Christmas Is Nearly Here!

Kemosobi

Dec 22, 2009 at 11:57 am

David, Thank you very much for this blog, your are an insightful man. You and all the commentators here have enriched my life with knowledge, compassion and a greater appreciation of issues surrounding our fellow humans even though I believe humans are a failed species.
I hope you and all the commentators have a safe and happy season and if health is the first wealth, may you ALL be very wealthy. See you in the new year!!!!!!!!!!

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David G

Dec 22, 2009 at 9:06 pm

Kemosobi, you have enriched our lives too!

Therese, the Church has failed its flock. There is no Christ in Xmas anymore (assuming there ever was).

Cheers.

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Therese Reply:
December 26th, 2009 at 2:38 am

Maybe that failure prompted that woman to knock over the Pope in the basillica on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas, dear.

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kathy

Dec 23, 2009 at 1:33 am

Thanks for the beautiful image David. I too wish for peace and love for everyone. Thank you for providing this website so that we may come here and have wonderful conversations. It helps so much knowing that there are several around the world who care about other people and the earth!

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David G

Dec 23, 2009 at 8:14 am

Coco, once, long ago, I was a believer so I understand the effect that religious belief can have on people. It distorts your whole thinking process. Yes, there are serious problems that should be dealt with and praying isn’t going to affect any of them.

Kathy, I also get a great deal of benefit from this site and the wonderful people who come here. You all keep me going!

Jeannie, thanks for your comment and the sentiments contained therein. Hope you enjoy the festive season and spread your love wherever you go.

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kathy

Dec 23, 2009 at 2:20 pm

John you make me smile. I would love to see your tile roof. Here we have asphalt shingle roofs. I’m sorry for your blizzard conditions. I should have said a prayer to the universe to not send you any blizzards while I was asking for you to have no more hurricanes or droughts!! (As if I have any power at all)…..

Frozen water supply is no fun. I remember it from when I was a child. In my EARLY childhood we didn’t have a water supply coming into our house. We had to walk a short distance to a spring to bring water to the house in our buckets. It never froze because it was constantly running. My mother had a big iron kettle in the back yard and she built a fire under it to heat the water to a boil to wash clothes in it.

My family was considered poor so we children didn’t have snow boots. When my mother would go off to work, I would get a pair of her old boots! I put on 3 pairs of socks and covered them in a Bunny bread wrapper to keep everything dry. We did the same with our hands because we didn’t have gloves!! We didn’t have a real snow sled but my father found the hood of an old car that would slide well on the snow with about 10 children piled on!!! We always started at the top of a big long hill that was part of my cousin’s property. (All of us with our several pairs of socks covered in Bunny bread wrappers) and at the bottom of the hill we had to make a decision! If we veered to the left we would slide out onto a pond that wasn’t sufficiently frozen. If we veered too far right we would end up in a frozen briar patch!! Many times we had to abandon the hood before we reached certain death!!! HA!! And then we would drag the hood back to the top of the hill and start all over! We would have a strategy that the next time we went down the hill we would lean one way or another to make our car hood go a certain way!! Fun times! Little children with lots of fresh cold air and lots of energy!!

John and everyone else….what is your favorite xmas food? or traditions? I would love ideas from Denmark, Australia, etc etc. ……..I have no like minded friends or family here. Would love to hear more about what you all love and what puts you at peace.

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coco Reply:
December 24th, 2009 at 8:52 am

ok kathy, here’s my favourite traditions:
when we were kids, our present used to be one of my father’s socks filled with a tangerine, a few walnuts and a bar of chocolate hanging on the end of the bed. i used to save all my pocketmoney and buy gifts for my parents and my sister. they always got the same thing every year!!!! (but i was only 11/12 so didn’t have much imagination then. )
i don’t celebrate xmas now. for me it’s just a commercial rip off!! and i’m not christian
what puts me at peace is talking to animals and performing yoga.
happy holidays to you.

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JohnLJ

Dec 23, 2009 at 10:03 pm

Sorry Kathy

I forgot the house number:
Hustedvej (number) 41

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Grace

Dec 24, 2009 at 3:55 am

Thank you David. You have been a gracious host. I do look forward in 2010. I will think of you and send good thought energy your way during that time.

For many years and especially since my injury, I have come to identify with the teachings of both Buddha and Christ. More so though, Christ, because I feel like I have a cross to bear and I ask for him to be with me on a regular basis.

These people that call themselves Christians and then support cruel, divisive, murderous, greedy policies, – the very ones that Christ would have condemned! – those people are GUILTY – and it is why they fill churches every week. They know they are sinners, yet have no desire to change a single thing apart for eliminating abortions for women. Something, that at the bottom line for me is a medical situation/decision that the church and state should butt out of AND if they cared SO much for unborn children and their mothers, perhaps they would provide more education and support and places these women could go. NO, No that might actually solve the problem! They are too busy slandering and judging people that they mock as weaker than themselves! Most of my brother and sisiter Christians can go to Hell as far as I am concerned. I say this in the hope that they might learn genuine humility and therefore more truly represent the man that the shouting hoardes condemned to death on a cross and now say He is their Man – when you and I know that if Christ actually showed up again they would have to crucify him.

One year ago was Operation Cast Lead. Where Palestinians (mostly women, children and the elderly and the innocent) were killed per Israeli, respectively 100:1

This line stood out for me from an article about how the whole world community has failed the Gazan/ Palestinian people:

“Sick, traumatised and impoverished people are being collectively punished by a cruel, illegal policy imposed by the Israeli authorities,” said Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK.

Unfortunately this is true and I had an experience that made me feel a particular kinship with this truth.

A man who calls himself an American, but is really an Israeli in heart and mind, kicked me and my son out of the house that he had bought for me -when I got too sick. At that time, I really felt the way Palestinian families feel when they lose their homes, have to escape with whatever belongings they can grab and are left on the side of the road to fend for themselves. (My husband and I had separated because of alcoholism among other issues).

Israel is an evil monster with a toothless whore/ hag for a consort.

Ok, now that that is clear, have a happy holyday.

Peace.

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JohnLJ

Dec 24, 2009 at 9:25 am

Dear Kathy

I do really not hope you may have to celebrate the xmas all alone, Kathy ?
“.I have no like minded friends or family here ”

If you want to have a look at my humble place/property . I have tried it out, and can tell you where to go:

Go to Internet addres: ” http://map.krak.dk ” (it is in Danish) then
select “KORT” (the green one)
and now, to the left “S¢g på kort” (search on map)
at “HVOR” (=where) you input / my address) “Hustedvej 41, 6830, Nr. Nebel”
and then — if it works
you can zoom in + 17 (it’s a picture taken 2or3 years ago, in summertime.

The tiles are NOT clear red, unfortunately sooted by smoke from the chimney. The blue you can see to the left side of the roof is trapez plates (PBC/plastic transparent ) but but but.. I have to say. If you really want a good clear picture, this isn’t it, but though better than nothing..

