Monday, August 31, 2015
Robert Reich on the new populism
See his post here. Much of it crosses traditional political party lines and is not so much about left v. right but about populism v. the establishment of both Parties. Here's 6 issues from the post the neo-populists share. See if for the details:
Capitalism v the Commons
Here's Robert Reich's post on this, only he frames it as authoritarianism versus democracy. Same difference.
"The key to understanding the 2016 election is American's indignation about what the establishment has done and failed to do. Trump’s indignation is aimed squarely at the Republican establishment; Bernie’s at the Democratic establishment. That’s why both are surging. But the crucial difference is Trump’s answer is authoritarianism – a strongman who 'knows how to deal' and 'will deliver' -- while Bernie’s answer is a progressive movement that strengthens democracy and will countervail the moneyed interests. It is not a new battle. The biggest political contest over the last three centuries of world history has been between authoritarianism and democracy. The central battle over the next 15 months in the United States could be the same."
"The key to understanding the 2016 election is American's indignation about what the establishment has done and failed to do. Trump’s indignation is aimed squarely at the Republican establishment; Bernie’s at the Democratic establishment. That’s why both are surging. But the crucial difference is Trump’s answer is authoritarianism – a strongman who 'knows how to deal' and 'will deliver' -- while Bernie’s answer is a progressive movement that strengthens democracy and will countervail the moneyed interests. It is not a new battle. The biggest political contest over the last three centuries of world history has been between authoritarianism and democracy. The central battle over the next 15 months in the United States could be the same."
Philosophy news network
See this cartoon. Here's what I got from it:
I agree with the cyborg that we need to end something, but not human life. How about the end to useless philosophy that has virtually no impact on human life because it is "no longer immanent to anything other than itself?" To paraphrase one of its last news items: "Philosophy store robbed at gunpoint but nothing of value was stolen."
I agree with the cyborg that we need to end something, but not human life. How about the end to useless philosophy that has virtually no impact on human life because it is "no longer immanent to anything other than itself?" To paraphrase one of its last news items: "Philosophy store robbed at gunpoint but nothing of value was stolen."
Good point Oliver
I guess because we don't make any money on lone dark foreign terrorists, but we do make plenty on lone white domestic terrorists.
Denmark's wind power
See this article. On a particularly windy day they generated 144% of their country's electrical needs and gave the surplus to other countries. Granted it was a good day, and it will be a while before such countries generate 100% of their electricity from renewables. But at least they're on that road. And it's a road we must take if we are to survive.
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Sanders compares himself to Clinton
See this link for the video. An excerpt:
"I think that the business model of Wall Street is fraud. And I think these guys drove us into the worst economic down turn in the modern history of America. And I think they’re at it again. I believe when you have so few banks with so much power you have to not only re-establish Glass–Steagall Act but you’ve got to break them up. That is not Hillary Clinton’s position. I believe that our trade policies with NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China have been a disaster. I am helping to lead the effort against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. That is not Hillary Clinton’s position. I believe, along with Pope Francis, and almost all scientists, that climate change is threatening this planet in horrendous ways and that we have to be aggressive in transforming our energy system away from fossil fuel, and defeat, and defeat the Keystone pipeline, that is not Hillary Clinton’s position. I believe that as opposed to my Republican colleagues who want to cut Social Security, I believe we should expand Social Security by lifting the cap on taxable income. That’s not Hillary Clinton’s position. I believe that we’ve got to raise the minimum wage over a period of several years to $15 an hour. Not Hillary Clinton’s position. I voted against the war in Iraq. Hillary Clinton voted for it."
"I think that the business model of Wall Street is fraud. And I think these guys drove us into the worst economic down turn in the modern history of America. And I think they’re at it again. I believe when you have so few banks with so much power you have to not only re-establish Glass–Steagall Act but you’ve got to break them up. That is not Hillary Clinton’s position. I believe that our trade policies with NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China have been a disaster. I am helping to lead the effort against the Trans-Pacific Partnership. That is not Hillary Clinton’s position. I believe, along with Pope Francis, and almost all scientists, that climate change is threatening this planet in horrendous ways and that we have to be aggressive in transforming our energy system away from fossil fuel, and defeat, and defeat the Keystone pipeline, that is not Hillary Clinton’s position. I believe that as opposed to my Republican colleagues who want to cut Social Security, I believe we should expand Social Security by lifting the cap on taxable income. That’s not Hillary Clinton’s position. I believe that we’ve got to raise the minimum wage over a period of several years to $15 an hour. Not Hillary Clinton’s position. I voted against the war in Iraq. Hillary Clinton voted for it."
Saturday, August 29, 2015
The populist and the fascist
See this Salon article by Paul Rosenberg. Both Trump and Sanders are labeled populists, but they are a different kind of populist. Trump's type is based in imaginary fears of dark-skinned others couched in nationalistic fascism, as well as delusional fantasies like voter fraud and birtherism. Sanders' type is based in science and fact on climate change and empirically-based policies like social security and Medicare. Trump appeals to our lesser drives like fear and hate while Sanders to our better angels of love and compassion.
Boondocks
This one is for my mom, also born and raised in the boondocks and who taught me what's right.
