BARACK OBAMAS STANDUP ROUTINE!! ITS ALL A MOVIE

PART 2- MCCAIN ROASTS OBAMA

BALD BOOMERS AND THE HUBRIS OF THE AMERICAN OLIGARCH IN THE AGE OF OBAMA

Bald Boomers, and The Hubris of the American Oligarch in the Age of Obama
This site has a plethora of Libertarian posters that serve up libations to the reading public. Where are they?

They have failed to point out that two bald Boomers have seized control of everyone’s economic prospects.

The Age of the American Entrepreneur has been eclipsed by The Age of the Bailouts.

What does this mean for the makeup of American society and the future of everyone’s children who will inherit it?

These two usurpers of the country’s economic future have apparently decided on the structure of the social caste system that will be reinforced repeatedly by granting de facto monopoly status to bailout-companies controlled by kindred Boomers.

These white-boy, Boomer-run finance companies are deemed worthy American companies, and anything else that might replace them will have no chance to compete because the government is providing these Boomer-run companies with billions in federal funding.

The full weight of the federal dollar has been given to companies like Bank of America and AIG, American International Group, but why?

It is not because these companies have an air like necessity. These bailouts continue because these companies are the heart and soul of the Boomer-run economy.

It is as if their infallible sovereignty as corporations is what our involuntary tithes are going to be given to regardless rhyme or reason.

The country these oligarchs are forming by destroying the country that once existed apparently will remain in the hands of Boomers long after all the Boomers have all died.

The country being created is apparently to be run by proxy. It is being handed over right now to the rich, lightly pedigreed, and only barely educated children of some NYC financial center Boomers.

No. They were not elected. They were deemed infallible because they represent constituents too large to fail, or so we are being told by these rapacious liars.

Hank Paulson is a salesman. And the Congress, being made up of Boomers bought, hook, line and sinker.

The American Oligarchs are right now setting up a caste system based upon key segments of the American economy, (the finaince industry), where they are employed and their children will find a ready sinecure.

The economic rescue plan, colloquially and more truthfully known as the bailouts, is petrifying upward social mobility, while greasing the downward slide into debt slavery for the greatest segment of our social and economic structure.

There will be a place for the educated children of some rich white folks that live in NYC or some other urban financial center where common theft and usury are the newest gods of the wealthy.

But for most of us, our kids will be working little more than minimum wage jobs equating to wage slavery for the rest of their lives in order to support the American Oligarchy.

But wait a second! What happened?

When we were kids, twenty or so and still young enough to be entrepreneurial, there was social mobility, and upward social mobility.

The multi-millionaire and billionaire entrepreneurs that got their start in the 1960s never even got their college degrees. The country’s economic future wasn’t tied to bailouts. The country’s economic future was tied to high technology and entrepreneurial aspiration.

In this bailout environment, how will Barack Obama make a difference for anyone?

Barack Obama was quite literally born of and invented by white Boomers. Barack Obama is the poster boy for enslavement of almost everyone in the age of credit only.

Barack Obama is quite literally the valuable property of a few white Wall Street Boomers who put him where he is today, and who would no doubt have his hide hung up and tanned if and when he steps out of line.

Thus, Barack Obama seems to talk like a parrot trained to say, "The bailout, AND, UHHHH… The economic rescue plan was necessary, and more will have to be done."

If more is done, it will only further ossify upward social mobility.

Face it, we are not seeing deregulation of any occupations.

Occupations are more and more being exclusive controlled by corporations through licensing barriers and requirements concerning expensive and hard-to-come-by educational certifications.

We are however seeing deregulation so that these Boomer-controlled bailout-companies can continue to expand their economic plundering.

"You wanna be a bank FEDEX? No problem! We're calling everything a bank today so everyone that counts can get in under the new Obama bailout Administration."

We are encouraging every American to go out and get a big, expensive mortgage loan, and a dozen credit cards, and an expensive college education and an MBA. But don't ask us about a job! You've got to be fucking genius like Hank Paulson to make $23,000,000 a year at Goldman Sachs!

The bailout is only helping to entrench the American Oligarchy the Black Panthers railed against.

And now the American Oligarchy has indoctrinated and vetted an American black man to help shove even more people, black and white into economic wage slavery.

You must have a ridiculously expensive education, a ridiculously expensive car, a ridiculously expensive house, and a ridiculously expensive health insurance policy.

There’s nothing that will make you or your new company competitive in this sort of economic environment.

These two bald Boomers want you to believe the bailout is in your best interest.

But nothing could be further from the truth. To see it all come down, and the price of everything plummet is in your best interest.

You don't own anything. The bank owns that house you live in, the car you drive and the kids you are trying to educate.

Face it. You haven’t gotten a raise in more than twenty years.

It’s about time the price of everything came down.

Start saving your money and forget about paying the mortgage. You're going to need that money in the coming months and years. Depression is spelled with a capital "D".

So fuck the finance companies. Fuck 'em, them two lying bald Boomer bailout bastards too.

DEEPAK CHOPRA SPEAKS ON MUMBAI BOMBINGS!!

Deepak Chopra believes "Washington" was responsible for the attacks in Mumbai.
HuffPo and CNN reported:


Chopra: What we have seen in Mumbai has been brewing for a long time, and the war on terrorism and the attack on Iraq compounded the situation. What we call "collateral damage" and going after the wrong people actually turns moderates into extremists, and that inflammation then gets organized and appears as this disaster in Bombay. Now the worst thing that could happen is there's a backlash on the Muslims from the fundamental Hindus in India, which then will perpetuate the problem. Inflammation will create more inflammation.

CNN: Let me jump in on that because you're presuming something very important, which is that it's Muslims who have carried out these attacks and, in some cases, with Washington in their sights.

Chopra: Ultimately the message is always toward Washington because it's also the perception that Washington, in their way, directly or indirectly funds both sides of the war on terror. They fund our side, then our petrol dollars going to Saudi Arabia through Pakistan and ultimately these terrorist groups, which are very organized. You know Jonathan, it takes a lot of money to do this. It takes a lot of organization to do this. Where's the money coming from, you know? The money is coming from the vested interests. I'm not talking about conspiracy theories, but what happens is, our policies, our foreign policies, actually perpetuate this problem. Because, you know, 25% of the world's population is Muslim and they're the fastest growing segment of the population of the world. The more we alienate the Muslim population, the more the moderates are likely to become extremists.

