"You know,” Jeb said, “There’ve been a bunch of times when companies have been taken over by the government. It’s mostly happened during wartime, but not always. Sometimes it happened because a company wasn’t making it, but they were doing something the people needed. And then there were times when companies were hurting the country, mostly by jacking up their profits. Like the defense industry. That’s probably the most evil example. Getting rich off death and destruction… Taxpayers in America spend ten times more on defense than the next eight or nine countries put together. How f***ing far out of whack is that?
Companies that have been nationalized because they got greedy have had their directors and their senior officers switched out for people who put the public good first, before profits. Then, after the companies have had their attitudes adjusted, the government’s let them go private again.
Now America and the rest of the world’s in a situation that’s bigger and more dangerous than anything we’ve ever been up against before. The only way we’re going to survive is if we take control of companies like Exxon, and the big defense industry corporations, before they turn the planet into a wasteland. Nationalize them, take them over, and adjust their attitudes. And while those companies are being turned around, maybe all the directors and all the corporate officers who lied about climate change should be hung by their ankles from bridges down in Florida every time a hurricane hits. And all the corporate officers who lied about stuff to get us into wars so they could get rich should be forced to go through basic training and serve a few tours of duty in combat zones. Greedy, lying, f***ers…”
In retrospect, it has been a predictable path for a technology. Petroleum extraction and refining began in the mid 19th century; explosive growth of ICE transportation began in the early 20th century, followed by petroleum-based air and rail transportation; and development of synthetic petroleum-based materials. This produced amazing economic and technological growth, leading to improved standards of living. However, in the late 20th century when it became widely recognized that release of fossil carbon to the atmosphere could significantly warm the planet, Big Oil began to reposition itself, first with well-funded campaigns of disinformation on climate data and then later campaigns of disinformation about society's ability to economically recycle plastics, to justify increased petroleum production. Single-use plastic increasingly and justifiably has a bad reputation, since it contributes to the micro-plastics in all of us. Now in this last gasp phase, Big Oil is seeking to protect its assets and future profits through liability shields against damage to the climate, knowingly caused for nearly 70 years. This is the downside of capitalism. We owe our comfortable existence to capitalist incentives to innovate and grow through the application of technology, but we must learn to honestly read the writing on the wall near the end of a technology cycle and effectively transition to superior technologies. Otherwise, we may contribute to our own demise.
VOTE = REVOLT. Shop local = Revolt. Make you own meals, all three of them, every day = Revolt. Grow your own crops = Revolt. Buy from farmer's markets = Revolt. Use batteries instead of gasoline to power your tools = Revolt. Place solar panels on your house and/or land = Revolt. Monitor and regulate capitalism = Revolt. Fair trade (not unbridled free trade) = Revolt. Use your "device" for only one hour a day = Revolt. Laugh more each day, and make others laugh often = Revolt. Volunter your services = Revolt. VOTE =REVOLT. Change this ongoing revolting world into a driving, actively REVOLTING world for us to truly, comfortably live in and have a future to plan for. REVOLT.
Our government's function is to protect its citizens not just from foreign invasion but to enable us to breathe healthy air,drink clean water and ensure that our food supply is healthy and safe for consumption.Their power is derived from it citizens and they answer to them in elections.Trumpolini,the wannabe tyrant, paid lip service when he took his oath of office. and has consistently perverted & distorted his presidential function.Regrettably,the invertebrate GOP has enabled his misconduct.For our well being and that of our children,we need to vote the treacherous bastards OUT and hold them accountable.
As long as money equals morality and amount equals credibility, the only solution is to run out. At which time all of the morality and credibility will have fled to Mars.
I'm for public finance of a private rocket if Bezos and Musk are on the same one and it's broadcast live. The entertainment value of two giant egos fighting like scorpions in a jar. It will also become obvious how much their lives depend on us nobodies as crew. If there were a Mars colony, you know they'd mistreat the help. But little things like food, shelter, and O2 would only come from skilled workers. Then organize Operating Engineers and Machinists Red Planet local #1 and strike! What are the "owners" going to do? Send out for air and scab labor?!
Send out for air ,when it arrives there will be L.A smoog for the masses and the rocket owners will be inhaling parri, air like president scroob on planet spaceballs.Neill degrass Tyson said he didn't know why anyone would look for extraterrestrial intelligent life, it never worked out for the lesser of the two civilizations when 2 civilizations meet. Then the f,ridiot said he wanted to go to Mars,I don't know why anyone would want to travel 2 years to stare at red rocks. He obviously didn't account for the price of transportation for air,food,and water to a red rock. The price of groceries is high on Earth and" astronomically higher thank you Linda Lee" everytime a f,rocketscientidiots rocket launches prematurely.