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Grace Reply:
December 25th, 2009 at 8:40 am

Thank you, John. ‘Tis peaceful and organized. That, with your stories are lovely. Thanks again. Took me out of my world for a moment : ).

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Grace

Dec 25, 2009 at 1:50 am

I appreciate the positivity, it is the gift of this time of year. There is wonder to be enjoyed. I appreciate the stories of happy times. Thanks you all. Merry Christmas.

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JohnLJ

Dec 25, 2009 at 2:40 pm

dear Adina

I am so happy you took the time to visit my place, Adina, your so welcome.

I bought the place in 1992 and at this time, then, I planted 250 spruces trees, these trees has now grown big (3-4m high) and last year again I planted another 150 more of same (spruces), I prefere evergreen growth.
This place, for me, is a true paradize, but I would’ve liked yet more trees / vegetation mainly because, as you can see on the ‘luftfoto’ (air-photo) the area (west-coast of jylland) is overall very flat-leveled / plane and that’s because when the wind is blowing, (which it does MOST of the time, and especially in winter times) it feels much colder than what the thermometer shows, if not sheltered of by plants.
Your are quite right, I am thankful to be out (from the city) in the more peaceful country side.

With regard to the comment you made in an earlier post, Adina although I shall never try pretending to be a professor out in psychology, I want to comment with regards to your intention to behave cheerfully.
Since I know you as the lovely and caring humanbeing you are I don’t think it’s such a great idea to try to be, or behave in a way it isn’t really you.
I think I, and all other people here HAVE TO LOVE YOU (and everybody else) just like you are (take it or leave it) -the ‘Adina’ ,as we know and love, her, sweet and lovely, sad, depressed, happy or whatever – you are, the Adina, the lovely.

also thanks to you, Grace. Your comment does my heart good – I’m so glad if I can help ease the pain you so obviously feel inside when you write / ask for “Take me out of my world for a moment ” I wish for you, and all peace and love.

wish you all a
Merry Xmas

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kathy

Dec 26, 2009 at 1:33 am

This is Christmas morning here. I hope you are all enjoying the holiday so far. I tried signing on yesterday and the internet kept telling me the website didn’t exist!!!!

Thanks for sharing favorite traditions with me. John, I will have to try the cinnamon cream pudding. I love cinnamon. I put it in my coffee very often.

I too visited the photo of your home. Wonderful!!!! The trees make a fort for privacy and against the cold weather. Great idea!!

John I didn’t mean for you to think I would spend Christmas alone. I have family and friends but they are not like minded as we are here on this blog. They don’t care about the wars. They don’t see that America has fallen. They don’t see that the US dollar is being demised on purpose. My three brothers, sister and mother have land but none of them try to grow their own food. I tried to tell them all to stock up on some extra food, water and supplies just in case something happens that could shut down our food supply. They just laugh and say “if an emergency happens we will just come to your house and use your food and water.” They think it’s all a joke and that I shouldn’t worry myself thinking about all these bad things. So although I’m surrounded by people that I love, I don’t have much to say to them that they want to hear. I told them all yesterday that I’m going to move back to the country with them in 2010 and grow a garden. I think they will believe it when they see it! Love and peace to you all.

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kathy

Dec 26, 2009 at 6:27 am

Therese, I too noticed that Jimmy Carter has been opening his mouth too much this year. I wish peace for Gaza and the world. If only it could happen!!!!

My favorite xmas song is by John Lennon called “Merry Christmas, war is over” I don’t have John’s version but Jimmy Buffett did a remake and I have that. I know I wear my kids out listening to that song so much!! (But they are all adults and they can go visit friends if they don’t like it!!) They usually stay here and indulge me.

My daughter came to me two years ago and asked me what I wanted for xmas. I told her nothing. I have everything I need. She insisted and I said okay get me some new socks. She said no thats not a real gift. I told her to let me think about it and I would get back to her. (She said she and her brothers wanted to pool their money and buy me a serious gift.) A week later she asked me if I had come up with an idea. I said yes. “I want a wooden flute,,, A native American Indian flute.” She cocked her head to the side much like a dog does when it wonders what you are saying to it!!! hahaha…She asked me if I knew how to play a flute. I said,,,, “not yet, but if other people can play them I’m sure I can too!” Well, I got my flute!! Turns out, I can play ‘Twinkle Twinkle little star’ easy enough. This causes much laughter in my home. I can even play some things that sound like Indian music! (I can’t read music) but I can sound it out sometimes. This is just another fun memory I thought I’d share.

We have so much wrong in the world, so much to work on that it makes me feel heavy hearted. I wanted to share the flute story as a light hearted event to offset the bad things.

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Grace

Dec 26, 2009 at 8:41 am

Still Christmas here. A wonderful day and a happy seven year old boy has been happily building, reading manuals and playing all day. Tomorrow we will pick out a new piano for him! We had to leave behind the piano we had. More importantly, this 7 yr old got the wish that every kid wishes: his parents are together again. Feels like an accomplishment. We never stopped raising him together and we lived together for many years even while we were separated. We have both grown up, and now we value the simplicity of being a loving family. What matter is being together.

“Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.”

Which brings to to the cruel state of the world. Life is both delicate and mighty.

I wish we were all out in the streets, right now, singing, “War Is Over..”

WIth the besieged people of Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, the sinking Island Nations, Central America and Haiti in mind, I pray for a warm nutritious, delicious meal and a warm and safe bed for all people tonite and every night on our precious planet. We can learn to live together with what we know. Live together with nature and biodiversity.
While Israel has been at war this whole time, and some are power hungry reactionaries with bombs, some other humans have evolved. Technology has advanced for the better, new options are possible. War is for the dark ages and appeals to the lowest point of human fear and survival. Barbarous. Worse than animals. Evolution is a choice. Give Peace a chance.

Good will toward all living beings.

Peace on EarthShip.

Good planets like Earth!! are (still) hard to find. we will search long and hard..looking for what we already have, and while we are busy looking elsewhere, we may lose the very thing we so desire. Speeding up only makes us not see the scenery and lose the plot. Even though there is a sense of a time pressure here, folks. Contrary to hypervigilant survival mechanism, slowing down (when not dodging bombs) actually helps one to gain a sense of control.

2010 may be the year of the slow movement. Slowing down and appreciating what we have. Fixing things rather than a throw away society. Local food, lower carbon footprint. The greatest pollution is the tar sands extraction process, mountaintop (coal )removal. it is the biggest polluters fueled by OUR lifestyle that we as no longer citizens , but as consumers, we have our greatest voice. If we all burn candles after dark and start going to bed earlier – stop needing so much energy. unplug appliances that are not actually being used. Power companies (which used to be public utilities) will be wont to admit it , but if people did this small measure en masse, it would shake ‘em up.

Peace and justice for all.

Cheers!

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kathy Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 12:22 pm

Grace I just picked up on your full post here. It’s beautiful!! Glad your 7 year old was building on Christmas day. Also glad that he is getting a new piano and more importantly as every child wants….his parents are together!

I can tell from all your posts that you are a special person. Thoughtful on what it means to be a mother and a fellow human/spiritual being wanting the best for the universe.

