As in the 1930s, a bankrupt liberalism, grotesque social inequality and declining living standards are empowering fascist movements in Europe and the U.S.
I've been called a pessimist for 70 years ok a little more than 60 years. It is always good to listen to Chris and realize you're just a cockeyed optimist.
I guess it's time to watch South Pacific one more time.
Last thing before I am off to bed . Front page NYT new Alzheimers drug promising to slow Alzheimer's progression.
Health Canada suggests a treatment for people my age. Cannabis has been studied for years and may even stop its onset. Talking win/win . How great is that?
I understand it is cheaper than borsht as the supply vastly exceeds the demand.
Here in Quebec Canada Poste deliver the goods in 48 hours. The commission even runs a a $4.50
taxi service to not have you drive. You can't get gas for 4.50 a gallon. Now if we could keep it out of the hand of our children wouldn't that be something.
Who wants to drive stoned when a chauffeur is cheaper than driving?
Another way of looking at, our entering the fascistic stage of recovery from oligarchy. The obvious disgusting level of greed and the deliberate pauperization of the middle class feeding GDP begs the question, how do we recover? How to dislodge those who destroy wealth to increase their relative share? Unfortunately fascism is more likely than taxing the wealthy, or the oligarchs repenting their riches.
Two of my favourite philosopher seem to get along with Chris and if that is just fine with Cornel and John Ralston it is fine with me and it gives me a little bit of hope and the economist Dr Wolff hasn't visited Quebec and hasn't seen a giant state operated as a co-op as of yet. Eskow likes Chris and that's OK.
When they blow up the planet should I celebrate or mourn?
I spent many of my 74 years among Canada's aboriginal people and Friday is National Truth and Reconciliation Day and after five years it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas and everybody wants to get in on the action.
There is some reason for optimism here on the frozen tundra.
The fabulously multi-metaphorical film, “Don’t Look UP”, by Adam McKay, David “Bernie’s Strategist” Sirota, and Ron “We’re an Empire Now” Suskind — is IMHO, going to play out as Not an Impactor, by Comet, Nor Asteroid, Nor existential Climate Crisis — but rather that inhuman stupidity by agency of this insane GINI Coefficient of Wealth Inequality causing a fully man-made ‘board-clearing’ end to the vast majority of human beings on earth.
Sorry to say it, but the much more parochial, but deadly end of 'we American citizens' being conned into “Amusing Ourselves to Death” [Neil Postman 2005] with avarice and massive greed will, IMHO, follow the path that even brought Jesus to overturn the ‘Money Changers’ (Hedge Fund Whores, Private Equity Pirates, self-appointed, and ultra-arrogant “Masters of the Universe”)
First, comes the looting bonanza of ‘Negative Externality Cost’ dumping to create massive faux-profits.
Second, is the faux-profits achieved over many decades in an “Accumulation by Dispossession” [David Harvey] which causes this deadly cancer consolidating all the GINI Wealth metastasized into this Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Racist Propagandist Criminal Ecocidal Child-Killing & War-Starting EMPIRE, controlled by the ‘Ruling-Elite’, UHNWI, <0.003%ers, TCCers, arrogantly self-appointed "Masters of the Universe", and "Evil (not-so) Geniuses" [Kurt Andersen] — which hides Empire behind their totally corrupted dual-party Vichy-facade of faux-democracy into the “We’re #1”, “We’re #1”, “We’re #1” GINI of over 0.925 (where 1.0 equals all the Wealth in America).
Third, comes the ‘Anti-Immaculate Conception’ of a total Global EMPIRE.
Since I have this all too myself can I add that the USA is almost a century older than Germany. Germany was built on the US Model and they really handled inflation well. Ask John Ralston Saul he knows history it wasn't the inflation that was the problem they just didn't have computers that could handle the big numbers.
Please excuse me I am 74 and have more to live for than ever before and I know Chris is a Realist. I used to subscribe to the Realist and Krasner made Hedges look optimistic.
I personally suspect that what we are seeing is a return of feudalism. The nobility of the past were just warlords who took control of swaths of territory so they could get the wealth from the efforts of the serfs. Today it is the oligarchs and petty oligarchs - the Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, et alia - who are getting the wealth from the efforts of the serfs. Instead of swords and knights in suits of armor running around enforcing the warlord's will, we have a rigged legal system and lawyers to do the same thing.
Humanity has ALWAYS been handicapped by certain men (mostly) with a particular mental makeup. We now have the technology to test and expose these men who prey on the rest of us. If you want to understand the primary source of humanity's handicap, click on my introductory website and read on. www.nomoreinsanity.org
I've been called a pessimist for 70 years ok a little more than 60 years. It is always good to listen to Chris and realize you're just a cockeyed optimist.
I guess it's time to watch South Pacific one more time.
Last thing before I am off to bed . Front page NYT new Alzheimers drug promising to slow Alzheimer's progression.
