Why Doesn't We Learn?
I don't get this continued attraction to the Democratic party by some on the left. Then again I do, it's like a cult, cults are hard to leave. Notice I didn't say, "the" left? I saw that in a Salon article posted here at C99 earlier where the author generalized that the left was the democratic party and vice versa. Time to end that bullshit.
The "left" in this country is not the democratic party. That is the deception the ruling elite want people to believe so they'll continue to accept everything through this corrupt duopoly consisting of the republican and democratic parties. It's also the lie that next layer under the ruling class, who feed off this system, perpetuate to maintain their status and aspirations. The corporate media serves to manipulate the public to believe everything revolves around the democratic and republican parties and most of the so called alternative media plays right along. They're all basically the same now.
So I looked up the author of that Salon article, Sophia Mcclennon, and ya, she's a professional lefty educated at Duke and Harvard.
Professional leftists are the biggest perpetuators of the two party fraud along with the corporate media where many reside. The ones who went to college at Harvard, Duke, Princeton, U. of Chicago, George Washington, etc. Those who come from solidly middle to upper middle class, even upper class backgrounds, secured jobs working on some Senator's staff as an "intern" or work at think tanks, institutes with fellowships and whatever else they're into to make themselves feel superior. Now they write for Salon, Huffington Post, Common Dreams, the Intercept and countless other internet based news and opinions sites and shows, dispensing their own brand of ruling class mentality. Painting everything relative to the two party system which is the biggest fucking problem we have, if you think about it, relative to democracy and ya, basically freedom. Freedom at least from being ruled by rich fuckers. That's why I ditched those places long ago. They're part of the problem in how they perpetuate the status quo, prevent radical working class led solutions and steer people into the failed political system.
Just look at this political system, what's happening right now. This unbelievable tax bill and the anticipated attack on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid by the republicans who have a republican party controlled congress, senate and the presidency. This is after eight years with a democratic party president, the war criminal Obama, who had a majority congress and senate his first term and also proposed cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, placed austerity measures on social and domestic programs, implemented a republican designed healthcare system called Obamacare, oversaw an incredible expansion in the national debt and wealth inequality and started three more wars while increasing the fascist police state hold on the American people. Now the democratic party is pretending to be on its high horse just in time for the next election season. Their "outreach coordinator", Bernie Sanders, is leading the assault on the republican party and Obama the Nobel Peace prize winner is starting to get into the game. Some of the public will get sucked in but the corporate and alternative medias will make it sound like the entire left, and right, of the United States are involved.
What really gets me is when I read history, quotes from the past by people who fought against oligarchy, plutocracy and slavery about this two party system that somehow still exists. That's when I really wonder why the hell we're still putting up with this system. We've known about it all along.
People like Eugene Debs, an early 1900's American union leader, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World, and five times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States. He certainly had direct and significant experience with the U.S. political system and the two party domination.
"The Republican and Democratic parties, or, to be more exact, the Republican-Democratic party, represent the capitalist class in the class struggle. They are the political wings of the capitalist system and such differences as arise between them relate to spoils and not to principles."
Or how about John Adams, the second president of the United States and one of the "founding fathers" who also knew a little about this system.
"There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution."
-- John Adams, Letter to Jonathan Jackson (2 October 1780), "The Works of John Adams", vol 9, p.511
Take George Washington, the first president, also a founding father and Commander in Chief during the Revolutionary war.
"The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty."
George Washington
And then there's W.E.B. Dubois, an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and one of the co-founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. In 1956 he published the famous essay "Why I Won't Vote" (The Nation, 20 October 1956).
In it he traced his personal progression regarding voting from 1889 when he was 21 to the time of his essay in 1956 when he was 88 years old. He had 67 years of experience with the American political system at the time of his essay. He started with this:
"Since I was twenty-one in 1889, I have in theory followed the voting plan strongly advocated by Sidney Lens in The Nation of August 4, i.e., voting for a third party even when its chances were hopeless, if the main parties were unsatisfactory; or, in absence of a third choice, voting for the lesser of two evils."
