A nation of hope and opportunity for all

everyones-turn

There are a lot of highly manipulative people who want to make you believe that certain very important things do not matter.

Oligarchy

The MIC

Neocons

Climate change

These are awful realities that plague our entire nation, and indeed the world and every citizen thereof, including those who don't realize it and those who do realize it but don't want you to.

class-warfare

I'm not saying these deniers of reality are all bad people. There are any number of reasons why a person might understandably prefer denial and distraction to fully accepting enormous and daunting realities that would scare the fucking devil. But those too afraid to look reality in the eye have got no business giving political advice.

for-the-99-percent-PLAIN

What in the world are we going to do about these very real existential threats?

We will either face them honestly with everything we have or we will continue to ignore them and eat our shit sandwiches until its too late. If it isn't already.

Thoughtful people understand how serious these matters are. Honest people will admit it. Those who don't want you to pay proper attention will bullshit you.

Whatever, whatever, oligarchy.

Oligarchy is a real word. A lot of the smartest people we’ve got are using it to describe our present circumstances. It's what inequality leads to – rule by the rich. I don't know what would be worse: not knowing oligarchy's a real word or not knowing it's what we've become. I suppose the absolute worst would be knowing but pretending otherwise in order to mislead people. My advice is: figure out who the smartest people are, and who among them are honest, and then give greater weight to the words of those people.

[video:https://vimeo.com/92306306]

Listen to the smart people.

More striking still, it appeared that, if the process of concentration goes on at the same rate, at the end of another century we shall have all American industry controlled by a dozen corporations and run by perhaps a hundred men. Put plainly, we are steering a steady course toward economic oligarchy, if we are not there already.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Listen to the smart people.

[video:https://youtu.be/ymrn4knqvJU]

It is the doctrine of the oligarchy that there is nothing that we hold in common, that the commonwealth is a myth, that it is even a sign of softheadedness and weakness. The oligarchical power feeds on the sense that we are all individuals, struggling on our own, and ennobled by the effort.

Charlie Pierce

moral-crisis-reich

Listen to the smart people.

Robert Reich: America Is Now a Full-Scale Oligarchy

We must get big money out of politics.

According to an investigation by the New York Times, half of all the money contributed so far to Democratic and Republican presidential candidates—$176 million—has come from just 158 families, along with the companies they own or control.

Who are these people? They’re almost entirely white, rich, older and male—even though America is becoming increasingly black and brown, young, female, and with declining household incomes.

According to the report, most of these big contributors live in exclusive neighborhoods where they have private security guards instead of public police officers, private health facilities rather than public parks and pools.

Most send their kids and grand kids to elite private schools rather than public schools. They fly in private jets and get driven in private limousines rather than rely on public transportation.

They don’t have to worry about whether Social Security or Medicare will be there for them in their retirement because they’ve put away huge fortunes. They don’t have to worry about climate change because they don’t live in flimsy homes that might collapse in a hurricane, or where water is scarce, or food supplies endangered.

It’s doubtful that most of these 158 are contributing to these campaigns out of the goodness of their hearts or a sense of public responsibility. They’re largely making investments, just the way they make other investments.

anyone-who-shrugs

Reich’s book [The Work of Nations] saw inequality largely as a technical problem, with a technocratic, win-win solution. That was then. These days, Reich offers a much darker vision, and what is in effect a call for class war—or if you like, for an uprising of workers against the quiet class war that America’s oligarchy has been waging for decades.

Challenging the Oligarchy by Paul Krugman

powerful-people

The US is an oligarchy, study concludes

Report by researchers from Princeton and Northwestern universities suggests that US political system serves special interest organisations, instead of voters
The peer-reviewed study, which will be taught at these universities in September, says: "The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence."

