This pendejo is going down for treason.
Our house is on fire. Join the resistance: Do no harm/take no shit. My idiosyncratic and confluent bricolage of progressive politics, the collaborative commons, next generation cognitive neuroscience, American pragmatism, de/reconstruction, dynamic systems, embodied realism, postmetaphysics, psychodynamics, aesthetics. It ain't much but it's not nothing.
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Your hourly dose of treason
It keeps coming faster and shittier, this fascistic diarrhea. It is going to require some serious clean up. "Welcome Walmart shoppers. Beware the steaming pile of fascism in the American aisle. Clean up crew from the next election is on the way."
How to correct a lie using framing
Article by Psychology Today on Lakoff's framing. Don't repeat the lie up front, which reinforces it. Start with a factually true statement. Then show how it refutes the lie. Then repeat the truth again at the end. It's called a "truth sandwich," which has the shit sandwich in the middle.
"This strategy might be a successful antidote to the illusory truth effect. Studies suggest that we remember beginnings and endings far better than middles, so calling out a lie – but making sure we put the lie in the middle, where we will least remember it – may help us ensure that the things that feel truthful to us actually are. Instead of directly repeating a false claim, consider this framing instead: The facts are X, but some have falsely claimed Y. Let’s focus on X.''
"This strategy might be a successful antidote to the illusory truth effect. Studies suggest that we remember beginnings and endings far better than middles, so calling out a lie – but making sure we put the lie in the middle, where we will least remember it – may help us ensure that the things that feel truthful to us actually are. Instead of directly repeating a false claim, consider this framing instead: The facts are X, but some have falsely claimed Y. Let’s focus on X.''
Darius on SYTYCD
My fav performance of the night, a contemporary dancer does hip hop with Comfort. He made the cut to the final 5 guys.
The economics of Cory Doctorov's Walkaway
Good analysis of the economic system proposed in the sci-fi book Walkaway. Some excerpts follow.
"Alternative economic systems should also be micro-founded to be taken seriously. Walkaway, it seems to me, makes an attempt at building a micro-founded model of a whole system (the walkaway economy), but it comprehensively rejects standard micro. It eventually replaces it with a micro behavior of its own, but of a very different kind. I can see four moves:
"Alternative economic systems should also be micro-founded to be taken seriously. Walkaway, it seems to me, makes an attempt at building a micro-founded model of a whole system (the walkaway economy), but it comprehensively rejects standard micro. It eventually replaces it with a micro behavior of its own, but of a very different kind. I can see four moves:
- Expose standard micro as based on flawed assumptions.
- Argue that the behavior of individual agents is based on intersubjective conventions. This shifts the argument from economics as we know it to political economy, the border land between economics and moral philosophy.
- Propose a political economy that works well with digital commons, and re-build a micro model based on that.
- Proceed to derive meso- and macro-level behavior founded on those new micro models."
Meyers on the evolution of collusion
He breaks down the evolving Dumpster story that keeps moving the goal posts to the point of admitting collusion but denying there's anything wrong with it. Wrong! Those of us with a brain, therefore excluding Dumpsters, know it's treason and we're not backing down. Collusion in this case is aiding and giving comfort to an enemy in a time of war. Check Article III, Section 3 of our Constitution.
Medicare For All saves us $17 trillion
Continuing this post, Medicare For All would actually save us $17 trillion over the current healthcare system. And provide better healthcare. And everyone gets it. So it also saves untold $trillions in the economy because people are healthier and more productive. And on and on. The only reason to oppose it is because you're being paid off by the for-profit current system. Just watch, Ryan will become a lobbyist for them when he leaves Congress.
Colbert on Dumpsters condoning collusion
Continuing this post Colbert adds his two cents. It starts around 9:00 after other recent news. WTF have we come to when colluding with an enemy that has committed war on our country is not a crime? Bullshit: It is treason.
Sanders thanks Koch brothers for supporting Medicare For All
I know, right? The Kochs funded a study that shows that Medicare For All would save us $2 trillion over a 10-year period. Of course the Kochs don't support the program but their study inadvertently did. Sanders then launches into an accurate ad on the benefits of the program, something we direly need to join the rest of the civilized world in protecting us from financial ruin.
Religious liberty task force: Another step toward Handmaid's Tale
It is seriously sick that we've actually taken another step on the road to The Handmaid's Tale. Sessions has created this Christian witch hunt, literally going after anyone who isn't Christian under the guise of protecting them from infidels and their heathen behavior. The Christian Taliban wins another one and we need to fear for our own religious freedom.
Open access science journals beat private ones
In terms of citations at least. And this from Frontiers blog, itself being one of those open access journal that is the most cited. Or course they cite the empirical scientific studies to support this reality. "The
advantages of Open Science are numerous: accelerated discovery,
innovation and economic growth, and public access to research." Open access is just one of many threads in the collaborative commons movement, which is obviously taking hold and giving humanity benefit because information belongs to we the people, not just the eggheads who want to own it.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Now collusion is not a crime?
WTF? Dump and his cronies, caught in so many lies about collusion with a foreign government rigging our elections, are now claiming that it's no big deal, certainly not a crime. After all those denials about collusion it's now come down to this: OK, we colluded but so what? JFC if you accept that f___ing excuse. We law-abiding patriots know it's the crime of treason and needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Dump could be reelected if Dimocraps don't get it together
So says Katharine Murphy talking about Thomas Frank. Some excerpts:
"Frank said Trump was 'uniquely dangerous' as a political figure, and that required the left to reconnect with working people to counter 'the long turn of the American right towards populism. I am absolutely certain the way for a left party to beat that stuff is not to join it and bid for the bigot vote, but to counter fake populism with the real deal,' Frank said."
"'There is a labourist, workerist populism that has been around for more than 100 years, is deep in the American grain, and is very popular, but the Democratic party simply doesn’t believe in it any more.' That strain of populism was exemplified by the political philosophy of the presidential candidate the Democratic party rejected – Bernie Sanders – but Sanders was regarded in Washington 'as a crank.' 'All over the world left parties forgot why they existed and became parties of the professional class and the innovation economy,' Frank said. 'They lost their reason for being, and they got whooped, and all around the world you have these quasi-fascist movements springing up, which is quite alarming.'"
"Frank said Trump was 'uniquely dangerous' as a political figure, and that required the left to reconnect with working people to counter 'the long turn of the American right towards populism. I am absolutely certain the way for a left party to beat that stuff is not to join it and bid for the bigot vote, but to counter fake populism with the real deal,' Frank said."
"'There is a labourist, workerist populism that has been around for more than 100 years, is deep in the American grain, and is very popular, but the Democratic party simply doesn’t believe in it any more.' That strain of populism was exemplified by the political philosophy of the presidential candidate the Democratic party rejected – Bernie Sanders – but Sanders was regarded in Washington 'as a crank.' 'All over the world left parties forgot why they existed and became parties of the professional class and the innovation economy,' Frank said. 'They lost their reason for being, and they got whooped, and all around the world you have these quasi-fascist movements springing up, which is quite alarming.'"
Lent on Kurzweil's dualistic Singularity
From this post that includes some excerpts from Chapter 21 of his book The Patterning Instinct.
"What we see in Kurzweil’s discourse is an ultra-modern version of the deification of reason initiated by Plato, which became the foundation for our modern worldview. In Plato’s cosmology, our reason linked us to the divine. The early Christians transformed this into the conception of an immortal soul existing, after the body’s death, with God in heaven. Descartes reformulated this dualistic framework into the modern, scientifically acceptable mind/body split, identifying the human capacity for thought as the essence of our existence. Kurzweil’s vision of pure intelligence carries this dualistic tradition into the future, fueled by the power of technology."
"Two and a half millennia ago, Plato attempted to transcend the death of his body by making it irrelevant, imagining himself to have a soul that would survive for eternity. Now, Kurzweil is straining towards the actualization of Plato’s original ambition. [...] For Kurzweil, his body is 'hardware' and his mind is 'software': a direct continuation of the dualistic Cartesian conception of the human being. With a simple updating of terminology, Plato’s 'soul,' which became Descartes’s 'mind,' is transformed into Kurzweil’s 'software.'
"What we see in Kurzweil’s discourse is an ultra-modern version of the deification of reason initiated by Plato, which became the foundation for our modern worldview. In Plato’s cosmology, our reason linked us to the divine. The early Christians transformed this into the conception of an immortal soul existing, after the body’s death, with God in heaven. Descartes reformulated this dualistic framework into the modern, scientifically acceptable mind/body split, identifying the human capacity for thought as the essence of our existence. Kurzweil’s vision of pure intelligence carries this dualistic tradition into the future, fueled by the power of technology."
"Two and a half millennia ago, Plato attempted to transcend the death of his body by making it irrelevant, imagining himself to have a soul that would survive for eternity. Now, Kurzweil is straining towards the actualization of Plato’s original ambition. [...] For Kurzweil, his body is 'hardware' and his mind is 'software': a direct continuation of the dualistic Cartesian conception of the human being. With a simple updating of terminology, Plato’s 'soul,' which became Descartes’s 'mind,' is transformed into Kurzweil’s 'software.'
Hartmann: What will Dump do if indicted?
Hartmann speculates about a version of the Handmaid's Tale coming true should the Mueller investigation come down with Dumpster indictments, or if a Dem Congress moves to impeach him. It could trigger his Dumpsters to get violent in the streets in which case he could declare martial law and suspend elections. He could declare war with Iran and/or North Korea with a similar scenario. These are not far fetched conspiracy theories but real possibilities given Dump's instability and insanity. See the link where Hartmann fleshes out the possibilities with some historical examples.
From sustainability to regeneration
Daniel Wahl blogpost here continuing some recent post themes:
"The term regenerative development, on the other hand, carries within it a clear aim of regenerating the health and vitality of the nested, scale-linking systems we participate in. At a basic level regeneration also communicates not to use resources that cannot be regenerated, nor to use any resources faster than they can be regenerated. Development in this context is 'co-evolving mutuality' (Regenesis Group) — so biological and cultural evolutionary development, not in the sense of economic [and tech] development (only).
"The term regenerative development, on the other hand, carries within it a clear aim of regenerating the health and vitality of the nested, scale-linking systems we participate in. At a basic level regeneration also communicates not to use resources that cannot be regenerated, nor to use any resources faster than they can be regenerated. Development in this context is 'co-evolving mutuality' (Regenesis Group) — so biological and cultural evolutionary development, not in the sense of economic [and tech] development (only).
The rare metals war
An excerpt follows from a review of Pitron's book: The Rare Metals War. Regarding the excerpt below, I just had this discussion yesterday with a book
group that was reading Kurzweil on the singularity. They too are
techno-optimists in that we will solve all problems with tech. When I
asked about the rare metals needed, the energy needed to produce them
and the waste generated, they said we'll just have to get the metals
from the asteroid belt and move humanity off of earth.
"While Rifkin’s predictions seem to follow the course of history, Pitron soberly and methodically tempers them: 'Digital technology requires considerable amounts of metals: every year, the electronics industry consumes 320 tonnes of gold and 7,500 tonnes of silver; it accounts for 22% of the world’s consumption of mercury (some 514 tonnes) and up to 2.5% of lead. The manufacture of computers and mobile phones alone gobbles up 19% of global output of rare metals like palladium and 23% of cobalt production'. Yet, 'at current rates of production, the recoverable reserves of 15 or so base and rare metals will run out in less than 50 years; for five other metals (including iron, which is abundant), this will occur before the end of the century.'"
"While Rifkin’s predictions seem to follow the course of history, Pitron soberly and methodically tempers them: 'Digital technology requires considerable amounts of metals: every year, the electronics industry consumes 320 tonnes of gold and 7,500 tonnes of silver; it accounts for 22% of the world’s consumption of mercury (some 514 tonnes) and up to 2.5% of lead. The manufacture of computers and mobile phones alone gobbles up 19% of global output of rare metals like palladium and 23% of cobalt production'. Yet, 'at current rates of production, the recoverable reserves of 15 or so base and rare metals will run out in less than 50 years; for five other metals (including iron, which is abundant), this will occur before the end of the century.'"
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Syria's oppressed choose democratic confederalism
WTF is that? This short video gives you a good idea.
Chomsky on the state of our democracy
From this recent Democracy Now interview:
"I mean, one of the most elementary principles of a functioning democracy is that elected representatives should be responsive to those who elected them. There’s nothing more elementary than that. But we know very well that that is simply not the case in the United States. There’s ample literature in mainstream academic political science simply comparing voters’ attitudes with the policies pursued by their representatives, and it shows that for a large majority of the population, they’re basically disenfranchised. Their own representatives pay no attention to their voices. They listen to the voices of the famous 1 percent—the rich and the powerful, the corporate sector. The elections—Tom Ferguson’s stellar work has demonstrated, very conclusively, that for a long period, way back, U.S. elections have been pretty much bought. You can predict the outcome of a presidential or congressional election with remarkable precision by simply looking at campaign spending. That’s only one part of it. Lobbyists practically write legislation in congressional offices. In massive ways, the concentrated private capital, corporate sector, super wealth, intervene in our elections, massively, overwhelmingly, to the extent that the most elementary principles of democracy are undermined. Now, of course, all that is technically legal, but that tells you something about the way the society functions."
"I mean, one of the most elementary principles of a functioning democracy is that elected representatives should be responsive to those who elected them. There’s nothing more elementary than that. But we know very well that that is simply not the case in the United States. There’s ample literature in mainstream academic political science simply comparing voters’ attitudes with the policies pursued by their representatives, and it shows that for a large majority of the population, they’re basically disenfranchised. Their own representatives pay no attention to their voices. They listen to the voices of the famous 1 percent—the rich and the powerful, the corporate sector. The elections—Tom Ferguson’s stellar work has demonstrated, very conclusively, that for a long period, way back, U.S. elections have been pretty much bought. You can predict the outcome of a presidential or congressional election with remarkable precision by simply looking at campaign spending. That’s only one part of it. Lobbyists practically write legislation in congressional offices. In massive ways, the concentrated private capital, corporate sector, super wealth, intervene in our elections, massively, overwhelmingly, to the extent that the most elementary principles of democracy are undermined. Now, of course, all that is technically legal, but that tells you something about the way the society functions."
Hanauer: Raising wages creates jobs
Don't believe the lies by the greedy rich. This humanistic rich guy explains.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Reich: 6 reasons for hope
He does it again in this 3-minute video. The bullet points are below.
