TARP II. Or... BOHICA!!!

[cottonzway]

We are both nuts and both on point, sadly. It sucks. Seriously. I wish I thought life worked like the typical right-wing kooks or Obama "Jim Jones" type followers on the left. Instead I'm just the pissed off "alarmist" who has been right for the past few years and can see what the hell is going on in broad manner to project what will take place in the future.

Never shut up, never back down.

 

[skunkape]

I'm more concerned about the notion that they would essentially repopulate America with Chinese, and oust us.

Chief Red Cloud said that what the White Man does to the Native Americans, would be done to them someday.

An aggressive inter-breeding agenda would be a good first line of defense. I had a Chinese girlfriend for a while, but she was here as a student and her visa expired. You never forget the first time you witness a purple va-jay-jay.
And I'm part Native American...does that mean I get off a little easier?

 

[Tommy Allison]

An aggressive inter-breeding agenda would be a good first line of defense. I had a Chinese girlfriend for a while, but she was here as a student and her visa expired. You never forget the first time you witness a purple va-jay-jay.
And I'm part Native American...does that mean I get off a little easier?

The fact that you shared it with us, speaks volumes to your ability to keep a secret.

Making mental note never to divulge personal secrets to Skunkape.

 

[Tommy Allison]

We are both nuts and both on point, sadly. It sucks. Seriously. I wish I thought life worked like the typical right-wing kooks or Obama "Jim Jones" type followers on the left. Instead I'm just the pissed off "alarmist" who has been right for the past few years and can see what the hell is going on in broad manner to project what will take place in the future.

Never shut up, never back down.

I was shown what was behind the curtain once while I was in the Army. It changed my personality, my outlook, and it made me so angry that when I got out I literally wanted to drop out of society. As it is, I'm trying to figure out a way to build a submarine like Captain Nemo, just so I can tool around the high seas and never be bothered by the tyranny of evil people.

The scam that has been pulled on the American People since the beginning of the industrial revolution is staggering. In the last 40 years I've watched the systematic betrayal of everything I believe in. There is no place for me in this society, and probably not for many of us on the board.

 

[CapnG]

I read Huxley's Brave New World, and saw that instead of some people being selected to be alphas, betas, gammas and deltas, that really there's only a few alphas, and the rest are deltas BY CHOICE.

How disgusting is that? To engineer a society and reward servitude and stupidity?

If they're engineered, it's not really a choice is it? If you're the one doing the engineering on the other hand then it's not disgusting at all. No more so than fleecing a sheep or slaughtering a chicken at any rate.

 

[Tommy Allison]

If they're engineered, it's not really a choice is it? If you're the one doing the engineering on the other hand then it's not disgusting at all. No more so than fleecing a sheep or slaughtering a chicken at any rate.

By virtue of the fact that social engineering is being done with the use of a little box that has stories, pictures, music and other nonsense to occupy your mind, we are collectively being programmed.

It's morally acceptable, if that programming is for the betterment of humanity across the board. When it is to ensure the status of one genetic line, or family line over the rest of humanity, that is insidious.

People choose to watch television, listen to rap music, read magazines, consume junkfood, and pollute their souls with this materialistic crap that they are taught that they need from birth.

Once you know the truth, you either continue to play along, or you buck the system.

I'm one of those people who read enough Ayn Rand to have the undying belief in the sanctity of the individual. The phrase "With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility", wasn't from Spiderman, or Stan Lee, it came from Rand believe it or not, as Steve Ditko was a big believer in objectivist philosophy.

I'm an objectivist too, to a degree. I believe that if you have the power to do good, then you have the responsibility to do good. The people who are destroying humanity have the power to do good things, and yet they do not dare, for fear of making us all equal, and able to choose our own paths, destinies and prosperities. To do good for humanity would be to change the paradigm for which we live.

