My Close Encounter With Power

[Goldstein1984]

I work as an internal environmental, safety, health, science and engineering consultant for a company that would be classified as a "contractor." Nothing on the scale of Halliburton. We do all kinds of construction and operational support, including work in oil fields, on oil pipelines, and refineries.

A few months ago, a supplier hoping to get some business from us invited me to lunch at a place called The Petroleum Club. In spite of being associated with the oil industry as either academic, regulator or employee for more than twenty years, I had never heard of the place. I arrived at the address I was given, and was surprised to find that I had been in the building many times. The supplier arrived, and he led me through a set of double doors into a foyer, and then through another set of doors and into the halls of Power: unmarked, un-advertised, membership only by invitation and sponsorship, professional references required, pleased wait to be seated to ensure that you don't violate the social hierarchy that still exists even at this level. I have never been comfortable in high-end restaurants, and I have never been more uncomfortable than I was dining in the Petroleum Club.

What I observed was a steady stream of Chamber-of-Commerce, local political elite, and first-class-ticket-to-Washington types. Every face contained an expression of confidence and superiority. My blue jeans and sport jacket set me apart. The wait staff, as they are in all such places, were not chatty and they "knew their proper place"--subservient, courteous, obsequious, and silent when not being spoken to.

I was sure that I was being served in the dining room that Satan reserved for his most accomplished disciples.

Finally, business concluded, I left, hoping never to be required to return.

What I really want to mention here is my perceptions about the people of Power I encountered. These people were absolutely sure of their station in life. They treated the serves as non-persons. They were being catered to in a place that had no need to advertise for customers, nor would they have permitted the hoi polloi to dine if they had stumbled into the reception area.

These people are the enemy of the working class. They are not like us. They despise us. We are expendable to them.

These are the people whose foundation of power we need to destroy.

[Edweird]

1. You are correct. Sadly, Washington is kowtowing to them instead.

We are fucked.

[villager]

8. It is always nice to be in agreement, Edweird!

;-)

[Edweird]

13. It is.

I suspect we agree far more than we disagree.

[tavalon]

12. Only if we choose to be

There are no unrealistic goals, just unrealistic time frames. The PTB want you to feel hopeless and helpless. The fact that they are trying so hard to make us feel that way is a glimpse into just how afraid of us they actually are.

[Edweird]

15. I am extremely disappointed in the way things are turning out.

Not the time frame, but the direction. The intent. The actions compared to the promises. It went from 'about the people' to 'about the corporations' overnight. We control both houses of Congress and have a President that campaigned on 'change'. Yet for some reason we can't stop funneling trillions to the wealthy on the backs of the workers.. in the depths of recession, no less. I find it more than just a little insulting and discouraging.

[tavalon]

18. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying "Don't worry, be happy"

Be furious, be disappointed. They've fucked us over again. But don't become hopeless which leads to helpless. We need to get back to the way we were organizing against the Bush Cabal and focus in on removing anyone from power who doesn't head the people.

[hootinholler]

24. No they want us to be ignorant...

Hopeless and helpless is the back up plan when some of us are enlightened.

-Hoot

[LoZoccolo]

2. Was it this one?

http://www.petroclub.org

[Goldstein1984]

6. YES! The website actually makes it look a little friendly.

I'm squirming in my chair with the memories.

Our company president, who has still never been invited, offered to pay my membership. Wouldn't touch it.

[LoZoccolo]

11. Again, we think very differently.

I would have taken it. Law #14: Pose as a friend, work as a spy.

[Goldstein1984]

14. I already do that at work.

I'm in a position to influence outcomes on a regular basis.

Two examples:

Our company was approached to be the exclusive distributor of a "fuel catalyst" that claimed to increase fuel efficiency by 17% (A big deal for rural Alaska communities that rely on diesel generators for electricity). Without going into detail, my evaluation of the product proved conclusively that it was snake oil, yet there was popular demand for the product, and selling the worthless stuff to true believers would have brought in an estimated $10 million in revenue with almost no investment and little effort--one person could have managed the entire project. I was able to convince the executive that it was unethical, regardless of how legal, to sell an ineffective product. I suggested in my white paper that, if we did market the product, we include complementary Brazilian energy crystals with each purchase. We dropped the project.

We are currently looking at business opportunities in Guam. During a visit there to meet with potential partners, one of them heard me speaking Chamoru (Chamorro) to a few of the employees who were also indigenous inhabitants (Guam has a long history of colonization, and "territory" is just a euphemism for colony). I wanted to know how the employees were treated, and what shortcomings we would need to make up, so I learned enough Chamoru to demonstrate an interest in the culture and gain confidence. On the flight back, our president was chuckling, and he told me that one of the potential partners was concerned that I was going to "go Native" on him and disturb the status quo. Disturbing the status quo is my intention, if that is what it takes to ensure safe working conditions, regardless of how disposable an employee is considered.

