In the first half, college professor and political analyst Peter Mathews discussed the widening split between the rich and poor, and how America has become a "dollar democracy," with liberty and justice only for some of its citizens. "This gap between rich and poor has not been seen since the days of feudalism, way back to the 16th and 17th centuries when we had Lords and serfs," he remarked. Our system of capitalism has been hijacked in the US, said Mathews, with politicians bought by lobbying groups, jobs lost to cheap labor countries, and education systems widely unequal. Democracy has been undermined because it depends on a large middle class "that is active, informed, and has hope in life," he noted, adding that we'd likely see civil unrest if these inequities continue.
40 million American students are in debt, owing an average of $30,000 upon graduation. With scant job prospects and earnings less than what they were decades ago, these graduates are faced with an enormous financial setback, he outlined. Among the changes Mathews advocates is to add a 28th Amendment to the Constitution, removing the legal concept of "Corporate Personhood," as well as election reform with public financing of campaigns, rather than corporations and wealthy individuals bankrolling candidates. For more, check out Mathews' video, Rebuilding America by Restoring the Middle Class.
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In the latter half, founder of the Palmistry Institute in LA, Vernon Mahabal, spoke about how he combines astrology with palmistry to predict trends for the United States based on repeated patterns he sees in the thousands of palms he reads. Among the trends are a rise in entrepreneurial pursuits and 'Mom & Pop' businesses, as well as a heightened awareness of community and New Age concepts. In his readings, Mahabal looks at more than just the lines in the palms, and deciphers a lot about a person by looking at their fingers. Interestingly, he suggested that people whose ring finger is longer than their index finger tend to be involved in the creative arts, while with the reverse, there is more of a focus on business, leadership, and finance.
"Everything that is known about a person is written on the hands...it's like a Rosetta stone, figuring out what the lines and configurations mean," he shared. Mahabal also incorporates elements of Vedic (ancient Hindu) astrology into his forecasts and interpretations. We recently came out of 9-year Mars cycle that was marked by belligerence and conflict, he detailed, and have now entered the 18-year cycle of Rahu (2014-2032)-- a time associated with close observance and awareness. So while government may be stepping up its surveillance efforts on citizens, people will be vigilant and aware of this, and "the federal government will not be able to do stuff behind our backs anymore," he explained.
News segment guests: Ryan Mauro, Dannion Brinkley