on it. I hate having a fucking cold when it is so beautiful outside, it just makes me even madder. As I scrolled angrily through the days financial and geopolitical news, I find myself becoming enraged at what I am reading. Any sense that there were actually people “in charge” that actually give a rats ass about me [read: the “little people”] has left my body. It has been replaced by a deepening fear that the people “in charge” have no soul, and wish to steal mine. To quote someone from another blog, “These bastards live on the blood of our future children”. Never before have words rung so true to me.

On to the MF Global scandal, which is no closer to resolution today than it was a week ago. Our glorious senators set up a nice, telegenic conference area and proceeded to question the scumbags in charge at MF when the SHTF, and were rewarded with several hours of lies, obfuscations and memory lapses. They asked the CEO, CFO and COO what they knew about the illegal activities outlined in several complaints and were told [very gently of course] to go pound fucking salt. Really…..they did. The comedy continues in the MSM full force, with not a single word from any of the newstainment outlets about who actually benefited from this collapse. To date, not a single arrest has been made, not a single charge has been levied by the government and none of the account holders who were robbed have been made whole. We are now living in a third world corporofascist kleptocracy, where there are no rules for the rich. Sure, if you're a schlump poor guy and get popped with a dime bag of blow you will spend a couple of years at the graybar hotel, but if you steal a few billion, you get to retire to the Caymans. Where is the outrage people? Why is this not on the tube 24/7? When a white chick in Florida killed her kid, the trial was all we saw, nationwide, for weeks, but when a billion two goes up in smoke, vanished like a fucking magic trick, and everyone claims someone else did it, we get nothing……..crickets. Unfuckingbelievable. When it becomes possible to become so rich or so connected that prosecuting you for a crime is not possible, the republic has already fallen.

Next up, Europe. Can this get any more stupid? Unless my abacus is wrong, piling another two trillion in debt on top of what is already so untenable these countries can no longer even pay the interest on it, is quite possible the stupidest plan ever concocted in the history of the universe. Who is the fucking genius that came up with this idiotic idea? In what universe does a government demand extreme austerity, then proceed to borrow more money to simply pay the interest on what they already owe? Is there something wrong with me? Am I not seeing something here that explains how this is supposed to make it all better somehow? For the love of God, someone please point it out to me, because from here in the cheap seats, this looks like nothing more than a giant bailout of anyone on the planet holding European sovereign debt, most notably, banks. Sweet! We’re going to get fucked again, I was wondering how long it was going to take before they finished us off.

Next on the docket of fury is our Congress. These rat bastards just passed legislation which includes a provision for the indefinite detention of any American citizen accused of terrorism, and that they can be taken anywhere in the world. To put this in perspective, the DHS has distributed materials similar to the FBI which describes potential terrorists as anyone who dares to speak out about the government, anyone who has more than a few days food in their home, anyone who dares to support the first, second and fourth amendments and anyone who dares to be pro-life. That’s it folks, it’s all over but the tears. Since I pretty much fit all of the above, I’ll be waiting for the inevitable knock on my door, because I’m sure I’m on a list somewhere as vocal as I am about the continued abuses of our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. These son of a bitches treat the constitution like an advisory letter which they can choose to abide or ignore. They need to be reminded that this nation was formed under the pain of revolution and that there are over a hundred million of us out here who believe in the second amendment, and they need to be reminded in this election.

The sheep have been asleep far too long, and if they do not wake up soon all that remains of their liberty will have been quietly stripped away. We are being subsumed within something dark and evil, something that is trying to suck every last nickel of our money out of our pockets, and when it is finished with what we have, it will come after future earnings. Europeans are already setting themselves up to be perpetual debt slaves to the very banks that wrought this havoc, and the USA is next.

Time to put on those big boy pants and buckle up, this is going to be a rough and scary ride.

 

[pmbug]

That's a quality rant. Hope you are feeling a bit better now.

 

[DCFusor]

Intestinal fortitude man! I wouldn't call that a rant, more like a reasonable assessment of where we find ourselves.

And from some point of view, it's hilarious -- these are other plain jane humans we've allowed to "assume authority" over us...not gods, not beings with any special innate powers, just regular guys with a lust for power...we've been too kind to just drive the bung back in the barrel Heinlein said all kids should have been raised in till age of majority. Part of the anger has to therefore be directed inward for letting ourselves be taken on this ride in the first place - we bought into their scam.