WALL STREET WEATHER:NEW MOON ASTRO LOGICS

The word month is derived from the Moon. The new month actually begins when the Sun and Moon are conjoined. This is the New Moon, a time of new beginnings.

The Sagittarius New Moon occurs on November 27 at 11:54 AM EST. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planetary energy of optimism and expansion. Thursdays are ruled by Jupiter, and it is appropriate that the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday occurs on the fourth Thursday every year when the Sun is in the sign of abundance. Jovial Sagittarius enjoys celebrations and holiday festivities. Thanksgiving is a time to formally express gratitude and thankfulness to the people and things that bring joy to our lives.

Mercury and Mars in Sagittarius conjoin the New Moon. It’s time to “walk the talk” and put thoughts and feelings into action. Planets in Sagittarius emphasize that life is a never ending journey that expands our mental and physical horizons. Optimism is really about attitude and perception. In a challenging circumstance that we have little or no control over, we still have the choice regarding how we perceive the situation. A glass filled halfway with water can be viewed as either half full or half empty.

This New Moon marks the end of the cycle of Pluto in Sagittarius since 1995. Pluto brings conditions to the surface that have become so broken down and toxic they must be completely transformed. Pluto in Sagittarius brought all types of excesses, from excessive speculation and consumption and the pile of debt (Pluto) incurred to obtain these things. Extreme ideological beliefs manifested terrorism and war. Pluto entered Capricorn shortly before the New Moon. Pluto will remain in Saturn-ruled Capricorn until 2024, transforming matters that have not been built upon a secure foundation. This transformation will particularly relate to career/professional matters and reputation. On a global level, Pluto in Capricorn will transform all types of structures – financial, governmental, societal, and physical infrastructures. Unlike the instant gratification era of Pluto in Sagittarius, Pluto in Capricorn requires investing time and effort in order to achieve what is truly meaningful. Venus in Capricorn harmonizing with Saturn in Virgo and conjoining Jupiter in Capricorn November 29 to December 1 can boost confidence and help make even the biggest changes not seem so overwhelming, if you break down what you need to do into small tasks so each job completed brings you one step closer to meeting your objective. People tend to be more willing to lend a helping hand if you feel overwhelmed. This is an excellent time to barter goods and services.

Another planetary energy shift occurring at this New Moon is Uranus in Pisces moves direct, its energies particularly pronounced November 25-30. (Planets do not really move backwards but appear to from Earth’s vantage point.) Changes that have been brewing internally since late June are now ready for lift off as all of the planets are in forward motion until December 31. Events are unfolding rapidly and in unexpected ways now. The energies of the Sagittarius New Moon can provide the confidence needed to view how you see the world in a new way, preparing the groundwork to establish a new foundation at the December 27 Capricorn New Moon.

In the USA, the New Moon, Mercury and Mars show the Bush administration busy changing and enacting new laws through executive orders that reflect the President’s ideological and religious views. Military spending and activities increase. More actions will be taken and money spent to shore up the economy and financial institutions. It looks like the administration and Congress will act to provide some type of financial assistance to the automakers. This assistance will come with more requirements, regulations, and responsibilities placed on the loan recipients. These rules will extend to their “partners” - the UAW, part suppliers, etc. The public wants major reforms and policies that benefit society at large rather than the status quo. Sudden storms could inflict costly property damage.

“Hotspots” indicate areas in the U.S. and the world where major news events are more likely to occur. In the USA, New England and the Northeast corridor look to be the most prominent areas during the cycle. (The energies at the New Moon influence the entire cycle.)

USA Hotposts: Alaska and Pacific Northwest. Severe storms and travel disruptions and delays are possible in the Northeast to New England corridor: Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut. NEW YORK/NEW YORK CITY, PENNSYLVANIA, NEW JERSEY, DELAWARE, MARYLAND, D.C., coastal Virginia and North Carolina, Miami/southeast Florida, Portland, Minneapolis. World Hotspots: CANADA (Quebec), CUBA, BAHAMAS, Venezuela, COLOMBIA, EQUADOR, PERU/Lima, northern Latin America, BRAZIL. France, SPAIN (MADRID), Budapest, Belgrade, Belarus, UKRAINE, RUSSIA (St. Petersburg), Turkey (Istanbul). Most African nations, especially EGYPT (Cairo), SUDAN, ALGERIA, NIGER, NIGERIA down through S. AFRICA, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Madagascar. Afghanistan, Pakistan, CHINA (Beijing, Hong Kong), Koreas, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Zealand.

The First Quarter Moon, the midpoint between the New and Full Moon, occurs on December 5 at 4:26 PM EST. The Moon and Uranus in Pisces challenge the Sun/Mars/Mercury lineup in Sagittarius, and oppose Saturn. There’s a strong emotional need to break free from traditional beliefs and philosophies and follow your instincts. These energies can increase public protests against corporations, governments and religious institutions, as the public is angry and impatient for radical reform. In the USA, attention focuses on foreign policy, international financial regulations and the large amount of debt held by foreigners. Wildly fluctuating economic and volatile stock market conditions tend toward a negative bias. Public outcry could build between now and the Full Moon for President-Elect Obama or at least his economic team to begin to take charge. Venus enters Aquarius December 7, increasing the call for financial reform. The potential for transportation disruptions and accidents is elevated. Severe weather could bring the potential for extensive property damage. USA Hotspots: Alaska, Pacific northwest to northern California, Texas (Houston). New England/Northeast corridor: New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York/New York City, New Jersey, northeastern Pennsylvania. Maryland, DC. World Hotspots: Vancouver, Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti. Colombia, Peru, Santiago, Suriname, French Guiana, BRAZIL (RIO). UK (Glasgow, Birmingham), France, Barcelona. RUSSIA (Moscow, St. Petersburg), UKRAINE (Khar’kov), GEORGIA. Show time in the Middle East?: TURKEY, SYRIA, LEBANON, ISRAEL, GAZA, JORDAN, SAUDI ARABIA, U.A.E., OMAN, YEMEN, IRAQ, IRAN. Africa, especially east Africa nations are highlighted (battle with Somali pirates?): ETHIOPIA, SOMALIA, KENYA, TANZANIA, MOZAMBIQUE, MADAGASCAR. Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Bangkok, Vietnam, Indonesia, KOREAS, JAPAN, Philippines, Australia.

