June 27, 2015

Rank and file Democrats expect Democrats to work within the economic framing of tried and true

Keynesian economic theory and not work within the framework of the proven disastrous framework of RW Milton Friedman and Leo Strauss. Unfortunately, many Dems as well as the President work within that frame which provokes both confusion and frustration on the left.

The radical right wing economic philosophy that has guided and governed the USA for 40 years is so entrenched that many believe it's the only philosophical perspective. The lore of this disaster capitalism is that it's age old common wisdom. Ayn Rand is required reading in Community College economic classes. This dangerous economic policy is taken for granted as the only way.

In an age of mind bending wealth for the upper 1%, but crushing financial hardship for the 99%, the "Very Serious People", are discussing severe austerity measures and cutting Social Security and Medicare and/or raising the the eligibility age. WIC and SNAP programs are slashed in the name of austerity and shared sacrifices. It's "very serious people" bargaining with our lives to take life saving money away from the elderly and the poor and the ill to give back to the ultra rich.

One cannot strengthen and augment life saving programs like Social Security and live within the austerity of Friedman. The two philosophies do not reconcile at all. If you work within their economic framing, then you are ceding that their worldview is correct, it's just a matter of degrees. Those who protest these horrible ideas are branded as "radical leftists".

Washington's self important economic common wisdom is unsustainable for the common American.

The rise of the Occupy Wall Street, the Fight for $15! in conjunction with Black Lives Matter, as well as Rolling Jubilee all give voice to the needs of the people. Whether by design or happenstance, these movements demonstrate the Theory of the Rhizome put forth by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, two leftist thinkers that most in the mainstream don't even discuss. For the past 40 years, leftist thinkers have been elbowed out of the way to make room for free trade and trickle down economics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizome_(philosophy)

I don't know why the link to wiki isn't working so I'll add the original text:
http://danm.ucsc.edu/~dustin/library/deleuzeguattarirhizome.pdf


These movements, that are routinely mocked and tittered about have changed the discussion in this country. We are now discussing Wall Street corruption. We are now talking about living wages paid to hard working people. We are now discussing crazy drug policies that criminalize whole communities. We are now discussing police violence against people of color. We are now discussing the corrupt bail system, and the coercive and punitive nature municipal ticketing of people of color. We are now discussing the privatized neo-debtor's prisons. We are now discussing canceling crippling student loan debt and free tuition.

Change is happening and the "very serious people" better take notice.

I'm so grateful for the introduction of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century into the economic bloodstream. We now have more to discuss in Community College economic classes other than the Atlas Shrugged "textbook".

I thank Thomas Frank for this essay, because I think it gets to the root of why the left is so frustrated with the economic policies of the center right of the Democratic Party. It also clarifies Claire McCaskill's attacks on Bernie Sanders as being "too liberal" and a radical.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could ask our Presidential candidates who are their governing economic and political philosophers? I know that would help me decide who to vote for.

July 8, 2014

Members of the Wedge and other local Coops- Please petition them to stop stocking Eden Foods.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/08/1312492/-Eden-Foods-Keep-the-Pressure-On-Store-by-Store-Product-by-Product

I'm a member of the Wedge and I'm going to write to them and voice my displeasure about Eden foods.

May 18, 2014

Is this similar to how everyone is suppose to "lighten up" about slurs

used against them, unless the two words "white privilege" are mentioned? All loaded words are "freedumb" of speech, unless gawd forbid the shocking words of "white male privilege" are mentioned all in a row!?

May 18, 2014

Good on Texas: Hidden Camera Show Goes to Texas to Test LGBT Family Acceptance at Restaurant.

Thank you to the good people of Texas - you're good hearted people. The passion of some of these folks defending our LGBT brothers and sisters may make you I know I did.

April 24, 2014

Powerful Ad Asks: What If Your Loved Ones Were Homeless On The Street?

http://designtaxi.com/news/365215/Powerful-Ad-Asks-What-If-Your-Loved-Ones-Were-Homeless-On-The-Street/

From the link -

If you’ve ever walked past a homeless person begging on the street and pretended not to see them, this powerful ad for the New York City Rescue Mission will make you think twice about your actions.
snip
Brilliantly conceived and executed, the ad reminds us that it could be anyone’s loved ones who are on the streets, and that the homeless people we walk past everyday are human beings who deserve dignity and respect too.

http://www.makethemvisible.com/

August 12, 2012

Paul Ryan in 2011 - Janesville Labor Day Parade - Image VS Reality.

