Dr., Dr.,
I fear you think my harsh comment was directed at you.  No, No, No, never.  My comment was “at” the circumstances.  I have always had the greatest respect for you and responses.

Expat

IT’S ALREADY HERE!

Just returned from the grocery store. There were many people there commenting on how high the price of food was getting. I paid between .39 -.69 cents for a dozen eggs last fall, now they are around the $2.00 a dozen. Will, that’s out of my budget to buy them and I only use about 16 eggs a year. There comes a point where I refuse to pay these ridiculous prices. Maybe all those people we have worked out all those trade agreements with can afford the high cost of food that a growing number of Americans can no longer afford.

And gas is $3.37 a gallon today. And there were several more business with: going out of business signs” on them. Way to go Bush and your so called booming economy. Must be the kind of booming as in collapsing tumbling down economy he talks about, we know he can’t understand what he reads-when he does read, let alone what he is told.

ExPat..here in the United Parking Lot of America, most domestic food is totally dependent on petroleum and natural gas for production; petro for herbicides, Nat Gas for fertilizer. That’s the corporate farm way.

when the shit really hits the fan (coming soon, mof take a look at food production prices now)will we be making a “choice” between paying for the cheese doodles..or gas for the Belchfire DeLuxe?

the answer is in locally owned farms..lots of intense manual labor..but..hey… wait a minute..you can’t grow cheese doodles on a sub-division plot..wha happa? I want my cheese doodles!!

As I said..who’s addressing the issues? All I hear is “alt energy” blablabla..biofuel..blablabla..but not one of these people is talking about the real problem(s)..not a single one of them. they aren’t going near them with a 20 foot chee, pole. Wouldn’t want to give us any bad news before an election, would we?

Carter came in on a mess like this, remember? and you know what they did to him..Barack is going to need all the help he can get.

You elect a moron twice and then are surprised he acts like a moron.In his circles there is no recession.Corporate profits are up CEOs are raking in record salaries and retirement packages and the top 1% keep controlling more and more of GDP.So the among the people George Bush represents there is no recession.In other words George W Moron is saying my people are doing just fine the rest of you are on your own.

Expat:

“We’ll be lucky to be able to feed ourselves, what with this insane biofuel thing.  But food is required if we are to keep breathing.  Maybe we should all just die; then what will the elite do?”

Actually, it’s the other way around, no?  After all, don’t forget the old saw: “Eat the rich.” LOL.  (Of course, we would probably all get mercury poisoning from all the sushi they eat...LOL).

Actually, it IS interesting that in an effort to become energy independent via biofuels (particularly ethanol and biodiesel), we are cutting into our food resources.  Even MORE interesting is that it has now been found that ethanol and biodiesel actually do more harm than good; i.e., it takes more energy (and creates more environmental problems) to create them than they “give back” in return.  Indeed, some of the companies who had been developing ethanol and biodiesel are beginning to back away from using corn in favor of using biomass and other non-edible sources.

Well, I guess that it’s all part of the learning curve of transferring from fossil fuels.

Peace.

^ operational error in replying.

^ We’ll be lucky to be able to feed ourselves, what with this insane biofuel thing.  But food is required if we are to keep breathing.  Maybe we should all just die; then what will the elite do?  Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Expat:

Ironically, the one major item you did not include - food - probably contributes more to almost every problem (general economy, carbon footprint, greenhouse gases, energy independence, etc.) than all of the above combined, if you take into account all the ways that each step (production, manufacturing, distribution) contributes to those things.

Perhaps we should just stop eating?  LOL.

But seriously, you are correct that eveyr person should do any and every thing they can within reason to minimize their effect on all the things that contribute to economic and environmental chaos.

Peace.

^ work as a grassroots action and for those that can find a way to act.  Every act counts no matter how small.  One cannot ask for more than is reasonable for a stressed citizenry to do.  But, as you say, a grassroots action can bring the machine to it’s knees.  That’s real people power.

Expat, yours is a good plan of action if it can become a grassroots movement. I am already acting on most of these except the one about buying gas for my three-year old car to get me to work. I am working on trying to find public transportation routes that do not consume a huge amount of my time, so I can reduce my driving and thus reduce the frequency of buying gas.

^ happen because when you don’t know where your next gallon of gas is coming from to get to your minimum wage job, when you don’t know where your next balanced meal is coming from for your family, when you don’t know where your next paycheck is coming from, when you don’t know how to get medical care, when a cut needing 6 stiches from the ER costs you $800, when you are off the radar because your unemployment has run out.....you don’t give a fuck about million man marches in a place you can’t get to!

Yeah, can you believe the crap we accept from that asshole?  Why do we take it?  Seriously, why?

