Michael Moore on the Flint water situation

See his post here for the details. This is what you get when business replaces democracy. The bullet points follow:

1. While the Children in Flint Were Given Poisoned Water to Drink, General Motors Was Given a Special Hookup to the Clean Water.
2. For Just $100 a Day, This Crisis Could’ve Been Prevented.
3. There’s More Than the Lead in Flint’s Water.
4. People’s Homes in Flint Are Now Worth Nothing Because They Cant Be Sold.
5. While They Were Being Poisoned, They Were Also Being Bombed.

Video of Finicum apparently going for a gun

Of course the terrorist conspiracies won't believe their lying eyes.

Sanders on Meet the Press today

Sanders holds out for, and gets, more Democratic debates

See this article where he kicks Debbie Wasserman-Schultz's ass.

"While Clinton and O’Malley had agreed to the [Feb. 4] debate, and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) had sanctioned it, Bernie Sanders was the lone holdout, only agreeing to the February 4 event if more debates were scheduled in the following months. The Sanders campaign also insisted that each new debate must be held during a weeknight."

Is 538 hedging their bets?

538 still thinks Clinton is likely to win, but they did say this recently (hedging their bets):

"But Sanders would have an avalanche of momentum going for him after wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. [...] One factor helping Sanders: Voters who had been attracted to his message before, but who weren’t sure he could win, would mostly have their doubts removed after he beat Clinton twice."

American breakfast

Not far wrong, at least for the dimwits.

Multifractals and literature

Here's an interesting article on literature and multifractals. Therein it is revealed that stream of consciousness literature was most representative of multifracticity (aka Multipli City). Multifracticity itself 'interweaves' other fractals, thereby displaying synius behavior. This appears to support my thesis stated many times in the Ning forum that its structure is more stream of consciousness than linearly structured academic writing. Hence the former is more an enactment of multifractivism. Interesting indeed.

I'm also reminded of this article by Hayles. An excerpt:

Synius

Following up on this post, I noted elsewhere that I favor the term syntegral over integral. With this new term scenius I'm now inclined to take out the gral  of syntegral and now call it synius as the noun and adjective for the emerging, alternative, syntegrative work happening at IPS and around the globe.

Cornell West on the black vote and Sanders

In this clip (at 0.25) he's convinced that the more the black community gets to know him, the more it will switch from Clinton to Sanders. Then West throws in that for Clinton "the word 'integrity' is not the first thing that comes to mind."

Bullshit Boulevard

Here's Maher's New Rule on how Republicans not only lie, but then lie about the lie when caught. Truth no longer matters for them. Witness: when Trump is caught in a lie he gains supporters.

Brian Eno on scenius

An excerpt from this article, the same underlying theme as the last post:

"I was an art student and, like all art students, I was encouraged to believe that there were a few great figures like Picasso and Kandinsky, Rembrandt and Giotto and so on who sort-of appeared out of nowhere and produced artistic revolution.As I looked at art more and more, I discovered that that wasn’t really a true picture.What really happened was that there was sometimes very fertile scenes involving lots and lots of people – some of them artists, some of them collectors, some of them curators, thinkers, theorists, people who were fashionable and knew what the hip things were – all sorts of people who created a kind of ecology of talent. And out of that ecology arose some wonderful work.

We instead of me

See this article. Excerpts:

"The commons exists outside the typical definitions of the market and the state. It is not simply a negative to the market’s positive; it is a parallel economy that does real work—often the most important work. Without clean air to breathe, for example, or a common fund of knowledge to serve as feedstock for invention and the arts, human society would grind to a halt, as would life itself. Yet the commons is functionally invisible today. Economists disparage it as a relic of benighted times, and extol private property rights as the key to human progress. The media pretty much ignores the commons, except for bits and pieces, and politicians do as well."

Here's why Sanders scares the shit out of the rich

In this article Sanders not only calls out the tax dodgers but proposes laws to make them pay their fair share. Notice the word fair. He's not proposing taxing them out of business. As it is many of them not only do not pay any taxes but get tax rebates! If they paid their fair share they'd still make boatloads of profits and their execs would still be rich. Just their sick greed would be curbed. And that's a terrible thing?

Democratic socialism

To clarify for the regressive idiots out there:

Senator Warren on law enforcement

See her article here. She provides several examples of those that commit crimes and yet the law is either not enforced to punish effectively. Not least of which is the example of Wall Street and the crash it deliberately caused, where not one of the executives of said banks incurred criminal penalties. Warren encourages us to select a candidate and President who will not only suggest new laws but enforce those already on the book. While she doesn't come right out and say it, it's clear which Democratic candidate that would be (Sanders), and which one it wouldn't be (Clinton). Just  follow the campaign money.

Lady Gaga from the archive

From this post in the IPS Lady Gaga thread:

Let’s address her bisexuality and the rumor that she is a hermaphrodite. She admits to the former and in an interview with Barbara Walters denies the latter. Of course this issue was addressed in the first minute of her latest video Telephone, where her clothing is stripped off and she gives a crotch shot to the camera in a see-through leotard. It is obvious she had no dick and one guard remarks to the other: “See, I told you she didn’t have a dick.”

The point is not so much that she is a medical hermaphrodite but that she has become a mythical or metaphorical hermaphrodite. The term comes from the offspring of Hermes and Aphrodite, Hermaphroditis. The latter is turned into a bi- or intersexual when Salmacis merges with him in her pool of water. Mythologically a hermaphrodite represents the union of male and female within any individual, mystically referred to as “the marriage of heaven and earth.” This also refers to the mystical marriage between an individual with God or deity. Some might contend that the former requires the latter, that we must balance the sexes within ourselves in preparation for the greater marriage of this balanced self with the divine. In modern mythology this story is played out in Peter Pan.

