"Maxed Out"... Off the Wall... Down the Drain... Make the Call

I'm not just referring to a recent flick I watched, "Maxed Out" (put out in 2006), which tells a lot of stuff we already know but also serves as a reflection of things we might have forgotten about. I must say that I wasn't aware about the magnitude of some folks debts & emotional strain, some to the point of suicide. I know poverty is brutal, but geez. In short, from Regan to G.W.Bush (1983-2005) Social Security has been pillaged of $1450 billion to cover debts. Credit card debt among the American population is horrendous. The flick mentions the Bankruptcy legislative debate & when bill was reformed, MBNA (GW's #1 campaign supporter) helped to rewrite that reform. Accrued debt has robbed public service facilities such as schools, parks, & volunteer departments (rec. meds) of federal & state funds. It mentions that at the consumer credit hearing (2005) the credit card companies only introduced themselves & gave a 4 min. intro. They never had to answer any questions regarding their exploitation on the impoverished population. What to do? They suggest writing to legislation (state & federal) & lenders. Oppose predatory & discriminatory (targeting the poor, college students, etc.) creditors. www.affil.org is the website they recommend. I'm thinking of opting out of Social Security. I thought of doing this in college, but never went through the process of finding out how. Honestly, I'm feeling like I won't see any of it anyway & if I continue to pay it, that means that I'm inadvertently supporting that the administration can use my $ at will for sh*t. I'll post the where-with-all once I find out, for those of you interested also.

Good News is that our President is a genius. He shares such insights with us such as, "It turns out *clasped fingers* that these financial things are inner-related." *insert smarmy looks as if he invented penicillin & we should bow down.* I began this blog post to talk about this current upheaval with Wall Street's & the "leadership" of this country as of late. This is f%#%$#g serious when our Treasury Sec. (Henry Paulson) announces that they want $700 billion to rectify the mortgage crisis. (Why am I not buying a house right now, at the expense of the American taxpayers? When I did almost buy a house this summer, the lender approval still has loopholes & doesn't seem to be changing much from the practices that got us into this in the first place.) The catch to this $700 billion? Don't ask, won't tell. They specifically ask for NO inquiry, no interference, sheer trust that this experimental money pit will work. Because if we can't trust the government, we can't trust anyone (Brainwashing flyer #1). Blarg! Why do we need to come up with this $700 billion anyway; aren't we already into the virtual $ system? Why not just write in the $ & "pay" the bills? {I realize I'm going all over the place here. But, this is my blog, my rant page, & you've chosen to view it. Thanks for hanging with the rip curls.} [For a glance at his speech: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/business/24txtpaulson.html?_r=1&sq=paulson&st=cse&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=2&adxnnlx=1222239767-eNLAot3eFNXHSvHYQFemGA]

These are the questions I pose. What can we do as individuals to counter something like this happening? Yes, don't get 12 credit cards & buy groceries & a house with them. I don't even know what to do when I do check the stocks that I have, everything is probably so low to sell right now. I'm trying to use the stock market to my advantage, yet I'm grappling that it's more often using me. How can we seriously uprise against this constant flow of us being informed that day in & day out if the administration decides that we need to burn some $ we should ask no questions? Isn't this communistic? Is this the way we really want to go? No!? Then, what do we do besides vote in the efforts to predict where this country might go? Realistically, the outcome has the potential to determine where the world might go. What else can be done? I'm not posing these questions to put anyone on the spot or to debate about it. Well, I kind of like to debate. Nay, I want to be proactive.


This is the dilemma I'm often finding myself in recently. There is this gargantuan amount of topics that I want to learn about, part of which is politics in both the US & our world at large. I want to know about current affairs, which undoubtedly reflect the underlying history, another thing that my background knowledge is limited with. I'm trying to start where I am & just try to retain the information as it comes along to me or as I'm interested. This is a daunting, exciting & frustrating task, but I'm up for the challenge & I'm hoping to only bite as much as I can chew to be able to retain the info. I'm interested in a lot as of late! Any of you who have knowledge or experiences to share, I wholeheartedly welcome it. Let me give you my existing list (political only, never mind the classic & contemporary literature, health science, pedagogy methods, natural medicine, music, meaning of existence inquisitions :-)... US government & it's inner workings, track records of our presidential candidates, Middle Eastern history (specifically, Iraq, Iran & Palestine/Israel), British influence upon the world... I'll stop there. I'm also facing this mound of questions about how to be proactive, what can we do as individuals & the public at large, right now? I've had the good fortune of being blessed with brilliant friends & family, some that know quite a lot about these things. I've been talking to them a bit & getting resources. Wish for me good counsel & a sound memory to absorb this ever important knowledge. :-) Thanks ahead of time to anyone who wishes to endeavor to help me on this quest of mine.

Ok, I'm stepping down from my soapbox.
(Ahhh... how the exercise of good basketball games can get the mind moving. I must depart for my slumber awaits me.)