The push for any "liability shield" is prima facie evidence the econopaths know there's a huge problem. But let's not fool ourselves getting rid of King Donald will solve the problem. The Robber Barons and Landlords and Wall Street bulls and bears (oh my) and financial vultures will still be around. And they bought the Ds, too. The only way out for us peasants is one Jim knows well--populist coalitions.
PS--hey, Jim! On various pro labor or prog sites I've mentioned that quotation of you in Cory Haala's book about the diff between liberals and populists. Lots of "likes." I also directly emailed Les Leopold, author of /Wall Street's War on Workers,/ researcher, and blog writer on labor subjects. He bought the Haala book and posted about it yesterday as explaining how the OPPOSITE of tepid centrism and econ status quo of the current Ds is what wins.
Well, I'm 78, trans, and long past being polite about things like class prejudice. Most of my mind still works, but I don't have the energy required. And I'm not an extrovert; I'm actually an artist and mystic who came from an activist generation and as politically trained, morally I had to represent the labor side. I'll go as far as doing what I was once good at--local campaigns. Only for explicitly populist Ds or if a Labor Party happens. As Jim said in his book that's a must read /There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos/ "Some say we need a third party. I say we need a second one." Written in 1997, which to us elders seems just a few years ago. But in reality 3 decades ago--and things are even worse. Thank the New Dems for turning the clock back to old economic exploitation.
Thank you for responding so candidly — and for your work here: it’s grounding to hear people who are wondering, thinking, and concerned for our Country and all of the People. Best..
Kuwait, Iraq, Venezuela, Iran how many soldiers have to die in wars for these greasy oilheads so we can't have clean energy and a healthy planet to live on.
The sad part of this nonsense is that we the people are fighting an administration that holds are the cards. If we don't successfully overturn this government at the end of its run in 2028 and get some responsible individuals whose heads are screwed on correctly to stop this nonsense, we will have passed the tipping point and the end will be nearer than we think.
This is the face of oligarchy laced with crony capitalism. No moral people need apply.
"You know,” Jeb said, “There’ve been a bunch of times when companies have been taken over by the government. It’s mostly happened during wartime, but not always. Sometimes it happened because a company wasn’t making it, but they were doing something the people needed. And then there were times when companies were hurting the country, mostly by jacking up their profits. Like the defense industry. That’s probably the most evil example. Getting rich off death and destruction… Taxpayers in America spend ten times more on defense than the next eight or nine countries put together. How f***ing far out of whack is that?
Companies that have been nationalized because they got greedy have had their directors and their senior officers switched out for people who put the public good first, before profits. Then, after the companies have had their attitudes adjusted, the government’s let them go private again.
Now America and the rest of the world’s in a situation that’s bigger and more dangerous than anything we’ve ever been up against before. The only way we’re going to survive is if we take control of companies like Exxon, and the big defense industry corporations, before they turn the planet into a wasteland. Nationalize them, take them over, and adjust their attitudes. And while those companies are being turned around, maybe all the directors and all the corporate officers who lied about climate change should be hung by their ankles from bridges down in Florida every time a hurricane hits. And all the corporate officers who lied about stuff to get us into wars so they could get rich should be forced to go through basic training and serve a few tours of duty in combat zones. Greedy, lying, f***ers…”
The Corporate States of America
In retrospect, it has been a predictable path for a technology. Petroleum extraction and refining began in the mid 19th century; explosive growth of ICE transportation began in the early 20th century, followed by petroleum-based air and rail transportation; and development of synthetic petroleum-based materials. This produced amazing economic and technological growth, leading to improved standards of living. However, in the late 20th century when it became widely recognized that release of fossil carbon to the atmosphere could significantly warm the planet, Big Oil began to reposition itself, first with well-funded campaigns of disinformation on climate data and then later campaigns of disinformation about society's ability to economically recycle plastics, to justify increased petroleum production. Single-use plastic increasingly and justifiably has a bad reputation, since it contributes to the micro-plastics in all of us. Now in this last gasp phase, Big Oil is seeking to protect its assets and future profits through liability shields against damage to the climate, knowingly caused for nearly 70 years. This is the downside of capitalism. We owe our comfortable existence to capitalist incentives to innovate and grow through the application of technology, but we must learn to honestly read the writing on the wall near the end of a technology cycle and effectively transition to superior technologies. Otherwise, we may contribute to our own demise.
