The true value we place on our soldiers

I know I don't post much these days, but I came across this today, and just had to share it.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/remains-of-274-soldiers-dumped-in-virginia-landfill-27530281.html

Shows you how much we really care about our soldiers, eh?

Insider trading and the US Congress

60 minutes story well worth watching.







As if we needed more evidence that our politicians were corrupt.

Pickin on the little guy -- 11/7 - 11/11

The weekly update. The scary thing is how easy it is to find these stories.

You're under arrest! For... an expired vehicle registration!

Denver issuing tickets for stopping at red lights

Cop admits to framing innocent americans with drug charges to "meet quotas"

Never talk to cops

Student Protestors? Fire at will!




Yup. I don't think I really need to say anything else about these.

The world is a business

I finally got around to watching "The Network". All in all, really phenomenal movie. I won't say much about it because it's really just one of those movies that's worth watching... not for the movie itself, so much, as for the ideology and the story that it conveys.

I've posted a few clips and scenes from this move in the past, but after watching the flick in its entirety, I came across one more that I just had to share. Unfortunately, embedding is not allowed in any of the dozens of copies of this clip, so you'll have to link directly to it.


The world is a buniness

10 Reasons America Will Be Judged as the Most Brutal Empire in History

10 Reasons America Will Be Judged as the Most Brutal Empire in History


Interesting article that I thought was worth sharing.

Police State Update

Just for fun:

Street lights that Spy on you

VIPR's on the interstate

Riot training 101

Police funded by... apple?

Pick on the little people

So since I'm trying not to dwell upon the OWS movement too much, I figured it would be interesting to start taking a closer look at, what I believe to be, is a more and more prevalent trend in American society today.... Picking on the little people. From cops getting out of line and writing bogus citations for miniscule offenses, to new fees that we have to pay, and everything else in between,  it's pretty easy to see how the power structure here in the US (and the rest of the world) views the masses.

In my own way, this will be my contribution to the OWS movement. Each one of these examples offers evidence as to what the power structure in this country is really all about.... Keeping you timid, afraid, and beaten down, all while they continue to line their own pockets. Instead, I say let these examples enrage you... They certainly do me... And I promise, there will be many, many more to come.

Pregnant mom arrested for eating sandwhich

Woman trapped in airport for 8 days because of baggage fees

NY student imprisioned for 2 days for not having her ID

Biggest US firms paid less tax, study shows

A long overdue update

I must apologize for my inactivity as of late. Life has taken many unforeseen turns recently, which has left me a little shaken, and in all honesty, I've had more pressing issues to try to attend to than keeping up on this blog, which hardly anyone reads. That being said, I don't want to abandon it entirely... If nothing else, it serves as a good personal archeive through which I can go back and look at the progression of this truly historic period of time as it unfolded.

That being said, I will try to once again be more active in my uploading behavior. However, I will try to limit my posts regarding the occupy wall street movement. Obviously, I am very supportive of this endeavor, but for fear that the movement would dominant the blog entirely if I did not restrict my postings, I will attempt to do as such. Besides, RT America has been doing a fantastic job covering the movement... most of what I get, I get from them, so you might as well get it directly from the source if it's a topic you're interested in.

Now for some random tidbits that I found interesting and share worthy.

New numbers: Income for top 1 percent skyrocketed over last 30 years

Trade wars, hypocrisy, and bank-fucking

It's pretty sad when these are normal headlines.

Anyway, I haven't been able to keep up with the news much, as of late, due to some pretty major events going on in my life, but I still managed to stumble across these and found them worth sharing.

China Threatens Trade War

As Gerald Celente famously says: First there's currency wars, then there's trade wars, and then there is real war.




Hypocrisy 

A clever little video that showcases the hypocrasy of the US goverment regarding the revolutions of the mid-east and the 'demonstrations' here.



Fuck the Banks

-Finally-, there is a movement in place to fuck the banks. PLEASE get behind this and pass it around. And, for gods sake, if for some strange and inexplicable reason you're still with a bank. Tell them to FUCK OFF!!!

Bank Transfer Day: A Protest With Your Money

The Escalation Continues

Syria:






Greece:






Home:

Bankers fight back -- Occupy Wallstreet

I've been following the Occupy Wallstreet movement pretty actively since it first started over two weeks ago. I've seen countless videos of senseless arrests and unwarranted brutality on behalf of the NYPD (which, unfortunately, I haven't been sharing here). However, I wanted to post an article that I just happened to come across today, just a few days after over 700 protestors were arrested for peacefully protesting on the Brooklyn Bridge.

JP Morgan donates $4.6 million to the NYPD

Isn't that generous of them. Thank you, JP Morgan, for your thoughtful donation. We, the people, sincerely appreciate your concern for our 'safety', especially in this particular city, at this particular time. Your selfless generosity will not be forgotten.

What we are capable of

Ran across this the other day and thought that it was worth sharing.



I'll see you there.

America's failing infrastructure

There's been a lot of talk in Obama's jobs bill about fixing America's infrastructure, but from what I've seen, talk is more or less all it is. Obama truly does have the right idea here, however, when you look at the details of his plan (which won't pass congress anyway) it's clear that this is simply more empty rhetoric.







I recently watched about a 2 hour long documentary on the state of the US infrastructure and just how dire it really is. I'm going to try to find it and post it here for those of you that might be interested.

Ultimately, according to the aforementioned report, the 2.2 trillion dollars that we need to fix our infrastructure is absolutely essential to improving the state of the US economy. But, of course, instead of fixing the bloodstream of the country, we would rather spend that money on wars and our trillions of dollars worth of military contracts.

Americas chickens are coming home to roost!

Obligatory 9/11 post

Thank god it's over... Now hopefully we can stop seeing and hearing about the 10 year anniversary every time we turn around. It's not surprising that stories from 9/11 have been invading every TV, radio, paper, and even internet news provider for the past week or two... it -is- an utterly and truly tragic event in nearly all measures of the word... however, how unchallenged the 'official' story is in the mainstream media, and indeed in the minds and hearts of American citizens everywhere, is -far- more tragic, in far more ways than one.

For those of you bold enough to accept the truth for what it is, I'm sure you sympathize with the challenges and frustrations that I endured in having to bite my tongue at every mention of that truly tragic day. While I try to be a strong and vocal proponent for the truth most of the time, there are some battles that just aren't worth fighting. In many instances, 9/11 is one of them. While I have confronted many members of my family, people on the internet, and even strangers that I meet, in some instances, like at work, or when conversing with a friend who personally experienced that day, for example, you learn that sometimes, it's best just to smile and nod. All I can say is that I hope things start getting back to normal, because I'm sick of having the idiocy, gullibility, and ignorance -everyone- around me shoved in my face all the time.. at least more than usual.