1. Dump is a wake-up call to preserve democracy.
2. Grassroots activism is way up.
3. More women are running for office than ever before.
4. Our history shows we come back stronger from every setback.
5. Dump has made us aware how fragile democracy is.
6. Fascism as the alternative is not acceptable.
1. Dump is a wake-up call to preserve democracy.
2. Grassroots activism is way up.
3. More women are running for office than ever before.
4. Our history shows we come back stronger from every setback.
5. Dump has made us aware how fragile democracy is.
6. Fascism as the alternative is not acceptable.
Did Stein cost Clinton the election?
The graphic below is accurate but did it cost Clinton the election? See this discussion at 538. The stats assume that all those that voted for Stein would have voted for Clinton had not Stein been in the race. The discussion notes that some % of the Stein vote is because there were never-Hillary Democrats that could never bring themselves to vote for her, even if it was between just her and Dump. So there's no accurate way to determine whether Clinton would have won in those swing States were it not for Stein.
Chomsky on Ocasio-Cortez and the progressive revolution
Democracy Now interviews Chomsky here. An excerpt on the internal Party division.
"Well, I think there’s—her victory was a quite spectacular and significant event. I think what it points to is a split in the Democratic Party between the—roughly speaking, between the popular base and the party managers. The popular base is increasingly, essentially, social democratic, following, pursuing the—concerned with the kinds of progressive objectives that she outlined in those—in her remarks, which should be directed not only to expanding the electorate but to the general working-class, poor population of the world, of the middle-class population of the country, for whom these ideals are quite significant. They can be brought to that. That’s one part of the party. The other part of the party is
"Well, I think there’s—her victory was a quite spectacular and significant event. I think what it points to is a split in the Democratic Party between the—roughly speaking, between the popular base and the party managers. The popular base is increasingly, essentially, social democratic, following, pursuing the—concerned with the kinds of progressive objectives that she outlined in those—in her remarks, which should be directed not only to expanding the electorate but to the general working-class, poor population of the world, of the middle-class population of the country, for whom these ideals are quite significant. They can be brought to that. That’s one part of the party. The other part of the party is
Colbert exposes the #walkaway movement as Russian bots
I'm glad he's doing this, exposing this Russian plot to again commit war against our country. And Repugnantans are helping them no less, the treasonous bastards. It starts around 1:20 in this clip.
Shep Smith at Pox Views defends media
He's one of the few sane voices at Pox Views. Here he defends CNN from Dump's fascistic attacks on the media, who are asking legitimate questions and accurately reporting his treason. The Bligh House denied access to CNN for an event because their reporter asked some of those legitimate questions. So even the Pox Views President issued this statement: "We stand in strong solidarity with CNN for the right to full access for our journalists as part of a free and unfettered press." You know you're going fascist when even Pox Views has to call you out as a totalitarian dictator. At the end of the clip Smith defends the rights of the media enshrined in the Constitution as our only recourse to the abuses of government. Without them we indeed could easily descend into fascism, which seems Dump is hell bent on attaining.
McConnell is a sick joke
Remember, this is the Senate majority leader who blocked Obama's last nomination to the Supreme Corp with the lame excuse that an election was coming up so he had to let "the people decide." Now that Dump has a nomination, and an election coming up, he has to rush it through saying that's what "the people" want. No, we want to decide by waiting for the next election so we can get the Dumpsters out of office and block this terrible nominee. Let the people decide, you turtle headed asshole.
Friday, July 27, 2018
The Adventures of Ed the Head, Chapter Nine
In now available in the same document here starting on page 56. Warning: Graphic sex in this chapter. It also takes longer to load now with more pages. Also, some reviews are below:
"Highly entertaining. Good reading for the whole family. Ed mixes some excellent, steamy sex scenes with smoky anecdotes of the drug world into a readable book for hippie and traditional Roman Catholic priest alike." -Bedward Urge, author of To Fuck or to Smoke, or Both.
"My daughter was getting ripped off paying outrageous prices for dirt Colombian until Ed's informative book came out. I was relieved after she read it and knew what kind should cost how much and bought accordingly. I'm so happy a responsible guy like this came along to help out the naive and uninformed, especially since my daughter was stealing from me to buy the stuff. Now I save a good $10 to $20 an ounce." -A concerned housewife and parent from Poughkipsie, NY.
"Highly entertaining. Good reading for the whole family. Ed mixes some excellent, steamy sex scenes with smoky anecdotes of the drug world into a readable book for hippie and traditional Roman Catholic priest alike." -Bedward Urge, author of To Fuck or to Smoke, or Both.
"My daughter was getting ripped off paying outrageous prices for dirt Colombian until Ed's informative book came out. I was relieved after she read it and knew what kind should cost how much and bought accordingly. I'm so happy a responsible guy like this came along to help out the naive and uninformed, especially since my daughter was stealing from me to buy the stuff. Now I save a good $10 to $20 an ounce." -A concerned housewife and parent from Poughkipsie, NY.
Penalties against corporate crimes plummet under Dump
I know, no surprise given the Dump crime family is now in charge. Here's the article with the details on the graphic stats below. He sure is making crime great again.
Kimmel interviews Dump's thumbs
They are being worked overtime with all the Tweets and are due extensive back pay they'll never see. It starts around 2:10 after Kimmel sets it up.
Corden skydives with Cruise
As usual Corden manages to turn something terrifying into something funny.
Dorothy has landed in another strange place
So sad but true. Only today Toto is the Real News pulling back the curtain on Dump, the fake leader who promises a fake utopia covering up a fascistic State. And Senator Warren is Dorothy who provides the impetus for a real democratic republic where we all have a voice in making our country great again for everyone.
Cohen: Dump knew in advance of Tower meeting
Yes, Dump's lawyer Cohen claimed that Dump knew in advance of the Russian meeting with Dump Jr. and others to get dirt on Clinton. Cohen also said that Dump approved of that meeting to take place. And Cohen might be willing to testify this to Mueller. COLLUSION! TREASON!
EPI on the CPC People's Budget
The Economic Policy Institute reported on the Congressional Progressive Caucus budget. The bullet points follow. See the link for details.
"It builds on recent CPC budget alternatives in setting the following priorities: near-term job creation, financing public investments, strengthening low- and middle-income families’ economic security, raising adequate revenue to meet budgetary needs while restoring fairness to the tax code, strengthening social insurance programs, and ensuring long-run fiscal sustainability." It would:
Improve the economic well-being of low- and middle-income families by finally completing and locking in the economic recovery; Make necessary public investments; Facilitate economic opportunity for all; Strengthen the social safety net; Smartly cut spending; Increase tax progressivity and adequacy; Reduce the deficit in the medium term."
"It builds on recent CPC budget alternatives in setting the following priorities: near-term job creation, financing public investments, strengthening low- and middle-income families’ economic security, raising adequate revenue to meet budgetary needs while restoring fairness to the tax code, strengthening social insurance programs, and ensuring long-run fiscal sustainability." It would:
Improve the economic well-being of low- and middle-income families by finally completing and locking in the economic recovery; Make necessary public investments; Facilitate economic opportunity for all; Strengthen the social safety net; Smartly cut spending; Increase tax progressivity and adequacy; Reduce the deficit in the medium term."
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Kavanaugh hates environmental protection
Not only does Kavanaugh think Dump's treason is just fine, he has a record of fighting for pollution and against the environment. Meaning he votes for big money and against the health and welfare of human beings. To the contrary, it is Kavanaugh who has "exceeded his authority" against human and environmental flourishing.