 

[cottonzway]

I was shown what was behind the curtain once while I was in the Army. It changed my personality, my outlook, and it made me so angry that when I got out I literally wanted to drop out of society. As it is, I'm trying to figure out a way to build a submarine like Captain Nemo, just so I can tool around the high seas and never be bothered by the tyranny of evil people.

The scam that has been pulled on the American People since the beginning of the industrial revolution is staggering. In the last 40 years I've watched the systematic betrayal of everything I believe in. There is no place for me in this society, and probably not for many of us on the board.

I understand.

I just give no quarter and back down none. No compromise. Never shut up. No matter what. It's my country and the love I have it won't be scared off by Eschelon or Trailblazer. Even on the web. It's not about insane conspiracy theory, but how the world works and by the sounds of it you have a good uderstanding of it. There is a place for you to inform people and defend your country in that manner at the bare minimum.

 

[CapnG]

When it is to ensure the status of one genetic line, or family line over the rest of humanity, that is insidious.

Only from our standpoint. The powers that be would have to identify themselves as part of humanity first in order to view their actions as "insidious", which of course they do not choosing instead to view the rest of us as sub-human.

It is as you said, a world on two levels: rulers and ruled, owners and property, wolves and sheep.

 

[Tommy Allison]

Title: H.R.1: The House's Pig Pen
Source: American Thinker
URL Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/02/hr1_the_houses_pig_pen.html
Published: Feb 2, 2009
Author: Lee Cary