After describing his evolution, he says this:
"In 1956, I shall not go to the polls. I have not registered. I believe that democracy has so far disappeared in the United States that no "two evils" exist. There is but one evil party with two names, and it will be elected despite all I can do or say. There is no third party. On the Presidential ballot in a few states (seventeen in 1952), a "Socialist" Party will appear. Few will hear its appeal because it will have almost no opportunity to take part in the campaign and explain its platform."
Later he states,
"Is the refusal to vote in this phony election a counsel of despair? No, it is dogged hope. It is hope that if twenty-five million voters refrain from voting in 1956 because of their own accord and not because of a sly wink from Khrushchev, this might make the American people ask how much longer this dumb farce can proceed without even a whimper of protest."
He ends with this.
"Stop running Russia and giving Chinese advice when we cannot rule ourselves decently. Stop yelling about a democracy we do not have. Democracy is dead in the United States. Yet there is still nothing to replace real democracy. Drop the chains, then, that bind our brains. Drive the money-changers from the seats of the Cabinet and the halls of Congress. Call back some faint spirit of Jefferson and Lincoln,and when again we can hold a fair election on real issues, let's vote, and not till then. Is this impossible? Then democracy in America is impossible."
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/298.html
Do you see a pattern here?
That was 61 years ago and now look at this system. Do you really think it can be "reformed" as the bullshit narrative goes? What on earth is different now than 1956, or 100 years ago, 150 years ago, 200 years ago?
We're in the same place we've always been.
Comments
Reformation is an exercise in futility, as is voting.
That said, I would vote for anybody running against Moore. Alabamans are between a rock and a hard spot, and I know if I lived there, I would be driving people to the polls all damn day to vote for the Democrat.
And then I would drink myself into a shameful stupor for being so helpless.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
That's the best we can do with this system,
try to keep it from getting worse. But one step forward, two steps back isn't cutting it. Not for most of us.
No argument about the perpetuation of the "two steps back".
Even while I consistently intentionally under vote, I know in my heart that if the PTB took away my right to vote, I would go all radical on their asses.
That makes me a hypocrite. I despise being put in this situation, despise my hypocrisy, and I want out of this vise.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
If I may venture to suggest
Vote against Moore if you feel you must, even if only as a protest against the alt-right's Boobs and Babes obsession, but then, loose no time in reminding the Democratic winner and his staff, if he does win, that he doesn't get a pass. Every vote will be tracked and noted.
I have myself had some acrimonious exchanges with local Dem officeholders and will likely have more, so I am not suggesting anything I would not do myself.
Mary Bennett
@on the cusp Sometimes we just do what
Sometimes we just do what we must.
Not me. Why would I help to elect a Democrat?
I gather that you are thinking you will "save them from Moore". But honestly you won't. It'd be a classic case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. Supporting "anyone against Moore" really does nothing but change the name of the criminals you wish to prey on the populace. How does that help anyone?
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 do not promote anybody criminally preying upon the populace.
In order to keep a pedophile out of holding one of the highest and most powerful offices in the country, I would cast a vote for a non-pedophile. That's my poison to pick.
Nobody should be faced with these choices in a democracy.
Even thoughI believe there is no appreciable difference in the parties of the duopoly, once in a while a clear reason to vote lote presents itself. I went green instead of Trump or Shill. Pedophile? That is just to despicable to ignore.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
my dealings with Roy
stem from the occasion when Roy placed a monument of the ten commandments in the middle of the rotunda of the supreme court bldg in Montgomery. It was placed there in the middle of the night (you know when you're trying to get away with shit). I was involved with a teachers symposium being held in the courthouse that week. The ruling came down that the monument must be removed. When I got there they had this marble monument on a rolling push type forklift headed for the elevator, and he was removed as Chief Justice for the first time (the second time was for refusing same-sex marriage in the state).
I live in a small town. Everyone knows everyone's business in the nature of little communities. Alabama is a small state in that regard too. "Now who's your daddy? Where is that now?" Folks I know in Gadsden say, "Everyone knew Roy was a philanderer."
Doug Jones better represents my views. I'm voting for him.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
You would think if Americans cared about this issue
…they might not make it legal for a 14 year old to marry a 30 year old. At least 25 states have no minimum age for marriage. It's apparently a legacy of the culture. One presumes courtship takes place before the wedding, for those who actually tie the knot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_marriage_in_the_United_States
I would expect to see new laws immediately that match the politically moral narrative. My issues with the loathsome Moore predate the current turmoil. I'm sure that's true for many. He's always been a thumbs down.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Well we do have the enlightened law...
That when you get a divorce in Alabama, you can still be brother and sister. How's that for progressive?
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Heh. That's exceptional.
In looking deeper into those laws, I notice that a girl can get married at 11 years old in many parts of the US, but she has to be 18 years old to file for divorce.
There's always a catch. Sigh.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
We all get to pick our own poison
But in my mind you have an issue here:
OK, how on earth do you find a Democratic candidate who is NOT criminally preying upon the populace? OK sure, there's some Berniecrats you can argue about here and there. But as a general rule, they are all sociopaths. If they are getting any party support at all then you can guarantee they are a sociopath. The fact that their sociopathy includes war crimes and the horrors pursuant to that but excludes pedophilia is profoundly uninteresting to me. I just seem them all as monsters each with a particular flavor of monstrosity. In the end, it's all sociopathy.
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
@SnappleBC I will take up this
I will take up this discussion with you via pm, so as not to derail a great essay.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
@SnappleBC How do you find any
How do you find any candidate--other than from the smaller third parties--who is not preying on the populace, or would not do so, given the chance?
For instance, I don't trust the Libertarian candidate from last year at all. Why wouldn't he appear on the alternative debates run by Amy Goodman, with Jill Stein? That may be a small bit of grass, but it's showing gale-force winds. A third-party candidate who won't oppose the reigning media/political cartel and their effective monopoly on political campaigning? A Libertarian who won't strike a blow against corporatist control of information, who won't do what they can to ensure data moves freely?
Hmph.
As for Stein, I found her "election integrity" campaign after the election to be extraordinarily disingenuous. I don't blame the rest of the Green party for that (and maybe I shouldn't judge the rest of the libertarians by their candidate, either; it's just that I'm hooked into the right networks to know that the Greens were not all in support of what Stein did).
I just don't think politicians are the way out of this.
And I'm more sympathetic to politicians than a lot of people on here.
"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
Are you eligible to vote here? Dual citizenship, or something?
It's my understanding that you're Canadian; so I'm confused. Do elaborate, please.
I'm an American ex-pat
Right now I just have American citizenship with a Canadian permanent residency. I'm thinking I need to look into the Canadian citizenship though.
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
Well done BA!
Same as it ever was.
[video:https://youtu.be/I1wg1DNHbNU]
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
"My God, what have I done?"
reminds me of where we're at, watching the two parties do their thing and this whacked out president, wondering what we've done.
When I woke up from the Matrix
I had that exact thought...
"My God! What have I done?"
Now I'm trying to fix it.
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 just posted this in a deeply buried thread
…but I think it really belongs here.
This is a map of the Center-Right Democratic Party, All that empty space on the left — is the Left. All Western nations have political Parties on the Left, usually more than one. This is where Labor coalitions and Green parties can be found. The United States has no Left. What we have is two Parties on the right, bickering. Don't confuse that noise with a loyal opposition Party, which is key to a functioning Democracy. The US does have one, by design, but it needs one now.
This is what the Center-Right Democratic Party looked like in 2012. (h/t Cassiodorus)
This is a US election that defies logic and brings the nation closer towards a one-party state masquerading as a two-party state.
