[CitizensTruth] FW: To Avoid Misunderstandings

[Geri Perry]

Well....

It can be argued, as I do in Part I of my book The Two Faces of Money, 
that "administrative law" is part of the sovereign power structure that 
surrounds the Federal Reserve System. For those who have my book, a good 
quote on page 61 sums up the issue and need for said "power structure" - 
which basically begins and ends with "democratic money" - NOT capitalism.

Otherwise, read this page for an overview of the problem and possible 
solutions: 
http://www.thetwofacesofmoney.com/index.php/Site/AWordAboutCorporations

gerip

Chuck Minne wrote:

>

> While I am not in favor of big government per se, I am very leery of 

> those who preach downsize, for those are often code words for 

> "de-regulate."

>  

> Capitalism is based on greed with not altruistic motives whatsoever. 

> And while I believe that performance should be rewarded and even well 

> rewarded, I believe that capitalism must be very strictly regulated. 

> And in some cases lots of regulation means lots of government.

>  

> We obviously need regulation in almost every endeavor, especially 

> health, energy, environment, military, intelligence, and, oh, hell, 

> the list goes on forever.

>  

> For those of you who missed the 60 Minutes show on Oil Speculation, 

> you can see and/or read it here:

>  

> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/08/60minutes/main4707770.shtml?tag=topStory;topStoryHeadline

>  

>  

> Here is a quote from that show, I think it points out the need for 

> regulation; so I am not so sure about those who preach "downsizing," - 

> they are too Enron-like for my taste. (BTW all the Enron papers were 

> destroyed in WTC7, so there was no prosecution.):

>  

>  

>  

> Asked who was buying this "paper oil," Masters told Kroft, "The 

> California pension fund. Harvard Endowment. Lots of large 

> institutional investors. And, by the way, other investors, hedge funds 

> <http://www.stockhouse.com/Bullboards/MessageDetail.aspx?p=0&m=25739836&l=0&r=0&s=MPV&t=LIST#>, 

> Wall Street trading desks were following right behind them, putting 

> money - sovereign wealth funds were putting money in the futures 

> markets as well. So you had all these investors putting money in the 

> futures markets. And that was driving the price up."

>  

>     In a five year period, Masters said the amount of money 

> institutional investors, hedge funds, and the big Wall Street banks 

> had placed in the commodities markets went from $13 billion to $300 

> billion. *Last year, 27 barrels of crude were being traded every day 

> on the New York Mercantile Exchange for every one barrel of oil that 

> was actually being consumed in the United States.*

>  

>     "We talked to the *largest physical trader of crude oil*. And they 

> told us that compared to the size of the investment inflows - and 

> remember, this is the largest physical crude oil trader in the United 

> States - *they said that we are basically a flea on an elephant*, that 

> that's how big these flows were," Masters remembered.

>

>

> later:

>

>  "Who was responsible for deregulating the oil future market?" Kroft 

> asked Michael Greenberger.

>  

>     "You'd have to say Enron," he replied. "This was something they 

> desperately wanted, and they got."

>

>  

>     Greenberger, who wanted more regulation while he was at the 

> Commodity Futures Trading 

> <http://www.stockhouse.com/Bullboards/MessageDetail.aspx?p=0&m=25739836&l=0&r=0&s=MPV&t=LIST#> 

> Commission, not less, says it all happened when Enron was the seventh 

> largest corporation in the United States.

> "This was when Enron was riding high. And what Enron wanted, Enron got."

>  

>     Asked why they wanted a deregulated market in oil futures, 

> Greenberger said, "Because they wanted to establish their own little 

> energy futures exchange through computerized trading. They knew that 

> if they could get this trading engine established without the controls 

> that had been placed on speculators, they would have the ability to 

> drive the price of energy products in any way they wanted to take it."

>  

>     "When Enron failed, we learned that Enron, and its conspirators 

> who used their trading engine, were able to drive the price of 

> electricity up, some say, by as much as 300 percent on the West 

> Coast," he added.

>  

>     "Is the same thing going on right now in the oil business?" Kroft 

> asked.

>  

> *"Every Enron trader, who knew how to do these manipulations, became 

> the most valuable employee on Wall Street," Greenberger said*

>  

>  

> "I have lost faith, godammit! I put my faith in the People and that 

> was a mistake! This is a shit people! They get stolen blind by their 

> politicians and they lick their boots. They send their kids off to die 

> for somebody's business deal and they celebrate it like they're doing 

> something heroic! This great and glorious people! Lazy sacks of junk 

> food and jingo!"