Network of Spiritual Progressives on realism v idealism

Specifically Cat J. Zavis, the Executive Director, dissects the so-called Democratic realists backing Clinton calling them faux. She understands the disillusion we faced when Obama promised us great changes but then capitulated to the Wall Street banks. But she notes that the faux-realists are "timid and fearful to limit ourselves to incremental change -- and it only makes the powerful more powerful." Voting for that agenda "is essentially casting a vote for the lesser evil. This approach to social and political change is steeped in fear. [...] When we narrow our vision of what is possible to what those in power tell us is possible, we actually bolster their power." Instead:

Carrot clarinet

At 1:45 he plays a carrot he drilled.

Aubrie Sellers on Colbert

My first exposure to this band. I like the sound. Sort of a country rockabilly.

The Dump debate

Since crybaby Trump didn't participate in the last Republican debate because he was afraid of a woman, Colbert decided Trump should have a debate with himself. He shows clips of Trump having opposite positions to himself. This isn't because Trump is consciously or intelligently triangulating like Clinton but because the man has no moral or political center, since the entire world revolves around him.

Saudi Prince smacks down Trump

See this story. Trump's only claim to legitimacy is his success as a businessman. The Prince notes that twice before, when Trump was failing badly at it, he had to bail him out. Fact is, Trump sucks at business too and is pretty much worthless.

Settle and aim low

Another Clinton campaign slogan explained.

Sanders v. Clinton quiz

See it here. It will help you decide which candidate is more in alignment with your issues.

Ralph Nader has a question for Clinton

See his FB post here. I'd really like to see what Clinton said to Goldman Sachs in those highly paid speeches. But interestingly, per contract that cannot be released. Probably shit like Romney's 47%.

Greenwald smacks down Krugman

Great piece here, whereby Greenwald shows how Krugman is now playing a game he has long despised: The Very Serious Person (VSP). Krugman used to criticize those political talking heads that claim only those that agreed with them were 'serious.' And now Krugman is claiming only those who support Clinton are serious policy experts while those for Sanders are not. Greenwald of course lists several with VSP credentials who are in fact for Sanders, but apparently are no longer in Krugman's hypocritical  new club.

Bernie's Yearning

Colbert on the new Sanders ice cream. He then suggest what some of the other candidates flavor would be. I especially like Clinton's.

Planned Parenthood cleared yet again

See this story, this time in TX. It's not at least 12 States that have investigated PP and cleared them of any wrongdoing. And in the TX case, not the perpetrators against PP, the ones that edited the videos, are now up on charges. No surprise though that no Republican will talk about these cases. And it doesn't seem to be changing the Republican drive to defund PP, even though this faux video was their reason for doing it.

Clinton's new campaign slogan

Gone are the days of Obama's "yes we can." Clinton's attacks on Sanders revolve around the notion that he's idealistic and wants drastic change that is not feasible. She wants to maintain the status quo and work incrementally for change, or so she says. So we just can't do what Sanders wants, which by the way is what the majority of the American people want: the kind of democracy we actually used to have and quite successfully. Instead of Clinton's new slogan Sanders should be: Yes we must.

Reich's response to Sanders skeptics

In this video he debunks 6 rationalizations uses by the skeptics.

Marianne Williamson for Sanders

Oregon terrorist conspiracy story debunked

Now that some have been arrested and one killed, their terror network is asserting that the one killed was surrendering with his hands up. This story provides the facts by eyewitnesses. I know, the paranoid terrorist conspiracy will not accept the facts and believe the eyewitnesses are part of the conspiracy.

A NH Democratic debate added

See this story. Progressives fought back against the DNC favoring Clinton by limiting debates and decided to hold one of their own, despite the DNC chair saying that would disqualify candidates from further DNC sanctioned debates. And when Maddow planned and implemented the added debate the DNC chair relented:

"If MSNBC, all the candidates, and Rachel Maddow show up in New Hampshire and decide to hold a debate, does it matter if it is sanctioned or not? The DNC can’t penalize the entire field of Democratic candidates for participating, so there is literally nothing that they can do to stop this debate."

So progressives, schedule a dozen or more additional debates beside those sanctioned by the DNC. Tell that defunct Party structure to go fuck itself and do what democracy demands. 

Crybaby Trump pulls out of Fox debate

See this story. He refused to participate in the upcoming debate if Megyn Kelly was moderating because she treated him unfairly according to the baby. All she did was ask him about the facts of his behavior. This guy and his idiot followers think he can stand up to the treatment a President gets? Fox stood up to the bully and told him to fuck off. Kelly said: "Trump is not used to not controlling things. But the truth is, he doesn't get to control the media." Bravo.

Some of the OR terrorists arrested, 1 killed in shootout

It's about time these criminals faced justice in this story.

Trump v. Cruz

Colbert examines how many Republicans don't want either of these two clowns.

More Wall Street $ for Clinton

Does anyone honestly think that this kind of Wall Street money will have no or minimal effect on Clinton?

Trump & Gump

At around 3:25 in Maher's monologue last Friday he address Palin's endorsement of Trump.

Reich on Clinton v. Sanders

From this blog post, managing oligarchy v. upgrading democracy:

"This election is about changing the parameters of what’s feasible and ending the choke hold of big money on our political system. I’ve known Hillary Clinton since she was 19 years old, and have nothing but respect for her. In my view, she’s the most qualified candidate for president of the political system we now have. But Bernie Sanders is the most qualified candidate to create the political system we should have, because he’s leading a political movement for change."

Christian prosperity gospel

See this Chris Hedges article. An excerpt:

"The self-identified religious institutions that thrive preach the perverted 'prosperity gospel,' the message that magic Jesus will make you rich, respected and powerful if you believe in him. Jesus, they claim, is an American capitalist, bigot and ardent imperialist. These sects selectively lift passages from the Bible to justify the unjustifiable, including homophobia, war, racism against Muslims, and the death penalty."

Vanden Heuval on Clinton v. Sanders

See this article. She contends the framing of the practical, head-centered candidacy of Clinton with the idealistic, heart-centered Sanders campaign. She makes the valid argument that even if we accept this framing Sanders is the more pragmatic and intellectually better choice on foreign policy, the economy, healthcare, campaign finance, electability and Wall Street. Sanders beats Clinton on both counts, so the dichotomous framing is a fallacy.

Facts are not intelligence

That's what Rumsfeld said in response to Colbert's question about leading us into the Iraq War based on uncertain information.

Reich on framing the Democratic primary

Following up on the last post, here's Reich's latest FB post on how the IA town hall was framed in Clinton's favor. He reframes it no so much in Sanders' but we-the-people's favor that Sanders represents.

"Listening to media coverage of last night's 'town hall' in Iowa, I keep hearing the Democratic contest characterized as a choice between Hillary Clinton’s 'pragmatism' and Bernie Sanders’s 'idealism' -- with the not-so-subtle message that realists choose pragmatism over idealism. But this way of framing the choice ignores the biggest reality of all -- the unprecedented, and increasing, concentration of income, wealth, and power at the very top (unprecedented since the era of the 'robber barons' in the 1890s), combined with declining real incomes for most and persistent poverty for the bottom fifth.

Iowa too close to call for Sanders or Clinton

See this article. It's not only on polling results but how and why different polls have different results. Polls can be geared to get the results they want by how they are structured. So even those that average all the polls doesn't provide the real picture, since some polls included in those averages are highly biased and skewed.

On a personal note, I recall competing in a dance championship.

Warren will not endorse Clinton

Following up on this post, here's an article that agrees with what I stated in that post, saying in that Senate speech Warren made clear she will not endorsement Clinton. And that Clinton is in bed with Wall Street, hence her recent attacks on Sanders saying his proposals are "too hard."

Bill Clinton on single-payer in 2009

Back then he was a champion of the idea. Now not so much after years of taking money from healthcare companies. For example, from the video below:

“Because single-payer is not socialized medicine. Canada has a single-payer system, and a private health care system. Our single-payer systems are Medicare and Medicaid and Medicare is quite popular. The good thing about single-payer is the administrative costs are quite low. We probably waste $200 billion a year between the insurance administrative costs, the doctors’ and other health care providers’ administrative costs, and employers’ administrative costs in health care that we would not waste if we had any other country’s system.”

Obama on Sanders and Clinton

From this recent interview. Always the peace-maker.

"Well, there's no doubt that Bernie has tapped into a running thread in Democratic politics that says: Why are we still constrained by the terms of the debate that were set by Ronald Reagan 30 years ago? You know, why is it that we should be scared to challenge conventional wisdom and talk bluntly about inequality and, you know, be full-throated in our progressivism? And, you know, that has an appeal and I understand that.

Do the rich deserve their good fortune?

See this article by Yanis Varoufakis. The introduction:

"The ‘haves’ of the world are always convinced that they deserve their wealth. That their gargantuan income reflects their ingenuity, ‘human capital’, the risks they (or their parents) took, their work ethic, their acumen, their application, their good luck even. The economists (especially members of the so-called Chicago School. e.g. Gary Becker) aid and abet the self-serving beliefs of the powerful by arguing that arbitrary discrimination in the distribution of wealth and social roles cannot survive for long the pressures of competition (i.e. that, sooner or later, people will be rewarded in proportion to their contribution to society). Most of the rest of us suspect that this is plainly false. That the distribution of power and wealth can be, and usually is, highly arbitrary and independent of ‘marginal productivity’, ‘risk taking’ or, indeed, any personal characteristic of those who rise to the top. In this post I present a body of experimental work that argues the latter point: Arbitrary distributions of roles and wealth are not only sustainable in competitive environments but, indeed, they are unavoidable until and unless there are political interventions to keep them in check."

SNL mocks lack of diversity in the Academy Awards

Talk about free stuff

The choice is clear

via GIPHY

Tina Fey does Palin on SNL

Parodying Palin's recent Trump endorsement. Very accurate and funny. Unfortunately Trump is not bright enough to regret this endorsement like in the clip.

Cool gif

This could represent how the AQAL quadrants interact, and how the quadrant themselves, not being absolutely fixed in either content or space/time, themselves change into each other depending on their relative positioning in the rotational cycle. It would also resolve the assholon of everything phenomenon of kennilingus.

Martyrs without a cause

In this New Rule Maher goes after both liberals and conservatives that get all worked up over not much of anything.

Reich on Krugman's capitulation

In this FB post Reich notes that Krugman 1) doesn't understand political reality and 2) doesn't understand, in Trump's terms, the art of the deal. In terms of political reality the public needs to be mobilized in order to vote in representatives that will implement their wishes. And to incite said mobilization a candidate has to express policies the people believe in and want to see enacted. Sanders is exactly that candidate as proven in poll after poll on the issues.

Trump or Cruz?

Borowitz said in this post: "Poll: In Hypothetical Matchup Between Trump and Cruz, Most Choose Death." As well they should.

Senator Warren on Clinton's single-payer complaint

While Warren doesn't specifically address Clinton's latest attack on Sanders' single-payer idea, it seems that Warren is talking directly to her and her lackeys for taking this tack. Warren's full statement is here. It about Citizens United and the corrupt buying of politicians. She has 6 fixes to this, all of which are fought by most all Congressional Republicans and corporate Democrats. Sanders though is in alignment with these fixes. The quote below ends the speech, and it could very well be directed against Clinton.

Sanders: Don't tell me

Different answers

Sanders v. Clinton endorsements

See this article for the details. The introduction:

"In the war for endorsements in the Democratic presidential primary, there is a clear trend.
Every major union or progressive organization that let its members have a vote endorsed Bernie Sanders. Meanwhile, all of Hillary Clinton’s major group endorsements come from organizations where the leaders decide. And several of those endorsements were accompanied by criticisms from members about the lack of a democratic process. It’s perhaps the clearest example yet of Clinton’s powerful appeal to the Democratic Party’s elite, even as support for Sanders explodes among the rank and file."

Clinton's long history of lying

And you want her to get the Democratic nomination and Presidency? We must get out and get Sanders in.

Hartmann analyzes one of Clinton's dirty tricks

This clip is about how Clinton misled the last debate on Sanders spending bill vote, which had at the last minute a Republican amendment to the bill regarding regulation of commodity futures. Otherwise Sanders would have capitulated to the regressive government shut down, and he was angry that they put that rider in the bill. Hartmann shows how Clinton is using dirty tricks instead of being honest about this vote. And her current campaign financial officer is the guy who wrote that rider!  It seems she's so desperate now and once again her true colors shine through.

Viva la revolution

In this Reich FB post he underlines a theme I've been discussing in this blog, status quo or revolution. Viva la revolution!

"Yesterday in New Hampshire, Bill Clinton attacked Bernie Sanders’s proposal for a single-payer health plan as "politically infeasible" and a 'recipe for gridlock.' Bill Clinton is correct -- if we accept the current political status quo. Every progressive idea is a recipe for gridlock as long as big corporations, Wall Street, and the wealthy continue to dominate our political system. If you assume Washington is not changeable and that the vicious cycle of wealth and power dominating American politics and economics is unalterable, Hillary will make a first-class president for the system we now have. But if you believe Washington must be changed and that system can be altered for the benefit of the many and not the few, Bernie’s leadership and ideas are especially relevant because he's heading up a political movement."

Modern day Munsters

Colbert's Palin impression

In this clip first he comments on her Trump endorsement, then does some word salad himself.

Palin's word salad endorsement of Trump

See this article for some more samples of this endorsement. And Trump is proud of her fawning! Birds of a feather they are. An indication of just how sick a portion of the US has become. Here's just one sample of the word salad:

"But for the GOP establishment to be coming after Donald Trump's supporters, even, with accusations that are so false, they are so busted, the way that this thing works. We, you, a diverse, dynamic, needed support base, that they would attack."

Some facts about the Flint water poisoning

See this article for details. This is blatant criminal behavior.

"The federal government is accusing Rick Snyder’s Department of Environmental Quality of blocking efforts to make Flint’s drinking water safe.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed blame on Michigan state officials Tuesday for 'failures' and 'resistance' to make drinking water in Flint safe for residents again."

Republican Christianity is corrupting the faith

See this Salon article. An excerpt:

"The political version of Christianity is first and foremost a media construct, like so much of our lives these days. It’s championed by Fox News, the 700 Club and a parade of has-beens and never weres, selling the “prosperity gospel” like so much snake oil. It’s a powerful and toxic stew that is as relevant to Jesus as professional wrestling or a discarded Playboy. Conservative Christianity in America is less a religion and more of a secret handshake, a group signifier of exclusion and moral superiority. Its swaggering and masculine cruelty is at once its greatest weakness and most attractive feature for working class white people who have seen their lifestyles and power eroded.

Gay men touch vagina for the first time

Funny video.

Flint's baptism for blacks

GOP strategist on Trump followers

From this story and video below: “The fact of the matter is, most of them are childless single men who masturbate to anime.”

Cruz is more dangerous than Trump

From Reich's FB post today. Quote:

5 reasons Ted Cruz is more dangerous than Donald Trump.

1. He’s more fanatical. Trump is a bully and bigot but doesn’t hew to any sharp ideological line. Cruz is a fierce ideologue: He denies the existence of man-made climate change, rejects same-sex marriage, wants to abolish the Internal Revenue Service, believes the 2nd amendment guarantees everyone a right to guns, doesn’t believe in a constitutional divide between church and state, favors the death penalty, opposes international agreements, embraces a confrontational foreign policy, rejects immigration reform, demands the repeal of “every blessed word of Obamacare,” and takes a strict “originalist” view of the meaning of the Constitution.

Wilber's plain old metaphysics

LP brings this up in this FB post. My response:

From this Ning IPS thread:

It struck me that Derrida's descriptions of khora and differance sound reminiscent of Wilber's description of consciousness per se in Integral Spirituality (Shambhala, 2007). For example Wilber says in Chapter 2:

"This happens to fit nicely with the Madhyamaka-Yogachara Buddhist view of consciousness as emptiness or openness. Consciousness is not anything itself, just the degree of openness or emptiness, the clearing in which the phenomena of the various lines appear (but consciousness is not itself a phenomena—it is the space in which phenomena arise)" (66).

Hartmann interviews Lofgren

Lofgren's new book is The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government. Also see his essay on the topic before the book was published. In the video below Lofgren starts off with this: "The Republicans have become kind of an apocalyptic cult run by authoritarians and most of the base seems to be authoritarian followers." Well worth a look and a read.

