"They Own You! They Own Everything!"

[Orwellian_Ghost]

"The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy.

The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything.

They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehouses, the city halls. They've got the judges in their back pockets. And they own all the big media companies, so that they control just about all of the news and information you hear. They've got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying – lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want; they want more for themselves and less for everybody else,"

"But I'll tell you what they don't want, they don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them. That's against their interests. They don't want people who are smart enough to sit around the kitchen table and figure out how badly they're getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. You know what they want? Obedient workers – people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork but just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And, now, they're coming for your Social Security.

They want your fucking retirement money. They want it back, so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They'll get it. They'll get it all, sooner or later, because they own this fucking place. It's a big club, and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club."

-George Carlin

[baldguy]

1. I miss Carlin.

He always told you the truth.

[PatrynXX]

66. ditto

miss carlin, remember this skit very well.

[ThatsMyBarack]

67. RIP, Carlin.

You Old Fuck. ;) O8)

[Swamp Rat]

2. The words of a prophet

[Horse with no Name]

3. In the infinite wisdom of the framers

The PEOPLE have the power to stop this.
It comes to the simple question of are you ready to die for your country? For your beliefs?
I don't think the American people are quite there yet.
However, I believe if we don't see REAL change from the Obama administration from our elected officials, it WILL happen.
I hope the politicians are on notice.
They've got the attention of most Americans.
That's the first step. Waking up the sheep.

[The Doctor.]

7. They haven't the impetus, they don't get the message,

and they don't know who the enemy is.

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."


WHO are they? WHAT have they done?


Those are the questions...


WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES?

[AtomTan]

46. This will never happen as long as there is TV and Doritos to go home to at night.

[Baby Snooks]

48. Not as long as the parties tell you who to vote for...

I am sorry but partisan politics is what has destroyed this country and Nancy Pelosi is a perfect example. The Democrats in San Francisco voted for her simply because they want to be "good" Democrats. The same way Republicans vote for Republican candidates because they want to be "good" Republicans. What is "good" about Nancy Pelosi?

The Democrats selected Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee and the voters elected him. So why are we seeing a Clinton White House and a Clinton administration?

There is only one party in this country. The Republicrat Party.

What might have stopped it is Cindy Sheehan. I will never go to San Francisco again. I will buy no product from San Francisco. I will never forgive the "good" Democrats of San Francisco.

Her first act as Speaker of the House was to bring the minimum wage bill to the floor. Complete with an exemption for Starkist Tuna.

She doesn't serve the people. She serves Starkist Tuna. And anyone else who slips enough under her table.

[D-Lee]

55. Hey, it is the Repubs and the Roves who trash Congress

Don't fall for it!

They wanted to hide their automatic filibuster in the Senate, as well as turn the voters against Dems.

Give it a rest and see how it goes now that Dems have more votes ...

That's my thought.

[bdamomma]

57. the Congress better watch out, as fast as we elect

them we can elect them out. We need to make known our presence to them.

Miss Carlin but we got his message.

[Baby Snooks]

64. The way they did in San Francisco?

For some Democrats, and Republicans, some can do no wrong. No matter what they do. And so they keep being sent back to Washington. They talk a good talk every time it's election time. But then never walk the talk.

But it's okay. After all they're "good" Democrats/Repubicans. In reality more and more of them are just "good" Republicrats.

"By the corporation, for the corporation."

[Edweird]

4. Yup. He nailed it there.

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. And here: "The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe

it".

[Uncle Joe]

60. I believe you may be on to something, we should be striving for the American Awakening. n/t

[DS1]

5. Carlin was also going through a very miserable time during that show

In fact the entire show was unbelievably negative. It's overly cynical and conspiratorial imo.

[Jim Sagle]

8. Mary Poppins, is that you?

[fla nocount]

23. SCORE! Good one. Caught the goalie asleep. n/t

[Two Americas]

26. heh

Y'all have hockey down there now?

[fla nocount]

31. Newfie here, we get around.

Argentia, Avalon Penisula, the Sun and Fun Capital of the North Atlantic.

