But I’m ready for the real thing, how about you?

Who what how and zed?

“To Dream the impossible dream……”

Am rather fond of the other headlines too – click on the picture to see a larger version.

“Nation Sets Its Sights on Building Sane Economy” – don’t we wish.

I be ready.

We be ready.

Who not ready?

All this ’stuff’ must have profited ’somebody’.

Maybe we should get their ‘take’ on ‘it’.

Course, that would be considered ‘confiscatory’ and therefore, not ‘nice’.

I guess it wouldn’t be considered ‘po-lite’, either.

Yes, egregious, it’s about time …

firedogs, I am eons past ready.

It can’t end yet. Someone from the Bush family is almost ready to serve.

I just got done reading what I think is another hoax, rice admitting the administration knew there were no wmds, that they would never send the troops into battle on the ground thinking sadam could simply wipe them out

had me fooled for sure

Listen to no demagogue promising economic wellbeing who cannot puzzle this:

The one thing that does not change, it is the same 100 years ago, as it was ten weeks ago, as is today, and will be 10 years hence.

If the answer is not central to the economic model being sold, do not waste either time or money with the charlatan.

The nation is ready, unfortunately we’ll move our troops to Afghanistan and fight another never ending war.

question:
once President Obama has made good on his promise of responsible withdrawal in 16 months, does this mean we are at the end of stop loss ? do National Guard Units remain in the US ?

fooled me. guess i’m not skeptical enough. *g*

i thought they were going to afghanistan?

Now here’s some real news, and it’s good:

Senator-Elect Jeff Merkley of Oregon, one of our Blue America favorites, will be joining us at 1:00 FDL for a live interview – his first blog interview since the election.

See you then!

that’s the question isn’t it. you and I agree on Afghanistan. we both know they are going to escalate and up the number of troops. I just wanted to know if we were going the pre or post Rumsfield route

Rumsfeld - as if I care to spell that monster’s name right

Just heard that Paulson said today that the bailout plan will not be used to buy toxic assets. Well, I wasn’t in favor of this from the start. But still it doesn’t inspire confidence does it? Paulson tells the Congress that he must have $700 billion to buy toxic assets because he’s the man and if he doesn’t get it the world as we know it will end. And now he’s saying he’s keeping the money but the reason why he needed it? well never mind.

This is actually on topic because Paulson has entered the zone of self-parody.

Rumsfeld – as if I care to spell that monster’s name right

well, it might be good to get it right on the charges for his war crimes trial. *g*

re stop loss – i have no clue.

Are the toxic assets that Paulson is referring to the same assets that he called illiquid assets a few months ago?

Wish I could get one of the copies, they’re being distributed in NYC this morning.

The one thing that does not change, it is the same 100 years ago, as it was ten weeks ago, as is today, and will be 10 years hence.

You may be right, but you may be wrong. Depends on how large a leap of faith you care to make. We are insane. Insane people turn their lives around or they don’t. Either way, it isn’t easy. Carlos Castenada ( guess I’ve spelled it wrong) said “You can be weak or you can be strong. The amount of work is the same.”

People who need wealth or power to complete themselves are damaged, inferiority driven people, so needy they pollute the environment even though they live on the planet like the rest of us. They may think their gates and their ability to buy bottled water protect them, but it doesn’t, anymore than their children are immune to asthma, obesity, or other ills that seem to be gaining on us.

What can we do, if anything?

Are the toxic assets that Paulson is referring to the same assets that he called illiquid assets a few months ago?

Yes, or at least the worst of the illiquid ones.

Only an idiot would fall for this. Uh, anyone seen my dunce cap?

Yes the victory was declared today and the winner is CHINA.
They signed a service contract to develop the Iraq oil fields with no strings that the sweet seven sisters tried, with all the might of #1 USA military, while owning a percentage. Great just great.

Some of my favorite Bushisms:

I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe — I believe what I believe is right.

If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure.

I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy, but that could change

We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur

Oops wrong thread.

The story about the fake Times edition is on MSNBC tv now.