Petition DOJ to investigate Flint water crisis

The following is from Credo Action:

Accountability for the crisis in Flint

The petition to the Justice Department reads: "Conduct a thorough, tough, and transparent investigation into the poisoning of Flint, Michigan’s water supply that reaches all the way to Gov. Rick Snyder and holds him accountable for his role in creating and perpetuating this crisis." Add your name:

Who gets what water?

Trump supporters are authoritarians

See this article, which contends this is the leading factor in determining who supports him.

"Authoritarians obey. They rally to and follow strong leaders. And they respond aggressively to outsiders, especially when they feel threatened. From pledging to 'make America great again' by building a wall on the border to promising to close mosques and ban Muslims from visiting the United States, Trump is playing directly to authoritarian inclinations."

Which of course reminds me of Lakoff's work here, and that we must counter authoritarianism with communalism (aka participatory democracy) via effective framing. Which is of course where Sanders comes in. Lakoff notes that there can be moral pathologies on both sides. For the likes of Trump it is authoritarianism and narcissism. Liberals need to watch out for self-sacrifice and hedonism.

Trump too dangerous to elect

See this article. It asks: "If elected president would Donald Trump act on the behalf of the will of the people, or would he behave more like a dictator—silencing any dissenting voices, perpetually refusing to compromise, and being oppressive to certain groups?"

While not all narcissists are necessarily bad people, and some not at all, putting them in such delicate positions of virtually unlimited power can make for very dangerous outcomes like war. Just observing how Trump has changed in the course of his candidacy shows how the mere prospect has turned him to blatant bigot and xenophobe. Conclusion:

Therapists speak out on Trump's illness

See this Psychology Today article. To no one's surprise it's obvious even to professional therapists that Trump has narcissistic personality disorder. As one therapist put it:

"He’s applying for the greatest job in the land, the greatest task of which is to serve, but there’s nothing about the man that is service-oriented. He’s only serving himself.”

This is a serious medical condition that should disqualify him for this most important position.

Krugman favors Clinton's healthcare plan

See his post here. He reiterates several of Clinton's debate points. Single-payer isn't politically feasible given huge regressive obstruction. Even though he agrees that the increased taxes on the middle class would actually save them money by elimination of co-pays and insurance companies, it's still a tax increase and a hard sell. And the disruption caused by starting over would be another hard sell to the public. He agrees with what Sanders says about single-payer; it's just not going to happen.

We all know Lucy is going to pull away that football

Just as we know this is a 1% lie to fool the ignorant and gullible.

Reich on the Democratic debate

See his FB post. I agree that any of these candidates far surpass any of the recalcitrant regressives on the other side. I also agree that Clinton's attacks on Sanders are lame but likely effective to those who don't think much or well. Reich is also right that if you want someone who will maintain the current system and navigate it well then your candidate is Clinton. But if you think the system is corrupt and that it demands a people's revolution to change it, then you have to go with Sanders.

Reich debunks Sanders criticism

See this article for the details. The false charges he debunks follow:

“He’d never beat Trump or Cruz in a general election.”

“He couldn’t get any of his ideas implemented because Congress would reject them.”

“America would never elect a socialist.”

2016 World Economic Forum

In this piece Rifkin quibbles with the theme of this year's forum, which is The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Rifkin explains why what is described in the defining essay of the forum is really what he terms The Third Industrial Revolution, but agrees with the content. The important thing is that the WEF is discussing this emerging next wave of socio-economics. Spoiler: It ain't conscious capitalism.

Petition President Obama to apprear on Real Time

See Maher's plea below and sign the petition here.

Compare healthcare plans

What is (and what Clinton supports) and what could be.

'Integral' Third Way

Rommel posted this on Third Way Democrats at FB, a link to Hartmann and Papantonio discussing how Third Way Democrats are really just Republican Wall Street types. Hence they hate Sanders and Warren, representatives of We the People. Rommel also noted how some so-called integralists are taken in by the Third Way as somehow themselves 'integral.' The Third Wayers know how to manipulate the so-called integralists into supporting them, since the latter also fall for the superior man/group (Jedi) leading the way fallacy. Both detest the idea of participatory democracy, letting the unwashed masses not only decide their own destiny but the government as well. Tierants all.

Sanders sets the record straight on his healthcare proposal

He's already sponsored detailed Bills in Congress on this, so it's there for all to see. As he explains in this video, it's not at all how the regressives, and their come lately mouthpiece Clinton, spin.

Reich's response to Sanders skeptics

From this FB post. Recall he served in Clinton 1's cabinet and knows the Clintons inside out. Hence he now supports Sanders, not Clinton. Quote:

Responses to Bernie Skeptics:

1. “He’d never beat Trump or Cruz in a general election.”

Wrong. According to the latest polls, Bernie is the strongest Democratic candidate in the general election, defeating both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz in hypothetical matchups. (The latest Real Clear Politics averages of all polls shows Bernie beating Trump by a larger margin than Hillary beats Trump, and Bernie beating Cruz while Hillary loses to Cruz.)

2. “He couldn’t get any of his ideas implemented because Congress would reject them.”

If both house of Congress remain in Republican hands, no Democrat will be able to get much legislation through Congress, and will have to rely instead on executive orders and regulations. But there’s a higher likelihood of kicking Republicans out if Bernie’s “political revolution” continues to surge around America, bringing in young people and millions of other voters, and keeping them politically engaged.

3. “America would never elect a socialist.”

Senator Warren on the Goldman Sachs settlement

Following up on this post, following is Senator Warren's FB response. The progressive hope is that Sanders gets the nomination and chooses her as his running mate. Then they not only win the White House but bring back Congress to the progressives on their coattails.

