He wasn't even one of the celebrities I pay attention to, but I can't seem to stop thinking about it. It's just such a shame.

If you never saw "Lords of Dogtown" check it out -- I actually think it was his best role. He just disappeared into it. A lot of people don't even recognize him.

We lost a good actor today.

I was shocked by this news last night. And saddened. I had always been impressed with is work and was so amazed at how he was making his transition from teen films into an A-list actor. He was a great talent and will be missed.
My heart goes out to his family, especially his young daughter.
It's a tragic loss.

This industry is a two edged sword... it can either bring riches and acclaim or destroy your spirit and bury you alive. That's the nature of our business. The Chinese call it, "riding the dragon."

The Dalai Lama taught that the reason special individuals like this die young is to teach us the most valuable lesson of all, that life is fleeting -- the most precious gift of all. Live it to the full.

yes

quote:

Originally posted by hex02:
He wasn't even one of the celebrities I pay attention to, but I can't seem to stop thinking about it. It's just such a shame.

If you never saw "Lords of Dogtown" check it out -- I actually think it was his best role. He just disappeared into it. A lot of people don't even recognize him.

We lost a good actor today.

Breaks my heart

God bless his close friends and family at this time.

quote:

Originally posted by hex02:
He wasn't even one of the celebrities I pay attention to, but I can't seem to stop thinking about it. It's just such a shame.

If you never saw "Lords of Dogtown" check it out -- I actually think it was his best role. He just disappeared into it. A lot of people don't even recognize him.

We lost a good actor today.

You're right, I forgot about that movie. Eerily he reminded me of Val Kilmer -- I almost felt he was channeling Val. He did a great job though.

I loved him in Brokeback Mountain and had definitely looked forward to seeing him in many roles over the years. It is such a shame and a waste. Very sorry too for his family.

Did anyone catch the VERY offensive and VERY tasteless comments said on Fox News right after the story broke? They were making jokes about it! Unbeleavable.

I missed that Iceman. That's terrible. But not surprising coming from Fox News.

yes, i heard it. I can not beleive that fox has not done more. (although i might not have heard everything)
I know he recently made an apology, but from what i hear it didnt seem too sincere.

This made me think about the Don Imus/Rutgers Womens BBall team situation....and the outcomes seem to be pretty different.

As an aside...for anyone who happens to know perezhilton.com there are a few articles on this topic.

Fox represents the establishment. The establishment is composed of the rich. The rich are getting richer, and the middle class and the poor are getting poorer. This has happened many times in history. It often precedes a complete collapse of the society and government. We'll see what happens to us, but the country is essentially bankrupt now. We have 700 military bases around the world -- not only is it absurd, it is impossible to maintain. And it will soon collapse.

The success of the ruling class, the establishment, depends on a collusion of organized religion and corporatism. These two classes hate the arts, and therefore hate artists.

A primary function of the Arts is to question authority and "speak truth to power." The arts and religion, throughout history, have been archetypal opposites -- and therefore enemies.

The ruling classes, which Fox represents, depend on promoting bigotry and degradation of actors. This is an attempt to reduce our power to persuade our audiences. And so you see this constantly from Republicans. Sometimes, insults at actors are subtle, often they are not.

There is no mystery why Hollywood is hated by right-wingers. Right-wingers do not question authority, they follow orders, promote "tradition" and ignore science. They are the tools of the ruling, corporate class. Just look at how easily they are manipulated to run out and vote against equal rights for gay people, even though it has nothing to do with their lives -- their wages, their children's education, the environment. Religion and giant media in this country depend on keeping people stupid.

Fox represents this ruling crowd, and manipulates the average Republican Joe. And they are very smart. But the public may catch on before it's too late for the collapse of our country. We'll see.

Working artists have certainly caught on. And that is why we have so many movies coming out these days that are highly political.

Just go see "There Will Be Blood," "The Great Debaters," or "Charlie Wilson's War," or "Atonement."