Maher on sexual freedom
This new rule starts out dissing the pharmaceutical industry, and our social mores, that think either too much or too little sexual desire is a problem. It ends up as commentary about how we are now granting sexual freedom to everyone but those of us who want diversity of sexual partners. Somehow that is not ok and we all have to be good little married monogamists. Fuck that.
Reich on Sanders' DNC speech
Following up on this post, Robert Reich said this:
"Bernie is right – but his point goes far beyond the Democratic Party. There is no way to reverse widening inequality, stagnant wages, the persistence of poverty, and unequal opportunity in America without a political movement to overcome the moneyed interests that have taken over our democracy. Good policy ideas are irrelevant without a public that’s mobilized, organized, and energized enough to make them happen.
"Bernie is right – but his point goes far beyond the Democratic Party. There is no way to reverse widening inequality, stagnant wages, the persistence of poverty, and unequal opportunity in America without a political movement to overcome the moneyed interests that have taken over our democracy. Good policy ideas are irrelevant without a public that’s mobilized, organized, and energized enough to make them happen.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Alan Grayson: the Trump of the left
Here's Grayson with Chris Hayes. I've always liked and supported Grayson for telling it like it is. Only he's on the side of the people, not the billionaires.
Sanders at the DNC meeting
What he says here is true, that if Democrats want to win in the next election they will champion every issue he lays out in the passionate and authentic way he lays out. Will they listen? They haven't to date, so not sure they will.
Scientists achieve levitation
Using ultrasound. See this article and view the video below. Not to be confused with phoney meditation levitation.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
The amazing Oz Pearlman
On AGT last night. The mentalist outdid himself with this jaw-dropping performance.
Quantum political superposition
See this Onion story. While a satire it plays out in real time via Trump and Sanders.
Even Trump is right on occasion
On this occasion he said he'd increase taxes on the rich, which has every other Republican foaming at the mouth (and wherever). It is so fun to see the regressives in a panic over the monster they created.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Preface of To Save the World
Here's Bernard Stiegler's Preface to Michel Bauwens' new book, Saving the World: Towards a post-capitialist society with peer-to-peer. The Preface has been translated into English but the book as yet has not. Coming soon. An excerpt of the Preface:
"...the peer to peer model [...] as a process of collective individuation based on the maximum expression of the possibilities of psychic individuation for every citizen – this installing knowledge and the culture of knowledge at the heart of collective being, exactly the opposite of the decomposition of knowledge that is today pushing towards what some have called the functional stupidity of cognitive capitalism."
"...the peer to peer model [...] as a process of collective individuation based on the maximum expression of the possibilities of psychic individuation for every citizen – this installing knowledge and the culture of knowledge at the heart of collective being, exactly the opposite of the decomposition of knowledge that is today pushing towards what some have called the functional stupidity of cognitive capitalism."
OUR time has come
Following up on the last post, this article reinforces the last one, saying that US Democrats are failures
as progressives. They talk progressive but "then they rarely deliver on
liberal politics." Any time that they did deliver it was because of "a
reaction to significant protests, rather than initiatives from the top
of the party." Several examples are provided, while for the most part
they too just fed the corporate machine.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
President Obama calls out the Kochs
As un-American in this piece. He said:
"They’re trying to undermine competition in the marketplace and choke off consumer choice and threaten an industry that’s turning out new jobs at a fast pace. [...] When you start seeing massive lobbying efforts backed by fossil fuel interests, or conservative think tanks, or the Koch brothers pushing for new laws to roll back renewable energy standards, or to prevent new clean energy businesses from succeeding, that’s a problem. That’s not the American way. That’s not progress. That’s not innovation. That’s rent seeking. That’s standing in the way of progress."
"They’re trying to undermine competition in the marketplace and choke off consumer choice and threaten an industry that’s turning out new jobs at a fast pace. [...] When you start seeing massive lobbying efforts backed by fossil fuel interests, or conservative think tanks, or the Koch brothers pushing for new laws to roll back renewable energy standards, or to prevent new clean energy businesses from succeeding, that’s a problem. That’s not the American way. That’s not progress. That’s not innovation. That’s rent seeking. That’s standing in the way of progress."
Privatization is at the core of fascism
See this article. An excerpt:
"The core of fascism is the idea that there is some elite, whether ‘Aryan’ or ‘chosen by God,’ or otherwise, who should run things, and that everyone else exists in order to serve that elite. Inevitably, this official elite consists of the people whom the powers-that-be assign as constituting the owners of almost everything that’s valuable. Increasingly, things become those people’s private possession — even what was formerly a public asset becomes now private. Beaches become private. Schools become private. Natural resources become private."
"The core of fascism is the idea that there is some elite, whether ‘Aryan’ or ‘chosen by God,’ or otherwise, who should run things, and that everyone else exists in order to serve that elite. Inevitably, this official elite consists of the people whom the powers-that-be assign as constituting the owners of almost everything that’s valuable. Increasingly, things become those people’s private possession — even what was formerly a public asset becomes now private. Beaches become private. Schools become private. Natural resources become private."
Catholics more progressive than most
See this story. So much for the so-called integral stereotype that Catholics are a lower, mythic level of development.
Alternatives to capitalism
Is that title of this article, subtitled: Greece, grassroots (participatory) movements and the question of how. Here's a tantalizing excerpt to whet the appetite for the linked article:
"The fact is that capitalism is inherently opposed to democratic social relations. [...] But the focus of this essay is not critique. The focus, instead, is a much more difficult course of reflection on how autonomous movements and leftist government policy might begin to subvert the current political and economic system from within, for the benefit of a fundamental transition out of capitalism."