"In the 2008 financial crisis, we lost trillions in wealth and millions of people lost their homes and their jobs because of Wall Street recklessness. Today, Goldman Sachs announced it will pay $5.1 billion for its role in precipitating the economic collapse by misleading investors about the quality of the junk mortgage securities they peddled. Seven years later. No admission of guilt. No individuals are going to jail. A payment that’s barely a fraction of the billions investors lost – and the trillions our economy lost – because of this fraud. And over half of it could be tax deductible! That’s not justice – it’s a white flag of surrender.

United Electrical Union compares Sanders and Clinton

See it here. They endorse Sanders and criticize Clinton. Of course the members run UE, unlike the corrupt leaders of some other unions that do not listen to membership and have endorsed Clinton.

Clinton takes $2.8 millon from healthcare companies

In speaking fees, which tells us a lot about why she's now lying about Sanders' single-payer proposal.

Goldman Sachs settles with the DOJ

See this article where they agreed to pay $5 billion. It's a minuscule fraction of what they stole from investors and the public. I'd be glad to pay back a bank $1,000 after I robbed it for $1,000,000 with no criminal prosecution, but it doesn't work that way for me.

Keep guns safe

An interesting solution to that problem.

Barely a parody on Michigan's poison water

How to distinguish gender in flies

170 top economists agree with Sanders

On breaking up the big banks and reinstating Glass-Steagall. So much for the faux misdirection that he doesn't know about economics. Signatories listed. An excerpt:

"In our view, Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan for comprehensive financial reform is critical for avoiding another 'too-big-to-fail' financial crisis. The Senator is correct that the biggest banks must be broken up and that a new 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, separating investment from commercial banking, must be enacted. Wall Street’s largest banks are now far bigger than they were before the crisis, and they still have every incentive to take excessive risks."

Roots Action petition to Clinton for lying

From their email:

In February 2008, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton passionately denounced candidate Barack Obama for criticizing her healthcare plan. "Since when do Democrats attack each other on universal healthcare?!" Clinton exclaimed. She found Obama's comments to be "Republican talking points" and "the worst kind of politics."

Now Clinton and her daughter are criticizing Senator Bernie Sanders' single-payer plan, falsely claiming that it will empower Republican governors to strip people of their health coverage, and that it will cost more.

Click here to see a video mashup of Clinton '08 and Clinton '16 and to tell Hillary Clinton to stop lying about single-payer.

A single-payer health plan eliminates private health insurance companies, their bureaucracy, their advertising, their CEO salaries, and other overhead. Under such a system of enhanced Medicare for all, everyone is covered, and the cost is dramatically lowered. Many might pay more in taxes, but not as much more as they would save by eliminating their insurance bills, deductibles, and co-pays. Unless you're in the top 5% for income, your costs would go down.

Click here to help set the record straight.

Michael Moore's petition to oust Governor Snyder

And prosecute him for the crime on intentionally poisoning his people. From Moore:

Have you heard the disastrous news out of Flint, Michigan -- my hometown and the community at the forefront of my first major documentary film "Roger & Me"? If you haven't, or even if you have, please take a moment to read this important message.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, along with the premeditated actions of his administrators, has effectively poisoned the children of Flint by allowing lead and other toxins to enter their drinking water. The consequences are devastating now and will be for generations to come.

For this outrageous catastrophe, Gov. Snyder must resign -- and go to jail.

To poison all the children in an historic American city is no small feat. Even international terrorist organizations haven't figured out yet how to do something on a magnitude like this.

I want to be absolutely clear here: If we don't attract national attention to what Gov. Snyder did, what happened in Flint could happen in all of our communities. That's why I need your help to bring Rick Snyder to justice.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder must resign -- and be arrested -- for his role in poisoning the water of children in Flint. Please join me and sign this important petition I am launching with my friends at Democracy for America.

Scharmer: economics is spiritual

Following up on this post, note that the Bauwens' post references The Presencing Institute article, which is based on Scharmer's Theory U. Also recall my rationale earlier in this thread about why economics is 'spiritual.' To further support that thesis here (and following) is a Ning IPS post in the Scharmer thread.

The Nation endorses Sanders

Because Sanders' campaign is not about a great leader but participatory democracy.

The regressive agenda

The truth about what they want, unobscured by their lying spin. Is this what you really want?

Why Republicans hate the post office

Or anything having to do with helping people (other than the rich), for that matter.

The myth of bipartisanship

See this article which addresses the myth of bi-partisanship. I'd add that it also applies to the myth of so-called integral trans-partisanship. Sanders gets this unlike the President, the latter regretting that he couldn't be more like FDR or Lincoln in that respect. But neither of them were bi-partisan; they vociferously fought for what is right and laid blame where it was due. And one doesn't compromise with those whose express intent is to undermine democracy and institute oligarchy.

Clinton goes Trump

Following up on this post, here's another story on Clinton's lying about Sanders healthcare proposal. An excerpt:

"Clinton’s accusations over Sanders’ Medicare-for-All proposal are not based on the actual policy proposals. They misrepresent the positions and are misleading at best. Some call this 'blatantly dishonest.' [...] These accusations come out of an old style of politicking that is void of substance and depends on manipulation of people’s understanding of issues. Misleading people by misrepresenting the policy positions in this way borders on a character attack instead of contrasting policy positions. It is a politics of personality versus the politics of issues that Sanders is popularizing."

"We see now the real character of Hillary Clinton"

Following up on the last post, this is what Harmann concluded about Clinton's latest tactics.

Clinton lies about Sanders single-payer healthcare proposal

Here's Hartmann on Clinton's latest attacks on Sanders' single-payer healthcare proposal. Hartmann has heretofore been bending over backward to be fair to Clinton but now his patience is wearing thin. He said that not only Hillary lied about it but then sent her daughter out to lie about it too. She's feeling the Bern.