December 10 through 15 could be a time of worldwide upheaval. Events over the last two weeks will reach a crisis point now. Routines and schedules could be disrupted. We’ve reached half-time in the lunar cycle at the Full Moon on December 12 at 11:37 AM EST. If you want to announce or promote something to receive maximum attention, this is the time to do it! Emotions run high like the tides which will be higher than normal as the Moon is perigee (closest to Earth) now. It’s important to do whatever works to help stay calm and focused as the Full Moon in Gemini can stir up a lot of nervous energy and tension. This is enhanced not only by the Full Moon being perigee, but also because Mars in Sagittarius is challenging Uranus in Pisces now. Mercury-ruled Gemini likes to be on the move and multi-tasking 10 different things at once. The Mars/Uranus alignment is an impatient and erratic energy that can cause accidents, particularly while driving and working with all kinds of tools and equipment due to moving too fast and not being fully present with what we’re doing. Be prepared for cancellations, disruptions, and delays in travel and shipping. Have extra money and supplies on hand in case of power disruptions and outages. Backup computer files and have batteries on hand, ensuring all electronic devices are fully charged.

Mercury having just entered Capricorn, conjoins Pluto today. These energies tend to bring toxic conditions to light (with the Full Moon in Gemini, the media will be in overdrive reporting it all). Previously undisclosed information about global and domestic government agencies (especially the Federal Reserve) could surface now. Mercury rules currencies which could be very volatile now, possibly bringing a change of direction in one or more major currencies. The Gemini Moon opposes the Sun in Sagittarius which conjoins Mars. These planets* challenge the opposition of Saturn in Virgo to Uranus in Pisces. To say the traditional way of doing things is changing is an understatement! The push for radical change can be so great that it could manifest shockingly and violently during this time.

The USA is especially affected by the above planetary energies as they all converge upon the USA’s natal Mars in Gemini indicating action and upheaval is taking place on two primary fronts: the economic/financial system and our military action and policies abroad. Covert actions occurring now could be reported around December 19. The USA was born with Mars in Gemini challenging Neptune in Virgo, so this Full Moon affects that as well. This planetary alignment represents the nation’s actions and wars that seem to revolve around oil, drugs, communism and other belief systems. At some point the USA will get a realistic grasp on how the so-called “American Dream” can be manifested into reality instead of being illusive and purposefully vague. The nation’s identity and reputation are illuminated now. The last Full Moon that affected the USA Mars was on September 15 when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, accelerating the financial crisis. The energies now increase the potential for severe weather conditions, natural and manmade disasters. Major natural disasters have occurred when planets are impacting the USA’s Mars/Neptune alignment: 1906 San Francisco earthquake, eruption of Mt. St. Helens, and Hurricane Katrina. USA Hotspots: Eastern seaboard, especially Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, MASSACHUSETTS (Boston), Rhode Island, Connecticut, NEW YORK/New York City, New Jersey. Detroit, Denver, Texas (Dallas, San Antonio), Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland) and northern California (San Francisco, Sacramento). World Hotspots: CANADA (Vancouver, Montreal, Nova Scotia/Newfoundland). Caribbean: Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Lesser Antilles. South America: VENEZUELA, COLOMBIA, PERU, CHILE, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina. Ireland, western UK, France, SPAIN, Germany, Rome, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia, Greece. Iraq, Iran (Tehran). African nations, especially ALGERIA (site of Dec 17 OPEC meeting), LIBYA, Niger, Nigeria, CHAD, CAMEROON, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, CONGO, ZAIRE, Kigali, Tanzania, ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE, Mozambique, Johannesburg, Cape Town. Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (Delhi, Mumbai). CHINA (central provinces and Beijing), Taiwan, Bangkok, Vietnam, Cambodia, INDONESIA (Jakarta), Philippines, western Australia, New Zealand.

Now the Moon is decreasing in light – a time to review and reflect. The Last Quarter Moon occurs on December 19 at 5:29 AM EST. The Moon in Virgo conjoins Saturn and challenges the Sun and Mars in Sagittarius and Pluto in Capricorn. Mercury also rules Virgo. Nervous energy affects the digestive system and overall health. There’s a tendency to worry too much with the Moon conjoining Saturn. It’s important to put your mental and physical well being before holiday activities and obligations. If you’re not feeling good, how can you be of service to others? Drinking a lot of water and eating simple foods in small quantities can be helpful. Taking time for at least brief periods of exercise helps relieve impatient energies.

In the USA, the focus continues to be on the administration and its handling of the economy and financial system. Jupiter in Capricorn conjoins the USA Pluto, expanding the budget. There appears to be a greater sense of optimism that current financial structures can be transformed by the incoming administration, likely to result in more buying than selling in the stock market. (Quadruple Options expiration occurs today.) USA Hotspots: Eastern seaboard, especially Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York/New York City, New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), Delaware, Maryland, DC, eastern Virginia and North Carolina. Midwest (Dakotas, Nebraska, western Kansas and Oklahoma), central Texas. Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, northern California (San Francisco/Oakland). World Hotspots: Canada (British Columbia, Quebec), central Mexico. Caribbean: Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Virgin Islands/Lesser Antilles. South America: VENEZUELA, COLOMBIA, PERU (Lima), CHILE (Santiago), northwestern Brazil. Dublin, UK (Scotland, western UK, London), Sweden (Stockholm), Helsinki, Germany. Eastern Europe/fmr Russian Republics: POLAND (Warsaw, Krakow), Czech Republic, SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY, Bosnia, Serbia, RUSSIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, BELARUS, UKRAINE. Greece, Turkey. Beirut, Jerusalem, Iraq, Iran (Tehran). African Nations: LIBYA, CHAD, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, Cameroon, GABON, CONGO, ZAIRE, Angola, Namibia, South Africa (Cape Town), Ethiopia, Somalia, Nairobi. Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (Delhi, Mumbai). Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, INDONESIA, CHINA (Hong Kong), Philippines, western Australia.