PS: In the US the likes of Sanders and Warren are part of this very process.
"The fact is that capitalism is inherently opposed to democratic social relations. [...] But the focus of this essay is not critique. The focus, instead, is a much more difficult course of reflection on how autonomous movements and leftist government policy might begin to subvert the current political and economic system from within, for the benefit of a fundamental transition out of capitalism."
PS: In the US the likes of Sanders and Warren are part of this very process.
You'd NEVER see this from a Republican President
See President Obama's green energy initiative here. The President said: "I recently committed this country to getting 20% of our energy from
renewables beyond hydroelectric power by 2030. Today,
we’re announcing new public- and private-sector commitments that will
add new solar capacity on more than 40 military bases. [...] We’re also going to make it even easier for individual homeowners to put solar panels on their roof. Americans
are going solar and becoming more energy-efficient, not because they’re
tree-huggers … but because they’re cost-cutters. [...] America generates 20 times as much solar power as we did in 2008. As well as we’re doing in wind, we’re making even more
progress in solar. [...] Every three minutes another
home or business in America goes solar.”
Gaby & Robert
Last night on SYTYCD. Best performance of the night. Gaby is destined for all-star status like Robert.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Quote of the day: Amos Kendall
"In all civilized as well as barbarous countries, a few rich and
intelligent men have built up nobility systems by which, under some name
and by some contrivance, a few are enabled to live upon the labor of
the many. These ruling classes have had many names -- kings, lords,
priests, fund holders, bankers -- but all are founded on deception, and
maintained by power."
-- Amos Kendall (1833)
-- Amos Kendall (1833)
Geoff Britten on American Ninja Warrior
The top run on ANW last week, one of only two finishers in the Pittsburgh finals course.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
What motivates our higher drives?
Very interesting presentation. When money is the sole motivator, more of it produces worse performance in higher cognitive tasks. Think big corporations like Wall Street that get great rewards not tied at all to their performance, like crashing the economy. What produces better performance? Things Wall Street will never understand. But those involved in the P2P Commons get it.
My taxes go to welfare
Continuing from the last post, here are those poor leaches that get your welfare tax dollars:
So how about this Trump?
These corps steal far, far more from us in unpaid taxes than illegal immigrants. So your logic should apply to them, right? After all, corporations are people, right?
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Maher on the appropriation of the sharing economy
How giant corps use it to further enslave labor without sharing the profits or providing benefits.
Friday, August 21, 2015
538 reconsiders Sanders' chances
See this article. There's a lot of discussion and in the end the best guess is Sanders has a 5% chance of winning the Democratic nomination. This from the most accurate predictors of such things. Disheartening but I'm not giving up yet.
Quote of the day - FDR
"In 1776 we sought freedom from the tyranny of a political autocracy
- from the eighteenth-century royalists who held special privileges
from the crown. … Since that struggle, however, man's inventive genius
released new forces in our land which reordered the lives of our people.
... Out of this modern civilization economic royalists carved new
dynasties. ... Through new uses of corporations, banks and securities,
new machinery of industry and agriculture, of
labor and capital - all undreamed of by the Fathers - the whole
structure of modern life was impressed into this royal service…. It was
natural and perhaps human that the privileged princes of these new
economic dynasties, thirsting for power, reached out for control over
government itself. They created a new despotism and wrapped it in the
robes of legal sanction. In its service new mercenaries sought to
regiment the people, their labor, and their property. And as a result …
the hours men and women worked, the wages they received, the conditions
of their labor - these had passed beyond the control of the people, and
were imposed by this new industrial dictatorship. The savings of the
average family, the capital of the small-businessmen, the investments
set aside for old age - other people's money - these were tools which
the new economic royalty used to dig itself in."
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936
Why do people vote against their best interest?
Because
said people are undereducated and ignorant of the real causes of their
suffering. And given such suffering they are more easily influenced by
the lying spin of the the Kochs and their Congressional lackeys. It is
by intentional and evil design. Hence the need for Sander's truth
telling.
The plague of American authoritarianism
See this excellent piece. An excerpt:
"The war on democracy by the financial elite and other religious and political fundamentalists is intent on defunding and eliminating every public sphere that serves the public good rather than moneyed interests. A war culture now shapes every aspect of society as war-like values, a hyper-masculinity, and an aggressive militarism seeps into every major institution in the United States including the schools, the media, and local police forces."
"The war on democracy by the financial elite and other religious and political fundamentalists is intent on defunding and eliminating every public sphere that serves the public good rather than moneyed interests. A war culture now shapes every aspect of society as war-like values, a hyper-masculinity, and an aggressive militarism seeps into every major institution in the United States including the schools, the media, and local police forces."
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Renewables are now the world's 2nd highest source of electricity
See this article for the details.
"The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced a couple of weeks ago that 2014 saw renewables, mostly wind and solar, had risen in use enough to become the second-largest source of electricity used on the planet earth."
"The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced a couple of weeks ago that 2014 saw renewables, mostly wind and solar, had risen in use enough to become the second-largest source of electricity used on the planet earth."
Sanders as response to Clinton's neoliberalism
See this article. Hillary is still part of this agenda, which assumes a self-interested market solves all problems.
"Since this odious doctrine came to dominate the American government during the 1980's Reagan Administration, the results have been unfailingly disastrous for 99% of Americans. Wealth has become ever more concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. Concomitantly, so has corporate and political power."
And Sanders is out to correct this problem, Clinton is out to perpetuate it. So are most Democrats like Clinton, but Sanders is a progressive independent, what we need.
"Since this odious doctrine came to dominate the American government during the 1980's Reagan Administration, the results have been unfailingly disastrous for 99% of Americans. Wealth has become ever more concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. Concomitantly, so has corporate and political power."
And Sanders is out to correct this problem, Clinton is out to perpetuate it. So are most Democrats like Clinton, but Sanders is a progressive independent, what we need.
Trump and the Pope
See this article where Trump says he'd get ISIS after the Pope for criticizing capitalism. And this is what you crazy regressives want for President? Grow a brain for Christ's sake.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Cornell West backs Sanders
See this article. Just as I predicted, as the leaders of the black community start this process Sanders will win many other black minds and hearts.
Join Senator Sanders petition
This is an email from him:
Wall Street's greed, recklessness, and illegal behavior drove this
country into the worst recession since the Great Depression. For too
long, this billionaire class has corrupted our political system. We must
act decisively to make our economy fair again.Wall Street's dangerous manipulation of our economy has helped divert
most of all new income to the top one percent, contributing to the most
unequal level of wealth and income distribution of any major country on
earth.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
What's important these days?
I posted this in a FB IPS thread on deconstruction:
Ok, I'll tell you what I really think Cameron and Layman. I used to have great interest in such topics. Now not so much. I see it as a bunch of eggheads engaging in an activity with little real world impact while inflating intellectualized self importance. I no longer have time for such armchairs, as an oligarchy is destroying lives and the call of democracy requires of us a lot more than such grandiosity. Some think sports are a distraction from our more urgent problems, and they may be to a degree. But what about this?
Ok, I'll tell you what I really think Cameron and Layman. I used to have great interest in such topics. Now not so much. I see it as a bunch of eggheads engaging in an activity with little real world impact while inflating intellectualized self importance. I no longer have time for such armchairs, as an oligarchy is destroying lives and the call of democracy requires of us a lot more than such grandiosity. Some think sports are a distraction from our more urgent problems, and they may be to a degree. But what about this?
Sanders can win, and has won, Republican voters
And even Ann Coulter thinks if he gets the Democratic nomination he'll likely win the Presidency.
No one else will tell you this
No one says it like this, and means it. The truth is we the people have to do this. Sanders can help, but we have to work with him to accomplish this. Without us Sanders admits he cannot succeed as President. Are we willing to do our part? Is anything really more important?
Trump is a lying hypocrite on undocumented workers
See the video below by one such worker in Trump's employment.
Amazon is part of the corporate wage slave market
See this article, where it documents how Amazon is part of this larger problem. And it doesn't have to be this way if we but choose representatives that make the system fair for all. Hint: Bernie Sanders for President.
"...the Times article struck such a nerve because it not only confirmed the stereotype that corporate culture is cold and unforgiving—it summed up the experiences of workers in nearly every industry, not just tech. Power-tripping bosses, incompetent management, lack of work-life balance, guilt for not being available for a job 24-7, and a fear of falling behind due to sickness or time off are endemic in U.S. employment culture, where the 47-hour work week is now the norm, vacation time goes unused and paid maternity leave isn’t mandatory. Technology has made it easier to do a job from anywhere, but it’s also made it more difficult to unplug, and blurred the line between work and down time. Couple this with the pressure to be a workaholic—or at least give off the impression that you’re one—and it’s a recipe for job burnout."
"...the Times article struck such a nerve because it not only confirmed the stereotype that corporate culture is cold and unforgiving—it summed up the experiences of workers in nearly every industry, not just tech. Power-tripping bosses, incompetent management, lack of work-life balance, guilt for not being available for a job 24-7, and a fear of falling behind due to sickness or time off are endemic in U.S. employment culture, where the 47-hour work week is now the norm, vacation time goes unused and paid maternity leave isn’t mandatory. Technology has made it easier to do a job from anywhere, but it’s also made it more difficult to unplug, and blurred the line between work and down time. Couple this with the pressure to be a workaholic—or at least give off the impression that you’re one—and it’s a recipe for job burnout."
Gaby and Joshua
Gaby is my other favorite on SYTYCD. This piece is why I love the show: the dancers are phenomenal, as is the choreography, concepts, costumes, sets, lighting, everything.
Jaja and Alex
Jaja is one of my favorites, and here she is with Alex last night doing a Bollywood routine on SYTYCD.
Quote of the day: Teddy Roosevelt
Courtesy of Robert Reich:
"I regard this contest as one to determine who shall rule this free country—the people through their governmental agents, or a few ruthless and domineering men whose wealth makes them peculiarly formidable because they hide behind the breastworks of corporate organization.”
—Theodore Roosevelt (1907)
"I regard this contest as one to determine who shall rule this free country—the people through their governmental agents, or a few ruthless and domineering men whose wealth makes them peculiarly formidable because they hide behind the breastworks of corporate organization.”