[LoZoccolo]

17. Law #4: Always say less than necessary.

Cool story, bro, but I'd get it off here. If I could find out where that club is, imagine what the wrong person could do with all this about you.

Alert on my post here and have the mods delete it too (going to bed).

[LearnedHand]

22. Okay, now you really ARE my hero!

Thanks for your integrity and your humanity. It speaks volumes of you that you learned some of the language!

[Goldstein1984]

86. I only learned enough

for greetings, courtesies, and extremely basic questions. The only resource I could find were a few sites on the Internet. The language has been hybridized with Spanish over the long history of colonization, so it had a slightly familiar feel.

It wasn't as big a deal as it seems.

[mopinko]

43. is this the additive that big ed was pushing?

he swore he did his own research.

[Goldstein1984]

46. I don't know what Ed was selling.

There are literally thousands of fuel additives registered with the EPA, none significantly different from the other. Most are things like the additives that fuel marketers add, such as Chevron Techron and Shell Clean System III. Others are generic additives that do the same thing and are used in fuels sold by convenience stores and supermarket gas stations. All of those available to the public in pine and quart containers are marketed with hooks like "catalyst" and "proprietary" and "proven in Europe."

This additive claimed to be a "catalyst" but didn't meet the criteria of a catalyst. Second, it contained nothing but standard octane boosters (nitropropane) and light-end organics, but at a concentration of parts per million. I did exhaustive research because I was fighting a group of executives who had already decided it was a done deal, but basic thermodynamics would tell anyone that on a btu basis, there is no way to get a 0.17 increase in efficiency by adding the primarily hydrocarbon additive as a rate of 0.00001.

The only real constituent in this additive that could have actually produced an increase in efficiency was only present at a part per hundred level in the additive, and would have been present in the fuel-additive mix at only parts per ten million levels. The same chemical has been used for years for track and street car racing, and has to be added at about 10% to yield an increase in horsepower of only 5%.

In Ed's defense, these chemicals are very effectively marketed, and they even provide data from "studies" proving their efficacy. It was fairly easy to find the flaws in the studies I was provided, but someone without a technical background would have more difficulty.

The truth is, the shelves of automobile parts stores are loaded with this stuff, with thousands of satisfied customers who swear by Brand X over Brand Y, and others who swear by Brand Y over Brand X.

[mopinko]

53. found it

http://www.ca40g.com/home.php?xid=6b512e7b08aedd4ce336e2fbae34d0a2

[Goldstein1984]

55. Pretty standard variation on a common theme.

Combustion enhancement
Lubricity

Lubricity is a concern for engines not designed for low-sulfur fuels that are now mandated.

As far as the combustion enhancement, the claim is that the additive improves the exposure of the fuel and the oxidizer, which I don't understand well enough to evaluate. The additive might also have some properties as an oxygenate.

The mix looks like it's about 0.5 parts per thousand (500 parts per million). That might work for the lubricity, but stoichiometrically it seems far to low to make a difference as an oxygenate.

It couldn't hurt an engine at such low concentrations; it may have some lubricity effects; but I wouldn't expect increases in efficiency large enough to be detectable in the huge variation in fuel efficiency experienced under variable driving conditions. Some performance enhancement might be detectable in generators that run for long periods under very stable conditions, providing a less noisy baseline against which to measure change.

Just my gut feeling without looking deeper into the chemistry of the constituents listed on the material safety data sheet (MSDS).

[krispos42]

44. Brazillian energy crystals

:rofl:

You rock!

[Book Lover]

16. +1

[Dr.Phool]

52. Prices aren't too outlandish for royalty.

The Mooseburgers must be a special.

[me b zola]

78. I looked at their menu too

And found that they are cheaper than Morton's Steakhouse, and tackier as they list .99 cents after the dollar amount. The obscenely wealthy and powerful would make me laugh if they weren't choking the life out of us.

[ooglymoogly]

115. The queen would be aghast at this place and would wonder

if she were in the broom closet. These folks are not royalty or even those who call themselves aristocrats. These are thugs who have learned to live lavishly on welfare for the rich and at taxpayers expense by buying congress. Free oil leases, pampered tax status and every piece of skulduggery that can be squandered by congress and anything else you can think of to squeeze every last buck, every last drop of blood from the taxpayer. The three deadly horsemen of the apocalypse, banking, oil and the health blood suckers; And not to forget the fourth horseman who has been so easily outmaneuvered into oblivion by their sheer regression into the Jurassic era. Or was it the never letting go of it?