All these movies were made with the clear understanding that they are politically relevant to what our world is going through right now. They all show we artists at our finest. And we should be proud to be actors in this important, historical time.

And we should fiercely denounce the lies, corporatism, anti-art, anti-working class, and anti-progress crap that comes from the world of Faux News and the corporate media, in general.

It's part of our function as artists. And in memory of Mr. Ledger.

We don't know what happened yet.

But drug and alcohol addiction is one of the main issues facing our world -- both prescribed and unprescribed drugs. There is mounting evidence that drugs prescribed by Drs. are now a worse epidemic of destruction than unprescribed, illegal drugs.

As artists, we must start dealing with these issues more and more. And we will...

I recommend commondreams.org as a great resource for artists who want to get news and information from non-giant-corporation sources. It's my home page.

- Jason Bennett

For the record your comments are ignorant and ridiculous. Yes, Fox News is known for being quite right wing conservative but that doesn't mean that all "ruling class" and "the establishment" agree with right wing religious conservatives. As a matter of fact at this point the religious right is having quite a difficult time of it and many conservatives are quite unhappy with the many diastrous situations created by the President. You are buying what the giant media is saying if you believe that most conservatives do not question authority and follow orders.

Yes, the rich are getting richer but the mobility in this country is still greater than any other country in the history of the world. A person with nothing but pubic education, hard work, and a little luck can still go on to earn millions of dollars. Our poorest are still far wealthier than most of the rest of the world.

Philanthropy is at a record high. Who do you think supports generously most of the fine and performing arts and artists?

Just because someone has money doesn't make them ignorant, heartless robots. Your generalizations are as dangerous as those from the "ruling crowd" you profess to know all about.

Dear Neverdefeated,

I would encourage you to read more carefully what I wrote, because your post is misleading readers. I figure that isn't your intention, and that you probably didn't read very carefully.

Nowhere did I write that "all 'ruling class' and 'the establishment' agree with right wing religious conservatives."

I did not write that and I don't believe it. In fact, if you had read more carefully, you would have seen that I wrote that much of time members of the ruling class MANIPULATE the religious right. That is what I said, I didn't say they agree with them. Although, many do .But mostly the religious class is manipulated by the corporate class. The corporate establishment considers religious people stupid, basically.

And they manipulated them into voting for Bush, using gay baiting, and THAT caused the problems you seem to acknowledge exist.

And I didn't write that "all" people who are members of the ruling class are bad, conservative, or anything like this. Of course they aren't. Read what I wrote more critically. My family has been members of the ruling class, my uncle was a Republican Governor of a state! And guess what? He thinks Bush should be IMPEACHED. And probably agrees with just about every word I've written here. So I didn't write what you think I did. You mis-read what was written.

You wrote, "A person with nothing but pubic education, hard work, and a little luck can still go on to earn millions of dollars."

I am less interested in a what "a person" or a few hundred Americans can do, and more interested in the fact that 45 million people in this country don't have health care! It's immoral. It is immoral in the context of the fact that we have 700 military bases all over the world! We shouldn't have military bases all over the world, and we can't afford it anymore anyway.

And I am more interested in the fact that gas prices are ridiculous! And that Oil companies are reporting RECORD PROFITS. It is destroying our planet and it is evil.

And I more interested in the fact that millions of Americans are losing their homes, in part because of giant corporations using misleading tactics to sell them loans they knew from their credit statistics they wouldn't be able to pay.

And I am more interested in the fact that we have killed tens of thousands of mothers, fathers, children, grandfathers, teenagers, etc. to find non-existent weapons of mass destruction in the awful war in Iraq, while this war puts BILLIONS of our dollars into the pockets of Oil corporations and War corporations. Some American soldiers tortured civilians and these leaders have sanctioned it! What is the world supposed to think? Those are war crimes. And we are a better country than this, aren't we? We have to practice what we preach, or the world will hate us.

It is the military-industrial complex come true -- read about it. Read about Dwight D. Eisenhower's warning that this is the greatest threat to our country! He issued that warning at the end of his presidency around 50 years ago!

