What's really bugging Repugnantans about Cohen?

In an accurate nutshell.

Cohen's closing statement

He criticizes Dump for degrading our military, our law enforcement, our media and our institutions. He tells Dump to quit abusing the Presidency for his own self promotion and profit. He urges him to quit demonizing immigrants and punishing their children. He notes correctly that Dump attacks our allies while loving our enemies. It's an excellent closing argument on all the legitimate points the Repugs chose to ignore in order to protect this criminal in the Offal Office.

Kimmel on Cohen's testimony

The Repugs chose to believe the King of all Liars, Dump, while depicting Cohen as a liar, the one who lied for, and at the direction of, the King of all Liars. Keep it up Repugs, for you're going to pay for this Bigly in the next elections.

Morning Joe on the Repug cover up

Scarborough comments on how the Repugs questioning Cohen have become a Party whose organizing principle is "to cover up for the illegal and moral misdeeds of Donald J. Trump." He goes on to elaborate on how his former Party has degenerated toward oblivion.

Cohen's most significant truth

While the Dems were questioning him to get at the truth, the Repugs were only interested in protecting Dump so only tried to discredit Cohen. Cohen then said something significant: The Repugs are doing exactly what he did for a decade, lying and obfuscating to protect a liar, a racist and a cheat. Cohen warned they will pay for their complicity and they surely will in the next election. Hopefully their complicity will disable that corrupt Party for the next generation.

The billionaires behind AOC attacks

They are behind a lot of AOC attack adds, including the Kochs. The article names them and their contributions to the group Job Creators Network, who claim to represent main street when in reality it's a bunch of billionaires who send main street jobs overseas. And the weird thing is AOC is not against billionaires but only wants them to pay their fair share. Hence all the bullshit obfuscation about creating jobs when they really don't. They're just greedy and don't want to contribute to the workers and social infrastructure that made them rich. 

AOC questions of Cohen

Her questions and Cohen's answers point to Dump being a huge tax cheater, with names provided on who to question further and bank and tax records to be subpoenaed. The House if going to nail Dump and his crime family.

Cohen: Dump is a racist, a con man and a cheat

From his opening statement before the House Intelligence Committee. He acknowledges that some will question his credibility, given his long history of lying. But he said he provided the Committee with confirming documents to what he is testifying, and describes some of them in the video.

Nance: How Russia hacked our minds

With the help of Dump, the Repugnantans and social media. It happened, and it's still happening, and here's how they did it.

I'm so mean, you probably think I'm not integral

To be sung to this tune. I often get 'integral' criticism that my blog is simplistic, that it doesn't build complex arguments, etc. Hence I'm not displaying integral cognition. Maybe even being mean and green.

My blog's purpose is not to provide complex arguments. Such arguments do not win the heart of the average voter but in fact repel them. My blog's purpose is to use the framing necessary to effect voting behavior. While such framing can be rationalized in complex terms, the actual practice is really quite simple and requires simple, emotional framing. Use what works to reach your target demo. The smart, caring people are already voting for scientific climate policy and don't need my convincing.

UN appointed team demands the end of capitalism

In this piece they examine the UN science team assigned to address climate chaos. They concluded that neoliberal capitalism is the prime contribution to the chaos and that a new system will be required to turn it around. And that government is the main force that can do this; market tweaks cannot. It we the people, through social movements, are needed to vote in and support representatives that will enact such a transition.

"It is clear from these examples that strong political governance is required to accomplish the key transitions. Market-based action will not suffice – even with a high carbon price. There must be a comprehensive vision and closely coordinated plans."

And this will require a new socioeconomic vision, one that addresses the various aspects of the situation. The Green New Deal is one such vision that is necessary to break the capitalistic cycle of planetary destruction and turn it around before it's too late. Capitalism is literally killing us, and the collaborative commons is necessary to save us.

There is only one correct side to climate science

Dump nominates a UN ambassador who said "I believe there are scientists on both sides that are accurate." No, 99% of climate scientists are in agreement and the other 1% are fossil fuel lackeys. There is only one correct side to this issue: Climate chaos is upon us and mostly fossil fuel use is responsible for it. And there is only one correct solution: Eliminate fossil fuel use and implement renewable, sustainable energy sources at once. Real science is unequivocal on this.