The Democratic incumbent has surrounded himself with conservative advisors and key figures — many from previous administrations, and an unprecedented number from the Trilateral Commission. He also appointed a former Monsanto executive as Senior Advisor to the FDA. He has extended Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, presided over a spiralling rich-poor gap and sacrificed further American jobs with recent free trade deals. Trade union rights have also eroded under his watch. He has expanded Bush defence spending, droned civilians, failed to close Guantanamo, supported the NDAA which effectively legalises martial law, allowed drilling and adopted a soft-touch position towards the banks that is to the right of European Conservative leaders. Taking office during the financial meltdown, Obama appointed its principal architects to top economic positions.
This detailed analysis continues at The New Political Compass.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Good info Pluto, thanks.
Exactly right.
Thanks for writing the perfect essay.
I, too, have a huge problem with the labels being used. For myself, I reject everything but "Left." Even though the Left doesn't exist. I also run around correcting people who call Democrats the "Left." Democrats are welcome to the progressives. The Progressives can be a thorn in their sides, while everything is moving incrementally toward a destination that never appears.
All I know is that if we don't get these labels straight, and stick to it, the Left will not coalesce into a political force. It's like growing a crystal. You need a seed and then it happens.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
One Party State Indeed
And as the Republican-Democratic Capitalist Party continues to legislate organized theft, right-wing ideologues will continue to live in total denial with regards to the fact that the left-wing doesn't fuckin' exist in the United States.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
@The Aspie Corner Excellent image. Where
Excellent image. Where did you get 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
The Political Compass website allows you to make your own.
Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.
Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.
@The Aspie Corner Oh. Nice job!
Oh. Nice job!
"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
Informative Link
Thx Pluto.
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
Have always loved W.E.B DuBois
Thanks for quoting him. His words resonate as if he wrote them today. Which makes it all the more frustrating to witness so many unwilling to connect the dots. Right. There. Before. Them.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
the amnesia is deep and goes back minutes ago
The bulk of people I know don't pay attention, in part because they feel helpless, and because they're focused on trying to get by.
...and as a retired teacher let me say the education system has failed us. I was an adult before I ever heard of Debs or Debois. The horrors of indigenous peoples genocide and slavery were superficially glorified. Most history was taught through the chronology of wars.
It is time for teach-ins like the 60's. Thanks for reminding us about the nature of our struggle.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
We do seem to have a few more choices for protest voting
than had Mr. Dubois in 1956. Al, I love your passion and am inspired by your uncompromising vision, but I would add that we need to know and understand what we are dealing with.
The Republican Party looks to me like two parties:
a. the party of greed, plain and simple. The party of I've got mine, too bad for you, you looser. backed up by
b. the party of self-righteous, can't keep it's grubby hands off other people's lives, evangelicism, Christian, and also to a lesser extent, Muslim and Jewish as well.
Democrats seem to me to be even more dangerous, if possible. Democrats I see as a loose coalition of finance oligarchs and various ID politics groups whose eventual aim is to replace not only the Constitution but the very idea of Rule of Laws itself with their own systems of patronage and clientelism.
Mary Bennett
Can't argue with that Nastarana,
like otc said above, I'd probably vote against that Moore asshole in Alabama myself if I had the opportunity.
The overall objective is most important however, sometimes it better to lose the battle to win the war as the imperialists say.
I still think a major organized boycott of the duopoly is in order. That could include voting third party or write in or not voting but somehow documented relative to the boycott.
I will henceforth write in "Mr. Boycott".
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
That's actually a very good idea.
Yes, it is!
And I'm stealing it.
The divisions among the millions of regular people are real
That's why the Alabama race is so close. Education is the only way out and the Republican party, as a whole, is attacking education more than the Democratic party. WTF is so bad about learning and knowledge? Why is being bookish a bad thing?
Beware the bullshit factories.
Knowledge is power
and as we all well know the ptb will never willingly give it up.
RE Alabama and Progressives
Was interesting to see this
What would you have to say about this Pluto?
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
The comments to King’s Intercept article are must read, shows
that we here are not alone in rejecting the duopoly. It is a fine example what some commenters here in BAs essay are getting at imo.
