To some extent we probably all share the frustration
We've all been driven into the political wilderness by recent events, but it's been coming a long time. At least since Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his most important and most famous speech on Jan. 17, 1961.
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist.”
We failed to heed Ike's warning, fell into that rabbit hole and it's been one horror show after another ever since. Today the MIC rules the world. It is perverse, horrific and the greatest impediment to anything like the actual advancement of civilization, bar none. It will either kill us or we will dismantle it and/or repurpose it. With it gone or transformed, we will be able to focus our attention, our treasure and our genius on things that matter – not the mindless slaughter of random people for corporate profit.
But the MIC's not the whole story. There are parallel stories going on, many of which are much more cheerful and hopeful, stem cell therapies and solar roofs.
The world is big and complicated, paradoxical even, much like the larger universe (not to even get into the multiverse).
In terms of our biological evolution, we are cavemen in fancy new clothes. Much of what we're evolved to do no longer has much value. When saber cats came sniffing around the cave at night, we learned to be specially attuned to anything that sounded or seemed the least bit alarming. Alarm was a thing to be taken very seriously.
Being scared shitless served us pretty well when we were prey for voracious beasts. We were slow, naked and crunchy. And we tasted delicious (presumably). Consequently, we are drawn like moths to the flame to anything alarming. 'Terrorism' is a fine example. The Powers That Be help create terrorism, and then use it to manipulate and control us. AQ, ISIS, all self-created to be a problem for us and a weapon for them (the horrific assholes who run the world, aka the Powers That Be, aka the global elite, aka, the 0.01%).
Our biological evolution (geologically slow) has been outpaced by our cultural evolution (hyper-fkn-fast). As a species, we have transformed our own reality in mind-blowing ways from our days in caves to men on the moon. We left biology in the dust, baby! But biology isn't done with us yet. We're still cave men at the deepest level. Just look around. Especially if you happen to be one of the unfortunates living in a war zone. Not hard to see the caveman in that context.
Surprisingly enough, the world's a much less scary place now that we have shelter and are not often preyed upon, at least not by animals other than humans. Not that it's not still scary, just not nearly as. Fear is still a useful adaptation in the right context. We still need it, just not so much of it, but our genes haven't caught up with our new, generally safer realities. Our genetic disposition for fear is still based on saber cats, cave bears and the like.
Pathogens and diseases that would have killed us outright eons ago, are frequently handled with simple medicines of one sort or another or prevented via sanitation or whatever. We drive cars with crumple zones and air bags. And it looks like we're headed to self-driving cars and no accidents. Safety, safety, safety. Even with all our fucked up wars (and I hate them with a passion) our chances of being slain in war are generally less than at most other times in history.
Of course we are (as cavemen) still prone to being scared shitless, and that unfortunate fact is used against us relentlessly by the Powers That Be (namely the MIC, or its owners in the 0.01%). The MSM, rank propaganda organs all, excel in ramping up fear for political purposes. It's what they do. It makes it easy to push us around. You get people scared enough about anything and it's easy to run right over them.
Though it often evades our attention because of our intense focus on all that's alarming in the world, there are levels upon which things have gotten better and better over time. This doesn't mean that other things haven't gotten shittier because many of them totally have. We see the truth of this in the appalling daily spectacle in Washington D.C. The scary part there is that Trump is a symptom of a much larger disease that's been decades in the making. Remember how fucked up things in Washington have been for decades, well before the Trump crazy train ever got there? Yeah, he's a whole new level of crazy but things have been crazy in Washington for a long long time.
The evolution and dominance of the MIC has made a mockery of our highest principles and most fervent hopes. It has forced on us and the larger world unnecessary wars with all the attendant horrors and a government so corrupt as to be largely if not completely useless for it's intended purpose.
The MIC and their phony wars for profit devour precious resources that could radically improve our lives. Without this immoral and unwarranted drain on our resources, we could have: universal healthcare, free education, a refurbished and modern infrastructure, a phenomenal public school system, an actual safety net worthy of the name, and Universal Basic Income for all.
And this last item is critical because most of our jobs are going away. Bill Gates says that entrepreneurs are going to have to create and invent new jobs to replace all the ones lost to automation. Yeah, no. The simple fact is that there are not going to be many jobs left and not many reasons to invent new ones. If they're not needed they're not needed. We face a future of very little work available. What to do?
UBI is the obvious solution and the only humane one.
People are often skeptical about technological fixes to climate change, and maybe they are right to be. No one really knows what the window for solutions may be, how much time we've got left in which to act. Certainly urgency is called for since the window may be tight. Some say it's too late, and maybe it is, but do we give up fighting? I say no. Because we don't know. There may be just enough time left to get our act together if we don't give up or delay. Maybe if we bear down and do the right things, we can turn it all around.
There are technological solutions but they may or may not work, or even if they do they may or may not save us. It depends to a large degree on how much time we have left. But some tech solutions show great promise:
China Cancels 103 Coal Plants, Mindful of Smog and Wasted Capacity
The Philippines’ renewable energy sector is booming (and it could get bigger)
2016 was the year solar panels finally became cheaper than fossil fuels. Just wait for 2017
Elon Musk: Tesla’s Solar Roofs Will Be Cheaper Than Regular Roofs & Have “Infinity Warranty”
Unsubsidized wind and solar now the cheapest source for new electric power
The world is changing slowly, maybe too slowly, but who knows, maybe we'll make it.
10 signs that climate change success is coming
1. The first of recent rumblings comes from an unusual source. The Oil Minister of the world’s largest exporter of crude oil, Saudi Arabia’s Ali al-Naimi, spoke in mid-May about how he could see the phase-out of fossil fuels by mid-century and said his country planned to become a global leader in solar and wind energy.
2. On 3 June, the world’s largest furniture retailer, IKEA, pledged $1 billion of climate finance, dwarfing amounts pledged by some entire countries.
The money would be split with $600 million in renewable energy investments putting the company on track to become energy independent. The other $400 million would go to help vulnerable communities affected by climate change, setting an example for national governments that they need to split their own finance contributions between mitigation-focused spending to reduce emissions, and adaptation to help at-risk countries.
