Was listening to show on the “Secondary Ticket Market” and thinking these are just scammy scalpers!! Call them what they are!~ Why so many seem to have this obsessive need to be “nice” to garbage is beyond me. Same with the failed coup on Jan 6. Call it what it was! A coup attempt!! The most blatant in US history. Why the need to call it something “nicer”? Being “nice” for decades got us into this mess.
Clueless Capitalists
What I find interesting about so many capitalists is that they ALWAYS bring up Adam Smith and “Wealth Of Nations” I ask them. Have you actually read “Wealth Of Nations”? And invariably the answer is “No, but…..” Kind of like the thousands of architectural students who bleat (incorrectly) Louis Sullivan’s “form follows function” I ask have you ever SEEN any or his buildings or read his writings?” Well, no ….but…” The quote is “form ever follows function”. Leaving out that one word changes the meaning. Which leads me to the phrase “Love your neighbor” while leaving out the operative phrase “as yourself” Loving your neighbor takes no effort, you can bleat the phrase and virtue signal. Loving yourself takes a lot of work, removing and disconnect all the social chains against loving yourself.
Still here…
Though it involved another 8 days in hospital, heart surgery, “food” that was inedible, and bill of almost $108,000. Just for the hospital. My insurance paid $105,000 So far there has been another $6000 that ins did not pay That I had to pay. Add the extra $55 a month for meds… And a ream of mumbling incompetent doctors. One asked me how the wound on my ankle was doing? I said “I dont know , You are the Dr, unwrap it and LOOK at it!” He got the first layer off, then couldn’t figure out the second layer was wrapped the other direction. He acted all upset that he had to do some actual work, and that he had failed!! There is much more, though Ill let that go for now.
Just doing this to prove I’m ME! Hi Facebook!! *waving!*
I’m still here!!
Yes, I know, it’s been a while. What can I say?
We do live in interesting times, so is that a curse? End of empire, world wide collapse, the anti human hierarchy’s crumbling. I for one see that not a single culture or religion can cope with this huge change, though there are a few that will cope better. Even in the industrial societies there are many who are aware of how we as a species can survive this mess. Not going to be nice. But is it ever?
Thanks Tom!!
Saw this on Tom Degan’s blog this morn….
THE ABCs of MARXISM from the ISO
Marxism is more relevant than ever
Marx’s ideas are alive because his indictment of capitalism–that it is a class society that creates great wealth for the few at the expense of the many, that it is prone to economic crisis and war–continues to be confirmed on a daily basis.
"Not a dogma, but a guide to action"
"The reports of my death," wrote Mark Twain, "are greatly exaggerated." The same could be said of Marxism as a body of ideas.
Proving Marxist ideas into practice
What is there to recommend Marxism over any other view of society and how to change it?
The real Marxist tradition
To Karl Marx, and generations of socialists after him, socialism wasn’t about state ownership or party loyalty, but the self-emancipation of the working class.
Socialism: What will it look like?
"We know what you’re against. What are you for?" is a question that we socialists get a lot.
Isn’t socialism about conformity?
Mass-market capitalism imposes conformity on the majority–at work, where we are expected to follow strict rules, and outside it, where we are treated as "mass consumers."
The economics of laziness
No one can deny that people cease to be bored as soon as they are engaged in an activity they enjoy and are not compelled to do. Socialism eliminates these compulsions.
Can individuals change history?
Most history books treat historical change as the accomplishment of great men (and an occasional woman). The opposite, though less popular, view is that history follows a path which no individual can influence. Both ideas are mistaken.
Can ordinary people run society?
Often, it is workers’ hard-won, first-hand knowledge that engineers and managers use to figure out how to improve production–to squeeze as much out of workers as possible.
What leads workers to fight together?
The same conditions that drive workers to compete with one another for jobs and that appear to impose themselves as "natural laws," also propel workers into collective struggle–into organizing and fighting back.
Alienation in capitalist society
The term "alienation" in normal usage refers to a feeling of separateness–of being alone and apart from others. But for Karl Marx, alienation was an economic and social condition of capitalist society.
Fracked, again….
