I Don't Know What To Call It

Labels scare people. Nobogy wants to be labeled anything that has any negative connotations. That's why calling Barak Obama a "socialist" became the height of political discourse during the home stretch of the presidential campaign.

But it seems to me like "capitalist" ought to be a dirty word by now. This is what greed has wrought. I'm not a socialist, nor do I fit any other label you might care to try to pin on me. But if something makes sense, does it really matter what label is applied to it?

"Private capital tends to become concentrated in [a] few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of the smaller ones," Albert Einstein wrote in 1949 in the Monthly Review in explaining why he was a socialist. "The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights."
excerpt from "Why I Am A Socialist" by Chris Hedges (Hat Tip CommonDreams.org).

Santa Bush

Figured I might as well stay with this theme, because I am getting more and more disgusted with the direction this country and our supposed elected representatives and government. GWB is a big part of the problem, but he's only PART of the problem. Every single one of those government officials who has not stood up and called BullShit on the illicit, immoral, and illegitimate conduct that is the daily stock and trade of the "powers that be" in this country should be taken out and shot. That's right I said it. Crimes against the public interest when you are charged with the public trust should be capital crimes.

Anyway, here's the latest from Michael Moore at Brave New Films on his number one target of opportunity, pResident, G.W. Bush, better known as the shrub who stole X-mas.

Who Knew The Shrub Was So Good At Dodgeball?

BLACK ATHELETE TAKES CARE OF HIS FAMILY, NEWSPAPER CALLS HIM A SPENDTHRIFT

Records show how Vick burned through fortune

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The day he went to jail, Michael Vick bought a $99,000 Mercedes.

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The day’s spending, in fact, was but a small part of the $18.2 million that flew out of Vick’s hands from 2006 to 2008, according to documents filed recently in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Norfolk, Va. Nearing the end of his time in federal prison, Vick, 28, is seeking the court’s protection from his creditors.

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In 2007, documents show, he used cashier’s checks to withdraw $908,500 from his bank accounts. During a two-year period, he wrote checks payable to “cash” totaling almost $1.1 million.

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His spending escalated as his prison sentence neared.

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Whatever the case, everything Vick had may be gone. And resuming his old life when he gets out of prison next year seems a long shot.

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Vick’s financial records suggest he was hemorrhaging money. In the weeks before he went to jail, he made 48 cash withdrawals for a total of $325,945.

"Records show how Vick burned through fortune". I guess the interests of truth compelled the reporter to list the many ways Michael Vick financially supported his children, mother, siblings and other family members. But the way this article and it's headlines are written is just one more glaring example of how thoroughly Mr. Vick is hated in Georgia. Is it really fair to characterize his situation in such negative overtones? There's plenty of mention about the various and sundry amounts, but the fact that he made more than he spent was conveniently buried in the middle of a paragraph deep inside the article. The fact that most of listed purchases still had some asset value renders the whole idea that he burned through a fortune false anyway. Remember the movie "Brewster's Millions" with Richard Pryor? He had to burn through millions, and that meant no assets at the end.

If you really want to see the depths of the hatred for MIchael Vick, you've got to read the comments in the AJC Falcons football blogs. This man has been in jail for almost two years, pretty much lost everything, and there are still many people who regularly revel in his suffering and fervently wish it would continue. Here is one of the more tame comments about Vick from a recent AJC blog.

By boxer99

December 7, 2008 6:33 PM | Link to this

@Convick Supporter, what “gamebreaker” are you talikng about….Vick, what so he would fumble it or throw a interception. Dont be so ignorant you fool, Ryan is a great QB look at his numbers. I dont think Convick ever passed for 300 yards! Get over it, the guy is gone. He will be lucky to play in the Arena league. Maybe he should he ask Tameeka his 3rd babies mama for the Escalade back. What a typical Nig!

For the life of me I can find no other reason for this level of hatred other than the fact that the man was young black and rich.

N Word For The White Guy

Why? Cause it's funny. H/T P6 for reminding me about Funny or Die

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