Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Draft Creep
here is an article explaining in more detail what matt was talking about a few days ago in regards to ALL military personnel who are eligible for separation having their service indefinitely extended due to "dire threats to our national security".

The Presidents Salary
Have you ever wondered how much money the president makes a year? well, here you go. if you dont feel like clicking, the number is $400,000. Here is some more information on the presidents salary and compensation. The compensation and allowances of members of congress is a little more complicated, but you can sift through that information yourself if you so desire.

(If you're a huge nerd and want to read up on the US Code, you can do so here.)

Wealth and Power
so why am I mentioning these peoples salaries? Well, it seems odd to me that every member of congress and every person in the presidential administration can be easily categorized as "wealthy." What's wrong with that, you ask? Well, we elect these people to represent us and govern the country we live in ... you know, "of the people, by the people" and all that blah blah. The average American income is somewhere between 30 and 40 thousand dollars a year according the the US census. Now, it seems to me, if we really wanted fair, accurate, honest, realistic representation, our representatives salaries would be pegged to the average American salary (read: they would make what the average American makes). If that was the case, I imagine government would be a hell of a lot different and, in my opinion, probably a hell of a lot more focused on making the lives of average people better. Of course, for this scenario to work, all types of safeguards would have to be put in place to stop bribery and keep congressmen off the payrolls of big business.

The explanations about wealth and power are a little longwinded for this forum, but if you look at history, all the way back to the continental congress, power in this country has been passed from one wealthy group of white males to another. There have been social reforms over time to benefit the average American, but without exception, the power of the country has been concentrated among the wealthy and a strong central government was set up and has been maintained to keep it that way. This isn't some far fetched conspiracy theory, this is easily provable historical fact. Do some research into the Carnegies, the Rockefellers or the founders of any of the big, old financial institutions in this country (Morgan Stanley etc). They all had (or have) ties to government, and government did (or does) everything it can to cater to them.

In short, and for the 900th time, read this book.

scull and bones
here's an interesting essay i stumbled upon about the secret society both George W. Bush and John Kerry belong to (Howard Dean and Joe Lieberman too, in fact).

word.