Where the Political Left is Wrong in Social, Educational, & Political Spheres

Here's the main thing wrong with the general political Left in the social, educational, & political spheres of life---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snqXOvnHzcQ 

and, although it's well-intentioned, it's creating a "stunning fragility" in our youth.  Plus, it's accompanied by an almost virulent self-righteousness.  The speakers here expose it, & explain why it's damaging...not only to our youth, but also to the country in general.  I agree 100%.

The clip is only 13.5 minutes.

The subject matter at the above link includes:  egregious, over-the-top, political correctness; the coddling of kids; gross intolerance of views other than those promulgated by the Left; "slurring" rather than debating in a reasonable manner; and a subtle self-righteousness regarding social and political issues.

By the way, the political Right (in general) is as bad as, or worse than, the Left regarding this whole shebang... at least, most of it.  The result is that the fracturing of our society gets worse & worse every year.  Civility is well on its way to being totally gone.  It's being replaced by not only rudeness, but intolerance and violence as well.  The Corporate Media seem to focus on such activities, but rarely (if ever) ask "Why is this happening?".  Undoubtedly, the answer contains many factors, complex factors; nevertheless, we need to figure this thing out.  If we don't, I believe our society will continue to break down, perhaps even to the point of Martial Law being imposed.  It costs little to nothing to seriously and rationally consider an opposing point-of-view.

A starting point is this:  every side in any significant disagreement passionately believes that its side is the one "in the right", or "best for most people".  The opposing sides need to find out why "the other side" thinks that way... rather than simply slurring them and giving them sound-bite retorts.

Politicians, institutions of all kinds (religious, educational, social, Law enforcement, non-profit, for-profit, etc.), and all of us "common" people need to wake up and re-double our efforts to promote reasonable & civil debate, tolerance, and respect for individuals with opposing views.  I've seen decades of decay in that regard.  It doesn't bode well for the future of our Land.

So, though it may be extremely difficult to do, I propose to all "True Believers" to (at least once in awhile) step outside the "For or Against" paradigm and make a herculean effort to consider issues without having any prejudgements.  I like Socrates' observation on Wisdom:  "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.".  Let's be more tolerant of each other's views...and start learning.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

A Crucial Narrative Regarding Freedom & Individual Sovereignty

Preface

I first posted this piece on March 1 of this year.  DC politicians only just recently finally have begun to address the issue.  This whole business is a dire threat to individual freedom.  So far, we are voluntarily marching straight into it.  The narrative at the link below is not against SMART tech, but rather, how it is being used.  If you value individual sovereignty, listen carefully.

Behavior Modification by Surveillance Capitalists Redux

At the link below, a Harvard Professor Emeritus brilliantly explains how we are being "herded", and why SMART technology & outfits like Facebook are an egregious threat 

to individual sovereignty.
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/1/age_of_

surveillance_capitalism_we_thought

Perhaps in their young adulthood (or maybe mid-life), our toddler 

grandchildren are going to wonder:  how could our grandparents have been so dense?  How could they have allowed this Brave New World of ours to develop?  Didn't they understand the dangers of ubiquitous surveillance?  Did they really believe the argument "I have nothing to hide" meant that they wouldn't be affected?  How could they have not seen how the State-Corporate-Financial Complex most likely would use the gathered data to manipulate and control us?  Were they asleep at the wheel, or too propagandized, or too stressed by trying 

to make ends meet in a declining worldwide economy?  Were they too worried about, and distracted by, advancing Neofeudalism?

Kudos to Professor Zuboff for a well-spoken, insightful, and much needed interview... and for her seven years of research for the book, The Age of  Surveillance Capitalism.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

The Pitiful Case of Donald John Trump

Preface
Everything I'm about to say in this essay, other than my opinions, is public knowledge.  One may have to dig just a little to find some of the information, but it's all available to anyone who looks.
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1.  The Don was a millionaire by the time he was eight years old.  Thank you, Daddy.

2.  He likes to tout the fact that his father gave him a "small loan" of a million dollars (when he was a young adult), and from that he built a billion dollar business...supposedly.  Indeed, Fred did give his son that loan...and then, over the following years, he did it again, and again, and again, etc.  The total wound up being sixty million dollars.  Thank you, Daddy.

3.  When his business was on the verge of utter and complete bankruptcy in the 1980's, various banks bailed him out and put him on a generous monthly allowance.  The financiers figured his name on a viable business was worth more than what they'd get out of his bankruptcy.

