Hmm and on top of this you have candidates not being able to campaign in certain states due to not having enough money and essentially giving those electorate votes to the uber rich candidate. I was apparently taught a lie throughout my education, and that lie is 1. your vote counts and 2. our election system is fair and free. If this campaign does not prove to everyone that our election system is in fact NOT fair or free and that their vote actually does NOT count then many people are stupidly allowing themselves to be blind to reality. America is only America in name nothing more.

We Little People get only one vote.

The wealthy get one vote.

Then the wealthy are allowed to purchase a Congressman.

Sounds fair to me.

From Mike Krieger of KAM Lp

It's The Leadership Stupid

It’s the first time we have power with people that don’t have courage. The people on top have power without courage. You cannot find any other society like it. Take the knights. The knights were people who of course, their trade was risking their lives. In theory, The President of the United States was supposed to be first in battle. Not someone pushing a button. The only way you can have a safe society is by moving these types of people (that risk nothing personally and take all the upside) out of their positions. Making them more accountable.

- Nassim Taleb (in this fantastic interview )

From our perspective, this is a critical idea. As we have said for several years, we do not see Iran as close to having a nuclear weapon. They may be close to being able to test a crude nuclear device under controlled circumstances (and we don't know this either), but the development of a deliverable nuclear weapon poses major challenges for Iran.

Moreover, while the Iranians may aspire to a deterrent via a viable nuclear weapons capability, we do not believe the Iranians see nuclear weapons as militarily useful. A few such weapons could devastate Israel, but Iran would be annihilated in retaliation. While the Iranians talk aggressively, historically they have acted cautiously. For Iran, nuclear weapons are far more valuable as a notional threat and bargaining chip than as something to be deployed. Indeed, the ideal situation is not quite having a weapon, and therefore not forcing anyone to act against them, but seeming close enough to be taken seriously. They certainly have achieved that.

- Stratfor “Considering a U.S.-Iranian Deal,” January 24th, 2012

I’ve Always Loved History

I’ve always loved history. Even all the way back to grade school I remember it being my favorite subject. Very early on I noticed certain patterns in history and I wondered why they occurred. When I was first exposed to European history, I recall being absolutely floored by how certain countries could become so rich and powerful and then subsequently collapse so stunningly and rapidly. The one that really boggled my mind was Spain - the homeland of my maternal grandfather who I never met. Here was a country that conquered and viciously looted essentially all South America other than Brazil (thanks to the pope being magnanimous enough to grant that part of the world to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas), Mexico, Central America and parts of the United States. The gold and especially silver that was taken back to Spain was the stuff of legend, yet almost at the same time they had defeated the native peoples overseas their kingdom at home was crumbling. Not to bore anyone with too much history, but by the mid 1500s the Spanish had essentially conquered the Aztecs (Mexico) and the Incas (Peru). At the time, the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan was estimated to be larger than any city in Europe. Despite these tremendous “successes” and the riches that came with them, the battle of Rocroi in Northern France in 1643 less than one hundred years later marked the end of Spanish dominance in Europe. What is so fascinating to me is that while the conquistadors were out raping and pillaging halfway around the world the domestic economy was experiencing economic crisis. There were episodes of major currency debasements in the homeland as the crown was forced to fight wars on their borders as well as fund the excursions abroad. It is important to note that the collapse came pretty quickly as it was only in 1627 when things were still looking pretty good for the empire that The Count-Duke Olivares famously stated: “God is Spanish and fights for our nation these days.” Does this story sound familiar?

It’s the Leadership Stupid

The reason I put the Taleb quote at the top is because it is such a phenomenal interview and I request that every one reading this takes the time to listen to it this weekend even though it is very long. In the part just prior to the quote I used he talks about how society is now separated into three categories. The category that he has the most disdain for are those with “no skin in the game.” These are the self-proclaimed “elite” of the Western world today. This group is varied but generally consists of politicians, Wall Street executives, the CEOs of large state-connected and protected multi-national corporations and mainstream media “journalists” or as Gerald Celente likes to call them “presstitutes.” As Taleb notes, these “elites” have no honor or courage. They are groveling little manipulator parasites. They have created a world in which they are able to reap all of the upside and have no downside. When things go against them they just bail themselves out on the back of the rest of society.

Then of course there is the group with “skin in the game.” This group consists of the unconnected wealthy, the middle classes and the poor. This is why class warfare is such an absurd thing. OWS is not about class warfare. It is about the battle between those with skin in the game versus the “elite” that rig the game and call it capitalism so they can later demonize it and consolidate power further. It is about the 99.9% of humanity against the technocrat and crony capitalist alliance. It is free humanity against a fascist system that is not capitalism or free market in any way shape or form. Yes, I think OWS needs to make this message more clear, but it’s not about money. It is about excessive power. Yes money in large amounts does equal power but it is the system itself that is the cancer. If we didn’t have a money system where money is counterfeit and can be created at will with a computer keystroke by the Ben Bernank payoffs and system rigging would be considerably more difficult for these clowns (although of course it would still happen).