When you mentioned ‘give peace a chance’ it brought to mind another John Lennon song that I love. And not to give the impression that I was a total fan of the Beatles,,,not at all. But some lyrics of John’s after they broke apart and some while they were still a group ring true and important to me.

I wish for you and everyone here a wonderful 2010. Let’s keep thinking and picturing peace and understanding…tolerance as much as we can..Thoughts are things and they carry power. Lets make our thoughts count!!

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kathy

Dec 26, 2009 at 11:09 am

coco, something funny going on…. I will offer some ideas if you have a chance to study them.

As far as earthquakes and tsunamis…research the work of Nikola Tesla. I know the wikipedia isn’t considered to be the end all of research but it is a good place to start.

Tesla was called a mad scientist is some circles but after his death his information was taken by the US department of defence and kept top secret. Some say the US project called HAARP is part of Tesla’s inventions. He was very much into electricity, electro-magnetism and frequencies. Playing around with the electro magnetic frequency of the earth can cause earthquakes, tectonic shifts/tsunamis, volcanic eruptions too. So this is theory number one… That governments of the world are messing with the electro magnetism of the earth and causing more earthquakes.

Theory number two…. I have a friend that has said for years that we’re all going to die in the year 2012 because the Mayan calander says so!! I basically ignored that theory for years. But last year I started to notice more and more information about it.

Many believe that the Mayan calander doesn’t point to the end of the world but rather the end of the world as we know it!! Some scientists are saying that it’s because the earth is shifting its electro magnetic field and the earth’s frequency is changing. It started a few years ago and will reach it’s conclusion in 2012. The shifting energy fields are supposedly having an effect on people and the planet. (could cause earthquakes and other events)

I don’t know if either theory holds truth but I think probably some nuggets of truth are in there. Interesting studies though!!

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coco Reply:
December 26th, 2009 at 10:52 pm

thanks david, i read about haarp just before the iraq invasion and researched it then. since, of course, it’s hardly ever mentioned except for people like us who want to know the truth. i’ve said for a long time that something is approaching and that the governments know but don’t want to panic the sheeple. so they let them get on with their lives and force them propaganda to blame it on unwitting nations/religions etc. time will tell but certainly things aint what they used to be………………..here’s a good link for the ‘unofficial’ website:
http://www.haarp.net

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coco Reply:
December 27th, 2009 at 9:53 am

apologies kathy. i replied thinking it was david who posted those theories. just shows how i don’t pay attention sometimes…………….
but anyway, it also shows how our minds are on the same wavelength and we have ‘common denominators’…………

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kathy Reply:
December 28th, 2009 at 3:24 am

That’s okay coco. I’m just glad more and more people are aware of the shady things the governments are involved in. Sounds like you have been aware for a lot longer than I.

I agree with you that ‘they’ know something that we don’t. They are keeping it from us. Something wicked this way comes??? Something even more wicked than the truths we’ve been able to discover by our own research!

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JohnLJ

Dec 27, 2009 at 1:21 am

Kathy
further more

I wish you luck with the project of moving to the country side.

Do you have an idea how much such a property may cost, (in America) (the cheapest end of the scale (surely there isn’t no upper limet?)

I bought my place in the year 2002 only for app.25.000$ (120.000Kr) but, (have to be mentioned/admit) barely livable for a family, caused by dilapidation.

To this:
“I tried signing on yesterday and the internet kept telling me the website didn’t exist.”

I just have this to say to:

Just ignore the everlasting error-message from MSoft. – assuming your PC is running on MicroSoft.
and I AM SICK AND TIRED OF this crap SYSTEM. You are not allowed having a minut without if NOT the then the other pop-up message, do this do that, and if you don’t, your PC is at risk.. etc. etc..SHIT – MS and mio my ash!! – to hell
============================
David
Just in case you arn’t aware. (although I don’t know if Australia has such a thing) but since two month ago I have shifted to a wirefree internet connection via USB – MOBILMODEM. (based on Turbo G3 or EDGE) – cheaper than the old telefon-modem connection.

The system depends on a terrestrial net of send/ receivers (not too far away) I have 20km to the nearest of mine). but if you live in a city, there is no problems, it works excellent.

My best wishes for a happy new year – to all.

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kathy Reply:
December 28th, 2009 at 8:02 am

John, one could probably still buy an old dilapidated farm house with one or two acres for $25,000 or close to it. I will not be buying though. I will be renting. I don’t have enough money to buy a home right now and I have made some tough choices this year to determine that I never want to live in debt again.

I could go into great details of my story but I will try to keep it as short as possible.

I quit my job last year in October. I originated mortgage loans for the military. They were called VA loans. So please understand that I didn’t originate any of the sub-prime loans that have been talked about on the news. Our VA loans came with very many regulations that we had to follow in order to protect the veterans. I did this job for almost 12 years. In the final 4 years I worked for a companay called RMC (Realty Mortgage Corporation) they were a correspondent lender for Countrywide (One of the largest mortgage companies in the USA) Countrywide would fund the loan. RMC had their line of credit through Countrywide.

RMC had branches throughout the USA including several in California and Nevada (Las Vegas) In those branches out west, they DID originate sub-prime loans for Countrywide. Countrywide had a large selection of sub-prime and Alt-A loan products available. Toward the end of 2007, Countrywide started to withdraw some of their loan products. It was a very slow incremental process. We were not affected in my city but some of the RMC branches started to close in the west. Every step of the way I kept asking my regional manager if our company was okay. He kept assuring me and everyone else that we were not going to go out of business. He said that Countrywide was too big to fail. They started to change our VA loan guidelines as time went on, making it harder for veterans to get home loans. This wasn’t right! The department of Veteran’s affairs set the home loan guidelines for veterans and yet the LENDERS were now saying no. They were no longer accepting all of the VA standards. I started to buy books about money to study what was going on. You might be surprised to know that a mortgage loan originator would not understand all aspects of money. But the world of banking and investing, bond trading, stocks, mortgages are all compartmentalized. I could be the best mortgage loan originator in the world because I had studied all the thousands of pages of guidelines, and still not know one single thing about how the stock market works.

In early 2008 RMC asked us to take a pay cut. We did. They layed off our receptionist but told us these measures were being taken so that we could stay in business. A couple of months later they layed off one of our best loan underwriters. After that they cancelled the cleaning team that came every week to clean the office. (All in an effort to cut back on expenses while we were going through hard times) We all took turns to help. We cleaned our own office, we took turns being the receptionist, we took our pay cuts. Countrywide went under and they told us it was still going to be okay because Bank of America was going to take over Countrywide and RMC’s line of credit. Our lender guidelines kept changing at such a fast pace that someone who qualified for a home loan today didn’t qualify tomorrow because of some new email we would receive that changed yesterday’s guidelines. I was making myself sick over it. I continued to stay with the company hoping that the lenders would settle down and because I had medical insurance for my family through my work. But at the end of September 2008, they took away our insurance benefits because our production was so low we could no longer “qualify” as full time employees. If you are a part time employee here you can not qualify for any benefits. This broke my will to keep trying. My daughter has a medical condition and she was covered on my insurance. Even though the insurance had paid thousands of dollars on her treatments and surgeries, there were still thousands $$$$$ over the years that they wouldn’t pay. I took a second mortgage on my home to consolidate them under one monthly payment.