And it is causing millions of people in this world to HATE US. That's right, millions of people in this world hate us. Not because of our freedoms! But because some of our political and corporate leaders are selfish, hypocritical, bullies. Sure, there are Islamic crazies who are trying to kill us, and we have to kill them first -- we all know that! But the reason MOST of the people who hate us hate us is NOT because they are Islamic extremists -- they aren't.

Join us in speaking out against these giant corporate leaders and conservative politicians getting rich off of war and suffering. It is immoral.

Join us in calling for an end to imperial militarism and in calling for health-care for the working class in this country. Join me in calling for an end to dependence on Oil.

You wrote, "Just because someone has money doesn't make them ignorant, heartless robots. Your generalizations are as dangerous as those from the 'ruling crowd' you profess to know all about."

I agree with the first sentence. And nothing that I wrote stated anything otherwise. Of course there are generous, smart rich people. I hang out with them all the time! You, again, failed to comprehend accurately what I wrote.

Now please tell me why it is "dangerous" for an artist to spout off opinions on the Backstage message boards. I'll tell you what actually is DANGEROUS about what YOU said (even though I said basically NOTHING that you seem to think I have said).

Free speech isn't dangerous. Trying to shut down discussion by artists in the manner that YOU are is the only thing dangerous about anything that was written. It's what Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld did for years when anyone questioned them. You say a subject is dangerous...oh boy...then we can't talk about it anymore. Or it's unpatriotic.

We have too many people like you coming in saying free speech is dangerous, and twisting what I wrote into stuff I didn't write, to justify your refusal to face many realities occurring in this country.

The ideals of this country are the greatest in the history of the planet, I believe. It is because I am so deeply patriotic that I say to you, we are a better country than this, the way we have been treating our own citizens and bullying the world for money and Oil! We allow our own citizens to die because of lack of health-care. Why aren't you shouting about that, when you say we are still the richest in the world?

In your post, you changed the subject entirely, misled the readers of the forums, insulted me, said free speech was dangerous, and said nothing to support artists and the fact that Fox News defamed Mr. Ledger, my colleague (I don't know if you are an actual working actor).

But what I do enjoy about your post is that you are participating in substantive discussion! That is what artists do. In fact, the best artists facilitate the deepest discussions about the deepest issues facing our planet.

I don't care if you agree with me. I care that you do your best to inform yourself, to participate and to vote. That is the obligation of being an American. And it happens to be necessary to be a successful working artist.

If you're not informed, you shouldn't be an artist. If you are not passionate, you will not have a career in the arts. If you aren't political, good luck becoming a working actor with a long and meaningful career.

What's the main purpose of my posts here? To get you to think...and react. I'm a professional acting teacher. That is my job. Whether you agree with me is IRRELEVANT. Study your reactions. Explore them. Feel them. Question yourself, question authorities.

Find your truth. Own your truth. Fight for your truth.

- Jason Bennett

Dig Ron Paul!
Jim
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0446457/
http://www.myspace.com/jamesmartinkelly

quote:

Originally posted by JBActors:
Dear Neverdefeated,

I would encourage you to read more carefully what I wrote, because your post is misleading readers. I figure that isn't your intention, and that you probably didn't read very carefully.

Nowhere did I write that "all 'ruling class' and 'the establishment' agree with right wing religious conservatives."

I did not write that and I don't believe it. In fact, if you had read more carefully, you would have seen that I wrote that much of time members of the ruling class MANIPULATE the religious right. That is what I said, I didn't say they agree with them. Although, many do .But mostly the religious class is manipulated by the corporate class. The corporate establishment considers religious people stupid, basically.

And they manipulated them into voting for Bush, using gay baiting, and THAT caused the problems you seem to acknowledge exist.

And I didn't write that "all" people who are members of the ruling class are bad, conservative, or anything like this. Of course they aren't. Read what I wrote more critically. My family has been members of the ruling class, my uncle was a Republican Governor of a state! And guess what? He thinks Bush should be IMPEACHED. And probably agrees with just about every word I've written here. So I didn't write what you think I did. You mis-read what was written.