Taleb then describes the final group. Those that “don’t have upside.” These people are there to “take the downside of others.” The best example of this class is the military of course. They risk it all for themselves and their family for essentially no reward except the satisfaction that they are doing good. Here is where I think things get interesting. What happens when the military realizes they aren’t fighting for the good of their nation? What happens when they realize the wars they are risking their lives for are merely to help those with “all the upside and no downside,” ie the elite to consolidate power for themselves? What happens when the military realizes their sacrifice is undermining the very Constitution they swore to uphold? I will tell you what happens. They support Ron Paul; which is exactly what has happened.

The Iran “Card” and the Idiocy of Western Leadership

If I was the leader of Russia or China right now I would be salivating and on the floor laughing. I would be in utter disbelief of how corrupt and immoral and insane and incredibly stupid the technocratic/Wall Street leadership of the Western world is. I mean they don’t even have to do anything. All they have to do is sit back and watch us blow our societies up with our actions. It’s truly remarkable.

Let’s start with Iran. Please go back to the top and reread the quote from the Stratfor piece. Stratfor, for those who aren’t aware is one of the most respected geopolitical/intelligence research organizations of the planet. So this isn’t just me spouting. Isn’t it interesting how this organization makes it clear in no uncertain terms that Iran is nowhere near a nuclear weapon, yet all the presstitutes on television don’t ever even ask this question. It is always posed as “well we know they are close so should we attack or not.” This is how propaganda operates. It doesn’t even allow you to start with an honest question, rather it starts off with a lie. If you start off on a question of war with a assumption that is a patent lie how do you think things are going to turn out? This is the exact same spectacle that we saw in the run up to the war in Iraq and their “weapons of mass destruction” that of course never existed.

All of this just supports my view that Iran is about two things. First, Iran is not safely a glorified member of the “elite” Western puppet states in the Middle East. This is a huge problem considering their considerable oil production and the threat that they could choose to not sell that oil in dollars. Secondly, TPTB understand that the “natives” back home are getting restless and they know that historically speaking nothing works better in a crisis than a big war to get the population to be submissive and do as told. The interesting thing here is that the U.S. citizenry does not want another war and neither does the rank and file military. TPTB know this. As a result, I think all of us need to be on the lookout for an attempted false flag attack that will be blamed on Iran. This could be a “cyber-attack” (that would be convenient since they could then use it to also censor the web), or otherwise, but in the end this is something to be very cognizant of. If you are following what is going on you realize that Iran has absolutely ZERO incentive to launch any attack on the U.S. This would guarantee a response and regime change. They are not that stupid.

The other interesting thing about the Iran situation is how completely incompetent and idiotic Western leadership actually is. I am the farthest person from someone that wants to keep the status quo in place, but if I was one of these Western “elites” I can tell you one thing; I wouldn’t be making any of the foolish moves they are making. The biggest blunder I have seen as of late is the U.S. and Europeans launching a new round of sanctions against Iran, specifically targeting their banking system. The great irony in all of this is that this action is merely accelerating a move away from the dollar as the currency of choice for many in the region. The only thing I have seen since these new sanction have been put in place are many more currency swaps between China and other countries. Most notably recently with Japan and the UAE. Even South Korea the other day mentioned buying Chinese debt and further diversifying reserves. Then of course there are deals to sell Iranian oil to India using both rupees and gold. In a world of tight resources and centrally planned economies whose leaders need to keep their sheep fed, warm and on the highways, Iran’s oil will be sold. It’s actually comedic to see Europe taking the “offense” by saying they won’t accept Iranian oil. Europe of all places? Give me a break. Yeah, threaten one of the biggest oil exporters in the world as you plunge into a sea of poverty, social chaos and bankruptcy. Do everything in your power to throw them into the open arms of Russia and China. You wonder how an empire can decline so fast? It’s the Leadership Stupid. History will remember the current crop of leaders in the Western world as the biggest collective or corrupt fools ever assembled on planet earth.

Ron Paul in Denver

This Tuesday I had the pleasure to attend Ron Paul’s rally in Denver. I had never been to a political rally before in my life and it was an awesome experience. Contrary to Joe Scarborough whose anonymous source claims such rallies are filled with anti-Semites I went with another Jew and all I saw were intelligent, open minded, informed citizens coming together for the only principled candidate for the Presidency. It took place in a large hotel ballroom and was standing room only. About half an hour before it was to start I went across the hall to the shop to buy a bottle of water and the woman working behind the counter marveled to me about the amount of people attending saying she had “never seen anything like it.” She also said she was closing her doors at noon to go herself. Whether or not Ron Paul wins the office is actually besides the point. He has already won. As Victor Hugo said “no army can defeat an idea whose time has come.” Well the time is now and the idea is liberty.