I quit my job last year on Oct 4th. They kept telling me that everything was going to be okay but I no longer believed them. Perhaps I should have stayed. When you quit your job you can’t draw unemployment checks! If I had stayed, the company went out of business in February, then I could have drawn my unemployment. Bank of America had finished acquiring what was left of Countrywide and they shut down RMC’s line of credit putting them out of business immediately. All of my old co-workers who had stayed, received an email at 10 minutes before quitting time that day telling them that they no longer had jobs! That’s how fast the end came for them. And up until that very moment, they were still being told that everything was going to be okay. RMC filed bankruptcy and some of the old co-workers never received their final paychecks.

John, I hope this story makes sense to you since I know you are learning English very well but I’m talking about mortgage guidelines and perhaps companies that you have never heard of. Sorry this story is too long but to explain further….I made a decision last year to stop paying corporations and taxes. I kept paying my house payments but nothing else. No credit cards and no student loans. Now I have stopped paying my house payments. I kept up my house payments as long as I could and to have time to indoctrinate my three adult children to the fact that we can’t stay here. My daughter and youngest son still live with me and my oldest son comes over many times a week to eat here!! They have been forewarned as to my plans to let this house in the suburbs go into foreclosure. My own credit score is now ruined. We Americans are indoctrinated from early adulthood to keep our credit scores good so that we can obtain more debt. (From what I understand, we are the biggest debt slaves on earth because we have obtained easy credit to finance all of our consumptions.) Our own government sets the worst of examples in consumption where there is no real money to cover the debts. The debt that the government owes right now will be passed on to my great grandchildren if I ever have any, by way of sticking it to we the the tax payers, and indeed it is enough to pass along to my great, great, great grandchildren!!!! Future generations of babies being born into tax and debt slavery is not what I want. Sponsoring wars around the world is not what I want. Upkeeping a fake money system of debt is not what I want.

When I still had my tv they kept telling me that everything was going to be okay. Where have I heard that before???? Things are not okay. They will keep telling us it’s okay for as long as they can get away with it. I choose not to believe “them” any more. So I am trying to get back to basic survival skills and friends with nature. I am trying to undo the thoughts of credit scores and living in debt. I will suffer with loss of some comforts and status, but I think I still have something in me that can manage to survive with nature. Many other Americans can’t say this because they were born in urban cities never connecting at all with nature.

When I get to wherever I’m going I may not have an internet. I will post it before I go and perhaps my sister will allow me to use her computer to drop in and say hello sometimes.

2010 will be a big change for me and my children. We may not ever make an impact on the world or even just America but this difference is something that I want my children to see. I want them to learn how to grow their own healthy food. And I want them to know how to make their own energy. So if any of you have ever built your own solar panels please let me know where to start!! I want to learn herbal remedies instead of pharmaceuticals and pass that on to my kids.

I read a phrase the other day that said “when you lose everything, then you are free to try anything.” I am choosing step by step to lose material things in order to try something good for all of us and the planet. Each step has been difficult for me. EGO gets in my way all the time. Wish me well please!!

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Grace Reply:
December 29th, 2009 at 7:08 am

Wow, Kathy! Yeah, they tell you they love you, right up to the last minute. It is a strategy I see more and more. A shock Doctrine, I suppose! I know you want to stay close to your children. I pray for a safe landing for you. Sounds like you are looking in the right directions and this is affirmed by the great saying you found, also, nature is remarkably responsive. You will be in my thoughts. You are not alone. Many an American is facing this very same situation.
At our very worst times. When we had the choice of the shelter or living in a tent in a friend’s yard, I kept thinking, ‘what if this is all a test?’ A test of who I really am. WIl I handle it with grace? I kept thinking of how Christ and other saints through time, handled bad situations and I wanted to be like them. It is not easy. There were drug dealing demons outside the window of one room we all lived in. You have to be careful out there. Our situation changed many times. We have been very blessed, But my husband’s company is acting squirrely these days. I don’t quite know where this is all leading. I would like to think -a good place! Breathing, exhaling deeply, relaxing inside your body. Remaining polite, no matter how ugly it gets. The Ganges River is Sacred BECAUSE, people believe it so. This whole planet is sacred and the air we breathe. I always thought as long as I could work, I could always live in a Zen community; growing food and serving soup. I wish you, and your family, well, Kathy.

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Grace

Dec 30, 2009 at 5:25 am

There is a zen garden on the ocean in Marin. I visited it once and it was Easy to imagine staying. There is also another famous community on the coast in Monterrey; Tassajara. They are famous for their hand crafted fresh breads. I hope you find an equally, if not cloistered!, blissful place. As you probably know, it is not the size of the place, but the love, that makes it home.

————————————————————————————————————-

Very disturbing to hear of the truckers – 2 days before christmas and no warning!! I never heard of this story. That means it never even made it to many of the progressive sites I visit! That is the kind of news story that used to rally All Americans to a common cause. The night before Xmas”Twas quiet throughout the house (America) That many truckers canned like that is very serious. Trucks keep the life blood of this country flowing. Ominous end to 2009.

It is like the only thing I have is hope..(gulp)..

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Grace

Dec 31, 2009 at 3:32 am

Democracy means: A government run by The People. Not, the sheeple run by The Government.

So true what you said in your observations about “Rome,’” Kathy;
“..everyone seems to live in a grand delusion waiting on government or corporations to tell them what comes next in their lives.”

We are at a turning point in consciousness, I hope (there I go again).

Peace and justice for all. Including the wild horses that are being forcibly removed from the wild in Nevada by The BLM this week. Those men and women have no sense of the greatness and natural majesty inherited on this land. I think alot about the treatment of the Native peoples that lived all over America and were herded up like these horses. I will call Senator DIanne Feinstein today. There is a protest at her office at noon today. We do what we can, even though she is just another deeply corrupt politician. In the ’90′s she sold out the ancient redwoods to a tax evading criminal from Texas..

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JohnLJ

Jan 1, 2010 at 12:38 am

Reply To:
kathy : December 28th, 2009 at 8:02 am
SOS…
I’ve tried several times to post a response to the (above-mentioned) post of yours this Kathy.! but it simple do not work – (hell!) do NOT know why

I’ll try (make a test) with this short message.

Wishing everybody a merry entry into the -,( and a happy, too) news year.

Reply

JohnLJ

Jan 2, 2010 at 2:07 pm

Kathy (make another try)

I understand the difficulty of squeezing a long lived story of whole life, into a few lines, Kathy. Non the less , you did it
very well, and I thank you for sharing the story , of hard decisions with me / us.
It gives me a very good understanding of, – how desperate the situation is now, in this time of history
which you probably share with (20-30mill.)other Americans.?