You wrote, "A person with nothing but pubic education, hard work, and a little luck can still go on to earn millions of dollars."

I am less interested in a what "a person" or a few hundred Americans can do, and more interested in the fact that 45 million people in this country don't have health care! It's immoral. It is immoral in the context of the fact that we have 700 military bases all over the world! We shouldn't have military bases all over the world, and we can't afford it anymore anyway.

And I am more interested in the fact that gas prices are ridiculous! And that Oil companies are reporting RECORD PROFITS. It is destroying our planet and it is evil.

And I more interested in the fact that millions of Americans are losing their homes, in part because of giant corporations using misleading tactics to sell them loans they knew from their credit statistics they wouldn't be able to pay.

And I am more interested in the fact that we have killed tens of thousands of mothers, fathers, children, grandfathers, teenagers, etc. to find non-existent weapons of mass destruction in the awful war in Iraq, while this war puts BILLIONS of our dollars into the pockets of Oil corporations and War corporations. Some American soldiers tortured civilians and these leaders have sanctioned it! What is the world supposed to think? Those are war crimes. And we are a better country than this, aren't we? We have to practice what we preach, or the world will hate us.

It is the military-industrial complex come true -- read about it. Read about Dwight D. Eisenhower's warning that this is the greatest threat to our country! He issued that warning at the end of his presidency around 50 years ago!

And it is causing millions of people in this world to HATE US. That's right, millions of people in this world hate us. Not because of our freedoms! But because some of our political and corporate leaders are selfish, hypocritical, bullies. Sure, there are Islamic crazies who are trying to kill us, and we have to kill them first -- we all know that! But the reason MOST of the people who hate us hate us is NOT because they are Islamic extremists -- they aren't.

Join us in speaking out against these giant corporate leaders and conservative politicians getting rich off of war and suffering. It is immoral.

Join us in calling for an end to imperial militarism and in calling for health-care for the working class in this country. Join me in calling for an end to dependence on Oil.

You wrote, "Just because someone has money doesn't make them ignorant, heartless robots. Your generalizations are as dangerous as those from the 'ruling crowd' you profess to know all about."

I agree with the first sentence. And nothing that I wrote stated anything otherwise. Of course there are generous, smart rich people. I hang out with them all the time! You, again, failed to comprehend accurately what I wrote.

Now please tell me why it is "dangerous" for an artist to spout off opinions on the Backstage message boards. I'll tell you what actually is DANGEROUS about what YOU said (even though I said basically NOTHING that you seem to think I have said).

Free speech isn't dangerous. Trying to shut down discussion by artists in the manner that YOU are is the only thing dangerous about anything that was written. It's what Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld did for years when anyone questioned them. You say a subject is dangerous...oh boy...then we can't talk about it anymore. Or it's unpatriotic.

We have too many people like you coming in saying free speech is dangerous, and twisting what I wrote into stuff I didn't write, to justify your refusal to face many realities occurring in this country.

The ideals of this country are the greatest in the history of the planet, I believe. It is because I am so deeply patriotic that I say to you, we are a better country than this, the way we have been treating our own citizens and bullying the world for money and Oil! We allow our own citizens to die because of lack of health-care. Why aren't you shouting about that, when you say we are still the richest in the world?

In your post, you changed the subject entirely, misled the readers of the forums, insulted me, said free speech was dangerous, and said nothing to support artists and the fact that Fox News defamed Mr. Ledger, my colleague (I don't know if you are an actual working actor).

But what I do enjoy about your post is that you are participating in substantive discussion! That is what artists do. In fact, the best artists facilitate the deepest discussions about the deepest issues facing our planet.

I don't care if you agree with me. I care that you do your best to inform yourself, to participate and to vote. That is the obligation of being an American. And it happens to be necessary to be a successful working artist.

