The Weekly Watch
and it is past time for the re-birth of America
Easter, also called Pascha (Greek/Latin) or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 ADEaster and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts which do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars; rather, its date is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. It has come to be the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or soonest after the equinox (about 21 March).
Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many languages, the words for "Easter" and "Passover" are identical or very similar. Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include sunrise services and decorating Easter eggs (symbols of the empty tomb). Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter
Claude McKay
Far from this foreign Easter damp and chilly
My soul steals to a pear-shaped plot of ground,
Where gleamed the lilac-tinted Easter lily
Soft-scented in the air for yards around;
Alone, without a hint of guardian leaf!
Just like a fragile bell of silver rime,
It burst the tomb for freedom sweet and brief
In the young pregnant year at Eastertime;
And many thought it was a sacred sign,
And some called it the resurrection flower;
And I, a pagan, worshiped at its shrine,
Yielding my heart unto its perfumed power.
Is it possible to resurect US democracy, decency, and a sense of public good?
Because for any willing to look, the evidence is clear... the corporate coup is complete.
A study from Princeton spells bad news for American democracy—namely, that it no longer exists. Using data drawn from over 1,800 different policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page conclude that rich, well-connected individuals on the political scene now steer the direction of the country, regardless of or even against the will of the majority of voters. Over the past few decades America's political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield most power.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/princeton-experts-say-us-no-longer...
https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_a...
It doesn't even take studies. Just look at Dr. David Dao trying to fly the unfriendly skies of United. Ralph Nader explains how and why the airlines can bully their passengers.(4 min + transcript)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/14/ralph_nader_explains_why_united_a...
Jimmy Dore dissects United CEO Munoz response to the incident (22 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW_r7HaeR14
What more does it take to convince folks the corporate coup is complete?
![DAPL protest horses cops tumblr_occshtglTe1r3e226_og_1280[1].jpg](/sites/default/files/user%20images/DAPL%20protest%20horses%20cops%20tumblr_occshtglTe1r3e226_og_1280%5B1%5D.jpg)
How about oil flowing through the Dakota Access Pipeline? On Wednesday, a federal judge allowed Energy Transfer Partners to keep secret some information about the pipeline and its spill risks.
http://www.refinery29.com/2017/04/150004/dakota-access-pipeline-date-sta...
Dakota Access appears poised to line the pocketbooks of Koch Industries
http://www.nationofchange.org/2017/04/09/koch-machine-quietly-pushed-dak...
and the Keystone XL battle looms...
The third, lesser-known Koch is Brother William, now principal of Oxbow Carbon. To keep the tar sands gunk flowing through the Keystone pipeline, the worst of the tar must be extracted and processed as "petcoke," stuff so filthy and toxic it is illegal to burn in the USA. So Billy Koch sells the compressed filth to China and Mexico. http://www.gregpalast.com/gets-xl-pipeline-bonanza-koch/
Sometimes in the struggle against the corporate monster there are moments of success.
http://amazonwatch.org/news/2017/0411-trouble-for-oil-in-the-peruvian-am...
So, my call for re-birth of our capitalist nation centers on the unquenchable corporate greed that manifests itself, at home and abroad, in violence against the planet and the poor in order to promote ever more profit for the privileged. It is easy to understand our blindness because citizens are so distracted with Russia, and Syrian gas attacks, and the mother of all bombs in Afghan, and the looming issues with North Korea that they fail to see the US and it's global corporations as the perpetrator and instigator of most of the world's conflict. Yes indeed, it is past time for America's resurrection.
Let's begin with our love of foreign aggression and big bombs
Pete Seeger asked us long ago...When will we ever learn?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y2SIIeqy34 (4.5 min)
The US military dropped over seven million tons of explosives in southeast Asia and still lost the Vietnam war. In Syria, Trump went for 59 Tomahawk missiles. Now, in Afghanistan, he has opted for a “super weapon”, the second largest of the US military’s non-nuclear bombs. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/04/14/mother-all-bombs-big-deadl...
