FREEDOM

dear family and friends

free·dom

Pronunciation:

\ˈfrē-dəm\

Function:

noun

Date:

before 12th century

1: the quality or state of being free: as a: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b: liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence c: the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous <freedom from care> d: ease , facility freedom> e: the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken freedom> f: improper familiarity g: boldness of conception or execution h: unrestricted use freedom of their home> 2 a: a political right.

much talk in this country centers around freedom. our country was founded on the principle of individual freedom. the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. we speak about the wars we have fought and the sacrifices made in the name of freedom. we have freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, freedom to worship in any way we see fit, and the freedom to own guns.

these are all freedoms guaranteed by our constitution.

i would like to take a slightly different look at freedom. i would like to consider two types; one spiritual freedom and the other economic freedom.
in my own life i find spiritual freedom to be the more important. by spiritual freedom i do not mean freedom of religion. humans are the synthesis of the material world and the spiritual world. a human being is a physical entity enlivened by a soul or spirit.
the soul is a captive of the body, it is trapped and is restricted in its true expression.

human beings are always looking for something more. humans look for happiness in material possessions and comforts, perhaps in a new car or a nice house or a fine meal ..........whatever it is that is perceived to provide happiness. there is unhappiness in the mind unless the object pursued is attained. even when it is attained it is then discovered that the happiness is fleeting, it is not permanent. the mind creates a new idea of what will then bring happiness and the new object is then sought.

all the time what is really being sought is the freedom of the soul, the freedom from want.

"there is enough for all man's needs but not all his wants"
m.k. gandhi

"there is no end to wants"
meher baba

the end of wants comes when the soul discovers its true freedom; when it discovers that it is not the body. the soul is free when the mind comes to the realization that there is not one thing in this world that will satisfy the need for freedom. therefore true spiritual freedom is freedom from wanting. many spiritual traditions espouse a form of renunciation. there are many practices from meditation to prayer and fasting. it is the inner prompting of the soul to be free that causes the mind to pursue these activities. these are forms of external renunciation.

when a soul has matured and tired of the endless searching for freedom then a subtle shift takes place. in the east it is known as dying before dying. it is internal renunciation. it is dying to the world yet living in the world. there is an absence of want. it is a state of desirelessness when even the external forms of renunciation are seen as bindings which keep the soul a captive and ignorant of its true nature of freedom.

it is in this state of freedom that it becomes possible to possess whatever it is you wish yet not be possessed by it. it is at this point that a human being realizes that this is nothing but a play and she is nothing but an actor on the stage. the human being in this position is in complete control of its actions and behaves from its true spiritual center. the person who has attained to this state is said by the sufis to have attained to the state of "fana" annihilation. it is the annihilation of the false self, the wanting self and the realization of the true self.

when one knows that the reason one has taken a body is to realize that in truth it is not the body, then one is guided by that knowledge in all its actions. these actions will be those which lead to freedom of the soul.

"the inner life helps a soul to grow up; when the soul evolves from subjection to mastery then it makes rules for itself. in the east therefore no one tries to criticize a spiritual person; no one stands up to judge his actions or to accuse him of something the accuser himself calls wrong."
inayat khan

until one is aware of spiritual freedom the most important freedom in the world is economic freedom. in the world one is considered free when one is free from the constraints of economic pressures.

when one has moved beyond the bottom of maslow's pyramid one's view of the world changes radically. if one is no longer tied to a job then one is has attained to a new mode of freedom.

" all animals are equal............of course some are more equal than others"
george orwell

for those of us who live in america " the land of the free" this quote is no more obvious than in the comparison between bill gates and joe the plumber. the freedoms guaranteed in the constitution give us a certain amount of freedom. but the freedom bill gates experiences is very different than joe the plumber. bill gates has the freedom to go anywhere in the world any time he wishes. he can eat any food, drink any drink he wishes regardless of cost.

politically bill gates has access to any politician he wishes at any time he wants. there are doors in this country that are closed to the average citizen which bill gates can walk through at any time.

people in bill gate's position are admired by many people in this country because it is recognized that they have attained to the highest level of economic freedom in this country. people speak of warren buffet in the most worshipful terms. the heroes of our culture are those who have transcended the captivity of economic disadvantage.

"greed is good"...........gordon gecko

it is this creed which has led us to this current economic " crisis". unrestrained greed has brought about the creation of a society which gives the highest reward to those who are guided by nothing but pure unadulterated self-interest.

our business leaders, the ceo's of our biggest corporations have become robber barons rather than the stewards of companies. corporations are seen by upper management as nothing more than goldmines to be mined for personal gain. no thought is given to the joe the plumbers of the world who have given their lives to the company. no thought is really even given to the shareholders.

when business and government are enlivened by spiritual truth we have a vastly different outcome. when one realizes that all souls are one then economies will be inspired by the life of the spirit. gandhi freed a nation non-violently and inspired generations of indian citizens. he lived a simple life. his worldly possessions when he was assassinated would barely fill a corner of a ceo's desk. he was a champion of the poor. his vision was not fulfilled but he none the less shined a light for others.

martin luther king shared the same dream in this country. he recognized that yes in some ways african americans had some of the trappings of freedom; they did not share in the economic freedom that most americans enjoyed. he dedicated his life to leading his people to that dream.