The pork-laden American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed by Democrats in the House is a huge pig pen.
Thanks to the staff of Congressman Michael Burgess (TX-R., 26th Dist.), I waded through a hardcopy of Division A - Appropriations Provisions of H.R.1. It's painful and it's ugly. (My reading of "Division B - Other Provisions," pages 251-647, which contains the bill's Tax provisions, will require OTC painkillers not currently in my possession.)
There's enough pork in Division A to rename the Washington D.C. Reflecting Poll the Bay of Pigs.
At the risk of hurting you, I list the bill's appropriations below. You can consult the entire bill for details, where there are any. And there are few. Most of the explanations for how the money is to be spent are as brief as fortune cookie notes, and opaque as peanut butter. I left the zeros in for impact and highlighted several of the larger numbers. It's possible there's a mistake in transcription, but you'll get the drift.
Department Of Agriculture
$44,000,000 - Agriculture Buildings and Facilities and Rental Payments; $209,000,000 - Agricultural Research Service Buildings and Facilities; $245,000,000 - Farm Service Agency Salaries and Expenses; $350,000,000 - Natural Resources Conservation Service Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations; $50,000,000 - Watershed Rehabilitation Program; $5,838,000,000 - Rural Development Programs, Rural Community Advancement Program; $22,129,000,000 - Rural Housing Service, Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account; $2,825,000,000 - Rural Utilities Service, Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program; $100,000,000 - Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; $150,000,000 - Emergency Food Assistance Program" (This includes grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa); $300,000,000 - Administrative Expenses ($150,000,000 each in '09 & '10); $650,000,000 - Forest Service, Capital Improvement and Maintenance; $840,000,000 - Wildland Fire Management
Department Of Commerce
$250,000,000 - Economic Development Administration, Economic Development Assistance Program; $1,000,000,000 - Bureau of the Census, Periodic Censuses and Programs (additional funding); $350,000,000 - National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Salaries and Expenses; $2,825,000,000 - Wireless and Broadband Deployment Grant Programs; $650,000,000 - Digital-To-Analog Converter Box Program; $100,000,000 - National Institute of Standards and Technology Scientific and Technical Research and Services; $100,000,000 - Industrial Technology Services
$300,000,000 - Construction of Research Facilities; $400,000,000 - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Operations, Research and Facilities; $600,000,000 - Procurement, Acquisition and Construction (includes not less than $140,000,000 for "climate data modeling")
Department Of Justice (DoJ)
$3,000,000,000 - State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance; $1,000,000,000 - Community Oriented Policing Services
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
$400,000,000 - Science (not less than $250,000,000 "shall be solely for accelerating the development of the tier 1 set of Earth science climate research missions); $150,000,000 - Aeronautics; $50,000,000 - Cross Agency Support Programs (restoration and mitigation of NASA infrastructure and facilities damaged during 2008 disasters)
National Science Foundation
$2,500,000,000 - Research and Related Activities; $100,000,000 - Education and Human Resources; $400,000,000 - Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction
Department Of Defense
$4,500,000,000 - Facility Infrastructure Investments; $350,000,000 - Energy Research and Development; $920,000,000 - Military Construction, Army; $350,000,000 - Military Construction, Navy & Marine Corps; $260,000,000 - Military Construction, Air Force; $3,750,000,000 - Military Construction, Defense-Wide; $140,000,000 - Military Construction, Army National Guard; $70,000,000 - Military Construction, Air National Guard; $100,000,000 - Military Construction, Army Reserve; $30,000,000 - Military Construction, Navy Reserve; $60,000,000 - Military Construction, Air Force Reserve; $300,000,000 - Department of Defense Base Closure Account 1990
Department Of Veterans Affairs (VA)
$950,000,000 - Veterans Health Administration, Medical Facilities; $50,000,000 - National Cemetery Administration
Energy And Water
$2,000,000,000 - Army Corps of Engineers, Civil Construction; $250,000,000 - Mississippi River and Tributaries; $2,225,000,000 - Operation and Maintenance; $25,000,000 - Regulatory Program
Department Of Energy
$18,500,000,000 - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; $4,500,000,000 -; $1,000,000,000 - Advanced Battery Loan Guarantee Program; $500,000,000 - Institutional Loan Guarantee Program; $8,000,000,000 - Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program; $2,400,000,000 - Fossil Energy; $2,000,000,000 - Science (weird science?)
Environmental And Other Defense Activities
$500,000,000 - Defense Environmental Cleanup
Borrowing Authorities
$3,250,000,000 - Western Area Power Administration; $3,250,000,000 - Bonneville Power Administration
General Services Administration
$7,700,000,000 - Federal Buildings Fund; $600,000,000 - Energy Efficient Federal Motor Vehicle Fleet Procurement (no mention of buying only American cars)
Small Business Administration
$426,000,000 - Business Loans Program Account
Department Of Homeland Security
$100,000,000 - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (non-intrusive detection technology at sea ports of entry); $150,000,000 - Repair and Construct Inspections Facilities (at land border points of entry); $500,000,000 - Aviation Security; $150,000,000 - Coast Guard, (alteration of bridges); $200,000,000 - FEMA, Emergency Food & Shelter
Department Of The Interior