If you're not informed, you shouldn't be an artist. If you are not passionate, you will not have a career in the arts. If you aren't political, good luck becoming a working actor with a long and meaningful career.

What's the main purpose of my posts here? To get you to think...and react. I'm a professional acting teacher. That is my job. Whether you agree with me is IRRELEVANT. Study your reactions. Explore them. Feel them. Question yourself, question authorities.

Find your truth. Own your truth. Fight for your truth.

- Jason Bennett

quote:

Originally posted by neverdefeated:
For the record your comments are ignorant and ridiculous. Yes, Fox News is known for being quite right wing conservative but that doesn't mean that all "ruling class" and "the establishment" agree with right wing religious conservatives. As a matter of fact at this point the religious right is having quite a difficult time of it and many conservatives are quite unhappy with the many diastrous situations created by the President. You are buying what the giant media is saying if you believe that most conservatives do not question authority and follow orders.
Yes, the rich are getting richer but the mobility in this country is still greater than any other country in the history of the world. A person with nothing but pubic education, hard work, and a little luck can still go on to earn millions of dollars. Our poorest are still far wealthier than most of the rest of the world.
Philanthropy is at a record high. Who do you think supports generously most of the fine and performing arts and artists?
Just because someone has money doesn't make them ignorant, heartless robots. Your generalizations are as dangerous as those from the "ruling crowd" you profess to know all about.

"Neverdefeated":

JB's statements aren't "ignorant and ridiculous." They are completely accurate, in every way. You seem to miss the point: THE "RULING CLASS" AND "THE ESTABLISHMENT" ARE ONE AND THE SAME. Religion is the "same old saw" that Republicans have been using to push their agendas from Day One. If you hadn't noticed, what were three primary issues that got George Bush re-elected? Anti-abortion issues, anti-gay marriage issues and anti-stem cell research issues... interestingly, ALL THREE RIGHT WING RELIGIOUS AGENDAS. How does that square with your statements?

You speak of Philanthropy as though rich folks don't save millions in tax write-offs every time they cut a check. This has nothing whatever to do with their love of the performing arts, anymore than their "sudden interest" in global warming means that they have any interest in eliminating oil, gas and coal drilling as long as a Republican is sitting in the White House. If you hadn't noticed, during the Bush administration funding for the performing arts has been slashed and cut back to near oblivion. So much for your "philanthropy" argument. AND CAN YOU NAME ONE, SINGLE REPUBLICAN ON PLANET EARTH WHO SUPPORTS OR ENDORSES GEORGE CLOONEY OR JANE FONDA OR SUSAN SARANDON OR SEAN PENN OR TIM ROBBINS? In spite of what you claim, I don't believe that Rupert Murdock will be inviting them on his network to plead for world peace anytime soon.

To your comment of, "our poorest are still far wealthier than most of the rest of the world...". Oh, joy! Kinda makes me want to quit my job and become an inner city welfare mother with six kids!!! I may plan a trip to Detroit after that... I heard you can buy a home there for the same price as a new car. After that, a trip to China and India should be in order, where the majority of all of American manufacturing and high tech industries are fleeing. Tonight, King George will be delivering his last State of the Union address before he finally abdicates his throne. In the absence of any good sitcoms on the air, I may watch it.

And where does JB claim that all conservatives are "ignorant, heartless robots"?? I'm quite sure that George Bush (Texas oil millionaire), Dick Cheney (Halliburton), Condaleeza Rice (Standard Oil/Exxon), and Donald Rumsfeld (Occidental Oil) all spend many an evening pondering on the woes of the middle and lower class -- all diligently paying their taxes to pay for their obscene fiscal policies -- as they weep over the plight of the homeless and indigent poor in America.

Have you ever heard of The Golden Rule? For your edification, here it is: "He who has the gold, makes the rules."

What a fascinating topic! While I do agree with parts of these arguments, I do not agree with it all. Hopefully, I am not misinterpreting anyone's statements.