Repugs struggling in the mid-west
Per new polls discussed below. So yes, progressives like Ocasio-Cortez indeed have an opportunity to pick up those populist Dump voters who have become disillusioned with the Big Liar and his crony Repugnantans who have betrayed them.
Dumpster removes donation info requirement
Coincidentally the same day Russian spy Maria Butina is arrested. Seems the entire Dump crime family is in hock to Russia, as they continue to do their bidding at every turn. This time it's removing the requirement to provide personal info when donating to an org like the NRA. Was Butina literally in bed with Mnuchin too?
Dump and Repug war on Affordable Care Act
Since they've failed time and again to repeal it outright they're trying to kill it with these 5 poisons. Reich explains in more detail.
1. Repealed the individual mandate.
2.Cut low-income subsidies.
3.Flood the market with junk insurance.
4. Made it harder to sign up.
5. Stopped defending healthcare claims in court.
1. Repealed the individual mandate.
2.Cut low-income subsidies.
3.Flood the market with junk insurance.
4. Made it harder to sign up.
5. Stopped defending healthcare claims in court.
Karen y Ricardo on WOD
These 9-time world salsa champs cleaned up in the duals and made the cut with another amazing performance that scored 98.3. They seem to be the favorite for winning this year. In other WOD news Eva Igo was defeated in her dual, a surprise. She had a bad (for her) performance while her competitors, Avery and Marcus, had the performance of their lives.
Colbert: You can't out stupid Dump
Dump is by far the dumbest of them all. This time it's about the trade war.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Neurohacking an emergent system
Listen to this 3-part podcast entitled "Solving the generator problems of existence" with Daniel Schmachtenberger, co-founder of the Neurohacker Collective and founder of Emergence Project. A few brief excerpts from the blurb follow. See the link to listen if you feel it's to your taste and passes the smell test. Had to get all the senses in there. Thanks to Wayne B. Lewis for pointing me to it.
"In order to avoid extinction, we have to come up with different systems altogether, and replace rivalry with anti-rivalry. One of the ways to do that is moving from ownership of goods towards access to shared common resources. [...] He also proposes a new system of governance which would allow groups of people that have different goals and values to come to decisions together on various issues. [...He] argues that it is not the most competitive ecosystem that makes it through, but the most self-stabilizing one."
"The biosphere is a complex self-regulating system. It is also a closed-loop system, meaning that once a component stops serving its function, it gets recycled and reincorporated back into the system. In contrast, the systems humans have created are complicated, open loop systems. They are neither self-organizing nor self-repairing. Complex systems, which come from evolution, are anti-fragile. Complicated systems, designed by humans, are fragile. Complicated open-loop systems are the second generator function of existential risks."
"In order to avoid extinction, we have to come up with different systems altogether, and replace rivalry with anti-rivalry. One of the ways to do that is moving from ownership of goods towards access to shared common resources. [...] He also proposes a new system of governance which would allow groups of people that have different goals and values to come to decisions together on various issues. [...He] argues that it is not the most competitive ecosystem that makes it through, but the most self-stabilizing one."
"The biosphere is a complex self-regulating system. It is also a closed-loop system, meaning that once a component stops serving its function, it gets recycled and reincorporated back into the system. In contrast, the systems humans have created are complicated, open loop systems. They are neither self-organizing nor self-repairing. Complex systems, which come from evolution, are anti-fragile. Complicated systems, designed by humans, are fragile. Complicated open-loop systems are the second generator function of existential risks."
Ocasio-Cortez traumatizes regressives
Colbert reports on a shocked regressive who just couldn't support the idea that children deserve healthcare and education. Really, that's what it's come to. Denying that to children because a progressive supports it. So sad. And worse, horrifying. Colbert does manage to make it funny to relieve the abject horror. And he really sums up the insane cruelty of this fake Christian worldview.
Victoria Caban on WOD
It looks like Eva Igo finally has some competition. Victoria got the best score of the night (90.7), which I thought was too low for this amazing performance. And from a 14 year old!
Hans on AGT
I don't usually post 2 clips from AGT but Hans was also hilarious and also made the cut to the live shows.
Colbert on Dump's war on truth
Dump hates the truth. Fortunately Colbert loves it. He notes that Dump is well on the way to dictatorship because he's already a DIC.
Socialism is saving our farmers
Dump's capitalistic tariffs are decimating American farmers so he's giving them a socialist hand out to buy their votes. That is, giving them our tax money to save them from the tariffs Dump himself imposed.The linked article provides some US history on how such socialism has helped our farmers and others. Don't be fooled by Dump's lying spin. Socialism is saving the day while Dump created the problem.
Neuroscience report on Dumpsters
See this report. While it also applies to ignorant Dems, however "studies have shown that Democrats now tend to be generally more educated
than Republicans, making the latter more vulnerable to the
Dunning-Kruger effect."
"Perhaps this helps explain why Trump supporters seem to be so easily tricked into believing obvious falsehoods when their leader delivers his 'alternative facts' sprinkled with language designed to activate partisan identities. Because they lack knowledge but are confident that they do [...] they are less likely than others to actually fact-check the claims that the President makes. This speculation is supported by evidence from empirical studies."
Dunning-Kruger effect:
"Perhaps this helps explain why Trump supporters seem to be so easily tricked into believing obvious falsehoods when their leader delivers his 'alternative facts' sprinkled with language designed to activate partisan identities. Because they lack knowledge but are confident that they do [...] they are less likely than others to actually fact-check the claims that the President makes. This speculation is supported by evidence from empirical studies."
Dunning-Kruger effect:
Demographics of female Dump voters
Good article on the topic, focusing particularly on white women who put Dump over the top in the last election. 51% of white women now disapprove of him but 45% still approve. Among young white women it is only 32% approve, while with older white women it is 51%. "Just 44 percent of white women voters with college degrees approve of
Trump, while an even smaller 36 percent of white women with graduate
degrees approve. By contrast, among working-class white women, views are
split evenly." We might just win some of them over to dethrone the Big DICtator.
Real Americans know civics and the Constitution
Do you pass this patriot test? If not then you are just a manipulated tool of special interests including the corporate swamp and fascism. And if you do know civics and the Constitution and are one of the manipulators of the ignorant then odds are strong that you are the corporate swamp and the fascists.
Progressive populism is about right and wrong
From this insightful article. Amen brother.
"The argument goes that if Democrats move too far to the left, then they won’t hold onto 'the center' which presumably contains the majority of Americans. But this worldview stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the electorate, particularly the few remaining persuadable voters in it. It also represents a failure to grasp the reality of the movement, which is not so much about right and left, as it is about solving problems that the centrists in both parties have studiously ignored or avoided. [...] Solving those and many other urgent problems isn’t about left and right. It’s simply about right and wrong. [...] It’s about proving that the Democratic Party will put the priorities of bartenders and real people who create value in the economy ahead of those of predatory hedge fund managers and insurance executives."
"The argument goes that if Democrats move too far to the left, then they won’t hold onto 'the center' which presumably contains the majority of Americans. But this worldview stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the electorate, particularly the few remaining persuadable voters in it. It also represents a failure to grasp the reality of the movement, which is not so much about right and left, as it is about solving problems that the centrists in both parties have studiously ignored or avoided. [...] Solving those and many other urgent problems isn’t about left and right. It’s simply about right and wrong. [...] It’s about proving that the Democratic Party will put the priorities of bartenders and real people who create value in the economy ahead of those of predatory hedge fund managers and insurance executives."
Germany's renewables reach new record
According to this source.
"Germany's power supply from renewables hit a record high in the first half of 2018, accounting for an unprecedented 42% of the country's electricity generation, according to data from the German energy think tank, Fraunhofer ISE. [...] Generation from renewables in Germany has in fact more than doubled in less than a decade, in terms of both volume and market share, with wind power, now clearly the leading source of renewables, driving much of the growth since 2015."
Unfortunately they are not doing as well in other energy and climate goals:
"The country's record on meeting other energy and climate targets, such as emissions reduction, has fallen short of expectations. In June a report by a government-appointed commission concluded that Germany is on track to meet just one-third of 21 climate and energy policy-related targets, reflecting a lack of progress in meeting many of the Energiewende's aims."
"Germany's power supply from renewables hit a record high in the first half of 2018, accounting for an unprecedented 42% of the country's electricity generation, according to data from the German energy think tank, Fraunhofer ISE. [...] Generation from renewables in Germany has in fact more than doubled in less than a decade, in terms of both volume and market share, with wind power, now clearly the leading source of renewables, driving much of the growth since 2015."
Unfortunately they are not doing as well in other energy and climate goals:
"The country's record on meeting other energy and climate targets, such as emissions reduction, has fallen short of expectations. In June a report by a government-appointed commission concluded that Germany is on track to meet just one-third of 21 climate and energy policy-related targets, reflecting a lack of progress in meeting many of the Energiewende's aims."
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Daniel Gil on ANW
Had the best course completion time at the Dallas city finals and is off once again to the national finals in Las Vegas.
Schiff: Dump and Repugs lied about the Page FISA warrant
Now that we've seen it the warrant proves what the Dems have said all along: The FBI had plenty of evidence to monitor Page suggesting he was recruited as a Russian agent and conspiring with them. And this voluminous information was in addition to the Steele dossier. The entire Repugnantan spin was lies to protect their Traitor in Chief, and likely their own collusion in it.
Schmidt on stripping security clearances
Dump wants to eliminate those clearances for former Administration security personnel just because they tell the truth. Steve Schmidt, former Republican strategist, thinks it's a "dangerous day for American democracy." Just another autocratic, authoritarian, treasonous Dump move on the road to fascism.
Eric Holder: Helsinki was collusion in plain sight
On Colbert last night. I'd more accurately describe it as treason.
Magda on SYTYCD
Best performance of the night. She made the cut to the final 5 woman, as did Jensen.
Hartmann interviews Frank on his new book
Rendezvous with Oblivion. It's a collection of essays over the years that point to a common theme leading up to where we are now: The intellectual guardians of society have failed leading to a culmination in Dump Swamp. And given the establishment Dem Party aversion to populism nothing will change until we change the Dem Party with progressive populists. I join Hartmann in continuing the agitation toward that end.
Epistocracy: Only letting the informed vote
Interview with political philosopher Jason Brennan, who has written a book on the idea that to vote one must be informed enough to know what they're voting for. Or at least votes of those so informed would count more than those not informed. Criteria of course would need to be established for qualification. It makes sense to me, as currently it is mostly uninformed people voting against their own, and we the people's, interests due to vested manipulation. Indeed some responsibility should go along with this right. After all, using the infamous Repugnantan justification: If you give away something free people will not respect and abuse it.
Proposal to steal social security surplus is defeated
The House voted on a Constitutional amendment for a balanced budget. According to Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works: "That means that Social Security would not be allowed to use its own $2.9 trillion surplus to pay out benefits." Fortunately it did not receive the required two-thirds vote for such an amendment. The intent though it clear: Stealing our own social security contributions for their own purposes and thus leaving future generations high and dry when it comes their turn to collect their own invested money. And they wonder why we the people hate them? The list of those who voted for it is below. Give them a piece of you mind and vote the bastards out. Also see this prior post.
Monday, July 23, 2018
Dump lied about what triggered the Mueller investigation
I know, big surprise that he lied yet again. Dump claimed that the Steele dossier started the investigation and that claim is a BIG, FAT LIE. It was information about Papadopoulis that started it according to this fact check. And it was a year after the Papa info came to light that the Mueller investigation began. As usual Dump is the King of Fake News.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez in Kansas
Their interview yesterday on Face the Nation. Their populist message is welcome anywhere, even in so-called red States, because their policies help we the people.
The journalists Putin has killed
Why Dump loves him so much, as he wishes he could do the same. And is trying to do by telling his well-armed and ignorant followers that the press is the enemy and hoping they'll take action. This pic counters Dump's attempts to say it's our media's fault for accurately reporting on just what Putin is: A brutal dictator that kills any opposition. You are the company you keep Presidunce Dump.
Jeff Flake on Dump's Hell Sinky moment
He's not running again so can be honest.
"Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Thursday blasted President Trump's rhetoric during his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it an 'Orwellian moment' and the result of his colleagues indulging in 'myths and fabrications' on Trump administration policies.
'Well, we saw earlier this week in Helsinki what was a truly an Orwellian moment,' Flake said from the Senate floor. I will say that if ever there was a moment to think not of your party but of your country, this is it. This is a not a moment for spin, deflection, justification, circling the wagons, forgetting, moving along to the next news cycle or for more of Orwell’s doublespeak,' Flake said, referring to George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984."
Will the other Repugs listen and do something? Not a f___ing chance.
"Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) on Thursday blasted President Trump's rhetoric during his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it an 'Orwellian moment' and the result of his colleagues indulging in 'myths and fabrications' on Trump administration policies.
'Well, we saw earlier this week in Helsinki what was a truly an Orwellian moment,' Flake said from the Senate floor. I will say that if ever there was a moment to think not of your party but of your country, this is it. This is a not a moment for spin, deflection, justification, circling the wagons, forgetting, moving along to the next news cycle or for more of Orwell’s doublespeak,' Flake said, referring to George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984."
Will the other Repugs listen and do something? Not a f___ing chance.
The reality of the tax scam
And this is from Bloomberg, an international business news agency. Wages have fallen after it. The saved corporation taxes are going to stock buybacks, not investments in the businesses. GDP growth is lower than the last 3 years. All of which means the tax cuts will not pay for themselves, instead burdening our deficit. It has proven to be just what progressives predicted: A massive money giveaway to the already rich, a lie to the working class, and a tax burden on the rest of us. How great is that Dumpsters?
The Adventures of Ed the Head, Chapter Eight
In the same document here starting on page 49. As usual it takes about a minute to load all the pages.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Sanders rally speech in Kansas
In support of progressive candidate James Thompson in the Democratic primary. The crowd at least seems to support that progressives are in full force in red Kansas.
Coward CEOs are no shows for Sanders town hall
Sanders had a town hall with 5 employees of Amazon, American Airlines, Disney, McDonald’s and Walmart. The CEOs of those companies were also invited but refused to show up. TYT comments on it below, noting the horrible pay and conditions these workers labor under. The CEOs were given an opportunity to respond but the chickened out because these stories are true and show that conditions like these are intentionally designed to maintain wage slavery. This is just overflowing the Dump swamp and revealing true corporate and Repugnantan values: Greed and cruelty.
