I love the smell of Strontium 90 in the morning!!!
Yeah!!!! About time the Dems grew a pair of balls...they finally went Nuclear. About the only thing that was wrong with it was that it did not include appointing Supreme Court judges in their simple majority rules. Now listen to the big babies whine about the move. Those simpleton cry babies just can't stand that they are not going to continue to get their way all the time. Way to go Dems!!

For them it's pocket change.

I might add that the five Republican Injustices on the Supreme Court, all appointed by Republican Presidents, gave us Citizens United......as if the Kochbags needed more help with their government takeover.

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Quote Loren Bliss:And though it flies in the face of all my libertarian instincts, it seems to me it is only Marxism -- or more likely some as-yet unwritten hybrid of Marxism and ecofeminism -- that is capable of offering the requisite guidance and discipline necessary to subdue a world population gone mad with trinket materialism and ecocidal criminality.

Loren Bliss ~ Thank you for that thoroughly pensive response. I found it quite provocative--especially the conclusion above. Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with Marx; but, now am very curious. Thank you for the direction and optimistic outlook for the future. I know that is not usually your perspective.

Also, thanks for the analysis of the "hidden persuaders" in language. I have noticed this technique myself; but, other then joking about it I never realized that Mr. Orwell expounded on it in a scholarly way. It makes perfect sense that these mis-labels would be strategically and intentionally created. I can't wait to read that link you've provided. Fundamental Christians who act like Zealous Satanists, Radicals who preach peace and Conservative who want to waste every natural resource on the planet, Insurgents who fight to liberate and Peacekeepers who invade and occupy with military force are just a few of the double talk language tools that have profoundly irritated me over the years. Thom wrote a book about that type of doublespeak called, "Cracking the Code." Of course, like you suggest, we will never get anywhere by just cracking the code we need to abolish the terms altogether; or,perhaps make up some useful ones of our own. Even accurate use of the appropriate terms would be a drastic improvement. I don't see how that can happen with a mass media controlled by Corporate, "Capitalist" interests. Surely, the least we can do is to use the right words ourselves as much as possible and avoid falling into this pit of linguistic entrapments.

I don't know if you caught the interview on the show with Dr. Ravi Batra. However, if you are interested, here is a link to the transcript of that March interview along with the full interview on YouTube if you would prefer to hear it.

http://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2013/03/transcript-thom-hartmann-coming-economic-crash-dr-ravi-batra-19-march-13

YouTube Dr. Ravi Batra Interview 4 parts

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HspdYjEvs_8

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9q_7zgh6tk

Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKhStwvSywE

Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDWw1wGDlYU

I want to thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with me. I think you might be on to something with this "hybrid of Marxism" suggestion. However, that hybrid will have to take into account many factors and one of them is the economy. Most notably I am concerned with fostering an economy that is fairly stable, balanced and resilient to the type of extreme cycles that Dr. Batra refers to. If this is possible with a mutant Marxist/Constitutional Democracy I am quite intrigued. I think Dr. Batra brings a lot to the table in that understanding. Any help or suggestions you might have are appreciated; however, you have already helped far more than anyone else I know. I more than understand If you would prefer to give it a break. After all, I certainly don't want to be a pest.

I wish I could be a little more interesting tonight; but, I am quite tired after a very busy day. Thanks to you I have much homework to do and probably won't get to it till this weekend. Take your time with the Dr. Batra interview if you are interested; and, if you wish, feel free to comment on it on another blog in the future. With the economy floundering as it is, I'm sure that topic will creep up again in short order. Thanks again for a most engaging exchange I've had in a while. And many thanks for the leads you've provided. DAM

Loren B -- Just for clarification would you agree with the following statement. The northern European democratic socialist states are good for now. When the international corporatists find out the existence of these socialist states are cutting into their bottom line, those states will be doomed.

Another ray of hope, is Iceland giving the finger to the banks.

Please, chuckle8 (or anyone else), don't be intimidated by my verbal skills. They are nothing more than a lucky accident of genetics and birth. They are also something of an illusion as I am a dyslexic -- admittedly a so-called "compensated" dyslexic -- but a dyslexic nevertheless, with all the gut-wrenching penchant for (and absolute terror of) errors that make me look like an imbecile, which is the dominant characteristic of my disability. That said, thank you for the compliment.