For more information on this cycle period, check out my post on Mars in Sagittarius. The Weekly Forecast has a daily description of planetary influences.

*The Sun and Moon are luminaries, not planets.

PUTIN URGES CALM AS INDIA READIES NUCLEAR FORCES

Putin Urges Calm As India Readies Nuclear Forces

By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to her Western Subscribers (Traducción al Español abajo)









Russian Foreign Ministry sources are reporting that Prime Minister Putin has telephoned India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to react to the attacks upon his Mumbai with ‘calm’ after being informed by Singh that he has invoked India’s National Security Act which puts their Nuclear Forces on ‘full alert’.

India’s NDTV News Service is further reporting that their elite Marine Commando Forces (MCF) are continuing their battles against the terrorist forces holding an estimated 150 hostages and that the death toll is over 200 dead with nearly 1,000 wounded.

Indian Military Intelligence sources are also reporting to the FSB that the initial ‘confessions’ of those terrorists apprehended show that they are from Pakistan and had entered into Mumbai with what is being termed a ‘strategic attack plan’ giving full details of the attack including the security plans and procedures of all hotels targeted in these attacks.

As we had previously reported on in our previous report, “Kissinger-Obama Team Targeted In Horrific India Terror Attack”, Pakistan’s Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] and US CIA forces are believed to be the ‘masterminds’ behind these attacks in order to derail President-Elect Obama’s attempts to bring a permanent peace to the Southeast Asia in his hopes of averting Total Global War.

This latest attack against India, these reports continue, appear to have permanently destroyed Obama’s hopes for achieving this peace as the tensions between the nuclear armed Nations of India and Pakistan which were already near the breaking point over Pakistan’s ISI intelligence services bombing of the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan in July and which killed over 40 people.

Newly elected Pakistan Prime Minister Asif Ali Zardari, who ascended to power after the ISI’s assassination of Benazir Bhutto, has sought to reign in the power of the rogue agency but only with limited success, and as we can read as reported by the Los Angles Times News Service:

“Pakistan's powerful spy agency, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, has quietly shut down a unit that for decades spied on domestic politicians and exerted shadowy influence in affairs of state.

Analysts described the decision to deactivate the ISI's "political wing" as the latest in a series of steps meant to separate the army and the security apparatus from domestic politics -- and also to rehabilitate the spy agency's battered public image.

The ISI, which nurtured the Taliban movement in the 1990s, has been dogged by allegations that elements within the agency are acting in concert with Islamic militant groups. Those tensions came to a head earlier this year when U.S. intelligence officials confronted Pakistan's new civilian government with evidence of ISI complicity in militant activities, including the July bombing of the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, and demanded agency reforms.

At the height of its powers, the ISI's secretive political wing rigged national elections and arrested and intimidated domestic opponents, according to public accounts provided by some retired ISI officials.”

Not being understood by the American people about the attacks upon India is their Bush Administrations long push to have the Indian government and military factions join with them in their attempt to enjoin our World in Total War, and which up until today India has strongly resisted and which after today their own peoples may not allow them to do.

If the worst is to be expected, than our World will see a rapid escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan leading to nuclear strikes which will destroy the already bankrupt Nation of Pakistan and lead to the ‘last buffer’ between the West and its goal of South and Central Asia hegemony over the last remaining proven oil and gas riches on Earth to be removed.

However, Russia, Iran and China have vowed that should the West attempt this move against them they will respond, and which as of this moment the Western Powers appear ready to accept, no matter how many hundreds of millions of our human race will be killed.

To those remaining skeptical over the United States and its Western Allies intentions to engulf the entire World in flames in order to insure their extravagant lifestyles while over half of our human race is starving to death, this attack on India should dispel any of their remaining illusions.

© November 27, 2008 EU and US all rights reserved.

HISTORIC STALEMATE IS OVER,WHITE MASONS RECOGNIZE BLACK MASONS AS BROTHERS

I guess this is most appropiate in this day and time

via News Observer

Milton
RALEIGH - Members of the state’s two Masonic organizations — one black, one white — ended 138 years of mutual disregard Friday by signing a resolution recognizing each other as brother Masons.
The resolution, signed near the end of a nearly two-hour ceremony full of formality and speeches, ended a vestige of the segregation era, during which the two groups — one white, the other black — spent decades following the ancient tenets and teachings of freemasonry while each pretended the other didn’t exist.

“Today’s a historic day, because we’re here to say we’re brothers again,” said David Cash, a Methodist minister from Kannapolis and grand master of the white group, the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina.

Cash and his counterpart, Milton “Toby” Fitch Jr. of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina and Its Jurisdictions, signed the document in the old House chambers of the State Capitol. They sat at a table where North Carolina’s resolution to secede from the Union was signed 148 years ago.

Both Prince Hall and AF&AM Masonic groups carry on the traditions of a fraternity founded by building craftsmen in medieval Europe. The state’s AF&AM organization was founded in 1787, though some of the individual lodges date back earlier. The state’s Prince Hall group was founded in 1870.

Pomp and pride

Despite shared roots and goals, their members did not officially recognize each other as Masons until Friday.

“We are of the same family,” said Dan Blue Jr., a Prince Hall Mason and state legislator from Raleigh. “This is an opportunity to complete a circle.”

The ceremony, which had the feel of a peace treaty signing, was years in the making.

Members of the Prince Hall Masons unanimously passed a resolution recognizing their white counterparts as true Masons at their annual meeting in 2004. But a similar resolution failed several years in a row at AF&AM meetings, despite impassioned pleas from the group’s leaders.

This year, in September, it passed 642-328, leading to Friday’s gathering, which filled not only the old House chamber but also the old Senate, where the overflow watched on a big-screen TV.

