Education via omission of politically incorrect

It's no wonder we're so stupid.  Try to find a public school text that mentions Wobblies, or Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, or Emma Goldman. No wonder also that what we take as a great divide between Left and Right is an insider struggle between two shades of the same, huddled, side by side, at the Right end of the political spectrum.

Given the tilt of education information it is easy to think women's rights struggles, along with a lot of other lefty stuff, began with hippies, when it fact, the left side is an integral thread in our history going all the way back to Thomas Morton going toe to toe with Governor Bradford, and farther back yet.

Coverage

Sometime every inch of the planet will be covered by cameras recording and transmitting live to the powers that be every moment of everyone's life.  Sort of like being watched and judged constantly by the all seeing biblical god, though techno/plutocrats will likely be not so wise. That is, if we don't blow ourselves up or squeeze and pollute ourselves backwards into a post technology dark age.

Iceland: grandiosity fueled collapse to profound recovery

Iceland weathered an economic collapse (generated by delusions of economic grandeur, something like what hits rookie day traders on a national scale) through: "external assistance, debt repudiation, currency depreciation and capital controls." (from the second link below).

The U.S. could learn from Iceland's recovery and sensible economists could use the example to refute the nuttiness of Right wing austerity (for its own sake?) advocates.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47280153/ns/business-world_business/t/banking-crisis-over-icelands-economy-thaws/#.T6ksu1JLeKw


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/iceland-the-broken-economy-that-got-out-of-jail-2349905.html

Exposing the land of the stupid: three links

 The first link presents some of the ways the 9/11 attacks have altered our way of life, perhaps changing America (moving toward  worse) perhaps forever, with endlessly expanding security apparatus (apparati?), inconvenience, loss of privacy, and all present fear. The link goes to Fareed Zacharia

The second (which also references the first) concentrates on the  Guantanamo trials which the Bush torturers boxed us into and which Obama seems unable or unwilling to extricate us from.  The simple answer, of course, is what many of thought before the War on Terror was declared.  The bombers were (are) criminals, should be hunted down as such, hauled into U.S. court and packed away on ice forever in supermax (if convicted, of course). That would have been the way to go if we had strong enough faith in our justice system, conviction that our way was the best way and were not so stupid, (as a nation) as to be easily manipulated into bogus wars that served Bush political agendas. We did not have such faith or confidence and so timidly marched into the box. This, the second, is to the great Charles P. Pierce in Esquire.

Now, the third link is only obliquely political but it goes a long way to exposing how stupid, as a way of life, shows up everywhere. 

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/06/national-security-state/

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/9-11-trial-guantanamo-8657605

http://gawker.com/5908185/stay-the-fuck-away-from-boxing-matches-justin-bieber

Anderson fouls Krugman (does Ari own CNN?)

Anderson had Krugman on, not alone, of course. Republican hack dog Gergen was there to ensure Krugman did not have the opportunity to give us a clear explanation of how the economic crisis, (depression) could be fixed.  He blames Republican intransigence and a wrong headed ideology based on hard work, God's will and budget cutting. Many jobs being lost are government jobs due to Republican driven  budget cuts.

A very agitated Gergen pops up in his tacky shrine room plastered with Harvard stuff (mostly with the word "HARVARD") and did his best to filibuster the segment while jamming in as many anti Obama talking points as he could.

Here's a simple question.  Why not have Nobel Prize winning Princeton Professor Krugman on by himself and give him ample time to present his position? That's what a real news outlet would do.  I know the answer. It is because he is a Liberal, his views are sound but contrary to the Republican agenda of doing the bidding of the richest 1% always and at all costs; and Krugman is articulate, respected and fearless.  CNN ain't got anyone smart enough to take Krugman down in a fair, reasonable discussion--thus the comparably stupid, worn down and over used like a cheap old whore Gergen is rolled out to provide one more smoke screen.

Anderson made no honest attempt to allow Krugman to lay out clearly his views on our economy. The opposite happened. 

No wonder CNN is a mess.  Best to  recognize Anderson for the over achieving little rich boy he is and move on to more rewarding diversions.