Researchers concluded that US government policies rarely align with the the preferences of the majority of Americans, but do favour special interests and lobbying organisations: "When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organised interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it."

not-for-the-lesser-evil

In a recent interview at the Economic Policy Institute, Nobel Prize-Winning economist and MIT professor Robert Solow riffed on the political effects of increasing inequality and concentration of wealth at the very top. "If that kind of concentration of wealth continues, then we get to be more and more an oligarchical country, a country that's run from the top," he said.

The Atlantic

thinking-small

Bernie Sanders: Keeping US from Becoming Oligarchy Is ‘A Struggle We Must Win’

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) gave a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC on Monday to talk about his proposed recovery program and to address the economic challenges facing the US, both at present and in the future, particularly as the wealth gap grows and financial institutions escape accountability.

“[W]e are moving rapidly away from our democratic heritage into an oligarchic form of society,” Sanders said. “Today, the most serious problem we face is the grotesque and growing level of wealth and income inequality. This a profound moral issue, this is an economic issue and this is a political issue.”

“We need to take a hard look at our trade policies which have resulted in the outsourcing of millions of good paying jobs,” he continued. “Since 2001 we have lost more than 60,000 factories in this country, and more than 4.9 million decent-paying manufacturing jobs. We must end our disastrous trade policies (NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China, etc.) which enable corporate America to shut down plants in this country and move to China and other low-wage countries.”

His recovery program, An Economic Agenda for America, would invest in infrastructure; turn away from fossil fuels; raise the federal minimum wage; and close the gender wage gap, among other tenets.

“We need to end the race to the bottom and develop trade policies which demand that American corporations create jobs here, and not abroad,” Sanders said.

danny-glover

Now a lot of people like to sound smart. They often speak of facts and figures, polls and statistics. They possess all the numbers. They're 538 smart, 'Bernie's stuck at 30%' smart. They are not really smart.

Don't listen to stupid people or people who have a vested interest in manipulating you. Listen to the smart people who are telling you the truth. We are in big trouble and we better do something big about it.

Doing the same stupid shit one more time, settling for fake change one more time, will seal our fate. Don't be stupid and don't be manipulated by people with bad intent.

And don't let anybody tell you that there is not a revolution under way. Anyone who honestly doesn't realize it is a fucking moron. The rest are liars. The oligarchy is real. The revolution is real. Only counter-revolutionaries or agents of the oligarchy have any interest in convincing you otherwise.

Listen to the smart people.

An oligarchy of private capital cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society because under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information.

Albert Einstein

The American people are rising up, once again, to try to change this country. This is the last chance we are likely to ever have. Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't matter.

its-funny

let-me-be-clear

Economic, social and environmental justice — and a world of peace. Just what the doctor ordered. Thank you, Bernie.

DEM 2016 Sanders

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Comments

Please forgive formatting errors.

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Martha Pearce-Smith's picture

Thanks for this... so glad you cross posted it.

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Please help the Resilience Resource Library grow by adding your links.

First Nations News

VivaLaVida's picture

Warms my heart to see you, OPOL, here. I'm a quiet GOS addict (#043,303) but I'll be fine here (& at reddit). Wanted to test the waters & make a comment. Go Bernie.

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Honest Public Dialogue. Truth.

detroitmechworks's picture

Here I was, thinking I'd have a captive audience, when along comes the Stephen King of DKOS...

(Kidding. Really glad to see you here, and you're right. Again.)

Corporate control of the message is becoming almost desperate in their attempts to paint Bernie as evil. All they want to talk about is the narratives and talking points put out by the Hillary campaign. Bought and paid for, of course.

So glad I killed my TV.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

riverlover's picture

Go back and revisit (somewhere not at your home) and the propaganda is everything.

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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.

Shahryar's picture

no more slacking and babbling for a few paragraphs. I might have to say something.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

I just don't comment much because I'm just going to sleep when you post them.

But when I do drop in, I read that's day's OT first. But it was like arriving late for the orgy. Lately, I've started adding to the daily OTs.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

I'm trying to stay away from GOS. I'm not logging in there any more but I have to admit I am lurking but I want to go cold turkey as soon as possible. Cross posting content helps thank you!

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elmo's picture

anymore. Why should I? Soon there will be nothing interesting to read over there anyway.

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Even the smallest person can change the course of the future

I try to stay out of there but do follow links posted here and on the Kossaks for Sanders Reddit sub, just to rec up the remaining Sanders diaries.

My concern is that so many people new to politics might stumble over there and think the all-Clinton all the time IS representative of a 'progressive" viewpoint. Yuk.

Will probably not waste emotional energy after the Ides. Have been trying to use the Bernie phone app even though I don't like calling, and sub that time for time I formerly spent on Kos systematically raising my blood pressure Wink

I added this Springsteen vid to my comment there. If you don't go to Kos and have a minute, please watch. Lyric transcription below, as suggested by a deaf Kos user who requested transcripts of music and speech videos.
"Land Of Hope And Dreams"

Grab your ticket and your suitcase
Thunder’s rollin’ down this track
Well, you don’t know where you’re goin’ now
But you know you won’t be back
Well, darlin’ if you’re weary
Lay your head upon my chest
We’ll take what we can carry
Yeah, and we’ll leave the rest

Big wheels roll through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams

Well, I will provide for you
And I’ll stand by your side
You’ll need a good companion now
For this part of the ride
Leave behind your sorrows
Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there’ll be sunshine
And all this darkness past

Big wheels roll through fields
Where sunlight streams
Oh meet me in a land of hope and dreams

This train...
Carries saints and sinners
This train...
Carries losers and winners
This train...
Carries whores and gamblers
This train...
Carries lost souls

I said this train...
Dreams will not be thwarted
This train...
Faith will be rewarded
this train...
hear the steel wheels singing
this train…
bells of freedom ringing
calling all aboard...

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Shaylors Provence

rec up the pro-bernie diaries -- but it's so depressingly negative over there i'm probably going to quit altogether some time this week. my time is better spent here & the kossacks for sanders thread over at reddit.

as for new users/visitors to dk getting a bad impression of progressivism, someone should edit the dk wikipedia page to omit the progressive pov part.

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Jazzenterprises's picture

I will be going to DK to uprate and continue the fight, whether I am banned or not.

If anything, this whole episode has made me discover other outlets such as this one and reddit, who are fighting for the progressive cause. I've always felt myopic to rely on only one source for my progressive news fixes and penchant to comment, so I'm glad that has been remedied.

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Progressive to the bone.

for a bit of schadenfreude if Clinton loses to Trump or if she wins then takes us into another Middle East quagmire. But mainly read the tributes to the Pootie Queen and whatever Meteor Blades writes (got to figure he's treading in a mine zone the next several months) on my mobile devices.

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detroitmechworks's picture

Sometimes I think I'd LIKE to watch it burn. Song Lyric, not a threat. Smile

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzyfcys1aLM]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Pretty sure it refers to DailyKos, but I don't understand the TLA (Three Letter Acronym)

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pfiore8's picture

award. thanks for that.

btw, it means Great Orange Satan

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“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

Raggedy Ann's picture

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"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

hester's picture

I went cold turkey last Monday. It feels great. I promise. Takes 48 hours and I was there almost 13 years. Go for it.

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Don't believe everything you think.

detroitmechworks's picture

Is pretty overwhelming sometimes, though. Smile

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

I was Kentucky DeanDemocrat back in the day. I felt so at home on DK back in the Bush years and even during previous primaries. I wasn't necessarily for the winner in those, but there was no authoritarian voice from on high decreeing that people fall in line. But then Howard Dean endorsed Hillary Clinton, Kos said he's banning anyone who "relitigates" the Dem primary after March 15 (wtf?), and I figured I should just leave before the inevitable banning. I didn't belong there anymore. Feels like the liberal world is one of those little snow globes and somebody just turned it upside down and shook it. I guess that's what happens with Clintons.