Membership in the larger, white lodge has fallen from 73,000 at its peak in 1981 to less than 50,000, even as the state’s population has soared. But Friday’s ceremony was a reminder of the devotion of many Masons to the organization and the influential people it attracts. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge led the pledge of allegiance, and former state Supreme Court justices Henry Frye and James Exum Jr. also spoke.

The resolution signed Friday does not merge the groups in any way, but it should lead to cooperation between them.

Cash, the AF&AM grand master, said representatives of the two groups are meeting to work out visitation issues and protocol. For example, he noted, Prince Hall Masons have a dress code, while the AF&AM does not.

“They are a little bit more formal,” he said.

That formality was on display Friday, as Prince Hall members in particular wore colorful aprons around their waists and medallions around their necks. A color guard of Prince Hall Masons with epaulets on their shoulders, two rows of buttons down their chests and hats covered with white feathers lined the aisle of the old House chamber with raised swords as officers from the two organizations filed in.

Earlier this fall, Fitch and the Prince Hall Masons made Cash an honorary member. Friday, Cash returned the gesture, reading a framed resolution with a preacher’s shout in his voice before the two men embraced before a shower of flashbulbs and a standing ovation.

DAVID ICKE: BARACK OBAMA "THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES"

BARACK OBAMA ...



... THE NAKED EMPEROR

Hello all ...

I have watched with dismay this past three weeks as vast numbers of people across the world, including many who should know better, have been duped by the mind-game called Operation Obama.

Even people with some understanding of the conspiracy have said things like: 'Well, at least he's not Bush' and 'Well, at least it's great to see such a new spirit of hope'.

No, he's not Bush - he's potentially far more dangerous; and what is the use of a spirit of 'hope' if it's based on a lie? In fact, what use is 'hope' at all?

Obama's wife, Michelle, who I wouldn't trust to tell me the date in a calendar factory, said that 'everything begins and ends with hope'. Utter nonsense. Hope is a meaningless emotion because its fruits are always in the future and, by definition, never in the NOW. Hope is like riding a carousel horse; no matter how fast you go you never get closer to the one in front. The idea, however, is to persuade you to stay on the horse, despite the evitable disappointment, in the 'hope' that things will change. But they don't because the very system is designed to prevent it.





That's the way 'hope' is employed by the dastardly and devious - take the crap we are giving you now in the 'hope' that things will get better (but we know they won't). Barack Obama is a purveyor of 'hope' because his masters want the people to accept what they are given now in the hope that good times will come.

Just do what we demand, oops, sorry, Barack demands, and in return he'll inspire you to hope that it is all leading to the Promised Land. It isn't, but, by the time you realise that, it's too late.

What terrifies the manipulators is that people will abandon hope, as a future, sometime-never projection, and start to demand fairness, justice and freedom now. To avoid this nightmare they need to keep those desires as something to aspire to, not to actually have. Thus, their man, Obama, sells 'hope' as a diversion technique, a holding position, to keep the masses from truly rebelling.

We have no job, no food on the table and our home has been foreclosed, but at least we have 'hope'. Phew, thank goodness for that.

'I'm hungry, mum, can I have some hope, please?'

'I'm so sorry, darling, you can't have hope today, only tomorrow - hope is always tomorrow.'

'So will I eat tomorrow, mum?'

'We can hope so now, dear, but when we get to tomorrow, we can only hope it's the next day.'

On and on it goes. That's how 'hope' works. Or rather doesn't.

Obama's predominant mantra is 'change'. Indeed, his massively-funded, record-breaking campaign has been based on that one word - change. This is a technique used by Bill Clinton and many others and it is highly effective because, at any point, the system ensures that most people are not happy with the way life is. So, when you don't like the status quo, 'change' can be a potent message, even if, like Obama, you don't say what it means.

It has been vital to his success, and that of his controllers, that he has never specified what his 'hope', 'change', and that other mind-control trigger-word, 'believe', were referring to in terms of policy and the way society in general will be affected. Hope for what? Change what? Believe in what?

To answer those questions with specifics would have been fatal to Obama's appeal.



I studied the military/government mind-control programmes and techniques in great detail for many years during the late-1990s and across 2000, and the Obama 'phenomenon' is the most blatant mass-mind control operation you could wish to see.

At its core the plan has been to make Obama the focus of everything you hope for, believe in and want to change. This is why it has been crucial for him not to specify and detail what is meant by his 'hope, 'change' and 'believe'.

However, I can tell you what those words mean in the context of the Obama mind-game. They mean whatever you decide they mean or want them to mean. The idea is for you to project all that you stand for onto him and so he becomes the symbol of you and how you see the world.

Specifics would destroy that 'I am whatever you want me to be' scenario and so you don't get any detail, just 'hope', 'change', and 'believe'. They don't want him to be seen only as 'the Messiah'; they also want him to be Abraham Lincoln, JFK, ��or Buddha - anyone you choose to project on him, for he is a blank page, blank screen and empty suit. Obama is a make-your-own, do-it-yourself leader, a projection of your own mind. (If you are still asleep, that is. If you are in any way awake, he's an open book.)



Watch the video How Obama Got Elected at the end of this article to see how easy it is to manipulate the masses. It's child's play.



'I am whatever you want me to be, for I am just a projection of you. And I got a big smile, see.'

There is no more powerful way of manipulating people than to tell them what they want to hear and to keep shtum about anything they wouldn't like. Double-glazing salesmen are trained to pick up in general conversation what their target likes and dislikes and to respond accordingly in the way the product is sold. The technique is simply to tell the potential buyer what you have gleaned they want to be told.

Obama comes from the same stable, but on a massively bigger scale and with a whole network of advisors and controllers steeped in the art of manipulating minds, opinions and actions.

Obama's written-for-him speeches are not from the heart, but from the autocue. The 'heart' bit comes from extensive training and his Bill Clintonesque ability to 'mean it when he says it', a state of delivery that goes beyond mere acting. Tony Blair was trained in the same way.