Here's a link to Krugman's excellent article How to End This Depression and his new book, End this Depression Now!

You'll have to read it yourself because you can be sure no one on TV is going to give it a fair airing.
  

Let's go to Mars

Or at least be ready.  Though the only extinction that really matters to most is their own, inevitably we are a doomed species. 

Be prepared.

Governor Corbett

is one of Romney's useless allies.  He slashed programs that in many cases forced raises in property taxes, the source of most school funding. Property taxes in Pennsylvania are already outrageous in many areas.  In many areas this is a very economically stressed state. Cutting programs is not the answer when people are already desperate.

“I think that Governor Corbett is amazingly unknown in the state of Pennsylvania for someone who has pretty successfully started to dismantle the public education system,” says Gabe Morgan, president of Pennsylvania SEIU State Council. “I don’t really see him as being able to move votes in either direction. He’s been pretty lucky to be unnoticed."

Bad governor, useless ally.

Wasted

Truth is there will never be an incinerator in my town because it has an unusual density of fools. Supervisors now are good people, but very timid and short sighted. For example, an alcohol and drug rehab is looking to open a branch in a shut down resort, bringing jobs and taxes. Some residents are terrified, however, of recovering drunks which to my mind are less dangerous than active drunks driving cars. Anyway, one even suggested having the patients wear electronic bracelets to keep them from leaving the grounds. These patients (or clients) are to be there voluntarily to recover; in short, they are regular folks with a drinking or drugging problem. Much of the reaction is borderline lynch mob mentality. My town: the gateway to Appalachia. So, suggesting an incinerator would provoke a reaction about the same as would be if we suggested a nuclear waste dump, or plague and smallpox storage facility or sewage transfer station. A small, state of the art incinerator that paid taxes and delivered very cheap energy would energize our corner of despair and may even allow it to prosper. What we have in abundance is trash from NJ and NYC passing through our area. I accept hopelessness and continue.

Waste is not garbage

Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash by Edward Humes.

I just ordered this guy's book from Amazon.  This link goes to an informative slide show that shows the problem and suggests solutions. I am fascinated by the newest incineration technology that transforms waste we can't recycle into useable energy, does so cleanly and is neighborhood friendly. Modern incineration, via small plants, is an important part of  waste management in many European cities.

Is Anderson Cooper going to Fox?

After last night's show it seems to me Anderson was auditioning for a job on FOX.  He never gave moveon's Justin Rubin  a chance to state his case and he followed up with giving Ari Fleischer all the room he wanted to filibuster the other guests.

As for guests, you never see Krugman or Stiglitz, real economists, on Anderson's show.  Instead he parades from the bullpen his usual lineup of hacks and sprinkles in a Congress rep here and there. Boring, insulting and always slanted Right.

What a jerk Anderson has become.

Unemployed? Thank the Republicans and the ultra Rich

1% does causes all the economic damage.

Let's just say it: The Republicans are the problem

We have two Nobel Prize winning economists, Krugman and Stiglitz, and both are vehemently opposed to Republican economic policies. Republicans are to blame for the economic mess from which we are trying to emerge. If you are unemployed and/or lost your house, you can thank the Right and the ultra rich.

Anderson Cooper ambushes Moveon spokesperson

Anderson Cooper's treatment of the moveon spokesperson was obscene, as disgusting as anything  FOX does.  And he followed it up with a disgusting suck up spot for Ari Fleischer.  Is there a more disgusting TV commentator than Ari Fleischer?  Good grief. No wonder CNN has horrible ratings.

No person in the galaxy would willing turn on the TV to see Ari Fleischer.  No person turning on a TV and finding Fleischer on the screen would be happy to see him. Most if not all, when seeing Ari's disgusting self promoting routine begin, change the channel as quickly as their fingers can punch the buttons.

Even Tiger Woods at his lowest, fired Ari Fleischer after a very brief taste of Ari's self promotion.