Dump demands NFL players stand for Russian national anthem
LOL funny Mr. Borowitz:
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In
a series of early-morning tweets on Sunday, Donald J. Trump demanded
that the Russian national anthem be played before every National
Football League game and that all N.F.L. players stand during the
performance.
Trump asserted that playing the Russian anthem was a “necessary gesture of good will from the USA to our No. 1 ally,” and that “any player who refuses to stand for the Russian antem [sic] hates America!”
Seeming to double down on his demand, Trump tweeted that all N.F.L. players must remain standing while the color guard unfurls the flag of the Russian Federation.
Trump’s insistence that football players stand for the Russian anthem appeared to come as a surprise to the director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, who first heard about it while appearing at a security forum, in Bethesda, Maryland.
“What kind of fucking bullshit is this?” Coats said, later saying that he meant no disrespect by that remark.
Trump asserted that playing the Russian anthem was a “necessary gesture of good will from the USA to our No. 1 ally,” and that “any player who refuses to stand for the Russian antem [sic] hates America!”
Seeming to double down on his demand, Trump tweeted that all N.F.L. players must remain standing while the color guard unfurls the flag of the Russian Federation.
Trump’s insistence that football players stand for the Russian anthem appeared to come as a surprise to the director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, who first heard about it while appearing at a security forum, in Bethesda, Maryland.
“What kind of fucking bullshit is this?” Coats said, later saying that he meant no disrespect by that remark.
Pew study: Liberals don't want to be around Dump supporters
No shit Sherlock. This article though presents it as tribalism. No, the reasons are clear and the same as why we don't like Dump. Dumpsters also don't accept facts or reason and are racist, homophobic, xenophobic, ignorant, cruel, hateful and support treason against our country. These stats more accurately reflect truth over fiction, democracy over fascism, love over hate and patriotism over treason. If that's being tribal then I'm all for it.
Third Way corporate Dims meet to thwart progressives
These dim witted Dimocraps are still fighting the progressive populist movement in their own Party. They refuse to accept the polling facts that the majority not only of registered Democrats but registered anybody support all the issues of the progressives and will vote for them. They are still more concerned with their own power hold over the Party to get big donors to maintain the status quo then they are about we the people. If they won't represent us they to hell with them; let's continue to replace them in the primaries and win in general elections, something the facts of past elections have confirmed these lapdogs do not know how to do.
Lakoff on how to frame specific issues
Excerpts from Lakoff's The Little
Blue Book (2012).
Chapter 10: The public
Here is what to say:
American democracy is built on the ethic of citizens caring about other citizens. Its moral mission is to protect and empower everyone equally by the provision of public resources.
The Public is the foundation for the Private—for decent private lives and for private enterprise that works.
No one makes it on his or her own without the Public. People who are wealthy haven’t built their own roads and schools, educated their own knowledgeable employees, or done their own basic research, nor are they fully protected by their own army and police, and nor do they maintain their own clean food supply.
Dismantling the Public destroys the sanctity and safety of American private life and the basis of most businesses.
“Smaller government” really means total corporate government and the dismantling of our nation as we know it, love it, and need it to be.
Chapter 11: The shift from public to private government
Here is what to say:
Privatization is the replacement of elected governments with unelected corporate governments, which run more and more aspects of American life for their own profit, not for the public good.
Wealth disparity is power disparity. Extreme wealth results in political power that ordinary citizens don’t have.
As more of the Public is eliminated and privatized, corporations make more money, though ordinary people do not. Moreover ordinary people lose what the Public gives them: the means for a decent life.
Corporations have extraordinary political power, the power to give unlimited money to organizations that fund candidates in elections. This power is being used by corporations to shift the governing structure of the country to themselves. This is undemocratic.
Conservative officeholders who refuse to raise taxes as a matter of conservative principle are creating deficits.
The Public and the Corporate need each other and need to be in balance. Honest business has been the American way for a long time, supported by the Public, regulated by the government, and producing goods, services, and well-paying jobs for citizens.
Chapter 12: Corporations govern your life
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Ocasio-Cortez platform framing
See her platform here. Use her issue headings as succinct, effective frames. For example: Medicare for All; Housing as a human right; A peace economy; Immigration justice; Clean campaign finance, etc.
Colbert: Russian spy Butina and her Repug boyfriend
Colbert starts by catching up on Dump's treason then shifts to the Russian spy. Butina was not only a money launderer for Russia via the NRA, she infiltrated the Repug Party through her boyfriend.
What the left needs to reinvent itself
Good article about central and eastern European countries, but applicable to the US too. A couple of quick excerpts:
"It is precisely social-democrats, with their belief that capitalism will always need democracy, that opened the door for these current tendencies."
"Which would offer not only a convincing narrative of how not to fall into the abyss, but concrete measures for how to get out of our current predicament."
Speaking of US social democratic concrete measures, see the Congressional Progressive Caucus budget, just what the people's movement needs here. And speaking of narrative, also note the new Democratic slogan: For the People.
"It is precisely social-democrats, with their belief that capitalism will always need democracy, that opened the door for these current tendencies."
"Which would offer not only a convincing narrative of how not to fall into the abyss, but concrete measures for how to get out of our current predicament."
Speaking of US social democratic concrete measures, see the Congressional Progressive Caucus budget, just what the people's movement needs here. And speaking of narrative, also note the new Democratic slogan: For the People.
Friday, July 20, 2018
Brennan Center on voter purges
See their full report here. A frightening excerpt:
"We found that between 2014 and 2016, states removed almost 16 million voters from the rolls, and every state in the country can and should do more to protect voters from improper purges. Almost 4 million more names were purged from the rolls between 2014 and 2016 than between 2006 and 2008."
See the report for much more on the war to destroy democracy by Repugnantan led States. In plain and accurate words: This is treason.
"We found that between 2014 and 2016, states removed almost 16 million voters from the rolls, and every state in the country can and should do more to protect voters from improper purges. Almost 4 million more names were purged from the rolls between 2014 and 2016 than between 2006 and 2008."
See the report for much more on the war to destroy democracy by Repugnantan led States. In plain and accurate words: This is treason.
DHS Secretary still denying reality
Colbert exposes Secretary of the Dept. of Homeland Security Nielson's denial that our Russian rigged election was to favor Dump because Putin even admitted it on TV. She uses the same fake rationality to claim the Nazis are just the other side of the story. More treason from the Dumpsters.
Colbert: Dump did what now?
Dump invited Putin to the Blight House. Big surprise to the Director of National Intelligence. Dump also thinks it's a good idea to let Russia interview (meaning interrogate) some Americans. I love the State Department's response to that one around 7:35 in the video below. Dump's treason is ongoing as the real enemy of the people. Colbert then offers an intervention.
Comey urges us to vote Democratic
Former FBI Director and lifelong Repugnantan urged us to do so because Repugnantans are "incapable of fulfilling the Founders' design." So if you "believe in this country's values" then vote the Repugs out.
Image search for 'idiot' on Google and Dump pops up
So said this article. So I did it and it's true. Try it and discover that the US has the biggest idiot in the world. At this Dump is certainly the best.
