Open Thread - Thurs 13 Nov 2025: Sometimes...
Sometimes...
Sometimes people change for the better. Alvaro M. Bedoya, recently on the Federal Trade Commission (appointed by Biden) before being fired by Trump, is an example*. He writes about the things that made him change into a populist and his story is very enlightening.
His appointment as a FTC commissioner (in 2022) was troublesome to begin with, at least in the usual Republican political circles. He had spent his career working on privacy and immigrant rights. It took a vote from Kamala Harris to overcome the 50/50 vote on his appointment. So, he was already controversial.
Here's a quote from the article (see link above) which he wrote about his change which is quite informative:
I used to think that the defining fight for our country was between the left and the right. Now, I am much more worried about the money at the top crushing everyone underneath.
'The money at the top crushing everyone underneath'... isn't that the truth. So, what steps, what actions as 'the people underneath' do we take to stop this? Is it even possible? I don't think it is right now, that's for sure 
, although the elections of people like Mamdani, and probably Katie Wilson in Seattle (she's leading by about 1900 votes right now), and more, might help make it possible.
A Politician that Did Good
This is a little tidbit of info that I learned a few days ago. I was diving down the rabbit hole of the sinking of the Costa Concordia, in 2012. I found and watched a very recent video which covers the sinking, the captain's actions and so on. One thing which happened after the ship sunk, and which the video mentions, is that a local deputy mayor (Mario Pellegrini), of the island/commune (Isola del Giglio) closest to the sinking, boarded the sinking ship and organized people so they could escape and be rescued. This is after the captain fled. Kinda jaw dropping in a way, that an elected public servant would ... serve the public. I also love how he and a doctor he had been working with to rescue people went to a bar to get a drink after being ferried to land amongst the last to leave the ship.
Here's the video (c. 15 minutes long), in case you are interested. It's worth the view!
Ok, here's the open thread! What's up, whatcha doing? Reading? Thinking? Listening to? Remember, everything is interesting if you dive deep enough, so tell us about where you're diving!
*And no, I'm not saying this because his wife and I share a name 
.
Comments
Happy Thursday!
I'm still having internet trouble, maybe it'll be fixed when the repair appointment happens a week from Friday, or maybe they'll put the appointment off, who knows. But, I'm here for now, so there's that
. We are dealing with a rodent invasion in our farm buildings right now. I don't think it's related to the recent elections, but who knows? Gotta get some rodent removal people in, and, sad to say, some new cats. Most of our cats have died in the last year of old age. We've one cat left from the three feral cats we had, and this cat, Ashe, is so old she can barely move. She lives inside now, which is only fair. She served the farm for a long time. So, time for new rodent hunters!
What's up with you all? How you doing? Hope all is well!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
internet in the boonies is a challenge...
Fortunately we've been pretty stable the last couple of years, but in the past our internet has been very sketchy. What can you do? Nothing but wait.
As to politics, I don't see how it is an answer when the oligarchs own both parties.
Jimmy explains...
Mamdani Secretly Funded By Globalist Billionaires! (23 min)
Well, it’s over — after much controversy and ugliness through a lengthy campaign, New York City has elected Zohran Mamdani as the next mayor. Contrary to the consensus on the left, however, Jimmy and Due Dissidence’s Russell Dobular do not believe Mamdani’s victory represents a radical political shift but rather a continuation of establishment politics backed by elite interests, including figures like Alex Soros.
Russell suggests that while Mamdani may implement limited reforms such as a rent freeze, his administration is unlikely to deliver transformative change, comparing his prospects to past Democratic mayors like Bill de Blasio. The discussion also highlights how demographic shifts and frustration with entrenched political power shaped the election, signaling the end of an era for New York’s old political establishment.
This Mamdani ANTI-WORKER Position Will SHOCK You! (25 min)
One aspect of the Zohran Mamdani story few others are focusing on is NYC mayor elect’s stated refusal to rehire workers fired over COVID-19 vaccine mandates. This, Jimmy says, reveals Mamdani’s true colors and his anti-worker, pro-corporate stance aligned with pharmaceutical interests.
Jimmy and Due Dissidence host Russell Dobular contend that both major political parties serve corporate power, using cultural divisions to distract the public from economic exploitation and loss of civil liberties. The discussion extends to media manipulation, coordination of talking points, and how both left- and right-wing elites reinforce a system of control through surveillance, automation, and financial dependency.
My thoughts on electing people that will serve citizens...
...is like letting Lucy hold the football.
Hope all is well on the homestead. Thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Heh, pulling away the football...