And now, for your entertainment, I present to you the truth about 9/11, in 5 minutes.



And one more, slightly longer and less entertaining, but fairly interesting argument. I actually learned a thing or two I didn't know before, so I figured I'd share.

If you want a good laugh...

I think the title says it all...


Members of congress complaining that they don't get paid enough and need a raise

And I'm sure we all feel so sorry for them. I don't know how I could survive off of 174,000 a year (plus, of course, non-discretionary benefits, which one can only assume are quite substantial), not to mention the best healthcare, pension, and benefit packages in the nation.

Yup... can't even wrap my mind around how horrible that must be.

Your daily dose of optimism in the US economy

Monsanto in 5 minutes

Was watchin a little Adam vs. The Man earlier today and I came across this little report on Monsanto. Since most people (in my experience, anyway) aren't familiar at all with Monsanto, I figured a little 5 minute summary would be a great intro. I've watched hours and hours worth of documentaries on them, so needless to say, the shit pile is a lot deeper than covered here, but you gotta start somewhere.

Public Education

Just one of an interesting and stimulating series of animated lectures, this one covers the public education system. Worth a watch if you're into this kinda thing (felt like breaking up the usual political news with some engaging thought).



If, like me, you're dissatisfied with your current job, you might want to watch this one too.



There's a whole bunch of these, of which I've only watched a handful. So far, though, I've been very impressed with the ones I've watched.Some of the ones on capitalism and the US political system seem like facinating watches that I haven't gotten around to yet.

One day after Tripoli falls

The Oil grab begins, and NATO countries are already fighting for the spoils of war.





If you want an alternative (non-NATO) version of what's going on in Libya right now, RT (the original, not the American version) is giving the issue a lot of coverage.

RT vids

Rise Against Music Videos

I wanted to share a few other music videos that are phenomenally well done. Rise Against is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands... Admittedly, I was ignorant to how politically charged their songs were until I saw them in concert, but the more I look into them, and the more I listen to them, the more I've developed a very strong appreciation for them... Not just because of their messages, and the strength and execution of their videos, but because, through videos like these, they can hopefully reach out to, and wake up, a whole new demographic of people, especially all the disenchanted, disenfranchised pissed-off youth out there.

I think you'll like these if you take the time to watch.

Even Jon Stewart finds it ironic how the mass media ignores Ron Paul

After the republican debates in Iowa just a few days ago, Ron Paw finished a close second after Bachman, by a margin of about 150 votes. However, it is worth noting that her campaign directly purchased 4,000 tickets (at $30 a pop) and handed them out to supporters, for free, presumably so they could vote for her later. Ron Paul encouraged his supporters to attend, of course, but did not -pay- for them to do so. Does this count as 'rigging' the straw poll? Maybe, maybe not, but it's a matter that should be at least factored in and weighed in upon.  

I just want to say this... personally, I do -not- agree with Ron Paul on every issue. Infact, there are a lot of things, including his stance on abortion, his extreme opinions on entitlements and his unwillingness to raise taxes on the super rich, just to name a few, that I strongly disagree with. However, that being said, Ron Paul is the true 'change' that Obama was hiked up to be and never was. He's been in politics saying the same thing he's saying now for 12 years, and on the most important issues surrounding our country, like war and our fucked up federal-reserve based monitary system, he couldn't be more right. Do I think he's perfect... no. Is he better than any other establishment candidate out there in the running, including Obama? Infinitely so.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

And, if you're curious, here's some of the highlights of his from the debates.

Revolution is Now

A random handful of videos that I've come across over the months that I felt were finally worth sharing, given what's currently going on. Granted, revolution is still a ways out, but it's definitely in the air. 


Hopper explains the world:
Profound statements don't always have to be complex. 




Land of Confusion:
One of my favorite songs, and one of my top 3 music videos of all time.



Pledge of Resistance:
Take it. You are a human being, not a sheep. Never submit, and never stop questioning.

Do you ever feel like you're living in a movie?

It seems like every day we're getting closer and closer to living in V for Vendetta. 

The revolution is now.



BART shuts down cell-phones, Anonymous responds.


http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/26281496

London Riots... My thoughts.

It's been awhile since my last post. I'd like to say I have a reason for that, and sure, I do have some excuses. But the truth of the matter is, apathy is really starting to set it. I daresay I've reached the point where I'm no longer filled with hope (that died a long, long time ago) or even anger or concern anymore. It's not that I don't care... I truly do, I just fail to see the point anymore. People don't care, and people don't listen. People don't see the truth for what it is. We're at a point now where the world is finally starting to fall apart. We're beyond the "warning" stage now, and it's so obvious that even the god-damn mainstream media and the 'professional' economists are starting to sing the same tune that myself and the small minority of people out there who actually get it have been singing for years. The loose threads that were never trimmed are being pulled, and the world is literally coming apart at the seams.

The riots going on in London right now are just one example of this. Gerald Celente predicted that there would be massive, wide-scale global riots, starting in the mideast, spreading throughout Europe, and eventually hitting here in the US several months before the tinderbox in Tunisia took flame. Now, London is burning, and of course the mainstream media is trying to play it off as 'racism' or like it's just a bunch of lawless heathens. Isn't it ironic that when it happens in the Mid-East, it's called a pro-democracy movement, but when it happens in a western country, it's called lawlessness. The truth of the matter is, when you ask the rioters why they're doing it, it's the exact same reasons they were doing it in the Mid-East. The youth, highly educated, by the way, are disenchanted. They see the world falling apart around them, they have no jobs, no prospects for a better life, and they know things are just going to get worse. They have no hope, and they see their futures being squandered right before their eyes, knowing there's not a damn thing they can do about it. They have nothing left to loose, so they loose it. That's the same story all across the world right now, and it's certainly no different here in the US... In fact, it's probably worse. We're always the last ones to the party, it seems, but sooner or later, these riots will happen here. When they do, I'll be one of the first ones out in the streets... I promise you that much. Like them, I've got nothing else to loose.

However, that being said, I do have two concerns about the riots going on in London right now.

1) Disorganization / Lack of meaningful targets. Stores, pubs, cars, etc. seem to  being hit at random, and while this still makes a statement, other, more effective targets should be pursued.

2) Problem/Reaction/Solution. There've been many reports that I've watched where witness's have stated that police have stood by and watched as rioters targeted stores and other buildings. In a way, this is remaniscent of the G-20 riots, where the government may allow (if not -encourage-) a certain level of dissent until they can justify the elimination of more civil liberties. As you'll see, military involvement, martial law, and killing free communication are just some of the measures being deliberated as we speak.

