“Law” as a Jedi Mind Trick

legislationPaul Rosenberg – About half the time it is used, possibly more, the word “law” is nothing more than a Jedi mind trick. There is nothing noble, righteous, or even ‘conservative’ about it. It’s a way for you to be abused via ignorance and inertia.

We’ve all seen this trick in action, of course. It’s very common. And, sadly, more or less all of us have fallen (or rather, were pushed) into it at some point. That complicates things because people generally don’t like to admit their errors.

Nearly all of us have been taught, repetitively, to “respect the law,” and because of those teachings, nearly all of us have decided certain things must be right, simply because they were “the law.”

We decided this, not because we understood the benefits that would follow certain actions, but because of the aforementioned ignorance and inertia.

It’s important to be clear on this: To uncritically, reflexively obey is not respect… it is to hold “the law” above reason… above reality. That, in simple terms, is worship.

Saying, “Everyone else did it too,” makes this no better.

It is also common for obedience to follow intimidation: Obey, or else… armed men will hurt you; teacher will shame you; the other kids will laugh at you; important people will criticize you in public. Please note all of these are primitive, degrading reasons. But they were thrust upon us as small, coerced children, and they very often stuck.

The really damaging part, however, comes after you obey reflexively or fearfully: when you leap to justify your past actions. Not many of us enjoy admitting our errors, but if we want to become honest, conscious adults, that is precisely what we need to do.

“But, but…”

Yes, yes, I know the same automated slogans:

Without the law, all would be chaos and death! Continue reading

2016 Theme #2: the Hollow Shell of Democracy

democracyCharles Hugh Smith – This week I am addressing themes I see playing out in 2016.

A number of systemic, structural forces are intersecting in 2016. One is the hollowing out of democracy globally.

Democracy has three distinct states of being: formal, in actual practice and informal. Nations that claim the mantle of democracy typically mix features of all three varieties.

Formal democracy is the machinery of legislation and elections. Actual practice is how the machinery functions in the real world. Informal democracy is advocacy via direct action–protests, local movements and spontaneous mass expressions of outrage/disavowal of the status quo.

Formal democracies are being hollowed out. Within the hollow shell of formal democracy, wealthy elites purchase influence and lobbyists so regulation and legislation either actively advance their interests or imposes limits that are easily bypassed or negated in actual practice

For example, the formal machinery of democracy generates tax statutes, but in actual practice, super-wealthy individuals and entities are laws unto themselves: The Oligarch Tax Bracket: How The Tax Rate For The Wealthiest 400 Americans Plunged From 27% To 17% (Zero Hedge)

For the Wealthiest, a Private Tax System That Saves Them Billions (New York Times)

Continue reading

Jon Rappoport ~ Yet Another Corrupt Judge In The Maui Vs. Monsanto Case?

“The Judge rhetorically asked, “Is there any dispute that the enactment of either of these bills would nullify the [Maui voters’] ordinance at issue in this case?”” – J Rappoport

judgeLast Election Day, the voters on Maui passed a resolution to temporarily stop Monsanto and Dow from continuing their toxic GMO and pesticide experiments in the “open-air laboratory” of Maui.

Monsanto and Dow sued immediately to nullify the will of the people. Since then, the case has been hung up in the courts.

A few months ago, I exposed the fact that the federal judge handling the case, Barry Kurren, was compromised, because his wife, Faye, was involved with an environmental group that had accepted huge money from Dow.

Judge Kurren, for whatever reasons, is no longer on the case. The sitting judge now is Susan Oki Mollway.

It’s all good now, right?

Wrong.

Hours before a scheduled March 10 hearing, which hopefully would have made progress toward a resolution of the voters of Maui’s position (ban GMOs) vs. Monsanto and Dow’s position (let us keep poisoning the people of Maui with our experimental pesticides and experimental GMOs)…boom. Judge Mollway postponed the hearing. Continue reading

Corporate Greed

“. . . large corporations that in many cases do not pay any taxes, will get 2/3rds of the tax breaks outlined in the legislation, including fossil fuel corporations, at the expense of clean energy.” – L E Rafferty

DeptOfUSTreasuryNow that we have celebrated Thanksgiving, I was struck by the news that Congress is considering legislation that would grant large tax breaks to corporate citizens and actually remove tax breaks for the poor and the middle class.

‘ “This Congress seems willing to give huge tax cuts to big businesses—who are already doing better than ever—but somehow can’t prevent tax increases on 50 million working Americans that will occur when expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit expire,” Harry Stein, the Associate Director for Fiscal Policy at American Progress Action Fund, told ThinkProgress. “This is a great deal for CEOs and a terrible deal for struggling families.”’ Nation of Change

One of the most amazing aspects of the proposed legislation is that it was reached as a compromise between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.  In light of the hug tax breaks for corporations, one is left wondering, just what did the poor and the middle class get in this “compromise”? The answer to that question is, not much. Continue reading

How To Nullify The NSA (And Every Other Tyrannical Government Agency) [Video]

CorbettReport  December 13 2013

Hardly a week goes by that we aren’t faced with some new outrageous piece of legislation from the increasingly tyrannical government. But once these bills have been passed, what can we actually do about them? What if stopping this legislation was as simple as saying “no”? Join us this week on The Corbett Report as we explore the nullification solution, a long-repressed piece of political history that offers us a way out.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/mkB0sUzJ9Rk&w=500]