Wounded Knee 2018

In 1890 this nation was confronted with the Battle of Wounded Knee, more broadly acclaimed as the “Wounded Knee Massacre”. One hundred years later in 1990, the 101^st U.S. Congress - under the discretion of a democratic majority House & Senate then under George W. Bush the 43^rd - it passed a resolution “Peace Treaty” upon the atrocity of this historical murder spree. A resolve of regret was thence cast in Constitutional stone, that innocent men with women and children of Spotted Elk’s Lakota band had been “massacred” in cold blood, by a U.S. Cavalry Regiment. Time heals such wounded knees. And then in 2016, we found this nation facing yet another “Wounded Knee”, as athletes took to protest “racial injustice” during the national anthem and instead of standing tall, kneeling standing stronger when “Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave” challenged one’s undivided attention with dedication! To those that are angered by this demonstration of “free will” 1^st Amendment righteousness, look back to the “flag” burning days of the 70s, patriotic obligated protests not born out of disrespect, but a vigilante posse front and center of attention with a ways and means to be heard above the daily massacre of our kids deployed in that Vietnam hell hole - for those that have forgotten over 58220 kids came home in a flag draped box! “We the People” survive our Democracy through “protest” and the athletes following Colin Kaepernick’s “action” statement have all the right in the world to use their professional stage to protest, regardless of what Donald John Trump’s “Cavalry” would like to unleash as pain and suffering against such protests. If the F’n Moron Idiot had it his way and if he were truly a Commander-in-Chief, those that kneel during the anthem would be imprisoned - calling it a “Doubter’s Prison”. Ok, like in “Debtor’s Prison” which was the reason the New England Patriots started the American Revolution. Just because one missed a tax payment to the Queen when trying to feed a family, what in hell does imprisonment do for the cause? Same would be apparent if those that protest by kneeling for “racial injustice” were incarcerated, we would have another “Revolution” on our hands and maybe rightfully so. It is coming, and it will be televised! But today I reach out to talk about another “massacre” going on right before the very eyes of the MIA 115^th Congress, and most likely a “massacre” condoned by the White House. This is not a new atrocity, just one of those things like many things that has “mysteriously” gotten through the cracks, skated under the oversight radar of Congress - because we have no representation with a “Do Nothing Congress” many years in the making this get paid scam for “Nothing” in return. That body left town many moons ago, about the same time Bush vacated the White House and allowed Dick Cheney to ransack the Oval Office. So with Congress, it warrants a new definition of dysfunctional. And today this atrocity unchecked by Congress wherein its authorized policy police also AWOL asleep at the wheel of fortune, it is the $30-Billion Dollar Banking Massacre. It basically affects every wage earning American in some way shape or form. Bottomline, it is a money maker and that is wherein the Congress turns a blind-eye away from things that it should exterminate - it is a crime that makes money and the representation allows it to slide as it will most likely contribute to that campaign re-election war chest. Congress benefits from such crimes. Yet this WAR being fought on our Red, White & Blue soil, it has wounded my dad, a Military man that served this country well, only to be left wounded and down on his knees trying to survive what life is left in a society that begs to disarm our senior citizens of that life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for a buck - that almighty “greed”. This is a sad story, and when I try to tell my aging father what is going on, it “tears” him up as this is NOT supposed to happen in the “Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave”. What has happened to “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” can be heard in every tear that flows away from this my hero’s cheeks, showing the aging process with protruding bones and grasping for an answer upon this atrocity every last breath of air that consumes what little time he has left on this earth. My dad is semi-old, in his mid-90s and maintains his elderly lifestyle pretty much on his own accord, and even though there are tough times financially, I can only try to coach away bad habits for a better tomorrow. Hey, he was my coach through earlier life - with football through baseball through college. And one thing I would never consider, taking away his rights, as he has but for a few left in the “freedom” category - that “power of attorney” would take it all away and he would most likely be overcome with grief and pass away. But when he misplaced some “living expense” funds, his bank that sports the “of America” label…it is an institution that does not give a rat’s ass about the sanctity of life our seniors, those that fort so brave to save this nation from Hitler. When I see what is going on today in America, maybe Hitler won in the end! My dad went mixed up on a debt re-payment schedule after losing his entire saving’s trust in a “scam” - $70000 down the drain to some outfit that continues to steal away money from the elderly and is allowed to continue this criminal business activity in Arizona - as pilferage against the senior citizens of America seems to be that state’s motto. It is a “scam” that is legal, as the fine print no senior could ever read indicates what one may be getting into. Senator McCain was well aware of the “scam” being conducted out of Arizona, I talked to his office on several occasions and he did nothing. This atrocity that has targeted many seniors, it is no different then being a “Prisoner of War”. And with such a lose without any recovery, it has taken time for my father to gain an edge up living on a reduced income, and denial sets in and fogs the merit of financial responsibility. So when bank