Very much politics of today, ain't it. I wonder if it was ever different? Well, only when the workers are doing bonus army stuff and the rich feel threatened.
I dunno if Mamdani will be different. I can hope, but not placing a lot of trust on it. And, of course, that's New York, a few thousand miles away from me!
Rural internet, kinda like rural electricity, rural roads... heh. I've been told to think about switching to satellite internet, but one of the major companies is owned by Musk, and I ain't doing that. No way. So, I'll 'just wait'.
Hope you are having a good week, and are going to have a good weekend!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning
.
.
Interesting perspective on the potential for positive
growth in individuals. The Concordia story is cool too.
Today marks the 83 rd birthday of John P. Hammond,
the legendary blues musician. He played with the likes
of John Lee Hooker, Tom Waites and many others.
Zionism is a social disease
Good music!
Happy birthday John P. Hammond! I looked up his wikipedia reference article. Awesome! I learned that his 2003 album was produced by David Hidalgo of Los Lobos (I adore that group) and included a version of the Spider and the Fly by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. I love that song!
Thank you, again, for introducing me to Hammond. It's so cool to learn new things.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good morning, sima, et al!
The cat that was hanging around my barn is now hanging out under my house, raising hell until we feed it. Even my secretary saves leftovers for me to take home so it can avoid having to chase after rats, the intended original purpose.
I have court this morning. I might ask the judge to take it up in chambers. My elderly client walked into the bedroom in their home to happen upon her husband of 45 years sexually assaulting a child. A stay at home wife, a man with a union job and pension, and the case is about how to divide up the assets and debts in a way to reflect the egregious fault of the breakup of the long marriage. 50/50 split is the norm, but I am shooting for 80/20, her favor.
The judge has 3 young daughters. He is very protective. We shall see.
Thanks for the OT, chica, and may your internet soon be fine and dandy!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Hopefully the cat will learn!
When we got our feral cats, we were advised to feed them well, as starving cats didn't hunt so good. So we always kept them well fed. I guess they thought *I* must be starving, because for years, up until about 6 months ago, they would leave a dead rodent for me on my doorstep every day. Or sometimes it was a dead rabbit!
As for the case in court, I hope it went 80/20! Damn, the stupid, horrible things some people do.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Bedoya? I'll give you Bedoya
be well and have a good one
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 --
Not sure how I know that saying...
Even though I never have seen that movie (yet) or that clip, up until now!
But I sure do know that saying
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
That actor, generally quite famous, is
Alfredo Bedoya.
be well and have a good one
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 --
good morning Sima et. al. We iz back and it is
raining like there's no tomorrow. Sorry to hear about your gatos, I would assign a very high priority to procuring replacements. I/we wuz largely able to avoid and ignore news during our little mini-vacation but I did learn today that Trump is trying to tell that Supremes that the tariffs aren't intended to be a revenue generating project after having claimed the opposite in public for the longest time and still doing so for all other appearances. Further Tariff news is that the announced tariff "dividend" would vastly exceed the tariff revenues.
I assume that you all knew all of that, but it seems so emblematic of this government. We did, of course, hear that the shutdown is oveer and, seemingly, Obamacare premium subsidies as well, which is really no surprise. The whole purpose of that farce was not pto provide actual health care, or even mere medical care, but to enshrime the principle that any sicknedd and injury diagnosis and treatment dispensed in this country must be paid for via some form of insurance into law. That much became clear early on, and all else ever since has simply been haggling around the edges.
meanwhole, I still haven't taken any kind of dive into the news, which will wait until I finish unpacking and putting stuff.
be well and have a good one
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 --
We've had rain here too, but it's just been light...
Today, so far.
I agree, we need to get new cats asap. The last old, now retired, huntress cat can live in the house until she passes away peacefully. When we got her and her sisters, years ago, it was deal with rodents in the hoop house and greenhouse, eating all the tomatoes. The cats did great for 14 years or so... and time moves on.
I have avoided a heck of a lot of recent politics, I gotta admit. I just liked watching the freakout over Mamdani. Didn't know Trump was saying that about the tariffs now. Figures. And the dividend? Yea sure. Maybe they can pay from the funds for the now dead Obamacare. Heh.
Hope your mini-vacation rocked!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Just for the
amusement of anybody who has any investments in the marketcasino currently, which I really don't (other than an utterly vestigial 401K):
https://archive.ph/FRd5s
Some days, I'm actually glad to be essentially asset-free. This is one of those days.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
Sheez...
Why would anyone give this dude any money? What is the matter with people? Sheez!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Bedoya is very articulate.