This is how all scam artists work - they take advantage of your greed, and are always more polite about things than you till the string is finally pulled - and knowing this, you're too embarrassed to turn them in most of the time.

So, as always, the important question always boils down to "what to do next?".
Organizing to toss these bums out can't work now, due to the Patriot act nipping anything like that in the bud and sending it to GITMO - no point unless you feel like becoming a martyr. And probably a very un-public one. How could we even know how many have been "disappeared" already?

And that's one of the problems - most of the people who "get it" are now not the young firebrands who think they're immortal, but us old farts who even now feel like they have something to lose. Because we do - no matter how bad it is now, it can, and probably will, get worse.

Politics has failed us with our sham of a two party system. We get no choice when it counts - before they decide who we get to vote on. Been that way awhile, this frogs been a boilin' a long time.

I am not sure of the morality of just waiting for it to destroy itself - but I do believe it's the surest way for it to happen with me alive and free on the other side of it. Make no mistake - I think that really sucks.

People with kids - (which isn't me) might have more motivation to sacrifice themselves for a better future for them, and might have a very different take on all this. One wonders though if you really do any good sacrificing yourself on that altar at this point, knowing it's unlikely to change anything that time alone wouldn't have accomplished anyway - and probably just as fast.

That would be MY rant - the fact that the moral way seems to be more or less instantly fatal -- and with no result. I guess we'll all have to make our decisions on that one, but there seems to be no crowd to provide any moral support there - others wiling to essentially ditch the rest of their life in a good cause.

I for one, got disgusted with most of the human race a long while back and became a sort of hermit-misanthropist. Only a few (some here included) make me not ashamed of being human. I just exited the scene insofar as I could - it's why I live away from crowds, or at least a big part of that.

A huge advantage of the Internet is that rather than being in some random crowd, you can seek out and find others like minded. Like this place. To find a few people like this otherwise, you'd have to be in a pretty big crowd of mostly utter losers, and the flavor would be a lot less pleasant, no?

Could be we're just getting what the average person deserves - we're just not the average persons, and so chafe at it more.

I've been called an elitist for views like this. While I have mixed feelings about all that, I'd have to revert to "so be it, then" in this case. Equal opportunity is a great idea - but we're not really equal at all.

 

[dontdeBasemebro]

And that's one of the problems - most of the people who "get it" are now not the young firebrands who think they're immortal, but us old farts who even now feel like they have something to lose. Because we do - no matter how bad it is now, it can, and probably will, get worse.

"Donkeys live a long time. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey..."

 

[DCFusor]

I guess I'm unfamiliar with the reference dontdeBas, but I'll ponder it.

In truth, passive obstruction can be a powerful weapon if employed by enough people. It's much harder to get tossed in the clink for, at least.

On reflection, I keep coming back to - the only way to really change the world is to change minds. In this case, I suppose that would entail waking the sheep.

But a recent experience is instructive here. I have this new car, a Chevy Volt. It's so quiet it can be pretty easy to kind of sneak up on pedestrians in a noisy parking lot - they should watch where they are going, but often don't. Anticipating this, Chevy hooked the fancy sonar system used as a parking aid to a horn chirper. So when you approach someone walking into your path, it gives a pretty gentle little burble (more gentle than you can manage manually, it's kinda slick).

After being flipped the bird about 20 times in a couple of days - I turned it off. Sheep don't want to be awakened, it would seem - even the ones who were obviously unaware of the advent of a problem that could have been pretty serious for them; and it being their own fault only seems to make it worse. This is not an area like a big city where flipping the bird is common - smiling and waving to strangers is.

So I see this site and others like it as very helpful, for at least we can reinforce one another and kinda mentally jam on ideas that might awaken sheep without making them feel so threatened, so they might respond positively. Because it's easy to make things worse.

Think of the Jesus freaks who kinda paint Jesus on the end of a finger and go around jamming it down everyone's throats - the result is predictable, and of course they'd do better with their cause just acting as Jesus did and shutting up otherwise. But it seems many of them would prefer to complain about the being puked on they get from that finger poking exercise, and perhaps I'm being guilty of that right now.

