caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

I'm slowly bringing some of my old articles over to post here on C99. This is one that I originally published Jun 21, 2013. Now that we are in the midst of FBI vs. Apple wherein the FBI is attempting to compel Apple to become an arm of the surveillance state, some of this seems pretty current in a way.

The US government works closely with thousands of corporations to bring you everything from national security to the drivers of climate change.  The connections between these entities are diverse and often quite opaque making it difficult for citizens to tell who is really in charge.  Is it the corporations with their ultimate responsibility to make a profit for their owners and shareholders, or is it the government with its ultimate responsibility to the electorate that is in charge?  Do the principles of government or business apply to joint decision making processes when government invests in businesses and sits on their boards, or when government agencies have representatives of business sit on task forces and decision making structures?

The economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith wrote, “people of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.”

What happens when the interests of business and government so align, that they are fundamentally, "in the same business?"

It really didn't take many of the so called 'liberal' blogs to fall in line with the corporate wing of the Democratic party.

They boldly avoid even touching the subject of Hillary's AUMF vote, all is forgiven since she said, oops my bad.

If she hadn't campaigned against people's rights it would have been so much worse, so that one is all good.

If she hadn't campaigned for the prison industrial complex..actually could it be much worse?

Link: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-don-bernie-supporters-back-hillary-article-1.2578063

This is a follow-up from conversations here on c99 on runaway climate change. "Um, G, tell me you're not a nutbar survivalist." No. Well, not yet :=) I'll write more later on the various options or levels of personal sustainability for climate change. Here is a follow-up on structures for growing plants year-round in a climate-controlled greenhouse (in an economical and fairly low-tech manner.) There are a number of existing technologies. Our family has chosen the underground greenhouse as a forthcoming project. Saving up every loose penny! I've got lots of photos and some links below.

The Journal of the American Medical Association published a new study on Monday: Psychiatric Diagnoses and Comorbidities in a Diverse, Multicity Cohort of Young Transgender Women

I. e.-- Are transgender women just inherently nuts or we get help to be that way?

Objective: To report the prevalence of mental health, substance dependence, and comorbid psychiatric disorders assessed via clinical diagnostic interview in a high-risk community-recruited sample of young transgender women.

Results: Of the 298 transgender women, 41.5% of participants had 1 or more mental health or substance dependence diagnoses; 1 in 5 (20.1%) had 2 or more comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. Prevalence of specific disorders was as follows: lifetime and current major depressive episode, 35.4% and 14.7%, respectively; suicidality, 20.2%; generalized anxiety disorder, 7.9%; posttraumatic stress disorder, 9.8%; alcohol dependence, 11.2%; and nonalcohol psychoactive substance use dependence, 15.2%.

I have been holding onto this information, but since Niko House has posted a video regarding this allegation, I've decided to lay out for you what I know.

Good article by Harold Meyerson on future possibilities created by the Sanders campaign for president. I wanted to share it here.

Her's a quick part. Don't know how to do quotes here. I'll learn.

"The Long March of Bernie’s Army
Where it came from; where it’s headed.

snip

On January 19th, Mayor Karen Weaver endorsed Hillary Clinton. This was certainly beneficial to Clinton, because though she lost the state of Michigan to Bernie, she won Genesee County, which includes Flint.

cherche da lucre arose out of this comment. It will be a project designed to identify all candidates' donation money sources, right down (eventually) to city councilperson levels. For a start, the project will try to set up for federal and state/territory legislative/judiciary offices.

Hi Folks, I've been away. (You've all been real busy here! w00t!) Only to return with shocking news on global temperature records in 2016. You may well ask, "WTF, G! We're not even three months into 2016 and winter just ended last week (although tell that to the Great Lakes region, eh)?"
Well, dear friends, it is pretty bad. How bad? See more below.

Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum lived in Gateway Apartments, also known as Gateway Homeless Services, a 107-unit "permanent supportive housing project" for formerly chronically homeless people. The apartment complex is near Los Angeles' Skid Row.

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Saturday March 24, 1906
Boise, Idaho - Wife of Charles Moyer Believes He May Die in Ada County Jail