3. The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway’s $890-billion pension fund, has just agreed to divest $10 billion of coal stocks, joining a global divestment movement turning its back on the most polluting fossil fuel.
4. On 8 June, a study by Lord Stern and the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics revealed that Chinese emissions could peak by as early as 2025, 5 years ahead of a government-agreed deadline of 2030.
5. On the same day, a poll by the International Trade Union Confederation showed that 9 out of 10 people around the world are demanding their elected leaders do more to tackle climate change.
6. In what was clearly a busy day for climate news, 8 June concluded with front-page headlines around the world as the G7 called for the decarbonization of the global economy by the end of the century and announced reform of the national energy systems of G7 nations.
7. Even the UN climate negotiations are showing progress, aiming to peak at the first fully global pact to begin addressing climate change at the COP21 meeting in Paris in December. Countries are in the process of submitting their ‘intended nationally determined contributions’, or INDCs, which will make up the Paris deal.
8. Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, said it would target a 64% reduction in its current emissions trajectory within 15 years. At the UN talks in Bonn, countries asked for the co-chairs of the negotiations for the Paris deal to provide a clearer agreement for ministers to work on, suggesting they are beginning to realize the need for more urgent progress.
9. This momentum is expected to continue this week with the publication of Pope Francis’ Papal Encyclical on the Environment on Thursday, which will likely argue that humanity’s exploitation of the planet’s resources has pushed the world to breaking point and make the case for an ethical and economic revolution to address climate change.
10. On Wednesday 17 June, people are urged to take part in the first mass lobby of Britain’s Parliament. Up to 10,000 people are expected outside Westminster in London to speak to MPs, urging them to make tackling climate change a government priority. The event is being organized by The Climate Coalition, consisting of more than 100 British organizations, from Christian Aid to Surfers Against Sewage, calling for a clean, safe and prosperous planet.
From oil-producing nations and furniture shops to economists and the Pope, the world is seemingly beginning to get on board the transition to a low-carbon world.
I'm not saying 'hey, we got this,' nothing to worry about, I'm just saying there's more than one thing happening and some of them are hopeful. We aren't attuned to things that are hopeful, we're attuned to things that are harmful and threatening. So I think we have to make special effort to try and let some sunshine into the darkness of the day.
As for the left in the US, we have been so viciously and dishonestly attacked by the rightwing PTB, who dominate everything, including our entire political system (both sides of the duopoly), and the media, etc., that people who self-identify as leftists have shriveled on the vine to practically nothing. So, in that sense, yes, 'the left' is virtually nonexistent.
But there is reason to think that's more about the semantics than the policy. Bernie's astonishing success as a self-proclaimed socialist (democratic socialist to be precise) proved that vast swathes of Americans want socialist policies. Not even the dreaded 'socialist' label hurt Bernie. The only thing that hurt Bernie was the DNC and the cheating assholes in the establishment dems who are rabidly committed to the 0.01%, the PTB and the status quo.
Bernie supporters, by far the most enthusiastic I've ever seen, may or may not think of themselves as leftists or socialists or want to be so identified, but they sure loved Bernie's socialist policies. So, in that sense, the not left (but left) are rising. It seems to me that leftist identification is not what's most important, it's the policy.
We saw the people rise up in the 60s, we saw it more recently with Occupy Wall Street, Food Not Bombs, the Bernie movement, etc. We saw the people rise only to see them narrowly defeated by trickery and skullduggery, and we may see it again even bigger and maybe even sooner. It seems to be coming in waves.
Each time the people rise it gets bigger and better. We may see the wave we've been waiting for, working toward, pining for. We may be closer than ever. It may at least be a solid step forward on the path to higher civilization. Will it manifest in a 2020 Bernie run or something else?
Yes, I know Bernie has problems, but his policies are popular, seen by a surprising number of Americans as just what the doctor ordered.
With or without Bernie, I think this is where we're going: universal healthcare, universal education, universal basic income and all the rest – and precisely because the not left (but left) is growing and demanding sane and humane policies – or leftist policies, if you prefer. A leftist by any other name would smell as sweet.
We may look weak, we may feel weak, but I'm starting to think we may be stronger than we've ever been and getting stronger. We seem to be tipping, contrary to every effort by the PTB, and however unexpectedly, into at least single-payer healthcare. That ain't everything but it ain't nothin'.
I could be wrong of course, but I'm hopeful, which is a nice feeling. Am I hopelessly naive? Yeah, maybe. But I like to think that, no matter what, we're going to pull through this shit and come out better. It's not like there isn't generous room for improvement.
The story of 2016 turned out to be a nightmare – but it almost turned out differently. What if Bernie had won? How much different would it have been? It's impossible to say of course, but maybe significantly so. There would still be the PTB and the knuckle-draggers in Congress, etc. but it would at least be better fighting for free education and universal healthcare than fending off the insane clown posse – and don't tell me our prospects for being sane and responsible regarding climate change wouldn't be vastly superior to the outright lunacy with which we find ourselves saddled.
So yeah, I don't think Bernie would usher in a socialist paradise, but he might represent a solid first step toward something approaching such an ideal. It would certainly legitimize socialists. It's not about Bernie, it's about those amazingly sane and responsible policies he constantly pushes. However sincere, honest, trustworthy or what have you, Bernie may or may not be, Bernie is beside the point. Those policies are leftist policies, they are what this country needs and they are wanted by vast swathes of the voters in this country. WE ALMOST BEAT THEM...with a socialist. That's an astonishing fucking thing. Our next big push may do it.
We have been driven into the political wilderness for now, but remember, we almost beat them – and with little people money and a socialist candidate.
Would I rather have a total revolution, sweeping the status quo into the dust bin of history in one swell foop? Sure. It's just hard to conjure a vision of how that would work. I just think we're in a space where we are constrained by a series of inconvenient facts: they have the guns, they're spying on us all, they own the government (which is supposed to be ours, remember that?) and they're fully prepared to slaughter us if we get testy.