[tbyg52]

20. Yuk.

Except for the stink of money (which you can't get from a website.... ;-> ), it just looks like a mid-level yet pretentious restaurant to me.

[Goldstein1984]

29. Pretentious, certainly.

It isn't mid-level.

I'm comfortable in mid-level

I smelled sulfur.

[tbyg52]

112. Oh, obvoiusly it's high-level with regard to money and obsequiousness, but

I stand by my judgment of its decor. Pretentious yet unimaginative and somewhat tacky. Yuk. It just goes to show money can't buy taste..... ;->

[Aviation Pro]

31. The bill of fare is piffel....

...you want a place to power broke, try here:

http://www.jean-georges.com/

The night my family dined there who should sashay in but the Hair Piece himself, Donald Chump.

[Hissyspit]

37. "celebrates just who we are"

Good god...

[lumberjack_jeff]

48. Holy shit.

"Come and relax in elegant surroundings designed to cater to Alaska's business elite. You've said goodbye to your troubles, and are ready to enjoy special moments with friends and family in an atmosphere that celebrates just who we are."

When the big one drops, can we offer nominations for ground zero?

[Waiting For Everyman]

60. "Reciprocal" private memberships include The Capitol Hill Club, for one...

It's an interesting list of such places, state by state:

http://www.petroclub.org/reciprocal.htm

[ooglymoogly]

81. Yuk; speaking of tacky. Just goes to show you money is not a pass

to style. Looks like the exec dining room on an oil rig or a prison. Industrial carpets, industrial ceilings, industrial furniture, industrial "pictures" industrial customers, its a miracle in synergy without any synergy. Minola Bloniks wouldn't even walk on that floor. This is what happens when common minds get too much money. Even a potted plant would have softened the hard, mean spirited edges of the place.

[grace0418]

94. The dining room at my mom's assisted living residence is way classier than

that one. I agree, tacky as hell.

[inna]

83. wow. the menu actually looks extremely reasonable. nt

[frog92969]

3. Those are the people we're being fed to

Or should I say machines

[ooglymoogly]

104. Ruthless pugthugs our government has given too much money to.

by way of distributing the taxpayer wealth upward to government made pug billionaires.

[pansypoo53219]

4. revolution

SAY IT!

[Goldstein1984]

30. I say it all the time

People quickly look away and act like they don't know me.

[ElmoBlatz]

70. Say it all you want

What about the DOING part?

[Freddie Stubbs]

110. Talk is cheap

[Hello_Kitty]

5. Wonder how many of them are in The Family? eom

[Goldstein1984]

7. These were EXACTLY those kind of people.

Although, I did see a few sycophant hanging around, and they tended to be in the lounge area instead of the dining room. The supplier who invited me was a bit more like the sycophants than the elites.

[Jim Sagle]

9. How do we "bell the cat"? It's thought to be impossible, yet we must.

[Goldstein1984]

10. The cats we need to bell the most are...

the elected officials who are supposed to be working for us.

[tango-tee]

19. A similar story...

...although I never came in such close touch with the real "power brokers".

In 1983 I was invited to spend a week with a friend's parents in Washington, D.C. I can't remember the name of the condominium complex where they lived (not the Watergate), but there was no way to make it even as far as the building entrance unless it was by the residents' invitation, since there was a boom across the driveway. The lobby itself looked like a posh hotel setting; at the time we arrived there was an Admiral getting his mail, and assorted other - obivously monied - folks were milling around. All very well-behaved, hushed and civilized. The hallways throughout the building were covered with carpet so thick I nearly fell flat on my face.

My friend's father was an attorney and lobbyist, who invited us to dinner with some other people at Andrews AFB Officers Club. I have never before or after been so ill at ease in all my life, whether at the apartment or at the club. The phony air of gentility, the excellent manners, the banter, the restrained laughter as if on cue... in short, *everything* made me long for a breath of fresh air, for people who say "shit" and "damn" instead of "golly-gee". Perhaps I judged the situation incorrectly, being young and naive, but my gut feeling was that so much was only a veneer, and that by scratching the surface a lot of ugliness would have been revealed.

[TexasObserver]

21. I've been there, and you've accurately described it.

I've had major litigation against oil companies. Their attorneys like to meet opposing counsel for lunch in favorable venues, where they feel safe and powerful, to discuss settlement or resolution of discovery issues. They like to show off their private club memberships - the Houston Country Club, The Petroleum Club, The Coronado Club, River Oaks Country Club, the Briar Club.

They are the powerful or those who do their bidding.