What’s doing me most sad, is the fact that you, as the honourable, decent, and very prolific /citizen, you are, forced into a anti-society behavior. Not least the fact that you aren’t given other choice but, to STOP all payments,
How sad I know it might bee, as you tell, “destroys your credebility., My own credit score is now ruined” I am very sorry.

["I could be the best mortgage loan originator in the world because I had studied all the thousands of pages of guidelines, and still not know one single thing about how the stock market works."]

In short, as i see it, the stock-trading going on in Wall-street is very much to compare to the trade of the Mic. Jackson (a glove worth 500.000$ !! – will you believe in such a airy value.?

In my opinion Wall-street don’t add a single value to society,at all. it’s about (have other to ) believe OR NOT.
continue…..

Reply

Grace

Jan 3, 2010 at 3:39 am

“I understand the anger and disbelief in the system, you feel after this, although I do not quite understand why you left the jobmarket at your free will, when you, by that, renounced your right to benefit, (if I understand it right ) or maybe I don’t.?. ”

I don’t want to speak For Kathy, but I can explain, as I understand it why she left when she did. Kathy is a true heart. She believed everything they told her and went on a bit of a roller-coaster ride of emotions – wondering if she was coming or going. It is a strategy used by the company to try to get rid of the first layer of employees. Betting that some of them will just quit. It becomes a moral challenge to stay in that environment. The innocent ones who cannot believe that the company they gave so much to, cares that little and is unscrupulous, they leave – not wanting to be a part of something so ugly – with the hope they will get nother job. You know, the ‘ol tip your hat and go on your way… Only to find that there are no other jobs!!! Only to find that you were just the first layer of losers in a losing game. ANd if you could have just sucked it up and realized it was all out of your league and control and just stayed to get what you need out of the Beast. That is what it has come to. People of conscience are often the first victims in this every man/woman for him/herself society. You are right to be concerned for the very soul of this country.

Now that it has all happened, I believe Kathy has the best possible attitude. I want the best for you and your kids, Kathy, a better place ahead.

Reply

kathy

Jan 3, 2010 at 7:46 am

John and Grace, your posts are so sweet and kind hearted. Thank you both for being so caring of my story. But everyone has a life story huh? There is always going to be long suffering mixed with good times I think.

John for your questioning of the unions? There is no mortgage union. The trades such as steel workers, plummers, electricians, auto makers….they have unions. The world of financial products has no union that I am aware of. They have associations but not unions that act as a protection for the workers. They have national Realtor’s association or national mortgage brokers associations but those groups go to Washington and lobby for (whatever) and offer no union protection.

What I was seeing was a combination John. I saw things happening inside the mortgage industry that were very disturbing, and as I was studying the true nature of money here in the United States that I had never known about before, I saw that I was part of an industry that runs contrary to American freedom.

Please understand that in the mortgage world you can be a broker, a correspondent lender, or the lender on the retail side. It may sound complicated. But if I worked for Bank of America then I would be working for the retail side of lending and I am hired by that bank. If I work for a correspondent company then we will originate loans FOR Bank of America or in my old case Countrywide. But I don’t work for and I am not hired by Bank of America or Countrywide. I am hired by one of their correspondent lenders. Then a broker originates loans and submits to any of several companies to see if those companies want the loan. In my 12 years of the business I was fortunate to work for brokers, correspondents and retail lenders. I could see the differences in each way of mortgage lending. Brokers have the highest costs for the consumers. Don’t ever get your home loan from a broker! Middlemen have to have a mark up to make their commission/money. Brokers are middlemen.

When I left the business, having spotted several things wrong with the money system, I didn’t try to find work with another mortgage company because I saw the system as ‘broken’. Indeed many other companies had already gone out of business and the ones still open for business were going through the same extremes as RMC. (my old company) I had spotted a problem that I no longer wanted to be a part of. America’s problem is debt. Our entire monetary system is designed to keep us in debt individually and as a country. I was studying and realizing that every time I originated a home loan to help someone get into more debt..I was contributing to the problem. We Americans need to learn to live without debt but our system isn’t set up that way. 70% of our economy runs on consumerism. In the old America we were producers. Now 70% of our economy doesn’t produce anything…..we only consume. Does that sound healthy and balanced to anyone here?

People in America didn’t use to have to finance debt for 30 years to buy a home. But the federal reserve dollars have lost so much value that it takes many more dollars to buy a home now. My parents bought their first home for $4,000. To buy that same home today would cost about $40,000. (It was just a small house, no luxuries, and about an acre of land.) Did that little house sitting there with wood rotting over time, roof caving in over time, plumbing needing to be replaced over time, electrical works needing to be replaced over time, did it really gain 10 times the value over time or did our dollar devaluate over time so that now it takes $40,000 of them to buy that house instead of $4,000???

John, I left the business when I did because I saw what was going on through much of my own independent studying and I saw that I was part of the problem of a system that hurt fellow Americans. I realized that the ‘powers that be’ were not going to give us truth. I watched that unfold in the following months on my tv. We saw the TARP funds bailout and then the next stimulas package given to the bankers and wallstreet…

I am sending you a link to something I discovered recently. In America as in a lot of other nations, we were founded under ‘common law’ but our governments have changed that around and put us under the laws of commerce or the laws of contracts. Americans don’t know this. We now go to court under UCC codes and statutes instead of common law courts that our forefathers intended. The difference for us as human beings is huge because we were not informed that the courts system was changing. We in America still believe that we live under the protection of our Constitutional rights. We don’t. We live under the courts rule by the UCC codes they have imposed against us. Here is one link to a study. There are many more links to research.

http://educationcenter2000.com/Federal_Reserve.htm

I will write more in the next post…..kat

Reply

Grace Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 2:09 am

Kathy, you are a true American patriot, hero.

You also brought up an important point about our courts and “justice” system. No longer what people think. Most of the services provided through the courts are run by private enterprise. Outsourced by the government. If you get a parking ticket on a City street, for example, you pay a private company out of Texas and they add exorbitant fees and it is all legal!!!!

Reply

kathy Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 1:08 pm

Grace you are correct. It’s a shame. I spent the first half of this year protesting things under the feeling that my Constitutional rights were being violated. The second half of the year I started to learn why. Our court systems are no longer Constitutional courts based on common law. Our courts are under Universal commercial codes. UCC codes are the laws of contracts in a world of commerce. Whether you go to traffic court, civil court, criminal court, district, general sessions, supreme…..doesn’t matter. They are all ruled by the statutes of commerce. We people weren’t told when this change took place so we still think that if we go to court we have our rights!!! We have no rights except for commercial remedies. If we don’t know what these remedies are, we are screwed!!!!!!!

Reply

JohnLJ

Jan 4, 2010 at 1:05 pm

Dear Grace and Kathy

“..renounced your right to benefit,”

If this sentence could the least be understood as a condemnation of your behavior, – as if your situation were selfinflicted. That hasn’t been my intention – at all. – I do not hope you are in any doubt hereof.

