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What a Great Idea! There is little doubt that purer sweet stuff is blanketed by the sludge which rises to the top and pulls the political strings. I think a major reason (not the only) for this is that the human brain simply cannot juggle the immensity and complications of this phenomena. A quick, very well designed visual every day/night on the news just might open up some nerve endings. "A picture is worth a thousand words." I think this idea is something we can move on to get the networks on it. Thanks for getting outside the box.
We hate to admit we are more like the dog characters in "Up" yelling "Squirrel!" in the middle of a sentance when it comes to paying attention to "big" issues.
We hate to admit we are more royalist than democratic sometimes, wanting a divinely annoited leader to make the grand decisions about "the state" or other arbitrarily defined territory in which we live.
We hate to admit when we live at the base of Mt. Vesuvius that we live at the base of Mt. Vesuvius and the steam rising from the summit and the tremors under foot might be a warning to leave and leave quickly.
We hate to admit that human activity caused The Dustbowl, deforested most of what is now the northern United states from Michigan to The Rockies, polluted over 90% of American waterways and created a Texas sized sea of garbage in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
We hate to admit, "We have met the enemy and he is us." (Walt Kelly's Pogo)
In one of my psychology classes, we learned about something called "compassion fatigue". The idea is that someone is more likely to give money to a single homeless person, than they are to give an equal amount of money to a group of homeless people. That is, people feel more compassionate/care more about something when they feel like they can have a significant and positive impact. If you give one homeless person $20, you've changed their entire day. If you give $20 to a charity that helps all homeless people, you don't get the same results. Or, after giving to the same homeless person day after day, and that homeless person's situation doesn't seem to improve, people eventually stop giving.
I bring this up because I see a similar thing happening with climate change. I'm not sure about the baby boomers who frequent this blog, but for me, in my mid-30s, I've been hearing about this my entire life. I remember watching videos about how the world was going to climate hell way back in grammar school. One of the first computer games they made us play in school, in about 1992, focused on using less power in the home. (You got more points for turning off more lights in the house in the game.)
A lot of the things I've learned have stuck with me. I recycle. I turn off lights. I'm about two Christmas bonuses away from getting solar panels on my house.
Yet my little lifestyle changes aren't doing anything but making me feel good about myself. The climate is still getting worse. All I hear is doom and gloom. So now the fatigue sets in. Add on to that the percieved hypocrasy from the left (Companies should pollute less, yet I'm still buying their products. Or, people should reduce their carbon footprint, let me fly to New York to protest this...), and you just get worn out. After awhile, you just quit giving a damn. All of your concern is spent. Your attention turns to other things.
maybe if tv weather people include global maps showing the day's droughts, storms, floods, fires, mudslides, etc. it would improve folks day to day perceptions?
Many peoples thinks that war is the only solution for anything. But this is not, their is always a other way which goes for peaceful solution of any matter. The intervention of America in Iraq issue is good, but this will not hurt the citizens of Iraq. Baghdadi have to killed but not on behalf of innocent citizens. Just make a plan like Osama-bin laden killing, in which not even neighbor knows that osama is killed. Just make a plan like that. He is powerful but not so.
Reply to #4: John, thank you so much for your excellent suggestion! I googled Henry Wallace's "The Dangers of American Fascism" and copied those parts that seem most relevant to our situation today:
The dangerous American fascist is the man who wants to do in the United States in an American way what Hitler did in Germany in a Prussian way. The American fascist would prefer not to use violence. His method is to poison the channels of public information. With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power. Gee, doesn't that sound familiar!
If we define an American fascist as one who in case of conflict puts money and power ahead of human beings, then there are undoubtedly several million fascists in the United States. There are probably several hundred thousand if we narrow the definition to include only those who in their search for money and power are ruthless and deceitful. Most American fascists are enthusiastically supporting the war effort…… They are patriotic in time of war because it is to their interest to be so, but in time of peace they follow power and the dollar wherever they may lead. Uh-huh.
Still another danger is represented by those who, paying lip service to democracy and the common welfare, in their insatiable greed for money and the power which money gives, do not hesitate surreptitiously to evade the laws designed to safeguard the public from monopolistic extortion. Like healthcare extortion!!
The symptoms of fascist thinking are colored by environment and adapted to immediate circumstances. But always and everywhere they can be identified by their appeal to prejudice and by the desire to play upon the fears and vanities of different groups in order to gain power. It is no coincidence that the growth of modern tyrants has in every case been heralded by the growth of prejudice. It may be shocking to some people in this country to realize that, without meaning to do so, they hold views in common with Hitler when they preach discrimination against other religious, racial or economic groups. BINGO!
The American fascists are most easily recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism. They use every opportunity to impugn democracy. They use isolationism as a slogan to conceal their own selfish imperialism. Today one need only turn on the TV or radio to see many examples!
They claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection. I think so-called "free trade" fits this description perfectly.
Monopolists who fear competition and who distrust democracy because it stands for equal opportunity would like to secure their position against small and energetic enterprise. In an effort to eliminate the possibility of any rival growing up, some monopolists would sacrifice democracy itself. Sound familiar, as in deja vu?
Democracy to crush fascism internally must demonstrate its capacity to "make the trains run on time." It must develop the ability to keep people fully employed and at the same time balance the budget. It must put human beings first and dollars second. It must appeal to reason and decency and not to violence and deceit. We must not tolerate oppressive government or industrial oligarchy in the form of monopolies and cartels. As long as scientific research and inventive ingenuity outran our ability to devise social mechanisms to raise the living standards of the people, we may expect the liberal potential of the United States to increase. If this liberal potential is properly channeled, we may expect the area of freedom of the United States to increase. The problem is to spend up our rate of social invention in the service of the welfare of all the people. AMEN.
Fascism in the postwar inevitably will push steadily for Anglo-Saxon imperialism and eventually for war with Russia. Already American fascists are talking and writing about this conflict and using it as an excuse for their internal hatreds and intolerances toward certain races, creeds and classes. Ever notice how many FOX pundits would have made ideal Aryan specimans of Hitler's so-called "super race"? Blond, anglo looking...
It is an infectious disease, and we must all be on our guard against intolerance, bigotry and the pretension of invidious distinction. But if we put our trust in the common sense of common men and "with malice toward none and charity for all" go forward on the great adventure of making political, economic and social democracy a practical reality, we shall not fail. But have we ultimately failed? This article was written seventy years ago! I don't reckon Mr. Wallace would be too pleased with 21st Century America.
Thanks again, John. Great reference. Guess some things never change (SIGH). - AIW
Sceptical climate change-global warming deniers are like a person who has never seen a clock before. You tell them the hour and minute hands are moving on this thing and they look at at for 5 seconds and they tell you that you are crazy because they can't see the hands moving. If they wait for 15 minutes then they can see the hands are indeed moving. Many climate deniers are not going to change their minds until too much time has passed and the climate has indeed changed and the globe has indeed gotten warmer and the oceans have indeed risin. By the time the climate deniers get the proof they need to change their minds it will be too late and then, no matter what we do, it will be too late, and it only gets worse from there. For whatever reason, the people in the USA have elected a majority of climate deniers to run our government and the fossil fuel industry has what looks like an endless supply of money to buy all of the climate deniers they need. We need advertisement to tell people the truth. With enough advertisement about alternative energy sources and the consequences of not not using it, people will stop electing climate deniers to office. The fossil fuel industry needs to convert to the alternative energy industry just like the war industry converted to the civillian products industry after world war II. Either mankind will see the light on climate change or mankind will kill itself off with climate denial.
Letting war mongers, war profiteers, shove fear, and war down the publics throats is just unbelievably bad, and wrong. Don't let us be "Bush-wacked" again !
Rocketman -- Today I heard on the news that I think it was Honda who is producing Hydrogen powered cars I assume using fuel cell technology we developed for the Apollo Program. They showed a guy driving the car saying that it was silent. They went on to say that it will cost $60,000 when it comes to market next year but with "Obama" government subsidies, the price will be around $45,000. Then they bitched about how the taxpayers are paying the difference. Typical Regressive remark.
I foresee gas stations installing Hydrogen fuel delivery systems in the future. It would be simple. Of course the gas stations owned by oil companies will not install them. It's their loss. Screw them.
Another Japanese company is also making a Hydrogen powered car.
Regressive heads are going to explode. I love it.
The Business Roundtable inspired by the Powell Memorandum and the Council of Foreign Relations the Neo Liberal think tank. Both institutions agree on the XL pipeline and the exploitation of Americas' coal and natural gas resources. Since both institutions have members sitting on key councils that advise the president and the Business Roundtable members spent (invested) billions of dollars on 2014 elections to ensure a more business friendly House and Senate, with the CEO and Chief occupying the White House, It will be no time before the Appalachian Mounts are turned into dirt mounds and every American citizen will have the chance of their houses catching on fire or exploding because their drinking water is both flammable and combustible.
