Monday, September 25, 2017
Flags and other Distractions
Pretty isn't it? So a lot stuff about NFL players not standing for the National Anthem lately. The president is getting all huffy about it (as if he has no other worries). Approval ratings you ask? And there's the other great distraction of our time, North Korea. I was always taught the above image stands for freedom, including the right to protest that what you think is wrong. "I disagree with what you are saying but I will give my life for your right to say it." - From the French Revolution, I think. Feel free to correct me. It seems utterly lost now among so many. This is distraction one.
The guy running North Korea now has some pretty mean toys. All in the last decade or so, no doubt a worry. But they have not been in a war since 1953. His role is to stir the pot of war much for the consumption of his own population. How else can he cling to power? Most likely, he's a threat to no one but his own poor, starved people. But that's not the message of the American Government. We gotta do something! The mad man must be stopped! Lions and tigers and bears, threats everywhere! Distraction number two.
Keep your eye on the ball. US Military Budget 824.6 Billion !!
Climate change denial
Trumpcare
Edit: Well, we dodged Trumpcare for now!
Sunday, April 23, 2017
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Readings 45- as the world burns.
Trump The Destroyer
Read and ask me to just give him a chance?
The Resistance With Keith Olbermann
One of many.
Donald Trump: The Raw and Naked Face of a System that showers Speculators with Obscene Riches
Not just the Donald.
Climate
Meanwhile, watch the world burn.
Looking bleak but this is no time to surrender and throw in the towel. Stay in and keep moving forward.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Fragmented and Off
It is hard to even know where to begin. So forgive me if this is a little fragmented and off. Looking into the future all I see is black.
Here we are in the early days of Trumplandia. It has not taken long to see that running a business and running the US government are not the same thing. One cannot do it by tweets and decree. For the moment he (who's name shall not be mentioned here) is enjoying a creepy honeymoon phase with the party of Grumpy Old People in power. But they too will soon tire of tweets, made up facts and casting blame everywhere except where it belongs. Sure, any new administration needs time to get it's bearings but it is bad when the only accomplishment so far is better ratings for SNL. It will get worse.
One thing that is perhaps the most worrying of all are the true believers, those who think the cartoon president can do no wrong and is above all criticism. You've encountered them already, name calling bully types haunting social media. How far down the rabbit hole of decent killing fascism will they be willing to go? They can see no wrong and this is scary. They are a minority but this aspect of Trumplandia I find especially worrisome. It is like an army of brownshirts just waiting to be called fourth.
If those in power find they can ignore the courts, the only check left, we are in deep trouble. Travel bans will only be the beginning. Decent will soon be criminalized and crushed. Everything we though we knew about the USA will be gone. We have the technology today to make old-school 1930's-40's fascism seem a day at the beach. Think about it; drones, unlimited monitoring via phones / on line total control of media and movies. You get the idea.
Some questions.
How is this delusional bunch now running Washington going to handle their first national emergency / crisis?
What's going to happen as more and more dirt spews fourth as we all know it will?
Will the Republicans figure it out in time or do they feel so insulated as not to even care?
Ho can, we the people, gain control over our own government (corporations own it now)?
More soon. Better write and protest while you still can. It's our only chance.
Here we are in the early days of Trumplandia. It has not taken long to see that running a business and running the US government are not the same thing. One cannot do it by tweets and decree. For the moment he (who's name shall not be mentioned here) is enjoying a creepy honeymoon phase with the party of Grumpy Old People in power. But they too will soon tire of tweets, made up facts and casting blame everywhere except where it belongs. Sure, any new administration needs time to get it's bearings but it is bad when the only accomplishment so far is better ratings for SNL. It will get worse.
One thing that is perhaps the most worrying of all are the true believers, those who think the cartoon president can do no wrong and is above all criticism. You've encountered them already, name calling bully types haunting social media. How far down the rabbit hole of decent killing fascism will they be willing to go? They can see no wrong and this is scary. They are a minority but this aspect of Trumplandia I find especially worrisome. It is like an army of brownshirts just waiting to be called fourth.
If those in power find they can ignore the courts, the only check left, we are in deep trouble. Travel bans will only be the beginning. Decent will soon be criminalized and crushed. Everything we though we knew about the USA will be gone. We have the technology today to make old-school 1930's-40's fascism seem a day at the beach. Think about it; drones, unlimited monitoring via phones / on line total control of media and movies. You get the idea.
Some questions.
How is this delusional bunch now running Washington going to handle their first national emergency / crisis?
What's going to happen as more and more dirt spews fourth as we all know it will?
Will the Republicans figure it out in time or do they feel so insulated as not to even care?
Ho can, we the people, gain control over our own government (corporations own it now)?
More soon. Better write and protest while you still can. It's our only chance.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Enough Handwringing Already!
The first part of solving a problem is realizing you have one. No, the electoral college is not going to make Hillary president. Obama is not going to magically stay in office. We are going to have to come to grips with the outcome of the election and if his picks for key positions are any indication, we are in a shit-ton of trouble. It's easy to Monday morning quarterback and cast blame, oh it was the Berniecrats, a bunch of racists and other undesirables got out the vote, or my personal favorite- The Russians did it! None of it matters. Over. Done. We are here now with a cartoon billionaire super- villain holding the most powerful office IN THE WORLD appointing nut jobs for important positions. My hope is this will stir a new movement.
I'm not real fond of the "fight" narrative. We gotta FIGHT back. FIGHT for a better future, Fight for this or that. FIGHTING is the government's job. What's needed is a whole new game. This one is rigged for the powerful or as my Marxists friends would say, the ruling class. I have no perfect answer but here are a few ideas.
---Something akin to Occupy could disrupt business as usual and offer a counter narrative to "government sources," the mainstream media and so called think tanks. What can you think of?
---A safe space for like minded groups to meet organize and plan. Something that serves as a gathering point for BLM, LGBT, Standing Rock, Union / Labor types, Earth savers and so on. All face the common threat of Neoliberalism. This is a powerful but largely unknown force that developed over the last several decades. Wishful thinking is not going to make it "go away." This needs to start local but grow to global. And we need to be in it for the long haul. This struggle will go well beyond the current Buffoon's time in Washington.
---Educate yourself, find like-minded folks to work with and have FUN! Keep your head up, a good sense of humor and a positive attitude. Yes there are some very dark days coming, stunning setbacks and cruelty, a lot of cruelty. But don't let any of it fuck you up- just keep moving forward. In the words of MLK, "If you cannot run, walk. If you cannot walk, crawl just keep moving forward." Not exactly what he said but you get the idea.
Okay, run with it!
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
The problem
"The problem is not the problem, the problem is your attitude about the problem." - Captain Jack Sparrow
How can a subsystem dependent on the larger system for its existence, change the larger system?
The government here in the USA, a democracy in name only, has come to depend on neo-liberalism for its existence. Money drives the train. These multinational conglomerations who's only purpose is to make money buy governments around the world to do their bidding. I'll focus here in the USA. I'm sure similar things go on the world over. Governments don't regulate business, business regulates business via legislatures they buy. This may not be the end of the world but there's a problem. For the most part, business / corporations main focus is on the short term. That's why they are not the best alternative for long term projects, like building the interstate highway system or the space program. Who wants to start something that may not turn a profit within a lifetime or ever? This short term thinking is what drives the climate change denier crowd. They could care less about what will happen a generation or two down the road. I think this is why we can get so few long term solutions to any of our problems. If it has no impact on today's bottom line, don't worry about it. Let's look at this in action.
Another mass shooting... and nothing changes. Anyone with any thinking skills at all can see we have a gun problem there in the USA. People want action but get "prayers." Gun manufacturers have an unbreakable death grip on the national legislature. With each new mass shooting we go through the same ole circle jerk, second amendment gibberish, the right to protect oneself, better mental health care and gun control. We rarely, if ever, asks who benefits from the problem. Nor do we consider long-term solutions like meeting people's basic needs or addressing our sick relationship with violence. Healthcare?
Same with healthcare. Problems abound but no one asks who benefits from the status quo. They now want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act but offer no concrete alternatives. Why don''t we follow other civilized nations and have a nationalized healthcare system in which healthcare is a basic human right? Easy! Follow the money. Think about who benefits from the status quo. Climate change?
What climate change? My wallet says not to believe in it, therefore I don't. This seems to be the mantra our government lives by. Except it is not my or your wallet they go by. Anything short of seven plus digits, forget it! Millions spent to muddy the waters and put doubt in peoples' minds to keep making billions. Simple math. Until the whole things blows up.
The endgame is coming soon. Electing a New York based billionaire real estate mogul will only accelerate the process. But that's for a future post...
How can a subsystem dependent on the larger system for its existence, change the larger system?
The government here in the USA, a democracy in name only, has come to depend on neo-liberalism for its existence. Money drives the train. These multinational conglomerations who's only purpose is to make money buy governments around the world to do their bidding. I'll focus here in the USA. I'm sure similar things go on the world over. Governments don't regulate business, business regulates business via legislatures they buy. This may not be the end of the world but there's a problem. For the most part, business / corporations main focus is on the short term. That's why they are not the best alternative for long term projects, like building the interstate highway system or the space program. Who wants to start something that may not turn a profit within a lifetime or ever? This short term thinking is what drives the climate change denier crowd. They could care less about what will happen a generation or two down the road. I think this is why we can get so few long term solutions to any of our problems. If it has no impact on today's bottom line, don't worry about it. Let's look at this in action.
Another mass shooting... and nothing changes. Anyone with any thinking skills at all can see we have a gun problem there in the USA. People want action but get "prayers." Gun manufacturers have an unbreakable death grip on the national legislature. With each new mass shooting we go through the same ole circle jerk, second amendment gibberish, the right to protect oneself, better mental health care and gun control. We rarely, if ever, asks who benefits from the problem. Nor do we consider long-term solutions like meeting people's basic needs or addressing our sick relationship with violence. Healthcare?
Same with healthcare. Problems abound but no one asks who benefits from the status quo. They now want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act but offer no concrete alternatives. Why don''t we follow other civilized nations and have a nationalized healthcare system in which healthcare is a basic human right? Easy! Follow the money. Think about who benefits from the status quo. Climate change?
What climate change? My wallet says not to believe in it, therefore I don't. This seems to be the mantra our government lives by. Except it is not my or your wallet they go by. Anything short of seven plus digits, forget it! Millions spent to muddy the waters and put doubt in peoples' minds to keep making billions. Simple math. Until the whole things blows up.
The endgame is coming soon. Electing a New York based billionaire real estate mogul will only accelerate the process. But that's for a future post...
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