The Movement To Teach The Economy What It Is Doing
In an essay penned over a decade ago titled “In Distrust of Movements”, farmer, author, and critic Wendell Berry beautifully summed up the nature of and need for an Occupy movement. Via the irrisistible fleet of bicycles:
One way we could describe the task ahead of us is by saying that we need to enlarge the consciousness and the conscience of the economy. Our economy needs to know — and care — what it is doing. This is revolutionary, of course, if you have a taste for revolution, but it is also a matter of common sense.
People in movements…often become too specialized, as if finally they cannot help taking refuge in the pinhole vision of the institutional intellectuals. They almost always fail to be radical enough, dealing finally in effects rather than causes. Or they deal with single issues or single solutions, as if to assure themselves that they will not…
When the Earth Gets Sick: Most Mass Extinctions Happened Slowly
Earth in the Permian period. Illustration: Kieff (CC)
Via ScienceDaily:
In geology as in cancer research, the silver bullet theory always gets the headlines and nearly always turns out to be wrong. For geologists who study mass extinctions, the silver bullet is a giant asteroid plunging to earth.But an asteroid is the prime suspect only in the most recent of five mass extinctions, said USC earth scientist David Bottjer. The cataclysm 65 million years ago wiped out the dinosaurs.
“The other four have not been resolvable to a rock falling out of the sky,” Bottjer said. For example, Bottjer and many others have published studies suggesting that the end-Permian extinction 250 million years ago happened in essence because “the earth got sick.”
The latest research from Bottjer’s group suggests a similar slow dying during the extinction 200 million years ago at the boundary of the Triassic and Jurassic eras. The latest research from Bottjer’s…
Whither Environmentalism?
Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez writes at Common Dreams:
In the latest issue of Orion Magazine, environmental activists Derrick Jensen and Paul Kingsnorth both express their frustrations with the current environmental movement.
Jensen takes movement organizers to task for their drift towards actions that are “fun and sexy.” ”The fact that so many people routinely call for environmentalism to be more fun and more sexy reveals not only the weakness of our movement but also the utter lack of seriousness with which even many activists approach the problems we face,” he says bitterly. “When it comes to stopping the murder of the planet, too many environmentalists act more like they’re planning a party than building a movement.”
But let’s face it, there are a lot of people on this planet who find the issues addressed by environmentalism just too scary and depressing to deal with. The environmentalist party-planners are trying to reach these folks, who…
Ron Paul Scored Higher Than President Obama on the ACLU Report Card
This is embarrassing for anyone who voted for “Hope and Change” … and the highest score goes to former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, who was not even allowed to debate in televised debates. So reports Bob Egelko in the San Fransisco Chronicle:
The highest overall rating went to former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican-turned-Libertarian, who opposes the Patriot Act and — unlike Obama — supports the right of gays and lesbians to marry. Among the leading Republican candidates, libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul also got a higher score than Obama despite low ratings in several categories.
Why Do People Defend Unjust, Inept, and Corrupt Systems?
Detail from Corrupt Legislation. Mural by Elihu Vedder (1896).
Via ScienceDaily:
Why do we stick up for a system or institution we live in — a government, company, or marriage — even when anyone else can see it is failing miserably? Why do we resist change even when the system is corrupt or unjust?
A new article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science, illuminates the conditions under which we’re motivated to defend the status quo — a process called “system justification.”System justification isn’t the same as acquiescence, explains Aaron C. Kay, a psychologist at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, who co-authored the paper with University of Waterloo graduate student Justin Friesen. “It’s pro-active. When someone comes to justify the status quo, they also come to see it as what should be.”
Reviewing laboratory and cross-national studies, the…
Bull Moose or Bull Sh*t: Is Obama Changing His Stance Towards Wall Street?
Is Obama changing?
Many in the Occupy Wall Street Movement are patting their efforts on the back, and even claiming credit for what looks like a shift by President Obama towards a more engaged campaign discussing economic fairness.
The President’s speech in Kansas was modeled on remarks made by the Republican Bull Moose Teddy Roosevelt in 1910. There’s nothing like quoting a Republican for credible centrist positioning. (Note: he quotes TR, not FDR.)
Will he embrace GOP Pres Eisenhower’s warning about the Military Industrial Complex next?
Unlikely.
Richard Eskow was quick to salute the new Obama:
“Barack Obama channeled one of American history’s truly transformative figures by visiting the tiny Kansas town where Teddy Roosevelt gave his ‘New Nationalism’ speech over a century ago. It was refreshing to see the President invoke his predecessor, who was a powerful and fearless agent of change both inside and outside the White House.
“For the first time the President directly…
Occupy The Change (Video)
An example of when a group of people get together to effect change, you never know how far your message will spread …
President Obama Has Raised More Money From Wall Street Than Any Politician in American History
This opinion piece from Joe Scarborough in the Politico is worth a read:
One of the most famous scenes in movie history comes from “Casablanca,” when a corrupt official shuts down Humphrey Bogart’s cafe. Bogart asks the French captain — who also happens to be a gambling aficionado — why he’s closing the joint down. His response is a classic.