Like it or not, these are the forces that dominate domestic and foreign policy enacted by the USA. There are plenty of other institutions that hold sway over the US government but these two institution seem to have overlap with all other institution and most importantly they are the two institution that elected and unelected government officials in Washington DC listen too.
Here is a link to both Council of Foreign Relations and Business Roundtable
http://www.cfr.org/north-america/north-america/p33536?cid=otr-marketing_use-north_america_task_force/
http://businessroundtable.org/media/blog/keystone-pipeline-yes-it-will-create-us-jobs-and-economic-activity
http://businessroundtable.org/issues/energy-environment/keystone-xl-pipeline
It's eminent domain, not imminent domain.
It's one of those things that was written into the Constitution, but not by name, which I find to be the smarter way. Things mentioned by name but not by definition are impeachment, "questioning" of Congress members, imposts, duties, excises, naturalization, securities, felony, letter of marque, militia, writ of habeas corpus, bill of attainder, ex post facto law, natural-born citizen, "the" recess of the Senate, misdemeanor, good behavior, equity, corruption of blood, republican form of government, convention (for proposing amendments), common law, and, worst of all, war.
Without a definition included, there's a danger that either the meaning can change (as indeed habeas corpus did over the course of a few centuries before the Constitution), or that a provision can be circumvented by changing a name, such as by calling a war a police action.
If we put as much money and effort into tracking down and killing any one who sells anything to ISIS, especially arms and military equipment, blow up and drone strike any bank that does business with them, especially the bank presidents and CEO,CFO and then embargo, or just plain take all their assets, as in 'civil forfeiture' that we have to live with everyday.... we all would be home by now.
OR a really good non-violent approach would be to invest the same amount into H2 fuel cell and new battery technology, giive 100% grants for solar roofs, invest in one bullet train line between every city with a pop. of 1m or more, re-invest in education and well you get the idea... if we did that, and then really spent money on clean fresh water - over there! as well as here....
Kill the root cause.
They are trying to prove themselves of being their homeland. They are doing just they have been addressed by their superior. fjackets.com
Thom had that Sonny Bono thing going on in the 70's.
I guess that would make Louise, Cher.
No they will not take any action agaisnt them because they don't have time. they will just do that when the problem belongs to them. Hexder
There is something wrong with a large percentage of the species called homosapians. There are no other species on earth that gather in large numbers to kill other large numbers of the exact same species. Humans have been doing this for many thousands of years. We should know that war is wrong because it causes great suffering, pain, and death to not only to the military personel on both sides of a war but to the many thousands or millions of innocent people in the path of war. Those people on the news "shows" who favor going to war are not the ones who will be there to see mangled dead children. They are not the ones who will go to war and get their legs blown off. They are the ones who will profit from war. Isn't it a wonder how people can do things that are so very wrong and see no wrong in what they do when it is of personal benefit.
Yes, 100 - 1 is WAY to much, but I figured no one would take me even remotely seriously if proposed any less for CEOs. 10 -1 is more like it...but still to much ...how 'bout 3 - 1?
Sorry DAnne... the words "must watch Russell Brand" were the link...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDgS_YR9Cqw&list=UUuFCfiQxxQFt3ELgYceCElw
Aliceinwonderland ---
Google "The Danger of American Fascism" by Henry A. Wallace. This article was published in the New York Times on April 4, 1944.
It seems his prediction has come true.
Right on, Bobbler. I've had similar thoughts, whenever I hear someone make one of those "liberal" media comments. If it was liberal, I'd still be watching TV.
Richardo, that's a mighty creative way of making your point!
I can't stomach watching these war mongers day in and day out, thumping their chests for more and more war. It offends me, it sickens me, and without opposing points of view challenging them I see nothing to be learned that I haven't learned already. The U.S. is not a democracy and not the leader of the "free world"; it is an empire. An ugly fascist empire. - AIW
Can dark money groups be used to launder money from criminal enterprises? Anyone have an opinion? Movement of enormous sums of cash by unidentifed individuals outside banking surveillance seems like a real temptation to the less than scrupulously honest. Of course, it would doubtless be OK because our politicians would make sure everything is above board.
POOF! Here is irrefutable proof the media has no relationship to the left. Unless someone can LOL explain somehow the left has become pro-war. I know facts and reason are useless debating conservatives; so to anyone with an open mind, here is all you need to know about the liberal media claim (and therefore which side is fulloshit).
Off topic
It seems a simple thing to me: They're both deeply misguided liars. Time and again their clear and obvious disdain for the facts have been presented to all.