Colbert on regressive hysteria over Super Bowl Coke ad

Imagine, regressives are fuming that a Super Bowl Coke ad was sung in English and Spanish and Arabic! And it has colored people in it! And gay people! All of which are completely un-American to those bigoted white folk. Colbert points out that the song's writer was a lesbian. Oh...my...whiteass...heterosexual...English speaking...GOD! Btw, white, English-speaking people are not originally from America. That would be those dark natives that speak something other than English.

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Senator Grayson's petition on the Farm Bill

He notes that not only will the Farm Bill cut food stamps, but it will cut them more in States with Democrat (blue) majorities. It does this by removing a home heating deduction that figures into food stamp eligibility. The result is that cold States that have higher heating bills will see an additional $9 billion in food stamp cuts. And the coldest States just happen (uh huh) to be mostly blue States, which will see 97% of the total cuts to the food stamp program. Please sign his petition to thwart these draconian and cruel cuts to the most needy.

Metaphysical causes and postmetaphysical differances

Layman Pascal has responded to some of Mark Edwards' criticisms in an IPS thread on the latter's work. My response starts in this post and follows. See above that for Layman's comments.

The kennilinguists, led of course by the Lingam, have proven time and again their totalitarian organizational structure via I-I, as well as their self-righteous indignation toward so-called lower levels and rampant group aggrandizement via their marketing strategy. Do you really doubt this?

As for vertical co-dependency, of course a student needs the teacher to train them and must submit to the teacher's expertise to learn a skill. But when we're talking about enlightenment it's not just a particular skill one learns but it's about one's entire being in the world. Every aspect of that being comes under control of the master. And this is of course what's wrong with enlightenment so framed in this all consuming, all subsuming manner as Master of Reality. If meditative state training were viewed postmetaphysically as just learning a skill that would be acceptable, but that's not what's going on.

Drone policy hypocrisy

Click image to enlarge.

Krugman on regressive Obamacare lies

As usual he counters lies with truth. Cathy McMorris Rodgers' regressive response to the SOTU picked one example of how Obamacare premiums increased by $700 when Betty in Spokane's old policy had to be cancelled because it didn't meet the new requirements. Of course a little fact checking revealed that Betty didn't even get a quote on the Obamacare site, since she refused to go there. And why refuse to even look? Because she believes the regressive lies about it. So what are the facts about Obamacare?

La Grange

Thought of this one today. I like the studio version, below.

Reform from within with a different kind of consciousness

Going back to this Chomsky video, he was asked if one tried to reform the system from within weren't they in effect just feeding the capitalist beast. He said no, that that was a necessary step on the way to libertarian socialism (LS). That we need to make progressive inroads to transform it from within. He provided numerous examples of LS systems past and present that are quite successful, but in themselves they do not change the dominant system. And when those systems get too successful on a larger scale, the not only the state socialists but the state capitalists will team up to crush them, for such actual democratic liberty is a threat to both of them.

Thing is, state capitalism operates within at least a nominal democratic political system. Granted it does everything in its considerable power to overcome that democracy, but it relies on at least maintaining the facade to prevent outright revolution of the kind that has decimated state socialism. So we need to use that pretense to justify progressive changes within the existing system by winning over the workers of America, the ones getting the shaft by the capitalist plutocrats and their political cronies in government. Time and again we see them give an inch here and there when popular sentiment rises up. And there is some support in our governments by way of some truly progressive politicians that actually believe in democracy and the people. Yes, they are in the minority but they hold true to the democratic ideals on which such constitutions were founded at the expense of actual blood  when tyranny and fascism ruled the day.

Obama tells O'Reilly that he is the problem

Bill'O the Clown O'Reilly landed an interview with the President today and, as expected, asked the President why people believe he created distractions from Benghazi and the IRS scandal. The President slapped him down, noting that it was the likes of O'Reilly and Faux Snooze that are the creators of such beliefs. Obama: "And they believe it because folks like you tell them that. These kinds of things keep on surfacing in part because you and your TV station will promote them."

Kansas law to virtually prohibit broadband access

See this article and it is not an exaggeration. This KS legislation is based on ALEC's model which will, in effect, insured no internet access in certain rural areas of the State. Meanwhile it will provide a monopoly in other urban areas. Which of course is right up ALEC's alley; monopolies on the one hand and restricting access to information on the other so as to prevent knowledge of their activities. The American way all right.

Beyond state socialism

This 2011 Chomsky interview is called "Beyond state socialism" and discusses primarily libertarian socialism. It was conducted in Norway, one of the happiest and most democratic countries in the world.