Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Department of Homeland Security is set to begin trials of iris scanning technology in October, but don’t believe for a second that Big Sis’ latest assault on the privacy right of Americans will be confined to airports – everything from entering sports events to making purchases will eventually be controlled by the technology if it is allowed to be implemented.
“The Homeland Security Department plans to test futuristic iris scan technology that stores digital images of people’s eyes in a database and is considered a quicker alternative to fingerprints,” writes the USA Today’s Thomas Frank. [1]
The iris scan is nothing less than the 21st century equivalent of how Jews and other undesirables were tattooed by the Nazis, aside from the fact that all Americans will be forced to submit to the eye scan. In Hitler’s Germany, at least some members of the population were spared from having to identify themselves constantly at the behest of the authorities.
As the USA Today article makes clear, iris records will be held in a database and associated with credit cards and other routine aspects of every day life. The agenda is to replace pin numbers and presentation of photo ID, forcing Americans to submit to high-tech enslavement merely to conduct their day to day activities.
“Financial companies hope the scans can stop identity fraud, said Jeff Carter of Global Rainmakers, a New York City firm developing the technology. “Iris is going to completely reshape the fraud environment,” he said.
In other words, whenever you buy something, take money from an ATM, cash a check, or conduct any financial transaction, you will be forced to submit to the iris scan.
Cameras “that take photos from 3 or 4 feet away, including one that works on people as they walk by,” will be installed at all major public buildings, sports stadiums, and transport hubs, completely demolishing for good the notion of innocent until proven guilty.
As we have exhaustively documented [3], iris scans, along with mobile x-ray body scanners, are just two aspects of how everything that has turned America’s airports into some of the most draconian, oppressive and abusive places in the world, is now being rolled out onto the streets.
Homeland Security is already implementing technology to be enforced at “security events” which purportedly reads “malintent” on behalf of an individual who passes through a checkpoint. The video below explains how “Future Attribute Screening Technology” (FAST) checkpoints will conduct “physiological” and “behavioral” tests in order to weed out suspected terrorists and criminals.
The clip shows individuals who attend “security events” being led into trailers before they are interrogated as to whether they are terrorists while lie detector-style computer programs analyze their physiological responses. The subjects are asked about their whereabouts, and if they are attempting to smuggle bombs or recording devices into the “expo,” proving that the technology is intended to be used at public events and not just airports. Individuals who do not satisfy the first lie detector-style test are then asked “additional questions”.
Americans will be mandated to prove to the government that they are well-behaved slaves before they are allowed to do anything.
The USA Today article notes that the technology was used in 2007 to iris scan thousands of Iraqis in the name of tracking militants. Just like the Iraqis, Americans are a conquered population who will now be numbered and databased like cattle by their owner, the state, as George Orwell’s doomsday prophecy of society turning into a prison without the bars is realized and even outstripped with the aid of 21st century technology.
A demonstration of how the iris scanner would operate.
Read Article With Links
Monday, September 13, 2010
Censored Gulf News: Gulf Coaster Trail of Tears. Evacuees Flee For Health and Safety
Examiner.com
Deborah Dupré
Human Rights Examiner
Parents of little Briana Frye left their Pensacola, Florida home for their health and safety. The young family was taken into the home of a Nebraskan family. After seeing what heavy metal ladened rain did to their plants, Briana's parents, Rick and Lynne Frye researched, learned about the present Gulf poisons cumulative effects, and then knew that to protect their child, they needed to leave the Gulf Coast.
Over the weekend, two Pensacola residents reported to Gulf Coast Barefoot Doctors that they are ill and bleeding internally. These women left their homes, felt better and the bleeding stopped. Upon returning to their homes, the bleeding and other symptoms also returned.
Heather Dixey, an avid gardener at her Pensacola home, told the Examiner, "Before I left for OKC to detox, I started getting crusty, bloody boogers. The day after I came back, so did the crusty, bloody boogers."
EPA whistleblower, fired for exposing toxins in the September 11, 2001 New York City mass murder, Hugh Kaufman recently said in a Democracy Now! interview with Amy Goodman that Corexit is suppose to cause internal bleeding. (Dupré, D. Censored Gulf news: People bleeding internally, millions poisoned Examiner, July 21, 2010)
Corexit has been sprayed in unprecedented amounts throughout the Gulf region, making the toxic crude oil now throughout the Gulf, including in the air, water and on land, 11 times more deadly according to toxicologists. The lethal dispersant banned in other countries has been called "Core Exit."
