I really wonder if we are going to make it through all of this .

[blues90]

When you stack up all the issues just since bush first stole office in 2000 and how all the crimes have been allowed to produce mass murder and destruction just about everywhere you look then the entire think becomes mind blowing .

If it's not the lies about 9/11 or the attacking of Iraq it's the dreadful horrors of Katrina that continue to this day . Watch how Katrina vanishes from the news by weeks end if not sooner .

We have seen horror stories about Walter Reed and many other conditions that are an abomination , troops coming home who live on the streets , people in New Orleans that have no homes or even hope for years to come .

We see the economy plunge into hell but yet we are told poverty and jobloss is making a turn for the better .

We are told and many experience the housing market collapse yet see adds promoting re-finance even by companies who caused this collapse .

There is such a long list of problems that I have never seen in my 58 years on this planet and there is on one side this hanging onto hope and on the other a complete loss of hope .

We are selling this country bit by bit without even considering the results of such actions .

We have a battle of trucks from Mexico being alloed to enter the US and the North american union hanging there as some unreal backdrop .

We have infrastructure falling apart and wait for the next one that we know will come .

We have presidential hopefuls not really addressing these problems , they just make promises of what they will do with out any actual proof they can pull any of this off .

We have a house and senate that won't impeach and we are told contantly to call and email and write them as if they don;t know what problems exist , this only tells me they prefer to ignore the reality .

Now we have the talk of attacking Iran which I feel could be a reality .

We have sex scandles that seem to only lead to more gay bashing all caused by complete ignorence , one would think by now people would realize this issue is a pile of lies to weed through .

Many of these problems have been with us for years but never has it been as clouded as it is now nore as dangerous .

You would think using common sense that people would rise up and rebel against all of this madness but yet we don't . Yet i see people going on as if everything is just fine and dandy and are willing to play the game as long as they are not affected .

In the end how can one trust anything or anyone when time after time we find all to late we have always been lied to .

Personally I would like to ignore the entire mess but I see this everywhere so I can't , it affects everyone if it affects a few .

[BridgeTheGap]

1. Well, doing nothing will probably result in more of the same

Like Mother Jones said: "Organize!"

[BlackHawk706867]

2. The problem that exists right now is there needs to be a strong leader...

of name recognition step forward to lead the organize.... Otherwise it will be doomed from the begining.

ww

[tridim]

4. Didn't Gore call for this just last week?

Gore is the leader we need.

[tridim]

3. It seems like the American experiment is failing in general

I can't shake the feeling.

None of the current candidates have mentioned it because it would mean instant political death. I think the only real solution can't happen without revolution, but unfortunately our current system resists revolution.

[BridgeTheGap]

22. Is it "failing" or is it being undermined?

Maybe the failure of the people, in general, is that "eternal vigilance" required to maintain a democratic Republic is lacking.
That said, there are so many who are paying attention.
Democracy is best praticed at the local level. At the state and Federal levels, it depends on the representatives we elect. The "monied interests" (T. Jefferson's term) have, for all practical purposes, gained control and influence over the process. We have to organize to change this. Our knowledge and experience around issue advocacy at the grassroots level, has to be applied here.
Many issues are linked to this problem (control of government by monied interests) and it seems that many people recognize this now.
Yes, we need strong leadership. Gore could be the one, though there are others. I'm not sure that we need a single leader as much as we need a unified vision & plan.

[Subdivisions]

5. Greece had a forest fire. Today, their citizens

are pissed and protesting the Greek government's handling of the catastrophic forest fires.

In response to your paragraph that reads: "You would think using common sense that people would rise up and rebel against all of this madness but yet we don't . Yet i see people going on as if everything is just fine and dandy and are willing to play the game as long as they are not affected ." I offer this:

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/gre070830">Greek forest fires fan flames of protest
In Athens and other Greek cities demonstrators have been protesting against what they see as the lax reaction by the country's politicians to the recent forest fires. With elections just over two weeks away, the current Greek government is trying to calm the anger of the victims with the prospect of financial aid.

-snip-

And, I've been watching cable news all day and for some reason this protest in Chile is being completely ignored:

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=122&art_id=nw20070830104948653C135306

Santiago - Thousands of Chileans demanding more state benefits clashed with police who used tear gas and water cannons on Wednesday to quell the giant street protest, injuring 50 people.

Tensions escalated when the march reached the presidential palace, where demonstrations are banned, as baton-wielding police beat back the crowd and used other deterrents, leaving dozens of demonstrators bloodied and dazed.

"Ahead, ahead with national unemployment," chanted the marching protesters, urging the creation of better state benefits and complaining about the divisive economic policies of President Michelle Bachelet.

A senator, several reporters, 10 police officers and Chilean poet Raul Zurita were among those injured in the protest - billed as the first major demonstration since Bachelet took office last year.

-snip-

And, have you heard from the MSM about the protests in Myannmar?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/30/america/myanmar.php

Linking arms for mutual support, grim in the face of plain-clothes paramilitary gangs, small groups of protesters in Myanmar have staged street demonstrations for nearly two weeks in the most sustained defiance of the junta in a decade.

The protests have dwindled in size since they began on Aug. 19, but to the surprise of outside analysts, they have continued to erupt in several parts of the country.

They do not appear to be centrally organized and have continued despite the arrests of a number of activist leaders.

The authorities are hunting down opposition figures and have reportedly told hotels and guest houses to notify them of their presence.

-snip-

It seems we are the only country on the planet where citizens refuse to acknowledge their displeasure with their government.

