Notes? Questions? For someone like you, I add the seduction of the JFK unresolved issues. LB knows what she's talking about re that thing. Mob + IC. My guess is IC supplied Irv as Shaw's defense attorney.
Is it Capitalism that is the problem or Anarcho-Capitalism and income inequality? I certainly would like to see more of our tax money applied to infrastructure, education, R&D, and social programs that help Americans and the planet and address root causes. There are no easy answers, but lack of regulation or enforcement of regulation and lack of accountability re: corruption are issues that must be addressed for democracy to survive. There is such a thing as Champagne/Chardonnay Socialism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne_socialist
I see people down on capitalism regularly, but I see self serving officials as the bigger problem because when regulations were passed, and enforced it worked pretty well. It didnt work well for minorities or the indigent, but that doesnt require a whole new system does it? Anyway, I'm exhausted, but apparently unable to give up on us , I guess until I can no longer see a way for us to try to prevent it. 4 years ago when i figured out trump wouldnt be leavimg, or try not to, i started telling ppl on twitter. After the 3rd "you're crazy", or "get help" i saw that clearly I was going about it the wrong way. So everytime something happened or didnt happen i tried to point it out along with what should have happened to try to get ppl to see that our govt is broken and we need to get busy. Biden was a much needed short break, and I agree with you that he's done pretty well considering. But ppl either dont know it's up to us to us in the end , or dont care. Watching social media gets me furious, so that's my sign to take a week off. watching Ted f*cking Lieu tweet a photo of himself standing outside the chamber doors with a bag of pop corn is the last straw for today. We are a one ignorant country. It's almost as bad watching ppl focus on every little thing
I certainly respect your opinion on all this, but, yes, the real question is "If not capitalism/free markets, then what?" And I also have no good answer. I don't want power concentrated in the hands of a few government officials any more than in the hands of a few billionaires. And anarchism is IMO totally naive and dangerous if combined with the idea of violent revolution, which might be the only thing more certain than capitalism to elevate socio/psycopaths to power. I think free markets regulated by a social democratic political order is still the best way. What we need though is to revisit Teddy Roosevelt's trust busting and Franklin Roosevelt's steep graduation of the income tax to re level the playing field for small businesses vs. corporate chains and avoid the wealthy from becoming uberwealthy oligarchs capable of rigging the system to suit their endless pursuit of greater wealth and power. The biggest obstacle imo to getting there is Citizen United and it's a catch 22 that the very institutions we need to overturn CU are in the hands of people who benefit politically from the dark money funding it allows. It's a sticky wicket, but that's the challenge IMO. We either find some way to elevate to power people willing to cutoff the dark $ spigot or we descend into total kleptocratic oligrachy/fascism.
I feel you Jim but don’t despair. You’re one of these new leaders and you’re doing an amazing job shining a light on psychological warfare being waged against the USA, the world’s greatest superpower.
They are waging this warfare Because the US military and the Western alliance are so thoroughly dominant, no one can even pretend to be its equal. So hybrid warfare pushes to change things such that these goons can continue their crimes another generation.
The Russian mob merged with KGB to bring Putin to power as they “privatized” the massive Soviet economy. Meanwhile, Putin would expect tribute and oligarchs that DONT pay it get jailed or worse, like Bill Browder found out (check out his best seller Red Notice). Putin and his post-Soviet goons created the top heavy Oligarchy to milk them - to create Putin’s new monstrosity, this neofascist predatory kleptocracy. They try to export it here and assisting Trump was an effective part in furthering that strategy
The beautiful thing tho, is that while we do need leadership, we have a ton more of us than them. We all should contribute to the effort however we can. Contribute understanding, awareness, volunteer in politics, elections, ideas, policies, philanthropy, helping out a stranger in need even. This is how we mend our society, by all of us pitching in (online and offline) however snd whenever we can.
psst - on that note, please check out my free philosophy blog by clicking through my avatar. 🍻
Part of the way out is leveraging the green economy. If the democracy-capitalism combo is constantly going into the negative when accounting for Earth's limited resources, other nations might be concerned to adopt a similar consumption based model. America is kind of trying to push a system that consumes 4 times more resources than it can produce. If America and it's dollar represent destruction of the planet, eventually folks aren't going to want either. Countering by arguing for, and using the green economy, by us and green tech leadership is one way to convert these fascist's absurd narratives. I believe the green economy is such a threat to them, and we see how much they lobby and work against it for short term gains.
Challenging Citizens United and pressuring justices of SCOTUS with impeachments, passing anti-corruption regulations would also help. We'll see if the other side puts a moderate in the House leader position.
And keep eyes and resources on 2024 election efforts. Much of this can be fixed if we can work with moderates and hold the houses and presidency in '24.
We've got to stop creating freaky narcissists. It's our terrible achilles heel. Nurture, nurture, nurture is the way to get out of this. It will be about 25 years to re-build humanistic humans.