There has additionally been an unprecedented petrochemical-military-industrial-complex (PMIC) cover-up of the continuing U.S. crime against humanity occurring in the Gulf of Mexico region, slow genocide of Americans and ecocide of the planet.
Aside from her internal bleeding, other debilitating physical conditions, plus her once thriving garden destroyed, Dixey said she discovered Thursday that "something is eating the paint and right down into the plastic on her scooter," only on the side of the scooter exposed to rain and only since Corexit spraying began.
Scientists' call to Obama to halt the Corexit spraying fell on deaf ears. The spraying continues.
"I've also been sniffling, sneezing & coughing," explained Dixey.
"Before I left, my whole body was vibrating. I had fever and chills along with such bad chest pain, I had to go to the E.R. My chest was killing me."
At the hospital, Dixey had a blood test and was told that she is "viral" and has "anxiety." The hospital medical staff gave to Dixey pain killers and nothing else, saying they did not know what else to do for the condition.
The vibrating, fever and chills have not returned to Dixey so far, but she said, "I no longer live outside. In fact I go there only when I have to.
"The rain or wet grass burns my skin and every time I go near outside. I get stinging, tingling and burning here, there, and everywhere which eventually goes away when I stay inside."
Rick Frye has no college education but that did not stop him from giving a powerful speech at a recent gathering that the New Pirate Party Canada BP captured in the video below. His presentation demonstrates his good common sense, interest in independent research, and a lot of courage to take a stand against corporate bullying he is enduring now as a whistleblower.
Rick Frye and his wife saw no choice but to leave their home, their other son with his dad, and along their journey, their dog in Alabama. Frye's videoed account can be likened to learning about a new trail of tears, the Gulf Coaster Trail of Tears.
Frye stated, "We can't have our daughter sprayed like a cockroach because government won't do anything about it."
Copyright ©Deborah Dupre' 2010 All Rights Reserved
The author grants permission to republish the title and first paragraph of this article provided they are linked to the original article her on Examiner. She welcomes emails: info@DeborahDupre.com
Read Original Article With Links
Deborah Dupré
Human Rights Examiner
Parents of little Briana Frye left their Pensacola, Florida home for their health and safety. The young family was taken into the home of a Nebraskan family. After seeing what heavy metal ladened rain did to their plants, Briana's parents, Rick and Lynne Frye researched, learned about the present Gulf poisons cumulative effects, and then knew that to protect their child, they needed to leave the Gulf Coast.
Over the weekend, two Pensacola residents reported to Gulf Coast Barefoot Doctors that they are ill and bleeding internally. These women left their homes, felt better and the bleeding stopped. Upon returning to their homes, the bleeding and other symptoms also returned.
Heather Dixey, an avid gardener at her Pensacola home, told the Examiner, "Before I left for OKC to detox, I started getting crusty, bloody boogers. The day after I came back, so did the crusty, bloody boogers."
EPA whistleblower, fired for exposing toxins in the September 11, 2001 New York City mass murder, Hugh Kaufman recently said in a Democracy Now! interview with Amy Goodman that Corexit is suppose to cause internal bleeding. (Dupré, D. Censored Gulf news: People bleeding internally, millions poisoned Examiner, July 21, 2010)
Corexit has been sprayed in unprecedented amounts throughout the Gulf region, making the toxic crude oil now throughout the Gulf, including in the air, water and on land, 11 times more deadly according to toxicologists. The lethal dispersant banned in other countries has been called "Core Exit."
There has additionally been an unprecedented petrochemical-military-industrial-complex (PMIC) cover-up of the continuing U.S. crime against humanity occurring in the Gulf of Mexico region, slow genocide of Americans and ecocide of the planet.
Aside from her internal bleeding, other debilitating physical conditions, plus her once thriving garden destroyed, Dixey said she discovered Thursday that "something is eating the paint and right down into the plastic on her scooter," only on the side of the scooter exposed to rain and only since Corexit spraying began.
Scientists' call to Obama to halt the Corexit spraying fell on deaf ears. The spraying continues.
"I've also been sniffling, sneezing & coughing," explained Dixey.
"Before I left, my whole body was vibrating. I had fever and chills along with such bad chest pain, I had to go to the E.R. My chest was killing me."
