I just wanted to say that for a website about positive steps to take for our health, including and foremost taking personal responsibility there sure are a lot of negative, blaming comments. Dr. Mercola seems to be a huge proponent in mind over matter. Mind over matter has proven time and again to heal an ailing body. When applying mind over matter to heal one's body, there is no room for negatives, one cannot focus on what they don't want or what they have to complain about. One most only focus on positive, healing, grateful, loving thoughts. And one most believe it is possible. I think we can apply that same philosophy to our nation, to our world. Mother Teresa sad something to the effect of "I will not attend an anti-war rally, I will attend a peace rally" She knew the power of thought... anti-war focuses on war. Peace focuses on peace. I can complain about America and all the scumbags, but I will only bring about more to complain about. Lets focus on solutions, on what we want, and yes semantics make a difference, see above anti-war/peace scenario. The old saying if I point a finger at you three are pointing back at me... well, that's a saying that has stood the test of time for a reason. Our thoughts and feelings greatly impact our health, and the health of our world...

They deregulated the banking industry (same people on McCain's campaign now)

www.politico.com/.../9246.html

When you allow banks to get into equities and derivatives..you have alot of speculative gambling going on which has caused the oil prices to go through the roof (60% oilprice is speculative cost), as well as artifically driving up real estate prices.This started under Reagan (S&L scandal, iran contra) and escalated under Bush)

Bernanke just happens to be best friends with many of the CEOs of these wall street firms so he bailed out his buddies.

The federal reserve is a private bank run by  international banking Cartels who own Lehman brothers, Citbank, and many of the other banks and financial firms they are bailing out...it is a giant racket.

They play, you pay...

Allan Greenspan is the culprit in this crisis. He did nothing to stop the tech bubble from growing. He created the Housing bubble and did nothing to prevent that from growing; now he blames these disasters to just about anyone including Russia. What a joke. This incompetent person should be behind bars. I am not discounting the fact that Americans should have taken responsibility and educated themselves about what they were getting into by the way.

A hundred years ago Henry Ford said "If the American people understood how are monetary system works today there would be a revolution tomorrow".

Since 1913 outsourcing our money to private bankers "The Quasi Government" or "Federal Reserve System" have deviated from our constitution (article 1 section 8).

Thomas Jefferson stated,

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

If this is too deep please watch the Wizard of Oz and Follow the Yellow Brick Road.

This crisis started since the idiot and his vice, the criminal, took office in 2001. How can it be that in this day and age in a western society all these totally unqualified people (including a criminal who has killed thousands of people) take office of a country that is supposed to have its checks and balances in place? Has this nation not learned anything from history (especially from European history) ?

Hey Charmus,

Why do you think a lot of European governments have been voting into office CONSERVATIVE POLITICIANS???  Because the liberals over there have screwed everything up, and the people are just now starting to realize that the only way to possibly save themselves is to try and get back to conservative ideals.

The "criminals" in office?  Have they been impeached, if they are criminals?  Why hasn't the liberal democrats who run the congress right now impeach him.  McCain warned the senate over two years ago, but no one did anything.  Why?  Because more Democrats benefited, money-wise, than Republicans! Obama being one of those who made the second-most amount of money, right behind another democrat!

You and others who are as blinded as you are should take a closer look at how you see things.  The democrats want to take more of my (and your) money, and will take this country towards becoming a sociolist country.  That's if they don't get us all killed first.

Hey Potter,

Did anybody take your money while Bill Clinton was president? Of course not. President Clinton created the greatest surplus in American history. The economy was great, booming, lot of great jobs, everybody was well off. And now after 8 years of President Bush? Is your own micro-economy better off than in the late 90s? I doubt it. Everybody is struggling, nobody has money. So who is taking your money now? Look at the bigger, global picture. While Bush gave you around $600 back in taxes, what do the one-time $600 help, if in the coming years most of us lost tens of thousands of  Dollars, because our employers were cutting or not increasing wages (+overall living cost increases, raise in unemployment,etc.) due to this crisis Bush & Cheney ran the whole world into? Also if you claim that republicans (as opposed to democrats) give money to the people, why didn't they give the bailout to the people instead of giving to the banks? Also the conservatives in Europe have more or less the same ideologies as the more right-wing Democrats here in the US. A party similar to the US Republicans doesn't really have any majority anywhere in Europe. Just look at European polls (85% would have voted for Obama and only 15% for McCain. 4 years ago, Bush even got worse numbers). In Europe, such a 2-sided distinction between liberals and conservatives is really not in place. Most governments in Europe run middle of the road politics, which, if you ask any political analyst, is comparable to Democrat values in the USA. In order to see this difference between the US and EU though, you would have to have lived on both continents or at least regularly watch unbiased European news (i.e. German, French, Swedish, etc., not only British).

Winddancer...again, well said!  How funny that the best perspectives seem to come from people that have either had an "awakening", of sorts, or people who live outside the U.S. and can look in without bias.