&feature=related
**I had no part in this production.

The good people of Wisconsin's 1st District are learning who Paul Ryan is along with the rest of us. The 1st District by tradition is a populist, working class Democratic region. Although I no longer live there, I grew up in Janesville and we're proud of our history, our abolitionist roots which brought Abraham Lincoln to campaign, the participation in the Underground Railroad, our Suffragette movement, our Union tradition - UAW especially, our commitment to the social commons and community spaces - Janesville is called the City of Parks, our commitment to world class public education - an education that Ryan (And Russ Feingold, who's from Janesville too) personally benefited from- therefore Ryan had to craft a persona that would be palatable to his Democratic leaning constituents, especially those in his hometown (A town that voted for Barrett in the recall btw). He has a well cultivated "aww shucks" home town boy makes good image and he's enjoyed little or no scrutiny of this image vs voting record for the last 14 years.

His campaign ads reflect his well crafted persona - that he's a straight talking, nice guy, good Christian family man, who has some vague, home spun ideas that just might work. Send him back to DC and he'll show those DC insiders a thing or two about common sense. And, gosh darn it, it pained him when the GM plant closed and we lost all of those union jobs.

Perception is everything and this is how he's viewed by many in his district - and it's by design. There's a reason why the class of 1988 voted him as the biggest "brown noser".

The uber conservative, DC elitist insider darling status that he enjoys is more than a little surprising to many of his constituents. His cold, selfish Ayn Randian worldview defies and insults the values of Wisconsin's 1st District.

Here's a sampling of his ads:


Check out this ad about energy:


Check out this ad for his roadmap:
&feature=relmfu

His disturbing agenda is now out in the open and for all to see and I hope he'll finally lose his Congressional seat.

If you have a few bucks to spare, think about contributing to Ryan's opponent, Rob Zerban:

http://www.robzerban.com/

April 20, 2012

Jailed for $280: The return of debtors' prisons

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500395_162-57417654/jailed-for-$280-the-return-of-debtors-prisons/

(MoneyWatch) How did breast cancer survivor Lisa Lindsay end up behind bars? She didn't pay a medical bill -- one the Herrin, Ill., teaching assistant was told she didn't owe. "She got a $280 medical bill in error and was told she didn't have to pay it," The Associated Press reports. "But the bill was turned over to a collection agency, and eventually state troopers showed up at her home and took her to jail in handcuffs."

Although the U.S. abolished debtors' prisons in the 1830s, more than a third of U.S. states allow the police to haul people in who don't pay all manner of debts, from bills for health care services to credit card and auto loans. In parts of Illinois, debt collectors commonly use publicly funded courts, sheriff's deputies, and country jails to pressure people who owe even small amounts to pay up, according to the AP.

snip

Yet Illinois isn't the only state where residents get locked up for owing money. A 2010 report by the American Civil Liberties Union that focused on only five states -- Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington -- found that people were being jailed at "increasingly alarming rates" over legal debts. Cases ranged from a woman who was arrested four separate times for failing to pay $251 in fines and court costs related to a fourth-degree misdemeanor conviction, to a mentally ill juvenile jailed by a judge over a previous conviction for stealing school supplies.

more at link.

December 6, 2011

On January 25th, I will be smoke free for two years.

For a woman who would smoke and swim at the same time, this is quite a triumph for me.

I went cold turkey when I came down with a cold and never looked back. I never wanted to experience withdrawal ever again. I had no idea that the triggers would be the most difficult obstacle to overcome. Two years in, I don't even think about smoking, but I do dream that I've relapsed, much to my horror. I still get a brief "hello old friend" tingle when I smell a small amount of smoke on the wind, but I don't care for it at all when I'm in a confined space. Smokes were $5.50 when I quit.

Any other success stories?
Do you miss it?
Do you dream about smoking?
Does the wafting smell still have an allure or do you find it disgusting?
What was the most difficult trigger to overcome?
How much were cigarettes when you quit?
How much money do you think you've saved?

http://www.quitnet.com/qnhomepage.aspx
From Quitnet:
Time Smoke-Free: 680 days, 11 hours, 32 minutes and 22 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 20414
Lifetime Saved: 5 months, 5 days, 22 hours

Money Saved: $5,610.00