[AspenRose]

23. I've heard of the Petroleum Club.

I'm not surprised by your description

[juno jones]

25. I assure you those waitstaff were privy to the most

interesting conversations around the tables while the men smoked cigars and digested and the staff cleaned up around them.

I've suspected for years that's why all these places hire people with limited English skills. It was too dangerous to have someone like me around to blab to others about what hate-filled bloated windbags these types truly are.

And yeah, the serves are treated like they weren't even human.

[Odin2005]

26. K&R

[The_Commonist]

27. Great story! I know how you felt...

I've been in a couple of situations like that.

The Fifth Ave apartment of a South American media magnate.
Picassos on the walls.
Installing computer equipment in the wife's home office.
The furniture and artwork in her office were worth more than everything I will ever own in my entire life.
Her servants were all dressed rather formally for a Tuesday afternoon.
You could taste the contempt.
When the $3,000 color laser printer that she was going to use to print webpages wouldn't fit in the space in the mahogany desk, she just waved it away and it went into storage.
No "oh that's too bad," or "can I get a different model?"
She just waved it away along with everyone in the room.

I don't understand how people like that can live with themselves.

Then there was the time I just happened to be installing something in the office of the president of a major telecom when his secretary came in the say that the United States had just started bombing Iraq. (this was the first Gulf War)
His response was "It's about damn time!"

We destroy their foundation of power by not working for them any more, and by not buying their products.
That's the only power we have over them.
The printer lady?
Several times after that, her assistant called me to come and do some work for them, and I wouldn't do it.
I was simply not interested in helping these people, even though they paid quite well.
I don't want dirty money, and I try not to buy dirty products.

That's about all we can do...

[Goldstein1984]

32. "That's about all we can do..."

I think there is more. As I wrote in another post, Howard Zinn makes a strong case that no change is possible unless the people rise up and threaten to destroy the foundation that Power relies upon.

The American Dream is finally being exposed as a fake. With the mythology gone, reality may become more apparent, and revolt may follow. Hopefully non-violent.

[The_Commonist]

33. While I would certainly like to see...

...Americans revolt against the bullshit that is going on, I certainly don't see it happening.
Except for teabaggers, who don't even seem to know what they are protesting against.
I do think, however, that enough people can be convinced to opt out, and are doing so right now, that eventually we can make a difference.
Maybe not, but I think it's worth a try...

[Goldstein1984]

36. Opting out, if done on a large scale

could have a major impact in an economy built 70% on consumption.

The effort that goes into the deception to promote consumer confidence tells me so.

[patrice]

69. We need entrepreneurs who go into the business of showing people how to form Cooperatives.

[patrice]

67. Absolutely right, our only victory is to not work for them, nor buy their products. Cooperatives are

the answer.

We need to building living and working cooperatives.

[winyanstaz]

28. To "bell the cat"

First you have to know where the cats lives.
Then you have to know where the servants of the cats live.
Then you must begin to starve the beast.
It would help a lot if the dang mice would stop electing the fat cats to offices of power.
*edited for speeling but there were no mispeelleded words :D

[Raster]

34. Petroleum Club, home of the Texas-American Petroleum Mafia

This sounds like a Texas story... DFW by an chance?

[Goldstein1984]

58. There are a lot of Texans in Alaska

With BP, we used to have a lot of Brits. They went home when throughput started falling.

[The Doctor.]

35. Been trying to tell folks that. They don't want to believe it.

There are people that don't see the rest of us as 'human'.

They are fucking dangerous.

[patrice]

71. I believe at least some of them are betting they can buy their way through Global Climate Change and

it will work to their benefit, because there will be fewer, but more desperate, people to deal with, fewer people to cause them problems and more desperate people who will do whatever for money.

This at least in part explains what appears to be a rather puzzling utter disregard for Global Climate Change. I am around Cupcakelanders and the current meme is "So what about Climate Change, it won't get so bad as to end all life on Earth, the systems will repair themselves eventually" sounds to me like a prelude to "The only real task is to develop the technology to survive climate change" on an Earth that has much less difficulty because there are much fewer humans.

[The Doctor.]

92. Yep... and to call that short-sighted of them is generous.

No amount of money will buy them a nice salmon fillet, get them a 2052 Bordeaux, or protect them when all civilization collapses and money has no value anymore.

There will come a time when the body guards being paid worthless currency will figure out that they could run the master's estate far better than the idiot in charge. When law breaks down, contracts are unenforceable.

These fuckers just don't understand that they'll have to live in the same world they plunge everyone else into.

[Vidar]

38. K&R.

[jimshoes]

39. I've always been in favor of the French solution to

that model. They hate when that happens. It doesn't happen enough though sadly.