At the hospital, Dixey had a blood test and was told that she is "viral" and has "anxiety." The hospital medical staff gave to Dixey pain killers and nothing else, saying they did not know what else to do for the condition.
The vibrating, fever and chills have not returned to Dixey so far, but she said, "I no longer live outside. In fact I go there only when I have to.
"The rain or wet grass burns my skin and every time I go near outside. I get stinging, tingling and burning here, there, and everywhere which eventually goes away when I stay inside."
Rick Frye has no college education but that did not stop him from giving a powerful speech at a recent gathering that the New Pirate Party Canada BP captured in the video below. His presentation demonstrates his good common sense, interest in independent research, and a lot of courage to take a stand against corporate bullying he is enduring now as a whistleblower.
Rick Frye and his wife saw no choice but to leave their home, their other son with his dad, and along their journey, their dog in Alabama. Frye's videoed account can be likened to learning about a new trail of tears, the Gulf Coaster Trail of Tears.
Frye stated, "We can't have our daughter sprayed like a cockroach because government won't do anything about it."
Copyright ©Deborah Dupre' 2010 All Rights Reserved
The author grants permission to republish the title and first paragraph of this article provided they are linked to the original article her on Examiner. She welcomes emails: info@DeborahDupre.com
Read Original Article With Links
The New Replacement Theology
Homeward Bound
The old replacement theology is simple enough. Also known as supersessionism, the old replacement theology teaches that the church has essentially replaced Israel in God’s plan, and all the promises made to Israel in the Bible have been transferred to the church. Some have even gone so far as to say that America is the New Jerusalem, and when Jesus returns with glory and power, it is on American soil that He will set foot and not on the Mount of Olives as prophesied by Zechariah.
The new replacement theology however is more complex because what we have attempted to replace is not a geographical location, or a nation of peoples, but the very essence of Christianity itself. We have attempted to replace the Christ! Until recently the new replacement theology attempted to replace Christ with prosperity, a hedonistic and self-centered ideology that placed the individual above all else, and as long as the flesh was made to feel good, as long as the physical was tended to and taken care of the spiritual man could readily be ignored, marginalized and disregarded.
“It’s all about you baby! You are the bee’s knees, and as long as you have a positive self image, as long as you have self esteem, then you have finally grasped that ever illusive understanding of what this present life is really all about. It wasn’t for your eternal soul, it wasn’t to save you from the pit of darkness and despair, nope, the Son of God came to earth, hung on a cross, died and rose again so you could have a positive attitude, and an optimistic outlook on life. We all know hell isn’t really real, and the few that still talk about hell within the context of Scripture are just gloomy Gusses, pessimists to the last, who don’t yet know the joys of looking into a mirror smiling broadly, and loving themselves.”
As with anything that is not built upon the true and lasting foundation that is Jesus, as with anything that is not rooted in the Word, this version of the new replacement theology has started to fizzle as of late. Sure, people are still trying to ‘stay positive’ people are still trying to be optimistic, but it’s kind of hard to smile through tears of anguish, and no matter how many mantras we repeat incessantly, it still doesn’t take away from the reality that times are changing, and not for the better.
Rather than turn to Christ in our season of uncertainty, rather than return to the tried and true path of humility, repentance, prayer and communion with God, we have found yet another thing to replace Christ with.
I already know this will rub some the wrong way, I am already bracing myself for the onslaught of unfriendly replies, but truth be known I’ve developed thick skin over the years, and I know that what I write today will prove itself out shortly.
Although in large part we’ve done away with the doctrine of prosperity, we have replaced it with the doctrine of patriotism. More and more, in recent months I’ve been hearing many people refer to themselves as ‘Christian Patriots’, and the simple truth is that one of these must have preeminence in one’s life; one of these must have the number one spot from whence come our decisions, our reactions and our conduct. The question is simple enough: when and if it comes down to it, which will you forfeit? Will you forfeit Christ for the sake of patriotism, or will you forfeit patriotism for the sake of Christ?
Now before labeling me an anti-patriotic heretic, since seemingly Christians like to throw this label around now more than ever before, I would urge you to read this post in its entirety, then through the prism of Scripture, and not our own preconceived notions, come to a conclusion.
Please don’t misunderstand me. The ideal of patriotism in its purest form is a noble and admirable one. As all ideals have a tendency to do however, patriotism too will get perverted by those who want nothing to do with the values of this ideal, but simply want to use it toward their own nefarious ends.