3) When you combine the two above, you get a very effective strategy indeed. Let the lower class destroy their own communities -AND- pass sweeping civil liberty reform on top of it. Could be a pretty effective strategy to further the propagation of the machine. 

Anyway, here are some interesting video's regarding the London riots. Watch if you want... or don't. I don't really care anymore.

Videos that might catch your interest

But first, a recent quote from Timothy Geithner, as seen on Meet the Press (article)

Geithner tells NBC television's "Meet the Press" that it's a very tough economy. He says that for a lot of people "it's going to feel very hard, harder than anything they've experienced in their lifetime now, for a long time to come."

Pretty strong words for someone who's in such a position of power where everything's supposed to be rosey and PC all the time, isn't it?

Here are some video's that I came across recently that I enjoyed, so I felt like some of you might too. By no means is any of this comprehensive, or even necessarily 'recent', but I've been particularly busy at work lately so I've had to keep things relatively simple as of late. Anyway, I digress...

Federal Reserve Causes Mid-East Unrest

Poor Camp Out for Government Housing Vouchers (this is just sad)

TSA is out of control (Nice little assortment of TSA absurdities) 

Countdown to Catastrophe

This is a very serious post, so I'm going to make this as short, direct, and to the point as I can. 

As many of you know, the United States has until August 2nd to reach a compromise over the national debt and agree to raise our debt ceiling.

As many of you know, these negotiations aren't going so well, and (surprise surprise) it seems like a compromise isn't going to happen in time to prevent this default. Our government has about 2 and a half weeks to figure out anywhere between 2 to 4 trillion dollars worth of spending cuts and tax increases (which, as we know, will almost entirely be on the backs of social programs)... Let's recall back to a few short months ago, when our government was literally hours away from a shut-down because of a lack of comprise on a budget of just a few -billion- dollars. Keeping that recent event in mind, it doesn't look like we have much reason to believe that our government will be able to pull it together in time, and if you're following daily progression of these negotiations, things actually seem to be getting -worse- as we run out of time, not better.



Now, I'm not saying that we -will- fail to compromise and raise the debt ceiling in time. I'm not saying that we -will- default. However, there is a very real possibility that that -could- happen, and this event is literally right around the corner.

What does this mean for you? Well, to be honest, nobody really knows. It's sort of like one of those 'if we don't bail out the banks...' type deals... It's never happened before, and we simply don't -know- what will happen. However, the bank bailout, as anyone with half a brain realizes, was a complete sham, and though some things might have been bad had we not bailed them out, we -would- have survived, and in all reality probably would have been better off. This debt ceiling thing, however, is -far- more serious than people realize.

If we fail to raise the debt ceiling, we have two options: Stop paying our bills within the country (social security, medicare/medicade, pensions, military benefits, national parks, post office, education, etc etc), or stop paying our creditors. In effect, it's like the US is a business, and it's run out of money. It can either pay its workers, or pay the bankers that lent it the capital, but it can't do both.

If we choose to pay the workers (the american people) and keep our social services and domestic government operational, we -will- default on our debt. What does this mean? Well, look at Greece as an example. Interest rates in Greece are now as high as 33-40%. Imagine how bad our debt crisis will be when we have to pay that kind of interest on our national debt instead of the 2-5% that we've been paying for the last several years. If that doesn't scare you, think about this... Interest rates will almost certainly rise across the board. EVERYWHERE, for EVERYONE. Now imagine that 250,000 homeloan you have at a nice 3% interest on. Imagine that going up to 30%. Imagine the interest on your credit cards, car loans, and everything else rising double digits, in what could be anywhere from a few weeks to literally a few hours. Imagine how bad this will hurt consumers -and- business, and lets not even get started on how badly it will piss of the Chinese and the rest of the world...

If we choose to pay the bankers and continue to pay the interest on our debts, we will keep our global creditors happy, and we won't default, but we'll -have- to stop paying for domestic expenses. And this is very different from cutting them. 10's, if not 100's of workers could loose their jobs overnight. No social security, pension, or unemployment checks will be cut. There will be no medicare and medicade, and depending on how long it takes us to raise the ceiling, we could literally see the federal government (primarily the services and jobs of the federal government that we -actually need-) wither up and die right before our eyes. Imagine what -this- will do to our economy, not to mention our standard of living, and our safety.

Now, if the US does fail to raise the ceiling in time, it is likely that we will choose to pay the bankers instead of the public (again, surprise surprise). If it gets to this point, I don't think that it will last very long before people and politicians start realizing how serious this actually is, and then I think they'll do something about it and raise the ceiling so that we can try to pathetically putter along again, lick the wounds that we sustained, and live to die another day. However, the days between when we run out of money and when we decide to raise the debt ceiling could be very ugly, and I strongly recommend you prepare.

This is what I would (and am) doing, in order of priority:

1) Take as much money out of your bank as you can. Your cash is much safer 'under your matress' than it is in a bank, and if there is a panic, you might not be able to get it out. Only leave as much in a bank as you absolutely HAVE to.

2) For the same reason, I would have at least 2 weeks worth of food and water in storage. I don't think we're looking at the Apocalypse or anything, and that's -not- what I'm saying, but panic is a funny, unpredictable thing. It's better to be safe than sorry.

3) Have other emergency supplies on hand. It's not likely that power, water, and gas are going to stop, but it won't hurt. Again, when people panic funny things can happen. Fill up your gas tanks before the 2nd, and, if possible, have a few extra gallons lying around encase there's a run on the gas stations (it's happened before).

Once again, I'm not saying that I know what will happen, or that we're definitely heading for some horrible times, but I do think this is a very serious ordeal that could have some very serious consequences, and unlike many of the other things that are going on right now that are worthy of concern, this has a hard and fast deadline that is right around the corner.

Please, take this seriously.

Joe Rogan -- The American War Machine

Setting a trend

US to Pakistan:

You know that 800 million + we owe you... Yeah... You're not getting it. Have a good day, and don't forget that you still need to cooperate with us to fight the terrorists!



Read an article on this in the newspaper today, and found this video online. Now, obviously, there's a lot of political play going into our relationship with Pakistan, but I think this is still an important lesson for the rest of the world...

If we owe you money, you can't count on us paying you back.

After all, we're bigger than you!

Oh... -THAT- Explains it

I don't know why I didn't see it sooner! The reason why our economy is in shambles right now....

It's because minimum wage is too high!

Yup. That $7.25 an hour that you're making is stifling corporate profitism job creation.

How dare you, you greedy Mo*her F*cking McDonald's employees!

The F*'d up economy, explained in 5 minutes

Alright, so if you're following this blog, then there probably won't be anything in this video that will come as a shock to you, or really even prove to be all that educational. However, this is still an exceptionally well done video.

