DAnneMarc: I don't think RT has sponsors to feed. Have they ever advertized anything other than their own content?

By the way, if anyone has been watching Breaking the Set...they have been putting on various "side shows" introducing various "artists"...like rap singers. Maybe this appeals to some young people, after all Abby Martin is young for sure, but I personally think this detracts from her show....for us old people anyway. I always switch channels when they do that. I'd much rather hear Abby Martin on the issues rather than trying to be someone introducing these various groups.

I went to see the movie "Lee Daniels, the Butler"...finally. Great movie...except it gives way too much credit to Presidents like Reagan and Nixon and Bush..I think. Be warned, however, they use the N word. But, since this movie was supposed to be presented in the eyes of Cecil Gaines, the White House Butler that outlasted 8 Presidents over 3 decades, I guess there was a lot of territory to cover in just one movie. Great acting by all especially Forest Whitaker..who played Cecil Gaines. The movie starts out showing how the blacks were treated since the 1920s and had one scene where I just wanted to rip that bastards (the white son of the plantation owner who raped Cecil's mother then shot Cecil's father who dared to stare at the man afterwards.

Another really great movie, I thought, was "Prisoners"..that movie had some really great acting by Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Paul Dano, and others. This movie kept me guessing right up to the end and kept me guessing even after the end...although, it was pretty obvious what would happen next.

DAnneMarc, I was just re-reading your post about Lorin Bliss's comments and there's one thing in there that puzzles me. You wrote, regarding the status of African Americans: "they no longer represent any kind of threat to the elite. " I was surprised to see that comment because it seems so much of your own post, previous to that statement, would contradict it. Particularly where you say "I agree they [the elite] fear the unifying and leadership potential of this group and want to do everything they can to discredit and disempower them." You go on to say "I also believe that they will fail. The source of the strength of the African American community is far beyond the reach of the elite. The harder they try to attack them the stronger that source of strength becomes". And I'm 100% with you there! From my own perspective, black Americans (poor ones in particular) have had an enormous impact on not only American culture, but world culture. Hip Hop started in the funkiest back alleys and poorest neighborhoods of this country and has spread to virtually every corner of the world!

The power elite here wouldn't go to the trouble of trying to discredit and disempower African Americans if they weren't threatened; enough to feel the need to minimize their impact on society and culture. The power to influence vast numbers of people is something to be reckoned with, no matter how humble its place of origin. - Alice I.W.

Aliceinwonderland ~ Thanks Alice. You've confirmed my thoughts and I fully agree. Your input is MUCH appreciated. Much luck weathering the storm! Stay safe. We need you!

DAnneMarc, there's a storm brewing here right now that has the lights flickering like crazy, so I better send this before we lose our power.

Having just read Mr. Bliss's posts, I still stand by everything I've said about him and his input, generally speaking. HOWEVER that doesn't put me in lockstep with the guy (or anyone, actually). While I agree with maybe 90+% of his opinions, observations, assessments and so forth, my sense of him is not only about the intelligence of his comments but about the emotion they convey as well. And from my perspective, there is no mistaking the depth of Mr. Bliss's anger and hatred towards the fascist plutocracy and its enablers, that which threatens us all. No argument there! But the amount of blame Mr. B places on President Obama is way overblown in my opinion. Our nation, economy et cetera were already in the toilet - or the seeds for that had already been planted - long before Obama took office. With all due respect to Mr. Bliss and the value of his input, I think that to some extent, the accuracy of his analyses has been compromised by the intensity of his emotions around the subject at hand. Hey, those thoughts and feelings are no stranger to me! But emotions can really cloud the picture. You guys know me well enough to be aware that I'm no big fan of Obama's! But to blame Obama to the extent Mr. B has done is wrong. It defies simple logic. However I agree that Obama has legislated like a corporatist puppet, that the loyalty he's shown "We The People" who elected him has been patchy at best and certainly, not something that would generate trust from anyone paying attention.

Aside from the irrational scapegoating of President Obama, I don't like seeing Thom Hartmann characterized as a mainstream pundit. Nobody holds more contempt for mainstream pundits than I do! But I have such huge respect and admiration for Thom, and have learned so much from him. It grates on me how some folks like to tear him down. From my point of view their anger is misdirected. Thom is not a pawn, nor is he a sell-out. Thom is not the enemy. He's got more integrity under his thumbnail than most commentators , like 999% in my opinion. If I recall correctly, he & Louise are the only talk show hosts who actually own the show and aren't beholden to some mainstream network. The guy is brilliant, well versed in more subjects than virtually anyone I've ever encountered, and he backs up everything he says with actual FACTS. I don't believe this is anything to be taken for granted either. I'm sure Thom has thick enough skin and has been around the block enough times to not be affected by such dart throwing aimed in his direction, and doesn't need me to defend him. But I defend him anyway because it feels almost like my own sense of reality is under attack. No I don't take it personally; I'm not that stupid or that juvenile; but it rattles my cage. (Sorry Mr. B!) As you've pointed out, DAnneMarc, Ronald Reagan laid out the foundation for much of the disaster now upon us. His policies had a horrible impact on the economy, the environment and our quality of life in this country. Been downhill ever since Reagan's reign in the oval office.

I strongly share your perspective on what the robber barons are doing to us, along with its redundancy from a historical perspective. What's more, I never voted for Obama without some reservations. I saw the warning signs. But like Mr. B, I viewed him as the lesser-evil candidate of the choices available to us.