[DS1]

32. You're scoring this guy on calling ME Mary Poppins

Obviously neither of you have been around a long time.

*scoff*

freakin newbies

[DS1]

37. anyone who knows me would know that calling me of all people

Mary Poppins is total horseshit, and you can all go fuck yourselves.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

16. It was an excellent performance

in which George was truly coming from a deep place.

He was doing the blues and speaking the truth that comes from his deep caring for people and clear-minded observations on how this system fucks all but those who are in the "Big Club."

"They don't care about you. At all, at all, at all!"

[awoke_in_2003]

25. Conspiratorial?

Don't they always get what they want eventually? Yes they do. And I bet that when GM gets their bailout, they are going to be given the power to break the UAW for good.

[lostnotforgotten]

43. Yes But We Do Know In Our "Heart of Hearts" That He Is Right

eom

[walldude]

58. Most of Carlins shows were like that

there was a period where he toned it down a bit. His daughter called that his shitty period. This is the kind of rant Carlin was famous for.

[lligrd]

74. I'd Say That If It Weren't True Then That It Was Certainly

prophetic because it sure is true today. They have gotten their wish judging by all the poor and middle call people that are now against unions and social programs.

[maryf]

6. NCLB

"But I'll tell you what they don't want, they don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking."

[CrispyQ]

15. ...

[maryf]

87. One to share, thanks!!

:rofl:

[crickets]

28. YGI -nt

[NashVegas]

40. "Everything You Know Is Wrong" Quiz

18. Which of these quotes regarding education is not real?

1. "School produces mental perversion and absolute stupidity." --Vincent Youmans, world-famous American physician and academic (1867)
2. The creation of the compulsory public schooling system was ordered by "certain industrialists and the innovative who were altering the nature of the industrial process." --James Bryant Conant, President of Harvard University from 1933 to 1953 (1949)
3. "We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into philosophers or men of learning or men of science." --Rockefeller's General Education Board (1906)
4. Education is "the development of critical reasoning and the acquiring of basic facts relating to science, history, the arts, and similar areas." --Education Department (1968)

The correct answer is 4

http://www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/other/id2118/pg1/

[maryf]

88. Thanks, bookmarked, nt

[Lint Head]

9. Corporate fascism and private corporate torture must be eliminated.

:dem:


We are slaves and this is what government can do to it's people.

[BadgerKid]

11. Here's teh video. (link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ2_YP88lv8

R.I.P. George.

[fla nocount]

29. Thanks for the link, I just spent an hour with George chasing links...

on YouTube. I feel better than I have in a long time.

[newtothegame]

12. I loved George but...

"They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehouses, the city halls." But yet "they spend billions of dollars every year lobbying – lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want; they want more for themselves and less for everybody else,"

I don't get it?

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Give it time...you will get it eventually...just like we all did.

[newtothegame]

20. I get it...I'm just saying the two statements contradict eachother.. n/t

[Hydra]

47. The contradiction would seem to be there

But consider it this way- they pay a bundle to "lobby"(Read: Buy) Politicians, votes, the courts...and then they buy up media to control the message. Sounds like a waste of money, right? Millions/Billions to buy up the system.

It's not, though. By controlling the system, they set the rules in which they make TRILLIONS, and they make it so that none of us outside the "big club" can ever challenge them in a "legal" fashion, because they say what's legal.

People were harping on the fact that it takes $100 Million to buy the presidency. That's chump change compared to how much the Bush Administration has given in handouts.

The owners of America simply consider it good business to buy our gov't- they'd never be able to do what they do otherwise.

[crickets]

27. Lobbying

is the means by which government has been bought and paid for. It is the 'legal' bribery which no majority of representatives will ever outlaw--unless and until principles again become more attractive than greed to those who have been elected. The practice has been around long before Ulysses Grant coined the term. At first it's just whispers in an ear here, later in another there, and another. Then there are favors and gifts, and soon the amount of money involved is so massive, pervasive, and persuasive that the little whores just can't turn it down. The payments are ongoing as issues and interests develop and change.