Wazhmah Osman, professor of media and communication at Temple University and member of the Afghan American Artists and Writers Association and Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare speak about the MOAB. (transcripts at link)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/14/us_drops_its_biggest_non_nuclear (10 min)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/14/afghans_respond_to_insult_of_us (15 min)
When it first introduced the bomb, the Pentagon said it was designed to terrify America’s enemy into submission. https://theintercept.com/2017/04/13/mother-of-all-bombs-never-used-befor...
But it didn't scare the media (4 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHR0IzMj9sw
Are nuclear bombs in Korea next?
The Trump administration has succeeded in ratcheting up tensions in the Korea Peninsula after dispatching a Navy strike group to the western Pacific Ocean and threatening a "pre-emptive strike" against North Korea if the country goes ahead with a nuclear bomb test. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/14/north-korea-warns-thermonuc...
The best hope for resolving the North Korean crisis is a progressive government in South Korea willing to engage. (12 min and transcript)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:18857:The-Overlooked-Past-Behind-U.S.-No...
The world is really interconnected and these foreign policy issues are intertwined...
I found these interviews insightful. Stephen Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies and politics at New York University and Princeton University talks about US-Russian relations. (15 min and transcript)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/13/stephen_cohen_this_is_most_dangerous
Jonathan Steele, former Moscow correspondent for The Guardian, joins professor Stephen Cohen analysizing the situation. (15 min with transcript) https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/13/russia_vetoes_un_resolution_on_syria
What will Syria look like if the U.S. pushes for regime change in Syria? Professor Stephen Cohen predicts Syria could fall into even more chaos. (7 min plus transcript)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/13/stephen_cohen_will_syrian_state_c...
Vijay Prashad and Paul Jay ask if the US "mother of all bombs" dropped on Afghanistan and the missile attack on a Syrian airbase, are PR events to show Trump and the US military will "fight without restraint" and "take on Russia" (18 min with transcript)
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I...
Full interview with investigative journalist Allan Nairn on Syria, Iraq, Yemen, the need for grassroots resistance against Donald Trump and more. (42 min plus transcript)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/13/full_interview_allan_nairn_on_trump
Interesting interview with John Pilger (15 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1CBC-PM_qI
Max Keiser explains how war supports the value of the dollar (12 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sCpVU15yns
Syria
Chris Hedges is joined by Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton of Alternet. Following the American missile attacks on a Syrian airbase in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack, they discuss the U.S. role in the Syrian conflict. (25 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6C249jh7wQ
“Where is the proof that the Syrian government forces used chemical weapons? There is no proof,” Putin told Mir TV. “The same thing happened back in 2003, when a pretext was concocted to justify sending troops to Iraq.”
https://theintercept.com/2017/04/12/vladimir-putin-doesnt-know-syria-con...
Assad suggests the social media evidence of a deadly chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town in northern Syria last week was fake. https://theintercept.com/2017/04/13/assad-suggests-chemical-attack-play-... (with 2 min clip of Assad)
What the media won't tell you about Syria (7 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alATb7oLRbo
RFK Jr has long suggested this is all a pipeline war
http://www.ecowatch.com/syria-another-pipeline-war-1882180532.html
I managed to dig up some supporting evidence about the Syrian pipelines.
http://www.mintpressnews.com/migrant-crisis-syria-war-fueled-by-competin...
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-04/guest-post-us-going-war-syria-o...
But remember, in the end, these conflicts in the Middle East are not about “spreading democracy” or “delivering aid to those in need.” Instead, they are about controlling the flow of energy resources within the region. https://ftmdaily.com/what-jerry-thinks/whysyria/
Don't forget Wesley Clark's comments about a memo he saw back in 2002 "This is a memo that describes how we're going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.” They didn't keep to schedule, but they have kept the plan. (2 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RC1Mepk_Sw
The sad story of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is an internationally-recognized human rights crime—but those being impacted are harshly punished for acts of resistance, and even advocacy for their rights. Abby Martin (22 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vngSrnXrv8M
The upcoming election in France is tightening with the leftist on the rise
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-idUSKBN17D18R
Back home in the USA
If you enjoyed Noam Chomsky's interview last week, he had an hour address at the Mullin Centre, UMASS Amherst this week - http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I...