[scentopine]

42. Agree - there is a loophole in capital punishment that needs to be closed. -nt

[davidwparker]

51. +1

[cali]

62. yeah, murder is a great solution. fucking sick.

[patrice]

72. Not funny. What goes around comes around.

[jimshoes]

102. I actually wasn't trying to be funny,

Madame Guillotine was deadly serious. And I suppose there will always be those who will make the case for the Aristocrats of the time.

[underpants]

40. Strange days indeed

great story. Well told too.

K&R

[proud2BlibKansan]

41. I grew up with their children

Went all through school with the kids of the wealthiest and most powerful people in my city. Went to their country clubs and ate dinner in their homes served by their maids.

So I understand exactly what you're talking about.

Some were good people who have focused on helping our community grow and prosper. A few even volunteered at food kitchens and shelters. But most were selfish and self-centered people who led very narrow lives. Their goals were focused on just what month was best to travel to the south of France or what color their next sports car should be.

When I was in high school I took a schoolmate shopping at a big discount store one day and I'll never forget the look in her eyes. She was in a foreign country and it was only a few miles from her house.

Most were Republicans but not all were the greedy selfish Republicans of today.

The thing that struck me the most is that they lived such sheltered lives completely removed from the real world. It was actually quite sad.

[cali]

65. really good post. I wish I could rec it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

90. Thank you

[patrice]

73. My first husband used to fix typewriters in the homes in Mission Hills. Old Money and some very nice

people, he said, though, definitely not all of them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

93. I freak my classmates out at reunions

when I tell them where I work. One time, the snottiest girl in my class patted me on my arm and said "OH! Please be careful!" And I was thinking damn, she hasn't cared enough about ME in 25 years to even send me a fucking Christmas card and now she wants me to think she is worried about my safety at work? LOL

Very transparent people.

The other thing that always sticks in my memory is how protective these people were. We were discouraged from going downtown for a movie because it was dangerous downtown. And God forbid if we ever drove east of Troost. I had one friend whose dad wouldn't let her drive west of Nall. He even said to me one time "Well I was glad to hear you lived on THIS SIDE of Nall".

(For DUers who don't live here, we are talking about the freakin suburbs.)

When Dr King died, there were riots in the hood, miles away from our school. But parents came in droves to take their kids home. We were told 'THEY' were marching towards the Plaza and then 'THEY' would come up Wornall to our school. So my sisters and I called our dad and said hey we want to go home too! And he said suck it up, girls, you aren't going anywhere. LOL

[femrap]

45. Aaaaaaaaaaah to be a

crab on the eyelash of one of those rich oil boyz.

Were they all white boyz? Any Blacks or women?

May solar power and batteries make these boyz obsolete!

I wish you had taken pictures!

[Goldstein1984]

47. Mostly white; mostly male; mostly old

It certainly perpetuated a stereotype.

[femrap]

66. Thanks....

I see things haven't changed much. Were most bald and short as well? I'm pushing my luck here. Short being under 5'8"?

[rockymountaindem]

100. Because being bald and below whatever arbitrary level of hight you've selected

is part and parcel of whatever negative traits you've got in mind. Wasn't Paul Wellstone bald?

[femrap]

103. Did I ask you? No.

Was Paul in the oil biz? No.

So you're short and bald. Get over it.

I don't remember Paul as being bald. Nor do I remember him as short....why?

He was a man of character who cared deeply for Justice, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. He didn't care about selling oil at high prices thereby ripping off the citizenry.

Haven't you known men who are over 5'10" who after watching their despicable behavior appear short?

You don't understand....move on. Go play in the mountains...they're tall. Oops, could make you feel shorter.

[rockymountaindem]

108. I'm not short and I sure as heck ain't bald

But if we're not supposed to rip on people for being fat around here, you shouldn't get away with that remark either.

[femrap]

109. I was talking about

rich white boyz who are at the top of the oil business.

Do you know where you are?

Why would you be defending rich white boyz who are robbing you blind?

Do you defend the Wall Street boyz too? Poor widdle Paulsen...he has lost his hair. boo-hoo.

[swilton]

49. The new global aristocracy

neo-feudalism is what we have to look forward to unless things change. No one outside the MIC/oil conglomerate entertains like Haliburton.

Zbigniew Brzezhinski's book The Grand Chessboard lays out this vision with the US the last empire. Unfortunately Zbiggie was the foreign policy advisor for the Obama campaign.

[varelse]

50. Thank you for sharing your insights

I am sure that most of us never get a glimpse in to that world. So many attitudes could be changed if more of us did.

[onlyadream]

54. Hope you were able to keep your food down,

I know I'd leave a place like that with a severe stomach ache!