>  

> From: "The Army of the Republic"  by Stuart Archer Cohen

>  

>

>

> --- On *Thu, 1/15/09, Robin Migalla /<rmigalla at earthlink.net>/* wrote:

>

>     From: Robin Migalla <rmigalla at earthlink.net>

>     Subject: [CitizensTruth] FW: To Avoid Misunderstandings

>     To: "citizenstruth at six.pairlist.net" <citizenstruth at six.pairlist.net>

>     Date: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 5:04 PM

>

>     Hi Everyone,

>

>     I'm assuming many of you are already familiar with the Downsize DC 

>     organization, so please forgive me if you've already seen this message.  I 

>     liked it so much I wanted to share it.

>

>     Cheers,

>     Robin

>

>     -----Original Message-----

>     From:	Downsizer Dispatch [SMTP:downsizer-dispatch at downsizedc.org]

>     Sent:	Tuesday, January 13, 2009 10:10

>     To:	rmigalla at earthlink.net

>     Subject:	To Avoid Misunderstandings

>

>

>     D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h

>

>     |*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|

>

>     Quote of the Day: "We did not see (as a result of brain scans of

>     partisan loyalists) any increased activation of the parts of the

>     brain normally engaged during reasoning. What we saw instead was a

>     network of emotion circuits lighting up, including circuits

>     hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits known

>     to be involved in resolving conflicts. None of the circuits involved

>     in conscious reasoning were particularly engaged. Essentially, it

>     appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive kaleidoscope until they

>     get the conclusions they want, and then they get massively reinforced

>     for it, with the elimination of negative emotional states and

>     activation of positive ones . . . The result is that partisan beliefs

>     are calcified, and the person can learn very little from new data."

>

>     -- Drew Westen, Director of Clinical Psychology at Emory University

>     <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11009379>

>

>     Subject: To avoid partisan misunderstandings

>

>     We want to be clear. DownsizeDC.org is, by law, non-partisan. But the

>     managers of DownsizeDC.org go one step further. We are philosophically

>     and tempermentally ANTI-partisan. We believe political parties are a

>     problem, not a solution.

>

>     Likewise, we're skeptical of politicians. Any person who thinks he or

>     she is qualified to make decisions for others, and to coerce others to

>     abide by those decisions, is automatically suspect in our eyes.

>     Politicians, almost by definition, are people who feel qualified to

>     use government coercion to manage other people's lives.

>

>     We disagree with them. They aren't qualified. No one is.

>

>     In our view the best a politician can do is work to limit the use of

>     government power. These boundaries are required by the Constitution

>     and the Bill of Rights. Sadly, most politicians are too impressed

>     with themselves to limit themselves in such a way.

>

>     This fact motivates us to be both anti-partisan and anti-politician.

>

>     Where most people look to parties and politicians for solutions, we

>     favor skeptical thinking, limited, decentralized power structures,

>     individual liberty, and personal responsibility. We prefer to deal

>     with issues, ideas, and principles.

>

>     Here's where the potential for misunderstanding arises. Most people

>     are used to thinking in terms of parties and personalities. Thus, if

>     we support or oppose a policy associated with a particular party or

>     politician, some jump to the conclusion that we are being partisan --

>     that we're picking sides.

>

>     Nothing could be further from the truth. We care about the issue, not

>     the party or the politician.

>

>     For the past four years we've opposed (and only occasionally

>     supported) policies associated with Republicans in general, and

>     President Bush in particular. Some have assumed from this that we're

>     anti-Republican, anti-Bush, and pro-Democrat.

>

>     Now we have the opposite problem. The Democrats have gained control

>     of Congress and the White House. We've responded by opposing coercive

>     Democratic proposals. As a result . . .

>

>     Some people jump to the conclusion that we're anti-Democrat,

>     anti-Obama, and pro-Republican. Again, nothing could be further from

>     the truth.

>

>     What we are, and intend to remain, is consistent.

>

>     Once again, we believe all politicians, of all parties, are

>     fundamentally unqualified to decide how other people should live. We

>     do not believe in top-down social engineering by Republicans,

>     Democrats, or anyone else. We believe in critical thinking, limited,

>     decentralized power structures, individual liberty, and personal

>     responsibility.

>

>     One hallmark of critical thought is the rejection of special

>     pleading. Special pleading is when you have one standard for

>     yourself, and a different standard for others. Loyalty to parties and

>     politicians lends itself to special pleading and rank hypocrisy. We

>     believe such loyalty is inherently toxic to the mind. We think it

>     also damages the social fabric via unnecessary culture wars.

>

>     We've pointed before to brain scan studies showing that partisan

>     loyalists experience pleasure from lying on behalf of their own

>     party. Our "quote of the day" comes from the lead scientist in these

>     studies. We want to protect ourselves from this kind of dishonesty

>     and non-thinking.