What in the world is CNN thinking.  Do they think the world loves Bush rejects? Do they think the world is all Right wing wingnuts? Do they think any sane person trusts David Gergen and loves to hear his cleverly disguised Republican talking points buying the whole "he's so reasonable and fair and unbiased" bullshit subterfuge?  Do they think Liberals, Progressives, and various genuine centrists  and assorted lefties exist only to be mugged, outnumbered, spoken over, ridiculed, stabbed in the back, verbally punched and kicked and otherwise bullied by Anderson Cooper?  

Wild horses

Wild horses are still in trouble .  Big ranchers want to slaughter them ( Welfare Ranching ) and it takes a lot of taxpayer money to manage horses and burros, or so they say. It's a complex problem. As an Easterner I don't fully appreciate the complexity.  Seems to me we should just leave them alone. I enjoyed seeing wild horses near Reno and wild horses and burros near Las Vegas and I'd like you and my granddaughter to have the same opportunity.  

Cowboy delusion

If I don't have my gun I can't be a real cowboy or secret agent in cover so deep it is known only to me.

"...they're funny, they're rich, they have great tailors ..."

If people are wealthy it is god's will and is because god loves them best.  That line of thought leads to delusions of superior intelligence as in the "born on third base and thinks he hit a triple" characterization of George Bush.  The poor are in that condition because that is where god wants them to be. These fundamental,founding concepts of American puritanism, a thread continuing today in the denials of  their own stupidity and justifications of social meanness characteristic of the extreme Right. It is one of the core beliefs behind American fascism and works nicely with Randism. The joke is that the stupid poor and middle classes are programed to worship movie star heroes and the business bandits and bizarre conservative politicians who can afford the same postures and suntanned expensive suit trappings.  We are most threatened by voters who chose image over substance and select the  harsh puritanical judgements and divinely administered social stratification over genuine compassion and wisdom. 

See also Paul Krugman to Rachael Maddow

Happy May Day

Here's a couple of May Day links including (the first) in which Stephen King asks for higher taxes on the rich, 50% of income he says is about right. It's a short article, so check it out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/01/stephen-king-tax-the-rich


The Wobblie home page  has some appropriate articles:

http://www.iww.org/  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day 

Prison repair needed

"Why are prisoners committing suicide in Pennsylvania?"

 torture, sadistic guards, long stretches in solitary confinement.

Control for the sake of control

I am filling out forms and writing checks for address signs with new numbers for each of the little houses we own.  I do not want the new addresses and I do not want to dig holes for  sign posts that will allow me to comply with my town's readdressing project. We each get a new number and instructions on how and where to display it.  They say that these numbers will allow emergency personnel to come to our aid more quickly. I say that is good motive and likely, at conception, a sincere one. However, new rules and more efficient data management often morph into more effective control of the public.  I think our new numbers will help bill collectors and the police more than it will help the local fire and ambulance volunteers. 

On a larger scale, here's a link to an old but still pertinent discussion of the Patriot Act:
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/patriotact/patriotactprovisions.html

It is stressful being a socialist and an anarchist at the same time.

Detach

Trying hard to detach from politics and cultivate a serenity based on appreciation of how ridiculous and unfair the process is. Trying to do this without going the extra step to pathos.  So, I'm reading David Foster Wallace and Colin Thubron, Shadow of the Silk Road.  (The latter has been stored, half read, on my Kindle for quite awhile.) 

I predict

Obama is going to win by a landslide, Democrats will easily win control of the House and keep control of the Senate. Because Voters know the buy-now-pay-later economic mess is the lingering result of Bush's wars, deregulation of banks and Wall Street, and deep corruption at the highest levels. Middle and lower class Americans are done with being patsies, manipulated by abortion and gun rights hysteria, to ensure the corrupt, degenerate 1% keep their strangle hold on wealth. Because we're done paying for their private jets, endless vacations, whores, obscenely huge estates, polo ponies, mega yachts, sky boxes, face lifts, breast enlargements, hair transplants, nannies, butlers, butt wipers, body guards and the whole tumbling clown parade of entourages and retainers. (I predict.)