Enjoy your well-deserved time away! Everyone needs time to refreshment their spirit. Thanks for your work, which makes us, your readers, better informed citizens. Stay safe!
Enjoy your well deserved vacation! I shall enjoy your archived essays, since I'm relatively "new" as a subscriber. Thanks for sharing this treasure today.
Enjoy your time away! Whatever one thinks about JFK he was a great thinker and orator. Remember that gop thought Kennedy shouldn’t be elected because he was a Catholic? Look at them now!
Thank you for this. I'm glad to see younger thinkers like yourself giving him his due. Too many young "Liberals" have written him off which I think is a mistake. I think he and Obama were the most intellectual and well read of modern presidents. I read where Kennedy despised colonialism and there are those who contend had he lived he would have withdrawn US support from South Vietnam. But I digress. What I really meant to start with was to tell you I hope you have a relaxing and refreshing vacation and will enjoy rereading whatever archived tidbits you post.
Thanks Greg. Have a good one. The above text brings this to mind: Today is Sunday, August1 , 2021. There are 464 days until the November 8, 2022 midterm elections. It will be one of the most consequential elections in our nation's history. What are some things a person who loves this country can consider for being constructively engaged?
If a goal is to contribute to a fair, progressive, materially and spiritually successful society, we must think about the reality and dynamics of the opposing force; the trumpests. They are essentially a death cult. Their propaganda and political actions are based on a perverted premise that they are the chosen ones who shall dominate the earth. It's nihilism as political philosophy and action.
They depend on generating a continuous deluge of false information, intending to herd people's minds into toxic corrals that necessitate controlling agents to sustain the tribe. All other life is disposable. The theoretical end result is that the chosen would be free to establish their libertarian utopia. They will have created a dystopian world in the process of achieving that.
Here are two examples of this dynamic already in progress:
1) Texas - Demographics show that it is slowing turning towards a blue state but radical right wing politicians are plowing ahead with propaganda and actions (voter suppression and false history taught in public schools) that increase dystopian results. Governor Abbot demands rejection of science with regard to the Covid 19 virus and the environment. Take the state's hands-off approach to regulation or lack of regulation of it's utility industry.
In the attached link, see the article on pages 16,17 and 18. It's a description of how last winter's widespread utility system shut down for nearly a week and caused great harm to people and the state economy. The authors suggest nuts and bolts engineering remedies and that each water district implement improvement in resilience, reliability and recovery entirely by means of it's rate payers. That creates a disparate distribution of effectiveness. It mirrors the approach to funding public education: Them that's got shall get. Them that's not shall lose. There's no sharing and it discards those without sufficient financial resources to pay for modern, complex utility systems capable of withstanding the reality of global warming. That's the way Texas rolls.
2) The trump administration attempted with varying degrees of effectiveness to corrupt every federal government agency. Here's an example with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration:
As follow-up, and an attempt to answer the question "What are some things a person who loves this country can consider for being constructively engaged"? I think it's important to try to directly communicate with people who are persuadable about the core issues that are advancing the cause of authoritarianism: systemic systemic racism, tribalism, a deeply entrenched false and malicious propaganda machine, voter suppression, a need to abolish the electoral college, false history taught in public schools, an unjust and un-enforced for the rich, tax system. I think it's a matter of picking any topic in which you can form well informed proficiency of understanding and plug those elements into direct, one on one, or one with a small group discussion.
People are genetically wired to be receptive and positively respond to stories that they can relate to. Karen Tamerius leads a Facebook group called Smart Politics. Professor George Lakoff is a PhD professor of linguistics at UC Berkley. He has extensively written and spoken on the need for and the skills of effective story framing. Much valuable info can be learned from those two sources and put into practice. It is critical for effective communication and persuasion. Effective strategic framing is what the radical right wing operators have been using for many decades.
The radical right wing is also serious about organizing people, think tanks, and mass media to promote their point of view. It's why they are on the brink on destroying democracy in the USA. They have 70+ million American voters believing in myths; stories carefully crafted to grab them emotionally and motivate them to promote ideas that benefit the fascistic oligarchs. Defenders of democracy can use the same tactics and tell the truth. We have to be smart about it and put energy into it. It starts with direct communication with the persuadable.
People who know better and those who don't know better and are active promoters of rad-right lies, the deplorables, are not worth the time and energy to attempt to persuade. We need to persuade enough open minded people to see the reality of what the fascists are doing and help them relate to positive alternatives and take the action necessary to make it happen; vote and persuade others to vote for fair and just democracy. Maybe over the course of a generation or two the deplorables will be marginalized enough that they can go back to living in their miserable warrens of mysticism and mythology and not have any ability to hurt the rest of the country and our standing as a world leader.
As Perry White said, "Great Caeser's Ghost!" Are you SURE that wasn't written yesterday??? :-( The more things change, the more things remain the same. Thanks for posting that, Greg, I'd never read it before.
From one Jersey kid to another, enjoy your time down the shore, and here's hoping it'll be relaxing for you and it'll bring justice for our country. Enjoy and look forward to your return....
Enjoy your much deserved vacation! Thank you for continued insights and clarity.
Sadly, JFK was murdered before I was conceived. His words, preserved in writing, still inspire! Thanks for that, and the Heads Up
Enjoy your well-deserved time away! Everyone needs time to refreshment their spirit. Thanks for your work, which makes us, your readers, better informed citizens. Stay safe!
Enjoy your well deserved vacation! I shall enjoy your archived essays, since I'm relatively "new" as a subscriber. Thanks for sharing this treasure today.
Enjoy your time away! Whatever one thinks about JFK he was a great thinker and orator. Remember that gop thought Kennedy shouldn’t be elected because he was a Catholic? Look at them now!