"And I more interested in the fact that millions of Americans are losing their homes, in part because of giant corporations using misleading tactics to sell them loans they knew from their credit statistics they wouldn't be able to pay. "

Jason, I agree that corporations are behind the sub-prime disaster, however, individuals like you and me were the ones selling these mortgages to individuals who should've had enough common sense to investigate further the terms of these loans. My neighbor's friend sold sub-prime loans. He was a 28-year-old man, who earned $187,000 in one year selling these loans and wanted to hire my neighbor to do the same. A corporation may have employed him, but his own greed drove him swindle people.

There's also the old saying, "That if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." All you have to do is look through the real estate section of a newspaper or online to see what the housing boom has created: thousands upon thousands of luxury McMansions, often priced from $400,000 on up. How are most people affording not only the mortgages, but the property taxes, heating, cooling, upkeep and furnishing them?! For a nation that hasn't seen wages rise in relation to cost of living adjustments, it makes you wonder who is buying these homes in the first place? I know people from my hometown who purchased these homes and CAN NOT afford them, so they're struggling to get by. Guess what? That's not the banks' fault. It's their own! Whether the bank sold them a sub-prime mortgage or they knowingly chose to be house poor, they made the choice to purchase something they knew they could not afford.

While I don't agree with banks tricking people into ARMs or giving them 40-year loans, the blame rests upon those who chose to sign on the dotted line. If you're going to make a purchase as substantial as a home, you do your research. Yes, the banks are at fault, but so are the consumers. It's time for people to accept their responsibilities instead of shirking them, which is something our nation seems more and more content to do, and it will be our downfall.

"To your comment of, "our poorest are still far wealthier than most of the rest of the world...". Oh, joy! Kinda makes me want to quit my job and become an inner city welfare mother with six kids!!! I may plan a trip to Detroit after that... I heard you can buy a home there for the same price as a new car. After that, a trip to China and India should be in order, where the majority of all of American manufacturing and high tech industries are fleeing."

Robert, the other person is correct. Have you ever seen how the poor in other nations live? In India, they live in huts in the street, next to the garbage and human waste on the streets and with cows strolling past them. In Peru, the poor children don't go to school; they beg in the streets for money and food. At least in America, all the children, rich or poor, are in school and they're given a free lunch and breakfast. While I hate to see America's poor suffer, at least we do help them in this country -- I know because I help them myself. I'm not rich by any means, but I at least do my share to help a few of them. Just yesterday I received a letter thanking me for my contributions to help less fortunate children in Philadelphia.

Jason, you argue that the rich are getting richer. Yes, they are. Most rich people are rich from their investments, and the US stock market has been hitting record highs, so they are getting richer. Average workers who invest in their 401ks are getting rich, or at least growing their wealth, in this same market. The costs for all Americans are going up -- food, health care, gas, etc. -- but they're going up for the rich as well. As the rich get richer, i.e. their stock portfolios growing, they're being taxed on that growth. Those taxes help various governmental programs. Yes, Robert, the rich do receive tax breaks for donations, but those donations are directly benefitting people.

My college is struggling, but one of our alumna donated $1 million to our college, an amount my college has never before received. My college has been rated the second most diverse college in the country, so that large donation is directly helping some very poor minorities to be educated! The rich are helping the poor --that's proof!

I'm short on time here, since I have to run to rehearsal, but I'd like to quickly address the record profits in oil. First, the oil prices surged as China and India each put 1 million cars on the road 4 years ago. We have emerging markets all over the world -- India, China, Brazil, etc. -- and with these emerging markets comes the automobile, hence the need for gas. With more and more people needing oil and the oil refineries only able to produce so much per day, guess what? Oil prices surge. It's Economics 101: supply and demand. Regardless, we still pay less than these nations for gas and we're not developing. Peru is an emerging market. My roommate's brother has a good job in Peru and earns $1500/mo! He pays nearly $4/gallon for gas and relies upon his car to get to work, which is an hour away.