“True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt


i believe that when we finally ..........and one day i believe we will, as a nation come to the realization that we are all one, that each of us is really a soul trapped in a body; that we are indeed all in this together, then we will realize the promise of america. i believe that unless those who have more do not help those who have less to achieve economic freedom then their own freedom will be diminished. unless those at the highest levels of our business community operate with the highest levels of honesty and integrity it will be impossible for america to claim itself to be the land of the free. unless our businesses and government operate in a transparent way so that all are informed of the true state of our country we will be divided against ourselves.

i am not in any way suggesting a welfare state. i am proposing that all children be given a good education. that they be given the opportunity to live up to their highest potential, that they may achieve economic freedom. when all citizens are on a level playing field the contributions to the greater good will multiply exponentially. because someone is poor does not mean that person is stupid. given the opportunity that person might make a contribution to medical science or alternative energy. we will never know if we keep a permanent underclass that is uneducated, and dispossessed.

i believe that economic freedom for all will not be achieved until a critical mass of our people reach spiritual freedom. once that happens we will experience peace, prosperity, happiness and true freedom. it is up to those who have realized the spiritual goal to take the lead in our society
to express the inner life of freedom of the soul in the world. those who have realized the true purpose of their lives will be guided by love. it is this experience of love which will guide humanity to its true destiny.

"true love is unconquerable and irresistible. it goes on gathering power and spreading itself until it transforms everyone it touches. when it is recognized that there are no claims greater than the claims of divine life which without exception includes everyone and everything love will not only establish peace, harmony and happiness in social , national and international spheres but it will shine in its own purity and beauty......................................through divine love the new humanity will learn the art of co-operative and harmonious life; it will free itself from the tyranny of dead forms and release the creative life of divine wisdom; it will shed all illusions and get established in the truth; it will enjoy peace and abiding happiness; it will be initiated in the life of eternity"
meher baba

your loyal info serf
om shanti
joe

dear family and friends

just found this and if anyone has any illusions about what it is we are facing, this should dispel those illusions. "ah yu rike 1 frum caumm a and 2 frum caumm b.
you rike msg or no msg. never you no mine you take we give you"

it is good to remember that this is the way the inscrutable chinese communicate the internal dialog that goes on inside the power structure. it is never spoken directly.
it is always transmitted through third parties in articles in the official newspaper.

the direct communication which you will never hear but will feel the effects of go directly to the white house. any one know a good mandarin language course?

Before Saving the US
November 11,2008





by Xiang Songzuo


The nature of the current global financial crisis is the biggest debt
crisis in America's history. The issuer of the world's reserve
currency, the US has been borrowing for quite a long time without any
limit. America's trade, international payment and fiscal deficits have
existed for over 40 years (a fiscal dividend once occurred during
Clinton's administration but deficit soon returned). Statistics show
that America's internal and external debt exceeds $60 trillion, over
400% of the country's annual GDP of a bit over $14 trillion. Of that
total, family debt (including mortgages), financial and non-financial
firms' debt, and municipal and national debt come to about $15
trillion, $17 trillion, $22 trillion, $3.5 trillion, and $11 trillion,
respectively, though it is hard to tell how these debts have been
split up among foreign governments, financial firms, companies, and
individuals.

To relieve the crisis, the US must repay its debts, and to do that it
needs to live a more frugal life instead of asking others to continue
lending it the money to maintain its over-consumption.

The first thing the government needs to do is reduce spending and the
deficit. Correspondingly, the US needs to cut military disbursement,
stop its global expansion and the robbing of oil resources from other
countries. Companies should also become thrifty and avoid highly
leveraged operation. Families and individuals should stop anticipating
their income to buy houses and travel globally. Instead, they should
warmly welcome foreigners to travel to and spend money in the US.

China Should Raise Conditions

But if the US must ask China to buy some portion of its national debt,
what kind of conditions and principles should China we raise?

The principle should be the same as the basic principle upheld by the
US and IMF when "saving" other countries in crisis: cut fiscal
disbursement and both the government and the people should save money.
Besides that, there are six points: first, the US should cancel the
limits on high-tech exports to China, and allow China to acquire
advanced technology and high-tech companies from the US; secondly, the
US needs to open its financial system to Chinese financial
institutions, allowing all Chinese financial firms to open branches
and develop business in the US; third, the US should not prevent
Europe from canceling the ban against selling weapons to China;
fourth, the US should stop selling military weapons to Taiwan; fifth,
the US should loosen its limits on numbers of Chinese tourists and
allow them to travel freely to the US; and sixth, the US should never
restrain China's exports to the US and force RMB appreciation in the
name of domestic protectionism and employment pressure.

If the US should refuse to agree to the six principals, that only
means it doesn't really need China to save its market and buy its
national debt. Then China's choice is quite simple: rationally adjust
the structure of its foreign exchange reserve assets and avoid the
risk of the US national debt according to market rules.

