Oct 01 2008

Coup de Grace

(8 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Coup de grace is French for blow of grace.  It refers to the hunter’s final shot to the head – the grace being the end of suffering for the unlucky prey.   In this case, it is we, the American people who are the ill-fated quarry.  We are like the mouse that the cat is now tired of playing with.  We will soon hear the crunching of tiny bones.

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people.”

Thomas Jefferson

Old Tom sure called it didn’t he?  Just as predicted, we have all been systematically deprived – and not just of property, but also of our rights and our voices in our own government.  For decades we have been increasingly impotent in the face of ever more naked aggression by our modern day robber barons, the ‘haves and have mores’ as Bush so aptly put it, as they corrupted the machinery of government, transforming it into the greatest criminal enterprise in all of history.

Those who would sacrifice the national interest for their own greedy wet dreams have been around since the beginning, as Jefferson made clear.  They had metastasized into a virulent cancer on the body politic by the time I arrived on the planet nearly 57 years ago.  World War II hero, Dwight David Eisenhower was elected President in 1953 when I was two.  He was a Republican and an asshole in many ways, as one might expect, but he is also thought of by many as the last decent Republican and there is some scant evidence for that.  He left some pretty good quotes anyway…for a Republican.

Having helped institute it, in a fit of remorse as he was leaving office after two terms, he famously and hypocritically warned us of a great threat to America that had risen from within.  He called it the military-industrial complex.

Our government has abandoned fiscal responsibility by unprecedented favors to the rich, while neglecting America’s working families. Members of Congress have increased their own pay by $30,000 per year since freezing the minimum wage at $5.15 per hour (the lowest among industrialized nations).

Jimmy Carter

It took ten years to raise the minimum rage a buck forty.

And now we’re being stampeded into a disastrous bailout deal by the same traitorous motherfuckers who have rammed down our throats the:

USA Patriot Act

Military Commissions Act

Domestic Spying

Retroactive immunity for violators of FISA

The abomination of the Iraq war

The torture of helpless prisoners

Suspension of Habeas Corpus

Dismantling of Posse Comitatus

Free Speech Zones

The Katrina nightmare

Deregulation of Everything

Mercenary Armies in America

All while ignoring everything that really matters:

Climate Change

Deforestation

Pollution of land, sea and air

Diplomacy and World Peace

Hunger

Poverty

Homelessness

Sustainable Agriculture

Universal Healthcare

Alternative Energy

Veterans’ Rights

The General Welfare

IMPEACHMENT

Now these same lying, cheating, backstabbing sons-of-bitches want us to fork over $700 Billion that we ain’t got, while they say we must be very very afraid and must do exactly as they say without question.

If at this point we have any trust in these bastards at all – we are fools.

They will fix nothing.  They will simply steal anything that is left.

We trust them at our peril.  Yes, we are all going to be hurt but that damage is already done.  It will not help to throw good money after bad.

Don’t go for it America…or we will all hear the crunching of tiny bones.

We need to find a solution that imprisons as many of these despicable bastards as possible.

Hunter-S-Thompson_GREEDHEADS

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    • OPOL on October 1, 2008 at 17:33
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  2. I had this thought the other day as my open thread, and thought of you (and my other favorite hippies who’d get it) when I wrote it, but it wasn’t really long enough (or good enough) to be a Docudharma cross post.

    But as the fear monsters and spinners yelled on the news how we were all doomed if we didn’t pass this bill, and one of my regulars responded more like me, I wrote…

    And of course me being the twisted fuck I am, I started grinning and singing to myself.

    In the timbers of Fennario, the wolves are running round,

    The winter was so hard and cold, froze ten feet neath the ground.

    Dont murder me, I beg of you, dont murder me. please, dont murder me.

    I sat down to my supper, twas a bottle of red whiskey,

    I said my prayers and went to bed, thats the last they saw of me.

    Dont murder me, I beg of you, dont murder me. please, dont murder me.

    When I awoke, the dire wolf, six hundred pounds of sin,

    Was grinning at my window, all I said was come on in.

    Dont murder me, I beg of you, dont murder me. please, dont murder me.