Also, our nation has benefitted from the surging oil prices. Wyoming has vast oil resources, but did not begin to tap their reserves until this oil boom, since it was too costly to get the oil from the ground. Now that the prices have risen around the world, they're able to compete with oil prices and have a booming economy in Wyoming. People have flocked there from Detroit and have great jobs and nice, new homes.

I have to run, but please keep in mind to find positives within this country.

Oh, Robert, no, you will not find Republicans supporting Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, etc. in politics, since they DO NOT AGREE! Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon would never support a Republican, so why should a Republican support them? Seriously, that's a silly statement! I like both of them as actors, however, I found it disgusting that Susan Sarandon spoke in support of abortion while she was pregnant. That's my view and you don't have to agree with it.

Okay, I really must be off now.

Well dear Katie, I'm proud to be your acting teacher! What a wonderful post!

You are being fiercely independent, passionate, civil, questioning, thinking critically, caring, paying attention to the world...I LOVE IT. You seem like an artist!

And I'll respond later...

- Jason

Thanks, Jason! ;-)

quote:

Originally posted by KatieD01:

Jason, I agree that corporations are behind the sub-prime disaster, however, individuals like you and me were the ones selling these mortgages to individuals who should've had enough common sense to investigate further the terms of these loans. My neighbor's friend sold sub-prime loans. He was a 28-year-old man, who earned $187,000 in one year selling these loans and wanted to hire my neighbor to do the same. A corporation may have employed him, but his own greed drove him to swindle people.

Katie, your neighbor's friend is a LOW LIFE. And he ought to be ashamed of himself.

Katie, Capitalism is AMMORAL. It is not a system of ethics. It is a system that assumes all people are selfish and greedy, and will try and cheat others at every opportunity. But not all people are like that. I would not take a job where I was knowingly ripping people off. I doubt you would either.

I'm quite sure my grandparents, who were mostly Republicans, would never take a job like that either.

There is an obsession in this country with "every man for himself."

Well, many of the people who bought these mortgages work 40-50 hour a week jobs. And they have been told all their lives the lie that Neverdefeated told, that "anyone" can become a millionaire.

People desperate to support their families don't have time to be so educated about the markets as those in the corporate elite class.

So while I agree with you that each of us has the responsibility to educate ourselves about the world around us, and about the things we're buying, in many ways that's impossible.

You can't test toys from China...

You can't test food for chemicals and poisons...

You can't test your pharmaceutical drugs for authenticity.

And similarly, the working poor cannot be blamed for people like your "28 year old neighbor" "swindling" them.

It is immoral, if the seller knows what they're up to.

Human beings can be more ethical, more caring and more honest.

And our society will fall apart, as it is, if we don't strive for that.

Everyone knows these corporations knew they were misleading people.

We should have laws that insist on full disclosures of risk. And consumer groups should be able to sue giant corporations who mislead customers.

Giant corporations, who proudly promote selfishness and tell consumers it's always up to them to know everything about everything to keep themselves from being ripped off must be stopped. It doesn't work. Besides the fact that it is simply immoral, it will not work. It will destroy civil society, and ultimately result in a violent revolution.

quote:

Jason, you argue that the rich are getting richer. Yes, they are. Most rich people are rich from their investments, and the US stock market has been hitting record highs, so they are getting richer. Average workers who invest in their 401ks are getting rich, or at least growing their wealth, in this same market. The costs for all Americans are going up -- food, health care, gas, etc. -- but they're going up for the rich as well. As the rich get richer, i.e. their stock portfolios growing, they're being taxed on that growth. Those taxes help various governmental programs. Yes, Robert, the rich do receive tax breaks for donations, but those donations are directly benefitting people.

Katie:

This is from an article on thehuffingtonpost.com --

"Since President Bush has been in office:

-The poverty rate is higher today than it was during the last recession in 2001.

-Median household income for working-age Americans has declined by almost $2,500; and overall median household income has gone down by nearly $1,000.

-8.6 million Americans have lost their health insurance. 48 million are uninsured!