[Subdivisions]

6. BTW, K & R. n/t

[blues90]

10. americans for the most part seem to feel that change through politics

Is the only way . americans for the most part don't have fight in them like other countries . we had a civil war but since that time citizens have fallen victim to consumerism and have since the industrial revolution have become solidified in one idea , this is to keep the ball rolling until we find ourselves crushed by thw ball of progress .

I doubt many americans could endure what Iraq is going through . All other countries have been bombed and been through wars , we have not unless you want to count 9/11 and Katrina but these were not wars but instead fear factors or ethnic cleansing and the wealthy go along with this .

Even congress seems to be in a state of fear from something .

Not that I disagree with a national stike but this is something we should have considered when Reagan was de-regulating everything , it seems a bit late now and even less possible for people to join in this event .

I still feel it will take the youth , hell I don;t have the energy or funds to strike even though I refuse to buy anything . When I was much younger i had these benefits and options and I did alot of protesting but this was a long time ago and a different country .

I feel like america would be the easiest country to come close to Orwells predictions , we are sheep in many ways with few leaders who have a clue what to do .

[stillcool]

11. If people protest ...

say in Kennebunkport...does that count?

600 march in Maine protest
By Joshua Bodwell
York County Coast Star
KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine -- By police estimates, more than 600 protesters gathered in Kennebunkport Saturday to march on Walker's Point, the Bush family's summer home.

http://archive.seacoastonline.com/news/08272006/mainenews-27protest.html

oops! that was last year...here's this year...

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070830/NEWS/708300352

Protest draws 4,000
By Laura Dolce
[e-mail]
August 30, 2007 6:00 AM
KENNEBUNKPORT — They came 4,000 strong this time, determined to make their voices heard. They came from around the country, from the dusty back roads of Downeast Maine, the busy streets of New York City, the empty parishes of New Orleans.

They called for President Bush and Vice President Cheney to be impeached, for the U.S. to pull out of the war in Iraq. And they urged the nation's leaders to give peace a chance.
Related Stories

For the second time this summer, anti-war protesters descended upon the tiny town of Kennebunkport this weekend for a rally and march for peace.
"We're going to start a revolution," yelled event organizer Jamilla El-Shafei to the crowd gathered in a field next to Consolidated Elementary School. "It starts with you."

[BrklynLib at work]

14. It does give me hope to see this kind of thing. If only the MSM would actually cover it so the

rest of the country could see what was happening!!!

[windy252]

15. I've learned over the years

that you really can't trust the MSM to cover protests. Fahrenheit 9/11 was the first time I had found out about there being any protest at *'s first inauguration.

[warren pease]

12. Those countries all have experience with fascist dictatorships..

Whereas the US is just learning the ropes. Unfortunately, I think what we'll ultimately learn is how to open our mouths even wider so the masters can shovel in even more shit. A lot of this started when we were taught in 2001 by mass media to see an amoral megalomanic and intellectual incompetent as a noble leader and "war president." It continued when we allowed the TSA geniuses to compel us to do a striptease just to board an airliner. It really got a kick start when our fine elected reps passed the patriot act without bothering to read it. Iraq? Let's kill a few hundred thousand civilians and blow a trillion bucks since everything's pretty much in perfect shape back home.

And after a while, we just got so used to the daily outrage that we failed to notice that we were being slowly drained of our heritage, as the leaches and parasites lined up to rob us of our money, our dignity, our jobs, our rights as human beings and our history.

As a result of complacency and denial, the scaffold is built and ready to go, the noose is in place, and the hangman is walking up the stairs. All that's left is one little act of phony terror -- even a major storm or earthquake or power grid failure will do these days -- and the lever creaks, the trapdoor opens, the hooded body politic drops, thrashes around for a minute or two, then hangs as lifeless as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And the applause from DC is deafening.

wp

[Karenina]

20. HAL-LO!!!

:yourock:

[BrklynLib at work]

13. SHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Don't tell the Emperor he is naked..and for sure don't tell his subjects.

:silly:

[Zodiak]

17. Good points...and I think there is a subtext to your post

Could it be that Americans never hear stories about popular protests getting results because it might give us ideas? Could be.

[The Stranger]

7. Awaken the Nancy from its slumbers and see if we can get impeachment back on the table.

Disinfect the White House from top to bottom.

[rodeodance]

8. it does need a scrubbing from the top down!

[rodeodance]

9. rec

[Nightjock]

16. Nancy is not asleep

she is afraid of the SUPPOSED "impeach backlash" of the upcoming elections. She and others like her are a disgrace.

[snappyturtle]

18. Read this once and K&R'd it. Read it a second time and tried to

K&R it again.....didn't work! HA! So I'm giving it one big kick! :kick:

It has been a trip hasn't it? and mind blowing too. I've started to dream politically...anyone else? I have vivid dreams anyway but lately political figures and issues are intertwined. Not very restful.

[porphyrian]

19. At least we don't have an Inquisition, or the Holocaust...

Things have always been shitty, and what we have now is not the worst it could be for most of us. That doesn't mean it won't go that way if we let it, but why would we let it? You don't want to let it, do you? I don't.

[4_TN_TITANS]

21. Sold...

"We are selling this country bit by bit without even considering the results of such actions ."

Wasn't it Stalin who said that they would sell the capitalists the rope they would use to hang themselves?

[Javaman]

23. The gravy train will end when china, japan and s. korea stops buying our debt. nt

[applegrove]

24. We've turned the corner. At least we have that.