Carlos Castaneda’s writings have a great import, the way of knowledge is central, excellence in knowledge is the source of power in that world frame. That is not far off the mark in any world frame.

When a society turns its back on knowledge and excellence, there is little hope that it will survive, no matter how rich and powerful they style themselves. And your observations on those at the top are well placed, maybe slightly restrained from the dangerous pathological misfits they are. As of now, there is no other operative system conceived to replace the one from which that wealth and power derive their sustenance. That alternative system must be created, but cannot be created out of ignorance, mythology, or illusion. That is the point which we find ourselves. One thing is certain, when this economic system fails, it will take the top with it, they have no escape from that fate.

Damned excellent synopsis, T-Bear.

Especially the part regarding,” … ignorance, mythology, or illusion.”

Though it might require the ‘unseen hand’ to seek other endeavor.

Hopefully, the ‘hand’ won’t go any further into pollyticks …

We might have to ‘monitor’ phone calls of those claiming to ‘hear’ otherwise, on a daily basis.

i borrowed it to wear for awhile. *g*

As an alternative, let me suggest utopia, a classless, moneyless society. If you say it’s impossible, I ask “why?” You answer-I’m putting words into your mouth-”human nature”. I wrote a book which offers what I call “collective image psychology”, self image psychology extrapolated to explain group behavior. It says, in other words, we become the species we think we are. I’m trying to land an agent, but so far no luck.

Setting that aside for the moment, we need to use the internet to give power to the people. I can think of a way to get local communities on line, but how to moderate a discussion among millions of people I have no idea. Here at FDL there’s an attempt in that direction with the links to other blogs, but it remains a bunch of us preaching to the choir. We don’t do anything to attract non-believers. Indeed they are considered “trolls” who should not be fed. Jane has a new post on Lieberman. I live in Connecticut and voted for him once. I hate that SOB but I’m coming to believe Obama is right. As a start, it’s time to put punative aside.

ekunin, I hope you soon find an agent for your book.

Such ideas, as you suggest it concerns itself with, are critical to human survival.

“Punative” must not be confused with ‘accounting’, nor even with consequence. Yet we cannot move ‘forwards’ until we understand the collective ‘psychology’ which has circumscribed our ‘better’ angels and obscured more equitable, humane horizons with myth and the deliberate quashing and malignment of both intellect AND imagination.

Certain ‘philosophies’ must be exposed for what they are. Too many are simply justiifications for greed, gratuitous destruction, and inhuman behavior, based upon pathetic assumptions of superiority and entitlement.
None of which are enhanced by the claims that they represent what a supposed deity ‘wants’ or ‘commands’.

Our stone-age sensibilities are overwhelmed by our even more ancient emotional apparatus far too often for the species to remain sanguine at present, especially as we’ve failed, as yet, to realize that we are out own greatest resource, but only if we are ALL free to use our imaginations and full capacities as human beings, in a world where none suffer at the hands of less conscious fellow beings, and where the ‘necessities’ of life are available to all, not as a ‘given’, but as a fundamental right of human existence.

Stone age sensibilities imply a genetic component to present human behavior. There is one. Anyone with children knows they pop out with different behaviors. Self image psychology says negative self images motivate self destructive behaviors like addiction and suicide. Negative collective imagery motivates destructive behaviors like pollution which may turn out to be suicide.

To carry it a bit further collective inferiority creates collective thinking, things that are generally believed. Science deals with what we perceive as an external world. Its theories are verified when that external world reacts as we predict. When we deal with something like God, we deal with the unverifiable. My belief that God, if he or she exists, couldn’t care less about what happens to us has the same philosophical weight as the belief of the millions who go to church every Sunday, but those millions use their numbers to turn faith into a fact. They believe what is unverifiable is verifiable because so many believe. Big problem.

I definitely want to see your book in print.

Your further elucidation, ekunin, confirms my suspicians that you’ve got an important ‘handle’ on some critical, and timely, notions.

Insightful books, such as yours, could well help revive a renewed interest in reading, generally, as well as to encourage many people to develop the thoughtful, well-reasoned analytical skills so desperately necessary if the species is to survive with reasonable hope AND with more than a modicum of dignity …