>

>     We do this by being loyal to our principles and nothing else.

>

>     Therefore, anyone who writes to us accusing us of being

>     anti-Democrat, anti-Obama, or pro-Republican, is mistaking us for

>     someone else.

>

>     Personally, we (the undersigned) admire Obama's intelligence and

>     composure. We also take pleasure in the fact that an African-American

>     family will soon occupy the White House. But . . .

>

>     This won't keep us from criticizing things like his vote to legalize

>     warrantless spying and to immunize the telecom companies that aided

>     such spying. Neither can we endorse his eagerness to spend a trillion

>     dollars to supposedly stimulate the economy.

>

>     We opposed the stimulus package when Bush wanted it. We'll continue

>     to oppose it now that Obama wants it. We don't do special pleading.

>

>     If you believe as we do that the stimulus bill will be full of waste,

>     corporate welfare, and favors to political interests, then please send

>     Congress a message opposing this bill. Do it now, and keep doing it

>     until the vote is held. You can use our quick and easy Educate the

>     Powerful system to send your message.

>     <http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/104>

>

>     Then, if you really agree with this focus on principle over

>     partisanship and cult of personality, please go to our blog, located

>     conveniently on our home page at www.DownsizeDC.org

>     <http://www.DownsizeDC.org/>

>     , and "Digg" the blog version of this message. If you've never

>     used

>     Digg before, please, go sign up!

>

>     Thank you for being a member of the growing Downsize DC Army, which

>     allows you to particpate or not participate on individual issues,

>     depending on your own principles.

>

>     Jim Babka & Perry Willis

>

>     President & Communications Director

>

>     DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

>

>     P.S. This Congress is still just getting started. Not all new office

>     holders have Internet contact pages yet. We are updating our system

>     to reflect the new Congress, just as quickly as the information comes

>     to us. If you have one or more new elected representatives, its

>     possible that you won't be able to get a message to them. But your

>     message should go through to any of your representatives that remain

>     the same, or for which we have already received new information.

>     Don't let this transition deter you from taking action. Your message

>     will get through to someone, and will make a difference.

>

>

>

>     |*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|*|

>

>     D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h

>     is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

>     http://www.DownsizeDC.org

>     &

>     Downsize DC Foundation

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>

>     CONTRIBUTE to the Electronic Lobbyist project at

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>

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>     non-profit educational organization promoting the ideas of individual

>     liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and small government.

>

>     You are encouraged to forward this message to friends and business

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>

>     If you have difficulties or inquiries, simply hit reply to this message.

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>

>       

>

>     *D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h*

>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------

>     *Quote of the Day:* "We did not see (as a result of brain scans of

>     partisan loyalists) any increased activation of the parts of the

>     brain normally engaged during reasoning. What we saw instead was a

>     network of emotion circuits lighting up, including circuits

>     hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits

>     known to be involved in resolving conflicts. None of the circuits

>     involved in conscious reasoning were particularly engaged.

>     Essentially, it appears as if partisans twirl the cognitive

>     kaleidoscope until they get the conclusions they want, and then

>     they get massively reinforced for it, with the elimination of

>     negative emotional states and activation of positive ones . . .

>     The result is that partisan beliefs are calcified, and the person

>     can learn very little from new data."

>     -- Drew Westen, Director of Clinical Psychology at Emory

>     University <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11009379>

>     *Subject: To avoid partisan misunderstandings*

>     We want to be clear. DownsizeDC.org is, by law, non-partisan. But

>     the managers of DownsizeDC.org go one step further. We are

>     philosophically and tempermentally ANTI-partisan. We believe

>     political parties are a problem, not a solution.

>     Likewise, we're skeptical of politicians. Any person who thinks he

>     or she is qualified to make decisions for others, and to coerce

>     others to abide by those decisions, is automatically suspect in

>     our eyes. Politicians, almost by definition, are people who feel

>     qualified to use government coercion to manage other people's lives.

>     We disagree with them. They aren't qualified. No one is.

>     In our view the best a politician can do is work to limit the use

>     of government power. These boundaries are required by the

>     Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Sadly, most politicians are

>     too impressed with themselves to limit themselves in such a way.

>     This fact motivates us to be both anti-partisan and anti-politician.

>     Where most people look to parties and politicians for solutions,

>     we favor skeptical thinking, limited, decentralized power

>     structures, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. We

>     prefer to deal with issues, ideas, and principles. 

>     Here's where the potential for misunderstanding arises. Most

>     people are used to thinking in terms of parties and personalities.