[Goldstein1984]

59. I was overcome with the sense that I didn't belong.

I had a salad. I'm a vegetarian, so sitting not far enough way from a giant, bleeding chunk of self-serve prime rib in the lounge added to the discomfort.

Very early in my education I was entertaining the notion of being a cultural anthropologist, so I took a number of courses in cultural and physical anthropology, as well as sociology. My wife is always complaining that whenever we're in public I go into anthropological study mode (e.g. During our last visit to the San Diego Zoo, I found a seat far enough back from the chimpanzee exhibit that I could sit with my camera and watch the behavior of the primates both inside and outside the cage.). I found myself entering that mode while in the club, trying to figure out the dominance hierarchies and coalition-building I was witnessing.

I joke about becoming ill, and I certainly was feeling uncomfortable, but overall it just confirmed what my personal narrative has always told me was a fact of life. The decisions that affect the masses are made by the few in such places. They are merely formalized in legislatures.

[Nay]

56. You are correct. May I add my story? 20 years ago, one of our

neighbors(let's call him N), a young airplane pilot for one of the big pkg delivery companies, started talking about how he loved flying but had major problems with his family -- an ultra-wealthy family.N never had to clean his room or anything like that, because they had several live-in maids who cleaned and a cook who did the meals. He didn't know what a roach looked like until he went to college. His father was a banker and wanted had wanted him to follow in his footsteps. N did not, and was basically cut off and treated like dirt for a long time. Things thawed a bit, and the parents came to visit him in his apartment, which, I hasten to say, was NOT a dump and had new furniture, was clean, etc.

Want to know what happened? THEY WOULD NOT EVEN SIT ON HIS FURNITURE. They acted like they were going to get cooties. Their own son! These are they types of people who are getting the big bonuses -- everyone else is simply a servant, or worse, a bum not worthy of even a glance.

[patrice]

74. Saw a Tea Party charter a few weeks ago. It emphasized Property

as somekind of divine right.

Have seen a conservative religious group that also featured Property as part of their name: Faith, Family, Tradition, and Property, I think. There are videos of them praying the rosary on street corners and accompanied by a banner with that catch phrase on it.

Interesting how often Property is, perhaps, becoming part of the social memes related to various issues.

[bertman]

89. Patrice, if you DON'T have it, property takes on the aura of a divine right. It's something

I understand and value because having a piece of property that I can (at least temporarily) call my own is a very satisfying and comforting feeling. Property used to mean the place your family is and where you grew your food. It was a refuge from poverty. Now it's taken for granted by some, but highly valued by others.

It wasn't so very long ago that only the nobility could own property. The rest of us got to work the land or fight in the wars.

When it becomes the holy grail I have a problem with that, but for most of us it's not that.

[lazarus]

99. my dad

won't even come in our house when he's in town. He'll stand out on the sidewalk and talk and make plans to go somewhere fancy, but he won't come in.

[nolabear]

57. Based on your observations alone, I don't see what's so onerous.

If the people there were rude to you or to the wait staff, that is terrible. If they made their money on the backs of people whom they've cheated or mistreated or done so at the cost of resources or are warmongers, that is worthy of scorn. But this sounds like there's more fueling the anger than just what happened there. But being a skillfull, well paid, well compensated wait person is an art to be respected and admired, and has provided a good living for many people. Part of it can be to be unobtrusive, as you don't know what the table dynamic is and want to respect the privacy of your guests. Believe me, I'm not one who frequents such places, but I did grow up associated with the food service industry, and don't see what's so horrid in what you showed here. Was there more to it?

[Cleita]

61. Let them have their clubs and their superiority, just make them pay

a lot of taxes for the privilege and I know most of them are not. I used to do books for those kind of people so I know that they are legally not paying their fair share just as Warren Buffett said when he mentioned that his secretary paid more taxes than he did.

[valerief]

63. These are the people who send us to War or to die in the gutter. nt

[Goldstein1984]

75. I would be surprised to find any of their children among the

enlisted ranks of a military built on economically-induced patriotism.

[cali]

64. I've been in the place of the wait staff who served you and I find your characterization

offensive and snotty as hell. In the mid-seventies, I worked at the Somerset Club in Boston. I started out as night clerk and was promoted to concierge. In the nearly three years I worked there, I was treated with almost universal courtesy by the members and their guests. In fact, one summer when I was moving out of my apartment, one of the members who had an apartment adjoining the Beacon Hill club, lent me his place while he was gone for the summer.

[Goldstein1984]

68. As you wrote...

you worked at the Somerset Club in Boston, not the Petroleum Club. I didn't see wait staff treated with anything remotely approaching respect. I saw no eye contact. I saw no smiles or courtesy.

Maybe you're suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.