But if you take a step back and look at these people dispassionately you can clearly see the techniques they consciously employ. Blair is the most blatant fraud in the way he delivers a line, stops in mid-sentence for emphasis and looks down for fake emotional effect. Obama is a little more slick, but, from where I have been looking this past year, not much.�ݬݬݬ�

You can see his mind working, turning between autocue screens to his left and right, then straight down the camera for his key messages. From-the-heart orators don't do that; they are too immersed in what they are feeling and saying to give even a passing thought to where they are looking or how the line is delivered.

I worked in television for more than a decade, often reading autocue while a director spoke in my ear telling me what cameras to look at. I have, since the early 1990s, spoken my truth on public stages across the world. I know, therefore, the difference between artificial autocue delivery and body language and talking from the heart without a script. Obama, I repeat, is coming from the autocue, not the heart.



Obama's speeches are a mass of mind-control techniques and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, and they are carefully constructed to implant beliefs and perceptions into the mind of the viewer.�� See the study later in this newsletter headed An Examination of Obama's Use of Hidden Hypnosis Techniques in His Speeches.

As I keep emphasising, the whole Obama circus is an exercise in mass mind control and it has been so successful because so many people live their lives in a permanent state of trance. All of which brings me to the parallels with Nazi Germany, fascist Italy and similar regimes throughout history.

Obama may not look like Hitler, nor sound like Hitler, but the themes are just the same. Germany was in a terrible state economically and militarily in the 1930s in the aftermath of the First World War and the reparations inflicted on the country by the Rothschild/Illuminati-controlled Versailles 'Peace' Conference in 1919.

From amid the chaos came the man that Germans saw then in much the same way that so many see Obama today. His name was Adolf Hitler and his oratory and rhetoric, again supported by a ritualistic presentation founded on mind-control techniques, made him appear to be the German 'messiah', the German Obama.

Hitler promised 'change', 'hope' and something to 'believe in' amidst the consequences of war and financial collapse. ��He spoke to vast rallies of adoring followers and a mass movement emerged in support of Hitler's vision of a new tomorrow.��

As the writer Webster Tarpley points out, fascism in its true sense is not just a police state imposed by a tiny hierarchy. It might end up like that, but first it is brought to power by a mass movement from within the people who have no understanding of what the 'change', hope' and 'believe' they are being offered really means. They just know that they want some because, as with Obama, they make it mean what they want it to mean. Only later do they see, to their horror, what they have signed up for.



Obama's America ...



... Hitler's Germany.

There may seem to be a world of difference, but the techniques are just the same.

Obama is far more dangerous than Bush because he can sell a line to those who are in the trance while Boy Bush could not do that on anything like the same scale. Bush was a transparent idiot with no communication skills who needed massive fraud at the polls to get him officially 'elected'. He could never be the figurehead to inspire a mass movement of the people to support some vacuous 'hope', 'change' and 'believe' when they don't even know what those words are supposed to mean.

But Obama clearly can, because he has.

One of 'his' (his controllers') prime targets are the young, just as they were with the Nazis and the Hitler Youth Movement. If you think this parallel is far-fetched then have a look at this video to see how extreme Obama worship has already become for some young people. Hitler Youth was just the same. Click here to watch ...

In line with this same theme, the WorldNetDaily website reported this month:

'The official website of President-Elect Barack Obama, Change.gov, originally announced that Obama would "require" all middle school through college students to participate in community service programs; but after a flurry of blogs protested children being drafted into Obama's proposed youth corps, the website's wording was softened.

Originally, under the tab "America Serves", Change.gov read, "President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in under served schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps.

"Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year," the site announced.'

For the full story click here ...



Obama said in a speech in July in Colorado Springs that he wanted to see a 'civilian national security force' that would be as powerful and well-funded as the Marines, Navy and Air Force. Click here for the speech, the relevant segment starts at around 16 minutes.��

As Joseph Farah, founder of WorldNetDaily, wrote:

'If we're going to create some kind of national police force as big, powerful and well-funded as our combined U.S. military forces, isn't this rather a big deal? I thought Democrats generally believed the U.S. spent too much on the military.

How is it possible their candidate is seeking to create some kind of massive but secret national police force that will be even bigger than the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force put together? Is Obama serious about creating some kind of domestic security force bigger and more expensive than that? If not, why did he say it? What did he mean?'

Obama meant, amid the flowery words, that he's not in favour of either peace or freedom. He is a front-man demagogue for the same force that controlled Boy Bush, Clinton, Father Bush, Reagan, Carter, ad infinitum; but the difference is that he has been hyped to such hysterical proportions that he will be allowed to get away with far more than they were, at least until reality dawns on the mass ranks of his hypnotised supporters. And, clearly, that could take some time.





When I was a journalist a long time ago, I came across a technique that some tabloid newspaper reporters would use to get someone to speak with them. They would work in pairs with the first one knocking on the door of some distressed family who didn't want to talk with the media. He would tell them he was from a newspaper he didn't really work for and treat them with aggression and contempt to make them even more upset.

He would then leave and his colleague would knock on the door, tell them the real newspaper he was from, and act like Mr. Nice Guy. He would say that he understood completely how upsetting the other man must have been, but 'if you will only speak to me exclusively I will make sure that the other man, nor anyone like him, will bother you again'. They usually agreed and the scam was complete.

Much the same thing is happening with regard to Bush and Obama. The Neoconservative 'Republican' wing of the Illuminati has controlled Bush for the last eight years and led the country into foreign wars and financial chaos (bad guy/problem); now the 'Democratic' wing, led by the infamous Zbigniew Brzezinski, has brought forth the 'saviour', Barack Obama, to lead us into the sunshine with 'hope' and 'change' (good guy/solution).

Hence even some more aware people say: 'At least he's not Bush'.

Apart from the unspecified 'hope, 'change' and 'believe', few have any idea what Obama's policies will be. Public perception comes from having an 'image' of him, or a self-projection, not the fine print because Obama doesn't do fine print until the votes are cast and even then he will hide it in his windbag words. ��

There is an 'image' that Obama is against war, but no he's not. He says he's against the invasion of Iraq, though we'll see what he does about that in office. How can a man calling for more troops, including European troops, to be sent to Afghanistan be against war? He has also said he is prepared to bomb Pakistan and use military force to stop Iran building nuclear weapons.