It was just because of what you wrote:
“you quit (Oct 4th.)” but “Perhaps I should have stayed”. – (because)
> When you quit your job you can’t draw unemployment checks! <
and
If I had stayed, the company went out of business in February, then I could have drawn my unemployment
===
No matter what has happend, I can easily understand the hell you have been through and qualms you've suffered in this circus of matador money before you quit. It has been a hard decision for you. As Grace rightly says "People of conscience are the first victims in a society where egoism are the prevailing capacity of qualifications."
====
It seems to me that CAPITALISM in America has outlived it self, when Grace tells:

"You are on your own in America. You can live under a bridge or your mother’s basement- if you are one of the lucky ones. You will be asked to degrade yourself and hovel at the feet of Uncle Sam if you are to receive any governmental help. Even if you “qualify” for govt. help, there is a five year lifetime limit. After five years, you are truly on your own. Existential shit man."

Is this really what it has come to, in the land of free, ' the beacon of free world' ?
I am so sorry to hear such. Seems like time has turned the clock back to (or before) the stoneage in America.

No country in the world of today with the least degree of decency and respect for itself should allow a SINGLE of its citizens to flow around in the streets without assess to a place to sleep, food, drink and other necessaries.

Shame on you (neocon) America.

I love your concluding paragraph Kathy:

"When a nation thinks it’s okay to fund a war … and -Standing aside ..doesn’t bother me. [that is courage, Kathy]
I only can hope with you there will be enough of us standing together to make a difference, you really have the spirit needed to make a difference. and for me it is a talk that gives me hope just like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. thanks so much you Kathy.
====
now a little side leap to Denemarke:

those HAPPY DANISH PEOPLE:

The Iranian news-channel, PRESSTV, has got a news-studio i COPENHAGEN resently.!.From where they want to broadcast news to the Danish people. AND I can tell you by now,, WHAT AN OUTCRY from the old monopolistic zionist-propaganda influenced Danish media.

It will be hard times for this media, who are used to be the only and lonely solo voice for the Danish people?.
I fear though, unfortunately that in worst cases , when they hear the news, some WILL get blood clots, or get something down the wrong hole etc. UNTILL they've become familiar with a channel who tells the truth.

Please pray for the Danish (uninformed) people..there are hard times ahead.

Peace and love all

Reply

Grace

Jan 5, 2010 at 1:40 am

Churches receive the money that governmental agancies used to receive. They are paid per head. The people are promised that God will give them everything they need. There is one sermon to receive a free bag of groceries and another sermon for the hot meal. You can stay in the shelter, but there are many restrictions on personal liberty which is why so many choose the streets.

Reply

kathy Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 1:23 pm

Grace, I didn’t realize that the churches were receiving money that the governmental agencies used to receive. If I’m getting this correctly, the government is funding the churches? So much for the separation of church and state huh?

But the important thing is that some people are helped in a time of need. I see nothing wrong with helping others as long as the others don’t grow dependent on the church or the state.

Reply

Grace Reply:
January 12th, 2010 at 6:58 am

Well they closed down alot of the governmental aid offices and availability qualifications changed. There wasn’t much help available when I was an Independant Contractor and had to take a leave due to exposure to TB. No food stamps for one month because I had earned too much the monthe before. Govt Agency handed me a list of churches and volunteer kitchens I could get my food at for a whole month before they would give me a single person $130 US for food per month in 1996. WHen my husband had heart attack at age 33 and a list to personal and long to list here, had to live on our savings and we were with our son in ’03, it was the same situation, again. We would have gone hungry that November if it weren’t for the church. They were always trying to get us to go to more things,. They were expanding. They would take careful count of heads in line and for any service they offered. You could tell they it was making them a very prosperous church. The day we had enough money to buy groceries I never went back. I was grateful they were there, but it is no place to hang out.

Reply

kathy Reply:
January 12th, 2010 at 7:26 am

Grace are you still in California? If so, how are the government services working? I keep reading (this whole year that California is bankrupt) Does that mean they don’t fix the pot holes in your highways? Or is there a city government that is responsible for your trash collection? Do they close down the offices of department of motor vehicles a few days per week? What happens when a state or municipality goes bankrupt? Have you seen any signs other than governmental offices for aid referring people to churches for assistance?

I know you mentioned 1996 and 2003 (bad enough) but what about now for all the people in California?

By the way, I understand you being grateful but not a place to hang out……I’m glad you were able to get the help you needed. I’m glad you didn’t become dependent on them. I think social services should be available to help when people go through hard times, but not to the extent that they cripple people for life.

JohnLJ

Jan 12, 2010 at 3:06 am

Kathy, dear Kathy

My thoughts are with you everyday in these, for you, times of troubles, worried about how thinks will end up over there, (in the land of the free) – I hope not ‘turned into the street’(dictio) – now – that you have stopped payments.

I thank you for the unravelling of how the unemployment – assurance system works, in America. I understand much better now.
[In Denmark, it's the individual who, as member of a trade-union, pays, partly pays to a state-financed unimployment - security chest / treasury.]

I, myself fell out out this security system in the year 2000 BECAUSE I held some days of outstanding vacation (before the vacation year ran out) WITHOUT appropriate notifying to the ‘right’ authorities.

I think the story you told, how you treated the young clients, tells a lot of the greatness holding in you. It couldn’t ever have happend in Denmark. (or who really knows?). anyway – imagine you with a drill and hammer – to me, a very touching story.

I am really glad, that you let your inner ‘Okay’ feeling decide for you what to do , though not allways the easiest, then the indisputeably right decision, and if the word “stubborn” is loaded with the least degree of ‘negatives’, as I think it is, it’s not the right word to use. You are just a right-minded woman with (a hell of) principles.

Just a few words about, As you may remember, the LINK you left regarding UCC codes / Learn how to Eliminte debt:

After having struggled some hours with reading – [I have a unmanageable tendency to fall into sleep (drop off) when I try to read / understand something which utterly bores me] – the text “TO KNOW HOW TO DO! Debt Elimination” trying to understand e.g what FIAT money is – I may confess, it keeps on, for me, being pure gibberish text, though I understand very well that we all are being cheated in one or another way every day, and of course if you are in this banking buziness you have to keep up to the task.

Apropos Cheated!
In the late seventies my x-wife and I bought a coin-operated launderette. That was pure cheat. The washing-machines was 15 years older than said , the account/ annual “turnover” was hyped up / exaggerated etc. In this case, I got reimbused over the tax deduction system in accordance with the account from the books.

In short: What I want to say with this, is . You cannot put the blame on other for what you have done (of stupid) things yourself. under whatever name you have bought, be it “John A. Smith” or Adam, John, Smith etc. – you are/I are THE responsible.

If e.g. one buys a second-hand car. then one get ‘the thing’ to a reduced price. The thing (car) does not necessarily function according to the description from the manufacture, when second-hand. It is up to one’s own responsibility to assure that what we get ALSO is in fully agreement with what we are told / written in the contract. and likewise it should be, when we buy property etc, of course. with the help you need from professionals.