Lakoff on House Dems new slogan
See this FB here, commenting on this article. The new slogan is "for the people." Lakoff thinks this is off to a good start. He also suggests that they connect their Congressional representatives as "of the people." We want to know they are like us, not just elitists that haven't had our experiences. Hence the new wave of Dem populist candidates from our ranks instead of the same old wealthy 10% that have never had to struggle for anything. The Dems plan to focus on "three key areas: addressing health care and prescription
drug costs; increasing wages through infrastructure and public works
projects; and highlighting Republican corruption in Washington."
Repugs block motion to subpoena Russia summit interpreter
It figures. It's obvious from Russian news that Dump and Putin made some agreements during their private, 1 on 1 session. Our own government will not release anything on these agreements. So the Dems made a motion to subpoena our interpreter to that secret meeting to see just what was agreed upon. As usual the Repugs blocked it. WTF are they hiding too? Likely their own complicity in treason.
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Sanders: Resolution to protect American democracy from Russia
See the video below. Again, it needs to be called Russian War. One can view the Senate Resolution here. I especially like these sections on p. 4: "(4) will not accept any interference with the ongoing investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, such as the offer of preemptive pardons or the firing of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein; and (5) declares that the President must cooperate with the investigation of Special Counsel Mueller." Can't wait to see the Repugs choke on that.
Benedict Arnold: "I was never this blatant"
Borowitz nails it yet again.
HELL (The Borowitz Report)—Saying
that he was “flabbergasted” by the events of this week, the
Revolutionary War-era traitor Benedict Arnold offered a ringing defense
of his own career in treason, asserting, “I was never this blatant.”
“I was brought up to believe that betraying your country was something you’d do very secretively,” Arnold, who now resides in Hell, said. “If you were going over to the enemy side, you’d do everything you could not to be detected. You wouldn’t go around announcing it to the world like a jackass.”
Although Arnold understands why commentators have been using the word “treason” to describe the alarming spectacle they have witnessed this week, he said, “Throwing the word ‘treason’ around like that is very unfair to traitors, and I would even say hurtful.”
“Traitors put a lot of thought, planning, and subtletly into every one of their actions and utterances,” he said. “When I look at these so-called acts of treason, I have to ask, Where’s the professionalism? Where’s the work ethic? The sloppiness and sheer idiocy of it all is jaw-dropping.”
Speaking of his treasonous colleagues in Hell, including Judas Iscariot, Vidkun Quisling, and the entire Vichy government, Arnold said, “Every traitor down here is shaking his head.”
“I was brought up to believe that betraying your country was something you’d do very secretively,” Arnold, who now resides in Hell, said. “If you were going over to the enemy side, you’d do everything you could not to be detected. You wouldn’t go around announcing it to the world like a jackass.”
Although Arnold understands why commentators have been using the word “treason” to describe the alarming spectacle they have witnessed this week, he said, “Throwing the word ‘treason’ around like that is very unfair to traitors, and I would even say hurtful.”
“Traitors put a lot of thought, planning, and subtletly into every one of their actions and utterances,” he said. “When I look at these so-called acts of treason, I have to ask, Where’s the professionalism? Where’s the work ethic? The sloppiness and sheer idiocy of it all is jaw-dropping.”
Speaking of his treasonous colleagues in Hell, including Judas Iscariot, Vidkun Quisling, and the entire Vichy government, Arnold said, “Every traitor down here is shaking his head.”
DHS policy on election/critical infrastructure
Statement by the former Secretary of the Dept. of Homeland Security (January, 6 2017):
"I have determined that election infrastructure in this country should be designated as a subsector of the existing Government Facilities critical infrastructure sector. Given the vital role elections play in this country, it is clear that certain systems and assets of election infrastructure meet the definition of critical infrastructure, in fact and in law. [...] By 'election infrastructure,' we mean storage facilities, polling places, and centralized vote tabulations locations used to support the election process, and information and communications technology to include voter registration databases, voting machines, and other systems to manage the election process and report and display results on behalf of state and local governments."
Also see this current DHS Secretary statement (7/16/18), which confirms that election systems are still considered critical infrastructure. If a foreign government attacks it then it's an act of war.
"I have determined that election infrastructure in this country should be designated as a subsector of the existing Government Facilities critical infrastructure sector. Given the vital role elections play in this country, it is clear that certain systems and assets of election infrastructure meet the definition of critical infrastructure, in fact and in law. [...] By 'election infrastructure,' we mean storage facilities, polling places, and centralized vote tabulations locations used to support the election process, and information and communications technology to include voter registration databases, voting machines, and other systems to manage the election process and report and display results on behalf of state and local governments."
Also see this current DHS Secretary statement (7/16/18), which confirms that election systems are still considered critical infrastructure. If a foreign government attacks it then it's an act of war.
Democrats: Secure America From Russian Interference Act
See the press release here and the Bill here. Also see a short 2-page overview here. Although in keeping with my previous framing, 'interference' should be replaced with 'war' because that's what this is. I'm guessing the Repugnantans will either block this or vote it down, being the traitors they are too. Rep. Castro:
“From the full-fledged cyber operation to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, to the invasion of Crimea and government-sanctioned attack on British soil, the government of Russia has conducted aggressive actions for which they must be held accountable. I’m pleased to join this legislative effort with my colleagues in the House that seeks to secure our election systems ahead of midterms, holds Putin accountable for their malign activities that run counter to international norms, supports U.S. alliances, especially with our NATO partners, and seeks productive dialogue with the Russian people. Putin has consistently worked against the interests of the United States, and Congress must send a clear signal that we will not tolerate such behavior.”
Contained within the broad Act are several pieces, one of which is HR 5011, which will "require the designation of election infrastructure as critical infrastructure." Recall Lakoff noting that an attack on critical infrastructure is WAR.
New Scientist: The truth about intelligence
NS has several articles on the topic in their new issue, like "What is it really?" and "Do IQ tests really work?" See the link to explore it. For example, from the first article:
"When researchers talk about intelligence, they are referring to a specific set of skills that includes the abilities to reason, learn, plan and solve problems. The interesting thing is that people who are good at one of them tend to be good at all of them. These skills seem to reflect a broad mental capability, which has been dubbed general intelligence or g. This seems to fly in the face of old ideas. In the early 1980s, Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner argued for the existence of multiple intelligences, including 'bodily-kinaesthetic', 'logical-mathematical' and 'musical'. However, most researchers now believe these categories reflect different blends of abilities, skills and personality traits, not all of which are related to cognitive ability."
"When researchers talk about intelligence, they are referring to a specific set of skills that includes the abilities to reason, learn, plan and solve problems. The interesting thing is that people who are good at one of them tend to be good at all of them. These skills seem to reflect a broad mental capability, which has been dubbed general intelligence or g. This seems to fly in the face of old ideas. In the early 1980s, Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner argued for the existence of multiple intelligences, including 'bodily-kinaesthetic', 'logical-mathematical' and 'musical'. However, most researchers now believe these categories reflect different blends of abilities, skills and personality traits, not all of which are related to cognitive ability."
Reich: Dump is a traitor
I'm glad to see more people telling this plain truth. In this short video Reich lays out 5 ways Dump is a traitor. The bullet points are below. Although Reich is still calling what Russia did "meddling." He needs to call it what it is: WAR. Watch the video for the details.