Obama isn't against war at all and, if his controllers have their way, he will engage the US in even more foreign conflicts with the troops sent to their deaths, and the deaths of their targets, on a wave of oratory from the dark suit with the black face who would never go where he's sending them.


He claims to be a 'uniter', which is exactly what Bush said about himself before he came to office, but unity in and of itself is not the issue. Nazi Germany had unity in the early years of the war, but was that a good thing? What matters is what the unity is designed to achieve and Obama's much-vaunted 'unity' is to 'inspire' a mass movement to support the Orwellian plans of the Illuminati.��

His constant rhetoric about 'bringing people together' can be used to justify the 'coming together' of the United States, Canada and Mexico in the North American Union; it can be used to unite the believers in their opposition and condemnation of non-believers, which is precisely what happened in Nazi Germany with the book-burning and violent suppression of those who challenged the Hitler regime.

The potential of Obama Mania is endless when it comes to selling fascism as 'hope, change', 'freedom' and a 'New America', or 'New World' [Order].

Bush and Cheney were transparent warmongers and would always have struggled to bring in the draft, the compulsory enlistment of people into the military against their will. But it would not be as difficult for Obama in the current climate. Look at those kids in the video earlier and, for goodness sake, he's already talking about compulsory community service for middle school, high school and college students and creating a people's army in��America.

That's why I say Obama is far more dangerous to freedom than Bush. In the last eight years Bush could only get part of the way to fascism - Obama has the potential to finish the job, for all the reasons I have mentioned and more.



You only have to look at the cabal behind Obama, and those he has already appointed to his administration team, to see what his 'change' is truly planned to be. His mentor, svengali and main controller is Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor, and the co-founder, with David Rockefeller, of the Illuminati's Trilateral Commission.

Brzezinski has admitted publicly that he began to fund and train what he would call today 'terrorists' in Afghanistan to oppose the Soviet-controlled government in the capital, Kabul, in the late 1970s. The idea, he said, was to entice the Soviet Union to invade��Afghanistan��to protect the��Kabul��regime and thus give the rival superpower 'their��Vietnam'. The plan worked at the cost of a million Afghan lives during the Soviet occupation from 1979 to 1989, a consequence that troubles Brzezinski not at all.

Brzezinski's 'freedom fighters' would become known as the 'Mujahideen' and later the Taliban and what is claimed to be 'Al-Qaeda'. This is the man behind 'anti-war', Barack Obama. It was common knowledge that President Carter would do nothing involving foreign policy without the okay from Brzezinski, the co-founder of the Trilateral Commission whichchose��Carter for president.



The Trilateral Commission and the wider Brzezinski network, including Illuminati fronts like the Ford Foundation, have now chosen Obama and the situation will be the same. Brzezinski will call shots; Obama's job is simply to sell them to the people. This is rather alarming when you think that Brzezinski wants to trigger a war involving��Russia��and��China.��

'Obama's' policies come straight from Brzezinski's books. Here is one Brzezinski quote you might recognise and it was made before Obama ran for president:

'Needed social reassessment . . . can be encouraged by deliberate civic education that stresses the notion of service to a higher cause than oneself. As some have occasionally urged, a major step in that direction would be the adoption of an obligatory period of national service for every young adult, perhaps involving a variety of congressionally approved domestic or foreign good works.'

Now where have I heard that before?



As an Illuminati operative, Brzezinski's aim is to create a world government, central bank, currency and army - a global dictatorship - underpinned by a microchipped population connected to a global computer/satellite system. He wrote a book in 1970,��Between Two Ages: America's Role in the Technetronic Era,��in which he described the global society that he and the Illuminati seek to impose:

'The technetronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values. Soon it will be possible to assert almost continuous surveillance over every citizen and maintain up-to-date complete files containing even the most personal information about the citizen. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities.'

He also said in the same book nearly 40 years ago:

'Today we are again witnessing the emergence of transnational elites ... [Whose] ties cut across national boundaries ... It is likely that before long the social elites of most of the more advanced countries will be highly internationalist or globalist in spirit and outlook ... The nation-state is gradually yielding its sovereignty ... Further progress will require greater American sacrifices. More intensive efforts to shape a new world monetary structure will have to be undertaken, with some consequent risk to the present relatively favorable American position.'��

And what does his puppet, Obama, now say that Americans have to do to bring about 'change'? 'Make sacrifices'. As Mrs. Demagogue, Michelle, said:

'We need a different leadership because our souls are broken. We need to be inspired ... to make the sacrifices that are needed to push us to a different place.'

You can bet that this will include sacrificing more sovereignty and freedom on the road to the global dictatorship described by Brzezinski for decades.

Brzezinski's son, Mark, was an 'advisor' to the Obama campaign (doing what his father told him) and, in line with the American one-party-state, his other son, Ian, was foreign policy advisor to the McCain campaign (doing what his father told him).��Brzezinski's daughter, Mika, reported the campaign for MSNBC television.

Obama has been the chosen one for a long time, a fact known only to a few in the deep inner circle, and his relationship with Brzezinski almost certainly goes back to the start of the 1980s when he attended the Ivy League, and big-time Illuminati, Columbia University where Brzezinski was head of the Institute for Communist Affairs. Obama simply will not talk in any detail about this period.

And a question: Does anyone really believe that someone, a 'man of the people', would simply appear from apparently nowhere to run the slickest and best-funded presidential campaign in American history? He was chosen long ago by those who wish to enslave the very people that Obama says he wants to 'set free'.



Then there is the Jewish financier, George Soros, the multi-billionaire associate of Brzezinski and closely involved with the funding and marketing of Obama. Soros is a former board member of the Illuminati's Council on Foreign Relations and funds the European��Council on Foreign Relations. In short, he is a��major��insider.

You can certainly see the Soros/Brzezinski techniques in the Obama 'revolution' in the��United States. It was the complex and secretive network of Soros foundations and organisations, connected to the intelligence agencies of the��US��andIsrael, that trained and funded students in the��Ukraine,��Georgia��and elsewhere in the art of mass protest and overthrowing governments - see the David Icke Newsletter,��The Grand Chessboard ...��Georgia��Is Just Another Move.