We now have the Great Budget Battle of 2011 looming in the US. Wont matter which side wins, we the people are once again being sold out by the wholly corporate politicians. Once again Barry O. shows that he is just another Friedmanite Free Marketer, like Rayguns, Paulson, Bush & Bush, etc. Asking the 97% of the population who had nothing to do with this mess, who are suffering still to sacrifice while those who are responsible get more and more? Cuts to training,social,medical and infrastructure programs while the mega corporations get to keep their welfare? WTF?? Why aren’t we out in the streets like the Arabs? Why don’t our news people look at the camera and say “Once again the government is poise to shaft you in favor of the uber rich” Oh wait, its cause the newsies ARE rich themselves, and are owned by even richer corporations. Why do we have to cut things that benefit the most but save the things which benefit the very few ..who don’t need it anyway? OK, ok I know I’m using logic, something sorely lacking in schooling in the US along with critical thinking, reasoning,and other studies which used to be thought important.
Sits out on her veranda and sips margaritas…
It’s only class warfare when we fight back…
Ever notice how the uber rich can get the rest of us to fight amongst ourselves? All this about different groups that “we” ought be afraid of? They have the resources to keep the fear and hate going,any group different from “us” is a threat to be destroyed. Right now in the US the 2 favorite groups to hate are Latins and Muslims, though the gays are always convenient too. So, “we” are supposed to hate the “immigrants” mostly Latin or Arabic who steal “our” jobs? OK, wait a min, was it the immigrants who shut down the factories, plants, shops and moved over seas? Where labor was even cheaper, and no pesky gov regulations or evil unions? Got to be careful of all them immigrants stealing “our” jobs. To say nothing of all the tax breaks to outsource…
I’ve seen lots of stats that show the average person’s wages have gone down in the past 30 years..while the uber rich have been raking it in. I suppose that’s the fault of the immigrants too? OK, aren’t MOST people in the Americas immigrants? or from the same? and in a lot of the Americas the Latins have been here the longest. Oh wait, history isn’t required anymore….
Serpent carriers and other things which go bump in the night sky..
It’s been interesting to see the nattering, obscuring, denials, and just wrong statements around the “news” that there is *GASP!* a 13th sign in the zodiac. Some of us have known about it for years. Even those stargazers in Egypt and Babylon knew it was going to happen. I remember seeing in a book of star maps 20 or so years ago seeing the plain of the elliptic going through Ophiuchus. That’s a fancy name for the zodiac. Or where the sun appears to be against the back ground of stars. OK, so when this was first figured out around 4300 or so years ago, and the fighting about whether it was the Babylonians or Egyptians who first did the figuring when it was set down the Sun appeared to be 0 degrees Aries on the spring equinox and the constellations or signs on the elliptic followed. After a while it was noticed that the Sun seemed to precess, or move backwards through a sign. Wobbly earth caused this as well as the constant movement of sky stuff. While the sun in in a sign, it’s though that the energies of that sign rule the planet. So when things were first figured out, the Sun being in Aries meant the planet was in the age of Aries, and since the precessing appears to go backwards, or counter clock wise through the Zodiac, the age of Aires ended around 2000 years ago, and entered Pisces, which was a time of wild celebrating in countries that knew what was going on. We are at the end of the Age of Pisces, probably in the *drum roll * Age of Aquarius. Fine, you do the math, I’m just a dancer. Anyway, along with all this precessing and such, there has been a movement of one constellation into the zodiac while one moves out. Bye bye Scorpio, hello Ophiuchus. In fact Scorpio is holding on by the tip of its pointy lil tail. If you feel like digging there are some interesting stories, legends, prophecies about this happening.
Today we are mostly ignorant of the movements of the heavens, and rely on our daily horoscopes, which are total garbage “wait” I hear you say, mine has been accurate umm..some of the time, well less than random chance actually, umm ok so I’ve been basing my life on this? Some of you do, I know. If you happen to use a professional astrologer, they need your day time and place of birth to do any kind of accurate chart. I heard one sun sign astrologer blathering that the algorithms worked out 4000 or so years ago are still accurate today. Isn’t algorithm one of those BIG words used to cow the doubters? Since her living is based on keeping the myth going, I can understand. Kind of like any other priest. Want to know what your sun sign is now, rather than what it was 4300 years ago? Count backwards 60 days from your birth day, unless you end up in Scorpio, which is mostly Ophiuchus.
….and the Road goes on forever…
Sometimes things come together, just the tides and sussing waves of reality. Though there are a number of people who are reality challenged, adults who are really children, those who have never had to live with the consequences of their words or action. We all know the excuses children use when the consequences come home to perch on their heads. It seems that certain “leaders” are in this category.
I found an interesting web site the other day. Check it out and see which of our leaders
match a lot of them. http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html
and to point you in the direction I’m thinking, John Stuart Mill said it back in the 19th century
“Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives.”
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/john_stuart_mill.html
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