—Theodore Roosevelt (1907)
Sanders on worker-owned business
What other candidate is proposing this, an example of the emerging Commons? An excerpt:
"Sanders is serious about this and had previously offered legislation to this effect in 2012, 2009 and previously. In June 2014 Sanders’ website described the plan for legislation he was introducing with Vermont’s Senator Patrick Leahy. He proposed to get the government involved in starting and maintaining worker cooperatives and creating a bank to fund worker ownership."
"Sanders is serious about this and had previously offered legislation to this effect in 2012, 2009 and previously. In June 2014 Sanders’ website described the plan for legislation he was introducing with Vermont’s Senator Patrick Leahy. He proposed to get the government involved in starting and maintaining worker cooperatives and creating a bank to fund worker ownership."
Great idea for gun ownership
Make an insurer liable for what one does with that gun. No insurance, no gun, like owning a car. Get careless with the gun, insurance cancelled and no gun. Kill some with the gun, insurance pays out to the victim. And so on.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Jon Oliver on prosperity programming
In this video the focus is on Christian prosperity programming, but the phenomenon is typical Republican fare in that the rich deserve their wealth. And you too can become wealthy by giving your money and support to them. Meanwhile they both know it's a lie to bilk you out of your money and get your vote to maintain the systemic inequality they intentionally create.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Sanders at the Iowa State Fair
He doesn't need to give free helicopter rides (like Trump) to garner large crowds.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Maher's advice to Hillary
In this video he assumes Clinton will get the nomination, but all his advice points to why she should not be and Sanders should be the nominee.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Horizon
I see a ghost on the horizon
calling me to follow.
When I get there
loose rags on a tattered fence.
I look up and he's still there
on the horizon, beckoning.
calling me to follow.
When I get there
loose rags on a tattered fence.
I look up and he's still there
on the horizon, beckoning.
Bruce Bartlett on today's GOP
This is what the former Bush Sr. policy analyst had to say about his Party:
"Oh, I love Donald Trump because he exposes everything about the Republican Party that I have frankly come to hate. It is just filled with people who are crazy, and stupid, and have absolutely no idea of what they are taking about. And the candidates, no matter how intelligent they may be, just constantly have to keep pandering to this lowest common denominator in American politics."
"Oh, I love Donald Trump because he exposes everything about the Republican Party that I have frankly come to hate. It is just filled with people who are crazy, and stupid, and have absolutely no idea of what they are taking about. And the candidates, no matter how intelligent they may be, just constantly have to keep pandering to this lowest common denominator in American politics."
Media mind control
From this link:
Did you know that only a handful of
corporations, 6 to be exact, control over 90 percent of the media? That
means nearly everything we hear on the radio, read in the news, and see
on television (including ‘news’). I’m talking about General Electric
(GE), News-Corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS.
Ever since Operation Mockingbird, a
CIA-based initiative to control mainstream media, more and more people
are expressing their concern that what we see in the media is nothing
short of brainwashing. This is also evident by blatant lies that
continue to spam the TV screen, especially when it comes to topics such
as health, food, war (“terrorism“), poverty and more. Corporate interests always seem to get in the way.
Multiple celebrities have even spoken
out about this. Roseanne Barr, for example, said that MK Ultra rules in
Hollywood. MK Ultra was (and I believe still is) a program run by the
CIA to practice methods of mind control and experiment on human
beings. (source)(source)
Filled with clever marketing tactics
designed to tell us what to think and what to buy, mainstream media
manufactures public opinion and popular trends. It’s time to really take
a look at what’s going on here and consider the type of information
we’re being bombarded with.
In the below eyeopening talk, veteran
investigative journalist (and Former CBS NEWS investigative reporter)
Sharyl Attkisson shows how “astroturf,” or fake grassroots movements,
funded by political, corporate, or other special interests very
effectively manipulate and distort media messages.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Big media (lack of) Sanders coverage
Of course they'll behave this way, given all the other candidates are for big corporate everything and Sanders is not. But big media, like big business capitalism, is going the way of the Dodo. And we on the Commons alternate media via the internet are spreading the word like a wildfire in drought-blighted California. The Sanders campaign is the harbinger of the emerging Commons and big media can try all it wants to ignore its own demise. But their end is truly near, especially with a Sanders Presidency.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Robert Reich on the NH polling
From his FB post:
"I expect the mainstream media to minimize the importance of this (emphasizing Sanders is from neighboring Vermont, for example), but this is significant because it means (1) the momentum for Bernie Sanders is growing, (2) it's growing even in a relatively conservative state like New Hampshire, whose Democrats tend to be centrist rather than to the left of the party, and (3) it's growing even in a state whose Democrats went for Hillary Clinton over Obama in the 2008 primary."
"I expect the mainstream media to minimize the importance of this (emphasizing Sanders is from neighboring Vermont, for example), but this is significant because it means (1) the momentum for Bernie Sanders is growing, (2) it's growing even in a relatively conservative state like New Hampshire, whose Democrats tend to be centrist rather than to the left of the party, and (3) it's growing even in a state whose Democrats went for Hillary Clinton over Obama in the 2008 primary."
Sanders now leading in NH
The naysayers keep saying he can't win. And yet he's drawing record crowds and now leading in NH. Perhaps if the progressive naysayers quit pontificating and got off their asses like us activists and did something to help him win they might prove themselves wrong. Or maybe that's part of the problem; they'd rather be right than work for democracy?