Jim, I'm officially writing a memoir and storing it on my old blog that nobody reads. I fleshed out The Scream some more. https://algonquinonthebayou.blogspot.com/
Currently obsessively pencil-whipping this: https://algonquinonthebayou.blogspot.com/2022/01/my-life-among-new-orleans-royals.html
Notes? Questions? For someone like you, I add the seduction of the JFK unresolved issues. LB knows what she's talking about re that thing. Mob + IC. My guess is IC supplied Irv as Shaw's defense attorney.
I love you Jim. Ask Mrs. Stewartson if I can be a sister wife.
Huh?
Also, I have Sarah K's books including the latest. The last 2 are must read.
Is it Capitalism that is the problem or Anarcho-Capitalism and income inequality? I certainly would like to see more of our tax money applied to infrastructure, education, R&D, and social programs that help Americans and the planet and address root causes. There are no easy answers, but lack of regulation or enforcement of regulation and lack of accountability re: corruption are issues that must be addressed for democracy to survive. There is such a thing as Champagne/Chardonnay Socialism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne_socialist
I see people down on capitalism regularly, but I see self serving officials as the bigger problem because when regulations were passed, and enforced it worked pretty well. It didnt work well for minorities or the indigent, but that doesnt require a whole new system does it? Anyway, I'm exhausted, but apparently unable to give up on us , I guess until I can no longer see a way for us to try to prevent it. 4 years ago when i figured out trump wouldnt be leavimg, or try not to, i started telling ppl on twitter. After the 3rd "you're crazy", or "get help" i saw that clearly I was going about it the wrong way. So everytime something happened or didnt happen i tried to point it out along with what should have happened to try to get ppl to see that our govt is broken and we need to get busy. Biden was a much needed short break, and I agree with you that he's done pretty well considering. But ppl either dont know it's up to us to us in the end , or dont care. Watching social media gets me furious, so that's my sign to take a week off. watching Ted f*cking Lieu tweet a photo of himself standing outside the chamber doors with a bag of pop corn is the last straw for today. We are a one ignorant country. It's almost as bad watching ppl focus on every little thing
I certainly respect your opinion on all this, but, yes, the real question is "If not capitalism/free markets, then what?" And I also have no good answer. I don't want power concentrated in the hands of a few government officials any more than in the hands of a few billionaires. And anarchism is IMO totally naive and dangerous if combined with the idea of violent revolution, which might be the only thing more certain than capitalism to elevate socio/psycopaths to power. I think free markets regulated by a social democratic political order is still the best way. What we need though is to revisit Teddy Roosevelt's trust busting and Franklin Roosevelt's steep graduation of the income tax to re level the playing field for small businesses vs. corporate chains and avoid the wealthy from becoming uberwealthy oligarchs capable of rigging the system to suit their endless pursuit of greater wealth and power. The biggest obstacle imo to getting there is Citizen United and it's a catch 22 that the very institutions we need to overturn CU are in the hands of people who benefit politically from the dark money funding it allows. It's a sticky wicket, but that's the challenge IMO. We either find some way to elevate to power people willing to cutoff the dark $ spigot or we descend into total kleptocratic oligrachy/fascism.
I feel you Jim but don’t despair. You’re one of these new leaders and you’re doing an amazing job shining a light on psychological warfare being waged against the USA, the world’s greatest superpower.
They are waging this warfare Because the US military and the Western alliance are so thoroughly dominant, no one can even pretend to be its equal. So hybrid warfare pushes to change things such that these goons can continue their crimes another generation.
The Russian mob merged with KGB to bring Putin to power as they “privatized” the massive Soviet economy. Meanwhile, Putin would expect tribute and oligarchs that DONT pay it get jailed or worse, like Bill Browder found out (check out his best seller Red Notice). Putin and his post-Soviet goons created the top heavy Oligarchy to milk them - to create Putin’s new monstrosity, this neofascist predatory kleptocracy. They try to export it here and assisting Trump was an effective part in furthering that strategy
The beautiful thing tho, is that while we do need leadership, we have a ton more of us than them. We all should contribute to the effort however we can. Contribute understanding, awareness, volunteer in politics, elections, ideas, policies, philanthropy, helping out a stranger in need even. This is how we mend our society, by all of us pitching in (online and offline) however snd whenever we can.
psst - on that note, please check out my free philosophy blog by clicking through my avatar. 🍻
Part of the way out is leveraging the green economy. If the democracy-capitalism combo is constantly going into the negative when accounting for Earth's limited resources, other nations might be concerned to adopt a similar consumption based model. America is kind of trying to push a system that consumes 4 times more resources than it can produce. If America and it's dollar represent destruction of the planet, eventually folks aren't going to want either. Countering by arguing for, and using the green economy, by us and green tech leadership is one way to convert these fascist's absurd narratives. I believe the green economy is such a threat to them, and we see how much they lobby and work against it for short term gains.
Challenging Citizens United and pressuring justices of SCOTUS with impeachments, passing anti-corruption regulations would also help. We'll see if the other side puts a moderate in the House leader position.
And keep eyes and resources on 2024 election efforts. Much of this can be fixed if we can work with moderates and hold the houses and presidency in '24.
We've got to stop creating freaky narcissists. It's our terrible achilles heel. Nurture, nurture, nurture is the way to get out of this. It will be about 25 years to re-build humanistic humans.