^ Purple Wolf.  Sadly we are headed down.  And yes, it will get worse.  My comments weren’t meant as an affront to the poor and disadvantaged; I think you know and understand this: My comments are aimed at anyone who is pissed off about the current state of affairs and is in a position to stop their spending (those that spend) as a way to revolt against the machine (to borrow a phrase).  Again, sadly, American citizen are missing from action.  The only encouraging thing I’ve seen is the turn-out for the primaries. 
And then there is Hillary; divisive Hillary, entitled Hillary, negative Hillary, selfish Hillary, screw what’s good for America Hillary, Bill Clintons Hillary, pit-Bull Hillary; same old, same old Hillary, status quo Hillary, can’t beat McCain Hillary, screw the democrats, spoiler Hillary.

Sorry, I digress…………..

Expat,

You’ve got an excellent point, and I at least, have been able to stop buying ALL of these things. Problem is, I didn’t necessarily START OUT doing it for the right purposes. I started out doing it because I no longer had an income. (ANY income).

Now, it took a while, but I finally did manage to get enough to put me just a tad bit under the poverty line. (I’m like Purlewolf though..not enough for one of these ‘generous’ rebates).

But, I said that to say that while ‘people of will’ CAN stop buying nearly all of the things you’ve listed, and buy ONLY those things that they need to survive, you’ve included in the list two things that for SOME people, are in fact ‘required’. That is cars and gas.

In short, there are still too many places in the US that provide no other means for accessing employment. I lived in one of those major urban areas for many years. I would have loved to utilize public transportation, (as I now do) to get anywhere that I needed to get, but specifically to work. If one doesn’t work, one doesn’t get paid, to buy even those basic necessities.

And, if one doesn’t have transportation to get to work, then things like cars and gas, (and car insurance, and license tags, and maintenance) all become ‘necessities’ rather than luxuries.

I should add that the LACK of ANY public transportation system in any major urban area, can ONLY be viewed, (as I eventually realized) as that much more of a way to keep the masses enslaved. This was Texas, and a major Texas city, and they STILL don’t have any access to public transportation that would connect what used to be suburbs, but are now major metropolitan areas in their own regard. What the hell would happen if people could stop buying gas IN TEXAS, and paying for all of those other things (like insurance with is also mandatory - no insurance, drivers’ license becomes invalid, one can no longer drive without risking jail).

These capitalists have had their racket entrenched for a VERY long time, and there are huge pockets of the US population who simply could not exist within the system if they weren’t forced into this type of consumption.

I promise you that ANY time, (within the past 25 plus years) that the subject of public transportation in introduced into one of these city legislations, it is blocked each and every time. Now I refuse to accept that it was because no one had the foresight to see down the road, that there would come a time when not everybody COULD have 4 pickup trucks, and drive them all down the road, at very fast speeds. In these rapidly growing and highly populated areas, SOMEBODY had to see the wisdom of setting up a public transportation system. (China has one that is super cool)

But...it doesn’t seem to have mattered. They still elected the mob (2 times) when the handwriting was on the wall that long ago.

At some point of course, they WILL stop buying all of these things. But it won’t so much be an exercise of will, but just because they have absolutely NO MONEY to buy this stuff, or anything else.

^ this whole mess.  A people of “will” could stop this ongoing trainwreck in a matter of weeks.  Just stop.
Stop buying vacations
Stop buying gas
Stop buying cars
Stop buying clothes
Stop buying luxury goods
Stop buying CD’s/DVD’s
Stop buying any and everything not directly connected to keeping you breathing.  Unfortunately this can only be done by a people of “will”.  Know any?

With both parents working two jobs each just to feed and house their children, all this “economic stimulus” is going to do is pay for a family’s gas ration for a month. Thus putting the “stimulus” into Big Oil’s coffers. That’s where is all going anyway, why should this be any different. I don’t know if we’ll EVER recover from this sonsabitch.

Dr. Knowitall,PhD,PhD:

No,my daughter won’t be mad at me for the further debt Bush puts this country in,as I am on disability and therefore not entitled to these “generous” rebates. My income is less than 35% of the current poverty level for a family of my size and is so low I don’t count. At least her husband and her don’t have any children and the way things look I hope they don’t have any of their own. They have talked about adopting though, as those children are already here and we don’t believe in adding to a questionable future for any more yet unconcieved children. Otherwise, I have 2 grand-kitties and 1 grand-doggie. That’s good enough for me. And much safer too!

At this point there is no other explanation. I know we like to point the finger at Bush, because he is the political figurehead, but I hope that we all know that this has nothing to do with Bush and everything to do with the banksters. Bernanke and Paulson are their figureheads, who we expect will drop the Fed funds rate by another 75bp at their next meeting. Their controls are Rockefeller Family, the House of Rothschild and the other owners of the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve.

Where is this $152 Billion dollars of counterfeit paper fiat currency coming from? Either we are borrowing if from China/Japan or we’re just “printing” it. Either way it is making our own savings that much more worthless. So… don’t thank Bush next time you fill up your tank or go to the grocery store. Thank David Rockefeller, Philippine de Rothschild and Simon de Rothschild.

Don’t just think of rapture taking us by the Adam’s apple from out of the Middle East. It could grab us and give us the shakes while we’re in our kitchen at home.