What is worth special attention is that the prerequisite for China's
purchase of US national debt is that China has enough foreign currency
to meet the exchange demand when hot money is flowing out in large
scale. Otherwise China will have to sell US debt to relieve its lack
of foreign exchange currency, which will lead to sharp depreciation of
China's dollar assets. What is even worse, China may immediately
suffer a financial crisis led by the lack of foreign currency.

So if the US wants China to help save its market, the US government
and the IMF must admit China's right to manage its foreign exchange
independently. Once large scale hot money outflows occurs, China has
the right to take effective measures to restrain the speed and amount
of hot money outflow, and the US and IMF can't blame China for it.
This is the most important prerequisite, even more important than the
six principles mentioned above. If the US can't agree to it, China may
trap itself when saving the US. When exchange crisis happens in China,
who can promise the US and the IMF won't hit China when it's down?

(The author is a professor at Central China University of Science and
Technology. The piece is translated from his article on China Business
News)


so good night america you have had a very busy 219 years. you desreve a rest
now someone else can run things.

your loyal info serf

om shanti
joe

CONGRESSMAN RON PAUL

dear family and friends

below you will find a speech given by ron paul when he introduced the bill to do away with the federal reserve. unless and until we do away with the federal reserve system we will be serfs tilling the king's fields and mining the king's mines. we can pat off the national debt in about 10-20 years if we get rid of the fed. we will give our children and their children a future. i think for that reason alone we should start now to demand of our legislators the repeal of the federal reserve act (glass, owen)

your loyal info serf
om shanti
joe

Congressman Ron Paul
U.S. House of Representatives
September 10, 2002

ABOLISH THE FEDERAL RESERVE

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation to restore financial stability to America's economy by abolishing the Federal Reserve. I also ask unanimous consent to insert the attached article by Lew Rockwell, president of the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, which explains the benefits of abolishing the Fed and restoring the gold standard, into the record. (see below)

Since the creation of the Federal Reserve, middle and working-class Americans have been victimized by a boom-and-bust monetary policy. In addition, most Americans have suffered a steadily eroding purchasing power because of the Federal Reserve's inflationary policies. This represents a real, if hidden, tax imposed on the American people.

From the Great Depression, to the stagflation of the seventies, to the burst of the dotcom bubble last year, every economic downturn suffered by the country over the last 80 years can be traced to Federal Reserve policy. The Fed has followed a consistent policy of flooding the economy with easy money, leading to a misallocation of resources and an artificial "boom" followed by a recession or depression when the Fed-created bubble bursts.

With a stable currency, American exporters will no longer be held hostage to an erratic monetary policy. Stabilizing the currency will also give Americans new incentives to save as they will no longer have to fear inflation eroding their savings. Those members concerned about increasing America's exports or the low rate of savings should be enthusiastic supporters of this legislation.

Though the Federal Reserve policy harms the average American, it benefits those in a position to take advantage of the cycles in monetary policy. The main beneficiaries are those who receive access to artificially inflated money and/or credit before the inflationary effects of the policy impact the entire economy. Federal Reserve policies also benefit big spending politicians who use the inflated currency created by the Fed to hide the true costs of the welfare-warfare state. It is time for Congress to put the interests of the American people ahead of the special interests and their own appetite for big government.

Abolishing the Federal Reserve will allow Congress to reassert its constitutional authority over monetary policy. The United States Constitution grants to Congress the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary policy.

In fact, Congress' constitutional mandate regarding monetary policy should only permit currency backed by stable commodities such as silver and gold to be used as legal tender. Therefore, abolishing the Federal Reserve and returning to a constitutional system will enable America to return to the type of monetary system envisioned by our nation's founders: one where the value of money is consistent because it is tied to a commodity such as gold. Such a monetary system is the basis of a true free-market economy.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up for working Americans by putting an end to the manipulation of the money supply which erodes Americans' standard of living, enlarges big government, and enriches well-connected elites, by cosponsoring my legislation to abolish the Federal Reserve.

the ghost of christmas past

dear family and friends
what follows is a christmas story. it is a christmas story from the past that echoes through our lives one hundred years later. some might think it a little early for a christmas story but i was just in wal mart and all the christmas decorations got me into a little bit of a nostalgic mood. so what follows is what i think of when i get the christmas spirit. so light the fire in the fireplace, pour a little of your favorite beverage and let yourself be transported to a simpler time.

the scene is the morgan resort on jekyll island. it is a small island off the coast of america, georgia to be specific. it is christmas eve 1908. the weather this time of year in the south can be just about anything but this evening it is rather cold, as the "hawk" is flying low over the coast.

dinner has just ended and the women have retired to the sitting room and the men have adjourned to the library. brandy is poured by the son of a slave and cigars are broken out of the humidor. the host passes out his favorite cigars to his guests.

the well oiled walnut paneled walls glow warm in the light of the fire. the flawless argentine leather easy chairs are soft and inviting. the surf pounds in the distance. life is good ..........it is very good.

the host is jp morgan , pierpont to his friends.......... death to his enemies.
the cigars are "Hercules clubs" from Havana. these were heady days when cuba knew how to behave itself. morgan was able to avoid military service in the civil war by paying three hundred dollars for a substitute. no one knows if the substitute survived.