Apparently, robber barons find it cheaper to pay off the government rather than to follow rules, pay employees fairly, and pay their share of federal taxes. Most--not all, but most--government representatives find the arrangement agreeable. Toss in skewed media, poor public education, and electronic voting which makes electoral feedback much more difficult, if not impossible, and you have the situation we find ourselves in today.

Without serious change of some or all of the above factors, we the people just can't compete.

George was right on the money. Literally.

[unkachuck]

14. K&R....n/t

[liberalmuse]

17. Boy, Carlin sure laid it out there, didn't he?

I miss him, but would not want him to be here to see this crazy shit. His head would be liable to explode.

[truedelphi]

18. Hey George, wherever you are, I hope you are keeping them laughing

We could still use a line or two - send it in our dreams okay...

[Anarpeace]

19. The Military-Industrial-Complex is alive nt

[Orwellian_Ghost]

21. The owners discovered

that this was an exceptional way to transfer wealth.

War profits supercede the war itself.

Who decides?

[fla nocount]

24. Civil War blockade runners knew this.

So did their buddies the blockaders as well as the British Bankers who financed both. Same old shit rehashed.

[defendandprotect]

22. Wonderful, accurate stuff -- funny always -- LOVE you, George, wherever you are ...

[Waiting For Everyman]

We'll see about that. n/t

[Waiting For Everyman]

30. (dupe)

[earth mom]

33. I'm not sure this kind of truth is allowed on DU.

I got my warning today to toe the Obama party line or else. :grr:

[jazzjunkysue]

90. Gotta curb that whole "independent thinking" stuff. Scares people.

:scared:

[Hannah Bell]

34. "There are no nations! There are no peoples!"

"There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multi-variate, multinational dominion of dollars! Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars! Reichmarks, rubles, rin, pounds and shekels!

It is the international system of currency that determines the totality of life on this planet! That is the natural order of things today! That is the atomic, subatomic and galactic structure of things today!

And you have meddled with the primal forces of nature and you will atone! Am I getting through to you, Mr. Beale?"


Paddy Chayefsky, "Network"

[lamp_shade]

35. The Sky is Falling. The Sky is Falling. Jeezus.

[Greyhound]

54. Is there something incorrect in what he said?

"First they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Finally, they came for me and there was no one left to speak out." - Martin Niemoller

Think about it, if you can.

[OwnedByFerrets]

68. Name something that is wrong with this rant....otherwise

you fucking fail.

[Greyhound]

78. What the hell is it about Floriduh?

If DU were to ban people from FL and TX, while we would lose too many fellows on the front lines, the hit and run, I have no argument, Raygun should be canonized, posts would drop to almost zero.

[bperci108]

73. Ya think?

Go read Howard Zinn's "A People's History" cover-to-cover and THEN come back and tell us that.


History repeats itself over and over again. The Owning Class has been in charge since the beginning of recorded history.

But that may be changing...too many of the serfs are beginning to notice and the village is now global in nature. :evilgrin:

[TheUnspeakable]

36. k&r-I used to think George was too cynical...

turns out I was too naive.

[balantz]

38. As long as we participate and remain ignorant we are slaves to their design.

"There exists a shadowy government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself." — Senator Daniel K. Inouye at the Iran Contra Hearings

"The real rulers in Washington are invisible and exercise their power from behind the scenes."-- Justice Felix Frankfurter, U.S. Supreme Court.

"We have operating within our government and political system, another body representing another form of government, a bureaucratic elite which believes our Constitution is outmoded... All the strange developments in foreign policy agreements may be traced to this group who are going to make us over to suit their pleasure... This political action group has its own local political support organizations, its own pressure groups, its own vested interests, its foothold within our government, and its own propaganda apparatus." - Senator William Jenner, February 23, 1954.