You know, PW, worst of all, when your kids and grandkids are paying off the irresponsibility of this “small government” administration over the last 8 years, they’re really going to be pissed with you for taking the $3-600, knowing full well it was hush money.

I think I’d like to see some mass march on Washington of a couple million recipients carrying their torn-up checks and big signs that say “Hey congress and W, take this money and shove it up your asses!!!” (I’d be the drum major.) Then dump it on the Mall, maybe at the Jefferson Memorial. Gawd, that’d be beautiful!

Those rebate checks will create lots of jobs for Chinese workers who make most of the goods that American’s will end up purchasing from WalMart. Walmart may have to have more American’s for their great minimum wage jobs, but if the entire family works for minimum wage that might be enough to get by on. We need someone in the White House next year who will be able to “stop the bleeding” in our economy and restore our eroded moral values that our torture happy president has helped create.

Blind, deaf and dumb are just three appropriate words to further describe this disaster, axis of evil symbol called George Bush. This C-student of economics must be an embarrassment to the science of economics. He cannot even see or hear about the 3 trillion dollars the war in Iraq has cost us thus far. And how in a sane person’s mind the housing mortgage crises compare to 3 trillion dollars wasted on the evil and satanic war in Iraq?!

This ‘stimulant’ to ‘help’ the people is as any money giveaway for the corporations as in the end they will reap this latest harvest of cash. Try and save $300/600/1200? How? Inflation is really starting the steam roll down hill picking up more and more speed and devestation will crush everything in its path.
But the worse thing is for all the criminal actions from this horrible horrible person, when the all too obvious ruination of the people finally hits home and the knowledge of who brought it about on his watch/term-in-office, everyone will be standing around staring gaped mouth at the motherf**ker as he cruises on home to crawford to enjoy his life with NO accountability for what he wrought.
Not to be misstaken for the whole collapse having been in the works for many many years, this totally evil person with the help of very complicit comrades deeply entrenched in the PNAC(Project for the New American Century) where the plans for the rape of this country and world were thought out and put into action.
GREED. Plain and not really so simple because there had to be a trememdous amount of control over the media to start the mind control of the masses to make them/us believe that everything that these criminals have done has been for our benefit. Go ahead and believe it but it will be a real shock when these criminals ride off into ‘their’ stolen world and everyone else are starting to eat dirt to get to the next day.
We will deserve the hell that is coming down because our complicity of not making our elected officials stop this travesty is the main reason for it happening. Started with the simple election fraud in w’s brother’s home state of Florida and kept up the continuance in the voting fraud in Ohio in 2004.

^ you are right on; keep posting!

...at least AEN was funny… I never felt the waves of revulsion turning to anger that I get when I hear this fucking moron… and it’s not even him, he’s just the spokesshill for the puppeteers.

Off to vote today, IL-14, House of Reps, to replace Denny Lard-Ass Hastert… the “choice” is between a repug who says the economy is doing GREAT..and a Dem centrist who says it’s..uhh.. not..Neither is drawing any attention to the calamity that’s rolling down on us.

When are the candidates going to start calling attention to the elephant that’s been shitting in this room? I feel for Obama.. he is either going to be the next FDR..or will be the picture in wiki when you look up the word “scapegoat”.

GW:

“Our president is a floppy disk in a wifi world.”

LOL.  A 78rpm record in a CD world?  A betamax in a DVD world?  The possibilities are endless. 

The latest on the economy from the MSM:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/business/08econ.html ?_r=1&hp;=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/08/business/08recession .html?hp=&pagewanted=print

Peace.

Bwahahahahahahahah!  Yes!

When Bush had rebate checks send out in the past, he shed crocodile tears in a news promo with some hack who said now that he had received his $300.00 rebate check, he could hire a worker for his business. What phony acting and it won’t work this time either. People have past due bills in many cases and will use that money for heat bills and food. As for the boost he thinks is coming, don’t hold your breath.

Recession? That is something the unfourtunately Bush will never experience.

He added: “Losing a job is painful and I know Americans are concerned about our economy.”
“I know this is a difficult time for our economy,” he said. “But we recognised the problem early and we provided the economy with a booster shot.”
George says ‘we recognized the problem early” Umm humm…right, and so he just fixed it with a booster shot.

Now, since I’m not an economist, (and probably won’t get one of those booster shot cheques in the mail) somebody please tell me how this works:

• “"We expect they will use it to boost consumer spending and that will spur job creation as well,” he said.”

How will those $600/1,200 checks help create jobs? What will consumers have to buy for 600/1,200 that will create jobs?

Now, if that booster shot was gonna do the trick, does that mean that if everybody that was gonna get this booster shot had got it last month instead of whenever it gets here, that all of those lost jobs wouldn’t have been lost?

Like, once everybody gets their money, are they gonna go out and buy a new house with it?

Or, will they all spend it at the nearest manufacturing plant? When is the nearest manufacturing plant anyway? Will everybody need to sign up in advance, to say where they’ve chosen to spend the money, so that the jobs can be created? How the hell does this work with the jobs thing?