"Traditionally, the word racket is used to describe a business (or syndicate) that is based on the example of the protection racket and indicates a belief that it is engaged in the sale of a solution to a problem that the institution itself creates or perpetuates, with the specific intent to engender continual patronage" - Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racketeering; The Rico Act - http://ricoact.com/?page_id=122 US Code for Rackets is very broad, and it was created to be that way. it was put in place to fight different types of crime. While it has been highly successful, it also has been highly abused, especially when applied to small business or even smaller persons whom are accused of running a racket because someone somewhere with influence or the ability to bring such charges simply does not like them. See, it is easy to apply RICO statutes to most persons and individuals; read it for yourself. It also, if you will read, applies in someways to the majority of government activities. Think about it, read the law, it is spot on in some cases.......... A simpler way to desribe a racket would be when you are forced to contribute, support, or pay into any organization because it says it is required, that you get or will receive certain goods, services, or protection by paying into and to the organization; and should you not pay into, or refuse, or seek to subvert or cancel the organization's required pay into, you shall be prosecuted, imprisoned, disabled, destroyed or killed. Yup, that is a real racket, force by the gun, fear, correctly implied, by those with power to enforce such acts within a type of system which relies upon such acts to survive, propser, and or function. Of course RICO goes way beyond this simple definition in scope and range; yet with this simple, more real and more direct definition, you can see the base of a real racket, which is something that requires of you, no if and buts about it. Such a simple definition leaves out petty crime and low grade criminals, the simplier definition requires the racketeer to be of some kind real or imagined power, not just a simple thug or robber. It gets both the mafia (organized crime - la cosa nostra) and rackets protected by law (their thing - le loro cose), which provides "them" power, finance and profit you must pay "into" and provide not by choice, but because it is law, even if "their thing" does not work, nor is capable of providing what it proclaims, and perpetuates the need for "their thing" to exist because of the services or "protection" it supposidly provides. Sound familiar?

Haven't all the Protests been wonderful? YES! Is the population finally gonna wake up? Maybe..... The protests are a showing of how simple yet coordinated (hello internet) gatherings can have impact. This has been coming for a long time. However, the citizens must seize the day. Before somehow miraculously the money misers figure out how to even the plane a bit so that everyone still rides. See, the economy will get better, probably much better, for a while. While demands that the "capitalist bankers" must be heeled, the protests must mature into the people telling the governments they want, and will be, free. There are some cries, sure, about corruption and greed in the governments; now though, it is time for the people to decide what part of them they will allow to be used. What? Well, it is time now in our nation's history for historic changes to take place concerning how the government is funded and by what standards it's conduct will be overseen; and this will come from the people, en-masse, probably not through the democratic processes Washington and her States prefer. Because as the protests do show, people are sick of ineffective, oppressive governments. Terms usually used to apply to foreign states, but people are realizing with the breakdown of systems, worldwide, that the disease is all over. So a return to apathy could threaten the revolution. Things get better for even a small 10% of the folks currently fed up, un & under employed, or worse yet time drags on and a natural malaise settles in, which would be a few years into the next administration, as the cycle natural will produce another round of "better times", then things drag on, and nothing really changes. The key is now to begin to present to the powers that the days of the free ride they've had to build empires of wealth and corruption are indeed over, and that they too will need to live off these systems they've not created but believe they control (more on inanimate systems later), which they can only affect, not fully stipulate and control; yet they use not only benefits of those systems, but steal the wealth of the earth and make THE PEOPLE also contribute to these ways, these ideas. these "nations", they built, but are which unsustainable. In truth not only did the people, and By-God with their sweat and blood, build these nations, but are of yet unable to benefit from the true wealth of these nations because the percentage of people "allowed to" by priviledge, social standing, job or profession, to fully enjoy being "of any nation" is too low by reflection of the demographic which makes up those "allowed" outside of their own hard work and means to "enjoy the wealth of that nation." Still those in control will say "all must sacrifice", when in fact it is those without wealth and priviledge who sacrifice the most to sustain the "systems". Now is the time to stand strong! As the mainstream politicians begin to feel the pressure to modern and progress their parties platforms, not only will the populations begin to direct their policy, but the time is right for not only a third real option, but perhaps a forth and a fifth. This means not only keeping the pressure up on the fatcat in the streets, but sawing down the rackets as mentioned previously on this page, so that parties like the US Freedom Party can openly compete. Revolution is here, now is not the time to get complacent!