"Today, I say that no nation in the world need be left out of the global system we are constructing."
- Madeleine Albright

"The interests behind the Bush Administration, such as the CFR, The Trilateral Commission - founded by Brzezinski for David Rockefeller – and the Bilderberger Group, have prepared for and are now moving to implement open world dictatorship within the next five years. They are not fighting against terrorists. They are fighting against citizens."... “ The current elites are creating so much fear that people don’t know how to respond. “
Dr. Johannes B. Koeppl, Ph.D., former German defense ministry official and advisor to former
NATO Secretary General Manfred Werne

[Orwellian_Ghost]

41. Here's what they are saying

Straight from the latest "Big Club" summit:
http://solari.com/blog/?p=1823

[balantz]

42. Great link, thanks! n/t

[Anarpeace]

62. I will give you a hint of what careers they work in..

Most of the the organizers of secret government, are generals in the military -- current and former, that are pro nuclear power and weapons. They have a boat load of friends in the CIA, and were Nazi supporters after the war.

They were, mostly all Republicans back in the 40's, but are now "equally" both Republican and blue dog Democrats.

[balantz]

63. They've got the game locked, don't they?

Maybe all we can do is go along for the ride. We are powerless against their increasing strength and reach.

[florida08]

39. darn right

the game is rigged. Thanks George..you're missed

[pjt7]

44. Nice thread thanks

I like this clip where he set's it straight.. again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pow5_UYKaJ8

[formercia]

45. I remember seeing Carlin live, back in the 60's

A friend and I went to Greenwich Village one evening to see a band in one of the clubs there. Carlin was the lead-in and we just happened to get a seat, front-row center. We were less than spitting distance from the mike.
I thought to myself, "who is this crazy MF?" "The 'man' is going to throw his ass in jail"

Little did I know how right he was.

[OwnedByFerrets]

49. Not only do they own all the "important" land, they own ALL

the land. Try NOT paying your taxes and see how long you get to keep that house or land that you THINK you own.

I miss Carlin very badly.

[Dystopian]

50. Thank you.

That was my first thought, also.


peace~

[Dystopian]

51. KandR. eom.

[blindpig]

52. It's wonderful to see such agreement here.

A rare thing, these days.

So, what ya'll gonna do about it?

[Two Americas]

53. we have so few voices

There are so few people in positions where they can speak for us. The mass media is dominated completely by pro-corporate, anti-Labor and right wing voices. Yet right here today I see Carlin and Michael Moore attacked.

Why?

[Autonomy]

56. There is some fallacy here

Carlin had some insight when it came to the fact that some people don't have your best interests at heart, but the problem with saying that rich people own everything is that it's redundant. They are rich because they own stuff, not own stuff because they are rich. The above quote is a bit paranoiac.

[tjwash]

59. An even better Carlin rant on how Americans have a "child fetish"

...And I also know that all you boring single dads and working moms, who think
you're such fucking heroes, aren't gonna like this, but somebody's gotta tell
you for your own good: your children are overrated and overvalued, and
you've turned them into little cult objects. You have a child fetish, and
it's not healthy. And don't give me all that weak shit, "Well, I love my
children." Fuck you! Everybody loves their children; it doesn't make you
special....John Wayne Gacy loved his children. Yes, he did. That's not
what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is this constant, mindless
yammering in the media, this neurotic fixation that suggests that somehow
everything--everything--has to revolve around the lives of children. It's
completely out of balance.

Listen, there are a couple of things about kids you have to remember. First
of all, they're not all cute. In fact, if you look at 'em real close, most
of them are rather unpleasant looking. And a lot of them don't smell too
good either. The little ones in particular seem to have a kind of urine and
sour-milk combination that I don't care for at all. Stay with me on this
folks, the sooner you face it the better off your going to be.

Second, premise: not all children are smart and clever. Got that? Kids are
like any other group of people: a few winners, a whole lot of losers! This
country is filled with loser kids who simply...aren't...going anywhere! And
there's nothing you can do about it, folks. Nothing! You can't save them
all. You can't do it. You gotta let 'em go; you gotta cut 'em loose; you
gotta stop over-protecting them, because your making 'em too soft.

Today's kids are way too soft. For one thing, there's too much
emphasis on safety and safety equipment: childproof medicine bottles,
fireproof pajamas, child restraints, car seats. And helmets! Bicycle,
baseball, skateboard, scooter helmets. Kids have to wear helmets now for
everything but jerking off. Grown-ups have taken all the fun out of being a
kid. What's happened is, these baby boomers, these soft, fruity baby
boomers, have raised an entire generation of soft, fruity kids who aren't
even allowed hazardous toys, for Chrissakes! What ever happened to natural
selection? Survival of the fittest? The kid who swallows too many marbles
doesn't grow up to have kids of his own. Simple stuff. Nature knows best!