Of course we're going to get testy, that's already happening, but we also need to get crafty. No point in just baring our throats. A powerful civil uprising is preferable to a blood bath, in my opinion at least.
2016 knocked me for a loop and it's taken me a while to sort out what I think I learned from it all (still workin' on it).
From a political viewpoint, I think a Bernie-style 'political revolution' may be our only hope of avoiding a real blood 'n guts revolution. I hope we manage to be wise enough to avoid that. I'm a humanitarian first and foremost and I believe the future belongs to humanitarians. I'm not particularly well schooled in socialist theory, but the humanitarian nature of it is what attracts me. My basic belief is that we should all take good care of each other and make everyone's lives as much better as we possibly can.
From a broader perspective, I think our political system may become irrelevant before it can ever manage to do anything good.
This has been a hard thing for me to get my head around, but I think we may be witnessing two major dynamics working themselves out in the same time and space, that is to say simultaneously. On the one hand we see a bizarre and precipitous decline and fall of American civilization. It's broken, kaput and circling the drain. It's obvious if you're looking and not inclined toward denial. Nowhere is it more apparent than in our political system. Even the good guys (democrats) suck now. The corruption is profound. And now we've descended into outright idiocracy. And the rich boys are cool with it...as long as they keep getting richer. It's the ONLY thing they care about. Piss poor humans they are.
The other major dynamic I see is what may be the new higher civilization rising, like the Phoenix from the ashes but simultaneous to the decline and fall. All the crazy shit that is troubling us now may be in the final phases of hanging on by the skin of its teeth. All these things, these ancient centers of power, may soon fall away as we emerge from our 20th century cocoons and fly into the future as 21st century butterflies. Ha! I'm sorry. I have a disease that causes me to lapse into silly purple prose. I'll try an' watch that.
I guess my main point is that things may look pretty grim, and they do, but there is reason for hope. Please don't despair. March on.
Sorry for the length.
Hey Cassie.
Comments
Hey everybody.
Crazy world, eh?
Hey back
Yes, it is. Borgian and Kafkaesque and Orwellian with a dash of Three Stooges thrown in for good measure. Good to see you OPOL.
I would say we have been in the wilderness for a long time, its just that finally more people are waking up to that fact. Not everyone across the board agrees on what is wrong, and certainly sane New Deal policies are demeaned as lefty-pinko crap by both the right and the other right (Dem Neo-libs) but enough people, whether they consider themselves conservative, liberal or other, recognize that the world as our generation knew it at its height has vanished and been replaced with something far worse.
The fact that young people are most inclined to see capitalism as a failed economic system, see climate disruption as a looming catastrophe and are, in general more tolerant of cultural differences than their elders gives me the only hope I have left.
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
@Steven D Oh, God. Thank you so
Oh, God. Thank you so much for saying this:
but enough people, whether they consider themselves conservative, liberal or other, recognize that the world as our generation knew it at its height has vanished and been replaced with something far worse.
as someone on the old end of Gen-X, it can be really crazy-making to hear people say that nothing's changed, since I'm just old enough to remember what it was like before the conservative counter-revolution.
"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
@OPOL Its good to hear from you
Its good to hear from you, OPOL. Hope you will stay a while.
It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. Carl Sagan
I appreciate the comment, Steven D.
And thanks for all your brilliant blogging. You do us a great service.
Very crazy, OPOL.
I am watching Corbyn. He might make the big win, a socialist in a first world country.
We are usually a few years behind England in political movements.
Glad you are optimistic.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
@on the cusp It ain't easy. Good to
It ain't easy. Good to see you otc.
@OPOL Always good to hear
Always good to hear from you, my brother.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
@on the cusp I love Corbyn. Sure hope
I love Corbyn. Sure hope he wins. So interesting what's going on there.
@on the cusp Let's hope so, because
Let's hope so, because otherwise Britain gets the pleasure of having their very own Hillary Clinton. Jesus Christ she even has all the same logos.
"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, on optimistic days, see the oceans recede before the tidal
wave. More people are woke every day. There is guarded hope out here. There are still annoying Trumpeters who call us bad names, but I see them being schooled on FB and ridiculed. Latter goes too far, we are on this blue ball together. Othering is a bad plan moving forward. Horrible attacks are ramping up. There are many social changes happening, like white people becoming a slight minority population. That has resulted in responses better adaptive to mastodon appearance. Yes, OPOL, we have been slow at adaptation to relative safety, danger signals amplified from MSM.
Many of us see hope in local organization. Band together, share things, be it food or tools or physical help. Communication is vital. Gently make your positions known. Some may be afraid to voice concurrence.
I am very frustrated with the loss of education in critical thinking. In fact, education to make more cogs when cogs are not necessary will make a generation stupid.
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.
Thank you OPOL
I love this essay. Just what I needed and much appreciated.
Too much gloom and doom isn't good for me. I mean literally - my health was suffering from the effects of depression and anxiety, and giving up. Why worry about my blood pressure or cardio fitness when we're all going to die in a nuclear war and/or climate disaster? Fuck it. Happy hour starts now, party til the lights go out, as CStS said in a comment earlier. Exactly where I was headed, mentally and emotionally. I had to stop reading news and politics and everything for a while, to detox.
Got back to taking care of myself a little better and feeling better. But still prone to anxiety and occasional panic attacks, which are very bizarre, often "out of the blue" and for no specific reason. So I'm treading carefully as I go forward.
Optimism is necessary - for me anyway - to feel energetic or have any motivation to work toward positive changes. This is true on a personal level and in terms of political or social action. If I get into thinking it's hopeless, all is already lost and we're down to circling the drain, it's very hard to keep fighting the current.
But I agree that it's not over yet, and we don't know. That gives me a reason to carry on.
@CS in AZ Glad you're taking better
Glad you're taking better care of yourself. I've started doing that too. I'm following a ketogenic diet and a fasting regimen and it's already improved my life and outlook immeasurably. This becomes ever more important as you age, and I'm edging into dinosaur territory.
if you edge into dinosaur territory, OPOL
you are one of the bestest dinosaurs in there. Thank you for your wonderful essay.. You sure have a way to get us folks down to earth and up on high, when it comes to "going on".
I don't feel scared anymore, especially not of dinosaurs. I can't believe it myself.
https://www.euronews.com/live
@mimi I love you, mimi.
I love you, mimi.
@CS in AZ God, do I ever know what
God, do I ever know what you mean:
Why worry about my blood pressure or cardio fitness when we're all going to die in a nuclear war and/or climate disaster?
Why should I lose weight, or even get a mammogram? Why did I buy a house last year? Why did I bother?
It's really important to balance seeing the truth with keeping the despair at a level that isn't self-destructive.
"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
@CS in AZ Oh, shit. You're having
Oh, shit. You're having those too?
But still prone to anxiety and occasional panic attacks, which are very bizarre, often "out of the blue" and for no specific reason.
For some reason, for me they occur often at twilight. Which pisses me off, because the whole rest of my life, I've loved twilight as a beautiful time of day.
"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
OPOL, we are in agreement ...
... for the most part ... and ... You knew that was coming ... because we are who we are ...
Pareidolia is more than "a psychological phenomenon in which the mind responds to a stimulus (an image or a sound) by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists." as one definition states. This pattern recognition "glitch" drives much of what we do, who we are, and why this very noisy world distracts us from being effective.
Now for the "most part" diminution of my comment: I have spent more than 60 years interacting primarily with young people, first as one of them, to now as an old guy among them. While the range is great the mode of thinking has changed. Twenty-somethings today do not think like twenty-somethings did in the 1960s. Sure my direct observations are of a select population limited by geographical and sociological constraints but, those that "make the cut" are doing so in a very different environment than existed in the past.
I am forever convinced that OWS was one huge disaster because of the lack of some basic organizational principles. But !, my assessment of OWS is colored by the reality that I didn't mature in this new environment. My daughter doesn't see the world with my eyes, and at six years old my granddaughter is showing signs of even a more alien perspective.
I think Stephen Hawking is wrong, about the technological singularity associated with artificial intelligence, for many reasons. One of those reasons: Those that are, and those that soon will be, replacing us think differently, in a very fundamental way, than we think. As is usually the case they represent the outliers of the distribution, so, barring a selective elimination by one means or an other, the mean, median, and mode should move away from caveman norm.
I did this routine with chickens in the 1950s. Lots of laughs.
Somebody somewhere said
that Edgar Casey (sp) the reknowned psychic predicted that kids born between 1998 and 2015 (or so) were /are going to be volumes smarter than kids that came before (or maybe after) them. That THIS was /is the generation that will make a Yuuuge difference in the world.
I see it every day at work. I see two, 3 and 4 year olds that, a quick chat with them, blows my mind at how friggin' smart they are. 3 1/2 year olds likely know more about a Smart Phone than we geezers do. They know this stuff before they know the alphabet. I "retire" this summer, and the one thing I will miss is talking with 3 and 4 year olds.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
My Two Favorite Examples.
When my daughter was five years old my wife took her to a journalism class so that she could show them how to layout text and image for a presentation. The point was that this five year old was not threatened by the technology.
22 years later: My daughter returned from a parent-teacher conference and this conversation occurred:
-----------------------------------------
Daughter: Do you know what your teacher said?
Granddaughter: I am doing very well but she doesn't think I am being an independent thinker.
Daughter: Yes.
Granddaughter: Don't tell daddy.
-----------------------------------------
There is a "mean girl" that has been manipulating some of the kindergartners. The teacher is taking a proactive approach and adopted the role of mediator. This school seems to have it together.
And to complete the picture: Next year my granddaughter will be doing some of her course work in the post first grade classrooms. This school really seems to have it together.
School systems do not have to suck. Just stop hiring jerks that get in the way of us doing what we do best.
this:
And stop empowering jerks who think that such getting in the way is what should be. (Betsy DeVos, I'm talking to YOU.)
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
@PriceRip Mean kids are a
Mean kids are a harder nut to crack than some think, but it's always good that somebody is trying to get a handle on it.
Been watching 13 Reasons Why, and it seems not a lot has changed since I was in middle school, except now bullies use FB and Twitter to make their bullying even worse.
It can be very hard for adults, no matter how well-meaning, to crack into the closed world of teenagers and younger kids and make an impact, because the kid who brings in the adults, or who even just is the reason for the adults taking notice, often pays a price. Did I say often? Almost always.
"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
See, I disagreed with the
"cavemen in fancy clothes" bit. Cavemen actually took care of their sick and old. We've devolved to be more akin to the miners in Galaxy Quest.
There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.
You are right. I blew it didn't I?
I should have thought to challenge the commentator on that point. I will try to do better in the future.
I used to have a friend that to his last days refused to buy into the notion that Neanderthals were in anyway inferior to Homo Sapiens. Turns out he was right, we are a hybrid the includes what we once thought went extinct. It is sad he didn't live long enough to see the new science.
Minors ... you say ... ‽
@PriceRip You lost me.
You lost me.
"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
Which part
My response to about Cavemen not being sub-human.
,
My comment that we are part Neanderthal.
Or
,
My offhanded reference to my deceased friend, Richard Luehrs.
diverted the stream of conciseness (derailed the train of thought)?
@PriceRip Sorry. I'm just
Sorry. I'm just carrying on the GalaxyQuest references.
"Could they be the miners?"
"Yeah, they're like--8 years old."
"Miners, not minors!"
"You lost me."
"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
Wow, I actually missed that. Very good my friend.
@PriceRip Not surprised
Not surprised that you're a fan of that movie too.
It's a movie MADE for science-fiction fans, and in particular, science fiction fans who grow up to be science nerds in school who grow up to be scientists and engineers.
It's the "Isn't It So Cool What's Possible!" school of scientific thought and philosophy of dealing with the Universe. There's worse ones.
I'm thinking about 75% of science fiction either follows Frankenstein, "The War of the Worlds"(or a lame-ass derivative of such, known by sophisticated critics like me as "bang bang bad aliens the other is bad bang bang"), or "The Time Machine."
The Frankenstein school: Now look what you did.
The "War of the Worlds" school: There's a monster out there, and you can't stop it. You have no idea what might save you, but it will probably be something you've never thought of (or, in the much lamer descendants of the genre: you can stop it, blow that motherfucker's brains out! Bang bang.)
The "Time Machine" school: Look what we're doing! We should really stop.
Then there are some offshoots, like:
"The Day the Earth Stood Still" school: There are others out there, and they're doing it better than we are.
The "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" school: There's a monster out here, and you can't stop it, and holy shit!-- it looks just like you.
I'm trying to think of the earliest version I can of the "Isn't It So Cool What's Possible" school. I need someone who knows more about early science fiction than I do. Surely 2001: a Space Odyssey isn't the earliest instance!
I'd include C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet,, except that he actually falls into "The Day the Earth Stood Still" school: There's others out there, and they're doing it better than we are. Man, we suck.
OK, wait, Star Trek predates 2001: 1966. So Roddenberry got there first, bless him. Though of course Arthur C. Clarke was writing a long time before 2001.
Sorry for unleashing this science-fiction ramble on you; I've taken cold medicine and, well, I guess this is the result.
"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 love this stuff
Star Trek derives from the works of Isaac Asimov, Rod Serling, Harlan Ellison, et cetera. Asimov started writing about ten years before I was born. I was about ten years old when I discovered his works. I could read faster (just barely) than he could write, so I have read a large fraction of his fiction. As I began to read his works I discovered a world of writers that heavily influenced my thinking about modern physics. At I typed this paragraph several other names zipped through my mind. The ones I particularly liked, wrote "Look what we're doing! We should really stop." and "Isn't It Cool What's Possible!" during the golden era of science fiction. Gene Roddenberry tapped into that culture to create his television series. Don't get me wrong, Gene was an excellent screenwriter and producer and I enjoyed his talk at ASU but even he would have to admit that he was no Harlan Ellison.
I have a more or less optimistic personality due in no small part to the "Look what we're doing! We should really stop." and "Isn't It Cool What's Possible!" culture they exposed to me. Those motifs are the "left cross", and "right upper cut" that sustain me and give me power. The key (for me) to dealing with reality and to not drift into a despondent ennui is to constantly invent new futures and devise ways to influence the trajectories of those I encounter along the way to help create those futures. I wanted a future wherein my child and grandchild could flourish. So far, so good.
For some, fine literature is entertainment. For me, it is so much more. So don't apologize. I never apologized for using science fiction in my upper division physics classes.
The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clark,
... written during my birth year, was the inspiration for 2001: a Space Odyssey. I saw the movie a year after it premiered in larger markets. Back in the olden days movies were too expensive to mass produce. I was, however, able to get a paperback book a few months after the movie was released. I studied it thoroughly. I passed it around to my friends and a favorite literature professor. I encouraged them all to write notes in the margins. That along with a stolen (by a good friend) movie poster are prized possessions of mine. The statute of limitations have long ago expired, so I can admit the illegal activity. My friend sold me the poster for fifty cents, a princely sum with respect to my rather meager resources at the time.
There are several stories, from the previous decade that foreshadowed "The Sentinel", written by Asimov, Clark, and others. So, yes earlier versions existed:
I might steal this theme for a series of presentations at the OLLI center in Medford, if you don't mind.
@PriceRip As someone between your
As someone between your generation and your daughter's here's my take:
OWS was not a disaster. It failed to become everything it could be because it failed to make plans for after, and it failed to make plans for after, mostly (from what I could see) because nobody wanted to admit we would lose the encampments (the Spanish tried to tell us to let go).
Organizationally, there was a failure of understanding, because people were using means of organization they had never used before (horizontal, non-leader), and doing so under pressure. For instance, I did not understand, nor did anybody that I met at the few encampments (4) I visited, that the General Assembly was not for the purposes of deciding what to do. The movement was founded, to a pretty large extent, by anarchists, and they understood that, and apparently that's how it worked at Zuccotti: if you want to do something, do it; if it takes more than 1 person, try to convince some others to join you. If nobody joins you, then maybe what you want to do won't happen. If you do something and people don't like it, they'll tell you (that's what GA is for, among other things).
Where I was, we all treated GA as a town hall meeting. Of course we did; it was the closest analog in our culture. So we didn't do anything until after everybody had decided, or at least everybody who decided to show up for GA. That didn't have a great effect, but then we were using the machine for a purpose for which it was not designed.
"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
Thanks for clarifying.
As a goal oriented person I tend to seek progress. I am not much interested in voicing concerns for the sake of voicing concerns. Voicing concerns should be, from my point of view, the first step in organizing a coherent action, long term plan, et cetera to effect definable change.
My motivation comes from the reality that many of my (former) colleagues have been and are getting crushed by the system in situations where I would be immune to said crushing. It is as though they don't know how to defend themselves. And, the OWS process seemed to mirror that situation, from my point of view.
hemorrhoids
Considering how vital the honest anal sphincter is to the health of all us beasts, I'd be inclined to label DWS, Hillary, Nancy, Dianne Feinstein, etc., as hemorrhoids.
Otherwise, amice, thank you for posting this essay today! I'm not one of the heavy hitters, but there are times I, too, need to be inspired by those like you who are.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
@thanatokephaloides Kind of you to say, T.
Kind of you to say, T. Nice to see you.
2 thoughts, 1 serious, 1 not so
Fist, humans taste terrible. To illustrate, a lion will not eat humans unless sick or disabled so that all other potential prey is uncatchable.
As for UBI, I suggest instead UMI (universal minimum income) As presently defined, UBI is a subsidy, where the surplus wealth of society is redistributed universally,equally, and arbitrarily. This will only lead to a combination of 2 things - accelerated consumption and/or unnecessary saving. The former only leads to a worsening of our true problems (more garbage, more poverty - give an American $100 and he will immediately spend $150) or, like Japan, people will use it to buy down debt (giving it to the enemy) or buy real estate (gotta make sure the kids have a place to live - make speculators rich) or just put it in the bank (taking the money out of circulation as fast as it was put in and giving it to the banks. - and as Mark Blyth says, our problems were caused by the banks having too much of our money in the first place)
Instead I recommend guaranteeing a minimum income (make the personal deduction a refundable credit, to use an American term) Only made $15k this year? Here's a check for $10k. The boss only offers $20k? Fuck him, go play softball and get a check for $25k.
UMI is not inflationary - people will not raise their prices ("because everyone has an extra $5k to spend") prices will LOWER to amounts that someone making $25k can afford (reestablishing the law of supply and demand) People will only work for what their labor is worth, not whatever the bosses allow. 50 - 75% of the population is no longer needed for labor, We will need to adjust society. So far we've been doing that by making everyone wait on tables and drive for Uber. Or starve. Or prison. No more.
On to Biden since 1973
I didn't know this difference in definitions
I doubt most people know the difference between basic and minimum in this context -- but whatever it's called, the idea is in fact urgently important, IMO.
OPOL is absolutely right that the goal of artificially creating enough or adequate jobs for everyone to earn a living simply isn't sustainable, and it isn't necessary. A guarantee of a base amount of income that everyone gets automatically is the only thing that makes sense. They use fear -- as again the essay points to -- fear of loss of your job, loss of income, controls us completely. Because without a job people die. No food or shelter, etc means life or death. Tell coal miners "we have to shut down the mines to save the earth, sorry about your jobs" and they will not agree. It will be screw the climate, my family has to eat.
They use jobs as the argument against every possible move toward a saner future, in every area. Even universal healthcare, I actually heard hillbots saying it was bad because it would put too many insurance industry people out of work. !! But this works because people are terrified of being unemployed.
Anyway, despite the technical definitions, I like the term guaranteed basic income more than "minimum" only because of the images these words create for me. Basic implies enough, an adequate amount for living. Minimum sounds more like living in poverty, not something people would be thrilled about. For messaging, I think guaranteed basic income for all is a stronger way of talking about this idea. And it does need to be talked about. We must erode the brainwashing that we all have to earn our keep or die, because jobs for everyone isn't going to work anymore.
humanitarianism
spelling corrected
Humans are also really shitty food sources. We are net consumers of virtually all vitamins, synthesizing only a minority of our vitamin D needs while depending on our food for everything else. We also stockpile pathogens.
Humans aren't apex predators because we're biologically good at hunting. We have poor eyesight as beasts go, although it produces more kinds of information than most beasts get. On an animal kingdom scale, our hearing is also mediocre. We are apex predators, mostly, because we're useless as a food source for much of anything except for carrion-feeding organisms (which don't need high-quality food sources to do quite well).
This is why my Rufus kitteh won't let me make rude remarks about feeding such pseudo-Christians as Robyn has been talking about lately to lions. And my boy has a point. Lions are his kinfolks, and endangered. Feeding them Family Research Council types would make them very sick. And wild lions don't volunteer to go to the vet.
"I'm proud to call myself a humanitarian!" -- Alferd E. Packer
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
@thanatokephaloides I hate to sound like a
I hate to sound like a traditionalist, but it also helps to have a propensity for creating tools and working together.
that may not be all there is to it--I'm not advancing a Crown of Creation narrative--but I think those two things can still be true without being The Whole Truth Which Makes Us Awesome--which is how I was taught it in the 70s and 80s, LOL!
"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
education and food chains
Thank you.
That's why I kept talking about biology. What you're talking about is the beginnings of technology, which is really the only reason we can hunt worth a damn at all.
Our position on any food chain we may occupy was already set before technology entered the picture, as nothing makes its principal living predating upon us. So, if you're a vegetarian, you're still an apex predator; it's just that the chain is shorter.
And I don't know about you, but I like not being a prey species, thank you very much!
Our rebellion is the same. The main difference is that I think I'm about 10 years older than you, as this part of attempted indoctrination happened to me in the late 1960s and early 1070s.
Otherwise, we're singing to the same sheet of music!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
@thanatokephaloides Sure! You just
Sure! You just brought up one of the axes I perpetually grind. I like to remind Homo sapiens that being the biggest, baddest guy on the block with big muscles was not what enabled us to succeed, or even survive (not saying big muscles aren't useful, but they aren't what constituted Success for the species; a saber-toothed tiger looks at the biggest, baddest Homo sapiens and mentally shrugs--or kills him.) We're not the biggest or the toughest, never were, and the truth is that that little nerdy guy in the corner who makes straight As and programs his own crappy TRS-80 and the kid from the wrong side of town who fixes cars in the garage are closer to what helped us survive than the captain of the football team with the biggest muscles. As is the woman who organizes the bi-weekly church potluck (community was essential to our survival).
Stories of the Big Muscular Hero are fun, and do have their place, but they take up a lot more than their place.
Also--and I'm sure I don't need to tell you this--just because our brains, among other things, enabled us to survive doesn't mean nobody else has brains, or that our brains are unique in the universe. They're just really well-developed for certain things.
"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
@thanatokephaloides On the other hand,
On the other hand, it did produce this song!
"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
Jefferson Airplane "Crown of Creation"
I smell more than a scant dash of our common rebellion in the JA song!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
There was a famous lion *named* Christian
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvCjyWp3rEk]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl1y9IOHof8]
What a love story!
And of course there is the lion Aslan in the Narnia series by Christian author C.S. Lewis.
Lion of Judah
The loving and honorable linkages of Christ with lions goes back to the highly honorable title of the Davidic Kings (and subsequently their claimed heirs the Ethiopian Emperors): "The Lion of Judah".
And the story of Christian the Lion is just simply flat-out loving and noble!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Paraphrasing a smart guy
"Remember that there are billions of acts of human kindness and decency every day. The people doing all this aren't on your nightly news."
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
@jim p Excellent point, Jim P.
Excellent point, Jim P. Nice to see you,sir.
The US had a pretty short run, all things considered.
Normally it takes a bit longer for the elites to solidify their wealth enough to fall into complete corruption and nepotism.
Thanks to technology, the theft has been easy. You don't need to steal from every person individually now. Now it's part and parcel of getting up in the morning, getting paid, or paying for a loaf of bread. There's a million ways to skim, and the elites use every single one of them.
However, I do think we will get our Caesar/Emperor before we get our revolution. Fanatical Dems think it's Trump, but only because they wanted their Empress instead.
Of course, I think the breaking point's going to be the decline of the infrastructure. Flint's water is just the Canary. It's going to get to the point where people won't depend on the government to provide the absolute necessities of life. At that point, there's two possibilities:
1. People will take it upon themselves to provide for their needs, much like peasants used to do in feudal times. We'll eventually probably get our "Low" justice, just because the "High" justice the elites keep foisting on us is everything that the peasants used to complain about. Lots of folks doing without the "Necessities" of modern American life, because it is NOT a necessity, just a convenience.
2. People will start taking resources from other communities to maintain their lifestyles. They already do this... (I'm Looking at YOU and your water use, LA) but the time will come when folks don't want to sell their water and their food to those that don't naturally have it. All the money in the world won't buy a loaf of bread if it's the only one left. That's when things get very, very ugly.
No matter what happens of course, it will be all written down as if one great savior did it, because that's the narrative that the History book always use. It's a comforting lie, after all.
I do not pretend I know what I do not know.
Livia Drusilla, Julia Augusta
.... Livia Drusilla, Julia Augusta, wife and murderer of Augustus Caesar and mother of 666 himself, Nero Caesar .....
(Apologies to Octavian Augustus Caesar, who was a far better leader on his worst day than Bubba on his best one!)
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
@detroitmechworks Thanks for the
Thanks for the interesting comment, dmw. Many points well taken. Good to see you, man.
@detroitmechworks My feelings about this:
My feelings about this:
Hold on my darlin...this mess was yours
Now your mess is mine.
"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
@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal Love the vid.
Love the vid.
@OPOL Thanks! Just found
Thanks! Just found it.
"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
Yay OPOL!
I feel the tide is turning as well. The more crap they shovel us, the more people are waking up to the fact, discussing opinions and options with an increasing sense of "let's do this" and find achievable solutions. Critical mass is coming, the TPTB will be applying more desperate measures. And it's becoming more obvious to those of us determined to live in a better world.
I think I agree, but curious about your terms
Firstly, thank you OPOL! Longtime reader, first time writer. Optimism is good! One more: Naked Capitalism had a link today from Iowa State: catnip oil is10x better than DEET at repelling mosquitoes! (Well, the kind that can transmit Yellow Fever.
Reader @doh1304 made a comment that makes me think of details...because I DO read NK, and have been following Modern Monetary Theory. In theory, there are no initial spending constraints, for a sovereign government.
In MMT, there is a basic understanding that sovereign governments AIN'T like "households" (or US States, for that matter). Neither households nor states print money--the national government does. Whether it's dollars or Rubles or Yuan or $CA or British Pounds, it's all "sovereign currency". (The Euro is the exception, and that's why that "currency union" cannot stand up for long. Governments print money, but it is banks that put it in circulation.
In MMT there is a debate between a job guarantee v. Universal basic income. (Personally I think both can and should co-exist side-by-side.
The phrase that gave me pause in your post was "surplus wealth of society", and I have no idea what it means or how you intend it to be calculated.
@IowanX I don't remember writing
I don't remember writing that. Might it have been from one of the block quotes? In that case, your guess is as good as mine.
Great to See You, OPOL
I always enjoy reading your essays, railing against systemic inequities, but, importantly, treating the status quo as untenable and offering a ray of hope moving into the future.
Thanks.
ps: for old times sake, I wanted to share this 2015 editorial cartoon. It never fails to make me laugh!
A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma
@JekyllnHyde Hey, JIH. Good to see
Hey, JIH. Good to see you, brother. Love the cartoon.
Fear is the Authoritarian's Best Weapon
You wrote:
My go-to guy on this is the Great John Dewey, the man who defined the antidote to authoritarianism better that anyone, that being Democracy. Not 'Form of Gov't' Democracy but 'Way of Life' Democracy, as it is in our DNA. Just as Fear is.
Dewey describes the Authoritarian's best weapon as follows:
There is much dread being evoked these days and many are being perverted. Some are no longer operating on there own account. The Pleasure is Russia/Comey/Sexism. They are avoiding the pain of a galactic failure 25 years in the making. Their mirror has become their abyss and they dare not look into it.
But yes, you are right to be optimistic. We have the antidote and it is called democracy (small d, of course).
More from Dr. Dewey:
Incitations to action are no longer partial, in my local experience. Folks are beginning to perceive the full import of their activities. To be flip, Dogs and Cats are in fact starting to live together. To be dead serious, people are waking the fuck up.
This non stop media Russia blitz was described to me as a blizzard with no accumulation of snow. It melts on contact, but the snow keeps coming.
I am becoming aware that the MSM and to a certain extent, TPTB, have had their Fig Leaf removed without them knowing it. Emperors and Clothes and Such.
In any event, Thank You for your Post. It is nice to see you back at it. You have been sorely missed.
In honor of the Late, Great Greg Allman, I leave you this:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwbowi-8Yoo ]
@jobu Thanks for a most
Thanks for a most interesting comment, jobu. I love the part about the fig leaf. It's mighty fine to see you, old friend.
Holy shit!
A democracy is more than a form of government; it is primarily a mode of associated living, of conjoint communicated experience. The extension in space of the number of individuals who participate in an interest so that each has to refer his own action to that of others, and to consider the action of others to give point and direction to his own, is equivalent to the breaking down of those barriers of class, race, and national territory which kept men from perceiving the full import of their activity.
These more numerous and more varied points of contact denote a greater diversity of stimuli to which an individual has to respond; they consequently put a premium on variation in his action. They secure a liberation of powers which remain suppressed as long as the incitations to action are partial, as they must be in a group which in its exclusiveness shuts out many interests.
So smart! How's that for a basic foundation for non-libertarian anarchism!
"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
Simply, thank you OPOL.
Your voice is always full of life affirming thoughts and feelings.
Some sunshine in the darkness for all of us …
p.s. I noticed these ginger leaves at the same time I was reading your essay ; ).
@janis b Thanks janis b. It's
Thanks janis b. It's wonderful to see you. Ginger leaves, sounds yummy.
I haven't tried one yet ; )
But ... if you like ginger ...
In blender:
- Lots of grated fresh ginger root (more than you think)
- Soy sauce/water (1x1)
- a little garlic
- Lots of cilantro
- a pinch of brown sugar (optional)
* you don't need chili pepper if you use enough ginger
I pour it over slightly browned tofu (in olive or coconut oil). But it might also be nice over other things.
@janis b Wow that sounds good
Wow that sounds good. I'll have to try it. I do like ginger. I sometimes cut a piece and use it for aroma therapy. It puts off some awesome fumes.
Thanks for the prompt.
I've never tried that either, but definitely will this evening
ginger
Hey Janis...I'm making ginger syrup, use it mostly as a tonic. 2) shredded ginger root clumps (about 2 cups), 1 cup sugar and 6-8 cups water simmered down to about 2 cups syrup strained. Makes a great ginger ale with soda. I flavor my daily quart water jug with a splash of the syrup and a splash of lime juice. Cleansing.
Hi QMS
The splash of ginger syrup and lime in water sounds quite appealing. It might be just what I need to drink more water, which I should. Maybe I'll try substituting another sweetener for the sugar in making the syrup. Maybe cherry or maple syrup? Thanks.
YUP!
Thank you, my brother.
; )))))
@JtC Wonderful.
Wonderful.
"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
Yay OPOL!
For many years your voice was a source of much-needed inspiration and truth amid much dishonesty in a disheartening time. Several friends and acquaintances received a copy of your book Wear Your Love Like Heaven from me as a gift.
@lotlizard I appreciate that so
I appreciate that so much, lotlizard. Thanks very much. It's lovely to see again, my friend.
Thanks for taking the trouble
to write this. I'm on my way to work but just had to quickly say thanks.
@randtntx I appreciate it. Thank
I appreciate it. Thank you.
You wrote a book called Wear Your Love Like Heaven?
How awesome! I loved that album and had a blown-up photo of its cover on my wall when I was a kid.
I was retro before retro was cool. Really trended against my generation for a long time, but came around eventually to much of their way of looking at things.
but you guys have the best music, hands down, and some mighty fine album art/poster art too--as shaz keeps bringing up in her OTs!
An offering from Joni Mitchell, one of the fucking geniuses of your generation:
"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
@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal Thanks man...and thanks
Thanks man...and thanks for the Joni.
@OPOL A true poet and a
A true poet and a truthteller.
"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
The debate of UBI will go on for a decade at least
Other countries may try it and perhaps we will learn from them.
Good to see you back here OPOL.
The political revolution continues
@Shockwave I'm afraid you're right,
I'm afraid you're right, brother, but we need to get there ASAP. Always good to see you, man.
The Swiss voted on a UBI plan almost 1 year ago — it lost 77–23%
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36454060
@lotlizard The Swiss, despite
The Swiss, despite being European and not Yanks, are not exactly the most progressive or left-leaning people in the world.
"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
It's a beginning
The Swiss are very smart and eventually they'll do it. The Finns are now experimenting with Basic Income; Finland's basic income experiment is already lowering stress levels — and it's only 4 months old
And the Canadians will start experimenting soon; Ontario plans to launch universal basic income trial run this summer
Alan Sheahen, who passed away a couple of years ago, was mi neighbor and one of the founders of the Basic Income movement. He gave me an autographed copy of his book.
The political revolution continues
@lotlizard That doesn't mean it's
That doesn't mean it's over. The fact that it has risen to the status of a national concern, worthy of voting on, signals that it's just beginning. It's not unusual to lose some battles on the way to victory.
A Bernie style revolution is nothing but more and better
democrats, a democratic party sheepdogging operation. The democratic party is the establishment that must be opposed. It's time to take down the power, the deep state, the oligarchy. That can't be done with politics as usual.
Well, I would argue
more and better progressives. And, he doesn't much give a damn about the party except that it's something that's already built (as opposed to building new) (even as Libs #DemExit), and marginally better than the GOP.
I plan on using the Bernie model without referencing the Dem party, any party.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Any revolution --
would at this point be better than no revolution.
“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon
Maybe.
But one led by the democratic party would just keep us in our chains.
@Big Al At this point I
At this point I absolutely agree with you. Even Jimmy Dore is now saying, outright, that the Democratic Party is managed opposition for progressives. Nothing involving them can be good.
"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
We almost beat them?
We did beat them, but they cheated, manipulated, lied, and some even say murdered to steal it from us.
Bernie would have won the primary and the general if it had been an honest election. I know a lot of Republicans that would have voted for him over any Republican candidate.
The fact it was a dishonest election is proven by the simple fact that two of the most despised candidates went to the general. That can't happen with an honest, popular vote.
I love your optimism, OPOL and share it for the most part with a goodly measure of hopefulness. But this last election cycle showed us without a doubt that they hold ALL of the levers. That leaves We the People with very few choices.
So the question for me is this: can we reach the critical mass needed to create a tipping point? TPTB are banking that we cannot, and they are working on that by keeping us scrambling to put food on the table; keeping us too busy and too distracted and too disinformed to properly grasp the facts and the reality of our plight. This is being buttressed by an increasingly manipulated and controlled internet as we speak.
So I place all my optimism and hope in the Spirit of the People. 99.9% of us are good people who would eradicate evil if we saw it. Our job is difficult but not impossible: opening eyes.
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