the guests this christmas were nelson aldrich senator and senate whip. also father in law of jd rockefeller jr.. which made him the grandfather of the future governor of n.y. and vice president of the u.s., nelson aldrich rockefeller.

abraham andrew, assistant secretary of the treasury.

benjamin strong who was head of jp morgan and the first chairman of the federal reserve.

and finally paul warburg of the warburg banking family of germany.

pierpont: well gentleman merry christmas and now for dessert.

aldrich: pierpont now that you have brought on the panic in the banks in new york with your brilliant manipulation of the monetary system. i think we can now proceed with the next phase of our plan. the selection of the next president.

pierpont: thank you nelson it was really quite simple. once you get the public in a panic they will go along with just about anything to restore what they think is stability.
our greatest gains have come from this very simple strategy.

strong: you are the master.

pierpont: i learned it a long time ago from the real masters. i owe them everything.

warburg: quite pierpont, it is a tactic as old as banking itself. the goldsmiths of long ago developed these strategies to a high art. it can be accomplished in the same way over and over again in broad daylight and no one can fathom how or why it happens.

pierpont: gentleman i have given it much thought and i believe that wilson is our man in 1912. he is mild mannered and easily led. we have been educating him as to how the banking industry needs to be regulated so that these monetary panics will no longer be a problem..........they will be opportunities that he will be completely unaware of. he is currently governor of new jersey and has an impeccable record.

strong: yes i quite agree we have had many meetings with him at the bank on wall street and he is now quite convinced that we simply must do something. he believes that we have the answers to the monetary problem.

andrew: i have spoken with him many times and i agree he is our man. he really is quite gullible and is too much the academic to admit that money is well over his head.

warburg: we are over his head and he will suit our purposes very well. he will be very easily controlled.

andrew: but taft is a very strong candidate how will we be able to defeat him?

pierpont: good point abraham. how indeed?

strong: if i may sir offer a suggestion, why not divide and conquer? why not bring on another candidate who can split the vote on the republican side and leave the way clear for wilson?

aldrich: excellent idea ben. i think i know just the man............t.r.

pierpont: why yes he would be perfect. the public will love it. we can offer him some support but not too much just enough to split the vote and draw enough votes away from taft for wilson to win. teddy boy's ego will be so inflated with the idea it should be no problem to get him to run.

warburg: it is a brilliant strategy.......the next phase begins. gentleman a toast.
to the control of the united states of america.

they all raise their glasses and congratulate each other. a light snow begins to fall and the son of a slave refills the glasses and puts another log on the fire. he is grateful that on this night he is warm and employed and his children will have a christmas turkey.

fast forward to christmas eve 1913. the astor hotel in new york. the suite on the top floor has been reserved for this very special occasion. this is the celebration of the creation of the federal reserve act which was passed on the evening of the 23rd of december when 27 members of the senate were gone for christmas recess. they had been told there would be no votes until they returned to session again.

the men present were the same men who had been at jekyll island in 1908, except for jp morgan who had died in march at the age of 75. in his honor the "Hercules clubs" from Havana his favorites of which he smoked 12 a day are passed out.

aldrich: gentleman the plan has been implemented. we are now in total control of the entire money supply of this country. we will control congress and every president from here forward.

warburg: yes nelson it is too bad that pierpont could not be here to witness the birth of his child.

strong: i know as he looks down from heaven he is quite pleased. may he rest not only in peace but in happiness. this is the crowning achievement of his life.

andrew: gentleman i propose a toast to john pierpont morgan and the federal reserve bank which will create a new order in this country.

all as one: cheers !

aldrich: and gentleman a very merry christmas indeed.

fast forward once again. this time it is christmas eve 2008 one hundred years to the day of that fateful meeting on jekyll island. the scene is the "playhouse" at the opulent family estate pocantico in westchester, new york.

david rockefeller is the host. he is the patriarch of the rockefeller family. his estimated wealth is 3 billion dollars. his political and business connections are too numerous to list. to get a glimmer of the way he sees the world we only need to read his own words from his memoir.

" some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the united states, characterising my family and me as internationalists and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure-one world, if you will. if that is the charge, i stand guilty and i am proud of it."

the guests this christmas eve are henry kissinger former secretary of state under richard nixon and gerald ford.

riley bechtel chairman of bechtel corporation, a primary beneficiary of the war in iraq.

and finally last but not least george schultz former secretary of labor, former secretary of the treasury, and former secretary of state. he was also a professor at the university of chicago in the business school. he became dean of the business school in 1962. the university of chicago was founded by the rockefeller family. milton friedman also taught at the university of chicago.

rockefeller: gentleman welcome and merry christmas.

all in unison wish the patriarch a merry christmas.

rockefeller: well we have our new president and plans are proceeding very smoothly.
the current state of the economy made it a very easy campaign to manipulate. barry was as flawless as any candidate i have ever seen. the only one on a par was jack kennedy. we owed a great debt to his father so it was our pleasure to see to it he was elected.

schultz: jack was a good man it was a shame he got off track on the federal reserve. he could have been one of the greatest of our presidents. we tried to warn him but he would not listen.