Thank you for this. I'm glad to see younger thinkers like yourself giving him his due. Too many young "Liberals" have written him off which I think is a mistake. I think he and Obama were the most intellectual and well read of modern presidents. I read where Kennedy despised colonialism and there are those who contend had he lived he would have withdrawn US support from South Vietnam. But I digress. What I really meant to start with was to tell you I hope you have a relaxing and refreshing vacation and will enjoy rereading whatever archived tidbits you post.
Thanks Greg. Have a good one. The above text brings this to mind: Today is Sunday, August1 , 2021. There are 464 days until the November 8, 2022 midterm elections. It will be one of the most consequential elections in our nation's history. What are some things a person who loves this country can consider for being constructively engaged?
If a goal is to contribute to a fair, progressive, materially and spiritually successful society, we must think about the reality and dynamics of the opposing force; the trumpests. They are essentially a death cult. Their propaganda and political actions are based on a perverted premise that they are the chosen ones who shall dominate the earth. It's nihilism as political philosophy and action.
They depend on generating a continuous deluge of false information, intending to herd people's minds into toxic corrals that necessitate controlling agents to sustain the tribe. All other life is disposable. The theoretical end result is that the chosen would be free to establish their libertarian utopia. They will have created a dystopian world in the process of achieving that.
Here are two examples of this dynamic already in progress:
1) Texas - Demographics show that it is slowing turning towards a blue state but radical right wing politicians are plowing ahead with propaganda and actions (voter suppression and false history taught in public schools) that increase dystopian results. Governor Abbot demands rejection of science with regard to the Covid 19 virus and the environment. Take the state's hands-off approach to regulation or lack of regulation of it's utility industry.
In the attached link, see the article on pages 16,17 and 18. It's a description of how last winter's widespread utility system shut down for nearly a week and caused great harm to people and the state economy. The authors suggest nuts and bolts engineering remedies and that each water district implement improvement in resilience, reliability and recovery entirely by means of it's rate payers. That creates a disparate distribution of effectiveness. It mirrors the approach to funding public education: Them that's got shall get. Them that's not shall lose. There's no sharing and it discards those without sufficient financial resources to pay for modern, complex utility systems capable of withstanding the reality of global warming. That's the way Texas rolls.
https://vertassets.blob.core.windows.net/download/79e239d7/79e239d7-7bd2-46d5-9dd7-49d0a0bd3f44/water_innovations_july_2021.pdf?vm_tId=2321703&vm_nId=66266&mkt_tok=MDc1LU5WQy0wODYAAAF-lrFWW-qapHWSKEkDwUs5Ry8gLKZ0MWR6xgacGF2J8FGmkG0fmpbA7I_K02SqffgD-KXmuQ5UOAgNeR8wozt3A-ljp1B4zEQXh9q5VMIq-5I#page=9
2) The trump administration attempted with varying degrees of effectiveness to corrupt every federal government agency. Here's an example with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration:
Trump White House recruited climate science critics to work at NOAA https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/trump-white-house-recruited-climate-science-critics-work-noaa
.
As follow-up, and an attempt to answer the question "What are some things a person who loves this country can consider for being constructively engaged"? I think it's important to try to directly communicate with people who are persuadable about the core issues that are advancing the cause of authoritarianism: systemic systemic racism, tribalism, a deeply entrenched false and malicious propaganda machine, voter suppression, a need to abolish the electoral college, false history taught in public schools, an unjust and un-enforced for the rich, tax system. I think it's a matter of picking any topic in which you can form well informed proficiency of understanding and plug those elements into direct, one on one, or one with a small group discussion.
People are genetically wired to be receptive and positively respond to stories that they can relate to. Karen Tamerius leads a Facebook group called Smart Politics. Professor George Lakoff is a PhD professor of linguistics at UC Berkley. He has extensively written and spoken on the need for and the skills of effective story framing. Much valuable info can be learned from those two sources and put into practice. It is critical for effective communication and persuasion. Effective strategic framing is what the radical right wing operators have been using for many decades.
The radical right wing is also serious about organizing people, think tanks, and mass media to promote their point of view. It's why they are on the brink on destroying democracy in the USA. They have 70+ million American voters believing in myths; stories carefully crafted to grab them emotionally and motivate them to promote ideas that benefit the fascistic oligarchs. Defenders of democracy can use the same tactics and tell the truth. We have to be smart about it and put energy into it. It starts with direct communication with the persuadable.
People who know better and those who don't know better and are active promoters of rad-right lies, the deplorables, are not worth the time and energy to attempt to persuade. We need to persuade enough open minded people to see the reality of what the fascists are doing and help them relate to positive alternatives and take the action necessary to make it happen; vote and persuade others to vote for fair and just democracy. Maybe over the course of a generation or two the deplorables will be marginalized enough that they can go back to living in their miserable warrens of mysticism and mythology and not have any ability to hurt the rest of the country and our standing as a world leader.
As Perry White said, "Great Caeser's Ghost!" Are you SURE that wasn't written yesterday??? :-( The more things change, the more things remain the same. Thanks for posting that, Greg, I'd never read it before.
Thank you.
Marvellous! Always a good read! Rest, relax and we will hover in the ether until you return.
Enjoy your vacation, looking forward to your return.
Congratulations on your success and thank you for your consistent excellent work. Enjoy the break!
Relax your mind! Have a great vacation, you earned it. Thanks for the amazing work you’ve done.
Have a wonderful break!
Inspiring speech
From one Jersey kid to another, enjoy your time down the shore, and here's hoping it'll be relaxing for you and it'll bring justice for our country. Enjoy and look forward to your return....