You find everything I write offensive. I've managed to cope.

[cali]

101. Not everything. just some things.

but "maybe you're suffering from Stockholm Syndrome" is indeed offensive. As well a pile of dog shit, my dear.

[Ken Burch]

76. These are the people Bill and Hillary let take over the party

They are the ones we are expected to defer to on everything.

[defendandprotect]

77. Watched a Bill Moyers program tonight . . .

and he and his two guests -- one was Corn from the Nation/? -- I think wrote a book --

tuned in late --- but they were saying just this that the elites and Congress/politicians

know they can get away with this. Nothing happens to them, nothing has happened to them

in 30 years or more!

I remember the day after the ExxonValdez when Senate held hearings -- Ted Stevens looked so

shocked and alarmed -- his buddies were in trouble. Then the VP from ExxonMobil walked in

to testify and you could see that he was as secure as any Mafia Biggie -- ExxonMobil::

organized crime. The arrogance shocked me at first -- but then you just knew.

[Goldstein1984]

82. I was a regulator in Alaska during the Exxon-Valdez Spill

George H.W. Bush received his marching orders from Exxon.

The Coast Guard received its marching orders from George H. W. Bush

Exxon received the marching orders they had given Bush from the Coast Guard.

If the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation had not had a Commissioner, Dennis Kelso, who expertly played the media, the cleanup would have been even less effective than it was.

There is no better example of how the global economic elite prevail than the way Exxon manipulated the legal process to mitigate its financial obligations to those whose lives were impacted by the spill.

[defendandprotect]

87. Interesting levels of deception . . .

and, yes, even worse when all the fines/penalties were so reduced --

did this go to the Supreme Court? Can't remember exactly --

Had FDR nationalized oil I think our democracy might have survived!!!

Even in 1960, the platform that JFK ran on called for the nationalizing of the oil industry!

And he was ending the oil depletion allowance --

Exxon Mobil is indeed criminal -- including re billions in propaganda to hide Global Warming.

[harun]

79. You have seen what most do not, the real boss.

[janet118]

80. In college, I worked at a club in Boston for the wives of the . . .

old aristocracy - a sort of ladies auxiliary to the Algonquin Club. It was located near Copley Square and was marked only with a number on a canopied walkway on the outside. It had hotel rooms, a restaurant and a parlor with a fireplace. It was furnished with works on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts. The restaurant had hand-typed menus (I typed them every morning) and the servers were young girls, preferably Irish, who dressed in maids outfits a la "Upstairs Downstairs." The diners were mostly women who were in town to shop for the day.

I worked the reception desk. The switchboard was one of those old ones you see in movies with plugs and wires covered with cloth. There was a doorman to get cabs for the patrons. He only called companies that had white drivers - Boston Cab was the main one I remember. The names of the members were similar to the passenger list on the Mayflower or of the WASPs who ran Boston until the Irish and Italians took over.

Some women actually lived in the club and they would often come to the parlor to watch Walter Cronkite on the television set there. The worst times for me were when the off-spring of members from Harvard and Radcliffe came in late at night. They were disrespectful to those of us on duty and often drunk. One night they just started throwing their glasses into the fireplace just for fun.

I only worked there for a few months. It was my idea of hell. Oh yeah, the rich are different.

[ooglymoogly]

84. Yes they are different....they have money to cover up

bad everything.

[defendandprotect]

88. Interesting remembrance . . .

"Different" . . . but not for the better -- !!

:)

[Better Believe It]

85. Thanks for your post. I've been to such places. It's right on the money

K & R

[bertman]

91. In my life I have had the pleasure of meeting some very wealthy people who were good

people, generous of spirit and material possessions. But, I've also met the others. They are the ones we have to fear. It's the ones who think of themselves as the nobility who pose the greatest threat to our freedoms. Sad to say, their machinations for acquiring more and more power over us are bearing fruit. They are planners and manipulators who leave little to chance. They align themselves with others who share their world view and their desire for dominance.

I don't know how we will defeat them. But I, for one, refuse to allow them to operate in the shadows. Educating others as to the degree and manner of their control may be our best method of overcoming their influence.

A great book to start with is "Family of Secrets" by Russ Baker. It chronicles the Bush family and the other families with whom they have aligned to subjugate us. it also explores their methods of controlling our economy and our government. Very interesting and scary.

"I was sure that I was being served in the dining room that Satan reserved for his most accomplished disciples." I like that, Goldstein1984. Certainly gives the "feel" of the place.

Rec.

[Goldstein1984]

95. I've met a few good ones in my day, as well.

But, as a general rule that's guided me well for 53 years, people who crave wealth and power, for the sake of wealth and power, are the last ones who should be trusted with wealth and power.