$500,000,000 - Bureau of Reclamation, Water and Related Resources; $325,000,000 - Bureau of Land Management, Construction (for priority road, bridge and trail repair or decommissioning); $300,000,000 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Construction (for priority road and bridge replacement and repair); $1,700,000,000 - National Park Service Construction; $200,000,000 - National Mall Revitalization Fund (half of that requires matching private funds); $100,000,000 - National Park Service Centennial Challenge (signature projects and programs); $200,000,000 - U.S. Geological Survey for Surveys, Investigations and Research; $500,000,000 - Bureau of Indian Affairs, Construction; $800,000,000 - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Hazardous Substance Superfund; $200,000,000 - EPA, Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund Program; $8,400,000,000 - State and Tribal Assistance Grants ($6 bln, Clean Water State Revolving Funds; $2 bln, Drinking Water State Revolving Funds; $300 mil, Title VII, Subtitle G, Energy Policy Act of 2005; $100 mil, Comprehensive environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980)
Department Of Health And Human Services (HSS)
$550,000,000 - Indian Health Service; $2,188,000,000 - Health Resources and Services; $462,000,000 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Disease Control, Research and Training; $1,500,000,000 - National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Center for Research Resources; $1,500,000,000 - NIH, Office of the Director; $500,000,000 - NIH, Buildings & Facilities; $700,000,000 - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; $400,000,000 - Discretionary Funds, Secretary of HHS (Tom Daschle won't have to pay taxes on this); $1,000,000,000 - Administration for Children and Families, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance; $2,000,000,000 - Payments to States for the Child Care and Development Block Grant; $3,200,000,000 - Children and Families Services Program; $200,000,000 - Administration on Aging, Aging Services Programs; $2,000,000,000 - Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; $900,000,000 - Public Health & Social Services Emergency Fund (three parts for advanced R&D, prepare for influenza pandemic, improve IT at the Department of HHS); $3,000,000,000 - HHS Prevention and Wellness Fund
Department Of Education
$13,000,000,000 - Education for the Disadvantaged; $100,000,000 - Impact Aid (Title VII of the elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965); $1,000,000,000 - School Improvement Program; $200,000,000 - Innovation and Improvement; $13,000,000,000 - Special Education (ref. IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act); $16,126,000,000 - Student Financial Assistance; $50,000,000 - Student Aid Administration; $100,000,000 - Higher Education; $250,000,000 - Institute of Education Sciences; $14,000,000,000 - School Modernization, Renovation, and Repair; $6,000,000,000 - Higher Education Modernization, Renovation, and Repair; $79,000,000,000 - State Fiscal Stabilization Fund
Corporation For National And Community Service
$160,000,000 - Operating Expenses; $40,000,000 - National Service Trust
Social Security Administration
$900,000,000 - Limitation on Administrative Expenses
Smithsonian Institute
$150,000,000 - Facilities Capital
National Foundation For The Arts And The Humanities
$50,000,000 - National Endowment for the Arts
Department Of Labor
$4,000,000,000 - Employment and Training Administration; $120,000,000 - Community Service Employment For Older Americans; $500,000,000 - State Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations; $80,000,000 - Departmental Management; $300,000,000 - Office of the Job Corps
Department Of State
$276,000,000 - Administration of Foreign Affairs, Capital Investment Fund; $224,000,000 - International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. and Mexico, Construction
Department Of Transportation
$3,000,000,000 - Federal Aviation Administration, Grants-in-Aid for Airports;
$30,000,000,000 - Federal Highway Administration, Highway Infrastructure Investment; $300,000,000 - Federal Railroad Administration, Capital Assistance for Intercity Passenger Rail Service; $800,000,000 - Capital and Debt Service Grant to the Railroad Passenger Corporation; $6,000,000,0000 - Federal Transit Administration, Transit Capital Assistance; $2,000,000,000 - Fixed Guideway Infrastructure Investment; $1,000,000,000 - Grants at the discretion of the Secretary of Transportation
Department Of Housing & Urban Development
$5,000,000,000 - Public & Indian Housing, Public Housing Capital Fund; $2,500,000,000 - Elderly, Disabled, and Section 8 Assisted Housing, Energy Retrofit; $500,000,000 - Native American Housing Block Grants; $1,000,000,000 - Community Planning & Development, Community Development Fund; $4,190,000,000 - Neighborhood Stabilization Activities (ACORN money here?); Community Development Fund; $1,500,000,000 - Home Investment Partnerships Program; $10,000,000 - Self-Help & Assisted Homeownership Opportunity Program; $1,500,000,000 - Homeless Assistance Grants; $100,000,000 - Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, Lead Hazard Reduction
Whew! Boar-a-rama. Hog heaven.
Rest assured, though, that all these expenditures will be closely monitored to prevent fraud and wasteful spending. There's 198,400,000 allocated for Inspector Generals of federal departments and agencies. The Government Accounting Office will have another $25,000,000 to follow the money flowing from the swinery.
An, in case you're concerned about such things, breath easy because, according to Sec. 1109. PROHIBITED USES:
None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in the Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, or swimming pool.
This, of course, does not apply to later mentioned "pools of first lien position 504 [SBA] loans sold to third-party investors." Only swimming pools.
In H.R.1 there is even a Blago Clause (SEC. 1112). No money is to be spent in Illinois as long as Blago is governor except by separate expressed approval from the State legislature. But that's a mute issue now. No Blago - no problem.
As for transparency, it's assured by SEC. 1221. "ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD." The Chief Performance Officer appointed by the President will chair the above mentioned Board and serve with six inspector generals and deputy secretaries of the Departments of Energy, HHS, Transportation, "and from other Federal departments and agencies to which funds are made available in the Act."
The Board's budget is $14,000,000. Their office space will be provided within the Executive Office of the President. There'll also be an Independent Advisory Panel (SEC. 1229) with five members chosen by President Obama. All on the up-n-up.
Here an oink, there an oink, everywhere an oink, oink.