Sanders frames democratic socialism

As usual, he was asked about socialism in his town hall. And again, he frames it as a humane society that strives to provide equal access and opportunity to every citizen for healthcare, education, living wages, a clean environment, decent jobs etc. He mentions FDR's famous speech on human and economic rights as necessities for freedom.

Who is centrist? What is the center?

Good article showing that corporate media has shaped how we define the center. AOC, Sanders and Warren are depicted as far left, usually with a warning that we need to be more in the middle. But the fact is that the progressive agenda is where most Americans are, i.e., the real American center. Polls repeatedly show that majorities approve of progressive polices like the Green New Deal, higher minimum wages, making the rich pay their fair share of taxes, Medicare For All, free college, gun control and so on. Do not accept the anti-progressive framing. Frame it correctly using facts: Progressive policies are the real center where most Americans reside.

What's wrong with the mindful brain?

From the above article at this link, another take on McMindfulness.

"Riding a growing wave of scientific data, mindfulness meditation has found its way to the forefront of popular culture. Mindfulness practices appeal to a wide spectrum of society, from stressed out office workers and college students to stock traders, doctors, government officials, and even infantry soldiers. These practices have come a long way from their humble beginnings at the outskirts of ancient Indian society. Mindfulness has emerged as a major force in global culture—enshrined in national medical guidelines, showcased on trendwatcher lists, and raking in over a billion dollars in profit each year.

CNN hires political hack to do election reporting

Ana Kasparian rightfully flips out over this and she's not the only one. WTF is wrong with CNN and this choice?

Intelligence and ignorance

Not at all the same thing, as is obvious below. It's why Dump and Co. denigrate intelligence, and ignorant people blindly go along with it.

What is collective cognition?

The blurb from the Santa Fe Institute:

In the summer of 2014, the Center for Complexity and Collective Computation (C4) organized a working group at the Santa Fe Institute to explore the nascent field of collective cognition. The working group, led by Bryan Daniels, Chris Ellison, and Philip Poon, brought together broad-minded transdisciplinary thinkers, drawing from fields including cognitive science, information theory, evolutionary biology, social science, neuroscience, computer science, machine learning, and statistical physics. This video summarizes the thoughts and speculations of these experts regarding how they view the field of collective cognition and where they would like it to go next.

Reich: Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit

And reduce the tax breaks to the rich. He explains how this will give working people more spending money which will create a virtuous economic cycle. Of course as prerequisite we need to get a majority of humane progressives in office that want to help we the people while keeping the wealthy from stealing it all for themselves.

Green New Deal text

Read it and tell me what is objectionable? Recall it's a resolution, a statement of values. Hence the details need to be ironed out in the legislative process, including how to pay for it. But with a fair tax structure, eliminating the unfair tax giveaways to the rich and corporations, and a budget based on these principles we can well afford this ambitious agenda. And most importantly, we just might survive as a species by averting complete environmental disaster.

Remembering Reagan

Same fake rationales for supporting Dump, with slight variation. I guess some people never learn, or forgot what they learned with Reagan. If we fail to remember the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat them.

Your brain is not a computer

See this article. Agreed. Except with this statement: “We can begin to build the framework of a metaphor-free theory of intelligent human behavior." According to embodied cognition no we cannot; we replace it with a better metaphor. It this case, the embodied (enacted, embedded, extended) network metaphor. Hence my article on the collaborative commons and the ‘paradigm shift.’ This latter comment is more in line with that sentiment, the article quoting Radical Embodied Cognitive Science: “Intelligent behavior as a direct interaction between organisms and their world.” That too is a metaphor, just a better one.

For you techie geeks

You can lead a cat to food but you can't make it choose the intended bowl. Also applies to humans.

A humanitarian policy

Real Christians would agree: We feed our children when they are hungry, no strings attached.

