From the Depths vol. 6 #1

[Messier Undertree]

The US Government does exist at the mercy of the American People

I'm sure you'll all be able to rise up and overthrow it when it goes too far.














...

[B_M_W]

1. The US government doesn't exist.

2. The american people endorse this.

3. They don't know it, or don't care.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

The US Government does exist

Horseshit.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Take the Iraq war for example.  At the time, a lot of people were in favour of it.  Did Bush and the media sell it to the people?  You betcha.  But the people bought it, and that's the important bit. 

Not really, since this is not an Athenian-style "pure" democracy, but a constitutional republic.  The founders knew very well how easy it is for huge packs of monkeys to get all excited about a war...so they made war very difficult to declare.

Unfortunately, due to "reasonable" primates like yourself, the "government" cheerfully ignores both parts of the constitution that makes it difficult.

And you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?

[Nast]

1. The US government doesn't exist.

2. The american people endorse this.

3. They don't know it, or don't care.

Agreed.
It's like anything else in this silly world; it may not exist, but people will go through hell and high water to believe in it. The government isn't some Scary Faceless Institution. Its face is, in fact, the face of those who wish to believe that their really are a great governmental entity that directs and controls the fate of everyone. In reality, the government is just a bunch of schmucks who do their job because they have a mortgage to pay.

It's like that Native American thingy...the "talking stick". Whoever holds the stick gets to talk and voice their opinion, and everyone else must remain silent. Of course the talking stick doesn't really have any power to allow some to speak and others to not; it's just a bloody stick. But people are willing to uphold the idea of it because...people are people and they do that sort of thing.

[Golden Applesauce]

It's like that Native American thingy...the "talking stick". Whoever holds the stick gets to talk and voice their opinion, and everyone else must remain silent. Of course the talking stick doesn't really have any power to allow some to speak and others to not; it's just a bloody stick. But people are willing to uphold the idea of it because...people are people and they do that sort of thing.

The stick may not have any power by itself, but the fact that people respect it does sorta give it power.  Its influence exists because people believe in it.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

The stick is just an agreed-upon reminder to take turns talking, it has as much power as a "Hello, My Name Is" sticker.

[Cainad (dec.)]

I dunno, I'd be pretty mystified by the power of a stick that can make everyone go silent, and also make people glare at me and possibly beat me up if I speak when I'm not the one holding it.

[P3nT4gR4m]

Sounds like you need BOOMSTICK!!!
                   \\

[Cain]

Hate to break this to you, but the people who run corporations are mostly interested in freedom....but for themselves.  Oh to be sure, many of them do not buy into the Christian theocracy bullshit that has infected certain quarters of the political discourse, but they live in a sum-zero world where their well being comes at the expense of others.  So, to be sure, they want to think and say what they want, send their kids to schools where they wont get taught bullshit about Creation Theory, be able to pick the jobs they want and enjoy themselves in ways they like best in private...

They're just not interested in you having the same privileges.  Makes it harder for them, after all.  A truly competitive market would threaten their status quo position, so they toe the balance between lots of useful idiots to do the grunt work, talented middle level apparatchiks to come up with new ideas or keep the grunts in line, and then an upper class of management/nobility. 

All of which makes the emergence of businessmen TheoCons like Erik Prince all the more strange.

[AFK]

Yeah, a great example was the dog-and-pony show on Capitol Hill yesterday starring the U.S. Oil Execs.  They get to have their $123 Billion profit and eat their $18 Billion Tax Break too.  Meanwhile the Democrats pretend to be outraged, and then do nothing.  Bunch of fucking empty, rug-wearing suits. 

[Cain]

Well, only the rich are allowed to have the benefits of socialism, you see.  Socialism for the people who have earnt it, the dog-eat-dog free market for the people at the bottom.  Keeps it all competitive, you see.  Not competitive in terms of companies, oh no, but in terms of jobs and wages.

[AFK]

Heh, I actually heard a Republican on the radio this morning, call the system of subsidizing the Oil Companies, socialism.  I nearly swerved off the road.  I mean, not only is it unusual for a Republican to not back the Oil Companies, but it's even more off-the-wall to hear them use Socialism in terms of an interest they tend to support. 

[Golden Applesauce]

Why not socialize oil?  Oil is now just as critical a part of our economy as water and electricity; direct government control could prevent unexpected price spikes that knock dents in commerce.

/tangent

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Why not socialize oil?  Oil is now just as critical a part of our economy as water and electricity; direct government control could prevent unexpected price spikes that knock dents in commerce.

/tangent

The fact that we haven't is further proof of my theory that the "government" doesn't exist.

But what the fuck, I'm just a paranoid, right?