Apropos northern European democratic socialism, though for many years I believed it held great potential, I no longer see any hope there at all. When one cleaves through all the bullshit propaganda, one is faced with the horrible truth the United States has become the de facto Fourth Reich -- exactly as the legions of Nazi war criminals welcomed, embraced and absorbed here after World War II intended to make of it. Now it is the USian Empire, and its sole purpose is ever more obviously world conquest, whether by Ayn Rand economics, Nazi-style military action or some combination of both. (See for example http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120209105955-marines-afghanistan... note also the semiotic statement made by the USian military and police helmets with their distinctly Nazi/Darth Vader overtones.)

Meanwhile Europe is being overwhelmed economically, to the extent the empire is forcing Ayn Rand austerity on the entire continent. As the failure of resistance movements in Greece and Turkey have already proven, there is no hope any European nation will be able to muster successful resistance to the WTO and the World Bank, which are the Empire's economic-conquest agencies. Thus Europe is already effectively reduced to an USian colony. Within a decade, two at the most, economic conditions in (formerly civilized) Europe will therefore be as overtly savage as they already are in USia today. Once again Leon Trotsky is proven correct in his assertion that capitalism is so innately predatory, socialism of any sort is doomed without becomeing genuinely global.

The medical industry is tired of uninsured sick and injured receiving free treatment. That is the true nature of obamacare, not to take care of the poor. The herbal supplements and over the counter medications are being reduced to prevent the populace from treating themselves. clinton worked hard on this as well. obama wants everybody to pay the doctor and get prescriptions that will give you cancer later for even more profit. The last thing the medical industry needs is a healthy population. Everyone who makes a living in the medical industry would have to work at Wal-Mart or McDonalds. The medical industry spent a lot of money putting these guys into office. They expect them to do something to earn it! The UK will tell you that medical socialism is failure in Europe. The health insurance guys are going to rape everyone because of mandatory insurance, and people will have to choose between eating or paying hundreds of dollars they cannot afford.

It has not been sufficiently pointed out to the public that studies have shown Federal judges do tend to decide cases according to their political affiliation. Thankfully Tom does point it out clearly happening in this case, with every Republican judge deciding in favor of the anti-abortion law and every Democratic one voting the opposite. This politicalization of the Federal Judiciary is a disgraceful corruption of our legal system. Currently the Republicans are blocking Obama's selecting any federal judges.

Alas, we need to replace our corrupt government with a real democracy and a legal system that actually works to achieve justice

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/966/329/081/demand-a-stop-to-coal-gasification-projects-in-the-us/

We have to get ahead of this and start to take action now. Here is a petiton to start with.

Loren -- Your use of the English language is so worthy that I am almost afraid to say anything. I think it is interesting how Frank Lunz was scared of the 1%, 99% terminology of OWS. Could it be that percentage description is harder to distort?

Do you find any hope in the democratic socialism of the northern European nations?

Hmm. This comment string has certainly made some interesting turns. That said, I'd like to address the comments and concerns some have over empowering, or not empowering the UN. First, and most importantly, the UN is an impotent (note: not important) organization that amounts to nothing more than a charity. The TPP will empower the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, by allowing it to act as an international tribunal that companies operating on foreign soil can appeal to if they feel that the country’s laws in which they are operating run counter to the terms of the TPP. In other words, any country signing onto the TPP will be giving up its sovereignty – one of the more (and many) egregious shards of this horrific treaty. But here’s my point: The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes operates under the auspices of the World Bank, not the UN.

It was the World Bank and the IMF, not the UN that have spent the last 20 years running around the globe bullying nations into changing their monetary policies, which in turn has caused several to go belly up, or to be on the verge of going belly up, (see: Greece and the EU fallout).

If you're not already familiar with his work, Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winner and former economist for the World Bank has much to say about the harm that these organizations are causing in the world. Click here for an in-depth interview he gave on the subject.

Regardless of which of the 26 chapters of the TPP you have issues with (probably all if you knew what they were, right?), the overriding issues are that it is being written and negotiated 1) in complete secrecy and 2) with the assistance of 600 consultant/lobbyists, most of who represent the most evil corporations in America (see: Halliburton, Wal-Mart, Chevron, Citigroup, Monsanto, and a host of others). Stiglitz also writes extensively about the corpatocracy that is running our country in his book, "The Price of Inequality". It is a must read for anyone concerned about retaking government for The People.

The bottom line is that the TPP is crony capitalism personified and, as such is the single WORST trade treaty ever conceived. IT SIMPLY MUST BE STOPPED! So I will lend my voice to the others who have pleaded here and elsewhere; please write your congressmen and women and tell them that they must TORPEDO THE TPP.

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