The cycle is easily recognizable throughout history. First there is a core group of sincere individuals who desire to see change, and then inevitably, seeing the power these sincere individuals are beginning to amass, the cunning and the power hungry attach themselves to the cause. Numbers are power, power is clout, and clout is leverage. Such individuals, those who can spot a train leaving the station and hop on it hoping to ride it all the way to its final destination care nothing for values, or ideals, their only concern and desire is power.
Since the church has been living with spiritual substitutes and surrogates in lieu of Christ for so long, once prosperity took a long leap of a short pier, we needed to find something new, and due to the context of the current political climate, many believers readily gravitated toward patriotism. Doing all we can to remove Christ from Christianity we’ve latched onto this new substitute for true spirituality like starving leeches on exposed skin.
I fear however that we are in for yet another rude awakening, and another disappointment of monolithic proportions. Our disappointment at seeing those we’ve helped elect to office turn out to be nothing more than compromising and duplicitous politicians will far exceed the excited and supercharged patriotic zeal we are currently experiencing.
Throughout the years we have failed to seize upon one crucial truth, that truth being the fact that change, true change, comes about not by our might but by His might, and the only way we can compel God to intervene is by repentance and prayer.
The remedy to our national dilemma is simple enough, we must stop attempting to replace Christ, and return to Him; we must stop looking for surrogates, and go to the source of true peace, unspeakable joy, and everlasting rest, finding our purpose and fulfillment in Him and Him alone.
Jeremiah 17:5-6, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Read Original Article
The old replacement theology is simple enough. Also known as supersessionism, the old replacement theology teaches that the church has essentially replaced Israel in God’s plan, and all the promises made to Israel in the Bible have been transferred to the church. Some have even gone so far as to say that America is the New Jerusalem, and when Jesus returns with glory and power, it is on American soil that He will set foot and not on the Mount of Olives as prophesied by Zechariah.
The new replacement theology however is more complex because what we have attempted to replace is not a geographical location, or a nation of peoples, but the very essence of Christianity itself. We have attempted to replace the Christ! Until recently the new replacement theology attempted to replace Christ with prosperity, a hedonistic and self-centered ideology that placed the individual above all else, and as long as the flesh was made to feel good, as long as the physical was tended to and taken care of the spiritual man could readily be ignored, marginalized and disregarded.
“It’s all about you baby! You are the bee’s knees, and as long as you have a positive self image, as long as you have self esteem, then you have finally grasped that ever illusive understanding of what this present life is really all about. It wasn’t for your eternal soul, it wasn’t to save you from the pit of darkness and despair, nope, the Son of God came to earth, hung on a cross, died and rose again so you could have a positive attitude, and an optimistic outlook on life. We all know hell isn’t really real, and the few that still talk about hell within the context of Scripture are just gloomy Gusses, pessimists to the last, who don’t yet know the joys of looking into a mirror smiling broadly, and loving themselves.”
As with anything that is not built upon the true and lasting foundation that is Jesus, as with anything that is not rooted in the Word, this version of the new replacement theology has started to fizzle as of late. Sure, people are still trying to ‘stay positive’ people are still trying to be optimistic, but it’s kind of hard to smile through tears of anguish, and no matter how many mantras we repeat incessantly, it still doesn’t take away from the reality that times are changing, and not for the better.
Rather than turn to Christ in our season of uncertainty, rather than return to the tried and true path of humility, repentance, prayer and communion with God, we have found yet another thing to replace Christ with.
I already know this will rub some the wrong way, I am already bracing myself for the onslaught of unfriendly replies, but truth be known I’ve developed thick skin over the years, and I know that what I write today will prove itself out shortly.
Although in large part we’ve done away with the doctrine of prosperity, we have replaced it with the doctrine of patriotism. More and more, in recent months I’ve been hearing many people refer to themselves as ‘Christian Patriots’, and the simple truth is that one of these must have preeminence in one’s life; one of these must have the number one spot from whence come our decisions, our reactions and our conduct. The question is simple enough: when and if it comes down to it, which will you forfeit? Will you forfeit Christ for the sake of patriotism, or will you forfeit patriotism for the sake of Christ?
Now before labeling me an anti-patriotic heretic, since seemingly Christians like to throw this label around now more than ever before, I would urge you to read this post in its entirety, then through the prism of Scripture, and not our own preconceived notions, come to a conclusion.