 

[AnnetteMarie]

Sorry if it was a lecture. I didn't mean for it to be one. .

I was not being sarcastic, I was truly saying thanks. Really.

 

[bobheck]

By virtue of the fact that social engineering is being done with the use of a little box that has stories, pictures, music and other nonsense to occupy your mind, we are collectively being programmed...

... The people who are destroying humanity have the power to do good things, and yet they do not dare, for fear of making us all equal, and able to choose our own paths, destinies and prosperities. To do good for humanity would be to change the paradigm for which we live.

Only from our standpoint. The powers that be would have to identify themselves as part of humanity first in order to view their actions as "insidious", which of course they do not choosing instead to view the rest of us as sub-human.

It is as you said, a world on two levels: rulers and ruled, owners and property, wolves and sheep.

Jeezus, guys, this is getting heavy, but very interesting.

Tommy, for us to 'change the paradigm' would mean mass redirection of current social paths -- one or two people shouting in a crowd does not do much. How do we accomplish that?

And, CapnG -- seriously, do you think there really is that level of control and disassociation with some group of powerful people? That is very, very scary. To what end? It seems to me if that is true, they would be just as happy having machines (when that becomes possible) run the earth and do away with humanity. Then where are their arts, books, entertainment? All the things that they enjoy? All gone. This is a weird train of thought, but provoking I will admit.

 

[Tommy Allison]

Title: Bill creates detention camps in U.S. for 'emergencies'
Source: WND
URL Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php? fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87757
Published: Feb 2, 2009
Author: Jerome R. Corsi


LIFE WITH BIG BROTHER Bill creates detention camps in U.S. for 'emergencies' Sweeping, undefined purpose raises worries about military police state
Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, D-Fla., has introduced to the House of Representatives a new bill, H.R. 645, calling for the secretary of homeland security to establish no fewer than six national emergency centers for corralling civilians on military installations.
The proposed bill, which has received little mainstream media attention, appears designed to create the type of detention center that those concerned about use of the military in domestic affairs fear could be used as concentration camps for political dissidents, such as occurred in Nazi Germany.
Heed the warning of a former Hitler Youth who sees America on the same path as pre-Nazi Germany in "Defeating the Totalitarian Lie" from WND Books!
The bill also appears to expand the president's emergency power, much as the executive order signed by President Bush on May 9, 2007, that – as WND reported – gave the president the authority to declare an emergency and take over the direction of all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments without even consulting Congress.
As WND also reported, DHS has awarded a $385 million contract to Houston-based KBR, Halliburton's former engineering and construction subsidiary, to build temporary detention centers on an "as-needed" basis in national emergency situations.
(Story continues below)
According to the text of the proposed bill, the purpose of the National Emergency Centers is "to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster."
Three additional purposes are specified in the text of the proposed legislation:
To provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and ensuring the coordination of federal, state and local first responders;
To provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response and recovery efforts of government, private, not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations;
To meet other appropriate needs, as defined by the secretary of homeland security. The broad specifications of the bill's language, however, contribute to concern that the "national emergency" purpose could be utilized by the secretary of homeland security to include any kind of situation the government wants to contain or otherwise control.
Rep. Hastings created controversy during the 2008 presidential campaign with his provocative comments concerning Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
"If Sarah Palin isn't enough of a reason for you to get over whatever your problem is with Barack Obama, then you damn well had better pay attention," Hastings said, as reported by ABC News. "Anybody toting guns and stripping moose don't care too much about what they do with Jews and blacks. So, you just think this through."
H.R. 645, which seeks to allocate $360 million for developing the emergency centers, has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and to the Committee on Armed Services.