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Sanders draws almost 28,000 in LA
See this article. The people's movement is here and getting stronger each day. We just might restore democracy from the oligarchy.
The post office 'problem' regressives intentionally created
See this FB post. The
Republicans intentionally saddled the PO with a retirement surplus
structure unlike any other in business or government. THAT, and only
that, is the cause of its so-called problems. They created this false
crisis so that they could privatize it and reap all the profit for
themselves. Same strategy with the financial crisis and every other
regressive Republican program: Get into office to intentionally break
government so that their capitalist overlords can take over everything.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Trump reveals the truth
See this article. This
is why both of their respective Party's hate Trump and Sanders; they reveal the political truth. And why Sanders must
win the nomination and Presidency, to curtail the Trumps of this world.
Not destroy them, not take away all their wealth. Just keep them from
doing what Trump openly admits: buying government.
Some more inconvenient truths for regressives
Obamacare is reducing the uninsured rate, particularly in States that instituted Medicaid expansion. Some more facts that belie the regressive spin.
Sanders draws 28,000 in Portland
See this article. And this via the Washington Post. Seems even mass media has to report the actual news on occasion.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Sanders draws 15,000 in Seattle
See this article. Momentum is building because he does something rare in politics these days: represents we the people.
Exploring Sanders' socialism
See this excellent article. Some excerpts:
"Socialism is not a unified economic theory. There are many types of socialism. On one end of the spectrum is the old, totalitarian Soviet system in which the State controlled the means of production as well as distribution. On the other end is libertarian socialism, which calls for decentralization of power as well as worker ownership, control and self-management of the workplace."
"Bernie Sanders identifies himself as a Democratic Socialist.
"Socialism is not a unified economic theory. There are many types of socialism. On one end of the spectrum is the old, totalitarian Soviet system in which the State controlled the means of production as well as distribution. On the other end is libertarian socialism, which calls for decentralization of power as well as worker ownership, control and self-management of the workplace."
"Bernie Sanders identifies himself as a Democratic Socialist.
Aqalbilious
Word of the day: atrabilious \a-truh-BIL-yuhs\
adjective
1. gloomy; morose; melancholy; morbid.
2. irritable; bad-tempered; splenetic.
Applied to those not disposed to kennilingus, aqalbilious.
adjective
1. gloomy; morose; melancholy; morbid.
2. irritable; bad-tempered; splenetic.
Applied to those not disposed to kennilingus, aqalbilious.
Saturday, August 8, 2015
Maher's monologue last night
He returned from vacation on fire with the GOP debates. He noted how the candidates had to first pay tribute to their icon Reagan to set the tone. And that the goal of Fox was to destroy Trump, but it backfired because they forgot that he talks for all those that Fox has programmed to be racist, sexist and ignorant. They created this monster and now they don't like him revealing their true agenda. See the video for a lot more.
The sick culture of wealth
From Maher's special new rule. On the asshole dentist that killed the lion for sport: "If you're a dentist itching to travel to another country to kill something, next time grow some balls and go to Syria and take on ISIS." See the rest for his blistering commentary on the sick culture of wealth where money is God.
Trump's misogyny
During the recent debate he was confronted with his frequent and blatant
misogyny and said that to question it was being politically correct. Later he said the female moderator who questioned him on this must have been having her period. And he leads the Republicans in the polls. Wow.
Friday, August 7, 2015
The arrogance of the imperial integral mind
The following is Eric Towle's opening statement at this FB IPS thread. See the link for the ongoing discussion. Eric:
I need to post an opinion of one panel discussion at the recent ITC 2015. I hope this is a good place to do so. I’ve been carrying this anger and disappointment around with me since the conference but have been unable until now, due to family obligations, to get this down. The name of the panel discussion was: An Integral Consideration of Radical Islam. The panel was made up of Steve McIntosh, the moderator, and Said Dawlabani, Marie Pace, and Miriam Gabriel was supposed to be on as well but dropped out due to a disagreement with the moderator. She was replaced by a gentleman known to the community whose name completely escapes me.
The gist of the discussion was centered on the notion that the reason that some Islamic people are driven to violent acts against Western targets is simply due to their lowly evolutionary station. It was explained that because these poor creatures are not yet high enough on the spiral color scale they are mistakenly moved to attack modernity itself in the form of European and American representatives. Mr. McIntosh told the audience that these young Islamic men are radicalized though a philosophical opposition to the world embraced by us modern people living above them in, shall we call it: the green zone. As the discussion moved on the rest of the panelists concurred from their own limited realm of experience.
I need to post an opinion of one panel discussion at the recent ITC 2015. I hope this is a good place to do so. I’ve been carrying this anger and disappointment around with me since the conference but have been unable until now, due to family obligations, to get this down. The name of the panel discussion was: An Integral Consideration of Radical Islam. The panel was made up of Steve McIntosh, the moderator, and Said Dawlabani, Marie Pace, and Miriam Gabriel was supposed to be on as well but dropped out due to a disagreement with the moderator. She was replaced by a gentleman known to the community whose name completely escapes me.
The gist of the discussion was centered on the notion that the reason that some Islamic people are driven to violent acts against Western targets is simply due to their lowly evolutionary station. It was explained that because these poor creatures are not yet high enough on the spiral color scale they are mistakenly moved to attack modernity itself in the form of European and American representatives. Mr. McIntosh told the audience that these young Islamic men are radicalized though a philosophical opposition to the world embraced by us modern people living above them in, shall we call it: the green zone. As the discussion moved on the rest of the panelists concurred from their own limited realm of experience.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Regressive strategy
Plus they cut education funding so that their base cannot get informed enough to know they're being duped. And it works.
Siro-A gets AGT's golden buzzer
In this video. Amazing dance performance combined with multi-media light show. And Piers Morgan hit the golden buzzer!
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Stupid progressives
Continuing from this post, which I posted in a FB Bernie for President page, someone said that they'd rather voted Green Party than for Hillary. My response:
Go ahead, cut off your nose to spite your face. If more progressives have the attitude that Hillary isn't any better than the GOP candidate guess what we'll get? A GOP President AND Congress. Remember the last election when progressives stayed home in droves? And what did we get for that? The plutocracy will get far, far worse than it is now.
PS: I'll bet if Bernie gets defeated by Hillary in the primary that he'll wholeheartedly support her against the GOP candidate.
Go ahead, cut off your nose to spite your face. If more progressives have the attitude that Hillary isn't any better than the GOP candidate guess what we'll get? A GOP President AND Congress. Remember the last election when progressives stayed home in droves? And what did we get for that? The plutocracy will get far, far worse than it is now.
PS: I'll bet if Bernie gets defeated by Hillary in the primary that he'll wholeheartedly support her against the GOP candidate.
If Sanders doesn't get the nomination?
Following up on this post about Hartmann, Clinton and Sanders, Hartmann
said in his introductory remarks that Hillary is not as progressive as
Bernie, and he favors some of Bernie's policies over Hillary's. But his
other point is one we should take to heart: while Hillary is no Bernie,
and if she wins the Democratic nomination, she is a hell of a lot better
than any Republican on most of the issues. So while we all fight for
Bernie to get the nomination, if we fail we better be prepared to
support Hillary. If any of the Republican field wins we are in for a far
worse hell than we have now.
PS: Hartmann has featured Sanders weekly every Friday (Brunch with Bernie) for about 10 years. I am though waiting to see if he'll endorse him over Hillary.
PS: Hartmann has featured Sanders weekly every Friday (Brunch with Bernie) for about 10 years. I am though waiting to see if he'll endorse him over Hillary.
Necessary preconditions for the Commons
Sanders agenda may be necessary but not sufficient to implement the Commons. But to get to something like that requires his work as necessary preconditions. And Sanders'
agenda has the incipient beginnings of an infrastructure for the
Commons, like supporting worker co-ops. Also converting to renewal energy. All of which require democracy,
something that has been stolen from us and needs reinstating.
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Warren reams the Senate over defunding Planned Parenthood
See this video. And she's right about the regressives wanting to go back to the 50s, where their women stayed barefoot and pregnant while making supper and giving the breadwinning man an after meal blowjob.
Corporate Democrats want to take down Sanders
Hartmann is right on in this analysis. The corporate Democrats, including those that run their media outlets (including MSNBC), cannot abide an 'outsider' like Sanders getting the nomination for their Party. They fear he'll chase away the big money that buys government. Duh, yeah, that's the point you pinheads. God forbid should we get big money out of campaigns and go with Sanders' Bill that institutes public financing of elections. In the linked clip of Matthews interviewing Wasserman Schultz on Sanders he tries to denigrate Sanders as a socialist. Too bad Wasserman Schultz is herself a corporate Democrat or she would have responded to him, like Hartmann does about the definition of democratic socialism: "Providing a strong social safety net for the poor, and setting the rules of the game of business so that if you work a 40-hour week you can make enough to not live in poverty but to live a middle class life."
Monday, August 3, 2015
Protect Planned Parenthood
Recall this post where Planned Parenthood was cleared of any wrongdoing on the regressive manufactured baby parts scandal. Now see this from Senator Warren and consider signing the petition.
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled a vote on the bill to defund Planned Parenthood for 5:30pm today. Remember, that’s a vote to defund cancer screenings, birth control, HIV testing, STD treatments, and basic health care services for 2.7 million people a year. There are no federal dollars that go to help the 3% of Planned Parenthood patients who need access to compassionate and safe abortion services. This defunding is all about politics and denying women access to basic health care.
We still have a few hours to stand up, speak out, and fight back for the millions of women who depend on Planned Parenthood all across this country.
In the past 48 hours, tens of thousands of people have already signed our petition to stand with Planned Parenthood. Will you join us? Sign the petition now.
I can’t believe I have to send emails about protecting women’s health care in 2015 – but if the Republicans want a fight, we’ll give them one.
Thanks,
Elizabeth
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has scheduled a vote on the bill to defund Planned Parenthood for 5:30pm today. Remember, that’s a vote to defund cancer screenings, birth control, HIV testing, STD treatments, and basic health care services for 2.7 million people a year. There are no federal dollars that go to help the 3% of Planned Parenthood patients who need access to compassionate and safe abortion services. This defunding is all about politics and denying women access to basic health care.
We still have a few hours to stand up, speak out, and fight back for the millions of women who depend on Planned Parenthood all across this country.