Kornfield: Dharma and politics

Recently I read a kennilinguist claim that Spirit Rock Meditation Center has become a postmodern social justice warrior (SJW) propaganda machine. As if that's automatically a bad thing.  Here's Jack Kornfield on "Dharma and politics." Decide for yourself if it's a mean SJW position. An excerpt:

"At Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Sylvia Boorstein has taught a class called 'Informed Citizenship as Spiritual Practice,' which encourages people to ask themselves: What can I do as a wisdom holder, as a Bodhisattva, a member of this society to best contribute to the world in these times? It might be registering people to vote, or working politically, or making our vision heard in organizations of power or in the government, speaking up or writing. It might include working with children, or helping to create a business climate of responsibility and integrity, or working internationally, or tending to poverty, racism and injustice locally. Each person has to find specific steps to offer their vision and energy to society, and to empower those around them. If we don’t do this, change won’t happen. The vision will not be fulfilled."

Dump the racist thinks Spike Lee is racist

Just more of Dump the racist projecting. In his Oscar speech last night Lee said the following. Only Dump or the similarly cognitively impaired could find the term love racist.

“The 2020 election is right around the corner. Let’s all mobilize, let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing.”

Sanders: Respect Dem opponents

In this article he said: "Let us do our best to engage respectfully with our Democratic opponents. […] As we engage with our opponents in the Democratic primary, we will forcefully present our views and defend ourselves against misrepresentations. But, let us do our very best to engage respectfully with our Democratic opponents―talking about the issues we are fighting for, not about personalities or past grievances. I want to be clear that I condemn bullying and harassment of any kind and in any space." That's how it's done.

Investing in the Green New Deal

We invest money to spur the economy, which returns far more than we spend. We get the rich and corporations to pay their fair share to help pay for it. Then we have a habitable planet, strong economy and healthy grandchildren. It's a win-win all the way around.

Repugnantan misdirection

They always get you looking at a fake fear while they steal you blind. Wake up!

The elephant in the room

The much bigger terrorist problem the Dumpsters never talk about.

Mueller and Dump

Given their history, who do you honestly think has the best interests of our country in mind?

Dump leaves a nasty stain

On the underwear of our country. It's time for us to come clean of this stinking shithole Presidunce.

The word 'democracy' works just fine

Make it about democracy v. oligarchy as Sanders does.

White Christian nationalism is destroying America

Not secularism: White Christian nationalism, aka fake Christianity. From this piece:

“American Christianity brought us to this point. It preached nationalism and sanctified American imperialism — promoting Manifest Destiny as ordained by God. The prosperity gospel baptized capitalistic greed, its preachers vilified the poor, and its theologians manipulated scripture to rationalize global colonialism. Salvation was no longer personified through Jesus, but was redesigned to be a political machine, fueled by its ability to control branches of government. This methodology was packaged as “Christianity,” and the gospel became a message of gaining social power and control rather than a call to follow Jesus’ life of selfless service and sacrifice.”

Feinstein's dinosaur incrementalism

This article explores her recent visit with school kids, explaining to them why the Green New Deal is too radical. This sums it up quite nicely. She's wrong and AOC is right. Our house is on fire. We need urgent action now.

"The irony is that, when Feinstein said she’s been “doing this for thirty years,” she described the precise time period during which we could have acted. James Hansen brought the climate question to widespread attention with his congressional testimony in 1988. If we’d moved thirty years ago, moderate steps of the kind that Feinstein proposes would have been enough to change our trajectory. But that didn’t get done, in large part because oil and gas companies that have successfully gamed our political system didn’t want it to get done. And the legislators didn’t do anywhere near enough to fight them. So now we’re on the precipice. Indeed, we’re over it. The fires that raged in California last fall were the fires of a hell on earth."

Investing in our future

That's what a paid education is: An investment that brings returns several fold. It's just that those returns benefit our entire society, not just the 1%. Hence their problem with it. But for we the people, and for our planet, it is a necessary investment that we are willing to make. That is, as long as everyone pays their fair share of tax dollars for that investment.

So who is lazy and greedy?

Funny how he and his Dumpsters project what they are unto others.

Nance: Dump refused pledge to not use stolen Russian material

Nance reports that Dump's reelection campaign will use stolen Russian information. If that isn't treason then WTF is it? And of course there's still the issue of Dumpster conspiracy with Russia in the last election. It is a huge, stinking pile of treason that continues to grow by the minute.

Rep. Schiff interview: Repugnantans are cowards

Repugnantans have to give up their power madness and do what's right for the country. Schiff reports that some in their Party privately complain to him about how Dump is destroying democracy, yet they refuse to stand up to him in public in order to get reelected. Schiff is right in that their job it to support democracy, not themselves.

Maher's monologue

Thanks for the comic relief pal.

Maher: The forgotten America

He uses Amazon as an example of how we neglect small cities for economic development. Hence those red States are left behind while a few, select blue cities get all the perks. No wonder they vote against liberal success, since it has forgotten them. Maher suggests we invest in their economic development, creating better jobs, wages etc., all the while helping us to laugh at our smug superiority that loses elections.

AOC featured in upcoming comic book issue

According to this story.

Snowman DNA

So simple a snowman can do it.

NY prepares to charge Manafort if pardoned

Yep, even if Dump pardons Manafort the NY County AG is preparing to file charges, which cannot be pardoned by the Presidunce. Hopefully other States are ready to do the same if/when Dump pardons others, particularly his family and himself.

AOC on the white terrorist

And Dump and Repugnantans feed these sick people and incite them to violence. Notice how they are conspicuously silent on any white terrorist.

Navarro on how Dump ruined her Party

An old school Republican, Navarro comments on how spineless her Party has become in kowtowing to Dump.

AG Barr's plan for the Mueller report

A likely scenario.

Colbert: The law smacks down Stone, sort of

Stone only gets a warning and gag order though after putting the judge in crosshairs. The privilege of rich white guys never ceases to amaze.

Trojan Pinata

Dump will think it's full of candy and invite it in.

AOC beats big, dark money again

The Job Creators Network, funded by the Mercers and other dark money billionaires, put up an expensive billboard in Times Square denouncing AOC for defeating the Amazon/NY deal. AOC as usual effectively smacked them down:

"Few things effectively communicate the power we've built in fighting dark money & anti-worker policies like billionaire-funded groups blowing tons of cash on wack billboards (this one is funded by the Mercers). (PS fact that it's in Times Sq tells you this isn't for/by NYers.)"

Meredith Brooks - Bitch

This one has been banging around in my head all morning.

Colbert: The end is near for Mueller

His investigation, that is.

Bernie's platform

It's of, for and by we the people. You know, democracy. Also see his platform here.

Sanders and FDR

Time to expand FDR's vision with the Green New Deal.

Sanders on Israel

Sanders was criticized last time for his lack of foreign policy bona fides. This time is different, particularly regarding Israel. From this piece.

"Sanders has gone much further [than the other Dem candidates]: He’s produced videos that call Gaza an 'open-air prison,' he’s depicted Benjamin Netanyahu as part of the 'growing worldwide movement toward authoritarianism,' and, most controversially of all, he’s suggested cutting U.S. military aid to Israel."

See the link for much more on his foreign policy, which he has beefed up considerably.

Rules of engagement for Democratic primary

This article provides 4 basic rules to keep the Party somewhat united during the primaries. I'll just list the bullet points below. See the link for more detail.

1. Encourage new ideas, opinions, plans.
2. Avoid attack ads, debate the issues.
3. Condition every criticism with two compliments.
4. Pledge to support whoever wins.

Hartmann debates conservative on the Green New Deal

And the conservative never responded to her claim that the Green New Deal would hurt the economy. All she offered were ideological platitudes that could not, or would not, address the specifics about the GND. I appreciate that Hartmann often invites conservatives on his show to debate but his skills and command of the material wins every time.

Jesus snaps the fake Christians

Good job Jesus.

