RSVP:
The
good doctor Carson, in his best bedside manner, explained that Obama
shouldn't visit privately with the families of the Oregon shooting
victims and that
he personally
was
too busy to meet with the families but thought he “would
probably go to the next one.” Check
back in a week or two.
Doomsday
Machine:
Samsung is expected to make up for the poor response to its new
products by investing billions in research and development of new
products for new markets. Just kidding. It
is
expected to spend billions buying back its own stock to increase
the price if not the value of its shares, especially those held by
senior management.
What
Did He Know And When Did He Know It? Ben
Bernanke now says that
senior executives at severa financial institution should have gone to
jail, but it wasn't the Fed's job to prosecute them. It was the
Ben's job to give them trillions of dollars.
Counterintuitive:
Why do our leaders believe that a terrorist group that arose due to
our armed intervention in their country can be defeated by more armed
intervention? Bombs represent a complete failure of policy, serving
only to destroy a country's infrastructure and economy and to turn
ever more of its people into enemies of the Great Satan.
Keeping
Secrets: The
corporate lawyers who negotiated the glorious Trans Pacific
Partnership are so proud of the agreement that they insist that it
remain secret for four years. Makes one wonder how Congress will
manage to hold an informed debate on
the wisdom of accepting the deal. Or
if they will even be allowed to read the whole thing, in a locked
room, under guard, note-taking prohibited.
“Accepting” because all they get to do is vote Yes or No and
cannot change a word.
Squeaking
Wheel: A group
of climate scientists sent a letter to the White House urging the use
of RICO laws to prosecute energy companies that have funded global
climate change denial groups. Naturally, upon learning of this Lamar
Smith (Righteous – TX), chair of the House science committee
immediately announced plans to investigate the
energy firms
the scientists.
Clues:
America's 500
biggest companies have got over $2.1 trillion in profits sitting
“offshore” to avoid US taxes. I don't mind the tax dodging, but
I want to know how many workers were cheated out of how much of their
productive contribution to this pile of ill-gotten swag.
Leveling
the Preying Fields:
Ms. Clinton, responding to Bernie's 'no tuition' plan, says it is a
bad idea to let a handful of rich kids get out of paying tuition just
so tens of thousands of poor and middle class drones could improve
their lives.
On
The Border:
Texas history books claim that the millions of Africans who arrived
in the United States between the 16th
and early 19th
centuries were migrant workers. Presumably
they were seeking jobs and a better life. A large number of them
still are.
Deal
Maker: Bernie
Sanders (I-Vt.) says that the TPP is “disastrous”, that “Wall
Street and other big corporations have won again,” and that he
will work to defeat it in the Senate. Bernie's stand is enough to get
my vote, and some of my money, too.
Enlightened
Self Interest:
Global mining giant Glencore's CEO is asking the competition to shut
down some of their mines so Glencore won't go belly up. Good luck
with that.
Porn
O'Graph:
Grating expectations.
9 comments:
re TPP & death of democracy.
I have been having an interesting response to the parade of stories of corporate and government impunity; I have been quietly cheering.
Bring on the end game!
Clearly things need to get worse yet before they get better. So, things might as well get worse, the sooner the better.
Trying to decide if this is capitulation, or the strategy of the underdog.
I know it could all go very badly. Could end in (more) bloodshed, suffering, starvation, homelessness, spasms of state and private violence and oppression, overt fascism, etc.
I think of it as like the sibling of an alcoholic. Waiting for the inevitable final crash that ends in the ER or jail. Only then will we be able to see if there are any pieces left picking up.
I can't help but wonder how many people I am joined by around the world, who read each story and chuckle on some level or another, as if watching a cartoon villain reeling under his comeuppance.
Clintonesqe education: While her husband was the chief executive of this nation, including it's education dept; their daughter, like Obama's two daughters; got a private education and then went to Harvard. If a free public education isn't good enough for her family, then what chance is it that the really rich are going to send their kids to a free State University? Don't expect the media slaves to ask those sorts of questions, their Harvard educated massa might get angry and whip them around the office center pit.
McMike - thanks for "comeuppance" Made me remember my mother's all-purpose promise, that I would get mine.
Back in reality (if this is, and isn't a shared nightmare) TTP is, yes, a continuation of the corporate takeover, another step in our enslavement, but far more importantly is a very nasty gesture towards the Chinese. The sort of thing that gives rise to war.
As if Mr. Putin's moves in Syria were not a clear enough message that much of the world is getting tired of our parading around spreading chaos and poverty, I expect the Chinese to begin sending us less subtle suggestions about where and when we should leave the stage.
Clearly things will get worse. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Like McMike, I too watch this madness unfold but more so with surpressed horror than nervous anticipation. The latest wave of D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F. governance, accompanied by the now all too familiar refrain 'watcha gonna do about it?'
Like our grandparents, we watched and did nothing while the criminals that run things around here looted the economy and stashed the gains off-shore.
In a...'civilization' where our expectations are 'managed' and the media is judge, jury and executioner, our vote is meaningless (see TPP) Like NAFTA, where was YOUR vote?
Having stripped us of our rights [Habeus corpus and anti-usury laws of any type] we're but a half step away from the return of monarchy and the accompanying return of actual slavery (driven by debt) and cops killing citizens in the streets, if we don't push back there won't be anything left to save!
Who will stand in there way? Short answer, no one.
We have done nothing to oust our oppressor, this bodes poorly for the future.
Sorry, 'their' instead of There.
George - with "we're but a half step away " you reveal yourself as an optimist.
I should add that I am not entirely passive in the face of this, but try my best to read the national news with as much detachment as possible, since the national realm is essentially entirely out of my control.
On the national level, I vote third party. It's a small signal that the PTB certainly notices, even if they do not care. Yet. (Whether the vote is actually counted is another matter).
What I, we, can do is mostly local. Building a network of like minded folks on person at a time. Living by example. Opting out where possible. Building alternatives that stay below the radar. etc.
Food for thought:
“How to Overthrow the System: brew your own beer; kick in your Tee Vee; kill your own beef; build your own cabin and piss off the front porch whenever you bloody well feel like it.” - Edward Abbey
"Blow up your TV, throw away your paper/ Go to the country, build you a home/ Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches/ Try an' find Jesus on your own"
-- John Prine
"Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people." –- Garrison Keillor
"When the country goes temporarily to the dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word." -- Garrison Keilor
and this:
"We have seen Weird Times in this country before, but the year 2000 is beginning to look super weird. This time, there really is nobody flying the plane. ... We are living in dangerously weird times now. Smart people just shrug and admit they're dazed and confused.
"The only ones left with any confidence at all are the New Dumb. It is the beginning of the end of our world as we knew it. Doom is the operative ethic." -- Hunter S. Thompson
You may find interesting the point about US Gov doing almost nothing to insure Chinese imports into USA are safe.
http://www.chinafile.com/library/books/unmade-china
Bagged eh? Well, I do cling to a shred of optimism, however irrational.
Post a Comment