1. He ignores attacks on our democracy.
2. He publicly undermines US intelligence officials.
3. He attacks our closest allies.
4. Sought help from a Russian agent. [Didn't include the new Russian spy Butina.]
5. Encouraged Russia to meddle in our election. [No, to commit war against our nation.]
1. He ignores attacks on our democracy.
2. He publicly undermines US intelligence officials.
3. He attacks our closest allies.
4. Sought help from a Russian agent. [Didn't include the new Russian spy Butina.]
5. Encouraged Russia to meddle in our election. [No, to commit war against our nation.]
Palast testifies on voter purges
He testified to the National Commission for Voter Justice on several topics, one of which was 500,000 Ohio voters being purged by postcard from the voter rolls with the Supreme Corp's blessing. It's no surprise that the majority of those purged vote Democratic. The Repugnantans know they cannot win in a fair vote so use several legal tactics to eliminate the competition. See the link for more details.
"We just had a decision by the court in Randolph Institute v. Husted… The state of Ohio had eliminated over half a million voters. It was misreported that these voters were eliminated because they failed to vote in a couple of elections. That was just a trigger. In fact the court allowed them to be removed because they received a postcard and didn’t return it. And they used that as evidence these voters had moved."
"We just had a decision by the court in Randolph Institute v. Husted… The state of Ohio had eliminated over half a million voters. It was misreported that these voters were eliminated because they failed to vote in a couple of elections. That was just a trigger. In fact the court allowed them to be removed because they received a postcard and didn’t return it. And they used that as evidence these voters had moved."
Hettena on Dump/Cohen/Russia history
In this Rolling Stone piece he details some of the many Russian real estate deals from his new book Trump/Russia: A Definitive History. There is no question Mueller has all this info and will use it. As but one example:
"An investigation by Reuters found that at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses have bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in the seven Trump-branded luxury towers. And that was a conservative estimate. At least 703 – or about one-third – of the 2044 units were owned by limited liability companies, or LLCs, which could conceal the property’s true owner. Executives from Gazprom and other Russian natural resource giants also owned units in Trump’s Sunny Isles towers. In an observation that several people I spoke with echoed, Kenneth McCallion, a former prosecutor who tracked the flows of Russian criminal money into Trump’s properties, told me, 'Trump’s genius – or evil genius – was, instead of Russian criminal money being passive, incidental income, it became a central part of his business plan.' McCallion continued, 'It’s not called ‘Little Moscow’ for nothing. The street signs are in Russian. But his towers there were built specifically for the Russian middle-class criminal.'"
"An investigation by Reuters found that at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses have bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in the seven Trump-branded luxury towers. And that was a conservative estimate. At least 703 – or about one-third – of the 2044 units were owned by limited liability companies, or LLCs, which could conceal the property’s true owner. Executives from Gazprom and other Russian natural resource giants also owned units in Trump’s Sunny Isles towers. In an observation that several people I spoke with echoed, Kenneth McCallion, a former prosecutor who tracked the flows of Russian criminal money into Trump’s properties, told me, 'Trump’s genius – or evil genius – was, instead of Russian criminal money being passive, incidental income, it became a central part of his business plan.' McCallion continued, 'It’s not called ‘Little Moscow’ for nothing. The street signs are in Russian. But his towers there were built specifically for the Russian middle-class criminal.'"
UK Labour Party's economic democracy
See this article. Some excerpts follow. See the link for much more.
"Corbyn’s vision of democratizing the economy, contained in the Labour Party’s 2017 manifesto, For the Many, Not the Few, has opened up space for a far broader political conversation on the economy than has been possible in decades.
“None of this is about selling a fantasy. Real-world examples of democratic, participatory economic alternatives exist in communities across the globe. Worker ownership, cooperatives, municipal enterprise, land trusts, public banks, and a host of kindred institutional forms all represent ways in which capital can be held in common by both small and large publics. They illuminate how practical new approaches can generate innovative solutions to deep underlying problems.”
"Corbyn’s vision of democratizing the economy, contained in the Labour Party’s 2017 manifesto, For the Many, Not the Few, has opened up space for a far broader political conversation on the economy than has been possible in decades.
“None of this is about selling a fantasy. Real-world examples of democratic, participatory economic alternatives exist in communities across the globe. Worker ownership, cooperatives, municipal enterprise, land trusts, public banks, and a host of kindred institutional forms all represent ways in which capital can be held in common by both small and large publics. They illuminate how practical new approaches can generate innovative solutions to deep underlying problems.”
Dump's long history of treason
Dump has been trying to wriggle out of it with his recent Clinton moment of defining the word is. But from the start he's been denying the facts of Russian war against the US. This article provides those historical and factual details. Plus Dump has been a traitor long before running for Presidunce in his financial dealings with Russian oligarchs. That will all come out in the Mueller investigation. His current behavior is just a consistent and long line of treason going way back. So him becoming Presidunce was good only in that he'll finally be held accountable for something he's been guilty of all along.
History of north v. south
North rapes south. South falls apart. North blames south for being lazy. Sound familiar in rich v. poor?
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Repugnantans block funding for election protection
See the Dem pleas in the House here. During this House proceeding several Dems requested a unanimous consent request to approve the Quigley Amendment to restore funds to prevent Russian interference in American elections in 2018. They were all blocked. In an earlier House appropriations Bill the Repugs slashed funding in half from the Election Assistance Commission, with the EAC to be terminated by the end of 2018. So they are actively blocking the protection of our election process from Russian acts of war. I wonder why that is? Are they too committing treason?
Cyber Act of War Act of 2016
This Bill was introduced into the House 5/12/16 and referred to various committees where it apparently died on 6/7/16 with no action taken. It was also introduced in the Senate 5/9/16 with no action taken. Even if Repugnantans won't legally define it as war we must do so in our framing. It states:
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
2d Session
H. R. 5220
To
direct the President to develop a policy on when an action in cyberspace
constitutes a use of force against the United States, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 12, 2016
Mr. Himes (for himself and Mr. Westmoreland)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
A BILL
To direct the
President to develop a policy on when an action in cyberspace
constitutes a use of force against the United States, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Cyber Act of War Act of 2016”.
Dump said Russia is not currently attacking our elections
He said it in a news conference after a Cabinet meeting today when specifically asked about it. He said "no" three times. And again this flies directly in the face of what his own Director of National Intelligence (DNI) said just last Friday:
"The warning lights are blinking red again. Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack. . . . [Russia is the] most aggressive foreign actor, no question. And they continue their efforts to undermine our democracy."
The DNI admits that our digital infrastructure is currently and literally under attack. And recall per Lakoff this means war. And again traitor Dump is aiding and abetting Russia in a war against the US. This is treason.
"The warning lights are blinking red again. Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack. . . . [Russia is the] most aggressive foreign actor, no question. And they continue their efforts to undermine our democracy."
The DNI admits that our digital infrastructure is currently and literally under attack. And recall per Lakoff this means war. And again traitor Dump is aiding and abetting Russia in a war against the US. This is treason.
Christian wingnut: Maddow will lead a bloody coup soon
You can't make this shit up. Here's the video proof below. This sick bastard is projecting so he and his kin can do a bloody preemptive strike. In the name of God, or course. Jesus F___ing Christ.
Voice of Hope Children's Choir on AGT
They got the final and well deserved Golden Buzzer of the season. Very moving performance.
Alisa and Joseph on WOD
My favorite performance of the night below. Although marInspired was a close second for me and actually scored a bit higher by the judges.
Putin's whore
Russia releases a small piece of their kompromat, what Dump allegedly wore to their secret Helsinki meeting.
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