Hartmann: Take back 'freedom'

Freedom is one of those conservative catch phrases whose meaning they have appropriated to serve their misinformation campaign. For them it means the freedom to give billionaires and corporations free reign to pursue their greed and lust for power. For liberals like FDR and Sanders it means that to have any sort of freedom we need universal healthcare, a living wage, union representation, etc. You know, actual democracy for the rest of us. Oligarchy only provides freedom to the wealthy; democracy provides freedom for everyone. We need to learn from FDR here on the nature of freedom.

Colbert on Bernie's announcement

He jokes about his down-home, grassroots approach. And Bernie is right: The other Dem candidates are jumping on the bandwagon he started. Bernie is also right that Dump is a pathological liar.

Liberal Redneck on our Presidental choice

He's worried that the Dems might once again get so pure that they refuse to vote for the primary winner. We cannot afford to make that mistake again given the alternative.

TYT interviews Sanders

Therein he said that he's the best Democratic candidate because he was first on all the policies that Dems are now supporting, like Medicare For All, a living wage, fighting the oligarchy, getting big money out of politics, etc. He truly is the best bet to win the Presidency and both House of Congress.

Bernie raises $3.3 million in 10 hours

And $6 million in the first 24 hours from 225,000 individual donors. Once again proving that 1) a candidate does not need corporate money and 2) that any candidate that truly represents we the people must refuse to accept big money. Given this response it is clear that Sanders is the best candidate to beat Dump in the next election.

"According to a statement by the campaign, exactly 223,047 individuals contributed $5,925,771—putting the total raised over the $6 million mark with an average donation of $27. Since putting it online early Tuesday morning, the campaign said the senator's launch video has been viewed more than 8.3 million times across social media platforms, including 5.3 million views on Twitter alone."

Did Dump interfere in the Cohen investigation?

It's a rhetorical question because of course he did. The NYT reported that after a US Attorney for the Southern District of NY recused himself from the Cohen investigation that Dump pressured Acting AG Whittaker to get him to recant his recusal and take the lead on the case. Just one more count of obstruction of justice added to the many others.

Emma Vigeland on Bernie's announcement

She adds her inimitable take on the best candidate in the race and our future President.

Bohemian Rhapsody

I finally got around to seeing the movie and loved it, having grown up with Queen. I had no idea at the time of their story. Even though the movie takes liberties with that story, seeing it in retrospect made me enjoy their music all the more. And especially this masterpiece of a song.

Repugnantan policy menu

Don't listen to what they say but to what they do. This is what they do.

Reich: Who will be our next President?

Reich debunks the myth that the Democratic nominee will need corporate money. Refusing that money inspires the small donors who more than make up for it. Grassroots activism is much more important and connects with we the people. Our candidate will have the honesty, character and temperament necessary to lead the nation, unlike it's present occupant. And most assuredly, our candidate will need to be progressive who will fight the establishment, not a wishy washy centrist. The polls show we want the most progressive candidate.

Dump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize?

Seriously? At best you have to be mentally ill to think that this stinking Dump deserves such a high honor.

Colbert on McCabe interview

McCabe and others had good reason to suspect a traitor in the Blight House. And we still do.

Bernie is in

And we progressives are enthused. He is by far the most popular candidate that can remove that stinking Dump from the Offal Office.

Comparing Obama and Dump criminal investigations

So which is the real law and order administration? And which is the criminal cabal?

Maxime and Torri

And the recent Capitol Swing competition, where they got 1st place in the champions luck of the draw Jack and Jill. Granted the are not only regular dance partners but married, so them winning this 'improv' contest was almost a given.

Reich on the tax scam and our tax returns

From his FB post:

"Millions of Americans have received smaller tax refunds this year, causing the Trump administration to scramble for excuses after promising tax cuts for middle class families. Their latest explanation is to claim that Americans have already received the tax cut in the form of increased wages. Baloney.

"Wages have gone nowhere since the tax cuts were passed. Some workers have actually seen wages decline, adjusted for inflation. Meanwhile, executives and wealthy investors have taken home massive bonuses. The bottom line is Trump's tax cuts have made millions of Americans poorer, while enriching the super-rich and corporations."

Why is academic writing so complex?

This article complains about it. As both a critic of and participant in this form of writing, it is a delicate balance. Some academic topics require foundational education in order to understand the material, so by nature they are not easily assimilated by a general readership. Still, within that constraint, the writing can also be more considerate of the general reader.

I tried to do that with my latest article on the collaborative commons but I still get complaints that it assumes prior knowledge and therefore is not easily digested. True, but given the above the general reader has some responsibility in getting up to speed, so to speak. If an academic writer had to spoon feed every beginner in every piece then the content would be useless to those already in the know. It's a matter of depth versus span and the demographic one is trying to reach. Academia is not intended for mass consumption.

Amazon $11.2 billion profit: Tax liability $0

While working Americans are in shock this tax season over having to pay taxes back to the government for the first time, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy notes that through loopholes and exemptions in the latest Repugnantan tax scam Amazon will pay nothing at all in taxes. That's right, not one penny. Meanwhile, many of Amazon's employees need social programs to get by.

And these tax cheats are running up a huge deficit that the Repugs want to compensate for by cutting social programs like social security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and so on. If we didn't give away all this money to tax cheaters we'd have plenty to pay for needed social services. This plainly tells us that the Repugs are corrupt in doling out our tax money to the real welfare Kings and Queens while then ripping off we the workers and those in need.

UN Convention on genocide and US immigrant child kidnapping

In relation to the current US policy of taking children away from their parents and giving them to someone else, see the last item on this list. The UN needs to make a strong statement about this US policy. Write to them here on the topic as I have done.

Conservative economist on immigrants

Based on factual economic research: Immigrants increase native worker wages. See the video below for the other beneficial results of immigrants on the US economy.

How to make men happy

It's a joke but based in reality. No one woman (or person) can provide everything you want or need. To think otherwise is romantic illusion that will only lead to disillusion and likely worse.

An added benefit of reading books

Books indeed tickle our (c)literacy.

SNL: A more accurate take of Dump's fake emergency

It ain't an emergency; it's a political hack to appease the Dumpsters. The skit also accurately depicts not only the ensuing legal battle over it but the inevitable result of the Mueller investigation.

Naomi Klein: A transformative worldview

From gig and dig to care and repair: Naomi Klein frames the change we need. She argues that the Green New Deal is a necessary vision but will require we the people to support and engage it on many levels, for social movements are what move legislators.

"Now that the resolution is out there, however, the onus is on all of us who support it to help make the case for how our overlapping crises are indeed inextricably linked — and can only be overcome with a holistic vision for social and economic transformation [...by] connecting the dots between the many parts of daily life that stand to be transformed — from health care to employment, day care to jail cell, clean air to leisure time."

The goal of meditation

Yes, it is a contradiction in terms. From Sam Harris in Waking Up (p. 140):

"But it is important to realize that true meditation isn't an effort to produce a certain state of mind—like bliss, or unusual visual images, or love for all sentient beings. Such  methods also exist, but they serve a more limited function. The deeper purpose of meditation is to recognize that which is common to all states of experience, both pleasant and unpleasant. The goal is to realize those qualities that are intrinsic to consciousness in every present moment, no matter what arises to be noticed."

Meditation memes

In other words:

WaPo fact checks Dump's emergency declaration

They focused on the following 5 lies. Understandably they didn't fact check every lie, as that would take longer than the actual speech.

Nance: Manafort is a Russian agent

And Manafort is directly connected to Dump and Dump's own Russian conspiracy. It's only a matter of time now until Mueller reveals all.

Maher's monologue on the national emergency

The real emergency is a wannabe fascist dictator hell bent on the destruction of democracy. And the Repugnanants seem determined to let it happen.

Maher on the Democratic purity test

Yet again the PC liberals are railing on Presidential candidates because they're not liberal enough. Which is exactly why we have the child-man fascist Dump right now. Let's not make the same mistake again.

Feudal serfs

Same story, different day.

Managing planetary collapse

Joe Brewer's article on framing our environmental situation. The above framing acknowledges that we are currently engaged in planetary collapse, yet empowers a select few who have the emotional capacity to engage with constructive work while accepting the dire situation. Hence my little blog is my own attempt to do something about the situation.

"Those select few who 'self-select' into this frame will recognize this logical contradiction. Yet they are also emotionally competent to stay in the tension of holding the paradox long enough to see the way through to the other side. […] only when we are able to accept what we can’t change will we begin this constructive and empowering mode of inquiry. This gets us back to the stages of grieving. The people who have reached a level of healthy acceptance that many kinds of collapse are now inevitable will also gain the (unrecognized) ability to discern what they can do to avoid some of the collapse patterns."

A real emergency

For the entire planet, one being ignored while a fake emergency is declared. Get politically active and get the real emergency addressed now. One thing though: Call it climate chaos, catastrophe and/or crisis. The word change does not inspire the sort of urgency necessary to address this real crisis.

Reich: Next steps in Dump's fake emergency

From Reich's FB post  of the most likely scenario:

"Friends, we now have a national emergency -- not the fake one Trump has concocted at the border, but a real one in which a renegade president is acting as a dictator, taking away powers that the Constitution gives to Congress.

Here’s what will happen now:

1. Congress will take the issue to the federal courts, starting in the District of Columbia circuit, and quickly to the Supreme Court. The questions will be: (1) Can a president unilaterally decide to appropriate money for a purpose Congress has explicitly chosen not to? (2) Do the plaintiffs in the case have standing to sue? (3) Is this a political question that the courts should not and cannot deal with?

2. House Democrats (joined by some Republicans) will pass a bill, under the National Emergency Act of 1976, to repeal Trump’s declared emergency. That bill will then go to the Senate. Republican senators, who will then have to decide whether their loyalty to Trump and the Republican Party is greater than their loyalty to the nation and the Constitution. Public opinion over the next few days will be an important factor.

3. If a majority of senators vote for the bill, the repeal resolution is passed and goes to Trump. He will veto it, obviously. Then a two-thirds majority vote in each chamber will be needed to override the veto. There are probably enough votes in the House for that override. The question is what happens in the Senate. If opinion among rank-and-file Republican voters is strongly against what Trump has done, Senate Republicans will do the right thing. My betting is against this happening.

My prediction overall: The Supreme Court will reject Trump's move, 5 to 4. Roberts vote will swing the Court in the correct direction."

AOC on Amazon's tax avoidance

As usual she nails it. For each dollar they don't pay their fair share is an added dollar we the working people have to pay to make up for it. Tired yet of paying the welfare for these takers?

Sound familiar?

If we the people do not pressure our representatives into impeaching the traitor Presidunce Dump then we could very well be going down the same road.

Real national emergencies

Unlike the fake border issue. And the most important national emergency is that our Presidunce is a Russian asset and traitor to our country and the Repugnantans are complicit in protecting him, likely because they too are implicated in that treason.

Deleuze, Bergson, Bryant, Derrida

See this post of Deleuze on Bergson. Of particular note for now: 

4.3. Critique of Presentism:

1. We tend to confuse being with being-present.

2. The present is precisely what is not, what is always moving outside itself, always in the process of falling beyond itself, always caught in the act of presentation.

However Bergson viewed intuition and analysis as the absolute versus the relative way of knowing. The former is "a method that aims at getting back to and knowing the things themselves, in all their uniqueness and ineffable originality." This could indeed be Deleuze's criticism of Bergson's metaphysics of presence?

Bryant, L. (2008). Difference and Givenness. On the method of intuition:

"We ought not to assume that by 'intuition' Deleuze means the direct and immediate apprehension by a knowing subject of itself, of its conscious states, of other minds, of an external world, of universals, of values, or of rational truths. […] Strangely, then, intuition, for Deleuze, is mediated insofar as it involves a plurality of acts of cognition. […] It must be practiced and performed, that it requires a discipline and 'training,' rather than being an immediate given. In this respect, it is much closer to phenomenological methods of analysis than traditional appeals to intuition. […] What we seek is not difference as it manifests itself between two things, but difference in itself, difference differing from itself, difference as it can only be contained within duration or time unfolding itself" (53-4).

And of course Bryant's later work reiterates many of the same themes.