“I am shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on here.”
Political commentators have referred to Capt. Renault’s uproarious line for years when calling out hypocritical politicians. But few political narratives ever fit that scene as tightly as President Barack Obama’s bipolar approach to Wall Street. To fully understand the extent of Obama’s double-speak, it helps to let the “Casablanca” scene play out a bit, because after the corrupt captain makes his self-righteous declaration, a croupier hands him cash and says, “Your winnings, sir.”
Capt. Renault quietly thanks the croupier and then quickly returns…
Ron Paul on Occupy Wall Street (Video)
Hear his remarks on the Occupy Wall Street gatherings. Unfortunately, CNN didn’t find the time to allow him to give a closing statement. It’d be nice to watch Ron Paul debate Barack Obama:
So You’ve Decided To Smash The State
Aaron Cynic writes at Diatribe Media:
For more than three weeks, you’ve been out in the streets, raising your voices in unison to make a change. Not just a little change — there’s no law to tweek here or there that’s going to fix “the system.” Even the most right wing arch conservative republican knows that. This is why you’re demonstrating against Wall Street, against the slow corporate takeover of our government, against endless wars and endless greed. Your list of demands changes and grows. Your democratic process to make decisions beneficial to all who participate in the movement grows.
It’s beautiful.
It’s also one of the most difficult endeavors you’ll face in your entire life.
None of this will come easy.
We’ve already seen how police and other authorities have reacted to your kindred spirits in New York, Boston, LA, Seattle, and dozens of other cities. We’ve seen thousands of people arrested, beaten, gassed,…
Forgive the Debt of The 99 Percent?
“So my immodest proposal is simply this,” as posed by Alex Pareene on Salon.com:
Individuals and households in the bottom 99 percent who owe debt to any large financial institution that received federal government support during and after the 2008 crisis should see their debt forgiven. That would certainly stimulate the economy, as most people would suddenly find themselves with a great deal more money to spend on iPads (and food, and clothing, and housing, and healthcare). The debt can be forgiven by decree or if the government really wants to it can step in to pay it itself; I don’t much care either way. (Though it’d be nice to see it just wiped off the books, to enrage the banks.)
Let’s wipe the debt of the 99 percent off the books, tell the financial sector to eat it, and get on with our lives.
I’m by no means the first person to come…
Media Roots: Why Occupy Oakland?
Abby Martin of Media Roots conducts on the spot interviews with Oakland residents about why they want change on the first two days of Occupy Oakland:
Apple’s Famous ‘Think Different’ Ad (Video)
Good question for the Disinfo crowd: accurate or appropriating?
It’s Time to Get Money Out of Politics
Via GetMoneyOut.com:
Bailouts. War. Unemployment. Our government is bought, and we’re angry. Now, we’re turning our anger into positive action. By signing this petition, you are joining our campaign to get money out of politics. Our politicians won’t do this. But we will. We will become an unrelenting, organized wave advocating a constitutional amendment to get money out of politics.
As the petition grows, we can use on The Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC as a platform to force this issue to the center of the 2012 elections. From our former Washington lobbyist, Jimmy Williams, here is a DRAFT of our constitutional amendment:
“No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign…
One Word @ #OccupyWallStreet (Video)
Sunday morning at 4 a.m. on September 24, 2011 we made anyone willing to be interviewed at Occupy Wall Street say one word to why they were there, we took those answers and made it into a sentence. This is the sentence:
So Who Really Runs The World? A Network Analysis Reveals ‘Super Entity’ of Global Corporate Control …
An outline of the adversary emerges from Michael Ricciardi on PlanetSave:
In the first such analysis ever conducted, Swiss economic researchers have conducted a global network analysis of the most powerful transnational corporations (TNCs). Their results have revealed a core of 787 firms with control of 80% of this network, and a “super entity” comprised of 147 corporations that have a controlling interest in 40% of the network’s TNCs.
When we hear conspiracy theorist talk about this or that powerful group (or alliance of said groups) “pulling strings” behind the scenes, we tend to dismiss or minimize such claims, even though, deep down, we may suspect that there’s some degree of truth to it, however distorted by the theorists’ slightly paranoid perception of the world. But perhaps our tendency to dismiss such claims as exaggerations (at best) comes from our inability to get even a slight grip on the complexity of global…
Democracy Needs Reform: We Are the Unsatisfied Lead by the Unqualified
Malcolm Fraser: “There aren’t enough people who have done something before they got into Parliament.” (ABC Radio, 9 April 2011)
The above is a comment made by former Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser on ABC radio about the important of having quality people in a political system. One need just to browse through the events that have taken place in Australia politics (Federal and States) over the last few months will be able to understand why Australians are so frustrated with the lack of deep thinkers and serious policy makers in our political establishment.
Quality of leaders is not a problem in good time
In normal time when the world economy is booming, despite wide spread incompetency amongst the political leaderships, Australia is blessed by its natural resources and are able to flow along with the world trend of economic prosperity. Therefore, the issue of political incompetency within our current system of government has not…