That some banksters can succeed in made money out of thin air is in most cases peoples own fault. People are generally, if not naive, then easy convinced to believe in, that what 99% of the people do, is the right thing (just like gregarious animals) . as you may know, It is unusual very few, (like us), who goes against the tide / the mainstream.

I hope to hear much more stories from you Kathy, in the future.

Love&peace all

PS:
Recently i heard, in the radio !
that
Obombr should be a “socialist” ‘!!! (in the drape of a neocon)
that was funny,,, hahahahahahahaha…
those witty witty Americans.

Reply

Grace Reply:
January 17th, 2010 at 2:26 am

Dear John, You are like an Ambassador from one of the “happiest places on Earth.” I am honored at your invitation. I would certainly love to visit. Actually, apart from the bitter cold you endure, the lay of the land looks very similar to the place I love the most in Northern California. I feel very connected to this patch of land and I don’t know that I am meant to be anywhere else. Somebody has to stay and fight the good fight. Funny, the things I miss the most from the house I lived in were the big oak tree, the blue jays that shared their yard with me, the soil and all the other birds and squirrels. It was a boundless supply of connection and joy, for me. Thank you, you really cheered me up! I also wanted to tell you, I can relate with the migraines. I am sorry to hear you suffer thusly. Between migraines and appointments that “take it all out of me,” Sometimes it is why it takes me a while to respond in a timely way too. Love and peace. Grace

Reply

kathy

Jan 12, 2010 at 11:53 am

John, my shorter story…it’s a happy one…

I won the first round against the attorney/lawyer for the bank trying to foreclose on my home.

I know the UCC codes give a head ache or puts you to sleep so I will say it this way:

My understanding is that all laws in the world today are laws under commerce. (UCC which stands for uniform commercial codes) They were adopted to allow countries to do business together. Can you imagine trying to put together a contract between China and America based on one countries laws and not the other? So I think of them also as Universal commercial codes. And UCC equals the law of contracts. Everything in law is a contract. But it can’t be called a real law because it’s only codes, statutes, policy. All of this falls under ‘the color of law’. We Americans don’t understand this because we still keep being taught that we have Constitutional rights. When we get carried to court we think we are under “common law”. Common law is simple….If I didn’t break your leg or pick your pocket then no crime has been committed against you. We Americans still think we are under common law or Constitutional law so we act accordingly. So John, since I NOW understand that I am operating under the law of contracts in courts of commerce (UCC) I have to change my whole understanding of reality.

There are 4 requirements to show a legally binding contract.
1. Full disclosure
2. Equal consideration
3. Lawful terms and conditions
4. Signatures of both parties/meeting of the minds.

I NOW also understand that if there is no controversy, there is no need for a court to decide. So I want to stay out of controversy and not go to court!!

So John, they hired an attorney to represent the bank. He sent me a ‘notice’ under the ‘codes’ that they planned to foreclose on my home January 13th. He told me to please make arrangements to move out by that date. He told me that to make good on my debt, I could forward him a check in the amount of $$$$$ xxxxxxxx. It was $24,000 and something dollars. He gave me thirty days to respond from the date I received his notice. I received his notice on the 8th of December so I sent the response back certified mail on the 5th of January.

I sent him a ‘notice’ in return since something I’ve read told me to never send them a simple letter. A letter doesn’t matter in our courts of law but a ‘notice’ does carry legal weight.

So I sent him a ‘legal and lawful notice’ to let him know I’m not in controversy and will be happy to pay any amount that I might lawfully owe if they will send me the proof:

Validation of the debt (the actual accounting/bookkeeping)
Verification of their claim against me ( a sworn afidavit or even just a signed invoice)
A copy of the contract binding both parties.

The reason I asked for these three things is that if they do show them to me, it will expose bank fraud. It will violate all 4 requirements of binding contracts. They can’t show these things to me. They have no contract, they have no claim against me. I gave them a 30 day notice to respond just like their attorney gave me.

I got a letter back from their attorney in 2 days. It said “My client (the bank) has instructed me to close your file. We will NOT be proceeding with foreclosure at this time. WOW!!!

John, I am still too ignorant of the ‘laws’ to know what my next move should be. I will keep up my research to see if it comes to me. But as of right now, I don’t know how to win round two if it comes up!!
WOW!!!! I’m afraid AND happy!!!

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JohnLJ

Jan 12, 2010 at 8:05 pm

WOW Kathy (1 – 0) to you –

Thanks for sharing your happy story Kathy ! – I am with you 100%

which gives you some more good days of breathing space.

- anyway for a civilized society, of what they like to call ‘ developed ‘ an outrageous, untenable and impossible conditions for people to make them self a good life.

so much Good luck to you Kathy
————————————-
David

There is so much unjust going on in the world of ‘capitalism’ which ‘we’ never hear of. – why ?- BECAUSE the victims have no MSM / corporate medias.

Reply

kathy

Jan 14, 2010 at 2:23 am

John, I’m sorry for your court losses too. Everyone should do their best to stay out of court.

okay, I will elaborate a little about the 4 requirements for contracts.

1 Full disclosure. It should be a matter of course as you say. And it seems we are given full disclosure by the banks when we apply for a loan. We give them full disclosure when we fill out their application. They want to know where we work, how long we’ve been on the job, how much money we make, what our credit history looks like and a whole bunch of other things. They look at our information and decide if we qualify for a loan or not. If we do qualify they give us some disclosures that tell us how much they are loaning us, what the interest rate will be, how much the monthly payment will be, and how much the money will cost us (in interest and principal) over a period of time such as 10 years or however long the loan is granted to us.

If your loan has to do with collateral, you will have to sign a security instrument called a promissory note or deed of trust. This piece of paper says that if you don’t pay as promised, the bank can take your collateral…(house or car or any other tangible goods that are used as collateral.) So it seems that everything has been disclosed properly up to this point.

2 Equal consideration by both parties… means that I bring something of value into this transaction and they bring something of equal value into the transaction also. When we start to understand this, we see how we were never given full disclosure by the bank.

The bank never had any money to loan but they said they did. What they didn’t disclose to me was that the security instrument (promissory note) that I signed is also a negotiable instrument. My signature on that note is what gave it value. Once they had my signature on that negotiable instrument, it’s as good as money in the bank for them. They open an account with that instrument and on their computer system of bookkeeping, they show it as in my case, a new asset of $22,300. Then, they supposedly loan me this money. They don’t give me a bag of cash. They place the credits into my bank account. I go away believing that they loaned me their money but the truth is, I am the one who created the money by my signature on their negotiable instrument.

So by now you can see two things wrong. They did not give me full disclosure that they were going to be creating money off of my signature. And…

Since they didn’t have any of their own money to loan me, they didn’t bring equal value or equal consideration to the transaction. By now you can spot the fraud.

3. Terms and conditions of this so called loan can no longer apply when they were created under fraud. The terms and conditions tell us how much the payments will be, what the interest rate will be, how many years you have to pay the loan back etc etc.

4 Signatures/meeting of the minds. That is easier when two human beings are negotiating together. Two people come to an agreement (meeting of the minds) put the entire agreement in writing and then both parties sign.