Please don’t misunderstand me. The ideal of patriotism in its purest form is a noble and admirable one. As all ideals have a tendency to do however, patriotism too will get perverted by those who want nothing to do with the values of this ideal, but simply want to use it toward their own nefarious ends.
The cycle is easily recognizable throughout history. First there is a core group of sincere individuals who desire to see change, and then inevitably, seeing the power these sincere individuals are beginning to amass, the cunning and the power hungry attach themselves to the cause. Numbers are power, power is clout, and clout is leverage. Such individuals, those who can spot a train leaving the station and hop on it hoping to ride it all the way to its final destination care nothing for values, or ideals, their only concern and desire is power.
Since the church has been living with spiritual substitutes and surrogates in lieu of Christ for so long, once prosperity took a long leap of a short pier, we needed to find something new, and due to the context of the current political climate, many believers readily gravitated toward patriotism. Doing all we can to remove Christ from Christianity we’ve latched onto this new substitute for true spirituality like starving leeches on exposed skin.
I fear however that we are in for yet another rude awakening, and another disappointment of monolithic proportions. Our disappointment at seeing those we’ve helped elect to office turn out to be nothing more than compromising and duplicitous politicians will far exceed the excited and supercharged patriotic zeal we are currently experiencing.
Throughout the years we have failed to seize upon one crucial truth, that truth being the fact that change, true change, comes about not by our might but by His might, and the only way we can compel God to intervene is by repentance and prayer.
The remedy to our national dilemma is simple enough, we must stop attempting to replace Christ, and return to Him; we must stop looking for surrogates, and go to the source of true peace, unspeakable joy, and everlasting rest, finding our purpose and fulfillment in Him and Him alone.
Jeremiah 17:5-6, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Read Original Article
15 Shocking Poverty Statistics That Are Skyrocketing As The American Middle Class Continues To Be Slowly Wiped Out
The Economic Collapse Blog
The "America" that so many of us have taken for granted for so many decades is literally disintegrating right in front of our eyes. Most Americans are still operating under the delusion that the United States will always be "the wealthiest nation" in the world and that our economy will always produce large numbers of high paying jobs and that the U.S. will always have a very large middle class. But that is not what is happening. The very foundations of the U.S. economy have rotted away and we now find ourselves on the verge of an economic collapse. Already, millions upon millions of Americans are slipping out of the middle class and into the devastating grip of poverty. Statistic after statistic proves that the middle class in the United States is shrinking month after month after month. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are starting to wake up and are beginning to realize that we have very serious problems on our hands, but they have no idea what is causing our economic distress and they are unaware that most of our politicians have absolutely no idea how to fix the economic disaster that we have created.
On the mainstream news, the American people are treated to endless footage of leaders from both political parties proclaiming that the primary reason that we are in the midst of such an economic mess is because of what the other political party has done.
Republicans proclaim that we are experiencing all of this economic chaos because of the Democrats.
Democrats proclaim that we are experiencing all of this economic chaos because of the Republicans.
Even many readers of this column (who are generally more educated and more informed than most average Americans) leave comment after comment blaming either the Democrats of the Republicans for our current economic mess.
But do you really want to know who is to blame for our economic problems?
Both of them.
This economic nightmare has taken literally decades to develop, and both Democrats and Republicans have contributed greatly to this disaster.
Both parties have absolutely refused to stand up to the Federal Reserve and the horrific economic policies that they have been shoving down our throats for decades.
Both parties have stood idly by as the U.S. trade deficit has absolutely exploded in size and the United States has become significantly poorer month after month after month.
Both parties have refused to do anything as month after month after month large numbers of factories and good paying jobs leave the United States.
Both parties have shoved the spending accelerator to the floor when they have been in power and now we have the largest national debt in the history of the world.
Both parties have done essentially nothing as the health care industry, which was once the envy of the world, has degenerated into a cesspool of corruption and greed and now seems designed to do little more than to provide pharmaceutical companies and health insurance crooks with obscene profits.
If factories keep leaving the United States and jobs keep leaving the United States and the federal government keeps going into more debt and state governments keep going into more debt and local governments keep going into more debt, then things are going to keep getting worse.
It does not take a genius to figure that out.
The United States is continually getting poorer and is continually going into more debt.
Can anyone out there explain how that is a formula for economic prosperity?
Seriously.
Can anyone explain how that would work?
Please leave a comment and explain that to all of us if you can.
The truth is that as wealth continues to leave the United States and as the U.S. gets even deeper into debt, more Americans are going to become poor.
It really is that simple.
The following are 15 shocking poverty statistics that are skyrocketing as the American middle class continues to be slowly wiped out....
#1 Approximately 45 million Americans were living in poverty in 2009.
#2 According to the Associated Press, experts believe that 2009 saw the largest single year increase in the U.S. poverty rate since the U.S. government began calculating poverty figures back in 1959.
#3 The U.S. poverty rate is now the third worst among the developed nations tracked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
#4 According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, on a year-over-year basis, household participation in the food stamp program has increased 20.28%.
#5 The number of Americans on food stamps surpassed 41 million for the first time ever in June.
#6 As of June, the number of Americans on food stamps had set a new all-time record for 19 consecutive months.
#7 One out of every six Americans is now being served by at least one government anti-poverty program.
#8 More than 50 million Americans are now on Medicaid, the U.S. government health care program designed principally to help the poor.
#9 One out of every seven mortgages in the United States was either delinquent or in foreclosure during the first quarter of 2010.
#10 Nearly 10 million Americans now receive unemployment insurance, which is almost four times as many as were receiving it in 2007.
#11 The number of Americans receiving long-term unemployment benefits has risen over 60 percent in just the past year.
#12 According to one recent survey, 28% of all U.S. households have at least one member that is looking for a full-time job.
#13 Nationwide, bankruptcy filings rose 20 percent in the 12 month period ending June 30th.
#14 More than 25 percent of all Americans now have a credit score below 599.
#15 One out of every five children in the United States is now living in poverty.
As millions more Americans continue to climb on to the "safety net", how long is it going to be before it breaks?
The reality is that the system can only support so many people. We are now at a point where our anti-poverty programs are clearly unsustainable in the long-term, but nobody has a solution for how we are going to get all of these people off of these programs or how we are going to provide good jobs for all of them.
The cost of every U.S. government anti-poverty program is absolutely soaring. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is already running a budget deficit that is approaching 1.5 trillion dollars every year. If you cannot understand that we have a very serious problem on our hands then you are probably not awake.
The U.S. economic system is dying. Blaming the other political party is not a solution. Running around the country offering "hope" and "change" and giving people a vague sense that things will get "better" soon is not going to cut it either.
The American people need very real economic solutions to very real economic problems.
But nearly all of our politicians are way too busy either trying to get elected or trying to stay in office to tackle the very serious problems which are destroying our economy.
Unfortunately, the American people love to watch our politicians play politics. They love to watch the little ping-pong ball of blame go back and forth. They love to pick sides and to cheer for their "team".
None of that is doing any good. Right now millions of Americans are getting sucked into poverty each year and neither major political party is doing anything real to address the very real economic problems that are causing that to happen.
But most Americans have become so "dumbed down" that they don't even understand what the real problems are anymore.
All most Americans seem to want these days is to watch a good show.
So send in the clowns.
There are certainly enough of them in Washington D.C. to keep Americans entertained for quite a long time.
Read Original Article With Links
The "America" that so many of us have taken for granted for so many decades is literally disintegrating right in front of our eyes. Most Americans are still operating under the delusion that the United States will always be "the wealthiest nation" in the world and that our economy will always produce large numbers of high paying jobs and that the U.S. will always have a very large middle class. But that is not what is happening. The very foundations of the U.S. economy have rotted away and we now find ourselves on the verge of an economic collapse. Already, millions upon millions of Americans are slipping out of the middle class and into the devastating grip of poverty. Statistic after statistic proves that the middle class in the United States is shrinking month after month after month. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are starting to wake up and are beginning to realize that we have very serious problems on our hands, but they have no idea what is causing our economic distress and they are unaware that most of our politicians have absolutely no idea how to fix the economic disaster that we have created.
On the mainstream news, the American people are treated to endless footage of leaders from both political parties proclaiming that the primary reason that we are in the midst of such an economic mess is because of what the other political party has done.
Republicans proclaim that we are experiencing all of this economic chaos because of the Democrats.
Democrats proclaim that we are experiencing all of this economic chaos because of the Republicans.
Even many readers of this column (who are generally more educated and more informed than most average Americans) leave comment after comment blaming either the Democrats of the Republicans for our current economic mess.