 

[Tommy Allison]

Jeezus, guys, this is getting heavy, but very interesting.

Tommy, for us to 'change the paradigm' would mean mass redirection of current social paths -- one or two people shouting in a crowd does not do much. How do we accomplish that?

And, CapnG -- seriously, do you think there really is that level of control and disassociation with some group of powerful people? That is very, very scary. To what end? It seems to me if that is true, they would be just as happy having machines (when that becomes possible) run the earth and do away with humanity. Then where are their arts, books, entertainment? All the things that they enjoy? All gone. This is a weird train of thought, but provoking I will admit.

The people who have lots and lots of money, have love for nothing BUT money. They don't love art, books, or even knowledge outside of their ability to give them power, or prestige.

A person I used to know, used to be the personal carpenter for the family that owned John Deere. The things he told me would stagger the mind about what these people "loved". He also was told on more than one occasion about the future of this country and what we could expect.

If the uber elites could replace every last breathing human being on the planet, with robots, they would do so, just so they could have a little more space, resources, wealth, food, you name it.

They are not like the rest of humanity, because they lack what makes us part of the human race. Humanity.

 

[David Biedny]

Isn't it amazing, to think that people with billions of dollars somehow feel that they need yet more? For the life of me, I just can't wrap my head around this - take someone like Warren Buffet - 50 billion dollars and he eats McDonalds shit-in-a-wrapper all the time. I mean, WTF? Seems to me that it's a form of mental illness. Or maybe you're right, Tommy, these people just lack any sense of humanity. I don't know, it really makes me wonder about us humans - do we deserve to continue as a species? I'm sure as hell convinced that we're nowhere near the noble creatures we fancy ourselves. I was watching TV with my honey yesterday, and we saw a commercial for some new "reality" show centered on pre-teen beauty pagents. Does anyone remember JonBenet Ramsey? What kind of sick parents dress their little girls up like prostitutes, creating a pedophile's dream? I just don't understand this world.

dB

 

[pixelsmith]

to people with billions, it is not about money it is about power.

What kind of sick parents dress their little girls up like prostitutes...

that would be brainwashed parents who watch TV.

 

[Tommy Allison]

Isn't it amazing, to think that people with billions of dollars somehow feel that they need yet more? For the life of me, I just can't wrap my head around this - take someone like Warren Buffet - 50 billion dollars and he eats McDonalds shit-in-a-wrapper all the time. I mean, WTF? Seems to me that it's a form of mental illness. Or maybe you're right, Tommy, these people just lack any sense of humanity. I don't know, it really makes me wonder about us humans - do we deserve to continue as a species? I'm sure as hell convinced that we're nowhere near the noble creatures we fancy ourselves. I was watching TV with my honey yesterday, and we saw a commercial for some new "reality" show centered on pre-teen beauty pagents. Does anyone remember JonBenet Ramsey? What kind of sick parents dress their little girls up like prostitutes, creating a pedophile's dream? I just don't understand this world.

dB

David,

A good friend of mine's father said "If you understand what some kinds of people think, you're just like them."

Be glad that you don't understand. Be Glad you can't comprehend. You lose more humanity taking a shit, than some of these people will ever have in their lifetimes.