rockefeller: yes that was a pity. but gentlemen we are here to celebrate our victory and discuss the next phase. we had quite a pleasant surprise this time around. that palin woman created quite a stir. she is quite a find. it got me to thinking that perhaps we let the "crisis" run a little longer maybe even ratchet up the heat a little and have barry serve one term. what do you all think of her as the next one?

bechtel: she is very raw but i think her instincts are very good and she is very ambitious. she has a natural way of connecting with the common folks.

kissinger: raw does not go far enough to describe her. when called upon to do anything more than wink she is as lost as the titanic.

rockefeller: i agree, but there is something about her i like. she has spunk and that is something the people of this country like above everything. when asked to tell why they like a candidate they never mention issues. it is nothing more than a personality contest. my only reservation about her is can we get her up to speed in time?

schultz: i think she would be willing to work hard. i think she is very shrewd and a quick study. if you think it would be in our best interests i would be happy to tutor her in economic policy-- at least enough so that she will appear to have a grasp of the economy. i really think her apparent naivete is an asset.

kissinger: david, she is raw but she just may be able learn the right things to say. we were able to get george bush up to speed enough to get elected. and as you said it is not really about issues it is about personality and she does connect with the common people. i would be willing to work with her. there are just a few little bits of international scene she will need to know..........russia bad, china not so bad, iran bad, israel good, and the saudis our friends. as we did with bush and obama we just get her to not say the wrong thing. we will have the media give her nothing but soft questions.

rockefeller: riley what do you think?

bechtel: well as i said and we are all in agreement she is raw and unsophisticated, which in my opinion makes her a perfect candidate. she is a quick study and appears to be willing to do just about anything to further her political ambitions. i can get her on board with our corporate partners and in concert with george leading the way i think two years is sufficient. i think we can have her ready by 2010. we can mobilize the talk radio people ........they love her. and i am sure rupert will approve.

rockefeller: i think we have reached a consensus gentleman. this may be a little premature but what do you think about giving her a call to wish her a very special merry christmas?

in unison all agree. a servant is summoned to bring the phone.

george schultz holds the receiver and waits patiently.

schultz: hello this is george schultz calling for sarah palin. yes george schultz former secretary of state. of course i will hold. oh she is outside.......yes i understand she is dressing a moose of course. if this is an inopportune time perhaps i can call back.......hello are you there?

he holds his hand over the phone and says "i think he went out to get her"

the others can barely contain themselves.

schultz: hello ......yes is this sarah? yes sarah this is george schultz i am here in new york with some friends and we were just discussing some possibilties. i hope i am not interrupting anything.........you do have a bit of time to talk? yes george schultz. yes well my friends and i have been discussing possibilities for the future specifically the election in 2012. we have given a fair amount of consideration to who should run in 2012 and we feel you might be a good candidate. do you think you might be interested? .................you betcha? well would you like to discuss it with your family?
...............no? well perhaps we can get together and discuss how we might proceed . .............you are ready to kick what?......... and take names?........that is nice my dear ..........we uh....... do have some things we would like to go over with you before we make a comitment to support you.............you will do whatever is necessary? well that is the frontier spirit we appreciate in you my dear................. you are sorry but you have to go ?...............the dogs are starting to get to the moose .............of course i understand. we will get in touch.............yes and a very merry christmas to you sarah.

rockefeller: well george?

schultz: she said she was happier than a deer fly in a herd of caribou, but she really needed to get back to the moose as the dogs would make short work of it. she said her and todd have always had a fresh moose for christmas dinner, and family comes first.

rockefeller: gentleman i think we have found our first woman president. first a black man and next a woman. the electorate will be besides themselves. certainly it is the promise of america that anyone can become president...............if you work hard and ..............know the right people. merry christmas my friends and to our new world order, and to all americans .....................good night the party is over.

Uncle Miltie

dear family and friends
well it has been a few days since i have had a chance to write. i have continued with my research nonetheless.

as you know my focus politically is to make people aware of the role the federal reserve plays in our lives and how the banking establishment and corporate america all play pivotal roles in the execution of the policies of the federal reserve.

what follows is the first of many parts on how we are manipulated and controlled by the banks and the federal reserve.

one of the key figures in the development of corporate america and our economic policy is or i should say was milton friedman..........uncle miltie.

this diminutive 5'2" dynamo in my opinion should have been on the ten most wanted list of the fbi. the reason he wasnt was probably because the fbi is govt agency.

some might ask what a guy who has been dead for almost 3 years has to do with the current economic meltdown. well we have to look at the ways change takes place.
in our own lives we tend to make major changes because we have experienced some sort of painful experience ie. we get a divorce and decide to go into counseling. or an industry we are working in is experiencing some difficulty and we need to relocate. some change is gradual and more organic ie. we go to school to learn a new skill or trade. this sort of change is voluntary and generally longterm.

so we can break it down into to types of change for simplicity sake. one in response to external circumstances being forced on us (painful, sudden, involuntary) and the other in response to an internal prompting to make beneficial changes in our circumstances(not painful, over time voluntary).

when it comes to making changes in the economy uncle miltie had a very definite preference for painful and sudden changes. the following is a quote from 1982.