Wish we had more time to solve this. Climate is probably not going to hold up long enough....
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Here’s one. Look familiar?
....https://theintercept.com/2017/12/07/atlanta-mayor-bottoms-progressives/?...
Why The Intercept ever brought in Sean King I’ll never know....
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Ya, far from alone d.o. "People all over the world".
Some good comments, I'll read more later, going out. But, I wonder how many of them know who owns the Intercept?
What needs be said about it?
Hillary Clinton also shared all of my priorities... LOL.
The fact that some asshat claims that a Democratic candidate shares my policy priorities does not make it so. The fact that the Democratic establishment is behind this guy speaks very poorly of him. It's hard to see how someone could be on my side and theirs.
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
Heh. Yep, There were lots of holes
in Kings piece . Just wanted Pluto's take on it.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
@divineorderIf you say you won’t
I have come to utterly detest and despise many words and sayings from the 2016 election and everything else that spawned from it. This is one of them.
Here we go folks -- Democrats don't support any of my "82" positions. 0 out of 82.
I'm a socialist; they're capitalists.
I want single payer; they say it will never happen.
I am deathly afraid of climate change; they shrug and don't give a damn.
I don't want nuclear war with the world; they bang the drums for war.
I'm against American imperialism; they are for it if their leaders say so.
I don't have shared positions with Democrats. On almost every single thing, I am the opposite of them. They aren't this "imperfect candidate" bullshit and all that nauseating garbage; they are horrific, God-awful candidates I would never support.
Exactly, and commenters
let King know that up and down.
Kings clueless.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
He's paid to be clueless.
At first, I cheered when he left TOP for the NY Post.
That lasted about 90 seconds.
I don't even think we share on the social issues
On the face of it it looks like we do. But the 2016 election spelled it out pretty clearly. The Democratic party isn't interested in feminism. It's interested in using feminism in order to gain more voters. The same can be said of the other social issues.
Maybe a different way to put this is that I agree with at least some of what the Democratic party says and nearly zero of what it does.
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
@SnappleBCOn the face of it it
You're right.
Look at gay rights for Democrats. Many times Republicans will stay consistent, whereas Democrats are merely reactionary and horrendous allies.
Democrats went around, being extremely homophobic. Clintons, Obama, the works. They told us we were second-class citizens; that we did not deserve equal rights. Once public polls went over 50%, then suddenly Democrats step in front of the cameras and say what defenders of gay rights they are.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if public polling suddenly went against gay rights that Democrats would suddenly ditch protecting LGBT people.
There are no core values, just opportunism.
Yeah, even as a straight guy still caught in the matrix
I noticed that.
I wasn't exactly fighting for gay rights myself.... supportive but not doing anything about it. I suppose my party mirrored my self. Isn't that a shameful thing to see when I look in the mirror?
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
@SnappleBCI wasn't exactly
There is a significant gulf between being supportive and not storming the palace vs. the rank hypocrisy of Democrats like the Clintons:
"...fundamental bedrock principle that exists between a man and a woman."
"a sacred bond between a man and a woman."
"and I think a marriage is as a marriage has always been, between a man and a woman"
And now suddenly Clinton is this big ol' defender of us LGBT folk.
Disgusting.
So, don't worry Snapple. I'm in my mid 20's. I grew up at a time during middle school/high school where gay/bi people were all variations of disgusting...and then a few years later those same people suddenly became super accepting. So I saw it in my own generation of people, of the quick shift between disgust to happy to have us. I think that for us millennials many were feeding off of things in their own environment or political atmosphere at the time. I'm from Minnesota, state with the likes of Michelle Bachmann *shudders*.
I mean I am LGBT but I haven't been really "doing anything about it". When it came up for vote here (marriage) in Minnesota, yeah I voted but I hadn't been out campaigning or anything. I might still have been in college even during that.
There are folks who were vehemently opposed, and now are supportive. They will admit to their previous opposition.
There are folks who were supportive but not doing anything about it as you put it; they will admit that past experience.
And that is OK.
The folks that truly disgust me are those like the Clintons/Obama. People who had power and were vehemently opposed, and now walk around like that never happened to be these big defenders of people. Fuck that. Fuck that opportunistic shit.
*nod* Fair enough
Still though, it doesn't sit easily with me to know that I had values and principles but was too asleep to do anything about them... trusting that the "good Democrats were working on the issue". As it turns out, they weren't and I should've known that.
On the bright side, the conversation among my family was hilarious when my son came out.
From me: My wife (his stepmom) and I were told he had a big announcement. It was obviously a big hairy deal so we all sat down with our best listening ears on. He started to tell his story about this and that regarding his romantic life and how he was gay and whatnot. I listened attentively until he paused... clearly waiting for a reaction of some sort. Finally, I asked "OK, but what was the big announcement?" It really hadn't occurred to me that him being gay was more than a minor point of interest. I was certain that whole discussion had to be going somewhere LOL.
From his mom (my ex): "Well, you're going to need a new wardrobe." That was humor. He dressed pretty casually so she was ribbing him about that not measuring up to (probably semi-mythical) gay fashion standards.
Nobody in his entire extended family including grandparents and the like thought much of it. Yay for us on that one.
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
@SnappleBCFrom me: My
It can be pretty terrifying. I recently came out to my mom and I could only hope it wouldn't be a disaster. I didn't expect it to go bad, but that is a fear I imagine a significant portion have. For every parent like you who react positively, there is the one who kicks their child out into the streets. It's why if I remember correctly, LGBT teens are disproportionately high in the teens who are homeless. Or parents who would do conversion therapy on their kids. Or send them to camps. Or the parents who say "I don't mind gay people, just not my kids".
In the end, I hope for the future where it is more...blase. Where people will shrug and say, "OK, no prob". Where we don't need to have coming out talks, crossing our fingers and hoping people react positively.
@Strife Delivery Hillary: proud
Hillary: proud supporter of marriage equality since 2013
"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
@SnappleBC So right, Snapple.
So right, Snapple. Rec X 1000.
I've been writing (privately) about exactly this.
Maybe someday I'll be done and start trying to peddle the thing. Don't have a lot of hope for publication, though, not in this climate. But first one must finish writing 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
Self publish ~ I'll buy it!
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
@Anja Geitz Well, thank you
Well, thank you!
"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
This is true
But the advantage the Democratic Party has is that the party faithful don't seem to notice the difference.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Not just on feminism
but on pretty much any issue. As long as the Dem says the right thing, well, that’s good enough for most, even if every single vote goes against their stated positions.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
Agree
And what is one of the hardest thing for me to admit is that up till this past election, I still believed them. Now that I'm on the other side, I wonder how we get others to come to the same conclusion?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
A-men!
I’m so tired of hearing that line. “Well, you just want someone who agrees with you 100% and it’s unreasonable to expect that.” No. The Democratic Party can’t even offer up candidates who pretend to care about what I care about. It’s not that I’m not getting everything I want. I’m not getting anything that I want, except maybe some social issue lipservice.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
@divineorder Don't know what Pluto
Don't know what Pluto would say, but I say I'm sick to death of voter-shaming, which is apparently the predominant political practice in this country.
A country whose electoral politics revolves around blaming and shaming voters for their choices is fundamentally anti-democratic.
"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 think that the division is more along the lines
of 'worldview'--secular versus conservative evangelical Christian. Mostly, it transcends class and education, since so many Alabama evangelicals are 'single-issue' voters, including many professionals.
To put it another way, Beelzebub himself could ascend from the fires of Hell, and if he ran as an anti-abortion candidate--he would probably get the evangelical vote.
Seriously, Jones could pull it out, if the Moore scandals suppress enough of that demographic. Plus, Booker and Patrick campaigned in Selma. It will be interesting to see if two eastern 'liberal' Dems--said totally tongue-in-check--will make a difference.
Mollie
"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner
"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."--Will Rogers
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Booker was campaigning for Jones?
Well, well well. Looks like Booker just might be running for president in 1918. I am not saying I like him, but I do think he could win.
Mary Bennett
I remember back in
Bubba's regime, when he would make what I considered a more RW move (and he made many), I would question the move but then rationalize it with, "well, Bubba's a Dem, he must know what he's doing... " Well, he DID know what he was doing, it just wasn't in Dems interests. In fact he was selling us out to Repubs.
It prolly took longer than it Should have to figure it all out, but when you've been a life-long Dem you don't want to believe your lying eyes. Or in this case your truthy eyes. Here in NY - an -ahem- "Blue" state - we have a "legislature" where 4 or 5 "Dems" who were Elected as Dems caucus on the other side of the aisle with their friends, the Repubs, giving that side of the aisle the "majority." I suspect that happens in other states. So... so, we're ruled -again - by the minority party. Point being, this has been a stealth operation for some 70 years, and we're just now, the last 4, 5 years, catching on.
Why don't we learn? Becuz we don't believe our own eyes. We're in quicksand up to our chin before we start to believe what we've been seeing. And for most of the country it's too late.
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.
How very true.
[video:https://youtu.be/G_Z3lmidmrY]
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
The D's are a party that uses FDR as a recruiter
only then to use Raygun as the model for
governing, while the R's use Raygun as a
recruiter to govern as a Bircher(Koch Bros)
Both R's and D's stick to that binary story
pretty much to perfection hence clinton could get
away with selling out the D's to the Koch's for
future grifts.
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
The attraction?
Some people see the democratic party as the only viable instrument to gain political power and effect progressive policies. The Justice democrats are driven by this belief. Also that there individual lawmakers and executive heads (governors) who appear to be liberal--so hey, political power is possible. You know, the happy optimism of reformers.
The question I would ask. If the current democratic party gets power, would they enact Medicare, as Johnson and party did? The answer is "no".
Gore Vidal said it echoing the quotes in this essay:
Gore Vidal v. Markos Moulitsas
And Markos Moulitsas' denial of Gore Vidal's facts here is still a crock, too.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
The lesson they'll learn from the Franken thing --
is "if only Franken was a Republican he'd have survived this 'me too' thing." The Democrats are worthless. They lost more than 900 seats in state legislatures under Obama and none of them batted an eyelash over it. Remember, those 900 seats are where the future political leadership comes from. There are now six states with Democrat governors and Democrat-majority legislatures.
"the reason you need a new class to come into power in the United States is because this one is useless" -- Vijay Prashad
Good point
democrats don't care that they lost one more seat because it plays along with their ruse that they would block the republicans if they had the majority. I don't remember seeing one diary on ToP about them losing so many seats during Obama's tenure.
But I did see one yesterday about how the republicans are putting party over people now that they are supporting Moore. Someone started questioning if the democrats regain control over congress would they start impeachment proceedings against Trump and a lot of them seem to think that they will. I so badly wanted to tell them that it had already been voted down. By both parties.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Yes --
They go over to Daily Kos so that they don't have to be exposed to any interruptions in their great masquerade, that vast show that tells them that the Democrats are liberals, that capitalism is good, and that human actions are only evil if they can be blamed on Republicans. Here's a theme song for them:
"the reason you need a new class to come into power in the United States is because this one is useless" -- Vijay Prashad
Essay is "Fairly difficult to read" Flesch Reading Ease
Copy pasta'd the words from this essay to an app that can read statistics.
Flesch reading ease
---
Might save myself a stamp and abandon vote-by-mail next year, if I make it to next year.
Nobody 2018
Interesting
Do you have a link to the actual app?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Link to Words, plus more
thanks for asking. The application is called Calligra Words and it comes with my Slackware DVD subscription. http://www.slackware.com/getslack/
Edited to add Calligra link, ha ha oops!
Praise Bob!
The Bobacatto (Mark Mothersbaugh/SubGenius Foundation)
Free Software, Free Society
https://www.fsf.org/about/
Viva la revolución
October 2017: Photos from RMS trip to Mexico
https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/photo-blog-2017-october-mexico
...
Richard Stallman's TEDx video: "Introduction to Free Software and the Liberation of Cyberspace"
http://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/20140407-geneva-tedx-talk-free-software-free-society/
Calligra
Calligra is a product of the KDE community and runs on all modern Linux distros.
A hat tip to you for inspiring me to install it in my Ubuntu system, however!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Some things never change:
"The present Administration is carrying on the greatest preparation for war in the history of mankind. Stevenson promises to maintain or increase this effort. The weight of our taxation is unbearable and rests mainly and deliberately on the poor. This Administration is dominated and directed by wealth and for the accumulation of wealth. It runs smoothly like a well-organized industry and should do so because industry runs it for the benefit of industry. Corporate wealth profits as never before in history. We turn over the national resources to private profit and have few funds left for education, health or housing." --W.E.B. DuBois
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
"Add it together;
give me the answer."
+ Four of five say both parties are corrupt and are indifferent to our well being.
+ Few trust Mass Media; yet because it is ubiquitous and the only thing seen by the entire populace, it gets to set narratives. As importantly, it gets to stifle narratives.
+ A great deal of the division in the public is the result of the agitprop carried out by said Mass Media.
+ In a time where we've had 60 years of Media instilling the "badass who don't take no shit from nobody and is irreverent and cutting to boot" ethic in human interactions it is certain that any genuinely revolutionary action must start with Basic Civility between those who disagree, regardless of how strongly.
+ A cease fire is necessary across partisan lines, so as to focus the entire public's effort on forcing Media to deal with the fact THAT EVERYONE KNOWS that both parties are corrupt, malfeasant, and in fact, along with Media-as-is, functions as an enemy of the people in every meaningful way.
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
Post Partisan era JimP?
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Everyone go back to
being partisan if they want to, but only after the hiatus where all focus on making the deviltry of the parties the thing media talks about as the main narrative.
Orwell: Where's the omelette?
@jim p + In a time where we've
+ In a time where we've had 60 years of Media instilling the "badass who don't take no shit from nobody and is irreverent and cutting to boot" ethic in human interactions it is certain that any genuinely revolutionary action must start with Basic Civility between those who disagree, regardless of how strongly.
Bless you, jim.
"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
OT but Good news?
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
You'd think so, but I'd have to know more about that org.
This is interesting, from the Nobel prize website,
"Nuclear weapons are even more destructive, but have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition."
https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2017/press.html
The use of nukes has certainly been deemed illegal, as the essay I posted the other day shows, but actually possessing them is not illegal?
Of course that makes no sense but what else is new.
David Swanson posted on FB and
Twitter that Washington Post got recipient to admit US had to disarm for reasons that may leave you incredulous.
Did you see this?
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
The social left vs. the economic left.
I actually think the two party establishments have secret allied think tanks for the sole purpose of finding new ways of keeping the people divided on social issues etc., to prevent public unity against their shared multinational corporate agenda (on trade, along with their shared military interventionist agenda, shared deregulated immigration agenda and occasionally even a 'secretly' shared tax policy agenda).
The Democratic Party might be 'left' on social issues, but they consistently team up with republicans on stuff like military intervention, trade policy, immigrants policy and even occasionally on tax policy ($$$$$ issues). But as long as they're standing up for the social left (instead of the economic left), they will always get votes, in a lot of cases against the voters own best economic interests, just as most faith-based republican voters consistently vote against their own economic best-interests.
I wish we had a system in which the social issues could be effectively handled by the courts, so the people could focus more on economics, running the country etc., instead of this wall to wall identity stuff that exacerbates public division (as the oligarchs dance).
Mike Taylor
bing! n/t
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.
@Mike Taylor They're not left on
They're not left on social issues. They are, shall we say, cherry-pickers.
"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
Nailed it Big Al
Its the one thing the republicans and democrats agree on, that the "far left" must be stopped at all costs.