About Us
A few minutes ago I was thinking about the next article I would like to write. As I was discussing the idea (yes I talk to myself when I think I am alone) I noticed something a bit odd. There doesn't seem to be a simple way for someone (not part of this community) to read an about us statement. Or, maybe I am not very observant and sound like an idiot.
One of the best aspects of this site is highlighted in this statement:
Like the Occupy movement from which the name of this site derives (many of the early members of the site were active members and supporters of Occupy) we are open to people with all kinds of different ideas about how to make the world a better place. The folks already here represent a broad range of left-leaning to far-left orientations.
Maybe I am an optimist, but I would like to think many more people "out there" would be interested in joining a community of "people with all kinds of different ideas about how to make the world a better place." I, for one, like the idea of interacting with a group that "represent a broad range of left-leaning to far-left orientations.
I am thinking the we as a community should offer suggestions with respect to how to "market" this site. Put another way: What would the ideal "About Us" say about us as a community?
Comments
How about some right-leaning to far-right individuals.
Given recent developments maybe it would be nice if we had a contingent of right-leaning to far-right oriented individuals here as well.
The situation is so screwed-up, we as a society need to be creative, and you never know from where the next best idea will come.
This is an excellent idea
I am not a marketing person but we do need to bring more like minded people together and this is a great place already. I am going to ask my daughter when she has time if she has any ideas and my wife, who despite her cognitive issues still retains a great deal of practical knowledge on how to sell oneself.
Price thanks for bringing this up considering all you are going through right now.
Steve
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
With respect to marketing I am always a bit wary.
I keep coming back to the old "We got ourselves into this situation, we should be able to get ourselves out of this mess." I think this thought even applies to the larger (and scarier) issue of climate change.
I know community "marketing of ideas" and organizing works on the local and regional (several county) level, I have been involved in this sort of thing for three decades. I am at a loss, however, for how it can work on a larger scale. There is no question in my mind that simple scaling isn't the answer. We can't just keep doing things the same old way. I suppose that is, in part, why I like Bernie's approach during the primary season. Or, as we say, it's a lot like herding cats, if the herd is too big, well good luck with that.
As for all I am going through . . . For the nonce my biggest concerns are engineering our move from here to 1500 miles west of here.
The fact is, every negative report from the oncologists is one more step to "cancer free", or as we say "so far so good!" So as the question of "remission" versus "free" becomes a distant image in the rear view mirror, I should stop looking over my (daughter's) shoulder and settle into the mode of watching for the next set of chuckholes. And, the fact that my granddaughter now seems to have a fully functioning heart is quite a relief. I think I just worry too much for my own good. After all they say ignorance is bliss.
But on the other hand, I will soon get to meet (read "train") a new oncologist in Oregon. I am hoping to develop a collaboration wherein I can get a dense date set to see if I can build some useful models. These "cancers that set there" but don't actually kill you are very strange to my way of thinking. They just don't make any sense. So, maybe I can learn something interesting.
That "useful models" thought is connected to the fact that I am prepping an article describing the usefulness (and lack of usefulness) of modeling in various disciplines.
Paul Ewald, a evolutionary micro biologist, says that those
organisms which don't kill the host are more successful at perpetuating. Ebola and things like it kill the host so fast, that as long as it is in settlements, it can only reach so far.
Viruses like EBV (Epstein Barr), Herpes Zoster and bacteria which live sequestered in bodies but don't kill, may cause inflammation and eventually cause cancer, but can be passed from one host to another and therefore live longer.
This may be the evolutionary strategy of some cancers. Just speculation here. There is a growing list of cancers caused by infectious diseases, or the inflammation caused by them.
Wishing you luck on your move to Oregon. Oregon has one medical school, OHSU, which sets the statewide view on any disease and its treatment. Don't be afraid to go to Seattle where there are at least five competing medical schools, and some really good oncologists. I have two friends with similar benign but growing brain tumors who went to OHSU, and got interesting if dated approaches to their tumors.
One friend related to the Hoover Institute, was able to find a good oncologist in Seattle, which my other friend also went to. They both did well and were told that the OHSU approach would not have been helpful.
I too was told I have disease-related problems too complicated for Oregon and to go to Seattle, which while it took some searching, did get me a diagnosis that made sense and helped me through a very dark time. It's hard to leave home when you are not well, but sometimes, that is exactly what it takes.
Best wishes to you. You also have access to two of the best Naturopathic Universities, one in Portland and the Bastyr Institute in Seattle. In both states the medical formularies include every western medicine except opioids and other heavy pain meds.
Both states are also full Cannabis states. Not sure you would even need a medical card as in the past. Lots of good things happening in the PNW and with California may be the best place to be.
You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again you did not know. ~ William Wiberforce
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Except for one problem:
Cancer is not an organism that can transmit any "evolutionary advantage" to the next generation, so the cancer clan gains nothing by this approach. The reality is that this "behavior" must be simply a variant that exists for no reason, or maybe there is something about the "host" / "malignancy" interaction that influences the static behavior. If this latter is the case maybe we can exploit that process to develop some "natural" growth inhibiters that won't trigger metastasis.
I am looking forward to interacting with the medical community starting in Medford. If we all determine that radiation is the best approach, I will carefully explain why x-rays, gamma rays, electron beams, or protons are not good options in the general situation. I am thinking of reconnecting with a research team in British Columbia that continued developing pion radiation techniques I encountered while at Los Alamos in 1976.
The "benign" cancer analogy does make some sense
If one thinks of the cancer as not one big glob of bad stuff, but on the individual cellular level, we must consider the gene (or genes) that determine aggressivety. The gene is selfish, putting its wishes above those of other genes, whether self or host. The gene response is varied: apoptosis (self-incurred cell death--a kind of cellular suicide); death by hostile actors (e.g., antibodies, interleukins, etc.); Self-limited growth (i.e., slow growing tumors like meningioma and many prostate cancer); full-out malignancy, some less aggressive than others but still aggressive. Why the difference? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
Whether particle physics is helpful depends on lots of things. X-ray while commonly destructive to host has definite utility to host vs some cancer. Hyperthermia and hyperoxia are both beneficial against cancer, acting via differing mechanisms. It would be rash for anyone to foreclose a priori on any avenue of therapy without considering all benefits and risks.
A Talisman? Better placement of the swimmer in the water?
I think we all 'get' that picture. Lost or abandoned looking for some breathing space. For the most of times, we are a convivial group. That should be the Rule, the only Rule here. Do uo agree?
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Eyes on the Prize
That famous picture of the very young lady (with a very old soul) during the dustbowl just popped into my head. The "how to make the world a better place." is definitely about providing respite. I find it disingenuous that "fair and equitable" gets rebranded as "free lunch" or "leach on the body of society" by those that seem to think they too can become rich. I know the best way to get to people of that mindset is to engage each individual one-at-a-time. So, while I do that IRL, I do not have any indications that my interactions have any lasting effect.
But one person can change history--just one person
You might be the one.
Delusions Ahead ? ... must be careful !
The slippery slope from "delusions of adequacy" to "delusions of grandeur" is littered with the bodies of those that took themselves too seriously.
But you still might be the one.
This is a recursive argument. Action can make it a fact.
Might Be. But, I will withhold judgment on that point.
Maybe you could create some interesting contributions in this conversational thread.
I think that at least some part of any statement . . .
. . . should indicate that we are mostly the independent Left (I think snappleBC indicated that as our nature). And defenders of the little guy and the marginalized, who are only mentioned, much less extolled, elsewhere when it's a useful ploy to garner support for 1%ers. There are few party members here, and blessed little interest in maintaining the Ds and Rs duopoly. Independents in the US of A are not all in the middle (as the MSM would have you believe) or on the right (as Dem partisans would have you believe as they either decry those voters' support of Republicans or stretch themselves to the right to capture votes). Lots of Independents would think of themselves as leftist, and they haven't really had a site that said to them hey, that's just fine. Indeed, that's the only future worth sticking around for.
@dance you monster Where I feel most
Where I feel most comfortable is part of the independent left that is willing to listen and talk to members of the independent right, and on certain issues ally with it.
I'm definitely left, far enough that Bernie is definitely to the right of me, even in his pre-June incarnation, but "independent" is more important than "left" to me at the moment. And I've been fighting for the left all my life. However, it's obvious to me that the most important political division right now is between those who control this society, including defining pre-packaged politics for the rest of us, and, well, the rest of us.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I get to pick up my Oregon driving permit soon.
In Oregon, as you get your "license" you can fill out the voter registration paperwork. I will, of course, "check" the box next to "non-affiliated". Yes! I really like the fact that voter registration is handled by the Oregon DMV.
I prefer the contingent
of people who don't do the whiplash thing - the ones who don't change their views of different policies or situations just because of their tribal-ness.
I don't care if people change views because they learned other information or 'evolve' somehow, but this 'it's okay if you're (fill in blank)" stuff drives me crazy.
dfarrah
@dfarrah You are wise, my
You are wise, my friend.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
mais oui,
I just can't help myself (kidding).
dfarrah
If we name ourselves the independent left
it's possible that that moniker might be less easily co-opted. Possible.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Your Coat is Kind of a Brownish Color . . . ROTFL
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxnA0BWxbKk]
Yep, I like it . . .
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6zZKzXDivk]
@PriceRip LMAO.
LMAO.
Thank you for the compliment.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
@PriceRip We *could* name
We *could* name ourselves the Browncoats, but you know some asswipe would parse it as Brownshirts instead. I don't know if we care about that.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I also think it would be good, under the general "About Us"
for us to write little blurbs about ourselves--those of us who want to. To give a sampler of what the community is like.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Meet the department.
Every fall we would have an informal meet and greet for incoming students. It definitely help set a positive tone before the more formal "this is what we are going to study" deluge blindsided them.
What, pretend to be open? Just kidding.
But those faculty blurbs got wordy too fast. And my most father-figure mentor was someone who failed to get tenure at Cornell. We left about the same time. Both to the Midwest. Now both back in NYS.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
@PriceRip Something like that,
Something like that, yeah.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Good idea.
I am a humanist who oftentimes prefers the company of animals.
@CB Nice.
Nice.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Well, I would encourage all of you to open a FB page
and grab a microphone. It isn't the end all to be all answer, but it is something.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/caucus99percent/posts/?ref=page_internal
You don't have to tell FB anything you don't want to, and they won't know if you tell them a lie. There is a marketing effort going on on FB, and it could use some help. I cross post the FB from here to FB. The more it is liked, shared, and commented on, the more it will circulate and attract a new audience.
This link will take you to our highlights or analytics.
https://www.facebook.com/caucus99percent/insights/
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
You must login to proceed.
This may very well be the best way to reach those most likely to be interested. However, it won't work for people like me. For various reasons I will never again login to facebook (as well as some other sites not to be named). I am of a different generation and temperament. I am the sort that creates sites wherein navigation is open-access with easter eggs.
Helpless tears about to form.
My foot is doing whatever inside the cast. I have to read what I type to make sure of spellos or wordos. Daughter is stressed at work and study and I can't help. Although I never did my kid's homework. And now can have convos with her like your brother is O+, I am A+, she says she is A+ too! Deduction: I am A/O.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
Maybe if we said we're trying to
"overthrow the fucking government and all the rich bastards that rule us", it would attract a broader range of people.
@Big Al Fine with that.
Fine with that.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
A bit too subtle, perhaps.
Except for the occasional abuses of power and and other such unpleasantries I rather like some aspects of the pre-columbian "governments" that existed hereabouts. So, I'm good with the "let's start from scratch option." I am however a bit skeptical about the quality of the outcome of such a venture.
Gotta start somewhere,
somehow, right?
Other types of efforts through the 'system' have failed rather spectacularly.
dfarrah
Jumper or maybe Looper
I haven't decided which scenario would be most effective, but really now: Some non-negligible fraction of "the powers that be" really need to disappear... like ... without a trace.
The engineering required, so that the non-negligible fraction are gone before the operation gets shutdown, is going to be tricky, I think. But at least process would be a lot less messy than a mundane coup d'état.
Did you say attract a broader rage of people?
Count me in.
Welcome to the site!
We have intelligent writers and commenters you will not find in one place anywhere else on a blog. Our aim is to address the issues of the 99% of our nation's population, regardless of party affiliation, with differing opinions treated with tolerance.
We welcome your opinions and your suggestions and above all else, your activism on behalf of the citizens.
Politeness is a must.
Welcome!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
This looks like an abstract to me.
I like this well written summery. If I were a competent wordsmith / editor I would do something different with the "on behalf of the citizens." phrase, but as I am not competent I will withhold further comment.
@PriceRip It is a suggestion.
It is a suggestion.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
And I like it very much.
Competency never stopped Hillary.
Good topic, PR. First off, our name alone is the most inclusive.
More so than maybe any other site. That clarity, with which the 99% slogan Occupy blazed into the collective consciousness, even if it had its detractors in the beginning, is now clearly understood and positively, around the world by folks of all political persuasion. The global component is crucial to understand, too.
Even if people at first perceived "We Are The 99%" to be a LW uprising (and it wasn't solely, because it included a fair amount of Libertarians also), by now I think the appeal is way more broadly understood. Folks can identify with a coalition of the vast majority of those without, against a tiny but dominant monopoly of those with. They slowly but surely now have had an understanding that we've been divided and conquered by a figurative 1% who continue to pillage with impunity. This election provided perhaps the best opportunity to coalesce such a faction. It's still very much their to be developed.
As for building this community, I think, and I'm not marketing savant either, it might help if we look to making more inroads with like-minded media allies, such as Jimmy Dore, TYT, Lee Camp, Democracy Now, the Real News, The Intercept, Newslogue, etc. Tweet at them, share to FB, get in the comments sections of other like-minded with links to here, etc.
Another thing that could be attractive in marketing this site, would be a shift in content, toward concentrating more on practical matters of how unregulated capitalism is destroying our lives, instead of a play by play of political infighting. In other words, offering more solutions and talking about ways to individually navigate this horrible, unending economic downturn, while discussing collective actions to push back against and ultimately overturn this corrupt system.
I think the 99% moniker is still a powerful call to these kinds of actions.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Lots of thoughts to address
I am working on a piece that (as it seems) may highlight this point from, what I hope will be, an unorthodox perspective. I am a strong proponent of "thinking different" and would like to see how we can build this into a robust "plank" in a description of who we are. Of course, if any of this is actually used, it will be because JtC & Company approves.
I really like this point as it is intimately tied to my disgust with respect to the GMO "discussions" in various locations:
PR, pro-GMO, terrified by the letters GMO? Hate Monsanto
because everyone loves to hate on Bayer-Monsanto? I have no problem with modern GMO created by editing or insertion, as long as herbicide resistance is not a selective marker. Salt-tolerant plants are needed in some locations, some GMO organisms can digest oil products (use sparingly).
Eat a corn chip or corn tortilla and you likely consumed GMO corn. My mentor, a plant biologist, puts the market penetrance of GMO corn at 90%. SO big producers accept this, and pay for improved seeds.
Last year was an awful garden production year for me. I did save seeds, and traded with a friend for more columbine seeds. Just started new Cardinal Vine saved seeds, 2-3 day germination, >50%. I also try germinating old seed to find out germination rate, prick germinating seeds out of paper towels in baggies. In the lab, germinated 10 y/o seeds. Not GMO. My major success was making GFP bacteria, required a few codon changes from the yeast GFP gene I got down the hall. University labs.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
That sounds like a great idea -
"try germinating old seed to find out germination rate, prick germinating seeds out of paper towels in baggies." OT, but it would be perfect for Pacific Coast Native hybrid seed here; getting them going would give them a better chance in the ground later. TY
Many multiple issues
but let me just comment on one:
I am not at all sure what you were thinking as you typed this string of letters, spaces, and punctuation. So, I will not "go postal" because I suspect that my mental state while reading it was not in accord with your mental state while writing it. (See sig for more information.)
unregulated capitalism
This is the result of at least four decades of bad "management" on the part of our government. Many economists describe our economy as oscillating (which is true from a certain point of view) but when taking the long view, and properly taking the oscillations (with their annual -normalizing- adjustments into consideration), it is clear that we are worse off today than we were in the 1980s and earlier. A big part of the cause is the way Wall Street (for lack of a better term) is doing business. Wall Street today is not recognizable (it's an alien entity) by 1970s standards.
Unregulated capitalism will eventually self-immolate, but ... but ... deregulation is a good thing! ... right‽
Links, favorable mentions, etc.
A lot of those named above have been mentioned - often frequently - here on c99p. I wonder whether they know it? For instance, I'm sure I've seen dozens and dozens of links to Jimmy Dore here. Hell, this is where I found out about him! Is he aware of how often we link to his show? If not, how do we do that? Or anyone else for that matter? Note that not all of us (ahem...) use FB or Twitter.
Add Sane Progressive too?
n/t
Sane Progressive
Oh, yes! Can't forget her. She's monumental.
We don't need a change of focus, we need expansion
of focus.
This and other issues. Issues like what is the value of human life? In regards to each other; in regards to the planet. The love of money is the root of all evil ≠ the entirety of evil.
Great post PriceRip
Lot of good ideas here. Most of us here think outside the box.
I think we need to try to engage those on the tp right who share our abhorrence with the lawlessness in our financial system. My rw brother is fed up with the mic and the two sets of law, rich vs. poor.
After years of back and forth between us, I almost believe he has been a progressive in right winger clothes all along. Can't help but wonder, Did I do that?
Anyway, I always end our sometimes heated phone calls with "It's good to know we're still on the same page, our kids and grandkids".
He always agrees and ends with " love ya Bro".
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
This is not a left versus right but a top versus bottom, or
vertical axis issue.
My .02 is that the word "independent" has a power with people on many parts of the spectrum along with the 99%.
Thinking outside the box is independent thinking, as I pondered these ideas.
You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again you did not know. ~ William Wiberforce
If you can donate, please! POP Money is available for bank-to-bank transfers. Email JtC to make a monthly donation.