OT WED 17 APR 24 ~ everything is broken
"History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster."
- Douglas MacArthur
The inspiration for this diatribe came from a witnessed degeneration of a local
franchise. Started out all shiny and new. Over the years, the building deteriorated,
service and product faltered and generally became a run-down eyesore.
Knowing how capitalism works, I realized the value of the investment had
been sucked-out primarily. Not re-investing in maintenance. A vehicle for
wealth extraction. It seems like a fitting analogy for our infrastructural demise.
The so called public-private partnership sells out national equity to the money
monkeys. Quality is traded for monetary gain. The public suffers and the vultures
thrive, feeding on the body politic.
Variously described as 'enshitifaction' and 'market based adjustments', the end
result is a decline in the standard of living. Austerity is presented as a solution.
It is why we can't have nice things anymore. Disasters pile-up and the cost to
repair is already spent on more disasters in the making. The American dream
is now more like a living nightmare.
How to turn things around? Being a fix-it guy, the right tools always help.
What do you keep in your belt? Magic screwdrivers and pliers?
~
Bureau by Kristof Santy
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/04/kristof-santy-epinal/
Open thread so feel free to draw whatever you have on hand.
Comments
Good morning...
Yes, we're in decline by almost every metric. Hudson suggests moving to Russia or China. Of course most of us are too old for such a transition, but young folks should consider a move as an option.
Heard the story this morning of a Palestinian valedictorian who will not be allowed to speak at graduation. That speaks to our degradation too.
So far we've avoided (delayed?) WWIII. Here's hoping that will hold.
Thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
"Hudson suggests moving to Russia or China."
Resident (probably-) youngest regular on this site here; I have been thinking about exactly this - but TALK ABOUT a daunting notion!
The irony would be pretty damned deep, too - being Aspergian, social credit TRULY scares me, so of the two, I'd much rather Russia (especially since the computer-game series I've always regarded as 'practically my religion' has a HUGE following over there), but geez, in addition to a notion I'd never have dreamed of just a few years ago, well, 1/2 my great-grandparents came HERE, FROM the Pale-of-Settlement region. Imagine what they'd say....
Tell me about this Hudson, though, and what, exactly, he has to say, PLEASE.
I'm legally disabled; I'd need SERIOUS help to get started anywhere else.
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Move to Poland
Poland considers everyone a dual citizen if you can prove within 3 generations from immigration. My grandfather was an immigrant, as was my grandmother's parents. One of my relatives is seriously looking into this. I would wait until after the Ukraine crap is over before I would consider it.
AFAIK...
...none of my ancestors were from Poland.
Some of them were from the Ukraine.
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
@The Liberal Moonbat You might want to
You might want to look into that. The countries of Russia, Poland, and Ukraine's boundaries were constantly changing. At one point Poland was missing for 100 years. Most of my relatives from there were also Russian Orthodox Catholic instead of Roman Catholic which meant they probably were Russian when they changed the boundaries again. They're Polish because when they immigrated it said they were from Poland. But who really knows.
Well, mine were Jews
I referred to "The Pale of Settlement" for a reason.
My family-tree on that side is pretty well-studied; I'll check with my relatives.
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
making changes on that level
-
needs motivation to overcome accrued momentum
would RUS or CHI be a better place to age?
probably, owing to societal support
adaptability is key
we can be accepted almost anywhere
or rejected for that matter
I think it would have been easier for me to
jump ship 20 or 30 years ago
good luck
I think Hudson was thinking in terms
of many of the economic basics of life. Health care, education, work opportunities, housing, but not anything social. I only spent just over a couple of weeks in China, only a week and a half in Russia. They were intensive cultural and historical focused tour. My takeaway is that those governments insist on a high degree of conformity, to the point of heavy surveillance, and criminal codes to ensure it. Aspergian tendencies might be a big problem. That is not to say that the US government, especially with the FISA bill on the floor for a vote, are not watching, listening, and arresting us right here.
At least in the US, health and mental health issues can stem criminal proceedings. At least for now.
Of those two countries, I would choose Russia. China seemed to be strenuously cracking down on independent thinking. Russia seemed to be hearkening back to the times of their great poets, artists, musicians, philosophers, and writers.
If you want some tips, feel free to send me a pm. I happen to have a couple of Russian expats who live in my community I can network with for info.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Thank you VERY much.
Like i said, I would too.
The fact that there doesn't seem to BE a "Land of the Free" anymore, anywhere, is a huge problem for me...and the fact we're LOOKING UP TO frigging Russia and China now, all but openly hoping they'll "save" us, is a DAMNING statement for the failure of activism here.
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
My question moonbat,
is why you would want to leave the familial connections you have, even if the future of where you are is compromised? Where would you feel most supported considering all that is essential?
Is the grass really greener somewhere else, or are there possibilities closer to home?
That's a very good question.
I can only hope; life seems very bleak for me these days.
I've put my life, dreams, personal wishes, EVERYTHING on hold for the sake of The Big Picture - and what do I get for it? I get Wokies calling me "Nazi trash" in a perfect mirror-image of the abuse I already took from GWOT-era Republicans.