I have a good pal locally, a shooting buddy - one of the others who tends to be ready, and we have a pretty good amount of mutual respect. He's retired on a firefighters union pension. He's saved my life when I've screwed up and gotten myself badly injured - we're pretty close. I've returned the favor when he went over a cliff on his 4 wheeler.

He knows I'm a trader, and a good one, and understand about how the money flows and works. But if I bring up the fact that his pension is crazy-underfunded, has no recourse to further funding, and can't possibly survive long enough to keep him for the rest of his life because they're assuming return rates better than Madoff (and are still underfunded at that) - I get real scorn, denial, almost anger. And this is one of the more reasonable and smarter guys I know, and I was being pretty gentle about it - starting with showing how it's happening to others in a less personal reference.
"It can happen there, but it can't happen here, I'm set, I earned it."

If I can't get to this guy - smart, nice, generally paying attention - then I'm kind of stumped as to what would work for most, who are in nearly all ways, "lesser beings".

About the nicest thing I ever get is "I trust the guy taking care of it for me".

Since that blind trust is so pervasive, of course they'd not realize that MF Global just failed and screwed a lot of people, that before that several other houses really screwed the pooch and by being bailed, them, indirectly. It just refuses to find a purchase on the surface of their minds, it's never happened, so it never will, as far as their thinking goes.

And this is among people who for whatever reason, have moved out of the big cities already, mistrusting them and wanting to live the country life in peace!

Human beings aren't really my specialty, though I was raised by a shrink, I never really "got" them except for simple mob behavior (much simpler, and I use that for my trading with some success). I'm fairly retarded socially, in other words.

So I look for help in this area - what can work here? If you *could* enforce an awakening, would it be moral to do it, or better to let ignorance continue to be bliss for as long as that can last? Just making everyone miserably worried, if it doesn't lead to positive action and positive change would seem like not a great thing to do to them, even if you could.

So I still don't see a clearly moral path, and being a somewhat moral person, that bugs me.

 

[DCFusor]

And, here's that nice bill that seals up dictatorial authority, passing the house.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/congress-passes-662-billion-defense-bill-aka-ndaa

 

[pmbug]

...
About the nicest thing I ever get is "I trust the guy taking care of it for me".
...

I really think this lies at the crux of the problem. Americans especially have gotten so lazy, spoiled or perhaps socialized in our no child left behind culture that they really don't want to have to think too hard.

 

[Unobtanium]

DC, I enjoy reading your take on life and your experiences...keep them coming!

Sheep don't want to be awakened, it would seem - even the ones who were obviously unaware of the advent of a problem that could have been pretty serious for them; and it being their own fault only seems to make it worse.

Yes, the ole' Cognitive Dissonance, a term in which I am sure all are aware of here, the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time; the pain associated in one's mind of accepting that the world's present machinations are not as apple pie/Chevrolet as they thought, so they choose (consciously or subconsciously) to completely block it out.

And this is one of the more reasonable and smarter guys I know, and I was being pretty gentle about it - starting with showing how it's happening to others in a less personal reference. "It can happen there, but it can't happen here, I'm set, I earned it."

If I can't get to this guy - smart, nice, generally paying attention - then I'm kind of stumped as to what would work for most, who are in nearly all ways, "lesser beings".

In the course of my day/week/month I associate with a variety of people. Some of them at work are research scientists much much smarter than me, a research engineer, but they absolutely refuse to entertain the reality of what is happening behind the scenes today, yet there are others that do. Likewise I run into the same scenario with the average Joe. Some refuse to entertain, some are as much or more up on this than I am. It seems as if it boils down to, like most everything else, personal choices and personal responsibility.

I'm fairly retarded socially, in other words.

But it sounds like you like to have fun. I'd have a beer with you anyday!

So I look for help in this area - what can work here? If you *could* enforce an awakening, would it be moral to do it, or better to let ignorance continue to be bliss for as long as that can last?

Nah, don't think so, as it is not moral to force things with people in general. People have to chose their own road and be responsible for it. Plus both of us know that even if forced to wake up, if they didn't want to they wouldn't.

Just making everyone miserably worried.

I have what would be probably considered a weird view on the current events and downward spiral. While I do find the current events disheartening because of the [lack of a] future that seems to lie ahead for my children, at the same time I find it very intriguing and somewhat exciting. Probably the same sense of thrill that tornado chaser get when chasing a tornado, or the feeling you get when you take an educated gamble to ride out a hurricane.