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Twain Disciple

MonetaryLeviathon's picture

I'm working on breaking up with them ... its no small wonder that I caught so much flak there about trade policies for so many years ... their livelihoods do NOT depend on fair or balanced trade nor do they care what happens to others as a result of these things

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YES, OPOL is here.
All's well with the world Smile
Please may we have the picture of the millions of people at a Bernie event with the "Seeds" quote.
Ok, seriously, so good to know we don't have to go to another site to read you.

Am obsessed with trying to figure out what we can do to wrest the Democratic party out of the hands of the Clintons.

This is just a small step: was posted by a first time poster in Kos Fuck Off by 3/15 diary. Poster was hidden & banned.
https://www.change.org/p/i-support-bernie-sanders-but-i-will-not-support...?

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we-were-seeds

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Only thing that could make it better would be cabana and a hammock in Tulum.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

josb's picture

Religion poisons everything. - - Christopher Hitchens

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mimi's picture

... and I have my thoughts about which one speaks truth and which one is not. ... May be religion saves some people from getting poisoned by hate and hopelessness and allows them to go on, when everything else is failing them.

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josb's picture

The way I see religion poison things is by making rejection of reasoned thinking a virtue, and I think that is ultimately bad for society. The various religious institutions practice excellent marketing, so it's hardly surprising that it appeals to many, especially in times of need. Anyway, to each their own.

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mimi's picture

and practice marketing, they are not a religion, in my books, they are an enterprise and a tool of power. I do not think we are on opposite sides. I am not member of any church in the US and in Germany. If having faith is a virtue or not, I have never thought about it that way. I am very simple minded and in no way educated into the extreme. I watched my parents. That's all.
My father said with regards to his faith, "if you are at the arsehole of the world (ie labor camp in Siberia for example) you start having faith in something by default, because you have to believe in your survival".
My mother said with regards to her trust in churches, priests and pastors: "I have lost my trust in them during wwII".
So, both went just a handful of times to their churches (German Protestant Lutherans) in their life, basically, baptims, marriages and funerals of their their children and family members. We all were baptized and went through confirmation and had to learn a little bit about our religion. It didn't stick much. I would never interfere with anybody's faith. And I have had challenges in that regard in my life living with people, who had beliefs I couldn't follow.

It's hard for me to discuss religions, churches and faith. Any sort of extremism from any of the religions and any kind of interference of one religious group on another religious group is basically tabu for me and not on my horizon.

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josb's picture

We are on the same page. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

in your fantastic diary, OPOL!
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/1497326/60151316
Keep this up! We need to be heard until we are all evicted! We are in it to win it! Solidarity!

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"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

WindDancer13's picture

It would be greatly appreciated if everyone would cross post comments and diaries (thanks ever so much, OPOL) here, so we are not forced to go to DK. I, like many others, have made the choice to not return, yet we keep seeing links that would require us to if we are intent on collecting relevant, valuable viewpoints and information. Only posting at DK or only with links there keeps people who do not go to DK out of the loop.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Raggedy Ann's picture

Here's my comment:

Raggedy Ann
Mar 07 · 08:53:00 AM

It’s the people’s turn!

We, the people, do not want any more lies.

We, the people, do not want the status quo anymore.

We, the people, do not want to participate in war anymore.

We, the women, do not want the government controlling our bodies.

We, the people, want leaders who put our interests at the top of the “to do” list!

We, the people, want a living wage, not poverty wages.

We, the people, want to fix our broken judicial system and end institutional racism.

We, the people, want the right to health care. Medicare for all!

We, the people, want our children and grandchildren to be well educated K through college as a right!

We, the people, want to repair our crumbling infrastructure, while providing good paying jobs to the workers.

We, the people, want to end Citizens United in order to put our democracy back into the hands of the citizens.

We, the people, want climate change addressed in real terms — stop fracking, stop drilling, end our dependency on fossil fuel — switch to renewable energy forms.

We, the people, want to strengthen social security.

We, the people, will no longer settle for the establishment. We must elect a new leader, one who will take us to the next level. We need a leader who will ensure a strong middle class is rebuilt. We need a leader who will always speak truth to the American citizens.

America needs President Bernie Sanders, now!

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"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

WindDancer13's picture

Great post! I can see Sanders giving that speech. = )

Sorry that I didn't get back earlier. Still trying to find my way around and cannot figure out where it shows that I have had a reply.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

josb's picture

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apparently, but I saw it mentioned as something they are working on, as it's high on everybody's wish list.

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hester's picture

please post your comment here. Please

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Don't believe everything you think.

Raggedy Ann's picture

Sorry I didn't do it yesterday. I was busy at work and couldn't get back to the web!

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"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

comments here -- I know it's tough for you since you're on mobile and copy/paste doesn't really work well on that platform, but it would be greatly appreciated.

Hugs to you and Raggedy Andy.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

So happy to see you! I just posted my comment above your comment and the comment above you. Sorry I didn't do it yesterday. Work got in my way! ;o)

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"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

riverlover's picture

I was thinking of Obama's Hope and Change. That didn't work out quite so well.

I was thinking: we dare for hope and change for us. We will fight for it, no matter what.

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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.

detroitmechworks's picture

The instant the corporate media started supporting him. Publishers, major media, money people...

I think they knew for a fact he'd play ball.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

shaharazade's picture

in his 'fucking moron's' get off my lawn diary he said in the comment thread that bait and switch is just fine if it works. For some reason that freaked me out more then his primary is over tantrum. At least with Hillary the Hun you know what your getting, the bait reeks to high heaven. He freeped his own site and then turned around and abused his new preferred demographic because that young demographic isn't taking his rotten authoritarian stinking bait. Fear of the RW and then turning around and saying all opposition to the anti-democratic anointed queen and her policy and agenda is a RW talking point just isn't going to put this Humpty Democratic party back together again. I for one want it to be left in pieces so that people can take it back from the likes of Markos and the Clinton machine. Let these assholes get their own party they can call it the third Way Party.

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detroitmechworks's picture

Who?

Never heard of him.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

gulfgal98's picture

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Yea, it kills me that there is a threat of banning over there for using right-wing talking points and vocabulary like the 39th President of the United States and peer-reviewed Ivy League academic studies.

What are they going to do, ban Jimmy Carter?

And they call us the Stalinists!

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SnappleBC's picture

He included some of the most urgent issues of our time in his list of words which shall not be spoken. By doing so, he made it very clear which side he's on and it's not the side of "we the people".

Yeah, I don't want to hear the word "oligarchy" any more either. But even less, I want to live it. So I'd prefer to look that particular problem bin the eye rather than try to sweep it under the rug.

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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

Rex Freedom's picture

OLIGARCHY!

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America has elected a democratic socialist before. Many times.

pswaterspirit's picture

I find my temperament has improved since abandoning GOS.

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I was on edge and bitchy way too much.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

I sure don't doubt the "on edge" : that place could induce ulcers in the most mellow person. But I prefer to think of your presence there as literate, assertive but not aggressive, and a voice of reason in a big dark unreasonable echo chamber.

One of the truly freeing aspects of the mass migration to here and Kossaks for Sanders Reddit sub is a realization we "commenters only" have come to: that you folks who wrote excellent diaries were really getting nailed for what you wrote. Someplace yesterday I commented that "dog's in his heaven and all's right with the world" to celebrate the arrival of yet another one of the outstanding diarists. Many other people have made similar comments. It is a real gift to have you, OPOL, Raggedy Ann, MahakaliOverdirve, SouthernLiberalinMD, Joe S, gjohnsit, DallasDoc, detroitmechworks, Prometheus, Big Al, Cassiodorus, Johhny the Conqueroo et al together in several venues. Critical mass and all that. Thanks, guys and gals.

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Shaylors Provence

gulfgal98's picture

I always admired your spirit, dk. And I see you have a very kind face too. Good

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

you're not paying attention.