I am not supposed to exist.
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
I trust
that you will find the light in the bleakness. You're not alone.
Can you explain to me
what nazi trash is? I am not familiar with that term.
You can imagine, surely.
'Trash of the Nazi variety' - if you're looking for some regionalism or whole that exceeds the sum of its parts, it's nothing that formal; it's only been thrown at me once, but it's emblematic of just how...well, let's try putting this on a whole other track:
I damn-near danced on Antonin Scalia's grave when he died - but in hindsight, I must concede he was right about one thing (even if for the wrong reasons): "Words have no meaning anymore."
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!
Sorry just now seeing your question...
I can't remember which video he said move to Russia or China, but here's a good introduction to Economist Hudson...
PROF. MICHAEL HUDSON, THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF GAZA. (50 min)
Transcript here.
Did you know there is a Jewish province in Russia?
Birobidjan: The Story of the First Jewish State
The tone of the article is anti-Russian but it might be worth investigating.
Here's a 10 min visit in 2022.
All the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning, QMS, et al!
The older a building gets, the more insurance companies jack with premiums and coverage. The longer a quality product stays on the market, the greater the likelihood competitors will produce a cheap knock off. Quality products do not make money from selling replacements. Instapot is the classic example of a high quality, long lasting product that became unprofitable and basically went out of business because the pots were durable.
We consumers think we have choice. Yes, we can choose from "bad" to "worse". Very profitable for the 1%.
I wonder if Israel will start WWIII today. The dread of the violence makes for a long day, where one might wonder if there is much point in starting some project that will never get finished, never be enjoyed.
Hold your love ones close. That is the best way to find comfort and contentment.
Maybe we might hear some positive news before the day is gone.
I hope for that. We deserve it.
Thanks for the OT, dear friend.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Say it ain't so!!!
I did not know. The Instant Pot company has filed for bankruptcy. I have one and other than pans is the most used kitchen device. I did a search of the internet tubes, and pretty much all the sites repeat over and over the same thing like a press release: too much debt, expanded too fast, supply chains, etc. In looking up history of the company should have known it was going to tank when it was taken over by private equity firm Cornell Capital. Sounds to me like typical financial managers looking for quick buck with lots of bonuses to go around. Won't know the real story outside the repeated press releases if ever.
But not unusual in America. One of thee most active stores I have every gone into was Toys R US. It went belly up which shocked me. Forbes I think had a series that would expose how upper management ruined companies for their own personal profits. Forbes totally blamed Toys R US on upper management. Same thing happened with K-mart I believe.
It seems that
there is no company that a vulture capitalist can't kill, if he puts his mind to it.
Sorry, MBAs: this would appear to be exactly what you were taught to do. Maximize extraction of value from a going concern until the dried-up husk blows away in the next stiff breeze.
Not a fan.
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
I did read about the business model of selling a product
that never broke, wore out, or needed replacement, made every customer a one-time customer. Then, the product is often passed down to family members who never purchased the product in the first place.
Pretty soon, the customer participation dwindles.
We can't have nice things.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Good morning QMS. These words are, afaik, quite true
Given the author, howeveer, I suspect he said "morals" but was really thinking of mores (pronounced morays, like the excessively toothy and aggressive eel). The set of behaviors, in any age and culture, overlap, but also differ.
Our nation's culture has been corrupt and immoral since before day one, and quite thoroughly at that. Part of that corruption and immorality is embedded in some of our ostensible historical mores. I should just leave it there as something to chew on, and perhaps will. I do need to include our economic model as part and parcel of that, however.
The settler-colonists and later arrivals arrived in a place that was astoundingly wealthy in resources, most of which also had a benign climate. They proceeded to rape and strip it of those resources and in the process acquired much wealth and developed much industry and technology, but it was all hollow. When your culture is based on extraction and exploitation, a point will invariably be reached when decline and collapse is inevitable. "We have met the enemy and he is us" as a perceptive and astute cartoon mammal told us back when I was a kid. I think that statement was far deeper and more all encompassing than any of us knew back then, probably not even the author.
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 --
Yes, the hollowness echos today
-
The extraction industries, commodification and consumerism
are all eating away at the quality of life. It seems we are becoming
more of a junk society with time. Worshipping wealth and military
interventions do not help. Valuing community, family and friendship
helps though. And living with a healthy moral code.
Enjoy your day!
Are you taking Statins?
.
Or anyone in your circle of family and friends? If so share this article with them.
STATIN DRUGS laid the groundwork for COVID
One of the worst things they do is decrease your body’s ability to create vitamin D so that your immune system can’t fight off diseases.
How many lives could Fauci have saved if he told people to increase their vitamin D like he was doing? He admitted it once and then went silent on it. Bad Fauci.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
So here's some real decline for you:
“When there's no fight over programme, the election becomes a casting exercise. Trump's win is the unstoppable consequence of this situation.” - Jean-Luc Melanchon
As some obscure Manhattan Libertarian Party chair once said...
"If you ask your government for permission to protest it, you deserve to be told 'no'."
In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.
Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!