Why? Because it explains the state of the US economy, and more or less why we're mathematically fucked, in about 5 user-friendly, laymen's term minutes. VERY, VERY valuable to share with those 'laymen' you might know in your life who know that something is wrong, they just don't understand why.

Dominos Falling

Look to Greece to see what's in store for us

Legislatures in Greece have approved a massive austerity plan for the financially troubled country, as expected, paving the way for more international financial assistance. U.S. stock futures, already higher before the vote, rose further in response. The Greek Parliament has voted in favor of the austerity bill.



This video does a good job of explaining exactly what the implications of this vote are. I feel absolutely horrible for these people, and if I were there, I'd be one of the tens of thousands rioting in the streets too. Unfortunately, there are many parallels between what's going on in Greece and what's going on here, and it's easy to see how our own "austerity measures" (raiding pensions, firing employees, cutting social services and environmental programs, selling public infrastructure and capital, etc) compares. When you take into consideration the spiraling cost of interest on our debt, it becomes even clearer how we could follow a very similar path.

Lots to cover

Well, needless to say I've been rather absent for the past week or so. I've recently been on a personal vacation out of town, and needless to say, was offered a much needed period of rest and recovery.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world didn't take a break with me, and there's a lot of things that have happened in the past 7 days that I would like to discuss. I'm sure I will continue to hit on the major topics in due time, though I don't want to flood a post with 100's of articles and insights that are dated, even if only slightly.

That being said, here's a very select handful of some videos of some things that happened this past week of things that I think have particular strength and relevance. Check them out if you like, and I'll try to get back to regular updates again soon.

Fukushima:


Greece:





Economy:







Misc:

Fukushima, Lemonade, Economy, and other tidbits

And now for our daily edition of interesting tidbits in the news.

1. Kids fined for lemonade stand that would have raised money to fight cancer

Once again, thank god the government is there to crack down on these predatory, scandalous kids! I mean, what if those lemons had been contaminated with e-coli???

2. Arrested for feeding the homeless.

Once again, thank god the government is there to crack down on these predatory, scandalous kids charities! I mean, what if those lemons watermellons had been contaminated with e-coli???



3. Fukushima: Strontium levels up 240 times over legal limit, uninhabitable zone 17x the size of Manhattan.

The news just keeps getting better and better!


4. Russia to lower US debt holdings

Seems they're finally getting aboard the 'dump the dollar' bandwagon now, too. The only real surprise is that it took them this long!

5. Inflation is at 11.2%!

According to Shadowstats. Like unemployment, the 'official' numbers are so manipulated and have so many conditional qualifiers that they don't actually end up reflecting reality very well. That's why shadowstats is a good source of alternative information: they calculate things like unemployment and inflation without any artificial tinkering or conditional exclusion.

And, lastly, just for fun

6. 12 things that the mainstream media is being strangely quiet about right now

Some pretty interesting snippets of information here, and it includes links to other relevant facts and articles.

Deadly E-coli virus Engineered?

A while back I posted an article featured on Natural News the outlined an argument that the E-coli virus could have only been engineered. RT recently spoke to the editor in chief of Natural News regarding this story. Unfortunately they didn't get into the science, or the 'meat' of the argument, so to speak, very much, but I still felt I should pass along this interview.

Imperial America: The Nasty Truth

So I came across this video earlier today and I thought it was worth sharing.



I just wish I knew who they were quoting.. unfortunately the uploader makes no mention of who wrote this passage or where it was taken from. Still interesting, though.

And a little later, I happened across this upload on RT that talks about American Imperialism as well.

The American Dream ~ George Carlin

Some of you might have seen this before, or might remember it from back in the days he was still around. For those of you that haven't, I suggest you take this opportunity to do so.



Amen George.

He has many other worthwhile monologues floating around youtube that I'd also encourage you to check out. It's just a shame he's no longer with us.. If he was wise enough to see and speak the truth back in 2005, I'm sure we could all stand to learn a lot from him today.

President Obama being sued over Libya war

Link to article from Politico

About time!! Nice to see that a whopping 10 lawmakers give enough of a damn to stand up to the president on this issue.

On another note, a rather interesting article surfaced today that I thought some of you might be interested in...

Pentagon Papers Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg Says that the Government Has ORDERED the Media Not to Cover 9/11

Given the recent developments regarding the independent panels proposed 'reinvestigation' of 9/11, this might very well pack a pretty hefty punch. Lets hope.

A few more updates

Hopefully I'll have time for some more thoughtful and organized posts tomorrow, but in the mean time, I thought these were worth sharing:

1. HALF of New Yorkers want an alternative investigation into the collapse of the Trade Center Buildings. 

In other news, half of New Yorkers are mindless sheeple incapable of critical thought :-p Well, at least it's encouraging that the movement is getting substantial support. We'll see what comes of it.

2. Wireless chips and probes could monitor orthopedic implants

Beware.. your cavities are next!

3. As economy worsens, prepare to see our own "lost generation"

4. Workers’ share of national income plummets to record low

And the following articles, courtesy of a close friend of mine

5. Ticketed for eating a doughnut in a park!

Well, you've got to fight obesity somehow, right?  


6. Citizens now primed for "risk assessment" by uncle sam


Just when you thought traveling couldn't get any more outrageous.


7. SWAT Team Mania: The War Against the American Citizen

8. Another senseless, deadly SWAT raid

9. Surprise surprise, US ranks 21st out of 66 countries in providing adequate legal representation  

Chalk this up as just one more gap between the rich and the poor in this country.

Anyway, that's it for today. Hopefully I'll have some more videos to upload tomorrow.

Updates in the news

In no particular order.

1. The FBI just granted itself new powers

I wish I had the authority to grant myself new powers without any oversite or regulation, don't you?

2. NATO bombs Libyan University

After all, what's more humanitarian than blowing up a university?

Actually, they might be on to something there, now that I think about it.

3. Ordinance requires renters to surrender their keys to the government

You know, cuz in case of an emergency, it's so much easier to go to a lock box, sort through all the keys, and unlock the door than it is to break it down. Oh wait, the 'property damage'. Thanks for thinking about the integrity of MY FUCKING DOOR incase of an emergency (like a fire). I'm sure my insurance company will appreciate that.



4. Pay those student loans or the SWAT TEAM will get you!

A little old now, but still pretty fucking impressive. Really, it pretty much speaks for itself. And while we're on this subject,

5. Debtor Prisons are back in style, baby!



6. Don't film police brutality or they'll take it out on you!

Now, granted I understand how things might get in the heat of the moment. You see someone you think looks suspicious after a massive shootout, you take precautionary actions. I get that. But this increasingly common trend of destroying phones and cameras is what really troubles me about this. This is certainly not the first case I've heard of someone having to hide their SIM card to prevent the videos from being destroyed.... Looks like if you plan on capturing Americas finest in action, you better have a plan in place to smuggle your videos after they destroy your equipment. Balloons: not just for cocaine any more!

7. Fukushima waters 10X worse than Chernobyl 

Your daily dose of optimism from Japan. Hmm... Sushi sounds good for dinner tonight!

8. No Freedom of Food (Farmageddon Trailer)

Looks like there's a new documentary out exposing the crackdown of horrible, unhealthy, disease-laden organic foods! Good thing I can still get my 18% ground beef $.99 mondo-burritos from Tacobell!


9. Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Syria... Hey, why not bomb Yemen too?

At this rate, I agree. Why the fuck not. Lets just expedite the process and do a preemptive strike on China while we're at it.

10. "Oh yeah, that plane that we loaded up with 6.6 billion dollars. Umm.. yeah. We think someone stole it."

I litterally lol'd


I've got a few more to update, but I'll try to get around to those later this afternoon.

US Is Nearing Even Worse Financial Crisis: Jim Rogers

Article and video can be found here.

It's getting harder and harder to find anyone with any sense of optimism these days... Except, of course, our politicians and our Federal Reserve Czars. Even Ben Stein, one of the most idiotic economists on the planet, is warning that things are going to get worse now:



You know it's bad when....

And, in other breaking news, our debt will exceed the size of our ECONOMY later this year... NOT in 2014, like so many official economists (like Ben Stein) predicted.



Unfortunately, there's not much we can really do about any of this... Right now, all any of us can hope for is to use the time we have left to prepare to the extent that we can. I don't know how much time we have left, but I know it looks like things really are starting to get pretty bad, and all the predictions of shit hitting the fan by July-August seems like it's more and more likely. While none of us can save the economy, we -can- buy food, water, guns & ammo -right now-, before it's too late. I'm re-doubling my preparation efforts, and I'd suggest all of you start getting very serious about it if you haven't already. 

10 signs that wall street is about to go into panic mode

The following article highlights some of the recent economic news plaguing our country, and gives 10 compelling reasons why things could get a whole lot worse very quickly. If you've been following the news lately these shouldn't come as a shock, but it's still an interesting article nevertheless.

And, interestingly enough, I found the following video a few days ago that seems to support my theory about the effect of the Tsunami in Japan will have on the global economy. Now, obviously we could both be wrong about this, but something has already started to send markets into a tailspin, and it makes sense that this -could- at least be a contributing factor.

In the News

Here's a few different articles for the past weekend that I wanted to share.

1. Engineered E coli Superbug.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that this is, obviously, a 'conspiracy theory', of sorts. However, I believe the article had some compelling arguments, and made some interesting points, so I still think it's worth checking out. I found another related article in my local newspaper this morning that says that German sprouts from an organic farm have been linked to the E-coli virus... First off all, I find it hard to believe that that many people across Europe are consuming organic sprouts from Germany. Secondly, it does seem to support the Higalian Dialect theory (problem, reaction, solution) as suggested in the article in the context of the current war on local, organic foods.

2. Unemployment at Great Depression Levels.

If anyone you know might still happen to believe the official unemployment levels are at 9.1% (recently up .1%, and not, as predicted, "recovering"), then I think you should point them in the direction of this article from the Washington Blog. It's got some fascinating information and graphs in it that really put things today in context to the last great depression.

3. Teen Unemployment at 25%.

This, of course, should come as no surprise at anyone. When companies like McDonnalds have a hiring fair for 60,000 jobs and over 1,000,000 people apply, how many of those jobs do you think went to a completely inexperienced teenager? Probably not many. This, of course, has obvious social ramifications. What I find most interesting, however, how this rate compares to rates in other countries, particularly countries in the mideast like Egypt and Tunisia, that have youth unemployment rates of around 50%, to Eurpean countries like Spain, that's youth unemployment rates are around 40%. Obviously, the youth of these countries have started massive rebellions... again, for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, America's youth, I fear, are far too complacent, obese, and distracted to give a damn. For now, they can continue to live off of their parents, but sooner or later, that well will run dry.

4. Fukushima reactor now more radioactive than ever

Not surprisingly, news about Fukushima is still getting harder and harder to find, even though there are near cataclysmic discoveries coming out about it on a regular basis. I'm not going to say much about this, aside from the fact that I think it would be a good idea to keep reminding people that this is still going on, lest they forget about it entirely. Not that there's much that we can do about this one, though. Here's hoping that the radiation gives us all superpowers like we see in the comics.

5. Consumer confidence lower now that at any point during the great "recession"

Home prices continue to plummet to catastrophic (but ultimately, realistic) levels. Unemployment continues to tick up, not down. The stockmarket, being pulled by the banks, is plummeting down again, and the Fed is talking about QE3 (big surprise). As I read the 'mainstream' papers and watch their news, I'm baffled by how many economists are just NOW saying that things are looking bad, and that we can expect them to get worse. If you've picked up a newspaper or watched the nightly news, you're probably as familiar of these accounts as I am. However, despite everything that's going on, these fucktards are still "confident" that we'll see a recovery soon. Newsflash, people... They weren't right about the housing bubble. They weren't right about the 'great recession'. The only thing they have right now is that things are getting worse. I've been telling people that we wouldn't recover from the crash of 2008 since 2008, and low and behold, 3 years later, we haven't. And if nothing else, things are only going to get worse when the world markets finally realize the full effect of the Japan disaster from March. Japan will release its newest quarterly report in July, which will be the first one to account for the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country and their economy. Though I have nothing hard to support this, in my personal opinion, these numbers have the potential to send the global market into an even greater tailspin once these figures get published and we get a first 'economic' look at how bad things really are over there.

6. 29 statistics about extreme income inequality.

Personally, I like to have some of these statistics handy, just encase I find myself in a situation where I'm in a conversation and I have a claim I'd like to back up. Nothing new here, really, but still some pretty interesting little facts to boggle your mind... Including the tax rates of some of the biggest corporations in America:

*Honeywell*
Profits: $4.9 billion
Taxes: -$34 million
*Fed Ex*
Profits: $3 billion
Taxes: -$23 million
*Wells Fargo*
Profits: $49.37 billion
Taxes: -$681 million
*Boeing*
Profits: $9.7 billion
Taxes: -$178 million
*Verizon*
Profits: $32.5 billion
Taxes: -$951 million
*Dupont*
Profits: $2.1 billion
Taxes -$72 million
*American Electric Power*
Profits: $5.89 billion
Taxes -$545 million
*General Electric*
Profits: $7.7 billion
Taxes: -$4.7 billion

American Ignorance

I was doing a little bit of research for a new post that I wanted to make, and I happened across this video that I  wanted to share... Not because I feel that the movie is particularly all that amazing, but because of the simply baffling reaction of the crowd to this wrestlers speech. I don't know if this was staged, or what the true motives for letting him give this speech were, but he seemed pretty damn genuine to me. Of course, the entire message was entirely lost on the "USA pride" drunk crowd.



And, in other news... I might have just committed a crime that could land me in jail for 5 years!

Yup, they want to make it illegal to embed videos now.

Taking away your freedoms, one day at a time.

Just following orders

What extent would you go to in order to follow orders? It might be one thing to illegally arrest someone, or even beat the crap out of them as we've seen time and time again, but if you were a cop, firefighter, or other civil service member, could you sit back and watch someone die, in the name of 'following orders'?

Apparently, these guys can.



This is something that absolutely sickens me. How fucking spineless, complacent, and brainwashed do you have to be to just let someone die, in the name of 'following orders'.

Even more proof that our 'civil servants' are nothing more than obedient dogs, with no mind of their own, and no shred of human decency left.

Some quick scatterings of news

Thanks to the holiday weekend and an incredibly inhibiting amount of work to do at, well, work, I haven't been able to keep up on things as much as I would like as of late. Saddly, that means that, until my workload dies down a bit again, I probably won't be able to be -as- active on here, either.


Nevertheless, I did come across a few things recently that I thought would be worth bringing up. In no particular order:

1. Newest domestic terrorists: Sidewalk Chalk Users!

2. CDC admits flu vaccines don't work (which is why you need a new one every year)

3. Greenpeace warns of radioactive sea life off Japan

4.Antibiotics In Animal Feed Encourage Emergence Of Superbugs - FDA Sued By Health And Consumer Organizations

5. Oregon Senator Reveals Secret Government Surveillance Grid 

6. Stubborn Jobless Claims Still Keep On Climbing Higher 

7. Human Guinea Pigs: Medical Experimentation against your will

And, of course, what update would be complete without some Police State / Homeland Security news?

1. Big sis will now start reading your mind, to determine if you are "intending" to commit an act of terrorism!

Paul Joseph Watson Commentary

2. New Mexico Supreme Court Lets Cops Grab Guns During Stops
Supreme Court allows police to take all firearms from law-abiding motorists during traffic stops.

3. Seattle must stop releasing names of officers involved in misconduct 

An arbitrator has ruled the department cannot make officer's names public. 

4. Police brutality is killing us, says ACLU of Colorado

5. The Governments War on Cameras:

Following Suite

Get it... cuz they're lawyers??

Okay, bad pun. I'm pretty sure that this new generation of lawyers whose starting salaries are half what they used to be don't think it's funny either.

This is, of course, the prevalent theme of the 2010's in pretty much all industries. Take, for example, my job:

Before I got hired, there were 4 people in my position, doing -less- work than I'm currently doing. Now there is only me... and I'm getting paid $5.50 less per hour than the lowest-paid person that I replaced! On top of that, my department hasn't given employee's a penny raise since 2002, and we've only had one cost of living raise in 2006 -- of .5%!

Now, granted initially I didn't feel too bad for those lawyers who aren't getting their tenure-track 120,000 starting salary anymore. After all, 60K a year is far more than I'm sure I'll -ever- see in my life, so it's hard for me to muster up too much sympathy. However, like myself and many other people who find themselves in the unfortunate circumstance of trying to start their career right now, I can sympathize with their frustrations... Nothing is more devastating than to diligently work your entire young life away for the prospects of a better future, only to have that robbed from you at no fault of your own. 60,000 might be a living wage for me, but then again, who knows what the average debt of a law school student these days is... I'm sure it's probably greater than mine.

Makes you wonder what things are going to be like for the rest of us if you have to be a fucking blood-sucking-lawyer just to earn what used to be a pretty standard middle-class salary though, doesn't it?

Robocopcar

"Keeping the City of Angels safe from pot smokers and dead-beat dads.... It also appears to be an revenue enhancement dream come true. It is not clear in the following video if the high-tech cop cruiser has Robocop’s assault cannons onboard, though."

One can only imagine how much something like this costs. 

Incarceration -- Making money on your freedom

Cracking down on the little guy

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws ... pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted and you create a nation of law-breakers." ~Ayn Rand

I don't think I could think of a truer statement today. The following videos clearly demonstrate this principal, and showcase just how drastically things have gotten out of hand. In order to support our overstretched, overpowered militant police force, they have to start turning the whip on the little guys -- you and me. And I can personally testify how true this is... A few weeks ago, I was pulled over and received a traffic violation of $80 for, guess what? Not signaling for 2 seconds before changing lanes.

Yep... I think that warrants an $80 ticket, don't you? I don't even want to know what would have happened had a drifted across a white line...


And, next time you travel, you'd better leave all your cash at home. You might be a drug trafficker.



And hey, while we're crackin down on all these little guys, we might as well throw in some assault on the handicapped too! No one's littler than them.... surely this will strike fear and respect into the hearts of the people.



As a side note, Adams show is particularly worth watching if you have the interest and time. He covers a great deal of related topics, and he's a great voice for the fed-up millennials out there.

As many of you might guess, this 'devolution' of our police force is something that I've been following for quite some time. I've often looked back and pondered many things, like when and why did the police force devolve from being there to help people and serve the public to, quite litterally, the local city mafia. It's no wonder nobody likes police officers any more... plain and simple, they don't give a rats ass about protecting the common man, and they don't understand things like civility, humanity, and common decency and understanding... They're job now is to keep us in line, and to make as much revenue as they can while they're doing it. All they understand now are the necessities of following orders and filling quotas. Oh yeah, and the power. I'm -sure- they understand that, too.

New government spy machine -- your car

The feds are now mandating that a 'black box' be installed on all new cars. These black boxes record information about speed, seat belt use and brake application... And very likely, lots of other information too.

And while some cars have had this technology in place for the last couple years, it was always private information that was only used by the manufacturers... part of the official motivation for this is to 'standardize the data' and redefine who has access to it.


And, while they're at it, intell is working on software to more accurately geo-track your car, and wants to have video cameras installed outside -- and inside -- every new vehicle.

 I can only imagine what other information these devices will collect, and what kind of extra built in 'features' they'll come with.

Good thing I can't afford to buy a new car any time soon.

Behold the War Machine

The following articles all seem to tell one pretty scary story. Lets see if you can figure out what that story is.

1. China has officially put the United States on notice that Washington’s planned attack on Pakistan will be interpreted as an act of aggression against Beijing.

2. China gives Pakistan 50 fighter jets.

3. Obama already has a plan in action to cease Pakistani nukes 'if they come under the control of terrorists' to protect Pakistan

4. The US has refused to assure that it would not repeat Abbottabad-like unilateral operation in Pakistan

5. India (US alley) is simulating an attack strategy in the event of 'full-out war' with Pakistan.


6. CIA has created own Taliban to wreak terror havoc on Pakistan, claims Pak paper 

7. Pakistan threatens to cut NATO's supply line in American's don't end missile strikes on their soil


8. (No official article for this) Russia is very likely to back China if China is forced to back Pakistan.




The War Machine keeps rolling!
 

Our Nobel Peace Prize winning president violates the War Powers Act

Control the energy, control the people

If you read one of my earlier blog posts in which the spending of the country are put in perspective by oreos, then you may recall that the amount of money we invest into alternative energy is beyond pathetic... it's downright laughable.

Ever since I was a small boy, I remembered hearing stories about various new promising advents in alternative energy. These stories would be featured on the nightly news, and maybe people would talk about them here and there for a few days, but they would inevitably disappear just as quickly as they came. I always used to ask myself questions, wondering whatever happened to such and such technology, and most people wouldn't even know what I was talking about.

When I got older, I learned the answer.

I remember having a very heated conversation about this topic in a seminar class as a graduate student. Me, being the natural resource economist, pointed out that we would never have free, readily accessible energy in this culture. Of course, this upset many of my liberal idealist peers, who still had faith that Obama was actually going to work towards that endeavor (it amazes me how intelligent, educated liberals can be so fucking stupid). My rational was simply this (which is as close to a paraphrase quote as I can get considering it was about 2 years ago).

If you the people the capacity to produce their own energy, you loose the ability to profit off of them, and, in turn, you loose your control over them. Creating clean, efficient, free energy is the -last- thing that the current energy tycoons want, and they'll spend billions, if not trillions, of dollars to make sure that it -never- happens.

This is a snippet of a documentary that I found awhile back that touches on this topic. It's got some good examples, and if nothing else, should be a pretty interesting watch for those of you who have a train-wreck fascination with corruption like I do.    

And this was the head of NSA?

Oh. My. LOL.

Speaks volumes, doesn't it?

Following in China's Footsteps.

Oh, if only we could count the ways.

No privacy -- Check
No personal liberty -- Check
Massive wage inequality -- Check
Destitute 'working class' (i.e. slaves) -- Check
No right to speak out against the government -- Check
No right to safety in your own home from illegal searches -- Check
Complete disregard for the environment, regulations of any kind, and the citizens of the state -- Check

I could go on and on.

This last one speaks for itself.



And, of course, more on the elimination of the 4th amendment:


IN Sheriff: If We Need to Conduct RANDOM HOUSE to HOUSE Searches We Will

Wow... That didn't take long, did it? And now we see why these things are such a slippery slope. 

Speaking of slippery slope, "sneak and peak" search warrants are increasing almost exponentially. What's wrong with these? They allow cops to effectively break in your home and go through your things without informing you, and they do it when you're not even home. And 77% of them are used not for the 'intended' purpose of investigating terrorism, but for minor drug offenses.  

In other news, the 4th amendment isn't the only thing they want to kill.

 H.J.res. 62. Amending the Constitution to end states rights?

Not entirely sure what the implications of this could be, but it should prove to be very interesting.

And finally, just to end the post with some good old fashioned police brutality:

84-year-old man allegedly beaten by police officer after calling 911

CDC: Prepare for ZOMBIE APOCOLYPSE

I couldn't help but post this... Mostly because, like many people of my generation, I REALLY hope the world ends via zombie apocalypse. I mean, we're all fucked anyway, right? The way I see it, I'd rather try to hold off as long as I can killing zombies than getting nuked, fighting the Chinese, or even more likely, fighting my own fucking government... or, WORSE case scenario, actually having to endure living in a radiation covered, GMO/chemical fed, Orwellian police state New World Order for the next god knows how long.

But I digress, the CDC is officially warning people how to prepare for zombies.

Now, it's pretty obvious what the real tactic is here, but I still find it funny as hell. Even more entertaining, though, is that of EVERYTHING they tell you to make sure you have, the ONE thing not on their list that is, bar none, the most important, is, of course, A FUCKING WEAPON!!!

Jesus Christ, a massive horde of zombies is heading right for me! Good thing I can hold them off with my birth certificate and passport!

For a full commentary on this article, check out this natural news article.

But, as well all know, most Americans are already zombies anyway. The following song parallels a song that I personally wrote a few years back (and might update a bit) called "Suburban Zombie". It's an amusing watch.

This text will be replaced by the player

50 Depressing Statistics about the US Economy

I can't take credit for this article. The following article was taken from http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/


The following are 50 things that every American should know about the collapse of the economy....

#1 Do you remember how much was made of the "Misery Index" during the presidency of Jimmy Carter?  At that time, the "Misery Index" was constantly making headlines in newspapers all across the country.  Well, according to John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics, if we calculated unemployment and inflation the same way that we did back during the Carter administration, then the Misery Index today would actually be higher than at any point during the presidency of Jimmy Carter.

#2 According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of about 5 million Americans were being hired every single month during 2006.  Today, an average of about 3.5 million Americans are being hired every single month.

#3 According to the Wall Street Journal, there are 5.5 million Americans that are currently unemployed and yet are not receiving unemployment benefits.

#4 All over America, state and local governments are selling off buildings just to pay the bills.  Investors can now buy up government-owned power plants, prisons and municipal buildings from coast to coast.  For example, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey recently sold off 16 government buildings (including the police and fire headquarters) just to pay some bills.

#5 When Americans think of "government debt", most of them only think of the federal government, but it is not just the federal government that has a massive debt problem.  State and local government debt has reached an all-time high of 22 percent of U.S. GDP.

#6 If you can believe it, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards.

#7 Credit card usage in the United States is on the increase once again.  During the month of March, revolving consumer credit jumped 2.9%.  Sadly, it looks like Americans have not learned their lessons about the dangers of credit card debt.

#8 Last year, Social Security ran a deficit for the first time since 1983, and the "Social Security deficits" in future years are projected to be absolutely horrific.

#9 The U.S. government now says that the Medicare trust fund will run out five years faster than they were projecting just last year.

#10 Right now we are watching what could potentially be the worst Mississippi River flood ever recorded play out right in front of our eyes.  One agricultural economist at Mississippi State University believes that this disaster could do 2 billion dollars of damage just to farms alone.

#11 The "tornadoes of 2011" that we just saw in the southeast United States are being called the worst natural disaster that the U.S. has seen since Hurricane Katrina.  It has been estimated that up to 25 percent of all of the poultry houses in Alabama were either significantly damaged or destroyed.  It is also believed that millions of birds were killed.

#12 The economic effects of the BP oil spill just seem to go on and on and on.  The number of very sick fish in the Gulf of Mexico is really starting to alarm scientists.  The following is how one local newspaper recently described the situation....

Scientists are alarmed by the discovery of unusual numbers of fish in the Gulf of Mexico and inland waterways with skin lesions, fin rot, spots, liver blood clots and other health problems.

#13 The number of "low income jobs" in the U.S. has risen steadily over the past 30 years and they now account for 41 percent of all jobs in the United States.

#14 All over America, hospitals that care for the poor and needy are so overwhelmed and are so broke that they are being forced to shut down.  Recently, a local newspaper in Florida ran an article about two prominent charity hospitals in Illinois that have served the poor for more than 100 years but are now asking for permission to shut down....

Two charity hospitals in Illinois are facing a life-or-death decision. There's not much left of either of them - one in Chicago's south suburbs, the other in impoverished East St. Louis - aside from emergency rooms crowded with patients seeking free care. Now they would like the state's permission to shut down.

#15 The U.S. dollar is in such bad shape that now even Steve Forbes is predicting that the U.S. is "likely" to go back to a gold standard within the next five years.

#16 Most Americans don't realize how much the U.S. dollar has been devalued over the years.  An item that cost $20.00 in 1970 would cost you $115.93 today.  An item that cost $20.00 in 1913 would cost you $454.36 today.

#17 Over the past 12 months the average price of gasoline in the United States has gone up by about 30%.

#18 U.S. oil companies will bring in about $200 billion in pre-tax profits this year.  They will also receive about $4.4 billion in specialized tax breaks from the U.S. government.

#19 It is being projected that for the first time ever, the OPEC nations are going to bring in over a trillion dollars from exporting oil this year.  Their biggest customer is the United States.

#20 According to the Pentagon, there are minerals worth over a trillion dollars under the ground in Afghanistan.  Now, J.P. Morgan is starting to tap those riches with the help of the U.S. military.

#21 Speaking of J.P. Morgan, most Americans don't realize that they are actually the largest processor of food stamp benefits in the United States.  In fact, the more Americans that go on food stamps the more money that J.P. Morgan makes.

#22 When 2007 began, there were about 26 million Americans on food stamps.  Today, there are over 44 million on food stamps, and one out of every four American children is on food stamps.

#23 Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid.  Today, one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid.

#24 Only 66.8% of American men had a job last year.  That was the lowest level that has ever been recorded in all of U.S. history.

#25 The financial system is more vulnerable today than it was back in 2008 before the financial panic. Today, the world financial system has been turned into a giant financial casino where bets are made on just about anything you can possibly imagine, and the major Wall Street banks make a ton of money from this betting system.  The system is largely unregulated (the new "Wall Street reform" law has only changed this slightly) and it is totally dominated by the big international banks. The danger from derivatives is so great that Warren Buffet once called them "financial weapons of mass destruction". It is estimated that the "derivatives bubble" is somewhere in the neighborhood of a quadrillion dollars, and once it pops there isn't going to be enough money in the entire world to bail everyone out.

#26 Between December 2000 and December 2010, the United States ran a total trade deficit of 6.1 trillion dollars with the rest of the world, and the U.S. has had a negative trade balance every single year since 1976.

#27 The United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs per month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and the U.S. trade deficit with China is now 27 times larger than it was back in 1990.

#28 In 2010, the number one U.S. export to China was "scrap and trash".

#29 All over the United States, many of our once great manufacturing cities are being transformed into hellholes.  In the city of Detroit today, there are over 33,000 abandoned houses, 70 schools are being permanently closed down, the mayor wants to bulldoze one-fourth of the city and you can literally buy a house for one dollar in the worst areas.

#30 During the first three months of this year, less new homes were sold in the U.S. than in any three month period ever recorded.

#31 New home sales in the United States are now down 80% from the peak in July 2005.

#32 America's real estate crisis just seems to get worse and worse.  U.S. home prices have now fallen a whopping 33% from where they were at during the peak of the housing bubble.

#33 According to a new report from the AFL-CIO, the average CEO made 343 times more money than the average American did last year.

#34 The European debt crisis could cause a global financial collapse like the one that we saw in 2008 at any time.  The world economy is incredibly interconnected today, and the United States would not be immune.  A recent IMF report stated the following about the growing sovereign debt crisis in Europe....

Strong policy responses have successfully contained the sovereign debt and financial-sector troubles in the euro area periphery so far. But contagion to the core euro area and then onward to emerging Europe remains a tangible risk.

#35 According to one study, the 50 U.S. state governments are collectively 3.2 trillion dollars short of what they need to meet their pension obligations.

#36 A different study has shown that individual Americans are $6.6 trillion short of what they need to retire comfortably.

#37 The cost of college tuition in the United States has gone up by over 900 percent since 1978.

#38 According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5% of all personal consumption back in 1980.  Today they account for approximately 16.3%.

#39 One study found that approximately 41 percent of working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.

#40 The combined debt of the major GSEs (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Sallie Mae) has increased from 3.2 trillion in 2008 to 6.4 trillion in 2011.  Thanks to our politicians, U.S. taxpayers are standing behind that debt.

#41 The U.S. government is over 14 trillion dollars in debt and the budget deficit for this year is projected to be about 1.5 trillion dollars.  However, if the U.S. government was forced to use GAAP accounting principles (like all publicly-traded corporations must), the U.S. government budget deficit would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 trillion to $5 trillion each and every year.

#42 Most Americans don't understand that the Federal Reserve and the debt-based monetary system that it runs are at the very heart of our economic problems.  All of this debt is absolutely crushing us.  The U.S. government spent over 413 billion dollars on interest on the national debt during fiscal 2010, and it is being projected that the U.S. government will be shelling out 900 billion dollars just in interest on the national debt by the year 2019.

#43 Standard & Poor’s has altered its outlook on U.S. government debt from "stable" to "negative" and is warning that the U.S. could soon lose its AAA rating.

#44 In 1980, government transfer payments accounted for just 11.7% of all income.  Today, government transfer payments account for 18.4% of all income.

#45 U.S. households are now receiving more income from the U.S. government than they are paying to the government in taxes.

#46 59 percent of all Americans now receive money from the federal government in one form or another.

#47 According to Gallup, 41 percent of Americans believed that the economy was "getting better" at this time last year.  Today, that number is at just 27 percent.

#48 The wealthiest 1% of all Americans now own more than a third of all the wealth in the United States.

#49 The poorest 50% of all Americans collectively own just 2.5% of all the wealth in the United States.

#50 The percentage of millionaires in Congress is more than 50 times higher than the percentage of millionaires in the general population.