 

[Tommy Allison]

Title: Bailed Out Bank of America Sponsors Super Bowl FunFest
Source: ABC News
URL Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story? id=6782719&page=1
Published: Feb 2, 2009
Author: By BRIAN ROSS, MEGAN CHUCHMACH, ASA ESLO


Despite a near collapse that required $45 billion in federal taxpayer bailout funds, Bank of America sponsored a five day carnival-like affair just outside the Super Bowl stadium this past week as President Obama decried wasteful spending on Wall St.
The event  known as the NFL Experience  was 850,000 square feet of sports games and interactive entertainment attractions for football fans and was blanketed in Bank of America logos and marketing calls to sign up for football-themed banking products.
The bank staunchly defended its sponsorship, saying it was a "business proposition" and part of its "growth strategy."
Critics blasted the spending as a serious abuse of taxpayer money.
"The prominent sponsorship of the Super Bowl says to the American people we'll take your money and then we're going to go waste it," Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, a watchdog group, told ABC News.
Leading Congressional critic, Congressman Elijah Cummings, (D-MD), said, "They should know better, but obviously they don't."
According to the Bank of America, the official bank of the NFL, its NFL partnerships and product tie-tins "generate significant revenue streams." The bank said it was legally required to fulfill its contract to be an NFL sponsor and that its NFL product sales had already increased since the Experience began Jan. 24.
The bank refused to tell ABC News how much it is spending as an NFL corporate sponsor, but insiders have put the figure at close to $10 million. The NFL Experience was on top of that and was inked last summer, according to the bank.
The NFL said it was a "multi-million dollar" event and that it was also spending money to put on the event. A Super Bowl insider said the tents alone cost over $800,000.
According to the Bank of America, the official bank of the NFL, its NFL partnerships and product tie-tins "generate significant revenue streams." The bank said it was legally required to fulfill its contract to be an NFL sponsor and that its NFL product sales had already increased since the Experience began Jan. 24.
The bank refused to tell ABC News how much it is spending as an NFL corporate sponsor, but insiders have put the figure at close to $10 million. The NFL Experience was on top of that and was inked last summer, according to the bank.
The NFL said it was a "multi-million dollar" event and that it was also spending money to put on the event. A Super Bowl insider said the tents alone cost over $800,000.

 

[bobheck]

Isn't it amazing, to think that people with billions of dollars somehow feel that they need yet more? For the life of me, I just can't wrap my head around this...
dB

You know, ain't that the truth? These people are fricking sick. And for some reason we immediately associate importance to economic level. Think of it, every culture does that. No wonder some of the world's older religions require a vow of poverty for certain things -- they realized early on how retarded (literally) we are when it comes to realizing the true value of someone, without regard to the size of their stash.

This has bothered me my whole adult life, really. Money=Power=Importance=?Value?

It is SO screwed up.

And, the accumulation of vast amounts of wealth. When it gets to a point, people that have mass wealth have the power and influence to suppress the opportunities of others in order to increase that vastness of their wealth.

I also know that capitalism is what caused the wealth of America, and is currently doing the same to an extent in China. But something is amiss -- there is a monkey wrench in the machine. After the initial feeling of freedom and wealth building is over, the second level comes -- mega wealth. That is where things start to break down, apparently. The first phase everyone is happy because everyone can do his/her own thing and make a buck. Then, some of those get bigger and start feeding on the misfortunes of the smaller guys -- game over, everyone loses.

Aww, crap. I could go on. It's just not right. I know, I know, it is just not right. I may have missed a few things above, but all in all I stand by the statements.

 

[Tommy Allison]

When money was invented, it was invented by people who had nothing to offer their fellow human beings.

They say it was easier than transporting animals, and grain, but in the end, money is a tool created by people who have no other redeeming skills or abilities.

If you can heal the sick, you have a place in society. If you can create things, build things, you have a place in society. If you can raise crops, or make food, you have a place in society. If you have talents and can entertain people, yes even you have a place in society.

Money is the so called great equalizer.

It's unfortunate that it seems that those who have the most to give, are some of the least worthy.

 

[Tommy Allison]

Here's something else that blows my fucking mind...