checks, mostly $10-dollar donations for charitable organizations, started to bounce due “Insufficient Funds” it meant for each return a fine of $35-bucks. And to extend the torture as a “Prisoner of War” in the American “Banking System” because we have maggots at the helm with that Steven Mnuchin and living but dead Wilbur Ross, then came the “Sustained Over-draft” adding additional fines wherein a $10-dollar donation never processed for the “charity” ended up costing my WWII dad $140-dollars. And only because the banks do practice some semblance of ethics these fines by placing “limits” wherein they can rob our seniors almost blind. And at this time my father was waiting for his Social Security & Veterans checks, monthly stipends for being an American. Money was on the way, but the banks don't care if they can squeeze blood out of that turnip seed. That’s all he has as income, but sufficient enough to make ends meet and maybe have a little extra leftover cash to play cards with his war buddies at the HUD housing that is reminiscent of “Beach Haven”, wherein “Old Man Trump” practiced segregation against blacks while teaching his children well the merits of Fascism. But being in a confused state, my dad sent out 35-checks for charity and long overdue birthdays, and was then accosted by that “NSF - Return to Sender”. Most of the checks a $10 to $20 dollar donation. And he never received a warning or an alert what was about to happen. See, my dad is old school, doesn’t use a laptop for on-line banking, doesn’t know a text message from a voice mail and relies on “paper”. But many banks do not engage in “paper trails” and my dad received no warning that his account was on “Tilt”. See, come to find out when he set up these new accounts after my mom passed on, he was persuaded to use “on-line” access, which he told me sounded good but had no idea what it meant. Therefore no way to find out what was going down. And the damn phone number on file with his bank had two-digits confused. When I dialed that number, it was not a valid phone number! Now what was rather suspicious, the bank has its rules and regulations, wherein it was limited to accessing a fine of $35-dollars up to $140 per day, which equates to four-NSF checks. But how does a bank calculate when a return is to be credited to meet the demands of the bank’s boss? Well I finally was able to get the bank to release a “Transaction Summary” and low and behold, the returned checks were reported in such a way as to maintain that 4 pay-per-view window of opportunity, to maximize profits. All told, my dad tried to pay out $700 in charitable donations and overdue birthday gifts, checks which were never processed only returned to be accessed a crime fine of $2100-dollars total, so funny with peculiarity as my dad’s combined income from Social Security and Veterans benefits totals, $2122 - I guess for $22-bucks leftover it means “beans, beans and more leftover beans” for this month's mouth. See, the banker brats knew my dad’s financial situation, and some young punk gets to fool around to maximize profits. Don’t want to strangle this old-man, just make him eat beans! The bank knew all to well that with upcoming deposits, he could afford this penalty - that is how it was calculated, to maximize profits at the same time don’t open up a can of worms that would point to senior citizen abuse. And we thought the Queen’s “Debtor Prison” was bad? Now when I called the bank and disguised myself as my dad - fuck you Mr. Regulator for breaking your pathetic rules - I was told that the bank tried to call me? Like I said, the damn number-of-record that was set-up with the “on-line portfolio” when the account was opened was incorrect - and my dad doesn’t use the on-line services so had no idea that most of his monthly living expenses would be consumed as “Bank Fines”, more like "Bank Fraud"! My dad lives two-short minutes from the bank, a bank that makes in excess $millions$ in profits - an Uber ride would have cost the bank a few bucks, to knock on my father’s door, maybe leave a note at the front office as this facility he lives at caters to senior citizens, anything. But the only thing the bank did, it was a highway robbery massacre. And when he did get to the bank to address the situation, since he does not have “on-line” access, he was charged $3-dollars for “check image fees”. Yes, a copy of the checks, at $3-bucks a shot when it probably only cost 3-cents with that “Truth in Lending” policy. Make matters worse off, when he went angered and refused to pay this fine, he was then approached by the “Collection Prison Warden”, who wanted to make a deal of monthly payments to recover this “crime fine” of a century! If this is how the banking industry is today managed, we are doomed. Now when I contacted my father’s state representative, Mr. Senator knew exactly the “crime” I was talking about that stole away my father’s retirement trust and told me point blank that would never be allowed in Rhode Island, the perpetrators would be hung! Yes, hanging used to be a favorite pastime of the Colonists - maybe we need to rethink the ban! And of course with discourse we must realize that Arizona allowed Sarah Palin to get away with near murder, as she was John McCain’s buddy and she should have been incarcerated still today for exciting that idiot QAnonymous to attempt an assassination on Gabrielle Giffords. So here is my take. A hundred years from now, the 167^th U.S. Congress will pass another “Peace Treaty” resolution, that the way we treated the Fighting Fathers was of regret. Our seniors are UNDER ATTACK by the American Banks! And on this 17^th anniversary of that dreaded 911 attack, wherein we lost many lives along with many iconic buildings destroyed, today the banking industry is engaged in taking our seniors down to their knees, all for “greed” on the same damn wounded knees our war hero dads used in the bloody-muddy trenches of WWII to make America FREE! And this is how we pay back that dedication to country, another WAR and all the U.S. Congress under GOP leadership does is to sit back and collect the proceeds from the killing fields, cha-ching!