>     Thus, if we support or oppose a policy associated with a

>     particular party or politician, some jump to the conclusion that

>     we are being partisan -- that we're picking sides. 

>     Nothing could be further from the truth. We care about the issue,

>     not the party or the politician.

>     For the past four years we've opposed (and only occasionally

>     supported) policies associated with Republicans in general, and

>     President Bush in particular. Some have assumed from this that

>     we're anti-Republican, anti-Bush, and pro-Democrat.

>     Now we have the opposite problem. The Democrats have gained

>     control of Congress and the White House. We've responded by

>     opposing coercive Democratic proposals. As a result . . .

>     Some people jump to the conclusion that we're anti-Democrat,

>     anti-Obama, and pro-Republican. Again, nothing could be further

>     from the truth.

>     What we are, and intend to remain, is consistent.

>     Once again, we believe all politicians, of all parties, are

>     fundamentally unqualified to decide how other people should live.

>     We do not believe in top-down social engineering by Republicans,

>     Democrats, or anyone else. We believe in critical thinking,

>     limited, decentralized power structures, individual liberty, and

>     personal responsibility.

>     One hallmark of critical thought is the rejection of special

>     pleading. Special pleading is when you have one standard for

>     yourself, and a different standard for others. Loyalty to parties

>     and politicians lends itself to special pleading and rank

>     hypocrisy. We believe such loyalty is inherently toxic to the

>     mind. We think it also damages the social fabric via unnecessary

>     culture wars. 

>     We've pointed before to brain scan studies showing that partisan

>     loyalists experience pleasure from lying on behalf of their own

>     party. Our "quote of the day" comes from the lead scientist in

>     these studies. We want to protect ourselves from this kind of

>     dishonesty and non-thinking.

>     We do this by being loyal to our principles and nothing else. 

>     Therefore, anyone who writes to us accusing us of being

>     anti-Democrat, anti-Obama, or pro-Republican, is mistaking us for

>     someone else.

>     Personally, we (the undersigned) admire Obama's intelligence and

>     composure. We also take pleasure in the fact that an

>     African-American family will soon occupy the White House. But . . .

>     This won't keep us from criticizing things like his vote to

>     legalize warrantless spying and to immunize the telecom companies

>     that aided such spying. Neither can we endorse his eagerness to

>     spend a trillion dollars to supposedly stimulate the economy.

>     We opposed the stimulus package when Bush wanted it. We'll

>     continue to oppose it now that Obama wants it. We don't do special

>     pleading.

>     If you believe as we do that the stimulus bill will be full of

>     waste, corporate welfare, and favors to political interests, then

>     please send Congress a message opposing this bill. Do it now, and

>     keep doing it until the vote is held. You can use our quick and

>     easy Educate the Powerful system to send your message.

>     <http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/104>  

>     Then, if you really agree with this focus on principle over

>     partisanship and cult of personality, please go to our blog,

>     located conveniently on our home page at www.DownsizeDC.org

>     <http://www.downsizedc.org/>, and "Digg" the blog version of this

>     message. If you've never used Digg before, please, go sign up!

>     Thank you for being a member of the growing Downsize DC Army,

>     which allows you to particpate or not participate on individual

>     issues, depending on your own principles.

>     Jim Babka & Perry Willis

>     President & Communications Director

>     DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

>     P.S.  This Congress is still just getting started. Not all new

>     office holders have Internet contact pages yet. We are updating

>     our system to reflect the new Congress, just as quickly as the

>     information comes to us. If you have one or more new elected

>     representatives, its possible that you won't be able to get a

>     message to them. But your message should go through to any of your

>     representatives that remain the same, or for which we have already

>     received new information. Don't let this transition deter you from

>     taking action. Your message will get through to someone, and will

>     make a difference.

>     *D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h*

>     is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

>     <http://www.downsizedc.org/> & Downsize DC Foundation

>     <http://www.downsizedc.com/>

>     CONTRIBUTE <http://www.downsizedc.org/contribute.shtml> to the

>     Electronic Lobbyist project

>     http://www.DownsizeDC.org <http://www.downsizedc.org/> is

>     sponsored by DownsizeDC.org, Inc. -- a non-profit educational

>     organization promoting the ideas of individual liberty, personal

>     responsibility, free markets, and small government.

>     You are encouraged to forward this message to friends and business

>     associates, and permission is hereby granted to reproduce any

>     items herein as long as attribution is provided for articles and

>     the subscription instructions above are included.

>     IF you have difficulties or inquiries, simply hit reply to this

>     message. We're eager to help, including with requests to unsubscribe.

>     You are subscribed to this newsletter at this email address:

>     rmigalla at earthlink.net

>

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