The U.S. is the very definition of a glass house; telling the rest of the world what to do and how to do it under threat of arms while their own society and culture rot from within.  The truth of this is only recently coming to light with the widespread crimes perpetrated by the Bush regime and the collapsing U.S. economy.  Folks, this is what a meltdown looks like...when banks and insurance companies that survived the Civil War and the Great Depression are failing, something is rotten.  Greed is part of it, but bloated government and a corrupt banking scheme are the biggest offenders.  It's horribly unfortunate that the American people weren't smart enough to elect Ron Paul.  20 or 30 years ago he would likely have won by a landslide, but today he's branded as a crackpot.  Un-friggin'-believable!

As far as I'm concerned the sheep who have been asleep at the switch are getting exactly what they deserve...it's just a shame that so many decent people will be hurt along the way :(

The american people are getting the government they deserve.  They deserved 8 years of Bush and they will deserve McCain.  You could see this financial crisis coming from a mile ahead, yet the government just fueled the fire.  Doesn't make sense?  Well, as one person described it, "Has more money ever been given with fewer restrictions on how it is used? Ever?"  We are handing over the store to the money handlers, we will never recover control again. The execs will walk out w/their golden parachutes, the rich cats will do fine.   And where are the homeowners with money problems?  No one is worrying about them.

Do I sound cynical and jaded?  It comes from years of frustration at the inability of the public to see what is in front of their noses.  I finally realized, people just aren't all that smart.  Then I stopped worrying about it, there is very little that can be done with such an illiterate electorate (I don't care how much schooling they have had)

be proud of your country because you have the freedom and opportunity to fight back. If citizens don't defend their own freedom, they don't have the country or government to blame

Money, the root of all evil? What a joke!!! Money makes you more of what you already are - bottom line.

I think "fingurl"  was making a Biblical reference, but left out a couple of important words.  the verse reads, "the love of money is the root of all evil".  Not money in itself, but loving money - greed.  And that is absolutely no joke.

You do realize that we, the people, hold alot of cards here.  Do any of you know what would happen to the American Banking System if we, the people, decided to go on the Bartering System?  We are many, they are few!  Money is already near worthless.  Pumping more of what we don't have into a system that is broken is NOT going to fix the system!  Everytime more money is pumped in, there is another crisis the next day that needs an even bigger fix!  If it were up to me, I would let the chips fall where they will.  

One more thing....if I, being a tax payer, am now part owner of AIG, and I am loaning AIG money I got at 3.5% for a return of 11.5%, who is going to get MY part of the profit???  American taxpayers, how does it feel to now be a lending institution for failed companies???  No one bailed me and my family out in the 80's!  If you borrowed it, you paid it back!  If you couldn't pay it back, you filed bankruptsy!  End of story...the government did not and would not come to your rescue!  Funny how there's all kinds of money to help these over bloated companies, but New York and New Orleans are still in shambles (and now Texas).....money goes where money is.

Dr Rik, we have some freedom, but much is an illusion. We are getting robbed blind while we are all sent looking another way.  We are puppets and don't know it.  I doubt you will ever get enough people that truly get how things really are to fight it.  They weren't kidding about TV being the opium of the masses.  

I had an illness, and it was obvious.  A charasmatic leader type told people it was an act, and it worked on very intelligent technical people, practically everyone. I eventually was in a walker, and occasionally a wheelchair.  She questioned why I used a wheelchair for a few days when I was bad.  The leap from walker to wheelchair is not exactly a huge jump.

People are sheep.

hilly7 ~ I totally agree with you that this has been in the making for a long time.  If Paulson gets Congress to pass his financial powers act, this country will be bankrupt by year's end.  I believe that is the goal.  This morning, when Paulson and Bernanke were asked what kind of guarantee the taxpayers would have, their responce was "What do the taxpayers have to do with this?"  When informed it was taxpayers' money, they said "There are no guaranrees".  Bernanke said if this isn't done, this country would go into a recesson.  HELLO! No jobs, low wage jobs, foreclosures, sky-high gas, utilities, and groceries?  WE ARE THERE!  Recession is defined as "a period of reduced economic activity".  Th only economic activity right now is happening on Wall Street and that is NOT Main Street, America.  Main Street, Amerca is the people that can't afford to drive their cars anymore.  Main Street, America is the people now living in tent cities across this country.  Main Street, America are the people who can't afford to even have a yearly check-up because it costs almost $200.00 just to see a doctor for 10 freakin' minutes!  You really think those people in the Banks and up on Capitol Hill give a crap about them?!  For those of you that have those comfy jobs and benefits, and nice homes in the burbs, you're next on the list.  They can't cut corners with the lower wage earners anymore...you know, the ones where each worker is now doing 3 times the workload as before because the companies dismissed 2 of every 3 employees?  How are you going to like living in a tent?  Do you really think this bailout is going to help anyone but the CEOs?  Figure it out!  It's sure not going to help the people that need it the most....