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February 21, 2012

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"I am skeptical but persuadable." U and Phxsunfan?

Arab spring. Folks that believed that would lead to anything buy more tyranny are just as nieve as the folks that in didn't see the evidence in the late eighties and the 90's that 911 was coming.

Ron Paul is half as scary as the two religious nuts.

From my recent post:

"While there is a structure to any solution that comes about, it is a mistake to think that a pre-conceived structure is required before it does.

"What #Occupy is doing is simply being done. What the emerging systems of cooperative ownership and control are doing are simply being done. There are not a pre-conceived ideologies, a pre-conceived structures, being evaluated and imposed.

"They are simply happening. Yes, they are informed by past experience, but they are mostly being informed by current pressures. This is how things happen in the real world."

"Ron Paul is half as scary as the two religious nuts."

A goofy doofy Gordon Gecko, a psychotic Doughboy/Grinch hybrid, and a pukish sick Rantwhoreman. Maybe, Shemp Paul will rescue the GOP.

Interesting commentary, Jon, but what have you got against Frank Gehry? This is the first I've seen anything about the Eisenhower memorial, but the picture you reference looks interesting to me.

The spike in oil prices is a reminder to most citizens that we haven't destroyed the planet yet, which forces a disturbing thought: why are enviromentalist wackos holding us hostage?. Whether you frack Earth's bowels, scrape the hills, strip to mine, or boil cold sand, there are solutions to high gas prices! The civilization reset button only needs to be pushed in the direction of yesterday.

American tribalism is mostly an artifact of old age and white victimhood. Yet is shows astonishing resilience when it comes to setting the terms of the national discourse. As network news anchors like to remind us, we're a good and wise people. Accordingly, global warming can't be real because it's cold in January. Government is bad because half of our taxes goes to welfare queens and foreign aid. And the solution to any problem is to unleash the free market, preferably at poor minorities.

I spend way too much time on the Internet, so I have discovered that most people are not pessimists. Indeed, they hold astonishingly upbeat views about unforeseen scientific breakthroughs and fresh miracles of abundance. All we have to do is build nuclear power plants everywhere. Or, correspondingly, deregulate the free market. Maybe Joel Osteen will run for president because Obummer doesn't get us. How could he? He mocks our Aryan Jesus.

In summary, we will not engage a future that challenges us or makes us feel bad about our "way of life". Let Europe build windmills, let China put a billion ants on high-speed rail. We're Americans. We'll drive to the Last Judgment, thank you very much.

Spot on, Walter.

Soleri and Petro
Poetic logictarians

Excellent column and comments.

The most important, crucial fact of American life is that there are no jobs.

The United States cannot survive with its present policies.

Constant job destruction makes disaster a certainty.

Why would anyone expect engineers who are excluded from employment, and who are told to shut up and die, to be good citizens?

The country just can't survive this. At some point the United States will implode, experience a revolution, collapse, or become dominated by another government.

It's a serious identity problem. Societies tend to preserve the romanticized self-image that they developed in their best times. Italy still likes to think of itself as the Renaissance country of fine arts. The Dutch retain the habitus of a former maritime power. The Brits were able to swap 'We defeated the Nazis' for 'The British Empire' -- a convenient 'just in time' replacement.

The US of A have several points of pride in their history. As times become tougher, not only because of self desctruction, the exhortations towards those things become stronger. Thus the invocations of the 'Founding Fathers (tm)' as a civic religion. Thus the yearning for the pioneering days of the 19th century when the shackles of a complex civilization ('gubment') didn't hinder endless opportunity and resources for all. Thus the incantations of 'moon shots', Manhattan projects -- WWII and post-war glory in general. All bound together by the thread of the middle class and the fear of its mortality.

I agree with Petro - things just happen. Count me as a conservative, at least in this way: history is tragic. There are no guarantees. Now, for the first time, the long-term future may be worse than the present. Usually you'd expect Americans to be good at finding a new story. But this moment presents an additional difficulty: it requires non-quantitative solutions to long-standing social problems. Something that hasn't really been practiced very often in this country.

So Revolution 2.0?! I hope so. Would probably be easier with a little shift of the mind. No more fairy tales of yesteryear. If that's too much of a stretch, reality is on standby to beat it into our heads.

Cal - you're credibility will suffer if you compare me with soleri. I'm not nearly as lucid as that gentleman.

Mick - I'm starting to think that you are concerned primarily with unemployment. (When you have a hammer...)

The DOW is at 13,000.

The economy is improving.

I don't think so.

Half a dozen friends lost long time jobs this week.

And for the real clincher about the state of our country:

My drinking buddies are switching from Jack Daniels to Evan Williams. Why?

It's about half the price AND more importantly, it's bottled in glass.

Real men don't drink out of plastic liquor bottles.

I bet that commie Babeu drinks out of plastic.

It's a whiskey no-shitter. Times are getting tough. This ain't funny no more.

How is it that 12 short years ago,we had a balanced budget,low unemployment,low inflation,and a rosy future.Now,both sides agree we are in a death spiral and there is nothing we can do about it.I wish we had a truth teller who would call out b.s. when they hear it instead of asking for a rebuttal from the other side.Some things are so egregious that they don't deserve a discussion.

Of course the big winners in the increased money in politics are the talking heads and the corporate media.At least in the old days you knew what to expect from a newspaper because they were all in sympathy with one party or the other.They did believe in something besides ratings and profits.They now put out an agenda that they believe will bring them the highest ratings and tailor their message to accomplish that.

WTF-Crown Royal is still in a bottle and I get Medicare next month.

April 1, 2012: let's hope that the most important issue upon which we choose to focus is the political plankton and the awakening of "Occupy" as the weather moderates. I'm beyond scared that the loonies will draw us into another conflict with huge global remifications. All else pales in comparison.

I bought a long term bus pass this week.

If I'm doing it... we must have reached critical mass.

From Petro, "Cal - you're credibility will suffer if you compare me with soleri. I'm not nearly as lucid as that gentleman."

If U say so Petro, but I find you both poetic songstresses.

As compared to my ERUCTATION's

Mike, The answer to your question is the felonious George Bush. Just ask prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi.

After 1776, 1789, 1905, 1917, etc. I hardly think a full version upgrade should be proposed at this time. What about 'Revolution 1.3645.14b'?

:)

Mike, Crown Royal !!

My buds stopped affording that back after the crash of 08.

Now they go to Goodwill looking for the Crown Royal bags. They fill the bags with corn, heat them in the radar-range and put the heated bags on their aching joints.

Petro: "but they are mostly being informed by current pressures. This is how things happen in the real world."

Wonder if I will be around to see the balloon burst.

Oh say can U see.

cal - Oh say can U see.

Babeu - Jose can U see.

AWinter,

There are those who firmly believe that Roosevelt and Friends manipulated events in World War II, in order for the torch to be passed from the British Empire to the new American Empire. To paraphrase you that "stuff happens", you still have to wonder if any of this "stuff" is by design. If the American Empire is to survive, will it do so via slavery (ala Mick) or is there a plan to transfer the touch to a new as yet un-named Empire.

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