    The wolf came in, I got my cards, we sat down for a game.

    I cut my deck to the queen of spades, but the cards were all the same.

    Dont murder me, I beg of you, dont murder me. please, dont murder me.

    In the backwash of Fennario, the black and bloody mire,

    The dire wolf collects his dues, while the boys sing round the fire:

    Dont murder me, I beg of you, dont murder me. please, dont murder me.

    No, no, no dont murder me. I beg of you,

    Dont murder me. please, dont murder me.

    The cards are all the same indeed, no matter where you’all cut the deck. Heh.

    But really, you have to laugh at the frightened “Don’t murder me” the pundits are hollering.

    Meanwhile, back in the real world, my son is home sick with a cold. The rain overnight has made the last blooms of summer all the more shiny and bright against the greyness of this morning. I will have an excuse to quit listening to the news and sit through “Chronicles of Narnia” instead.

    I wonder if the very rocks under our feet laugh at us. Silly quivering humans waiting for the Dire Wolf. This too shall pass, man.

    Pour the wolf a little red whiskey and play some cards with him.

    haaaaaaa hahahaha ha.

    Somehow that thought, this song has amused me greatly. I hope it does the same for all of you.

  3. Feigned necessities, imaginary necessities, are the greatest cozenage men can put upon the Providence of God, and make pretenses to break known rules by.  

    – Oliver Cromwell

    • RiaD on October 1, 2008 at 18:47
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    round here we have a term for these bastids

    ~ Carpet Baggers ~

    Virgil Caine is my name and I drove on the Danville train

    ’til so much cavalry came and tore up the tracks again

    In the winter of ’65, we were hungry, just barely alive

    I took the train to Richmond that fell

    It was a time I remember, oh, so well

    ²The night they drove old Dixie down

    And all the bells were ringin’

    The night they drove old Dixie down

    And all the people were singin’

    They went, “Na, na, na, na, na, na”

    Back with my wife in Tenesse

    And one day she said to me,

    “Virgil, Quick! Come see!

    There goes Robert E. Lee.”

    Now I don’t mind, I’m chopping wood

    And I don’t care if the money’s no good

    Just take what you need and leave the rest

    But they should never have taken the very best



    Like my father before me, I’m a working man

    And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand

    Oh, he was just 18, proud and brave

    But a yankee laid him in his grave

    I swear by the blood below my feet

    You can’t raise a Cane back up when he’s in defeat

    • Edger on October 1, 2008 at 19:03
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    going through the heads of too many people, after I sat and watched CNN spin like whirling dervishes this morning.

    I can imagine millions of people thinking something along the lines of:

    Government fucked up by not regulating these guys tightly enough.

    It’s about time the democrats in congress are going to fix this problem by giving a trillion dollars to one of the most corrupt profiteerers that they fucked up on by not regulating in the past.

    Oh, and btw, since the whole problem is a problem created by the voodoo economics of republicans and the Bush administration, it makes sense for the democrats to push as hard as they can to ram Bush’s plans throuh to solve the problem.

    This could definitely become crisis of confidence.

    But they’re working hard to fix that and build a foundation for confidence in them and the economy.

    With more and better lies, they should be able to recreate the same level of confidence that so many people had in Bush the day after 9/11.

    I’m confident they’ll be able to do that. To many people still believe the slime that oozes from their television sets. :-/

    Excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall for awhile…

  6. Here are the “call words” for the bailout:

    “Privatize the profits, socialize the losses”

    Never let it be said that the wealthy don’t know how to take care of the wealthy and our government is there to help them.

    This from AfterDowningStreet.org

    Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) — Senate Democrats and Republicans have agreed to hold a vote tomorrow on a $700 billion financial- rescue plan amid evidence voters and lawmakers regretted yesterday’s U.S. House vote to kill the bailout.

    “This is an important accomplishment and a way forward,” Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said.

    Senators also agreed to include a provision that would raise the limit on federal insurance for bank deposits to $250,000 from the current $100,000, a move demanded by some of the rescue plan’s critics.

    ~~~~

    Click here to find contact information for your Senators.