Another bunch of ignorant bullshit about your children: school uniforms. Bad
theory! The idea that if kids wear uniforms to school, it helps keep order.
Hey! Don't these schools do enough damage makin' all these children think
alike? Now they're gonna get 'em to look alike, too? And it's not even
a new idea; I first saw it in old newsreels from the 1930s, but it was hard
to understand, because the narration was in German! But the uniforms looked
beautiful. And the children did everything they were told and never
questioned authority. Gee, I wonder why someone would want to put our
children in uniforms. Can't imagine.

And one more item about children: this superstitious nonsense of blaming
tobacco companies for kids who smoke. Listen! Kids don't smoke because a
camel in sunglasses tells them to. They smoke for the same reasons adults
do, because it's an enjoyable activity that relieves anxiety and depression.

And you'd be anxious and depressed too if you had to put up with these
pathetic, insecure, yuppie parents who enroll you in college before you've
figured out which side of the playpen smells the worst and then fill you
with Ritalin to get you in a mood they approve of, and drag you all over
town in search of empty, meaningless structure: Little League, Cub Scouts,
swimming, soccer, karate, piano, bagpipes, watercolors, witchcraft, glass
blowing, and dildo practice. It's absurd. They even have "play dates",
for Christ sake! Playing is now done by appointment! But it's true. A lot of
these striving, and parents are burning their kids out on structure. I think
what every child needs and ought to have every day is two hours of
daydreaming.

Plain old daydreaming.

[sarcasmo]

61. #70 for the wise true everlasting words of MR. Carlin.

[Fire1]

65. When is the 'class war' gonna start?

[Raineyb]

72. The class war is already in progress

The thing is, the war is being waged against the poor and middle class not by them. TPTB would have you believe otherwise.

Regards

[theFrankFactor]

69. I Had One Serious Disagreement With Him On This Rant...

Not voting.

I love George but that was a real bad call.

[pnwmom]

81. Maybe he felt conflicted. His heart said one thing,

and his wallet said another.

[Land Shark]

70. It seems more than anything they want to eliminate a competitor:Democracy USA nt

[Enrique]

71. they tried to get our retirement money

and politicians stopped them. Democratic politicians.

[bertman]

76. Enrique, they didn't stop them for long. Now we are told that our "bailout" of the financial wizards

may cost us SEVEN FUCKING TRILLION dollars. Where is this money coming from? They're raiding social security as we speak.

Where will President Obama's funding for his public works programs, his green new deal, his new improved military, his expanded war in Afghanistan?

It's coming from our retirement fund.

[hangman86]

75. If we were really a country of thinkers

would lapel pins, William Ayers, groundless Muslim ties, etc. ever be considered as debate topics?

[AuntPatsy]

77. Bull, big business can be brought down and kept in line, the question

is, Will the people be willing to give up their creature comforts in order to go to war with big business?

[pnwmom]

79. My answer to George: Barack Obama.

He deserves a chance, but too many people here seem to have written him off already.

[pnwmom]

80. Seems kind of hypocritical coming from the mouth

of a successful multi-millionaire.

Carlin was a member of the club.

[Auggie]

85. Wrong. He didn't set economic policy, lobby Congress or screw workers

for the sake of enriching himself.

[Irish Girl]

82. "It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it."

RIP Georgie. I know you're rolling your grave over this recent bullshit.

[amyrose2712]

83. Damn work. I got here too late too R'c. Well KICK!

I miss George. A great sage of our time.

[B Calm]

84. Truth is, they are salivating over the idea of millions of baby boomers

who happen to be poor, desperate, and hungry to hire as cheap labor!

[defendandprotect]

86. K&R late -- keep telling it---!!!

[smiley]

89. and it's beginning to look as though they own our new President-elect also

who woulda thunk? :shrug: