Tuesday Open Thread


Morning c99%. Breakfast today includes Papa's famous flapjacks patching the Tuesday Open Thread vacated by the ever-engaging Mark from Queens. Wishing them the best with the new life form on the horizon.

A heart felt shout-out to all the damaged people in the wake of Irma. Can we start pre-emptive infrastructure projects yet? The new normal would seem to scream for investing in preventative repairs for seawalls, rehab wetlands, make the levees and spillways more earth friendly.

earth-blue-marble-2012_0.jpg

A few choice words from Caitlyn Johnstone...

The real currency of the world is not gold, nor plutocratic fiats, nor even the material backing of military might — it’s narrative. Whoever controls the narrative controls the world. That’s why propaganda plays such a massive role in our society. Whoever can control the stories about where power is located and how money works controls the power and money, because those things only operate by societal consensus. Power and money only exist where they exist because people agree to pretend that’s where they exist. They only exist to the extent that their stories are believed.

I like the idea of pushing a narrative of healing the planet, ending war and making our political system more socially responsive. Don't you?

So make your own currency. Start telling your own stories. Ignore the would-be authority figures and start finding your own true north. Not the north they want you to believe in, but the one that’s true for you. This is the first step toward we the people reclaiming our power on a large scale.

Have to drop this here and go. Good day!

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

riverlover's picture

Now I have to find it in the night sky. Again. Or different now. At least I can tell planets from stars, but that takes me glasses now.

To sleep in my own bed! My sleep cycle is still off, but after 10 days in hospital roused q 2 for vital signs every 2 effin' hours, it felt wonderful. It should be a pleasant day here. Stressed maples are turning. Sad.

up
0 users have voted.

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.

@riverlover Ten days is a long time to be in the hospital. Cheers to the notion of charting your own course.

up
0 users have voted.
mimi's picture

@riverlover
I am glad you have it and you are able to enjoy it a little bit. Best wishes for healing everything that needs healing. Good to hear from you again...

up
0 users have voted.

aka the north star can be found using the "pole pointers" in the scoop of the big dipper. Glad you are feeling better back home

polaris_pointers_Big_Dipper.jpg

up
0 users have voted.
dance you monster's picture

@QMS

. . . to the use of that constellation for political symbolism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starry_Plough_(flag)

up
0 users have voted.

@dance you monster I can see the symbolism there with the plow and sword. When I first saw the picture you linked, I thought Orion had fallen on his sword ;). Will see the big bear differently now.

up
0 users have voted.

@QMS I should have known that about how to locate Polaris but didn't. Thanks for that cool tip. I love it. The Big Dipper is easy to ID, so next time I have an opportunity, I'll look for Polaris.

up
0 users have voted.

@randtntx the north star is also the end star in the handle of the little dipper. I like Caitlyn's concept of developing our own narrative. Should have linked the whole essay:

https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/how-to-keep-your-head-in-a-sea-of-pro...

I hope to more fully develop this concept in another OT coming to a web screen near you Mail 1

up
0 users have voted.

@QMS making out the little dipper. I can just make out 5th magnitude stars compared to most people seeing down to 6th. So it has to be a dark night with plenty of time for me to get my night vision to see it. Bowl stars of the little dipper are a good reference for magnitude. They run purt near 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th magnitude.

up
0 users have voted.

There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.

Lily O Lady's picture

@QMS

up
0 users have voted.

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Wish we could all focus on that goal. It seems such an obvious thing to do.
I love the Caitlyn Johnstone quote, it resonates with me absolutely. There are some problems with that notion though and they'll give me food for thought through the day.
Wishing all the best to MarkfromQueens.
Enjoyed the virtual flapjacks. Thanks.

up
0 users have voted.

We are headed up north where city lights are far and few between. Great place for star gazing. In fact, we have the Headlands International Dark Sky Park in the area. Best planetarium ever.

http://www.midarkskypark.org/stargazing/photos/

up
0 users have voted.

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

http://www.midarkskypark.org/resourcesfaqs/radio-broadcasts/

HEADLANDS INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY PARKNEWS, FAQS, CAMPINGRADIO BROADCASTS
Every Monday morning at 6:30 and 8:30, Interlochen Public Radio looks into the night sky with Mary Stewart Adams, Program Director of the Headlands International Dark Sky Park in Mackinaw City. Mary shares the stories of humanity and how they are related to Sun and Moon and stars overhead each week. Follow this link to listen live and to find a full archive of Mary’s program “The Storyteller’s Night Sky.”

up
0 users have voted.