But do you really want to know who is to blame for our economic problems?
Both of them.
This economic nightmare has taken literally decades to develop, and both Democrats and Republicans have contributed greatly to this disaster.
Both parties have absolutely refused to stand up to the Federal Reserve and the horrific economic policies that they have been shoving down our throats for decades.
Both parties have stood idly by as the U.S. trade deficit has absolutely exploded in size and the United States has become significantly poorer month after month after month.
Both parties have refused to do anything as month after month after month large numbers of factories and good paying jobs leave the United States.
Both parties have shoved the spending accelerator to the floor when they have been in power and now we have the largest national debt in the history of the world.
Both parties have done essentially nothing as the health care industry, which was once the envy of the world, has degenerated into a cesspool of corruption and greed and now seems designed to do little more than to provide pharmaceutical companies and health insurance crooks with obscene profits.
If factories keep leaving the United States and jobs keep leaving the United States and the federal government keeps going into more debt and state governments keep going into more debt and local governments keep going into more debt, then things are going to keep getting worse.
It does not take a genius to figure that out.
The United States is continually getting poorer and is continually going into more debt.
Can anyone out there explain how that is a formula for economic prosperity?
Seriously.
Can anyone explain how that would work?
Please leave a comment and explain that to all of us if you can.
The truth is that as wealth continues to leave the United States and as the U.S. gets even deeper into debt, more Americans are going to become poor.
It really is that simple.
The following are 15 shocking poverty statistics that are skyrocketing as the American middle class continues to be slowly wiped out....
#1 Approximately 45 million Americans were living in poverty in 2009.
#2 According to the Associated Press, experts believe that 2009 saw the largest single year increase in the U.S. poverty rate since the U.S. government began calculating poverty figures back in 1959.
#3 The U.S. poverty rate is now the third worst among the developed nations tracked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
#4 According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, on a year-over-year basis, household participation in the food stamp program has increased 20.28%.
#5 The number of Americans on food stamps surpassed 41 million for the first time ever in June.
#6 As of June, the number of Americans on food stamps had set a new all-time record for 19 consecutive months.
#7 One out of every six Americans is now being served by at least one government anti-poverty program.
#8 More than 50 million Americans are now on Medicaid, the U.S. government health care program designed principally to help the poor.
#9 One out of every seven mortgages in the United States was either delinquent or in foreclosure during the first quarter of 2010.
#10 Nearly 10 million Americans now receive unemployment insurance, which is almost four times as many as were receiving it in 2007.
#11 The number of Americans receiving long-term unemployment benefits has risen over 60 percent in just the past year.
#12 According to one recent survey, 28% of all U.S. households have at least one member that is looking for a full-time job.
#13 Nationwide, bankruptcy filings rose 20 percent in the 12 month period ending June 30th.
#14 More than 25 percent of all Americans now have a credit score below 599.
#15 One out of every five children in the United States is now living in poverty.
As millions more Americans continue to climb on to the "safety net", how long is it going to be before it breaks?
The reality is that the system can only support so many people. We are now at a point where our anti-poverty programs are clearly unsustainable in the long-term, but nobody has a solution for how we are going to get all of these people off of these programs or how we are going to provide good jobs for all of them.
The cost of every U.S. government anti-poverty program is absolutely soaring. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is already running a budget deficit that is approaching 1.5 trillion dollars every year. If you cannot understand that we have a very serious problem on our hands then you are probably not awake.
The U.S. economic system is dying. Blaming the other political party is not a solution. Running around the country offering "hope" and "change" and giving people a vague sense that things will get "better" soon is not going to cut it either.
The American people need very real economic solutions to very real economic problems.
But nearly all of our politicians are way too busy either trying to get elected or trying to stay in office to tackle the very serious problems which are destroying our economy.
Unfortunately, the American people love to watch our politicians play politics. They love to watch the little ping-pong ball of blame go back and forth. They love to pick sides and to cheer for their "team".
None of that is doing any good. Right now millions of Americans are getting sucked into poverty each year and neither major political party is doing anything real to address the very real economic problems that are causing that to happen.
But most Americans have become so "dumbed down" that they don't even understand what the real problems are anymore.
All most Americans seem to want these days is to watch a good show.
So send in the clowns.
There are certainly enough of them in Washington D.C. to keep Americans entertained for quite a long time.
Read Original Article With Links
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)