In the past 48 hours, tens of thousands of people have already signed our petition to stand with Planned Parenthood. Will you join us? Sign the petition now.
I can’t believe I have to send emails about protecting women’s health care in 2015 – but if the Republicans want a fight, we’ll give them one.
Thanks,
Elizabeth
Why conscious capitalism doesn't work
See this article, which includes conscious capitalism among other 'fixes' within the capitalist system. An excerpt on conscious capitalism:
"The problem is that these solutions don't work. They may improve the lives of a few people in the short run, but they do nothing to tackle the broad systemic problems that need to be solved. In the long run they may actually make things worse by deepening the reach of inherently divisive market forces. They burnish the meritocratic façade of corporate America while encouraging people to blame themselves for their failure to achieve a comfortable life, rather than empowering them to examine and challenge the political and economic structures that order their lives."
"John Mackey’s model of 'conscious capitalism' [....] is not a solution. It ignores the fundamental imperatives of global capitalism that force every company, conscious or not, to continuously expand, overcome their competitors, and most importantly, earn profits. As researchers like Peter Dauvergne and Jane Lister argue, eco-business practices do very little to challenge the way we produce, consume, and dispose of material goods. When we channel our desire to end global warming or rainforest destruction or species extinction through corporations, our desires end up by getting absorbed into business strategies for growth and expansion, strengthening the production-for-profit architecture that’s consuming and destroying the world’s resources.
"The problem is that these solutions don't work. They may improve the lives of a few people in the short run, but they do nothing to tackle the broad systemic problems that need to be solved. In the long run they may actually make things worse by deepening the reach of inherently divisive market forces. They burnish the meritocratic façade of corporate America while encouraging people to blame themselves for their failure to achieve a comfortable life, rather than empowering them to examine and challenge the political and economic structures that order their lives."
"John Mackey’s model of 'conscious capitalism' [....] is not a solution. It ignores the fundamental imperatives of global capitalism that force every company, conscious or not, to continuously expand, overcome their competitors, and most importantly, earn profits. As researchers like Peter Dauvergne and Jane Lister argue, eco-business practices do very little to challenge the way we produce, consume, and dispose of material goods. When we channel our desire to end global warming or rainforest destruction or species extinction through corporations, our desires end up by getting absorbed into business strategies for growth and expansion, strengthening the production-for-profit architecture that’s consuming and destroying the world’s resources.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
They created this monster
With their dumbing down of America with reptilian rhetoric. They shouldn't be surprised that their base favors King Reptile and turned whatever sanity was left in their Party to this sort of joke.
Reptilian Republicans
See FO's IPS FB post on this. My comments:
Our lizard brain is useful for fight or flight, and regulating our autonomous processes. But left to itself we'd still be lizards. It is not coincidence that regressive Republican strategy is to activate our lizard to keep us in fight or flight mode. And direct that fight to our peers instead of the real enemy, while fleeing from any hope that things can change for the better. I'm starting to wonder if that insane lizard conspiracy guy (David Icke) isn't right, at least metaphorically.
When Eric suggested we need another Civil War for these cretins, I replied:
Our lizard brain is useful for fight or flight, and regulating our autonomous processes. But left to itself we'd still be lizards. It is not coincidence that regressive Republican strategy is to activate our lizard to keep us in fight or flight mode. And direct that fight to our peers instead of the real enemy, while fleeing from any hope that things can change for the better. I'm starting to wonder if that insane lizard conspiracy guy (David Icke) isn't right, at least metaphorically.
When Eric suggested we need another Civil War for these cretins, I replied:
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Planned Parenthood cleared of any wrongdoing
See this article which reports that Indiana's GOP Governor Pence's investigation into whether PP was selling baby parts concluded it was "unable to find any non-compliance with state regulations. Therefore, no deficiencies were cited.” The facts though will not deter the Congressional regressives from continuing their rabid jihad against womens' legal reproductive rights.
The rich are literally sick
See this article. Some of the research indicates the following:
Average people are more likely to identify with their own communities, the very rich instead identify with a global elite class.
Wealthy people are less empathetic and tend to think of themselves and others in terms of fixed traits, instead of attributing a person’s emotional state to context and surroundings.
Average people are more likely to identify with their own communities, the very rich instead identify with a global elite class.
Wealthy people are less empathetic and tend to think of themselves and others in terms of fixed traits, instead of attributing a person’s emotional state to context and surroundings.
Petition MoveOn to endorese Sanders
They previously endorsed Warren who isn't running, so how about now endorsing Sanders who is running? See the petition here. Note: This is a MoveOn petition that petitions MoveOn. I like the irony.
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"It was always difficult to image that, within the realm of representative democracy, a leftist party could be elected with the expectation that they will be the sole driver of progressive transformative social change. This type of old leftist politics is dead. Instead, what is needed today is new progressive thinking. New forms of revolutionary politics and organisation and social philosophies of societal transformation. The revolutionary process requires guidance, but guidance by a political party (be it a Leninist or a social democratic party) is or should be a non-starter. This sort of guidance perpetuates, as we have seen time and again, the institutional and corporate world.[1] To the contrary: as part of a longstanding, widely developed and recognized thesis at Heathwood, emancipatory politics must have a grassroots centre of gravity and emphasis."