Glad to see you, geebeebee and a lot of the stalwart regulars here. Wish there was a way to get LieparDestin's Bernie News Roundup crossposted here, but with him being mostly on mobile that would probably be too much work for the poor guy (hope he's recovering from his oral surgery).

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Shahryar's picture

with permission, of course

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shaharazade's picture

my 'flaming liberal' and adopt a nasty hot head persona. It's not a place that brings out the good angel on my shoulder but lets the red hot devil lose to run rampant. I do love a good rant but dealing with meanness of spirit there just drags you down. Even in an inspiring humanistic dairy like OPOL's I run amok in the threads of abuse.

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SnappleBC's picture

I originally went to KOS as a way to educate myself about American politics since it had come to my attention that I was woefully uneducated. But nowadays you have to de-spin it so much that it's hardly worth it. It's like going to a climate denier site hoping to learn about climate science. Any comment or question which might reflect poorly on Democrats... at least institutional Democrats... is pretty much off limits. GJohnsit's recent economic post is a great example. The Obama recovery wasn't much of a recovery and that legacy is nothing to be proud of. And there's another unfortunate corollary to that reality. Obama is a liar every time he stands up on stage and tells us how great the economy is doing. I'd rather be somewhere where viewpoints like that can actually be discussed on their merits rather than on the basis of party loyalty.

KOS's efforts to drive away the unwashed masses don't seem like a particularly useful way to get party unity. Then again, I doubt anything like party unity is even remotely possible. What common ground do corporatists and populists find?

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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

I reside overseas and went to Kos for the very same reasons, to keep abreast of what was going on at home without the filter or even analyzing the filter itself, of US media. And, it was pretty good and effective during the Bush years.

The we elected a Democrat to office. President Obama could do no wrong. And honestly, I too was pretty excited and euphoric in those first few weeks despite warning signs like who his CoS was and his cabinet picks. I mean, I did enjoy and indulge once in a while in Black Water Dog's photo diaries because after those dark Bush years, her feel-good diaries were actually nice.

But then the euphoria wore off as it always does and we started rolling up our sleeves to get down to business. And like cold water splashed in the face of a sleeping drunk early Sunday morning, we got our reckoning with a big fat "get lost, hippy". We were great for getting him elected, now the grown ups were at the table.

And for me, since my family and I live on my VA and SSDI, the chained CPI and my benefits was suddenly on that table. Whoa, ok, that got my attention and I was naive enough to think that the e-friends on Kos would have our back on that.

Nah, all I got from those f&*ks were "shared sacrifice" and "it's not a benefit cut" despite showing the math from Military Times.com and other Soc. Sec. sources. It was all about "we have to reform Soc. Sec." and "it won't affect seniors too adversely, they'll die."

"OK," was my reply, "so what about that 23 year-old Iraqi vet who lost her leg and arm? How does the math exponentially make up for her lost benefits of over 19k over a 20 year period? Does she have to share in more sacrifice? Have you sacrificed like that? Have you shared the sacrifice?"

...crickets

Now, those same people who were trying to pack sand up my a&* about shared sacrifice and it wasn't a benefit cut are some of Clinton's most ardent supporters over there. They lost all credibility with me personally as did the US Democratic Party as an institution.

Those people don't give a shit. They are petit bourgeoisie limousine liberals who got theirs and pay lip service to social issues in order to make themselves feel good in the morning about saving their money with cheap gas and low taxes. Then they project hypocrisy not only with supporting VA benefits and Social Security like I stated above, but also now that Sander's supporters are white educated elites - just like themselves.

I don't mean that ad hom, I get that from the posts they write themselves. And it seems to me, circumstantially at least, that Markos is trying to break out of the petit bourgeoisie into the bourgeoisie proper.

Mark Knopfler sang "when you point your finger, you have three more pointing back at you"

So, no, that place has been more or less, since 2008, a propaganda pit with a number of people speaking truth. Now, judging from the membership list here, the people who were speaking truth are leaving dKos and all they will have now is a propaganda pit. One big Black Water Dog blog.

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I'm over there for 30 seconds now and get just furious with the place. It is intentional. They're trying to get us to go away in disgust and break our bonds to each other. They want to fracture the progressive community over there.

Thanks to places like this and the reddit group reddit.com/r/kossacks_for_sanders we can walk away without giving up the time we spend talking to each other.

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TracieLynn's picture

to be rather user unfriendly. This site is much nicer.

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We are not embracing a politics of envy if we reverse a politics of greed. - Joseph Stiglitz

Reddit's great for quick link sharing and commenting on it. The traditional blog format is way better for content creation. You'll never get a post like OPOL's here over there unless it's a link. I think they're just different. Reddit has a huge user base and a lot of interesting places to go. This place has the best writing dailykos had to offer without any of the BS. I can appreciate them both.

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flowerfarmer's picture

Absolutely! Reddit is to quick connect and take action, no lounging around which some of us have become accustomed to on GOS.
I will still go there to recc up any of our diaries that make it thru the gauntlet.
Is there a way that we can refuse membership here to some of the most vile trespassers who try to upset the vibe? Do we have a banhammer?

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shaharazade's picture

JtC addressed moderation in a comment on PhilJD's Clintonista dairy.

To answer your question about Hillary Clinton supporters...

and whether they've been declined from participating here.

All opinions are welcome here, we are an open community and all voices are welcome as long as the discourse is civil. An echo chamber would be pretty damn boring, no? No one will be declined from registering here except spammers, they can go directly to hell, everyone else is welcome though.

I expect that if someone comes here with a chip on their shoulder that it will be met with civil push back from the community. And in the event that staff here does not notice dickish behavior don't hesitate to use the "Contact Us' link. This site has become impossible for one person to moderate all of the comments, so if someone is out of line, don't hesitate to let us know.

- See more at: http://www.caucus99percent.com/comment/28810#comment-28810

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gulfgal98's picture

that after all the work navajo and her crew have put into community building, kos smashed it with one post.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Pat K California's picture

So many good people at GOS ... people who have contributed so much to the community. They and their good works didn't deserve the sledgehammer that the proprietor brought down on them.

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"Long term: first the rich get mean, then the poor get mean, and the rest is history." My brother Rob.

TheOtherMaven's picture

after the way she went Social Justice Warrior on my ass over a naive misstatement years ago and never, ever forgave. If I so much as turned up in the same thread she was in - on ANY subject - and dared to say anything, out came the knives and razors.

I hope she never comes here.

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Thanks for sharing. I am done with GOS, and I am glad I have a venue to read your stuff.

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Beautiful, OPOL. Thank you for posting here. I'm done with GOS.

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darkmatter's picture

I have cut the cord completely, and it's great.

I even created an avatar here, something I never got around to over there.

Also, the blue color scheme here I find soothing and conducive to calm reflection....

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tapu dali's picture

Orange, somehow, gets my dander up these days ...

I wonder why ... Wink

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There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.

Pluto's Republic's picture

So far, it's my new favorite.

I think I know where that original woodcut came from.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
lotlizard's picture

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jiordan's picture

That's one less reason to peruse the GOS--which makes me happy. I logged out of my account, but there are still some posters I have to go read. Now one more of them is here. I'm having trouble typing this because I'm doing a snoopy dance!

Thanks for cross-posting OPOL--and for all your inspirational work/words/images/thoughts. You make my day.

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so Mr. Scribe can read stuff without getting blasted with the damn ads. He's always been a lurker -- I'm the one with the big mouth.

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I confess I've been a bit out of touch with your work since DK5 started. I've had one foot out the door over there since then. When did you improve your writing quality from fantastic to amazing?

This is just a great piece. I could never say what you just did so well. My shorter version is along the lines of:

"whatever whatever oligarchy" - kos
"We are really in this together" - kos
"whatever whatever asshole" - quince

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The most offensive line in that whole screed was the bit about us being "in it" with Hillary, Kos, and the Gang "together." I almost went right through the screen. Totally counterproductive! But it reminded me of the Republicans' demand for bipartisanship which, of course, means that everybody must vote for what the Republicans want. "In it together" = "My way or the highway."

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Twain Disciple

He's full of it. The front page (other than MB) has been in the tank for Clinton since the beginning. David's hit piece was just foul. Laura's was a joke. BBB, LL, and Trix are nothing but trolls now. Kos himself had early hit pieces both on the front page and at The Hill.

At least they've stopped trying to play fair. Honesty is an improvement.

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TracieLynn's picture

Egberto, though!

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We are not embracing a politics of envy if we reverse a politics of greed. - Joseph Stiglitz

He's been a bright spot for sure.

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gulfgal98's picture

Meteor Blades and Egberto have been bright spots. I wonder where this leaves Egberto?

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

k9disc's picture

That's about all it has been since the beginning of 2015. It's horrible politics and terrible messaging. I bet it makes money though...

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“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Short and sweet.

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Tact is not my strong suit. Smile

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JayRaye's picture

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Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth.-Lucy Parsons

Big Al's picture

global capitalist system has got to change before anything else can. The super rich own the banks, own the corporations, own the media, own the central banking system, own the military industrial complex, and they own our political system. Sanders and others are in the right ball park talking about oligarchy and billionaires and class war, but most are not talking about changing these systems. Instead they're putting lipstick on a pig, which is still a pig. They're trying to put bandaids on a compound fracture. Tax the rich? No, we have to change the system so we don't have such fucking rich people.
I hope Sanders wins, the alternatives are just unacceptable, but we have to set our sights much higher.

In the democratic debate they did not talk about foreign policy at all. The wars, the imperialism, the militarism, nothing. There is nothing more important than stopping the very rich from murdering and stealing their way to their New World Order.

This country has always been an oligarchy, it's just become more clear now because it's so blatant and egregious. An oligarchy is a small group of people making decisions for everyone else. That's what our political system is, even without the corruption and rigged nature. I'm reminded of the movie Annie when Daddy Warbucks would called Roosevelt on the phone to tell him what to do. Or JFK's secret society speech. The Rockefellers, Rothchilds, Morgans, it's always been this way. Very rich people using their wealth and power to control the political system in their favor. Or Smedley Butler, the "gangster for capitalism back in the late 1800's to early 1900's.

Well, we'll see. But if Sanders doesn't win, even if he does, we have a lot of work to do to overcome centuries of the same thing and a political system that is set up to be operated as an oligarchy.

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It's not just peak oil or massive droughts or sea level rise. We're at or past pretty much peak everything. Inequality, the loss of political power for the "masses," the loss of local sustainability (loss of control over our own lives), make short-term greed policies not just possible but rewarding (while externalizing the costs to us and our environment).

Nobody really knows where the tipping points are, but they have at times in the past been abrupt.

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gulfgal98's picture

know and they know that their future is pretty much tanked if we do not get control of our systems and wrestle them away from the oligarchs and their toadies in government.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

I'm so relieved to find you here. I logged out of DK today for probably the last time and was hoping never to give them page views again. Now I don't have to go there for my OPOL fix. And it's a good thing- my blood pressure couldn't have taken much more of DK's unrelenting abuse of the left. Dang, we have Redstate for that. I don't read it either. Again, so glad you're here!

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Twain Disciple

I love your diaries, and this one is especially uplifting today.

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"What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gerrit's picture

Brilliant work, mate. And it is wonderful to see you cross-post here. I quit DK in 2015 and have missed your diaries very much. It's marvellous to read them here now. Best wishes, feather fall

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Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.

i never tire of seeing that pic of bernie with the "not for the lesser evil...for the greater good" quote.

thanks for another enjoyable essay (or whatever it is we're calling them) Smile

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gulfgal98's picture

to call them... Wink

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

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