    Call your Representatives and Senators at 800-473-6711 or 202-224-3121 and say No Bailout!

    (emphasis mine)

    Vigilance?  No, Omni-Vigilance!!!!

    I fear we will soon face the coup de grace!

    George Carlin had it right from the get-go!

  7. it hurts when I do this

    He sadi…..then don’t do that!

    Alternately: The definition of insanity is trusting the PTB doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

  8. Their D.C. mailboxes were FULL.  Then called their local offices, was able to get through to one, but not the other, whose mailbox there was full as well.

    So, yes, the phones are BUSY!!!!

  9. I’ve been reading and getting e-mails about a bailout bill being proposed by Rep. Pete DeFazio, which is gaining a lot of attention:

    On Tuesday, Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-OR) and other members of the Progressive Caucus introduced the “No Bailouts Plan” as an alternative to Paulson’s Plunder. DeFazio’s bill:

    1.  Stabilizes the financial markets without writing a blank check to the big banks and CEOs who got us into this mess.

    2.  Limits future losses by banks without asking taxpayers to pick up the tab. By suspending the application of fair value accounting standards by financial institutions, the bill will limit bank’s artificial write-downs on the value of their mortgage-related and other securities.

    3.  Protects against predatory financial behavior by enacting permanent regulations against short-selling. By requiring the SEC permanently to block short-selling and restore the “up-tick rule” that blocks short-selling in a down market, the bill will protect against predatory financial behavior that harms investor confidence and hurts the ability of banks and other companies to raise needed capital.

    4.  Loans capital to banks that need it, with taxpayers making money on interest when the banks pay off the loans. By creating a Net Worth Certificate Program to allow the FDIC to lend short term capital to failing banks with the promise of repayment with interest, the bill replicates a successful program that worked to stabilize banks from 1982 to 1993. Banks that participate in the program must submit to strict oversight of their executives’ compensation.

    5.  Restores consumer and small business confidence in banks. By requiring the FDIC to raise its insurance limit on costumers’ deposits from $100,000 to $250,000, the bill assures consumers and small businesses their money is safe and helps eliminate runs on banks that threaten the stability of the financial markets.

    Ian Welsh writes:

    There are currently two bills being worked on in the House as alternatives to the Paulson-Obama bill.  The first is the DeFazio bill, which is intended to fix the banking system by providing, not a bailout, but insolvency relief.  The second is being put together by Rep. David Scott and Rep. Doggett, with the aid of economist James K. Galbraith, and is intended to help ordinary people by creating a modern version of the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation (HOLC) to take over mortgages and keep people in their homes with reasonable serviceable mortgages.  

    Also working to turn these bills into something that helps all Americans are Rep. Elijah Cummings and Rep. Lloyd Doggett.

    Each bill by itself is incomplete, together with some work they could make a good, complete, humane solution to financial and economic meltdown which is also acceptable to enough Republicans to pass.

    In my opinion, the Paulson bill won’t solve the problem, but will only push it back 6 months or so, at great cost to ordinary taxpayers.  If the Paulson bill isn’t defeated we’re going to be back here again, a lot poorer, trying to do this right.  

    What I would ask is that if you are opposed to the Paulson bill, you pick up the phone and tell your Rep that you are still opposed and it’s still a bad idea.  And while you’re on the call please ask them to join with Doggett, Scott, DeFazio, Cummings and Edwards in crafting the House’s own bill as an alternative.

    For more analysis of DeFazio’s bill, read these blogs:

    A friend has sent this text to me as a suggested e-mail to your Senators, and has no problem sharing it:

    Dear Senator,

    This is truly a historic moment for our country.  Progressives and conservatives agreeing that the old boy network of politicians, lobbyists and Wall Street is dead wrong with their prescription for the American economy and its people.  

    I urge you to support legislation similar to that proposed by Representatives Pete DeFazio and Marcy Kaptur.  It is very simple and won’t cost anything.  Why should we jump for the $700 billion solution, when it comes with no guarantees and actually may exacerbate the problem, while the No Bailout Proposal costs nothing and certainly can be tried first?

    On Tuesday, Rep. Pete DeFazio (D-OR) and other members of the Progressive Caucus introduced the “No Bailouts Plan” as an alternative to Paulson’s Plunder. DeFazio’s bill:

    [then list the above 5 points that DeFazio’s proposal will accomplish]

  10. If at this point we have any trust in these bastards at all – we are fools.

    They will fix nothing.  They will simply steal anything that is left.

    Either send them to jail or do the Pirate Jenny on ’em.

  11. As I suspected, we’ve been had AGAIN — now, all that awaits us is for Congress to follow suite!

    WASHINGTON – After one spectacular failure, the $700 billion financial industry bailout found a second life Wednesday, winning lopsided passage in the Senate and gaining ground in the House, where Republicans opposition softened.

    Senators loaded the economic rescue bill with tax breaks and other sweeteners before passing it by a wide margin, 74-25, a month before the presidential and congressional elections.

    In the House, leaders were working feverishly to convert enough opponents of the bill to push it through by Friday, just days after lawmakers there stunningly rejected an earlier version and sent markets plunging around the globe.

    The measure didn’t cause the same uproar in the Senate, where both parties’ presidential candidates, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, made rare appearances to cast “aye” votes. . . . .

    Well, this is truly the coup de grace  — does anyone seriously think Congress will act adversely?  No, I think this is it!

    O.K., I will try to find the appropriate lists, both Congress and Senate, who VOTED AGAINST US, AMERICANS!  Seriously, think it is time to REALLY CONSIDER not paying out taxes!

  12. on the bailout bill just passed by the Senate.  They make it appear so appealing, why even the average American should be pleased with it.  I really suspect Congress will let us down with their votes — I’m sure the pressure has been fierce.  Oh, BTW, the newspapers were also saying how so many people in Congress have now changed their positions since last Monday (also, referring to many Americans, as well)!

    Well, anyway, here are the votes as had with Congress:

    Congress

    and, here are the votes had by the Senate (very, very disappointing):

    Senate

    And, some thoughts on the bailout:

    Bailout Passes Senate; 9 Reasons That’s Bad News for You

    By Sen. Bernie Sanders, Huffington Post. Posted October 1, 2008.

    Forcing each American to fork over $2,200 at a time when median family income has declined by as much is no way to improve the economy.

    This country faces many serious problems in the financial market, in the stock market, in our economy. We must act, but we must act in a way that improves the situation. We can do better than the legislation now before Congress.

    This bill does not effectively address the issue of what the taxpayers of our country will actually own after they invest hundreds of billions of dollars in toxic assets. This bill does not effectively address the issue of oversight because the oversight board members have all been hand picked by the Bush administration. This bill does not effectively deal with the issue of foreclosures and addressing that very serious issue, which is impacting millions of low- and moderate-income Americans in the aggressive, effective way that we should be. This bill does not effectively deal with the issue of executive compensation and golden parachutes. Under this bill, the CEOs and the Wall Street insiders will still, with a little bit of imagination, continue to make out like bandits.

    This bill does not deal at all with how we got into this crisis in the first place and the need to undo the deregulatory fervor which created trillions of dollars in complicated and unregulated financial instruments such as credit default swaps and hedge funds. This bill does not address the issue that has taken us to where we are today, the concept of too big to fail. In fact, within the last several weeks we have sat idly by and watched gigantic financial institutions like the Bank of America swallow up other gigantic financial institutions like Countrywide and Merrill Lynch. Well, who is going to bail out the Bank of America if it begins to fail? There is not one word about the issue of too big to fail in this legislation at a time when that problem is in fact becoming even more serious.

    This bill does not deal with the absurdity of having the fox guarding the hen house. Maybe I’m the only person in America who thinks so, but I have a hard time understanding why we are giving $700 billion to the Secretary of the Treasury, the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, . . . .

     

  13. He more than any human who ever lived could be the man that takes down our entire species.

    His ideals are the best; but his solutions are terrifyingly bound to his own time.

    There is no greater single threat to humanity than Thomas Jefferson’s 1st Amendment left un-updated in our era. How? later.

    • Valtin on October 3, 2008 at 08:18
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    No one says it better than you!

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