4.  So much for Trump's narrative that except for a "small loan" from his father, he essentially built a business from nothing.  It's one of an infinite number of outright lies.

5.  The Don learned how to lie, smear his opponents, and psychologically gaslight from the former Mob lawyer (and former Chief Counsel for Senator Joe McCarthy), Roy M. Cohn.  Cohn was his personal lawyer for a time.

6.  During his years in both real estate and the casino business, several times he shafted employees out of both jobs and wages.  At the same time, some independent contractors were shafted out of duly earned fees.  If they sued, he would countersue.  Cases would drag on until the aggrieved parties quit trying to recoup their losses.

7.  He's an autocrat wannabe, but appears to be a shallow, weak person who admires most of the dictators on the world stage.  That alone makes his Presidency an embarrassment to all decent people in this country. 

8.  Thanks to the mistakes, misdeeds, and sheer nonsense of the Establishment Oligarchy, The Don pretty much fell into the Oval Office.  Shenanigans by the Republican Party operatives prior to and during the 2016 election certainly helped, but mostly it was because most people were fed up with same ol', same ol' crap from politicians.  They thought The Don would change things to their benefit.  They were about 99.9% wrong about that.

9.  Since getting into office, he has been crass, boorish, a serial liar, foolish, ignorant, unstable, alienating, and dangerous.  I believe he's the most dangerous President in my lifetime...and I was born in 1942.

10.  The Don should not be hated...hate engenders more of the same.  Instead, he should be pitied... and booted out of office.  Maybe then, we can return politics to some degree of sanity here.  Maybe then, 80% of the world's adults will stop believing that our Gov't is the greatest threat to stability and peace on Earth.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  Again, for any new readers, I'm not a Republican or a Democrat.

Rules From and For the Oligarchy Redux

I first posted this essay a bit over five years ago.  It's being re-posted now because the Oligarchy in this country is getting more & more desperate, and it's wise to keep in mind their methods for manipulating us.  [I've added just a tad more to the text in several places.]
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By the "Oligarchy", I'm referring of course to those at the highest levels in politics, Big Business, and the Intelligentsia...the ones who "run the country".  They are both Democrats and Republicans, but those labels are not in any way important to them.  Their guideposts primarily are power and money.  They're not in any kind of conspiracy, but they do enjoy great solidarity.

Here, then, are their rules for success...the rules by which they live, thrive, and rule others.

1.  Utilize Edward Bernays style Propaganda at every opportunity...to its maximum effect.

2.  Select, groom, and finance the slickest liars and most unethical people possible for national political office.  Marginalize and denigrate any honest and sincere politicians who somehow manage to get into office.

3.  Wrap yourself in the American Flag at every opportunity.

4.  Strive to keep the country perpetually at war.  It's great for Big Business and the best way to control the public mind.  It also gives us every opportunity to "colonize" geostrategic areas without appearing imperialistic; that way we can assure American Primacy.  We're just defending our country.  If one person is killed, it's murder; but if 100,000 are killed, it's Foreign Policy and/or protecting our Homeland.

5.  At crucial times, tell the Little People whatever it is they want to hear.

6.  Continue the myth that Republicans and Democrats at the highest levels have substantially different views.  It's the best way to Divide and Conquer.  Pretend to squabble with your supposed political opposition.

7.  At all costs, never prosecute in court any mega bank CEO who has been complicit in swindling people.  Don't bite the hand that feeds you.  Instead, levy a large fine against the bank for "misleading investors".

8.  Distract the public with minor political issues and various circuses.

9.  Allow people to peacefully protest, but only in limited, designated areas.

10.  When caught in wrongdoing, criminalize the whistleblower.  To do that, take a page from (most recently) Obama's & Trump's playbook:  utilize the Espionage Act of 1917.  Apply the word "spy"...especially when it's not relevant.  The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it.

11.  Make certain that the mainstream, corporate media keep serving up pablum to the public... and/or controversy over nothing of any significant consequence... and/or, fear.

12.  Continue the myth that the People live in a participatory democracy.

13.  At all costs, support and promote the WTO and Free Trade Agreements, the Neoliberal policy of deregulation of the worldwide Financial Sector, and the myth that we're aiding poor countries by forcing them to privatize gov't services.  In other words, continue the myth that Corporate Globalization is good for the common people and the economy.

14.  Avoid conflict with the U.S. Constitution simply by ignoring the document whenever necessary.

15.  Continue the myth that the President of the U.S. legally (and essentially) can create Law by the use of Executive Orders.  If questioned about that, respond by saying that the Constitution "implies" it.