The Dave Janda Radio Show

This past Sunday I had the pleasure to be on Dave Janda’s “Operation Freedom” radio show, which is broadcast on WAAM Talk 1600 Radio out of Ann Arbor Michigan. Dave is a phenomenal guy and vigilant fighter for liberty. He takes time out of his busy schedule as an Orthopedic Surgeon to do this show every Sunday. Previous guests have included, Bill Murphy, Jim Rickards, Jim Rogers, Gerald Celente, John Perkins, James Turk and many others. Here is the link to my segment. I hope you enjoy. http://www.davejanda.com/audio/MichaelKreiger012912.mp3

Peace and wisdom,
Mike

SuperPac is the most outrageous thing I have ever heard. It's all about money!

I think one thing SuperPacs show is that the highest office in the land is For Sale and today, one can buy an election.

Even though the money is translated into advertising, when you have money spent 5 to 1 and you have over 12,000 ads run against just less than 300 ads, that anyone is surprised over the results of the vote in Florida at 46% (for 12000 ads) versus 32% (for 300 ads). If the candidates were only allowed to spend a certain amount in each state, to level the playing field, then the results would show that the candidate without enough money is the stronger candidate because getting 32% of the vote when you ran only 2.5% of the ads says a lot.

(For those reading this, I am trying to have a legitimate scientific discussion on this issue, not support Candidate A or Candidate B (which is why I am keeping their names out of it)) so please do not turn this into political back and forth because this is a serious issue no matter what candidate you support. After all, the 5to1 candidate will be become the 1 in the equation when going up against a 4to1 candidate later (1 billion versus 250 million).

My point is that if a candidate has only 2.5% of the ads but still gets 32% of the vote, then that shows they are strong and when the other candidate has 97.5% of the ads and only 46% of the vote, that candidate has to work really hard for those votes.

I do not think the Presidency should be For Sale. Some kind of reform needs to happen. (Like each candidate only allowed to spend X amount in each state to make it a level playing field.)

Like this is really news.

Let's face it the whole point of PAC's is to get around campaign finance laws. Of course the 1% are throwing millions at the PAC's to avoid having to pay taxes on their billions.

Thanks to the Supreme Court all offices are now for sale. Buying offices won't stop with the president or congress. Soon school board members will be bought by super pac $ in orderto insure they buy Nike shoes for the school district. Or, HP will buy a school board to insure the sale of theirprinters. Perhaps Pepsi or Coke will buy a board to put their beverage in the school district. There is no end to the possibilities!

BAN all pacs and superpacs, lets take back the country from the rich!!!! sick of bought politicians ruining everything for all of us.

And media quit protecting them you are just as bad if not worse.

America holds itself as a model of democracy to the world but in fact is a nation where corporations are people and can buy all the politicians they can afford.

It's not a democracy any more, folks, it's an out-and-out plutarchy.

#1 Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth.

#2 Oligarchy is a small group of people who together govern a nation, often for their own purposes

The combination of both plutocracy and oligarchy is called plutarchy.

Sounds like America, doesn't it?

Frank Vandersloot owns Idaho Falls, everything has his name on it, all the people in government here cowtow to his every want and need, he is LDS as are a majority of the people in government in this state so of course the last bastion of ownership to them is buying the WH, why do you think he's supporting Mitt, I love his whole premise of "I wanted to even the playing field", oh ya that's rich because poor old Mitt only has a few million to buy the election he needs more. One thing is for sure if Mitt Romney gets elected you can kiss what's left of the middle class in this country good by!Also, around here if Fourth of July falls on a Sunday it's not celebrated until Monday, Frank buys the fireworks for the show (in his companies name), if Halloween falls on Sunday then you hand out candy to the non mormon kids on Sunday and the mormon kids on Monday, so I guess we will now what will happen if Willard gets in to any of our national holidays.

Banning all Super PACs if fine as long as you ban Union Payoffs to the Dems.

"We want somebody that understands business" = we want somebody to tilt the playing field as far in our direction as he can with as little regard for the majority as possible

Getting the money out of politics is a top priority for average Americans. Don't go saying Obama benefits from this system too (obviously he does), because this isn't a partisan issue.

US citizens are sheep and we have proven this well, when will our Spring cleaning come, when its too late and we are not free any more? Freedoms time is getting short.

RAS928 - STFU already! Do yo have anything other than the BS talking point?

Where is all the money gone? And where is it coming from?

We can our wonderful (?) Supreme Court for these corporations being able to buy the election.
I love that the very people that supported them...i.e. Gingrich, ended up getting hurt the most by the them. Paybacks are hell, aren't they? haha....haha.....hahaha!

i guess they are mad ; obama's taking back all those american dollars the bush administration was showering them down with. while racking havic of america's financial stability. our economy is still in the red, while iraq's economy is in the black, and booming with our hard earned surplus , '' plus more '' in their banks. all we need is another republican conservative tea nut, to finish us off.

Ladies and Gentlemen of both political parties welcome to the election of 2012 and the war of the super pacs If you want all big money out of politics then get a constitutional amendment that the boys over at the court can not mess with. Until that happens just go with the flow and hang on to the mute button its going to get a lot worse.