VOTE = REVOLT. Shop local = Revolt. Make you own meals, all three of them, every day = Revolt. Grow your own crops = Revolt. Buy from farmer's markets = Revolt. Use batteries instead of gasoline to power your tools = Revolt. Place solar panels on your house and/or land = Revolt. Monitor and regulate capitalism = Revolt. Fair trade (not unbridled free trade) = Revolt. Use your "device" for only one hour a day = Revolt. Laugh more each day, and make others laugh often = Revolt. Volunter your services = Revolt. VOTE =REVOLT. Change this ongoing revolting world into a driving, actively REVOLTING world for us to truly, comfortably live in and have a future to plan for. REVOLT.
yes! yes! yes!
Our government's function is to protect its citizens not just from foreign invasion but to enable us to breathe healthy air,drink clean water and ensure that our food supply is healthy and safe for consumption.Their power is derived from it citizens and they answer to them in elections.Trumpolini,the wannabe tyrant, paid lip service when he took his oath of office. and has consistently perverted & distorted his presidential function.Regrettably,the invertebrate GOP has enabled his misconduct.For our well being and that of our children,we need to vote the treacherous bastards OUT and hold them accountable.
As long as money equals morality and amount equals credibility, the only solution is to run out. At which time all of the morality and credibility will have fled to Mars.
I'm for public finance of a private rocket if Bezos and Musk are on the same one and it's broadcast live. The entertainment value of two giant egos fighting like scorpions in a jar. It will also become obvious how much their lives depend on us nobodies as crew. If there were a Mars colony, you know they'd mistreat the help. But little things like food, shelter, and O2 would only come from skilled workers. Then organize Operating Engineers and Machinists Red Planet local #1 and strike! What are the "owners" going to do? Send out for air and scab labor?!
Send out for air ,when it arrives there will be L.A smoog for the masses and the rocket owners will be inhaling parri, air like president scroob on planet spaceballs.Neill degrass Tyson said he didn't know why anyone would look for extraterrestrial intelligent life, it never worked out for the lesser of the two civilizations when 2 civilizations meet. Then the f,ridiot said he wanted to go to Mars,I don't know why anyone would want to travel 2 years to stare at red rocks. He obviously didn't account for the price of transportation for air,food,and water to a red rock. The price of groceries is high on Earth and" astronomically higher thank you Linda Lee" everytime a f,rocketscientidiots rocket launches prematurely.
The push for any "liability shield" is prima facie evidence the econopaths know there's a huge problem. But let's not fool ourselves getting rid of King Donald will solve the problem. The Robber Barons and Landlords and Wall Street bulls and bears (oh my) and financial vultures will still be around. And they bought the Ds, too. The only way out for us peasants is one Jim knows well--populist coalitions.
PS--hey, Jim! On various pro labor or prog sites I've mentioned that quotation of you in Cory Haala's book about the diff between liberals and populists. Lots of "likes." I also directly emailed Les Leopold, author of /Wall Street's War on Workers,/ researcher, and blog writer on labor subjects. He bought the Haala book and posted about it yesterday as explaining how the OPPOSITE of tepid centrism and econ status quo of the current Ds is what wins.
Rafi, would you consider running for office?
Well, I'm 78, trans, and long past being polite about things like class prejudice. Most of my mind still works, but I don't have the energy required. And I'm not an extrovert; I'm actually an artist and mystic who came from an activist generation and as politically trained, morally I had to represent the labor side. I'll go as far as doing what I was once good at--local campaigns. Only for explicitly populist Ds or if a Labor Party happens. As Jim said in his book that's a must read /There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos/ "Some say we need a third party. I say we need a second one." Written in 1997, which to us elders seems just a few years ago. But in reality 3 decades ago--and things are even worse. Thank the New Dems for turning the clock back to old economic exploitation.
Thank you for responding so candidly — and for your work here: it’s grounding to hear people who are wondering, thinking, and concerned for our Country and all of the People. Best..
Kuwait, Iraq, Venezuela, Iran how many soldiers have to die in wars for these greasy oilheads so we can't have clean energy and a healthy planet to live on.
This shows that they know that climate change is for real. We must pressure them to insist Trump admits that it is no hoax.
Watching 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' with Lena Olin
The sad part of this nonsense is that we the people are fighting an administration that holds are the cards. If we don't successfully overturn this government at the end of its run in 2028 and get some responsible individuals whose heads are screwed on correctly to stop this nonsense, we will have passed the tipping point and the end will be nearer than we think.
Follow the Money! The Billionaire Take Over of America! And the Killing of All Life on Earth!