Naomi Klein suggests hitting T-rump in the pocketbook – his brand name. (7 min)
https://theintercept.com/2017/04/12/how-to-jam-the-trump-brand/
Five flip-flops in one day. T-rumps on a roll – he's discarded his previous views on China, NATO, interest rates, the national debt and the Export-Import Bank.
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/04/12/donald-trump-does-five-pol...
https://theintercept.com/2017/04/13/some-populist-trump-caves-to-big-bus...
Lawyer Mike Papantonio discusses the corporate greed he sees daily in the courtroom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1wmFLupFk (12 min)
Wealth inequality is a function of union membership. Richard Wolff explains (8.5 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZsmyfpoILw
Media
Trump’s CIA Director stood up in public and explicitly threatened to target free speech rights and press freedoms, and it was almost impossible to find even a single U.S. mainstream journalist expressing objections or alarm
https://theintercept.com/2017/04/14/trumps-cia-director-pompeo-targeting...
Julian spoke for himself on Democracy Now last Monday (41 min and also a transcript)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/4/12/full_interview_julian_assange_on_...
Toward the end of the interview Amy brought on Allan Nairn as her hit man who attacked Julian suggesting he is responsible for Trump's election. I wrote to Mr. Nairn of my support for the leaks... I prefer awareness and struggle to blindness and complacency. He's not written back.
Jimmy Dore discusses an interview on CNN with Jeremy Scahill (17 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEwIUuc_Y-g
Bill Moyers calls out the media for heaping praise on T-rump for bombing.
http://billmoyers.com/story/ask-yourself-will-donald-trump-ever-become-p...
The media cheers on war and 57 percent of Americans support more airstrikes in Syria.
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/04/13/mental-limits-war
Answer to last weeks 4/9 Cryptoquote
The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home.
James MadisonDid anyone solve it?
Another anti-war film this week...
Paths of Glory (1957)
This classic takes us back to the Western Front in the First World War, when a planned attack fails, the Generals looks for scapegoats to face the firing line. Another Kubrick classic (who was only 29 when the made this film), based on Humphrey Cobb’s novel of the same name, Paths of Glory earned Kubrick much critical acclaim whilst stirring up controversy for its portrayal of the French army. The film Starring Kirk Douglas who, like a lot of his fellow actors of that era, served in World War II in the US Navy (1.8 hours)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2_xw4pMVu8
So I asked if we can resurrect US democracy. I wonder how. I'm lucky to live my dream inside our national and global nightmare. Maybe that's the best we can do... lead the kind of life we wish all people had the opportunity to explore. Be the people we admire. Do the little things that we can to help others and the planet.
Here's hoping your resurrection day brings new hope along with the new life of the season. Happy Easter...joyful spring.
Comments
and a little humor...
From SNL
President Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) looks back on his first 100 days with Vice President Mike Pence (Beck Bennett) and chooses between advisors Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner (Jimmy Fallon). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgNgkwTusM4 (6 min)
And a SNL Easter message (4.5 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RvfzFv3c6Y
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good Sunday morning, Lookout!
A very informative round-up today. I've been watching some of the videos. I had heard the Democracy Now interviews during the week. All in all, we are totally screwed for the foreseeable future. All the more reason to go for broke and become an activist from hell!
Resurrection will come in the 2030's. I'll be 80 in 2032, so I'll get to witness it. We will be shifting toward that end 'til then. So, buckle your seat belts, sharpen your pencils, and get ready to rock and roll, because we are on a mother of a roller coaster ride!
Have a beautiful Sunday, folks!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
good morning
Glad you dropped by. A roller coaster indeed. Sure seems like we are in a volatile situation in the world today.
I think that is why it is important to do the things you dream about now because there is no telling what tomorrow will bring. Hope you have a great day!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
anti-regulation policy hurts working people
http://www.epi.org/publication/understanding-the-anti-regulation-agenda-...
Who benefits? The elite, duh.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
"Is it possible to resurrect democracy"?
I sure hope so. If not, what are we?
I think it can be but people have to want it to be, we have to make that the demand, not single payer, not higher minimum wage, not more jobs or better pay. First we need democracy.
Basically democracy equals freedom, at least probably the best we're going to get. If we don't have freedom then nothing else matters.
I'm ready...
but I'm wandering in the wilderness. I think we need to re-invent ourselves. With the internet we could have direct voting. Maybe we need a constitution convention for the left?
But I travel back round the logic circle and get to its too little too late. What should we be working toward, what is the strategy, to bring about democracy? I seek your wisdom my friend.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Morning Lookout, thanks for the excellent open thread.
I wish I was the one who had the answers (maybe), but I don't anymore than anyone else does.
I do think what we need to do is pretty simple, but monumentally hard. It's going to take a lot of money, organization and people with a common goal of "resurrecting" democracy, or finally instituting it for that matter.
I wrote an essay about that last week, haven't posted it yet, still want to try to edit it, but it's very difficult trying to put together solutions to our problem or being ruled by the rich. Also, I think the overwhelming nature of the problem and what it will take to overcome it are difficult for most people to conceptualize. So they accede back to the process of electing more politicians, which is not the answer, that I'm sure of.
I'll look forward to your essay...
another issue is if a national or a global approach is best.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
World History Class
Your Sunday round-up reminded me of my high school World History class back in the later 1960's. We students were tired of memorizing dates of various wars and battles. When we complained to our instructor, she said: "The history of the world is the history of war. Let's get back to task." I really didn't fully comprehend what she meant back then.
This retired teacher...
considers that a fine complement!
Check out http://addictedtowar.org/
Too bad our teachers didn't have access to those comic books.
Glad you dropped by.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Great diary.
I'm stunned to see talking heads ecstatically drooling over Trump's bombing.
dfarrah
finally he's presidental...
because he's warmongering? The media has brainwashed America that violence is strength (when really it is $, and they are still in shock the sheeple didn't obey the vote for the $hill propaganda).
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning, Lookout.
Your roundups are excellent, thanks.
The Princeton study, to me, is still the canary in the coalmine. If the findings and conclusion of that research we're made more known to the populace and discussed in town halls all over the country, as they should be, that would be the best catalyst to shake up a sleepwalking public who still cling to their allegiance about American "democracy" "freedom and liberty." If people truly accepted that voting/elections/legislation are all a charade conducted to cover up the banana republic oligarchy that we undoubtedly are, then we'd have the necessary revolution to change things.
Haven't read the Naomi Klein article yet (look forward to it later) but love the idea to hit that motherfucker Drumpf where it hurts him most - and the only thing the vapid moron truly cares about. It's definitely the only language he understands. Have been thinking about that for a long time. Seems to be one of the best short-term tactics to impact that asshole. Why aren't people swarming his dopey, gaudy little faux elitist club in FLA, with non-stop protests, driving business away. That goes for all his properties too. In fact, just heard that his places here have been ordered to take down those stupid, cheesy, big gold block letters from his buildings. Boycott everything related to him. And put non-stop, relentless pressure on every single one of his properties, to a point where he loses money from people opting to stay away because of the public demonstrations. (I can't restrain my contempt for this guy, sorry folks).
Paths of Glory. Very powerful film. Every "proud" American who puffs out his chest about our military might should be required to see it. Stanley Kubrick. Amazing.
"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
good morning
If we had the hint of real journalism everyone would know about the Princeton study. Instead we have Citizen United and a corporation as president. The nice thing about this community is everyone does know about the study ...and more.
Naomi has an interesting take - hit his brand name. Trump = crap. However, Trump will profit from his office no matter what we do. Say crap in America long enough and it will sell.
Good to hear from you. All the best to the family.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
People have been trained to see POTUS as the decider
I am not sure that is true. Puppetmaster-controlled face of the US may be more correct. Congressional power has been ceded, either to POTUS or to Citizen's United pre-written bills.
Really, why allow lead in ammo? Lessen fuel efficiency standard goals? Undo regulations? The majority of Americans want no undos, I think. This anti-logical approach is very scary.
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.
blindness prevails
and we seem to be walking backwards.
Hope your foot is better and you are walking with more ease.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Two.more.weeks.
I am getting some minor stuff done in the house, and now trying to remove gore from various items. All from me! Slow and steady, plenty of rest breaks, it's 80 F out, windy, storms are due within the next 2 hours.
Reading much, light fiction works better. All else is depressing. Trying to make a meal tonight, soon. TY
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.
Good morning ...
Here's a good interview with Thomas Frank: This Is Hell (audio only, 40 min.) He's doing another book tour because Listen Liberal! is coming out in paperback. This means cheap copies will soon be available as remainders or at Amazon. I think I may get a couple and drop them off at local Party headquarters. Democrats need to read the yellow book and pull their heads out.
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Thanks for the link....
I wish the liberals would listen!
I enjoy the podcast 'intercepted' but I don't always provide a link.
https://theintercept.com/podcasts/
I'll look forward to T. Frank. Thanks.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Bill Moyers is a national treasure.
I've learned a great deal from him
Of late, I've been a little disappointed with his Russia meme. Kinda feel that way about Amy Goodman too (another person who does good journalism).
His shows were the best news PBS offered, and I think most of his interviews are archived at his site http://billmoyers.com/
I really enjoyed his interviews with Joseph Campbell - "the power of the myth" which I think are on youtube.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I dumped my Democracy Now subscription
after Goodman's uncritical embrace of the scary Russian meme, followed by her persistent refusal to examine the Syrian gas attacks. Just another disappointment, and by this time, I expect them.
These are the fallen heros...
She, along with Bill Moyers, Michael Moore, and so many others who are retreating from the intelligentsia. The damage to the Left sphere from the intense propaganda that began after the Snowden leak has been incalculable. It's the saddest thing — like the end of an era.
Campbell inspired Lucas and Spielberg.
A former neighbor lent me the Campbell tapes. As a student, she had an affair with Campbell. Or so she claimed. He was a good deal older than she. She did have letters from him. They reflect fondness, I think, but they are not Romeo and Juliet-type love letters.
She also claimed that some outfit run by Lucas had wanted to include the letters in something they were putting together, maybe some kind of archive? However, since Campbell was the author of the letters, Lucas's lawyers said Campbell owned the copyright, even though she owned the letters themselves. Campbell's estate would not give permission. If all this was true, and I think she is an honest person, maybe Campbell's widow suspected or knew something?
(I checked. The widow is now 101 and they had no children, so I hope this gossipy post does not hurt anyone. I only have the neighbor's word, anyway. No proof. So, it could all be false.)
When Moyers was on PBS, I watched almost every week.
thanks again for the roundup
nice poem
happy spring to you
bygorry
Glad to see you
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
The latest from Jimmy Dore:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNOIkFYfJqc width:500 height:300]
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
my friend Alice
was most pissed off that a bomb would be referred to as a 'mother'.
an Orwellian assault on motherhood she said. an insult to everyone who has given birth.
bygorry
@bygorry
I think the 'mother' section of 'the Mother Of All Bombs' was, in that instance, part of a 2-part series, and it certainly was designed to fuck up actual mothers either directly or indirectly through killing/maiming their children.
But it will no doubt kill and main more 'beautifully' than even the cluster bombs the US State Dept has sold so many of (thanks, Hillary!) and certainly leaving less evidence of civilian victims, especially the little ones of such concern only when claimed to have been killed by those obstructing the further enrichment-by-force of The Right Corporate American Interests.
Although with a shock-wave of a mile, there will, no doubt, have to be deniability constructed to cover for kids hit by resultant projectiles.
Edited, couldn't see through the red and misplaced an entire sentence.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Happy Easter everyone
Thank you Lookout for the excellent OT news round up. I read the Princeton Study and found it hard going and too dense. It is a statistical/political look at the various factions and types of democracy but it does not offer any clue or remedy. I guess I think political science is an oxymoron. Empirical evidence based on quantitative statistics does nothing but measure the sorry state of our representative democracies demise. You can pick the model of democracy you believe is the best but as there are no checks on the power of global oligarchical collectivist's all of these theoretical brands of democracy are irrelevant.
As a self identifying prole I have little use for scholarly bs. that does nothing but quantify and measure the obvious. It's kind of ironic that we make a living off quantitative studies. The numbers do not lie but they offer no truths other then data sets to back up whatever the study is nattering on about. At least it's a Princeton study and not from the elitist,ivory tower,ivy league training ground, Harvard. Our current obsession with big data is killing humanism as well as wrecking the planet. Perhaps we the people should not believe that the experts and their peers have anything to say worth listening to.
I did find this part interesting....
The study then went on to say that the respondents in this percentile were often aligned with the 2% 's interest's policy wise. well duh. You don't have to be a weather man to see which way the wind blows. So we have no restraints on power no representation and no parliamentary means to address our grievances. As the chant I liked best from OWS said 'This is not what democracy looks like.'
As for the rest of the news it's absolute madness unleashed by the psycho killers who rule the world. I love the spring but see no signs of a rebirth of democracy. The rulers of the world have made sure that there is no way to check their power politically, economically or legally. Those universal inalienable self evident truths have been successfully killed off as they were an impediment to the unrestrained obscene power and profit by the monsters who rule this world.
scientific papers...
rarely speak to people. Dull and boring data. However it is nice to have such a study when you are asked "where's the proof we are a corporate oligarchy". As I suggested it shouldn't take studies...simply our observations to see "the unrestrained obscene power and profit by the monsters who rule this world. "
Hope all is well in your natural world and your spring is unfolding.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Heavy weather incoming with the cold front.
Not a surprise, since I peek, but I guess I am glad and sad I did not remove new plants from boxes. Hail is also incoming. 80 today, 50 tomorrow. Drought is over! Until next month.
Happy Easter evening!
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.
Here's a thing that amused me this week:
Looks like one of my (R) senators had a little trouble pacifying the constituents.
Worst part: he apologized for disagreeing with the people there, like he's unclear about for whom he works.
Best part: people chanting "Bullsht! Bullsht!" as he defended the Great Orange One, although the headline quote ("Please take your job more seriously") is good too.
And heck, Jeff Flake is the "good one". I'm not sure why the GOP thinks Flake is endangered here (would that he were!), since this state just re-elected that slime McCain just last fall.
“We may not be able to change the system, but we can make the system irrelevant in our lives and in the lives of those around us.”—John Beckett
OK, so now it's Assange personally who's responsible?
Lord I love that logic.
Here's my logic. Let's assume that Assange sat in his basement for the last 4 years crafting up the world's most incredible disinformation campaign about Hillary Clinton then released it under the cover of Wikileaks in order to get Trump, the Russian stooge, elected. I think I have it about as bad as it gets there.
Fine. I still think it's Hillary's fault and it's really hard for me to care about people throwing disinformation at her. Her entire campaign was disinformation. Anyone remember 20 trillion dollars for Bernie's health care?
A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard
This is a weeks worth of reading for me.
Thank you for this fantastic round-up. I wish it could be pleasant, fun reading material but here we are, all of us. The day after Easter all I see is horrible news and my country inflicting heartbreak nonstop. I think J. Dore is right, Americans really don't want this. It makes us sick. Anyway, I know for a fact it makes me sick.