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Chuck points out: “You need to watch 'Last Years of Living Dangerously' on showtime. It points out that at fracking sites if the leakage of methane is worse than 3%, coal would be the cleaner alternative. It has a clip of Obama saying the leakage is only 1.5%.“ He then gives several examples where leakage rates are 4% or substantially higher.
Not only is President Obama a corporatist; he's a goddam liar. But I think perhaps neither of these tags of distinction excludes the other. They seem to go together, like bread & butter!. - AIW
Kudos, Craig! If I still lived in Santa Cruz, you'd have my vote. - AIW
It's always so disheartening to hear people like today's final caller, who care but have no idea how government works. You can't have a referendum to say "Reform immigration policy". That's not a law. Without representatives of the people to hamer out details, the functionaries of the government (bureaucrats, law enforcement, etc.) would be left with virtually no rein or mandate on their actions.
RE #24 of RichardofJeffer -- It does not seem clear to me.
It seems that if FDR explained that to the powers to be, they would not have staged a military coup. Thank God, that Smedley Butler saved us.
It seems to me that the "unbridled herd" is a synonym for demcracy. The unbridled herd was winning against the powerful minority which led to the Lewis Powell memo. If the unbridled herd was not winning the Powell memo would not have been necessary.
next
RE#12 of RichardofJeffer... -- Thom calls it a constitutional monarchy.
Market Basket Wins! See Artie T's speech at www.wmur.com to see the true values that CEOs need to embrace to make this happen. "No one person is better than any other".
Please put some clips on the radio show.
:) kudo's on the title mr hartmann
Maybe you can’t see it, because you’re not looking at from the context of the time, but the New Deal was a result of external pressure outside of the government that forced the system to protect itself against reproach from the citizenry. Washington referred to this, along with a lot of other Founding Fathers, as a leveling spirit. The Civil Right movement of the 60’s and most popular movement in the U.S that had success was because the powers that be concede their stance to protect the system, so in return they could dismantle within using the same system that they protected against popular change. Thom on several occasion has made this point, especial with New Deal and the mood of the nation changing toward socialism or communism, however, he’s never made that connection completely. I am not advocating for either systems, I’m just making the point about the under current of the nation and that the people in power completely understood at that time.
FDR clearly went to the powers at the time and explained that their way of life was about to be directly threaten by the volition of the people. The New Deal was a brief concession by the ruling class, which was immediately attacked using the unchanged established institutions that existed to protect minority rule against leveling spirit of the majority. This 50 plus year attack on the New Deal, over time, is clearly reflected in the laws and policies that have changed, limited or completely dismantled those benefits and protection that the New Deal offered society. This has been done without consent of the people and that should be proof that we do not live in a democracy.
We do not move forward in this country by the popular method of democracy because it does not exist. We are allowed progress because our “betters” decide, either form fear of popular that might fundamentally change the limited function of representative government or that their rule by minority consensus might be directly challenged by the unbridled heard.
I personally have never taken Jefferson’s rhetoric on popular democracy seriously. However, there was a deliberate move by Jefferson’s colleagues to keep him away from the constitutional convention. His belief in the democratic process might have been the reason for that exclusion.
It might be an over simplification to state – If we live in a democracy and then the will of the people should be the governing factor in laws and policy. So, if the majority consensus is that a person living below the most meager of means that a person can live and exist is not acceptable in a wealthy society, then it would be corrected by the democratic process. However, that is clearly not the case in the United States, therefore, we do not live in a democracy or a democratic republic, because the will of the people is not addressed by popular volition.
It's morally wrong to NOT feed human children... It is an economic stupidity because remediation is SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE. So this is LOGICAL and ECONOMICAL!
Feed ALL children worldwide for
ONE MILLION $$$ of each One Billion spent on WAR.
FIGHTING costs WAY MORE than FEEDING !!
Get with the program folks !
Feed ALL children Educate ALL people
to feed themselves and others
Our RIGHT is to establish ideal human habitat; our DUTY for 7 generations. ALL kept as PUBLIC BENEFIT controlled only by real HUMANS, on GAIA our living planet.
FOOD CEREMONIES generate PEACEFUL COMMUNICATION
Gather in fields: the congregation.
Plant seeds: the ceremony.
PRAY during the growing/watering.
Share WORLDWIDE: the communion.
Peace n Planting our true way of life.
99% feel the same ...... Feed ALL children Educate ALL people
Please BEE REAL -- get a hive going with somebody anywhere!
BEE ProACTIVE aka benefit the 7 generations in all you do!
PS MAKING IT HAPPEN LOCALLY in your neighborhood.
Thought this local action peace plan might be at the heart of our prayers.... we could rent church kitchens and make wonderful BREAKFAST in YOUR POCKET cookies and donated organic milk for school children. Friday night we use the kitchen again to make WHOLE GRAIN PIZZA with ten vegetables and mushrooms. Salad bar too, all organic fresh!