"only a crisis -actual or perceived- produces real change. when that crisis occurs the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around. that i believe, is our basic function: to develop alternatives to existing policies, to keep them alive and available until the politically impossible becomes politically inevitable."
milton friedman

now on the surface it seems not too bad an idea to have some ideas lying around in case we have a crisis. however it is a very bad idea to precipitate a crisis to implement your ideas.

i have said it before and i will continue to say it.........this current economic "crisis" actual or perceived is not an accident.
alan greenspan was not a stupid man he knew exactly the outcome of his monetary policy. he lowered rates and kept them low for a very long time. when you pump that much money into an economy credit bubbles happen. bubbles pop and there are serious consequences in the economy. the bigger the bubble the bigger the consequences. in the nineties we had the tech bubble followed by the real estate bubble in the early 2000's

ben bernanke is a self described student of the great depression. he is now the chairman of the fed. his policies which are a continuation of greenspan's are directly responsible for our current crisis. he recently lowered the discount rate by .5 %. effectively it was .67% so it is just about 0. dont go looking for this cheap money just yet: this is money "loaned" to banks to lend to other banks.
(this is currently not happening as banks do not trust one another......imagine that)

in the 1950's and 60's countries in south america were experiencing a wave of developmentalism led by juan peron in argentina. under developmentalism countries nationalized natural resources, raised tariffs to keep out foreign imports, building infrastructure, subsidizing factories and creating economies in chile, argentina, uruguay and brazil which were the envy of the rest of latin america. universities were built, unions negotiated contracts which led to the expansion of the middle class, uruguay offered free health care for all its citizens, and literacy rates soared.

uncle miltie had a different idea "lying around". being a disciple of freidrich hayek of the austrian school of economics, uncle miltie believed that government involment in the economy was a bad thing. he was for the privatization of just about everything, health care, pension funds, education, the post office, and even the national parks.
he believed that corporations should have free rein in the marketplace (deregulation) and that the market would function to regulate the economy. ( alan greenspan before congress last week actually said he thought the investment banks and others would self police themselves thereby avoiding the problems of the subprime meltdown). uncle miltie would have done away with any laws in regards to labor such as the minimum wage, child labor laws and workplace safety regulations. he was in favor of very low taxes and a flat tax on everyone.

the first u.s. president to embrace fully miltie's ideas was ronald reagan. when reagan took over in 1981 the u.s. was the largest creditor nation on the planet. in eight years the u.s. was the largest debtor nation. reagan fired over 11,000 air traffic controllers who went out on strike using the logic that if they did not show up for work they did not want their jobs. james watt his secretary of the interior sold off land owned by the people of the u.s. for bargain prices. deregulation led to the savings and loan fiasco in
which john mccain played a minor part and george bush's brother, neal a somewhat more major role. all to the tune of billions of dollars that the taxpayer had to pay.

i think the theory that markets can in a egalitarian way provide for the welfare of a country makes sense on paper. but the departure from reality is where the problems lie.
in a totally free market of individuals on a local level, i believe that free market capitalism can work. it can work because on a small scale it can be self-policing.
it can be self policing because we live and work in the same community.

the current system of "free" market capitalism has several flaws. number one corporations are treated as individuals. it is not self policing because the effects of it's actions on local citizens are not factored into decisions. we have a system where a corporation with headquarters in a totally different country can determine the economics of any given locale. it can determine the environment of any given locale and can determine the politics of any given locale.

these decisions made by corporations are made with only one interest in mind .......the bottom line. the corporations are responsible to only one group.....shareholders.
these shareholders have only one interest .............profit.
these shareholders are held blameless for any action taken by the corporation in the name of profit.
there is a total disregard for the idea of the commons. the commons being the air we breathe, the water we drink. the land we hold in common ....public lands.

now some of you might be wondering what all this has to do with uncle miltie.
well quite a bit actually.
there is a lot of ground to cover and it will take a number of posts to explore all the ways uncle milties ideas have impacted not only our lives but the lives of virtually every being on the planet.

uncle miltie was not in my opinion an "evil" man. he was very smart. i am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and say he was just misguided by being married to an ideology. an ideology which had devestating perhaps unintended consequences for the planet.
i am giving him the benefit of the doubt because i know he was right about at least one thing....................we should get rid of the federal reserve.
i do not know how actively he pursued that idea but at least he said it.

so my family and friends it is election day in america............as you know i voted for ralph nader. many of you are obama supporters.
probably the biggest reason is the desire for change.
i personally do not think obama will bring much of a change since he was financed by wall street.
i think he will just shift the war in iraq to the war in afghanistan.
we will still have over 800 u.s. military bases in 130 countries around the world, providing security for the corporations doing business there(and not paying taxes here).
he will continue to give the banks all the power over the american economy. (his speech on the bailout was really quite illuminating)
we will continue to have a military industrial , congressional complex
we will continue to bear the consequences of the systematic destruction of the middle class.
we will continue with a failed healthcare system.
we will continue to stand by as our education system deteriorates.
we will continue as the media of this country continues t dumb down the american people by narrowing the scope of the dialog.

so i just keep hearing the song in my head............change change change .........change of fools.

your loyal info serf
om shanti
joe

obama..........why NOT.

dear family and friends

well it is election time in america. the leaves are changing and the answers are blowin in the wind. here in the ozarks we will have our first "killing" frost tonight.
i am listening to lowell george sing apolitical blues.............." they say it is chairman mao
i just dont want to talk to him now."

i did get a little political today, i went out and voted. i'll tell you later who i voted for, we have more important issues to deal with now.
i went to the county courthouse and could not get in the parking lot, no it wasn't crowded it was closed. the sherrifs deputies standing outside said they closed it because it was starting to fall in.

now i know our infrastructure got a D from the american society of civil engineers but this still smelled fishy. my immediate reaction was it was a reverse acorn. there was a piece of plywood on the ground with some cinder blocks holding it down. the deputies said there was a nine foot hole. i said wow and they said wow right back.
i will do some more investigating as we all know "timing is everything."

so back to the subject at hand. senator barack obama.
i am sure many of you have good reasons for voting FOR obama. i have some not so good reasons some may be voting for him.
if you are voting for him because he is black .....this is a bad reason.
if you are voting for him because he is young and energetic ......this is a bad reason.
if you are voting for him because he is a good orator ............this is a bad reason.
if you are voting for him because you hate george bush ........this is a bad reason
if you are voting for him because you think things will change .......this is a very bad reason.

i did a little research on senator obama to see who his biggest contributors are. well golleeeeeee you would never guess.
but first for those of you who opposed the wall street sellout........that is those of you still breathing ..........like everyone.
i happened to see our good senator on the floor of the u.s. senate (you know the u.s. the took the us out of) giving an impassioned speech in favor of the sellout.
this is a bill that swelled from a mere three pages and 700 billion to 850 billion+ and over 450 pages in the space of three days. now when i was 13 years old i had to take a speed reading course to take the advanced english class in my freshman year of high school. i can read pretty damn fast when i want to. but never in my wildest amphetamine crazed fantasies could i have ever dreamed of reading over 450 pages of legalese in one day. nor could i imagine how any one could have written a piece of legislation in two days. it kind of reminds me of another bill that materialized out of thin air .........the patriot act. so senator obama takes a break from his campaign to ride into dodge to make sure he does the "people's" business. it was quite a speech urging his peers to vote for something he never read.

excuse me but i think he called john mccain erratic. how does one describe his behavior..........thoughtful? considered?intelligent? yep intelligent.

here is why it was intelligent. please keep in mind who it was that brought you the financial crisis in the first place.

here is a partial list of the top contributors to senator obama's campaign, some of which should ring a bell ...........get it wall street ring a bell..........oh never mind.

goldman sachs............................$799,821 top of the list
jp morgan....................................$529,012
citigroup.......................................$523,948..........robert rubin top economic adviser to
the obama campaign and chairman
of citigroup
ubs ag.........................................$435,000
skadden arps..............................$415,480.......more on them later
lehman........................................$403,624..........how come they didnt get bailed out?
morgan stanley............................$367,380
time warner................................. $379,313..............great coverage
google..........................................$499,705........yahoo- google merger coming up
this will them give control to over 80%
of the advertising on the internet

so we have 4 of the top contributors to the obama campaign among the nine banks that are getting the lions share of the money from the bailout.
ubs ag is a huge investment bank in switzerland which has already received a big
helping hand in europe.
i really would like to know though what happened to lehman $403k should go a long way. one day the story will come out............inquiring minds want to know.
then there is skadden arps. with approximately 2000 lawyers (cant be too careful) 22 strategically placed offices on four continents (none on antartica). they have beijing, tokyo, london and wall street covered.
they have been named the best corporate law firm in the u.s. for the 8th straight year.
this according to corporate board magazine. they came in with $415k.

it is expensive to run for president. costs about 600 million+ for a $400k a year job.
i think the electorate would be better served by staffmark after all it is a temporary job.

oh i forgot......... one more.
university of chicago.....................$294,237..........uncle miltie's school to be covered in a later post.
in a nod to my own fairness doctrine i will give you some of john mccains numbers.

merril lynch...................................$358,320.........no longer around but faired better
than lehman
citigroup........................................$298,101
morgan stanley.............................$250,377
goldman sachs.............................$245,995
jp morgan.....................................$215,092
credit suisse.................................$177,603
wachovia......................................$150,256..........bought out
bank of america...........................$147,276
ubs ag..........................................$139,865
lehman.........................................$118,807

just a quick observation will reveal a startling discrepancy in the contributions between obama and mccain. not to mention two of the contributors to mccain no longer exist.
i used to play the ponies, pitch pennies, bet on a football game or two and still enjoy a game of poker now and again. let me tell you folks if obama is your man and you are the least bit nervous about obama getting elected well relax the fix is in.

any money these guys gave mccain was just to hedge their bets........hedge funds anyone.

these guys dont throw that kind of money around (when it is their own) unless it is a sure thing. these are black box traders, they invented the game. it is OVER.

if anyone would like to take a little side bet i am ready.

so the people that brought the american economy to it's knees are backing obama.

if you are voting for him because you think things will change ........this is a VERY VERY VERY bad reason.

if you are voting for him because he promised to expand bush's faith based initiatives...................thomas jefferson thinks that is a very bad reason.

so who am i voting for?
well a few weeks ago a guy came to fayetteville and gave a talk. i had heard it many times but this was the first time in person. he appeared weary at first and started very slowly. i really felt sorry for him. it was almost pathetic. but then there was a change it was very subtle but you could feel the passion rise. you could see the honesty in his face. you could hear the sincerity in his voice. i sat there thinking he has a better chance of being an astronaut than being president.

i watched him as he said things i would be saying, with the same intensity i would be saying them. i found myself quietly nodding in agreement.

the man got my vote that night because he was me, and i could not , not vote for me.

that to me is a very good reason to vote for someone.
how many times have we voted for someone because he was the lesser of two evils or we were voting against the other guy.

i refuse to do that anymore.

i am voting for ralph nader, for the third time. yeah i fight windmills too.

if we do not start voting our hearts we will be lost. if we do not expand the political process to include real candidates for change we will remain serfs. we can be willing or unwilling serfs but serfs none the less.

we currently have a one party system in this country...........it is the corporate party.

we need to have a few more choices if we want a few more opportunities.

on a lighter note they almost had to carry me out of the courthouse today. no i was nort doing my wto revolutionary thing. i was laughing out loud.

one of the statewide acts was designed to change the constitution to keep idiots and the insane from voting hahahahahahahahahahaha.
i kid you not. hell if we did that who would be left to vote................needless to say i voted to keep things just the way they are hell i just might be an idiot or insane.

in the land of the blind even a one eyed man can be king.

your loyal info serf

om shanti
joe

welcome

WELCOME DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

well i finally got it together to put up this site.
this being the first post i feel i should give my reasons for posting.

i have been alive for 59 years and have never experienced anything like the events of the last 6 months. i have observed and studied everything i could get my hands on to get an idea of the causes and the strategies to best deal with this financial crisis.

what i believe to be true is that none of these events were accidents. i also believe that the root cause is the federal reserve which is a PRIVATE corporation. it is not a government agency. it is run by the very people who created this crisis and who now tell us they will get us out. i will share my views of current events thru that filter. i welcome any and all comments and disagreements. my wish is for this site to be an open forum to share ideas and strategies in an effort to develop a community. not only in cyber space but in the "real " world.
i have been given an opportunity to have the time and the inclination to do the research which many are not able to do.

i have been inspired by an incredible guy named chris martenson. i first became aware of chris when i stumbled on a paper he wrote called "the end of money". it was a very catchy title. i read it and found his site on the web. i have been a member ever since. he is an incredible human being. he devoted 4 years of his life to putting together a synthesis of the economy, energy and the environment. it is called the crash course. it is 3 hours long and is divided into 20 chapters.
you can watch them at your leisure or all at once. it is the most complete treatment i have found in one place of all three issues.

he has put this information on the web absolutely free of charge..........amazing. chrismartenson.com
i will be arranging public showings in the nwa area and ask all of you to tell everyone you know about it.

i will be posting other resources i feel will be helpful and ask you to contribute any you feel will be useful.
helpful for what you may ask? well i see us at an incredible time in human history. we are watching the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of the planet. i have watched as the middle class of this country has been systematically destroyed. our jobs have been shipped overseas, real wages have declined, we have been subjected to the hidden tax of inflation, our retirements have been absconded with and thru fuzzy numbers our senior citizens have lost much of their purchasing power. the top one percent pays less in taxes yet gets more government benefits.

it is for all these reasons i am writing this blog. the american people are for the most part ignorant of what has been happening and have been caught unawares and unprepared.
we have elected officials who have taken money from the rich and powerful and ignored the people who voted for them.
the media has marginalized any candidates who might offer real change therefore depriving the citizens of this country of a real debate and real change. we are given the choice of voting for the lesser of two evils rather than someone we can believe in.
barack obama receives more than 3 times the amount of campaign contributions from wall street than john mccain. i dont think we will see much change in the way our economy is run. his number one economic advisor is robert rubin former goldman sachs man and chairman of citigroup and partner with alan greenspan in the destruction of the u.s. dollar. i will devote an entire post to this upstanding citizen and all round "nice" guy.

well i have to sign off now but one more thing.
some of you might wonder about the title serfinfonetwork (SIN)
i am a serf as are most of you who are reading this. you either know it or you dont. you are either willing or unwilling serfs. i serf the news to keep myself informed and my family and friends.
there is an aristocracy in this country. they are a privileged class. that seeks nothing but more power and privilege. that privilege is derived from the toil of the serfs who till their fileds, mine their mines, clean their houses, fix their maseratis and wait on them at 5 star restaurants.

i will explore with you the numerous ways they tilt the playing field in their favor with total disregard for our welfare. i will do it with as much due dilligence and integrity as i can bring to bear. i will do it with as much humor as i can muster thru the tears as i think about this incredible dream called america and what has happened to it's promise of liberty and justice for all. live large laugh loud and love till it hurts.

your loyal info serf

om shanti
joe