These manufactured protests were sold to the world as 'peoples' revolutions', but it just so happened that when they were over and the old regime was removed the new leaders were those waiting in the wings all along - the puppets of Soros, Brzezinski and their associated networks.



Obama is just more of the same, a big smile with strings attached, and controlled completely by the Illuminati networks that chose him, trained him, sold him and provided his record funding. It was they who kept his many skeletons under wraps and will continue to do so as long as he jumps to their bidding.

He's just another Banksters' moll prostituting himself for fame and power, and that's why he supported the grotesque bail-out of the banking system and why he will always put their interests before the people. His financial advisors are straight from the Wall Street 'A' list, including Paul Volker (Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderberg Group), the head of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987 and Illuminati to his fingertips

This week Bloomberg.com reported that the Center for American Progress (CAP), housed just three blocks from the White House, has become a major source for policy initiatives for the Obama Democratic Party. Who funds the Center for American Progress?��George Soros.

It is simply the Neocon Project for the New American Century and the American Enterprise Institute under another name. Those two organisations developed and dictated the Bush policy of war and suppression and the 'CAP' and others like it will do the same for Obama. The CAP will fit and Obama will wear it.

In fact, except in name and rhetoric, there is no difference in theme between the regimes of Bush and Obama. Bush policy was dictated through Illuminati 'think tanks' and so is Obama's. Bush was surrounded by slavish pursuers of Israeli interests and so is Obama.



Mr. 'Change' has pledged his unquestioning support for��Israel��to the point of 'pass the sick bag' and his vice-president, Joe Biden, is a vehement Zionist who makes a virtue of saying he will support��Israel��in all circumstances.

Obama has appointed the arch Zionist Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff and another super Zionist Jew, Denis Ross, to be his��Middle East��Policy advisor. God help the Palestinians. Ross also served in the Bill Clinton and Father George Bush administrations. Oh, plenty of 'change' there, then.

Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago-born Congressman, is the son of Benjamin M. Emanuel, who was a member of the murderous Jewish terrorist organisation, Irgun, which helped to bomb and terrorise��Israel��into existence. The��Open Secrets��website reports that Emanuel was the top House recipient in 2008 for election contributions from 'hedge funds, private equity firms and the larger securities/investment industry'.��

Emanuel was also appointed by Bill Clinton to the board of the mortgage giant Freddie Mac in 2000 and his tenure coincided with a stream of scandals and financial irregularities. It famously had to be bailed out by the taxpayer amid the sub-prime mortgage debacle.

A close friend of Emanuel is the Chicago-based Zionist, David Axelrod, who ran Obama's election campaign and will no doubt be highly influential in the Obama administration. Axelrod is a veteran of��Chicago��politics, one of the most corrupt political systems in the world. He worked for many��Chicago��mayors in the 1990s and on Obama's senate campaign in 2004.

Bill Clinton took his��Arkansas��cabal to��Washington��when he became president in 1993 and Obama is uploading hisChicago��mob and handing them key positions of national power and influence. And these guys don't take prisoners.

All of this may be many things, none of them pleasant, but 'change' it isn't.



David Axelrod, Obama's 'narrator' and handler.��Click here for a background article that needs some reading between the lines ...

Obama is a monumental fraud who talks a good story, but lives a very different one. He won his first political office as a state senator in��Chicago��in 1996, not through the power of his policies, but by coldly abusing the electoral process.

Instead of running against his opponents and letting the people decide, he had his people challenge hundreds of names on the nomination papers of his Democratic primary rivals until they were all forced off the ballot by technicalities. He then ran unopposed. One of them, Gha-is Askia, says that Obama's behaviour belied his image as a champion of the little guy and crusader for voter rights:

'Why say you're for a new tomorrow, then do old-style Chicago politics to remove legitimate candidates?�� He talks about honour and democracy, but what honour is there in getting rid of every other candidate so you can run scot-free? Why not let the people decide?'

Why? Because he would probably have lost and Obama isn't interested in losing by playing fair. He wants to win by any means necessary. The only voter-right he's interested in is the right to vote for him.

Obama is a classically corrupt main-chancer spawned from the��Chicago��political cesspit. His close connections, therefore, to seriously dodgy 'businessmen' and fraudsters like the now jailed slum landlord Tony Rezko are exactly what you would expect.



But for now no scale of evidence will stop the swooning Obama zombies from believing the hype or burst their reality bubble. That is going to take hard experience and it could take some time and a lot of disappointment before they are released from the clutches of cognitive dissonance and have to admit to themselves they have been had.

It is the same for all the black people who voted for what they thought was the first black president when, in truth, he is a man in a black mask representing the interests of the white-faced Illuminati cabal, the very families and networks that ran the slave trade.

I don't want to be the bringer of bad news or the thwarter of dreams, but honesty demands it. The man is a trickster controlled by super-tricksters. A sock puppet controlled by bigger sock puppets who serve an even greater and darker evil.

To his masters, Obama is just a means to an end and if it suits them to assassinate him to trigger civil war and upheaval in the��United States��then that is what they will do.

Oh dear Oprah, how will you cope when reality dawns? But, then, will it ever??



'What? You mean you're not the��Lord?'

I can understand the appeal of Obama because people want him to be what he claims to be, but isn't. They are sick of the conflict, the corruption, the struggle we call 'life' and they want it all to change. But Obama's change is illusory and represents only the continued transformation of society in the image envisaged by Orwell.

We will see some apparently good things announced, like the closing of��Guantanamo, to give the impression that Obama means what he says. But keep your eye on the ball and you'll see how the agenda of the global tyranny is introduced under the guise of Obama's 'hope', 'change', 'believe', 'sacrifice' and 'coming together'.��

It could take two years, maybe much more, before cognitive dissonance (lying to yourself) loses it current grip on the minds of the Obama faithful. Until then they will make endless excuses for him (lie to themselves) to keep the 'dream' alive.

But one day they will have to admit, by the power of the evidence before them, that they bought a dream and got a nightmare. What a pity they can't see the obvious now and save them themselves such painful disappointment.