They are forcing us through a two-part process.

[Fire Walk With Me]

1. Create wars and rumors of wars. Cultivate continuous fear, an "it may happen again at any moment" psychology. The more nebulous the enemy, the better.

2. Present a solution (that you've had waiting). A "War on Terror" and Religion. Where do people turn to for comfort in times of fear? Are there atheists in foxholes? Those who turn to liquor or drugs are as fully removed from good choices as those who follow the "war" and the false use of religion.

Create a problem so that you can present the solution of your own choice. Want to control people? Get them afraid (and poor) and then offer them a tried-and-true solution. Glassmakers throwing stones through windows to create business...

Winning is easy when your victim is desperate.

This is basic psychology. I'm astonished that more psychologists have not stood up and described this process for everyone to hear.

This is also basic sadism. I've said before that these people -enjoy- torture and utterly dominating others. Seems that they've had to burn videos of torture which happened to be in Cheney's offices. Now we know who gets off to what.

Google around for "headspace" and "topping" to learn more about the tactics of sadists. Combine basic behavioural psychology and a belly full of visciousness and you've got BushCo, and the problems that we must understand and solve.

And these problems are not going to simply end with the next election. They have screwed us via the international marketplace and have stacked the deck regarding resources. Watch for more housing loan defaults, the dollar to shrink further, and their profits to increase (both financial and the "rewards" of creating destruction).

The Alice Miller books are a good place to begin.

They played Iran and Iraq against each other to weaken both sides enough to invade and steal the oil (HW Bush having huge involvement). Now they're playing the Middle East against the US citizenry, and have obviously been gobbling up power at an alarming rate.

[scarletwoman]

1. Excellent post. k&r (nt)

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Very similar to marketing, I believe...

They invent a disorder (restless leg syndrome!) which they also happen to have the cure for...http://wikiality.com/Vaxadrin

[Bobbieo]

3. Peake - Are you implying that no matter which side wins the presidency or

or controls Congress, Bushco will continue to run the country.

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. They have used the US military to control the Iraqi oil resources

thus manipulating supply and demand. The Bush family are deep in bed with the Saudis and this is a mutual action (and benefit).

You cannot vote for lower gas prices. If these things were that easy, they'd have been booted out of the office they've stolen quite some time ago. A Dem pres might open the US oil reserves but there is still an international market to deal with...

The value of the dollar is also being manipulated. We're also some two trillion dollars poorer due to Treasury theft. This money is now gone. All that we can do in response is to raise taxes or other unpopular stopgap measures.

The things that a Dem president CAN do would be to change the laws granting corporations citizenship etc. but that would not stop the fact that they are out there in the international marketplace. Some very rich people have just become vastly richer, and we have little route to recompense.

This is not even touching upon the companies KBR and Bechtel etc. have bought up and gotten their fingers into, the privatization of government and military, etc. Blackwater are essentially a for-hire military. Beware if they grow, and are used within the country. They answer to the rich. (Worst possible case. You can head off what you can perceive.)

[Jane Austin]

5. Restless Leg Syndrome is real.

My husband had it, but there's probably a traditional herbal remedy for it.

You can always search for non-prescription alternatives.

Say you have bouts with high blood pressure, you know diuretics like Lasix are in your future.

Look up "Herbal Diuretic" in Dogpile or Google. You'll find there an almost unanimous endorsement of Dandelion Root.

You'll also find mention of other herbs, Parsley, Dandelion, and Nettle, and sold as P.M.S. Tea.

Check with your medical professional, then you can give them a try if the ingredients agree with you.

If it works you're only out $5 or $10, and your potassium isn't being depleted as with Lasix.

[Perry Logan]

4. Sounds similar to Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine"

[Fire Walk With Me]

15. Yes, that's the stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/Shock-Doctrine-Rise-Disaster-Capitalism/dp/0805079831

It's always nice to find that others are thinking the same things that you are, and that they are better at synthesizing and presenting it as well.

Does she touch upon their use of religion and the religious right as an aspect of their rise to power, and as part of the social/financial structure which BushCo are forcing upon us?

[Hydra]

6. Dur!

Expect the next Prez to be a puppet of these idiots, too, whether that Prez is a D or an R.

[Bobbieo]

7. Hydra - This is why I cannot get very enthusiastic about our

Democratic candidates. All of this infighting is not helping, either.

[Hydra]

8. The infighting is not an issue, IMO

I would rather everyone question EVERYTHING...but that's what lead me to the problem. Our 3 top tiers seem to be doing basically the same things...which don't really fit the mold of "democrat" if you ask me.

Meh. I've been told I don't have a voice by our leadership, so I'll just watch to see if everyone will put up with it.

[Bobbieo]

10. Unfortunately, the infighting is an issue to me. The questions are never

really answered and seem to raise new ones. It all is very distracting. I don't see any real action on the part of our Demoe in Congress, either which compounds the problem.

[Hydra]

11. What questions aren't being answered?

The Top Tiers are not offering anti-war. They aren't offering single-payer. They're talking about threats around the world, while the biggest threat is in the WH. They aren't talking about rolling back all of the constitution shredding.

Edwards is making some noises about bringing jobs back, but I don't like his war stances.

It's clear that they aren't looking at shaking up the new status quo...and that bothers me.

[Bobbieo]

12. You have the advantage here as I don't have cable. In reality, can this war be stopped

and our troops brought home without dire consequences to the Iraqis. If we pull out. Won't al Quaida move right in and take control? The Iraq war never should never have started in the first place. I can see the one in Afghanistan but not Iraq. We never should have moved the troops from there to Iraq. OIL- OIL- OIL!!! Money - Money - Money!!!

[Hydra]

13. No cable here either

but here's the rundown:

Can we withdraw our troops?

Yes, but we'd lose control of the oil and our bases. That's all we were interested in anyway.

Won't Al-Qaeda come in and take control afterward?

Not unless we order them to. They are paid for and work for us. The Exception is "Al-Qaeda in Iraq"- those are mostly local insurgents, and will go back to working for a living when we quit taking their jobs and raping their women.

Afghanistan is a mess for the same reasons, but there it's bases and opium. We shouldn't have gone there either- the Taliban offered us Osama Bin Laden's head on a platter the summer before 9/11.

You got the last part right, but you forgot one:

Colonies - Colonies - Colonies!

I hate living in an empire- it's almost as bad as being invaded by one.

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. 1st kick.