16.  Oppose, denigrate, and when possible, eliminate all labor unions.  Substitute biased "mandatory arbitration" in their place.  This is the best way to keep the Little People workers in check.

17.  Keep the public in fear, and promote cognitive dissonance  in the Little People.  Mold the public mind.

18.  Continue the lie that National Security trumps everything... including common decency, the Law, the Constitution, ethics, and morality.

19.  Continue the War on Drugs.  It's almost as good as actual war in relation to controlling the populace.

20.  Act as though you favor egalitarian issues; in other words, lie.
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Do you recognize any of this?  There is a better way.  The second step toward that better way is to organize.  The first step I've stated over and over:  we must stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid coming from high-level Republicans and Democrats, (& Trump, who is neither a Repub or Dem), Mega Corporations, and the Corporate Media.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

An Important Redux re: The Don

At the beginning of Spring this year, I posted the essay below.  It's being posted again because:  it still applies; and recently, Trump has started (just barely) to pretend he is some sort of reasonable Moderate... rather than the unstable nutcake that he really is.

Points For and Against the Current Oval Office Occupier

For---
1.  He kept us out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).  I've covered the disastrous downside of that Trade Pact elsewhere on this venue, so won't go into it again in this piece.  Talks related to joining the TPP were started under Dubya Bush, and accelerated under Obama.  Trump killed it his first day in office.

If interested in why the TPP is the worst Trade Treaty in history, use this blog's Search function to locate my assessment of it.  Or even better, Google/Bing/etc. :  Lori Wallach and the TPP.

2.  There is no number 2.  I was tempted to list his meetings with North Korea, but decided against it because he's the one who provoked that country with virtually insane threats of nuclear annihilation.  The person really responsible for averting (for now, at least) catastrophe is the President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in.

Against---
1.  He's a serial liar; he, himself, has proven that over, and over, and over.  In terms of frequency of lying, Trump beats out both Dubya Bush and Obama... which I didn't think was possible by anyone.

2.  He's mentally unstable, and thus emotionally unfit to be in any political office, much less the Presidency.  He, himself, has proven that over, and over, and over.  Now admittedly, I've had only a couple university pysch courses; however, you don't have to be a master carpenter to recognize a shack.  😊  Plus, there's a long list of psychologists and psychiatrists who have stated that he needs to be professionally examined.

3.  Based on his words and actions, he doesn't have a broad understanding of anything that a President should know.  His understanding of key issues, world affairs, diplomacy, statesmanship, war, the economy, the environment, fiscal and monetary matters, cultural matters, science, genuine capitalism, the Law, health matters, etc. is so limited as to be nothing short of comical.

4.  He promotes divisiveness in our country and in the world.  Plus, such promotion is not inadvertent.  He does it on purpose.

5.  While in office (never mind previous to that), he has violated Laws of the Land.  Here's only one example---
https://individualsovereignty.blogspot.com/2017/07/trumps-violation-of-nepa-sepa-laws-rules.html
Read it carefully.  The acronyms and other abbreviations used are not as confusing as they first appear.

6.  He doesn't have even a rudimentary understanding of the United States Constitution.  Many times, he has violated his Oath of Office by failing to "preserve, protect, and defend" the Constitution.  For example, he (like many other Presidents) has violated the War Clause of Article I, Section 8.  Another example--- the Executive Branch (of which he's in charge) violates the Fourth Amendment on an almost daily basis.  Another example--- it's crystal clear that Trump is violating the Emoluments portion of Article I, Section 9 (the Nobility Clause).

7.  As President, his conflicts of interest truly are beyond the pale.

8.  Similar to numbers 1 & 2 above, Trump is the King of Public Gaslighters.  Nothing he says can be trusted.

9.  He cares not at all for the common people of this country.  He's merely manipulating & using some of us in order to further enrich himself.  This is so obvious that it's painful.  Some of his supporters finally have realized it.

10.  He is both an embarrassment and a danger to this country.  I've detailed all that in previous posts, so enough said.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well
p.s.  For any new readers, I'm not a Republican or a Democrat.  Ironically, neither is The Don.

When the Overdue Recession Hits Us

Preface
I don't have an Economics Degree, so I rely on a broad spectrum of economists and monetary theorists for these essays.  Plus, as a wise man once told me, "You don't have to be a Master Carpenter to recognize a shack.".  :)

A few facts---
1.  Worldwide debt is somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 trillion, which is close to three times the world's GDP.
2.  The U.S. public National Debt is now a tad over $22.5 trillion...more than our annual GDP.  We pay $896 million per day in Interest on that debt.  Politicians in DC are increasing our Debt exponentially.
3.  U.S. personal debt is now just shy of $20 trillion.
4.  U.S. unfunded liabilities now stand at a bit more than $125.7 trillion.
5.  U.S. nonfinancial Corporate debt is now at about $15 trillion...the highest it has been in decades.
6.  Total U.S. Debt (not counting unfunded liabilities) is now a tad over $74.1 trillion.  [See:  USdebtclock.org ]  That's more than three times our annual GDP.

Conclusions---
1.  The world is awash in Debt.
2.  The U.S.A. has a significant portion of that Debt.
.......................................................
Meanwhile, the UK, continental Europe, and Japan all have been adhering to the Zimbabwe "School of Economics" by PRINTING MONEY.  Plus, the USA is on the verge of starting QE-4, more printing of money.  This is all being done to prop up the Stock Market.  In addition, Corporations have been buying back their own stock, thus falsely inflating that Market.  At the same time, Bond Markets have been crashing, capital expenditures have been decreasing, and manufacturing has been slowing down...in the Western World.  In Asia (except for Japan), they have been sticking to conventional economic, monetary, and fiscal policies; but in the West, we are in an Era of Weirdness.
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Bottom Line---
When the overdue Recession hits, and there's a succession of bursting Debt Bubbles, the impact on Western World Finance and Economies will be much greater than in 2008-2009.  Businesses, a few investment Banks, perhaps some regular Banks, Insurance companies, and associated firms likely will collapse, then unemployment will jump way up, and price inflation will take hold...thus exacerbating the Recession, possibly driving it into a full-blown Depression.

Central Banks refuse to bite the bullet and raise Interest rates (or better yet, let the Market determine the rate) because that would burst the Stock Market Bubble.  We would have a Recession, but we need to because too much money is chasing too few goods.  Big-time inflation is coming unless we dial back all this monetary craziness.
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Not only my opinion.  Be Well

BIG News on the Economy

On Wednesday night, 8-14-19, in their News broadcasts, the Corporate Media finally admitted that a Recession "may be" in the near future.  Isn't it amazing how we (according to them) went from "our booming economy" to a Bust "may be" right around the corner.  Ha!

Of course, the Corporate Media have known that for at least a couple of years.  Their News isn't "fake", but it's often incomplete.  The metrics for the next Crash have been in place for, at a minimum, the last three years.  News of a "booming economy" meant a "boom" only for a relatively small percentage of income earners.  The underlying, base economy has been pretty much a disaster.  Half the workers in this country are either in poverty, or bordering on it.  HALF.
We're talking about workers, not people on assistance/welfare.

The greatest transfer of wealth (to the Upper Crust) in the history of humanity is still in full swing.  The so-called "recovery" doesn't apply to the majority of Americans.  I've gone through the stats in many previous posts, and don't have the time or energy to repeat that now.  The reasons for this dire situation also have been detailed in previous posts.

Here's all you need to know for the near-term future:  there's no "may be" or maybe (see the first paragraph above) about the coming Crash.  It's about 99.9% guaranteed.  We're overdue for it.  Again, if you don't believe that, simply look at the time intervals between Booms & Busts from the 1973 Recession to present day.  It won't be only here in the USA; it will be worldwide.  It won't be a minor downturn.  It will be a major Crash.  All you can do is plan and act accordingly.

What does "plan and act accordingly" mean?  Here are my main suggestions.
1.  Pay down as much of your debt as possible.  When the Crash hits, your income & purchasing power may go down, but debt payments likely won't.
2.  Stock up on extra, everyday household goods...not only food, but paper goods, OTC meds, toiletries, anything you use regularly.  Credit will dry up for a time (maybe a week, or two, or ?), and businesses run on credit, not cash.  That means delivery of goods to stores will slow way down or stop...temporarily.
3.  Keep some ready cash handy.  How much depends on your comfort zone.  Banks very well may limit withdrawals for a time.
4.  Hang on to (or obtain with cash) hard assets.  Their value will increase when inflation hits.
5.  Don't take on more major debt, unless it's for an asset that you can sell relatively quickly.  When announcing their "news" about the Recession, the Media suggested that you perhaps (because of current lower interest rates) should now buy a house or a car.  That's wise advice only if you can pay cash and have no extra debt.  Corporate interests want you to take on more debt...don't.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well