Borowitz on Haley's SOTU response

His FB post is here and as follows, parodying the Republican response:

"President Obama offered a speech full of verifiable facts. I would like to offer an opposing view."
--Nikki Haley

Lay the blame where it belongs

I know, the regressives try to make it seem like the poor people, or the Mexican people, or the Muslim people, are to blame. The President puts the blame where it belongs.

Bed and Breakfast terrorists

Colbert makes fun of these supposed rugged, individualist, survivalists when reading their request for these 'necessary' items. They are a joke.

What Republicans don't like

See this article. We can tell a lot by how they responded to Obama's SOTU, what they're for and against. They not only did not clap when Obama mentioned the following, but some looked downright upset about these items.

• Nearly 15 million new jobs and the unemployment rate being cut in half.
• Equality for all Americans.
• Cutting pollution levels.
• A good education for our children.
• Fighting terrorism.
• The idea that America is the strongest nation on earth.
• Avoiding war.
• Making it easier to vote.
• Curing cancer!

Regressives, get your head out of the sand (and your ass)

Rigging the system: gerrymandering

Obama blasts Trump in SOTU

Even though he did not mention his name we know exactly whom he was talking about.

At least he's genuine

Following up on the last post, then the ignorant can't think straight and vote for the likes of Trump because he says what he thinks unlike most other lying, manipulating politicians. But then again there's Sanders, who can do the same thing while telling the truth and working for the best interests of the people. However one needs a certain amount of education to see that obvious difference, hence the Republican war on learning.

Manipulating the ignorant

It's been a Republican strategy from the beginning: Keep them misinformed and incite racism and hatred to misdirect from the real culprits of their situation.

The rich are less generous

With qualifications, per this study by the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The abstract follows:

"Research on social class and generosity suggests that higher-income individuals are less generous than poorer individuals. We propose that this pattern emerges only under conditions of high economic inequality, contexts that can foster a sense of entitlement among higher-income individuals that, in turn, reduces their generosity. Analyzing results of a unique nationally representative survey that included a real-stakes giving opportunity (n = 1,498), we found that in the most unequal US states, higher-income respondents were less generous than lower-income respondents. In the least unequal states, however, higher-income individuals were more generous.

Sanders retakes lead in Iowa

See this article. He also leads in NH. If he wins these first two it will likely give him more recognition and leverage going into the next primaries.

Michel Bauwens on economic evolution

See this post and the graphic below.

MoveOn endorses Sanders

After a member vote of 79% for Sanders, MoveOn endorses him. They listed the top 5 reasons for the endorsement, highlighted below. See the link for more info.

1. Bernie’s lifelong commitment to standing up to corporate and 1% interests to fight for an economy where everyone has a fair shot.

Space Oddity

This one seems apt, given that The Martian just won a Golden Globe (and a Bowie Song was in it).

Rebel Rebel

I love you so.

Go home Oregon terrorists

You're scaring the town folk, that is, creating terror. And they don't want you around.

The iron fist behind the invisible hand

See this article. An excerpt from the Introduction follows. See the article for much more:

"Manorialism, commonly, is recognized to have been founded by robbery and usurpation; a ruling class established itself by force, and then compelled the peasantry to work for the profit of their lords. But no system of exploitation, including capitalism, has ever been created by the action of a free market. Capitalism was founded on an act of robbery as massive as feudalism. It has been sustained to the present by continual state intervention to protect its system of privilege, without which its survival is unimaginable. 

"The current structure of capital ownership and organization of production in our so-called "market" economy, reflects coercive state intervention prior to and extraneous to the market. From the outset of the industrial revolution, what is nostalgically called "laissez-faire" was in fact a system of continuing state intervention to subsidize accumulation, guarantee privilege, and maintain work discipline. 

Changes

RIP David Bowie.

Corporate media is useless

Good thing that most of us with half a brain no longer go there for our news, instead using alternative internet media. Problem is that about 25% of the population doesn't even have half a brain.

The real moral crisis

Funny how you never hear about this on Faux Snooze.

MoveOn's Democratic candidate poll

Please participate here. The winner will get MoveOn's endorsement.

Who has the most public service experience?

The truth about social security

Einstein on capitalism

Smart man.

Hot dog!

I guess only an asshole would prefer eating one.

The regressive healthcare plan

Since they haven't offered one and want to repeal Obamacare, this is obviously what they want.

We are syntegral

Following up on this post, Joe has a FB post wanting to hold integral leadership to account for not criticizing capitalism. My response:

Again, WE are the integral movement and we don't need no stinking 'leadership.'* And WE have extensively criticized capitalism. Perhaps we also need to own up to our responsibility and quit blaming titular heads of the movement. I don't give them that power. WE are syntegral!

* At least not as traditionally defined. Temporary and rotating leaders in a P2P structure depending on peer credentialing, skill sets and inclinations, sure.

Republicans support white militia terrorists

I know, it seems like hyperbole but it's not. See this article where Republicans shut down a report on these groups, and were responsible for the demise of the taskforce that investigated them.

Fact check of Sanders on Wall Street reform

See this article. Some of the reasons Sanders gives for his policy proposals don't make sense but are still good ideas nonetheless. The article notes that if all the banks misbehave then it doesn't matter if we break up the big banks. But that's not what happened in the financial crisis; the big banks are the ones that committed fraud, not all the small banks. Red herring on that one. The article criticizes Sanders for his reasoning for reinstating Glass-Steagall but thinks it is a necessary step nonetheless. See the article for more.