Title: Family spat divides televangelism empire
Source: MSNBC
URL Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28953451/
Published: Feb 2, 2009
Author: MSNBC


GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Once one of the most popular televangelists in the U.S., the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life's work crumble.
His son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled megachurch in Southern California is home to the "Hour of Power" broadcast, an evangelism staple that has been on the air worldwide for more than three decades.
The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County property to pay off debt. Revenue dropped by nearly $5 million last year, according to a recent letter from the elder Schuller to elite donors. In the letter, he implored the Eagle's Club members — who supply 30 percent of the church's revenue — for donations and hinted that the show might go off the air without their support.
"The final months of 2008 were devastating for our ministry," the 82-year-old pastor wrote.
The Crystal Cathedral blames the recession for its woes. But it's clear that the elder Schuller's carefully orchestrated leadership transition, planned over a decade, has stumbled badly.
It's a problem common to personality driven ministries. Most have collapsed or been greatly diminished after their founders left the pulpit or died.
Decline of televangelism Members often tie their donations to the pastor, not the institution, said Nancy Ammerman, a sociologist of religion at Boston University. Schuller, with a style that blends pop psychology and theology, has a particularly devoted following, she said.
"Viewers are probably much less likely to give when it's not their preacher they're giving to," she said. "There's something about these televised programs where people develop a certain loyalty."
Today's increasingly fragmented media landscape is also to blame, said Quentin Schultze, a Calvin College professor who specializes in Christian media.
Church-based televangelism led by powerful personalities filled TV in the 1980s, but now only a handful of shows remain, he said. Among the struggling ministries are those of Oral Roberts and the late D. James Kennedy of "The Coral Ridge Hour" TV show.
"I don't see a scenario for maintaining a TV-based megachurch anymore. The days of doing that in the models of Schuller and Jimmy Swaggart and Oral Roberts are over," Schultze said. "It's amazing to me that the 'Hour of Power' was able to keep going as long as it did."
Through a spokesman, Schuller Sr., his family members and other cathedral officials declined to comment. The younger Schuller, 54, did not respond to an e-mail requesting an interview.
The elder Schuller, who called his weekly show "America's Television Church," founded his ministry in a drive-in theater after moving to Southern California in 1955.
He studied marketing strategies to attract worshippers and preached a feel-good Christianity, describing himself as a "possibility thinker" and spinning his upbeat style into a 10,000-member church and a broadcast watched by millions worldwide.
The church's main sanctuary, the Crystal Cathedral, is a landmark designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, with a spire visible from afar amid Orange County's suburban sprawl. Thousands make the pilgrimage to see where the broadcast is filmed before a live congregation.
Many viewers angry The Schullers consider the church a family business, and the younger Schuller's 2006 appointment was sanctioned by the Crystal Cathedral's parent denomination, the Reformed Church in America.
But the church announced on Nov. 29 that Schuller Jr. had resigned as senior pastor, just a month after he was removed from the church's syndicated broadcasts. In a news release, Schuller Sr. said: "Robert and I have been struggling as we each have different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry."
The church has since instituted a rotating roster of high-profile guest preachers, including Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, the Chicago-area megachurch, and evangelist Luis Palau.
Schuller Sr.'s daughters and sons-in-law remain involved in the church, some in key roles. But Juan Carlos Ortiz, the interim senior pastor, hopes to appoint a senior pastor with no ties to the Schuller family within two years.
On the church Web site, concerned members and TV fans have posted hundreds of comments protesting the upheaval, with some indicating they have stopped giving or will leave altogether.
Several angry viewers have launched petitions to get the younger Schuller back.
Melody Mook, a 58-year-old medical transcriptionist from El Paso, Texas, said she stopped her $25 monthly donation and is looking elsewhere for her spiritual needs. She said she dislikes the guest pastors.
"I feel hurt and confused and I'm not sure that I want to sit and watch when I know there's problems beneath the surface," she said. "You feel like you're in somebody else's church every Sunday."
Others said they felt betrayed that the Schullers couldn't put God before their family spat.
"They have not been forthcoming at all," said John Dewart, an insurance agent from New Jersey who's watched for 30 years. "Why can't a father and son work together for the glory of God? That's my big question."