NO MOVIE NIGHTS -- instead there are ten tables with crafts and skills mentors sitting there to help the YOUTH. A great fisherman, a basket maker, leather worker, food preservation teacher and other useful survival skills teachers /life guides.
To non-sequiter: I don't use google at all, don't even have an account. I use FireFox with ad blocking turned on, as well as pop-up blocker. I assume that Thom's web site host may be inserting ads, based on the content of the blog. Anyway, I just find it interesting...
I'll agree that it does not perfectly equalize, more it greatly decreases inequality; and of course only temporarily. Eventually, human greed and avarice, if uncontrolled, take over and start it all over again.
I'm on a fixed income from SSA being disabled. Even with the "extra" the SSA gives for being disabled, and currently living in section 8 housing, I barely survive on $4.50 per day.
I have dietary needs which I cannot afford. This occasionally ends with me being in the hospital for a week or two each year because I can't afford to eat properly for my various conditions. Living on 1/2 of that or less is an amazing feat and demonstrates the resourcefulness of the very poor in a system that tends to negate them and take resources away the poorer one becomes.
stecoop01 RE inequality -- I agree that where economic inequality becomes too great violent revolution arises. I do not agree that history shows us that it equalizes.
To Stecoop01: those ads dont happen with me - dont sign into Google - which I assume you are using. Anything associated with Google tracks not only your searches and purches, but also looks at what is displayed to offer related ads. You can also use an Ad blocker or do not track me app to your browser.
A blog with a boats metaphor...and I see ads for boats...
Hmmm....
Not only do too many people not have any "boats", too many people are being forced to give their meager boats to those with bigger boats. Inflation, tax increases, debt collection fraud, illegal foreclosures, bizarro court rulings favoring big corporations, and laws favoring the filthy rich are taking fleets of boats away from those who are already barely afloat. (I think this metaphor has gone far enough.) The rich are screwing the poor!!!
The legend goes that, when Marie Antoinette was told that the people couldn't afford to buy bread, she responded, "Let them eat cake". Soon after, the French Revolution started, with bloody consequences.
In any society where wealth ineaquality becomes too great, violent revolution is the "equalizer". If the United States doesn't change its course real soon, violent revolution will change the face and make-up of America; history has foretold that promise.
Thank you, Maggie. Whatever, "Mathboy". - AIW
Many poor people would be more than grateful to pull themselves up by their bootstraps as Paul Ryan and Co. would have them do. However, I would gladly tell Ryan that it is impossible to do so if one lacks boots. The "I've got mine, to hell with you" attitude is pervasive in the US today which is both morally wrong and dangerous. Any society which refuses to care for its most vulnerable is a society on the decline.
RFord RE#2 -- You need to watch "Last Years of Living Dangerously" on showtime. It points out that at fracking sites if the leakage of methane is worse than 3%, coal would be the cleaner alternative. It has a clip of Obama saying the leakage is only 1.5%. NOAA is then shown going around measuring leaking at various fracking locations in Colorado, Utah and the LA Basin (AKA Los Angeles County). In Colorado the leakage rate was meaured at 4%. In Utah with a whole bunch of fracking sites it was 11%. In the LA Basin, the number was 17%. I am writing all this from memory, so some of the numbers may be off; please watch the series.
Your air will be cleaner, and ours in LA with be dirtier. However, the worse part is the gas fired power plant in Memphis will accelerate global warming.
RicharofJeffer RE:19 -- Jefferson was a firm believer in the democratic process, even if he agreed to let only white landowners vote in some areas. That "We the People" to start the constitution is reasonably indicative of the desire for democracy. Jefferson's rant on the Marbury vs. Madison SCOTUS decision in 1803 pretty much showed his true colors on democracy. SCOTUS as Thom points out is the cause of the wealthy taking over the country. FDR let us know that the constitution can provide us a representative government. Of course, he had to make threatening moves toward SCOTUS to enable his representative agenda.
BASMITH13F -- (RE: #21) You forgot to mention, not only does the populace have to pay back the load, the IMF takes away jobs by applying austerity to the government e.g. it will not hurt our fire fighting capablities too much by laying off half the firemen.
This is a touchy subject becuase politics is in religion for the most part. Its mentioned in the bible many times for example. But when do we decide to leave out the current polictics. Because it may not be proper to discuss to some people. They may not want to go worship and end up having the "news" shoved down their throats.
http://southwarkirish.com/each-state-has-its-own-minimum-amount-of-car-insurance-coverage-needed-to-drive-a-vehicle/
If not everyone has a boat, that doesn't mean boats aren't lifted, I would phrase it as "A rising tide lifts all boats, but not everyone has a boat."