Anyway D.A.Marc, there's my take. Very similar to yours. - Aliceinwonderland

DAnne you are missing my point there is no change to the tempatures of the planet. All recent Recent science is showing there is no global warming.

You are right though. We do need to no the truth so we can adapt to it. What ever it is.

We buried a car on campus in Ann Arbor in the early 70's. We knew then, if we didn't bury these petrol-chemical autos they will bury us. Jimmy Carter knew it too. He instituted a plan using solar for energy independence. Reagan and Bush and the oil people took the solar panels down when they came to power. Big oil won. They extort 30 billion a year from us in subsidies with paid off politicians. These subsidies pays for the fines we give them for polluting and fouling our environment. The are buying the dismantlement of our EPA. This is our law enforcement agency that protects our health, environment, our future. People that would destroy our planet for greed and self interest are the most dangerous criminals to ever walk this earth. They are destroying our future. We must usher in the new green economy and make the petrol-chemical economy go the way of the dinosaur.

BINGO!!! DING DING DING!!!YAHTZEE!!!

You said it DANNEMARC. The survival of mankind depends on a maintainning enviromental harmony. Man is merely a custodian...Mother Nature runs the show. Its basic laws of physics and common scence...The more we meddle with Mother Nature and ignor reality the more we doom our own wellbeing.
That being said I am not so green as to believe that Man is going to "Save the Planet". That's pure self righteous egotistical hokum!
As the late great George Carlin often said; "The Earth was around for a loooooooooong long time before man became a factor. There were fire storms, ice storms, massive floods, harsh periods of drought, Polar shifts, Solar Flares, etc, etc...and Man thinks he's gonna save the planet!?!?Some day the Earth is going to shake us off like a bad case of fleas, and then...It will be the Earth plus plastic".

So yes Repurpose, Recycle, Reuse; Stop pumping the air and water and food full of harmful pollutions that compromise all of life's wellbeing. Yes the Earth does have its own agenda, regardless of man's own doing, just consider Pompai, and that culture didn't have massive factories spewing millions of tons of pollution, or billions of automobiles burning fossil fuels, and Monsantos, ConAg, Dow, and DewPont spraying mass amounts of poisonous chemicals that essentially kill off pollinators (bees, ants, butterflies, birds), just to kill weeds and increase crop yields. Nor was there a world population of 6 billion wasteful consumers....But Mother Nature still had to "fart" and she did so by blowing up a mountain (Volcano). Theres nothing man could do to stop her...Nor should we try! I know if I needed to pass some gas and someone tried to stop me there would be hell to pay.

So yes, a BIG YES, we do need to stop denying reality, and start changing our way of thinking so that people and planet last. We need to face tough questions, like; is modern technology making for a better world???The right answer is "yes and no", and here enlies the tricky balancing act. Along with facing tough questions...What is more a simple, yet "full measure" plan is to start local. Here in my town, population 190k (fulltime residents), we have two 100% organic community farms that grow and sell for the tri-county area, which consists of just over 300k people. The unfortunate issue though is that about 2/3rds of certain crops is shipped off to the N.East, and Midwest. And I have talked to many of the people that work for these farms, and they say that the demand is growing for more local Organic Produce, Dairy, Eggs, etc. More and more people are becoming consciencious about what they are eating; not just where it comes from but right down to the puritey of the seeds, and animale raising practices.
Also my county is a leader in setting the "green living" bar high when it comes to sustainable development practices. Of course it is constantly under attack by large profit by any means necessary development companies, but for the past 20+ years we have managed to ward off those that want to cut corners and just clear cut thousands of achers to build another hamoginized community with another Wal-Mart and Star Bucks, (Which we already have 5 Wal-Marts, 2 Sams Clubs, and a Starbucks on practically every corner, not to leave out all the corporate owned franchises, like Jiffy Lube, Tire Kingdom, Domino's etc that though they pride themselves on "creating jobs" they destroy the local small mom and pop buisnesses that once thrived and brought a uniquness to my home town pre Walton Boom!

Welcome back ALICEINWONDERLAND!!! It has been damn near a year since you last posted and signed off. As you can see by all those welcoming you bacj, you have been missed. I look forward to your insight and perspective on the day to day social and political issues that are discussed on this blog.
Pluse it will be nice to have one more person to thrash KEND with! JUST KIDDING KEND...we lo..lov...Well you know what I'm trying to say kend. ;)

Again glad your back AIW.

Cheers
MMmmmNachos

Kend ~ You make a good point about Iraq. Why worry about what's going on there when the government here is about to shut down? After all, it looks like nothing meaningful was accomplished anyway. What's happening in Washington over the budget is soooo much more important right now.

However I strongly disagree that any money spent on the environment is wasted. Every penny is well spent. If you haven't noticed--and I think you haven't--the environment is the most important thing we have. Without it we are no more. It is money spent on the military that is a total waste and might as well just be flushed down the toilet. The increase in Canadian ice means nothing. The south polar cap is increasing too in some places. The problem isn't just decreasing ice--it's massive change to the surface of the planet. We have to learn why it is happening and how to adapt to it to survive. Isn't the survival of the human race worth trillions of dollars?

Aliceinwonderland: It sure is great to have you back. I always looked forward to your comments and can now have that same pleasure once again.

I totally agree with you about Huey Long.....his platform blew me away. He was a true visionary with what I believe to be the answers to the mess we're in. Indeed the same socioeconomic issues of the early 20th century have festered once again and if we don't find a way to permanently legislate against greed the disease will never have a cure.

By the way, I wish the slogan read, "Every Person a King," I've always felt a little uneasy with the "Every Man a King", thing!