When a human being does business with the bank they are doing business with a corporation. A corporation is not a human being so it has no mind. A corporation can’t sign.

John I think I still need to study the difference between lawful and legal. Both seem to mean the same thing (Don’t break the law because that’s illegal.) But from what I’ve studied so far, there is a deeper meaning. At the founding of America, there was only common law. To break this law meant that you had to injure another person in some way. The injured party could take you to court but they had to prove that you injured them in some way AND that you did it on purpose! If found guilty, you would be an unlawful person and punished in some way accordingly.

Commom law isn’t used here anymore. Now we have the legal system. All the courts are corporations. All the cities are corporations, the police department in my city is a corporation, the state that I live in is a corporation, and the federal government is a corporation. What do corporations do? They try to make money for their shareholders. The courts are still called “courts of law” but they are really only there to generate money (collecting fines and fees)

Since we don’t have the common law, what is the legal system? We live under their corporate policies called codes and statutes. They call these things “the color of law”. (Whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean.) They see us human beings as “corporate citizens” working for the corporations. Since they see us as employees of the corporations, we have to OBEY all the corportate policies called statutes and codes. This is the legal system that we must OBEY.

Here’s one example: There is a statute that says you have to wear a seat belt when you are going somewhere in your car. If you don’t wear your seat belt and a police officer sees you, he can pull you over and write you a ticket. (This brings in revenue for the corporate city) Early America had peace officers but now we have police officers. They are there to enforce the corporate policies! If I found myself in this situation, I would be doing something illegal according to the color of law in their legal system. But would it be unlawful? No! Because I had not injured anyone. So John I hope this example makes sense about the differences between lawful and legal. I have much more to learn about it myself! ..peace and love.

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David G

Jan 17, 2010 at 12:28 pm

Friends, I wish I’d been more involved with this thread. There is much to be learned from the comments and there is much to admire in the supportive dimension that is demonstrated in the comments.

Helping each other is an important part of saving the world.

Peace and Love!

Reply

David G

Jan 18, 2010 at 7:41 pm

Kathy, underlying your interesting comment is the fact that people must travel. It should be mandatory that everyone travels and works outside their own country for at least five years. That way, most would find that everyone in the world is basically the same, that we all have the same hopes and dreams regardless of our station in life. Such travelling would end the prevailing ignorance about the world which afflicts America.

I have been to Iraq, Iran, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, all of Europe, America, Canada, Russia, Africa, Malaysia, Thailand, Panama, Fiji, Noumea, so many countries I’ve lost count. While I’ve travelled, I’ve thought about what I’ve seen, the history, the cycle of life.

The most generous people are often the poorest. The most boring, mindless people are those who have loud voices which compare hotels and the standard of service. They travel but they see nothing!

Regarding my health I’m nearly one third the way through the treatment and doing all right despite an increasing tiredness. I too have a lot to do, and a lot more to say.

I plan on sticking around even if only for you!

Reply

JohnLJ Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 4:47 am

Dear Grace

Thanks Grace for the distinguished title you offered me, how honoured I am. . and it makes me think / smile -wow if I were an ambassador – what a place / masion (of a) house i probably would have lived in if that were the case but, sorry, it isn’t.

It seems (weird), to me, that Denmark still is known for being the “happiest places on Earth.” eventhough, I shall not complain, is a society split /cleaved after the 9/11 GWB [either you are with OR you are against] -you canNOT be both!!.

Most of my lifetime in Danmark we have had a socialistic middle minded way of politic and even in between a ‘red’ one (commie) that I (as a ‘capitalist’ with a purse bulging of money ) had to critizise it. One can say, we didn’t quite know how ‘happy’ things were then.
Isn’t it funny how people often, first – afterwards, finds out how happy they were, years ago ?

Since, in the year 2001 Denmark got a bourgeois i.e. a rightwing goverment with the belligerent Anders Fog Rasmussen as primeminister, who throwed Denmark into the illegal war, as a coalition partner to GWB / Tony Blair’s Iraq-war. and as such I do not want to represent Denmark as an ambassador for country perpetrating war crime – and if as that wasn’t enough still we are bogged down in a futile war of nonsense in Afghanistan as a member of NATO.

APROPOS NATO –
who, warcriminal do you think is heading NATO as it’s General-secretary for that entity ?
Grace ?
Yes – IT IS – the war criminal Anders Fog Rasmussen!!!.
no it is indeed a shame to be a Dane now a day. – and I apology to all muslims – herewith.

So as you se Grace, once upon a time there was, but not anymore, much to be proud of, as Dane.
We have to walk very softly ‘with the doors’! when we travel, or better tell that you are a Norwegian or whatever nationality you can ‘escape’ with.

It appears form the comment yours that you are a very loving and caring person with a great heart Grace, the world needs more of you. I love all what you write ( if I am able though to understand it) e.g.
[Between migraines and appointments that “take it all out of me,” ] appointment”s” = fixed / fixtures ?

What (se hell) do you means (between ‘headache and a built-in cupboard ?
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Migraine.
I am sorry you have to suffer from this nasty type of heavy headache Grace. It isn’t indeed very funny when its on and I’m happy being able to cheer you up a bit in between these dark thoughts are over you. Thus – my life hasn’t either been completely forfeited.

“I am honored at your invitation”

When should I / do I have to roll the RED carpet out mrs. Grace? Do you come with the AirForceOne?
Of course you are welcome to visit, and I’m glad to have my friends / nobilities on visit as often as possible. but if you appear at this time of the year (for more than one day) you’d/ we probable have to sleep in the same bed, or at least in the same room. as I told you, this house isn’t a mansion to say the least – I’ll detail it a bit.

When I bought it in 2002 it had been left ‘alone’ by the tenant for a couple of years to frost damage in the winter time with frozen waterpipes which had bursted and the water had fossed out over the whole house.
Everything of isolation materials on ceiling, floors and walls had been destroyed.
and that is also the reason why it could be bought to a cheap price.

Now – afterwards, I have removed all this water-soaked / destroyed materials and haven’t yet finished a restauration. For now I have only about 40m2 to live in, better than nothing though, and at least the whole thing is payed – no debt and if not very fine – though mine – it all.

I have a outhouse (250m2), and, by the way also an old camper trailer. so – maybe Grace, if you aren’t too choos(e)y we will easy find a place. but under all circumstances, wait until summertime. ok

excuse , it took so long.

I have two daughters, 33 & 32 year old. Yesterday we celebrated my grandchild, a boy, number three in the row of, ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY. hurra(h) big boy. life goes on.

peace and love

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kathy Reply:
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:37 am

Awwww! Thanks David.

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Grace

Jan 19, 2010 at 8:58 am

Michelle Obama is 46 today, she is finally my age. It is not something I Ever talk about because my husband is younger than me. Time and age are subjects for another time : )

I would wish the First Lady a Happy Birthday!
also for another time.. her silent involvement in the health care debate. : (
(Sorry, it’s been on my mind)

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