ON THE TAPEWORM TRAIL

The Tapeworm is my nickname for the insider system that runs our current political economy and financial system. A Tapeworm Economy is one in which a few insiders hoard knowledge and power and, in so doing, conspire to subsidize themselves at the expense of everyone and everything else.

The way a tapeworm works is to inject a chemical into its host which causes the host to crave what is good for the parasite and bad for the host. As with our bodies, so with our body politic. As we believe corporate media and "official" news reports, the Tapeworm consolidates power in a manner that liquidates real wealth -- people, our environment and our economic productivity.

What can we do to shift out of this downward spiral and move towards a new sustainable world? First, we can see the Tapeworm. As we do, we begin to see how we are supporting the system in daily choices we make as we invest our time, our attention and our transactions. This helps us understand our power. Second, we can start to shift our hearts and minds, then our attention and support to those who are illuminating both the Tapeworm and the steps we can take to reverse the Tapeworm's drain. This brings us into networks so that we are not alone and can move in the same direction. Third, we can act in our own lives in ways that are practical and energizing for us. This reduces the drain in our lives, which further increases our power to understand, to network and to act.

A lot of pretty cool people have been catching the Tapeworm red-handed. We thought we would forward some top picks for you. What drains the Tapeworm is turning negative return-on-investments into positive ones. So we focus on the positive that authentic leaders are doing to show you how to remove the Tapeworm from your mind, your life and your pocketbook!

-- Catherine Austin Fitts