I don't know if it's just me, but so many of these article present the America of workers as something just discovered. What life did Bedoya live before, that this is all new to him? Were privacy and immigrant rights blinders to the plight of the rest of us? Is this something just discovered? Not dissing him, really, but places like Public Broadcasting carry a similar.....tone?.... That they relate a story from a loftier perch, from above, and the life of the working class might as well be about Ethiopian farmers it's that far removed from the day to day of the writer. The story seems aimed at an audience similarly uninformed, a National Geographic tour of diminished American citizens. I mean, we live it, it tells me nothing new. So after decades of this, who are they trying to convince, and about what? Maybe it's as Bedoya says, it's normal.
Heard this earlier
.
.
peace but no justice
Zionism is a social disease
Yes
We have the myth of equality and justice, the reality of "pacification". We're either neutered at the primaries or cowed by law enforcement.
Boy, is this comment true
thank you!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
hmm
"..America of workers as something just discovered. What life did Bedoya live before, that this is all new to him? Were privacy and immigrant rights blinders to the plight of the rest of us? Is this something just discovered?..."
A few discover it every ten or twenty years. Always a shocking revelation and then they do exactly nothing about it because their hearts and minds are invested US capitalism and an up by one's bootstraps mentality. Plus an actual acknowledgement would necessitate reducing the costly foreign adventures.
Back in 2014 when Thomas Piketty published Capital in the 21st Century, Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winner in economics, said, guess we all forgot about income/wealth inequality. While purportedly a Keynesian, Krugman seems not to have met a neo-liberal that he hasn't endorsed.
I too don't get why the plight of the working class...
is such a danged surprise to so many. Maybe it's a subtle kind of reverse racism? Or something? I just don't know. I lived in ghettos for part of my life, black ghettos in the USA, and in England, white ghettos. Although my parents rose 'above' working class, by luck and hard work really, my relatives and my grandparents were/are all working class. Truck drivers, electricians, store workers... heh.
I really liked what Bedoya had to say, and what he learned. Thanks for stopping by!
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
Good evening, sima!
I learned a lot from reading the Bedoya article. My neighbor, who is a client and close friend, discussed the difficulties of ranching yesterday. He has thousands of acres, thousands of head of cattle. Hasn't had a good year in years. He will never give up.
Thanks for the OT, chica!
And the stray cat we seem to have adopted a couple of weeks ago is a male. Thank goodness!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
When I started running my very small farm...
Yep, most farmers and ranchers... land rich, cash poor, or cash very poor, or cash non-existent. Heh.
Male cats are good. I've had several, loved them! Have a good Friday and a good weekend.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so
An interesting spin on the history of the silk road
.
.
this is dated a few months ago
from Pepe, but first saw it yesterday.
A mix of archaeological, historical and cultural framework within the silk road adventure.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20251008/-xiyouji-my-journey-to-the-west---pepe...
Zionism is a social disease
Watched this movie a few years back
Concerning Xuan Zang. I enjoyed it, can't remember much, but as I recall it was interesting. It's quite long at almost 2 hours.
Shenyun will be around the area soon, but I won't give FG money. I do however occasionally watch their language guy on youtube, because his video support is much better than most. I watched one this morning on the poem "Grass." This is a Tang poem supposedly studied at school child level. He's got everything, the traditional original characters, the simplified where needed, the pinyin, the literal translation and then the smooth English interpretation. There is a part II on the five character format, structures, etc., technical stuff, nice to know, I don't bother with it.
The Poem Every Chinese Student Knows (And You Should Too)
It reminded me of this Korean song 오래된 정원 Ancient Garden
Also Hwangseong Ruins
황성옛터 - 이정표(Jungpyo Lee)
Thanks for Pepe's silk road link, QMS. The Little Chinese Everywhere woman on youtube, has a few videos of her travels in the region Pepe describes. Keeps me distracted from the dreadful news.
語必忠信 行必正直
Very pleasant song
.
sounds like a lament.
The artful hand movements are
captivating. Beautiful setting as well.
See you on the silk road ..
Zionism is a social disease
Left populism always seems like it's for the 10%
"affordable" apartments in the right section of town, subsidies for professional women to hire child care but no direct payments for working class women who make less than the subsidy and would rather take care of their kids than work irregular shifts at some fast food or Walmart. Min wages never seem to really get done in an amount large enough to lift out of poverty. The easiest way for me to get bad mouthed online is to suggest a substantial increase to min wage combined with a COLA. I'm not sure who is left and who is right but all seem anti worker.