caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

Every morning I peruse the headlines to see which wing of the fortress of Democracy has crumbled further. Lately one particular section, and a central section at that, has featured massive dry rot, bricks falling off the edifice, and doors dropping off their hinges. Due to eight years of deferred maintenance, the Halls of Justice are close to collapse. All of the walls are bearing walls, so the entire structure is now at risk.

"We should have no illusions. Today’s United States of America is interested only in one thing - destroying Russia as a civilizational, geopolitical, military and political rival — as well as an economic rival, with its treasure trove of resources."
Leonid Reshetnikov, retired lieutenant general of Russia’s foreign intelligence service

Do not count me among those who revel at opposition retreat, to regroup and rise again. You spare me at your peril.

Jeremy Corbyn's victory was crushing. There is simply nothing else to call it, 62 - 38 is a 24 point margin. In raw votes it was 119,980, almost as many as the 130,000 votes suppressed (in Britain they call it "gerrymandering" and are quite wrong to do so, it's an entirely different thing all together- "it's an entirely different thing"). 77% of the Party voted, you can hardly call it undemocratic unless, as the straw grasping Tory-lite Quisling Blairites do, you posit a "silent majority" of people who feel too intimidated to express publicly their 'I got mine' selfishness in the face of moral disapproval (and please, call it 'bullying' so you demean people who actually suffer persecution not privilege).

The reaction is not unexpected or unpredictable, legacy media is howling Dolchstoßlegende conspiracy theories about why they are no longer respected or trusted (duh), they and the PLP (nice blokes you'd share a pint with at the pub, not stinking radical entryist Trots) are consoling themselves with fantasies of redemption (unfortunately likely, we'll see, more later in any event)- in the words of The Mirror bowing the knee, or schism (good luck with that, Britain already has a "Center-Left" Neoliberal Party- the Liberal Democrats who by virtue of licking Tory boots now have a whopping 8 seats in Parliament, exactly the same as the Democratic Unionist Party, you know, Ian Paisley's Northern Irish sectarian thugs and terrorists).

Humiliated in fact if not in attitude the PLP lurches zombie-like chanting "reconciliation" instead of "brains" which if they had any would have stopped them from starting this coup in the first place. They live in existential fear that they'll be "deselected" and have to face what we would call a primary challenge from their constituency whom they've given no reason to support them.

'But the Media Guys still like us at the Pub!", they whine. Yeah, but your voters don't.

We'll have to wait to see if this actually turns out to be a good story. It started out to be one.

Kenny Cooley transferred to Halifax West High School as a junior. Things didn't go particularly well at his previous school when he came out as transgender. Now a senior, he pushed the boundaries a bit more this year by trying out and making the football team. He plays wide receiver.

This link: UCSF Study will take you to an article titled:

UCSF reveals how sugar industry influenced national conversation on heart disease written by Elizabeth Fernandez , UC San Francisco Monday, September 12, 2016

With all the hullabaloo over the coming Presidential election, I have held off posting this essay while we seem mostly engaged in current events. In addition, this essay posed a struggle for me because economics is certainly not an area in which I have expertise like gjohnsit and others here, so the research was a little more tedious than usual. Hopefully readers here can help fill in the gaps where necessary and expand upon the information presented in this essay.

Okay everyone, here it is; I'm no doubt repeating it from a comment I've made here earlier. Now it gets its own diary. Anyway:

1) The government starts a car company.

2) The car company makes only electric cars which will come with their own solar panels.

3) Everyone who owns a fossil-burning car gets an offer. You can trade in your fossil-burning car for an electric car at no charge.

4) At some point the gas pumps are shut off.

Jill Stein didn't get invited to the first presidential debate, but the Green Party candidate is still hoping to cause a stir.

In the hours before Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton take the stage, Stein and her supporters plan to hold a "Let Jill Debate" protest and subsequent "People's Debate."

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/jill-stein-protest-debate-228593#i...

Seattle Children Hospital will open a clinic providing care to transgender youth on October 4.

The clinic, which will serve patients up to 21 years of age, will offer puberty blockers, hormone therapy, mental health support, and group discussions.