Paul Mason and his critics

This article responds to this earlier linked one. It criticizes the earlier article for conflating the capitalistic appropriation of the emerging sharing economy with its true forms. An excerpt:


"As Nick Dyer-Witheford argued in Cyber-Marx, there are two broad groups, sometimes using superficially similar rhetoric but in fact fundamentally opposed, that celebrate the emergence of a new kind of society based on current technological trends. One such group, whose material interests center on putting new wine in old bottles, enclosing the new liberatory technologies of abundance within a corporate framework of artificial scarcity for the sake of rent extraction, are trying to pass off a counterfeit of the real thing. Another group is promoting the real thing — among them autonomists like Dyer-Witheford, Hardt and Negri, groups like Oekonux that see peer-production and free and open-source software as kernels of a future communist society, and thinkers like Michel Bauwens of the P2P Foundation who envision a system incorporating non-capitalist markets along with cooperative production based on the natural resource and information commons. Mason, I think, falls unmistakably in the latter category. The false prophets of corporate information capitalism do a great deal of harm in passing themselves off as the real thing. But deluded figures on the Left like McMillan, who pretend that the two groups are the same, arguably do even more damage by discrediting our best hope for a post-capitalist society."

Robert Reich on The Big Short

His blog post on this follows below. And they're at it again with the bespoke CDO. Wall Street's paid governmental lackeys are paving the way for the next crisis and bailout at society's expense. I only hope this film wakes up enough people to vote for Sanders, for he is the only one who will at least try to curtail this mess.

Reich:

So much for leadership

This FB IPS post wants to call into account the integral leaders for Marc Gafni's transgressions. Here's oldie but goodie showing the transition to the new P2P participatory structure. Many of us have been developing this since then, the Ning and FB IPS forum as prime examples. Shame kennilinguists are still stuck in the top-down leadership frame and can only see the new development as green. Says more about the defunct structure than the new one.

Media blackout on the TPP

Teacher shuts down asshole

Don't vote with your vagina ladies

Fork the Economy

Here's Douglas Rushkoff's blog post by the above name, previewing his new book Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus. A few excerpts from the blog:

"We have to stop looking at our economy as a broken system, but one that is working absolutely true to its original design. It’s time to be progressive — and this means initiating systemic changes. [...] We are not witnessing capitalism gone wrong — an otherwise egalitarian currency system has not been corrupted by greedy bankers — but, rather, capitalism doing exactly what it was programmed to do from the beginning. To fix it, we would have to dig down to its most fundamental code, and rewrite it to serve people instead of power."

The political correctness fallacy

Pro-life my ass

No white privilege?

MIchigan Governor knowingly poisoned his people

See this article, where the Governor appointed an emergency manager to balance Flint's budget. In doing so to save money they switched the water supply from the Lake Huron to the polluted Flint River, which eroded the old pipes thereby releasing lead and poisoning people. And the Governor knew this was happening and didn't stop it until it was too late. Your Republican agenda at work America.

So now the US is being sued by TransCanada

Over rejection of the Keystone XL Pipeline, thanks to the Investor State Dispute Settlement section of NAFTA. Meaning the trade agreement's provision allows a corporate to sue a government if it interfere's with its profits. And the arbitration panel overseeing the suit is governed by corporate lawyers who otherwise represent corporate clients in these very same lawsuits. The same provision is in the TPP. Free trade, eh?

Senator Warren said:

Sanders v. Clinton on the economy

See this article. Sanders breaks up the big banks and reinstates Glass-Steagall, Clinton does not. Sanders will invest 3 times Clinton for infrastucture updates and jobs. Sanders miniscule tax hikes on the middle class will increase social security benefits, Clinton will not increase them. Sanders will have free public college tuition by taxing the wealthy, Clinton will not. Sanders is a proud democratic socialist because it works as evidenced by Scandinavian countries, Clinton is a corporate capitalist as witnessed by her contributors and past Senate votes and that system only works for the wealthy.

FBI defintion of terrorism

Now tell me that doesn't apply to the Oregon terrorists? Or the regressive nut jobs that kill abortion clinicians?

Trump supporters are misinformed

And no amount of factual evidence can change their minds, thanks to Faux News and Trump. Also thank the regressive agenda to dumb down our education system. See this article for more info.

Borowitz on the NRA's rights

He does it again in this column, copied below:

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, National Rifle Association C.E.O. Wayne LaPierre warned that the N.R.A. would vigorously oppose any legislation that “limits the sale, purchase, or ownership of politicians.” 

“Politicians pose no danger to the public if used correctly,” said Mr. LaPierre, who claims to have over two hundred politicians in his personal collection. “Everyone hears about the bad guys in Congress. Well, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a vote is a good guy with a vote. I’m proud to be the owner of many of those guys.” 

Mr. LaPierre’s comments drew a sharp rebuke from Carol Foyler, a politician-control advocate who has spent the past twelve years lobbying for stricter limits on the sale of politicians.

Psycho the rapist

The below reminds me of my satire on mass-age the rapists in this series.

Senator Warren on the regressive Obamacare repeal vote

Her FB post:

"The Republican-controlled Congress is very proud of themselves for voting to repeal a law that has given millions of uninsured people access to health care. Bragging about repealing a law that makes sure people with cancer and heart disease won't be denied coverage, that lifts lifetime insurance caps, that closes the prescription drug donut hole and that lets kids stay on their parents' heath care plans. And because that's not enough, they're also very proud to defund health care clinics that 2.7 million women and men use every year. The Republicans want everyone to know whose side they stand on, so let's help them. Share their image and let your friends and family know: The GOP wants to take away health care access for women and families."