The American Dream: The Greatest Theft In Human History. Political Myths WE Live By by Peter Lach-newinsky. Whenever most conversations I have these days move around to matters political I often find myself in a quandary. I have the choice of either accepting the tacit assumptions behind the other person’s remarks or questions, or else remaining largely silent and trying to change the topic. This is because I don’t share the tacit assumptions. I would classify most of these usually unexamined assumptions as social democratic or liberal. They dominate all corporate media for reasons that will become obvious below. In my view, these prevalent myths of our age do not hold up to rational scrutiny and are a, largely unrecognised, form of mind control. Here is my attempt to list fifteen of them and briefly comment on them from the viewpoint of critical political science and a radically democratic ethics. 1. If ‘democracy’ means ‘rule by the people’, it isn’t. 2.
Just like any communist party, when it comes to the crunch, the major parties are all run top-down from head office. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 6884_5107.jpeg (JPEG Image, 500x307 pixels) Moogaloop.swf (application/x-shockwave-flash Object) It's Not Fascism Yet, But... We're getting closer and we'll know more when the results of 2012 are in. There are five stages of fascism. Here are the first two. In the first stage, a mature industrial state facing some kind of crisis breeds a new, rural movement that's based on nationalist renewal. This movement invariably rejects reason and glorifies raw emotion, promises to restore lost national pride, co-opts the nation's traditional myths for its own purposes, and insists that the country must be purged of the toxic influence of outsiders and intellectuals who are blamed for their current misery.
(Sound familiar?) In the second stage, the movement takes root, turns into a real political party, and seizes a seat at the table. In the face of this deadlock, the corporate elites forge an alliance with rural nationalists, creating an unholy marriage that, if it continues, will soon breed a fascist state. 1. 2. 3. A year ago, we here at BoB noted that we were already three for three on these questions. Elle03-688.jpg (JPEG Image, 700x450 pixels) 101005_cartoon_600.jpg (JPEG Image, 600x486 pixels) The Crisis of Credit Visualized. National_debt.jpg. USA disbursement. What Republican Policies Have Done. It all started in 1980, when Reagan convinced people that his "trickle down" economics (or as the first George Bush called it -- voodoo economics) would create a richer country for all Americans.
He said if we removed regulations and allowed the corporations and the rich to make unlimited profits, those profits would be shared by everyone. He lied. There were unlimited and record-breaking profits, but it all stayed in the bank accounts of the richest Americans. This resulted in the most uneven distribution of income and wealth since the 1920s. That vastly uneven distribution in the 20s lead to the Great Depression. George W. The recession in 2007 and 2008 hurt all Americans, but the bottom 90% were hurt the worst because they had the least they could afford to lose. Now the recession is over for the rich and they are once again making record profits and enjoying record bonuses (after being bailed out by the rest of us). Link to original post. How To Fix The Economy. Dear Mr. President: Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan: There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations: 1) They MUST retire. 2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. 3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed. 4) They MUST buy their own health insurance. - Health Plan for seniors just fixed!!!
It can't get any easier than that! If not, please disregard. God Bless America. Listen Up Democrats: Fuck Bipartisanship. Am angry. I'm tired of pundits and know-nothing media gasbags. I'm tired of snarky "inside politics" programming. I am sick of the bigotry and hatred of "birthers" and faux patriotic cranks and their GOP puppet masters. And I'm really pissed at the Democratic Party that confuses having a plate of limp noodles with having a spine. I'm going to vomit if I hear the word "bipartisanship" one more time. It was "bipartisanship" that gave us this activist conservative Supreme Court.
"Bipartisanship" gave us the Patriot Act and FISA and illegal wiretaps and two wars and "free speech zones" and "no fly" lists. I get nauseated every time the Senate explains how it takes a super majority to do anything for the American people. When some Tea Party crank says, "I want my country back," I respond, "No madam, you want your country backward. " When a deficit-mongering politician says, "How do we pay for this?
" Yes, I can hear it now: "You are naïve and simplistic. Bite me. G-O-P = Greed Over People. Really? How To Create An Angry American. 9204_61ed.jpeg (JPEG Image, 450x256 pixels) Yes We Can - Barack Obama Music Video. What the fuck has Obama done so far? State of the Nation. First, I get a statement this week from my credit card company. I could not believe what I saw.
Look at these new account fees: And check this out: The Late Payment fee will not exceed the total minimum payment that was due either. Un-effing-believable! Then, I’m renewing my health insurance through my employer and I come across this atrocity: Dependent Eligibility – Adult children (even if married) will be allowed to continue dependent coverage until age 26.
Can you believe it??? For my daughter who is in graduate school? And if my daughter does get a job, that stupid Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will make sure that she’s paid at an equal rate with the male musicians. And then -- THEN -- the final indignity. I don’t know how much more of this utter fail I can take. Oh, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I'm just sayin' Update: Hoo boy. It is, simply put, me recognizing and (snarkily) being thankful for the progress that has been made. Infographic of the Day: How the Global Food Market Starves the Poor. To understand the complexities of the international food market--and how traders in Chicago can cause Africans to starve--you could get a ph.D. in economics, or read a 400-page report from the World Bank. Or you watch this superb nine minute video, directed by Denis van Waerebeke.
Though ostensibly created for a science show in Paris for 12 year olds, it's actually probably waaaay over a kid's head. Just watch--it's excellent, and very well illustrated: The video begins with a basic question: How is it that the first world has an oversupply of food, while 1 in 7 in the world go malnourished? That can have disastrous effects. The solutions will involve everyone, the world over. Still hungry for more infographics videos? [Via Infosthetics] Open Letter to Tea Party Protesters « Half Wisdom, Half Wit. Posted by Mary W. Matthews in Politics. Trackback Dear “proud Tea Party protester”: You say you love freedom, but you never protested in 2006 when George W. Bush repealed habeas corpus and posse comitatus, rights first guaranteed by the Magna Carta in 1215. You say you’re in favor of smaller government, but you never protested when George W.
Bush expanded it. You say you’re in favor of democracy, but when Dubya was selected by the five members of the Supreme Court installed by Republican presidents, one of them Dick Cheney’s close personal friend, you never protested. You say you’re in favor of openness in government, but you never protested when Dick Cheney set the nation’s energy policy in secret in collaboration with BP, Exxon/Mobil, Halliburton, and the nation’s wealthiest energy companies, or when Cheney and his friends engineered the energy crisis in California and profited hugely. You say you value your privacy, but you never protested when the PATRIOT Act took it away. No. Political Quiz.net. Futarchy: Vote Values, But Bet Beliefs. By Robin Hanson This short "manifesto" describes a new form of government.
In "futarchy," we would vote on values, but bet on beliefs. Elected representatives would formally define and manage an after-the-fact measurement of national welfare, while market speculators would say which policies they expect to raise national welfare. Democracy seems better than autocracy (i.e., kings and dictators), but it still has problems. There are today vast differences in wealth among nations, and we can not attribute most of these differences to either natural resources or human abilities. These policies are not just dumb in retrospect; typically there were people who understood a lot about such policies and who had good reasons to disapprove of them beforehand. Would some other form of government more consistently listen to relevant experts? "Futarchy" is an as yet untried form of government intended to address such problems.
Futarchy seems promising if we accept the following three assumptions: