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Billy_TParticipantAgree with that other video too.
Capitalism, on its own, in and of itself, is the problem. Adjectives like corporate or crony or neoliberal aren’t necessary to make that case clearly.
And long before those adjectives were even thought of, the capitalist system was busy accruing its capital via worldwide rape, pillage and plunder, which involved genocide and slavery. Which had to involve those things.
Any economic system that says it’s legal for one human to own all the production of countless other humans will lead to countless horrors. It can’t help but do that. And any economic system with the Prime Directive of “enrich yourself!” is guaranteed to forever block the necessities of life from the masses and destroy the natural world. It’s just math, physics and common sense. You can’t concentrate wealth and assets in a few hands and provide for the masses at the same time. You can’t set up the incentive of endless growth and consumption and not destroy Nature. It’s impossible, not to mention fundamentally immoral.
And, again, with the clinging: Capitalism is shit. It’s a shit sandwich. Even the “reformist” left thinks it makes sense to pour perfume on that shit, rather than just replacing the shit altogether with something else, something healthy and good, in and of itself. The political right, of course, is busy finding better and better ways of selling shit. It doesn’t care all that much about the perfumes. It tries to gaslight people into thinking eating shit is “manly,” and that adding perfumes isn’t.
Capitalism must die, or we all will.
Billy_TParticipantOh, and from the same article a really good interview with David Harvey, regarding “neoliberlism.” He literally wrote the book on the subject:
Billy_TParticipantWell, I just saw this, so I’ll go against my previous desire to wait until youze guys respond. It’s a good article, and relevant, IMO. I think a great deal of the rise of the lunatic right is due to this massive grading on the curve.
Too many Americans have just accepted this radically low bar for far too long. Too many Americans claim — in effect, if not in actual words — there isn’t any difference between centrists and the folks who try to turn the Rittenhouses of this world into heroes:
From QAnon to Kyle Rittenhouse, the Right is Sinking Deeper Into an Alternate Reality By Meagan Day
Excerpt:
Instability is a permanent feature of capitalism, but the coronavirus pandemic has introduced a whole new level of volatility. Amid the turmoil, the American right is dreaming more feverishly than ever of apocalypse and heroism.
On August 19, President Donald Trump gave a nod of approval to believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory, which maintains that the president is secretly fighting to save the world from an elite satanic pedophile network, calling them “people that love our country.”One week later, on August 26, Fox News host Tucker Carlson sympathized with Kyle Rittenhouse, a teenager who killed two Wisconsin Black Lives Matter protesters and maimed another. Carlson suggested Rittenhouse felt he “had to maintain order when no one else would.”
At a glance, these provocations might appear disconnected. But they are deeply intertwined. In the span of a week, Trump and Carlson both gave the green light to extremist elements on the Right, QAnon conspiracy theorists on the one hand and armed pro-police adventurists on the other. In the process they each drew on the same bedrock narrative: that the streets of America — especially Democrat-run cities, but nowhere is safe — are teeming with lawless agents of anarchy who flout authority, terrorize innocents, and threaten civilization itself. Thus besieged, right-wing extremism of one variant or another is not really extreme at all. It is rational, even heroic and patriotic.
Trump played dumb about QAnon, though of course he’s familiar with it. Most news-literate Americans now know the broad outlines, and Trump watches more news than anybody, not to mention he’s fascinated by anything starring himself, which QAnon does. But even as he attempted to downplay both his awareness of QAnon and its fundamental lunacy, he also played up the idea that he and his administration are defending the world from total destruction at the hands of shadowy evildoers, which is at the heart of QAnon.
Trump: I don’t know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate. But I don’t know much about the movement. I have heard that it is gaining in popularity…
These are people that don’t like seeing what’s going on in places like Portland and places like Chicago and New York and other cities and states. And I’ve heard these are people that love our country and they just don’t like seeing it.
I don’t know anything about it other than they do supposedly like me, and they also would like to see problems in these areas, especially the areas that we’re talking about, go away, because there’s no reason Democrats can’t run a city, and if they can’t we will send in all of the federal, whether it’s troops or law enforcement, whatever they’d like, we’ll send them in and we’ll straighten out their problems in twenty-four hours or less.
Reporter: The crux of the theory is this belief that you are secretly saving the world from this satanic cult of pedophiles and cannibals. Does that sound like something you are behind?
Trump: Well I haven’t heard that. But is that supposed to be a bad thing or a good thing? If I can help save the world from problems, I’m willing to do it. I’m willing to put myself out there. And we are, actually. We’re saving the world from a radical left that will destroy this country. And when this country is gone, the rest of the world would follow.
Naturally, QAnon supporters did not interpret these remarks as a repudiation of their worldview but instead took it as encouragement that they’re on the right track. Emboldened, they held rallies — branded as innocuous protests against “child trafficking,” with participants wearing “Child Lives Matter” T-shirts — in dozens of cities across the country last Saturday, just days after Trump’s comments.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson has studiously avoided QAnon. It’s not his style. But he has aggressively promoted the bedrock narrative of nebulous but mounting chaos designed by those who consciously seek to dismantle society and carried out by their unwitting liberal foot soldiers. When the second wave of Black Lives Matter protests began, Carlson spoke about them in ominous terms, characterizing them as indiscriminately violent and charging that they constituted “a form of tyranny” and posed “a threat to every American.” Those comments are consistent with Carlson’s usual oratory, which gives the overall impression that hordes of enemy invaders — from Central American immigrants to politically-correct college students — are perpetually breaching the castle walls.
Carlson’s comments on the actions of Rittenhouse, who crossed state lines with an assault weapon to assist police with crowd control and, as he put it, “protect from the citizens,” are perfectly indicative of Carlson’s rhetoric over the course of the protests. Like Trump, Carlson implied that the police should have been more aggressive with people protesting the Kenosha, Wisconsin police shooting of Jacob Blake:
Kenosha has devolved into anarchy because the authorities in charge of the city abandoned it. People in charge from the governor on down refused to enforce the law. They stood back and they watched Kenosha burn. So are we really surprised that looting and arson accelerated to murder? How shocked are we that seventeen-year-olds with rifles decided they had to maintain order when no one else would?
_____
Time to raise the bar across the board. No more excuses. No more separate standards.
Billy_TParticipantTrump has far, far less support than people think.
First off, most of his support comes via the Republican Party. As in, folks who follow the Red Team wherever it goes. Any Republican president would have, at this moment in time, at least as much support as Trump, and likely more if he or she weren’t such an obvious Nazi asshole (I suspect most Red Teamers would prefer quieter, less conspicuous Nazi assholes).
Remember that Bush had the same kind of diehard support right up until the end of his eight years. For the GOP faithful of that time, if you weren’t for him, you were against Amerika!! If you so much as said you were ashamed of being from the same state, your entire career was ruined and you got death threats (The Dixie Chicks).
Trump benefits a great deal from mass amnesia, which he provokes through endless gaslighting. His entire life he’s been “faking it until he makes it.” If he truly were so popular, why did he receive just 26% of the electorate’s vote last time, losing to perhaps the worst, most unpopular candidate the Dems have ever run? Why are his disapproval numbers consistently in the high 50s to low 60s? The way some talk about him, one would think those numbers would be at least below 50%.
Again, his support is very, very thin, and primarily cuz Red Teamers vote Red Team. Oh, and there are more Blue Teamers than Red Teamers in America. It’s a matter of voter turnout/voter suppression.
_____
I guarantee this: When Trump loses, it will take less than two years total for people to go full-on Peter and thrice deny him. Red Teamers will act all, “I never liked him. I was always against his racism, blah blah blah.”
Billy_TParticipantWV,
Will respond later to your points. Great analogy via the two teams. But wanted to ask you something about Chomsky, and didn’t know if it warranted a separate thread. Perhaps when I finish the book:
I’m currently reading Chomsky’s On Anarchism, and like most of it a lot. Right now, I’m in the section about the Spanish Civil War, and while I love learning more anarchist history, NC is kinda getting into the academic weeds a bit. Liked the earlier parts a lot more. Anyway . . .
Question for you: It’s an ebook, and relatively short, and I noticed another book by him with the same title, but it’s twice the size, and from a different year. Do you know if it’s one book or two, with one perhaps abridged? He’s written so many, I’m wondering if publishers have repackaged them somehow.
Quick and dirty comment: I wish America had a serious, viable left-anarchist wing/movement/school, or whatever one might want to call them. Libertarian socialist, libertarian communist, anarchist-socialist, etc. etc. That’s where my heart is, pretty much, within the broader socialist tradition. Non-violent, radical egalitarian (small “d”) democrat, flattening them thar pyramids to the degree humanly possible. I just think they get most things right. Not everything, cuz that’s impossible. No person, group, or philosophy can ever do that. But I think they do better than any other “school.” etc. etc.
Hope all is well.
Billy_TParticipantTrump may win, but this photo op isn’t going to be a difference-maker. I have never seen any studies on it, but I have a hunch that the majority of people who watch conventions are politically active people who already have their minds made up. Casual observers may have reactions to the photos and video highlights of these things, but their reactions to this will be buried by several more visceral layers before November. And…frankly…it’s hard to imagine that there really are very many Likely Voters who haven’t already made up their minds. It’s about voter turnout…and whose votes get counted.
If he wins, it will be because of voter suppression.
I’m pretty much on the same page with ya on all of that. But I do think the Photo Op stuff helps at the margins. And Trump isn’t relying on just any one thing. His desperation, combined with the immense assets at his disposal, mean he’s going to attack every single pressure point available.
Ultimately, yeah, it’s gonna be the voter suppression. And that’s the hub of his strategy to win, no doubt. But the GOP, Trump and their donors are going full-on kitchen sink, and I fear that too many Americans have recurrent amnesia.
Amnesia: I’m likely preaching to the choir, but can you think of any other politician in American history who has managed to avoid paying for his/her crimes to this extent? I can’t. Just the stuff we know about so far — which is likely the proverbial tip of the iceberg — would have meant jail-time for 99% of the rest of humanity, and at least impeachment and removal for the other 0.99%
I’m light years beyond being baffled that he has even 1% approval. It continues to hover in the 40s.
In a sane land, his disapproval numbers would be more than 99%. Even his own party would have rejected him after all the death and destruction on his hands. And he came into office as a truly odious human being, a serial sexual predator, liar, conartist, grifter, etc. etc.
Again . . . I need to check out Portugal as soon as we can travel again:
Billy_TParticipantAt the beginning of the outbreak, I thought coverups — private and public sector — would happen right away. Which is yet Reason # 10 billion why the idiots who think the media have over-counted the infections and deaths are . . . well, idiots:
Excerpt:
Lindsay Ruck was just starting her Father’s Day brunch shift at the Cheesecake Factory in Chandler, Ariz., when her boss told her a co-worker had Covid-19. In between making bloody marys, Ruck shared the news with several of her colleagues, who’d been worrying about such a moment since the restaurant reopened the month before. At the end of Ruck’s shift, when she went to the back office to count her cash, her boss and another supervisor were waiting.
Her boss, the general manager, told her she wasn’t allowed to mention the coronavirus case to anyone, including fellow staff. The company was informing only the people who’d worked during the sick employee’s last shift, and, per Cheesecake higher-ups, even the information that any worker had tested positive was deemed private, Ruck recalls. Realizing she could be among those kept in the dark about the next sick colleague, she filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board and took a couple of weeks off while awaiting the results of a Covid test and weighing whether to keep working there. After getting a negative test result, she returned to the restaurant, in need of the paycheck.
Billy_TParticipantHell of a thing to watch CNN’s fact-check the cascade of lies from Trump’s speech.
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy)
I fear it may work. He directly and indirectly broke the law, using the backdrop of the White House for his campaign/convention, but since nothing he does seems to matter, and he almost never pays any price for it, it will likely give him a bounce in the polls.
And all of those people squished together, mostly without masks? Reports are that only the people in the first few rows were tested for Covid. But I’m skeptical of that. Sounds like White House propaganda to me.
My guess is everyone was tested. They wanted to present an image of America no longer beset by this plague, and the Glorious Leader who made that happen. Unless everyone around Trump is as psychotic as he is, I don’t think they’d risk another Tulsa-like super-spreader event. But, who knows? This isn’t our grandparents’ Twilight Zone. It’s from another dimension altogether.
And, yeah, Trump is the all-time King of Lies. And it’s not close.
Billy_TParticipantThat is a good video, WV.
Syriza. I was thrilled when they won, and that Varoufakis was their finance guy — at least for short time. A (supposedly) truly leftist movement takes power in Greece, and then . . . Well, it’s complex, but they basically succumbed to the ferocity of austerity and Varoufakis couldn’t prevent this from within.
Speaking of excellent videos, this one by David Harvey goes well with yours:
The Crisis of Capitalism____
P.S. We all live in glass houses, of course, to one degree or another. So that’s baked into what follows:
IMO, some folks on the left spend far too much time attacking this or that person or party for failing to push for better social welfare programs. While vast improvements along those lines are obviously needed, and urgently, the root of our problems is the existence of capitalism, not the absence of a better safety net. Urging the addition of a better safety net, while laudable, while necessary in the short term, still falls woefully short. It will always fall woefully short. It won’t end poverty, hunger, homelessness. It won’t prevent catastrophic climate change. It won’t stop the Sixth Extinction. It will reshuffle the deck chairs on the Titanic to a degree, and provide a few more life boats. But the ship will still sink. And it doesn’t have to be.
Clinging to this horrific economic system, which is quite literally economic apartheid, is sheer madness. Expending all of our energy trying to offset its horror show of effects is sheer idiocy. The very acknowledgement that it requires those offsets tells us we should dump it altogether. Replace it seed, root, tree and branch with economic democracy, from the ground up. All of us co-owners, by writ and right, under a new constitution. No proxies. Direct ownership.
That’s the only way we survive as a species. That’s the only way most life forms survive the 22nd century.
Billy_TParticipantIt’s weird, but I feel really weird to be “defending” the Dems in a sense. I don’t wanna. I get all Sartre when I do. It makes me sick, and it’s like, um, well, there’s no exit.
But, I digress (and name-drop).
I desperately want to live to see the day when leftists can rise above both parties, crush them rhetorically and on the political battlefields, perhaps even Staples Center, and never look back. But until that day, it strikes me as smarter to build up a critical mass inside the Democratic Party, with hundreds of AOCs, until we can move on and run under our own banner.
My own would be something in the realm of libertarian communism, libertarian socialism, anarchist-socialism, democratic socialism . . . or socialism for short. Morris, Kropotkin, Le Guin, the Dalai Lama, etc.
Three or four or five main pillars:
1. Bottom to top democratization of the economy, from the proverbial shop-room floor on up. Which means, obviously, no more capitalism.
2. We the people own the means of production, directly, by writ and right, under a new constitution, and no proxies.
3. We work to end class society, in all its forms, including no more ruling class. We create the least hierarchical society possible, doable, achievable. Straight out of Avatar.
4. We make political democracy a reality, because it’s not possible without economic democracy, and “we got that” now.
5. We ban all shaky cameras, outlaw them, and send them to the same dustbin of history as microfiche.
Oh, and as Emma Goldman said, there’s gotta be dancing. No revolution without that. And chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Also, fine, aged Irish Whiskey. And, of course, the Rams, with redesigned helmets and uniforms. They gotta fix them horns!
Billy_TParticipantThis stands a chance of becoming the longest thread ever.
I think you may be right. So much to criticize, so little time!
;>)
ZN,
Thanks for repurposing this. Likely saves tons and tons of energy and refuse in the bargain. And we Americans are incredibly wasteful.
Sidenote: Am currently reading Hope Jahren’s excellent The Story of More. About climate change, waste, pollution, cruelty to animals, endless greed, etc. etc. It makes you want to dance and sing!!
. . .
Also, to repeat:
I am in no way saying that leftists qua leftists should refrain from blasting away at all deserving rhetorical targets, including the Dems. I may be on an island about this, but I just see it as counterproductive when leftists with audiences do so in the current context, and 70 some days before the election.
And, as is my wont, more in the next post. But, I promise to be short. I really do!
Billy_TParticipantI don’t know where to put this, so…here:
Krystal Ball: Rahm Emanuel REVEALS Dems Class War Against Its Own Voters”
IMO, the critique is great. In a different world, I’d say she’s too easy on the Dems. But in the current context of the really real?
It just helps the GOP.
Yes, the Dems turned their backs on the working class nearly 50 years ago. Yes, they suck. And in a better world, we leftists would have a real shot at making our case against the Dems and, by extension, the Republicans, in one fell swoop. Toe to toe. In the full light of day.
But this is a rotten world, politically, and we have a rotten system — root, branch and tree. And our rotten system isn’t set up to promote a sane and righteous battle between leftists and Dems, at least not yet. Quite the opposite. It’s set up to narrow and slice and dice that battle up so it’s always between the Dems and the Republicans. Just them. We’re afterthoughts, at best. So, when leftists focus their guns solely on the Dems, and rarely attack the GOP, few audiences will take it as a given that we leftists are even more pissed off at the Republicans.
IMO, we shouldn’t assume they assume that’s already baked in. We should assume, instead, that if all they hear and read from us is contempt for the Dems, that’s going to sync up with what they hear and read from Republicans and the right. From Fox News, Breitbart, et al. A “logical” inference from those concerted attacks is that people should never vote Dem, which leaves the GOP in power by default.
Again, in a better world, we wouldn’t have to worry about such things. We’d be able to make our case as leftists, for a better society and planet. We wouldn’t have to ask, “Hey, wait. Will this help the greater evil?” We’d know we had a real shot at defeating both parties, etc.
That’s just not the world we live in right now. Leftists should not be in the business of helping Trump win reelection.
August 24, 2020 at 2:01 pm in reply to: Trump wants to fast-track COVID vaccine before election #119898Billy_TParticipantMore on that pressure stuff.
This is an Op-Ed, and should be read as such, but it does include actual quotations from our madman in chief and links to other evidence, including scientific research, which is why it’s particularly relevant. I also happen to think the author draws solid conclusions from that evidence:
Trump’s ugly new conspiracy theory only underscores his weakness
Excerpt:
Another deranged conspiracy theory
That’s because Trump’s new announcement came packaged with another demented conspiracy theory. Trump had rage-tweeted that the “deep state” was getting the Food and Drug Administration to delay trials for coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics, for the explicit purpose of harming his reelection. He even cited FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn in the tweet:
The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives! @SteveFDA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2020Trump’s new announcement was immediately denounced by scientists and physicians. As The Post reports, many felt the announcement had “misled the public by overstating the evidence behind a therapy that shows promise but still needs to be rigorously tested.”
ADSpecifically, Trump overstated its immediate benefits. He claimed it is “proven to reduce mortality by 35 percent,” when in fact, the FDA itself offered a much narrower assessment, saying patients under 80 who also met a range of other conditions were 35 percent more likely to be alive one month later.
Meanwhile, some experts said even the FDA’s conclusions hadn’t received enough examination. Importantly, they noted all this could have adverse consequences: The overstatement of the treatment’s value and scientific grounding could create a false public sense of security about the coronavirus. As one noted: “The reality is what we have today to treat covid is extremely limited.”
August 24, 2020 at 12:37 pm in reply to: Trump wants to fast-track COVID vaccine before election #119897Billy_TParticipantWell Im fine with fast-tracking a vaccine.
w
vNo vaccine has ever been fast-tracked before. There’s of course profound medical reasons for that. You don’t want to end up with a serum that either simply does not work or causes harm in its own right.
It is possible for example to produce a vaccine that makes people more, not less, vulnerable to the virus. That’s why rigorous testing is needed, and testing takes time.
I agree with that.
Trump has told us, in public, far too many times, directly and indirectly, that all he cares about is the appearance of things. Whatever makes him look good at the moment. He doesn’t care if a vaccine actually works. Just the appearance that it may, and a way for him to take credit for that.
August 24, 2020 at 12:34 pm in reply to: Trump wants to fast-track COVID vaccine before election #119896Billy_TParticipantAlso . . . and more importantly . . . Trump should go to jail for stuff no one’s even trying to nail him for:
Kids in cages; using the military to attack peaceful protestors; tampering with the Postal system; suppressing the vote via that system; the massive destruction of our environmental protections; his criminal neglect, leading to nearly 180K Covid deaths (likely a major undercount) . . . and countless cases of outright fraud, grifting, using the office to feather his own nest, etc. etc. I need a lot more coffee to list all of his “sins.”
In short, it’s for the stuff that has been investigated, and the stuff he’s done that should be but won’t be.
August 24, 2020 at 12:30 pm in reply to: Trump wants to fast-track COVID vaccine before election #119895Billy_TParticipantDo you really think Trump will go to jail? I’m skeptical.
With Trump…the role of his ego cannot be overstated. He does not want to lose because he does not want to lose. And he does not care what kind of damage, or to whom, he causes in that pursuit.
Well, yeah, I need to revise that.
Should he go to jail for what he’s done, prior to and during his presidency? No question in my mind that it’s a Yes. Mueller documented at least 10 counts of obstruction, and he’s also an un-indicted co-conspirator in the Michael Cohen case, and Cohen went to jail. Mueller also said that the DoJ “rule” regarding sitting presidents is what prevented him from indicting him, etc. The recent Senate report on Russiagate confirms and expands Mueller’s.
Will they actually pull the trigger and lock him up if he loses? Maybe not. Probably not. I fear a repeat of the “Let’s move on” mood and mode after Bush.
And I agree with you about Trump’s ego. But I think the two exist together with him. Fear of legal ruin and ego. He knows he can’t count on Dems wanting to move on, etc.
August 24, 2020 at 11:01 am in reply to: Trump wants to fast-track COVID vaccine before election #119889Billy_TParticipantWell Im fine with fast-tracking a vaccine. I’d be very surprised if any President in any nation did not fast-track it, if something looks promising.
The thing is they have to be honest about the risks, etc.
w
vI think the radically new thing here is this:
No president in our memory has used so many strong-arm tactics on various agencies, all to benefit him personally. From where I sit, this is unprecedented. The bullying, the public shaming, the sending in various hatchet men to accuse them of being “Deep Staters!” and “You’re just doing this to hurt me in the election!”
Trump is obviously desperate, and he’s relentlessly fixated on his reelection, cuz he knows he’s likely doing jail time if he loses. I can’t think of another president — perhaps Nixon? — with that kind of thing forever hanging over his head, defining his policy decisions, executive orders, etc. etc.
And, of course, it’s one thing to “fast track” this or that. It’s another thing entirely to bully scientists into dropping numerous (essential) testing phases along the way. And given Trump massive deregulation of corporations, businesses in general, finance, environmental protections, workers’ protections, etc. etc. . . . this latest move fits an obvious pattern.
Do everything and anything to make Trump look better, no matter the costs in blood or treasure.
August 23, 2020 at 12:09 pm in reply to: Trump admits (today) that he’s trying to sabotage vote-by-mail. #119858Billy_TParticipantProud of those Postal workers in Washington State. We need that to happen in every state. That’s the way to shut down Trump’s (massively corrupt) shut down.
Billy_TParticipantWV, thanks for the hat tip regarding James C. Scott.
Just finished his Two Cheers for Anarchism.
https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691161037/two-cheers-for-anarchism
It’s really good. Very accessible, almost “breezy” in style at times, it takes us on a journey through the whys and wherefores of societal change, resistance to change, resistance to the status quo, etc. etc. Only quibble with the book is it’s too short (roughly 200 pages). I wanted more.
It ties into your comments regarding the difficulties of breaking free . . . pretty much starting at the family level. A patriarchal family and how that already pretty much trains us to go along with authority, nearly without question, then onto school, the workplace, the economy, government and so on, and all the pressure points set up to tie us down. But Scott shows how often people still find ways to rebel, mostly small, mostly unnoticed, etc. So it’s that push/pull between nearly impossible odds, and persistent, often creative attempts to rebel.
You know a lot more about Scott than I do, but it seems, via the title and the book’s content, he’s not fully in the anarchist camp, but is open to much of its (wide-ranging) philosophy, and he gives examples why it makes sense. He talks about looking at things through an anarchist squint. Traffic lights and patterns, small farmers and artisans, getting rid of tests and metrics that end up leading to just getting better at those tests and metrics, etc. etc. The Heisenberg Effect as well.
Good stuff.
Anyway . . . NC is still a treasure. Don’t know how he does it, especially at 91.
August 22, 2020 at 1:04 pm in reply to: Trump admits (today) that he’s trying to sabotage vote-by-mail. #119808Billy_TParticipantThanks, Zooey for the link.
Ya got some mail. Old, infrequently accessed address?
Billy_TParticipantThis shit pissing me off to no end:
https://www.businessinsider.com/delta-anti-mask-navy-seal-bin-laden-2020-8
Robert O’Neill, the former Navy SEAL famous for his role in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, was banned by Delta Air Lines on Thursday for refusing to wear a mask on a flight the day before.
O’Neill tweeted a maskless selfie on Wednesday captioned, “I am not a p—-.” He deleted the tweet five hours later.
On Thursday, he tweeted that the airline had banned him.
Good on Delta. A thousand bravos!!
It’s not about you being a “p___”, you selfish fuck! Wearing the mask all but stops the transmission of the virus to others, you selfish piece of shit!
Billy_TParticipantI have been thinking lately of the joy we all will feel, when Trump is indicted, should he lose. I mean with all the shit he is involved with, one would think sooner or later he would be indicted for some mundane financial shennanigon.
I would be willing to bet within a year of his loss, he’d be indicted. On something.
I’d bet fifty cents on that.If he wins….it doesnt matter. We will all be watching ram games in Portugal.
w
vBannon was the guy who set the table for the Big Con. Gave it the language, the bumper sticker slogans, the direction.
My guess is that the vast majority of people who come to work for Trump see him (Trump) as an easy mark. They see how he has no bottom, not ethics, no moral compass, and that he’s lied, cheated and stolen his way through life, without consequences . . . So it must be okay for others to do so as well. Not just okay, but encouraged. As long as Trump gets a piece of the action.
Easy mark. Too stupid (and morally bankrupt) to care. Too stupid to even try to follow all the corruption surrounding his own.
Our long national nightmare should result in Trump and his cronies in jail. But I have a feeling that once Trump is out the door, there will be all kinds of pressure to “move on.” The best we can probably hope for is that his “underlings” will do some time. But I think Trump skates. And I think it’s fair to say that no American politician in our lifetimes is more deserving of doing serious time.
Billy_TParticipant!!! Trump is told that QAnon believes he’s saving the world from a secret satanic cult of cannibals and pedophiles. He says, “Well, I haven’t heard that. But uh, is that supposed to be a bad thing? Or a good thing? If I can help save the world from problems…”
— Daniel Dale
I saw that, and several thoughts crossed my mind.
1. If hearing the other political party accuse the Dems of being satan-worshipping, pedophile cannibals isn’t enough to get them to take off the gloves, nothing will.
Sheesus, please stop with the Marquis of Queensbury rules and go for the jugular!! This is all out war. Stop bringing white papers to gun fights!
2. We have never had a president so immersed in paranoid, lunatic asylum nonsense, or one who openly courts and supports this, and it’s obviously dangerous. Trump’s own FBI considers QAnon to be “domestic terrorists.” Not to mention, this moron in chief has the nuclear codes.
The Dems need to call out Trump and the entire GOP for their extremism, fanaticism, endless lies and fascism.
3. The Media (and the Dems) need to retire the term “conspiracy theory” or “conspiracy theorist.” Science and Math have theories and theorists. The Humanities have theories and theorists. Don’t give this QAnon shit the remotest sounding legitimacy by using those words. Call it what it is:
Bat-shit crazy talk. The paranoid, lunatic fringe. etc.
It’s adherents shouldn’t get one iota of “tolerance.” They need institutional supervision, not empathy.
August 19, 2020 at 11:22 am in reply to: Retirement options: Ten Best Overseas Destinations. #119616Billy_TParticipantPortugal is very high on my list. France, Italy, Mallorca. Maybe Malta.
Vietnam is high on my list if/when I return to Asia, but I want to return to Europe first.
So I’ll see you in Portugal.
How’s the health these days, Billy?
Thanks for asking.
No new eye-tears, but the eye-floaters are still there, and very annoying!
Still in remission, doing maintenance chemo every other month. That regimen was designed for a two year cycle, which is nearing its end. Hoping I can have a break for a bit after this. We’ll see, as they say.
Yep. Portugal sounds great. Maybe I’ll learn to read Portuguese, so I can engage directly with the writings of (perhaps?) the only leftist Nobel Prize winner for literature, José Saramago. Have read him via translations, but they can’t really get us there. Same with Fernando Pessoa and Graciliano Ramos, two more of my favorites.
Of course, there’s the amazing food, the beaches, the music, the wine — and the castles! A hell of a lot to recommend it, and if I pick the right spot, it’s relatively affordable — they say.
Hope all is well —
Yeah I got them floaters too. Result of cataract surgery. I may have told you my son went through radiation therapy following major surgery on his lip as a result of a melanoma that metastasized into his saliva glands. His melanoma returned after the radiation and he underwent a major surgery to his lip that resulted in significant disfigurement. He then went on immunotherapy (same cocktail Jimmy Carter on for his brain cancer). So far so good but he’s lost his immune system. So he is very vulnerable.
Sorry to hear all of that, W. Send him good cosmic vibes from here, please.
I worry about melanoma too, which I’ve had. The nature of my particular form of cancer can create one of those perfect storms, if paired with it. If I understand the fine print, it basically acts as a super-carrier, swift and extensive, if the melanoma ever blows up.
Cataracts and surgery. Not sure, but the latter may have added those new floaters. And perhaps the subsequent retinal tears. I was even worried that the surgery for the tears caused more tears. But, knock on wood and all of that, it seems to have leveled off.
Stay safe, W.
August 19, 2020 at 11:18 am in reply to: Retirement options: Ten Best Overseas Destinations. #119617Billy_TParticipantThanks, ZN.
Just now tried to respond to W. Another limbo situation.
;>)
Billy_TParticipantWV,
Did I ever tell ya about my time doing tech support for the Internet, which, unfortunately, also involved Cable TV for a time? I got out of that dual duty as soon as I could, and was strictly an Internet tech after that . . . until we added Fiber TV later and we had to support that too.
Anyway, when it was still Cable TV, and we’d have an outage involving a Pay Per View event, or even just a regularly scheduled big event for wraslin’ . . . we were barraged by extremely angry callers. There were more than a few death threats thrown in for good measure, and though I tried not to picture these callers, I couldn’t help but see them in funny white hoods.
That’s just the last straw for some of them, I guess. Guns, God and Wraslin’. No outages allowed.
Billy_TParticipantNo, but his shirt looks “redder”. Maybe that’s what’s throwing you off.
Seriously I’ve seen a lot of talk about Goff putting on weight since last season but I can’t see it in any of the photos I’ve seen.
He needs to get stronger. It was a huge factor in Brady’s development. But more important, IMO, is his delivery, his mechanics. He just takes too long to wind up and throw.
Wish he’d study Peyton Manning, 24/7. Brady’s really good there too. Get the ball up around the ear, then fire, fast. Up fast, fire fast. No towel-whip windups.
All kinds of reasons why this is essential, but the obvious one is this: It takes the heat off the offensive line trying to protect him. Plus, it gives his receivers an advantage setting up DBs. Plus, it drives great pass-rushers bonkers. Just ask Aaron Donald.
Billy_TParticipantI likely won’t live long enough to see this happen . . . but I’m already on Team AOC for President.
She was born, October 13, 1989, so unless my morning, need-more-coffee brain isn’t working properly, that makes her eligible as soon as 2024. She’d likely say that’s too soon. So, perhaps 2028. More likely, if she still even wants to be in politics, she’ll wait until her mid-40s.
Of course, there are a host of other authentic lefties who could run, and sooner. But it’s long past time we say no to the chicken or the shit.
Billy_TParticipantYeah I agree with all of that, in terms what you say about policies around covid-19.
I especially agree that if there were national leadership on this, then, the erratic, state by state approach could have been mitigated. Trump for example did not endorse masks until July 21st, and that was in response to a resurgence of hospitalizations he initially dismissed as just more testing so more positives.
The countries that managed to get ahead of this were instituting national mask mandates (among other things) in early April.
Honestly, if Trump had gotten ahead on this, going back to April, I would have no problem saying he did it right…in spite of everything else I think of Trump’s other policies, words, and actions.
…
Agreed.
There’s a reason (reasons) why New Zealand, last time I checked, had 22 deaths, and we have 172K. Which reminds me of another major problem in these discussions.
Death counts are always, always undercounted, when it comes to pandemics or seasonal flu. So the folks saying this is all a hoax, or an overreaction, are doubly, triply wrong. Chances are high that that 172K figure is at least three times higher, and I’ve seen methodology that puts it at six times higher on average.
In short, none of this had to be. And the folks making it a thousand times worse are the folks saying we “overreacted” blah blah blah.
Billy_TParticipantIf I understand the rationale correctly, a lockdown’s purpose is this and such:
Give the medical system time to catch its breath, organize, stock up, staff up — which it still hasn’t done — clean up, etc. etc. A two to four week scenario should have been sufficient for that, with the caveat of new inputs always require adjustments.
So, in my (much better) scenario, we would have started a nation-wide lockdown after we discovered the pandemic, which was January (or perhaps even December). Shut down, except for essential workers/services, etc. . . . for two to four weeks, set up necessary infrastructure, staff up, stock up, get ready on a nation-wide basis . . . then, mask-up mandates everywhere, no exceptions, and de-lockdown all but the obvious stuff. As in, services and locales where masks are pretty much canceled out. As in, eating and drinking establishments. Switch those to pick-up and delivery instead.
I’d also — and this would greatly help the economy — retro-fit as much of the nation’s public spaces to be touch-free. Doors, windows, cabinets, etc. etc. . . . but especially bathrooms. At no time should we have to touch any surface areas in the bathroom, and so on.
It’s almost September. Has we done the right thing(s), we likely could have been almost “normal” last Spring. And our death counts likely would have been a few percentage points of what they are today.
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