-Three million workers have lost their pensions, and about half of American workers in the private sector have no pension coverage whatsoever.

-The annual trade deficit has more than doubled, and the national debt has gone up by $3 trillion!!!! OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WILL PAY FOR THIS WITH A DEPRESSION.

-Health care premiums have increased 78 percent; the prices of gas and heating oil have more than doubled; and college education costs have increased by over 60 percent.

In addition, to those statistics, let me just mention a few more:

-Last November, the personal savings rate was below zero, something that up until 2005 hasn't happened since the Great Depression.

-According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 35.5 million Americans struggled to put food on the table last year and the number of the hungriest Americans keeps going up.

-The average college student has racked up nearly $20,000 in debt upon graduation and some 400,000 qualified high school students don't go to college in the first place because they can't afford it.

-Home foreclosures are the highest on record turning the American dream of homeownership into an American nightmare for millions of Americans.

-The number of working families paying more than half of their incomes on housing has increased by 72 percent over the past decade.

-The United States has the highest rate of childhood poverty, the highest infant mortality rate, the highest overall poverty rate, the largest gap between the rich and the poor the largest incarceration rate and is the only country not to have a national health care program of any major developed country on earth.

-And, the number of college graduates earning poverty level wages has more than doubled over the past 15 years.

In other words, not only is the middle class being squeezed by skyrocketing prices; the middle class is actually shrinking and poverty is increasing.

Meanwhile, the wealthiest people in our society have not had it so good since the 1920s!!!!!!!!

Katie, you are deluding yourself if you think there is a "free market" about Oil or War.

THERE IS NO FREE MARKET WHATSOEVER ABOUT WAR OR OIL. It is entirely manipulated and controlled by rich people who do not give a flying crap about YOU, ME, your family, or anyone outside their circle of rich friends. These people are generally racist, bigoted in all kinds of ways, hypocritical, greedy, murderous, anti-Constitionalists, unconcerned about the environment, unconcerned about the future, and more.

They use the world's religious people, mostly uneducated workers, as pawns in their bloody games. And our lives are in danger in New York as a result of it!

They have to be stopped. And they will be. The question is how...will it be with a violent revolution...again!...or will it be the people voting out of office the "leaders" that collude with these criminals. Only time will tell.

I hope for a peaceful evolution forward. But history is replete with violence, and I am neither cynical nor Pollyannish.

THE ARTS ARE THE WORLD'S BEST HOPE TO WAKE PEOPLE UP BEFORE VIOLENCE ESCALATES. We actors are an essential component in this story-line!

Finally, I stand by what I said about the general fact that people who are "traditional" and "conservative" and "right-wingers" and "the ruling corporate elite" hate the arts. THE ARTS ARE WHAT QUESTION THESE PEOPLE. They have every interest in shutting the arts down and ridiculing artists at every opportunity. And they do it.

And it is my job as a professional acting teacher to promote ideals about art, defend artists and to help actors see more clearly the methods and the means to speak this TRUTH to power -- through story-telling...

It is why we go to movies, it is why we go to the theater. It is the evolutionary function of the arts! And I'm proud to be a part of it.

Do actors make fools of themselves sometimes? Sure. AND SO WHAT? Our President has ordered the murder of tens-of-thousands of fathers, children, mothers, grandparents, teachers, etc., in the form of a WAR that virtually the ENTIRE WORLD opposed. I thought we believed in DEMOCRACY. Oh, is it only within our borders???? But we're busy paying attention to Britney, whose life has been destroyed by the very values I'm speaking out against. Britney has been a toy of the greedy rich people, she is a victim as much as she is responsible for the wreck of her life.

There is a balanced way of looking at these things. And the corporate media is far, far, unbalanced in the direction of the ruling, corporate, greedy, anti-American class.

Get your news from places like commondreams.org and tune in to Fox News to learn about the lies the corporate elite want you to believe to keep you hoping for the American dream you'll never be a part of if you support the candidates they want you to support.

- Jason Bennett