Health Canada suggests a treatment for people my age. Cannabis has been studied for years and may even stop its onset. Talking win/win . How great is that?
I understand it is cheaper than borsht as the supply vastly exceeds the demand.
Here in Quebec Canada Poste deliver the goods in 48 hours. The commission even runs a a $4.50
taxi service to not have you drive. You can't get gas for 4.50 a gallon. Now if we could keep it out of the hand of our children wouldn't that be something.
Who wants to drive stoned when a chauffeur is cheaper than driving?
And to all a good night.
Another way of looking at, our entering the fascistic stage of recovery from oligarchy. The obvious disgusting level of greed and the deliberate pauperization of the middle class feeding GDP begs the question, how do we recover? How to dislodge those who destroy wealth to increase their relative share? Unfortunately fascism is more likely than taxing the wealthy, or the oligarchs repenting their riches.
Two of my favourite philosopher seem to get along with Chris and if that is just fine with Cornel and John Ralston it is fine with me and it gives me a little bit of hope and the economist Dr Wolff hasn't visited Quebec and hasn't seen a giant state operated as a co-op as of yet. Eskow likes Chris and that's OK.
When they blow up the planet should I celebrate or mourn?
I spent many of my 74 years among Canada's aboriginal people and Friday is National Truth and Reconciliation Day and after five years it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas and everybody wants to get in on the action.
There is some reason for optimism here on the frozen tundra.
The Return of Fascist EMPIRE.
The fabulously multi-metaphorical film, “Don’t Look UP”, by Adam McKay, David “Bernie’s Strategist” Sirota, and Ron “We’re an Empire Now” Suskind — is IMHO, going to play out as Not an Impactor, by Comet, Nor Asteroid, Nor existential Climate Crisis — but rather that inhuman stupidity by agency of this insane GINI Coefficient of Wealth Inequality causing a fully man-made ‘board-clearing’ end to the vast majority of human beings on earth.
Sorry to say it, but the much more parochial, but deadly end of 'we American citizens' being conned into “Amusing Ourselves to Death” [Neil Postman 2005] with avarice and massive greed will, IMHO, follow the path that even brought Jesus to overturn the ‘Money Changers’ (Hedge Fund Whores, Private Equity Pirates, self-appointed, and ultra-arrogant “Masters of the Universe”)
First, comes the looting bonanza of ‘Negative Externality Cost’ dumping to create massive faux-profits.
Second, is the faux-profits achieved over many decades in an “Accumulation by Dispossession” [David Harvey] which causes this deadly cancer consolidating all the GINI Wealth metastasized into this Disguised Global Crony Capitalist Racist Propagandist Criminal Ecocidal Child-Killing & War-Starting EMPIRE, controlled by the ‘Ruling-Elite’, UHNWI, <0.003%ers, TCCers, arrogantly self-appointed "Masters of the Universe", and "Evil (not-so) Geniuses" [Kurt Andersen] — which hides Empire behind their totally corrupted dual-party Vichy-facade of faux-democracy into the “We’re #1”, “We’re #1”, “We’re #1” GINI of over 0.925 (where 1.0 equals all the Wealth in America).
Third, comes the ‘Anti-Immaculate Conception’ of a total Global EMPIRE.
Since I have this all too myself can I add that the USA is almost a century older than Germany. Germany was built on the US Model and they really handled inflation well. Ask John Ralston Saul he knows history it wasn't the inflation that was the problem they just didn't have computers that could handle the big numbers.
Please excuse me I am 74 and have more to live for than ever before and I know Chris is a Realist. I used to subscribe to the Realist and Krasner made Hedges look optimistic.
Nothing new here, you can just move along. More of the same BS.
These are our Days of Awe and Friday is Canada's Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
I am doing a lot of Awing these days and remembering 1966 and Charles Joseph Whitman.
He climbed the stairs of the Clock Tower at The University of Texas and killed his classmates, friends and teachers.
He was an A and B student in Architecture. He was an exEagle Scout and exMarine.
One of his fellow students Kinky Friedman wrote a song about Charles called the Ballad of Charles Joseph Whitman.
It ended with the line:
Who are we to say the boy is insane?
Maybe he just read too much Ayn Rand
This objectivism is bad for the soul.
It cost America its Empire.
I personally suspect that what we are seeing is a return of feudalism. The nobility of the past were just warlords who took control of swaths of territory so they could get the wealth from the efforts of the serfs. Today it is the oligarchs and petty oligarchs - the Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, et alia - who are getting the wealth from the efforts of the serfs. Instead of swords and knights in suits of armor running around enforcing the warlord's will, we have a rigged legal system and lawyers to do the same thing.
Humanity has ALWAYS been handicapped by certain men (mostly) with a particular mental makeup. We now have the technology to test and expose these men who prey on the rest of us. If you want to understand the primary source of humanity's handicap, click on my introductory website and read on. www.nomoreinsanity.org