I agree that exposing reality is a useful tactic. The American Dream is the mythology used to deceive us into believing the only difference between the few and the many is that the few worked hard enough to become one of the few. All of us can be among the few. Expose that American narrative as a myth, and many who endure the system the pursue the dream cease to be followers and worshipers of the few.

The exposure of Geithner as a conspirator with the few is another victory. In another OP today, a DUer revived awareness of an article on the DLC website where Obama proclaims himself to be a "New Democrat." Admitting to ourselves that Bill Clinton was nothing but a trickle down, free trade Neoconservative is liberating. We on the left how our own cults of personality to toss off.

An entire generation born and raised in the post-1980 world was never exposed to the Democratic Party that gave us the New Deal, the Civil Rights Movement, and an end to the Vietnam War. They've been indoctrinated with Neoconservative politics and Neoliberal economics. If they haven't studied history, they don't even know what is possible. They have no frame of reference with which to recognize how far off course the Democratic Party has gone.

I think the move of the Democratic Party to the Right, whether you call it "The Third Way," or the "DLC Way" or just plain old "Centrist" or "Moderate" democratic thought, is really nothing more than evidence that the economic elite have captured the party and have been erasing the distinction between the two parties, so that, no matter the outcome of an election, as long as people are following a party platform they pose no threat.

We have an entire generation of party faithful suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome. They are hostages to a corrupt system.

[Mind_your_head]

96. You've GOT it! This post should be/start a thread of its own!

I was trying to explain this to my teenagerly/young 20 children today.....although they 'try and listen' it is very very difficult to explain what you said here. It's not part of their world, although I've told them that "history is important" and they understand that at some level.......

I hope you will post some version of this as an OP.

K&R

[bertman]

111. I couldn't agree more, Goldstein1984. That sums it up perfectly. nt

[ooglymoogly]

105. Two words; Gandhi-esk revolution.

[Goldstein1984]

113. I like that idea a lot

Among my biggest fears is that we will miss the opportunity to solve this problem nonviolently.

[sce56]

97. So Don Henley was not BS'ing in the last Eagles Album "Long Road out of Eden"

Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden



Moon shining down through the palms
shadows moving on the sand
somebody whispering the twenty-third psalm
dusty rifle in his trembling hands

somebody trying just to stay alive
he got promises to keep
over the ocean in america
far away and fast asleep

silent stars blinking in the blackness of an endless sky
cold silver satellites, ghostly caravans passing by
galaxies unfolding, new worlds being born
pilgrims and prodigals creeping toward the dawn
but it's a long road out of eden

music blasting from an suv
on a bright and sunny day
rolling down the interstate
in the good ol' usa

having lunch at the petroleum club
smokin' fine cigars and swappin' lives
he said: "gimme 'nother slice o' that barbecued brisket!"
"gimme ‘nother piece o' that pecan pie!"

freeways flickering, cell phones chiming a tune
we're riding to utopia, road map says we'll be arriving soon
captains of the old order clinging to the reins
assuring us these aches inside are only growing pains
but it's a long road out of eden

back home i was so certain
the path was very clear
but now i have to wonder: “what are we doing here?”
I'm not counting on tomorrow
and i can't tell wrong from right
but i'd give anything to be there in your arms tonight

weaving down the american highway
through the litter and the wreckage and the cultural junk
bloated with entitlement, loaded on propaganda
and now we're driving dazed and drunk

been down the road to damascus,
the road to mandalay
met the ghost of caesar on the appian way
he said, "it's hard to stop this bingeing, once you get a taste."
"but the road to empire is a bloody stupid waste."

behold the bitten apple - the power of the tools
but all the knowledge in the world is of no use to fools
and it's a long road out of eden....

[zaj]

98. Membership Dues are only $60/month

Sorry, that's not nearly the super elite place you think it is. If you have $410 ($350 app fee + $60 for first month's dues) you too can join.

[GreenMetalFlake]

106. Moderate speak dictates you *must* be over stating the matter

;)

[ooglymoogly]

107. 1984; If I were you I would get this post removed

You could be hurt by the way these things get around. The folks you speak of are vindictive and could cause you harm. Any one of the many trolls on this site could make this a swan song.

[dusmcj]

114. if he gets screwed there are hundreds waiting to take his place

fuck those cocksuckers and their mutual self-stimulation society (and no aspersions to male homosexuals here mind you, despite my immediate previous postings; I'm using metaphor here to describe corrupt behavior which is gender- and orientation- independent). They like to think they're hard. But hard is inside, not outside. Let's go fuck their wives and daughters (consensually of course) like happened 40 years ago. Cheers.