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

@dkmich Bookmarked as well. Thanks.

up
0 users have voted.
Raggedy Ann's picture

@dkmich
I needed something like this. I don't have light pollution where I live, so I can stargaze at will!

up
0 users have voted.

"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

@Raggedy Ann from the link provided by dkmich.
http://interlochenpublicradio.org/post/cassinus-consummatum-est-week-sto...
Another link to fire up the imagination: https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/saturn/18110a75-...

up
0 users have voted.
Wink's picture

From TOP, but posted on Medium.com
A Great story on the Oligarchy and how totally hosed we are.
What REALLY Happened - USA Coup just a start

up
0 users have voted.

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.

Azazello's picture

@Wink
I read that piece, it needed an editor.
Here's the real problem: The Nation
Russia's got nothin' to do with it.

up
0 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Lily O Lady's picture

@Azazello

up
0 users have voted.

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Azazello's picture

@Lily O Lady
Maybe try another device ? I read it first in the paper version. I subscribe to The Nation but I didn't have to log in to read that article.

up
0 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Wink's picture

@Azazello
crap didn't need to be included in the piece.
But it is TOP.
The rest of it pretty good info though.

up
0 users have voted.

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.

enhydra lutris's picture

narrativem and yours

healing the planet, ending war and making our political system more socially responsive.

is great.
I also really like

Can we start pre-emptive infrastructure projects yet? The new normal would seem to scream for investing in preventative repairs for seawalls, rehab wetlands, make the levees and spillways more earth friendly.

with caveats

Sea walls can work, for a bit, but they often exacerbate the problem, or convert it into a different one. Nature has its own very excellent infrastructure consisting of some fundamental mechanisms we should push and emphasize:

1) River deltas and bars, from free-flowing (undammed) rivers (the dams trap the silt)

2) Barrier islands. We cannot create them, but we need to stop destroying them

3) Reefs, and some success has ben had with man made or man augmented ones, but, again, stop fucking with the ones we have

4) Wetlands, massively important. Especially important, where they will grow and thrive, are mangroves. We have lost vast quantities of them and should be replacing them and trying to maybe create new ones. Here, there are folks already on the ground, with experience, who are trying to help - The Mangrove Action Project. http://mangroveactionproject.org/
Give them a look and consider, if you are coastal, if your coast could benefit.

up
0 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lily O Lady's picture

only do so much. We need to restore coastal marshes and the Everglades. All that sugar is unhealthy anyway.

Ideally we should dismantle coastal settlement and reuse as much as possible. Of course I don't see that happening. Sigh.

up
0 users have voted.

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

@Lily O Lady watched the wetlands go to hell in the atachafalia for the sake of greed and profit. Oil is only a short time fix for our needs. how do we get together a voice strong enough to say STOP ?

up
0 users have voted.
Unabashed Liberal's picture

for re-taking the Tuesday OT! I'm often not able to log in in time to participate in the early morning threads, but I enjoy reading and rec'ing all of them.

I'm hoping that my schedule will occasionally allow me to post a 'Transcript Tuesday' blurb, especially in regard to the Dem's public option/single-payer proposals. As of tomorrow, there will be '4' health care proposals to study/review. (Not counting Conyers' 2003 Bill.)

If I can figure out how to post video from the HELP Committee, I may swing back by, and post today's hearing.

Any bipartisan bill generated by this Committee will only make the ACA program more regressive, or conservative.

As today's hearing reflects, many Dem lawmakers [on this Committee] have already bought into the idea of offering 'Copper Plans' on the ACA Exchanges.

They have an actuarial value of 50/50.

Have a nice day!

Mollie


“I believe in the redemptive powers of a dog’s love. It is in recognition of each dog’s potential to lift the human spirit, and therefore, to change society for the better, that I fight to make sure every street dog has its day.”
--Stasha Wong, Secretary, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)

SOSD - A volunteer-run organisation dedicated to the welfare of Singapore’s street dogs. We rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome strays to give them a second chance.

On Twitter - SOSD Singapore@SOSDsg

SOSD 'Smiling' Dog.png

up
0 users have voted.

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

NCTim's picture

up
0 users have voted.

The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -

enhydra lutris's picture

up
0 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

I got sucked out into life's always evolving fixing stuff that cain't been fixed 'cept by involving the self into mucky places where one does not come out with clean hands or feet. I like the fact that this little noodle of an OT can grow where so ever it develops within and without me at the helm. In your stead, I was able to rescue two lost souls, emblazon a couple others, but lost my compass in the process. Oh shite, will try to improve by the next us. shipee shipee, if that makes any sense... tanks and buy

up
0 users have voted.