While I know that if the spiral fully plays out it could mean huge challenges for all of us, I have always been rather energized by a challenge. The bigger the challenge, the larger the rush.

Plus on top of that, there is a part of me that sees a finite possibility that the underdogs (us) somehow, in mass, gather and defeat Goliath in the 4th quarter.

Just curious to see if anyone else holds anything resembling this view, or if I am really off in left field alone (which I happen to be strangely comfortable with if that is so).

Maybe some more thoughts in another post or thread.

 

[Unobtanium]

People with kids - (which isn't me) might have more motivation to sacrifice themselves for a better future for them, and might have a very different take on all this. One wonders though if you really do any good sacrificing yourself on that altar at this point, knowing it's unlikely to change anything that time alone wouldn't have accomplished anyway - and probably just as fast.

I'll raise my hand here as one with kids. But I first have to understand what you mean by sacrifice yourself on the altar. If that means to work your ass off as a corporate slave in the work/taxes/slave system that is now set up, then no way. I am trying to position myself to get out of that type of rat race right now.

But if that means to pour your life into coming against The Machine, well no to that also. I would not care to do that regardless if I had kids or not. Because somewhere along the way, kids or not, you have to also enjoy life. And a person cannot do that if they have sacrificed themselves to war against The Machine. There is not alot that I can do on an individual basis to make a huge dent in slowing the momentum of this mounting snowball, but I can invest heavily into my kids to educate them and teach them how to deal with whatever kind of world is there when they grow up.

So my stance is somewhere in between. I am only one person, but there is a small sphere in which I live, in which I have some sort of influence, a certain number of relationships, and a certain amount of good that I can do in that little sphere of the world. And I can't understand all that is going on behind the scenes, but can understand enough of it to mesh well within small slice of life that has been dealt to me.

 

[Unobtanium]

that the people “in charge” have no soul, .....

Yessir, same conclusion here.

....... and wish to steal mine.

Nope, not gonna happen. Too much spunk and fight in Ancona.

Time to put on those big boy pants and buckle up, this is going to be a rough and scary ride.

We are buckling up right along with you!

 

[DCFusor]

I have what would be probably considered a weird view on the current events and downward spiral. While I do find the current events disheartening because of the [lack of a] future that seems to lie ahead for my children, at the same time I find it very intriguing and somewhat exciting. Probably the same sense of thrill that tornado chaser get when chasing a tornado, or the feeling you get when you take an educated gamble to ride out a hurricane.

While I know that if the spiral fully plays out it could mean huge challenges for all of us, I have always been rather energized by a challenge. The bigger the challenge, the larger the rush.

Heck, I once had this little accident with a too short fuse, and falling off a ladder where I got to be inside the fireball of about a pound of dynamite.
Nothing for it but to turn my back to it and hope. Now that was a rush.
After surviving that unhurt, I tried it again - but it wasn't as cool the second time, because I knew it wouldn't hurt, or something.

Plus on top of that, there is a part of me that sees a finite possibility that the underdogs (us) somehow, in mass, gather and defeat Goliath in the 4th quarter.

This is the problem in a nutshell. In normal times there would be a chance of just that - and the wisdom of the crowd could make it powerful. But now - a couple old farts talking trash in a bar, that they can't even DO - are in jail for conspiracy to terrorize. We can't gather anymore. Thanks to our surveillance society - we get nipped in the bud first. Our government has used the "war on terrorism" to enact a police state. Anything against them is now "terrorism" without due process. The civil rights movement couldn't happen today. Martin Luther King would be jailed before anyone heard of him outside his hometown.

Just curious to see if anyone else holds anything resembling this view, or if I am really off in left field alone (which I happen to be strangely comfortable with if that is so).

Well, I'm on board with that - I try to see the adventure in things fer sure.

One thing - I think just the release of ideas can constitute "force" in some situations...creates holding places in the receivers mind that change things for them whether they like it or not...so we still have a problem philosophically under that assumption.

But I'll take you up on that beer anytime - just say when, and I'll even buy the beer.

 

[ancona]

Yessir, same conclusion here.



Nope, not gonna happen. Too much spunk and fight in Ancona.




We are buckling up right along with you!

Thanks for the kind words. I guess I am that guy. I would rather meet St. Joseph at the gate than submit to a bunch of high school drop-out "security officials". What the fuck have we become?????