There are four professions that are seekers and speakers of evident truth--science, education, law, and journalism. The right wing is working to undo or compromise all four. An attack on truth is an attack on democracy, and on all human progress since the Renaissance.
How about the clergy? In France, the clergy belonged to the First Estate. This estate also included all members of the Catholic Church, such as bishops, priests, monks, and nuns.
I read emails this morning, about how a name chosen by a Pope is an indication of where he is as regards ideology, doctrine, etc. Pope Leo XIII in the late 19th Century was progressive as regards labor.
However as a former Catholic and student of religion. I hark back to the first Pope Leo, Leo the Great who reigned during the reign of Valentian III. Valentian III called the General Flavius Aetius to his seat in Ravenna, after Aetius stopped the rampage of Attila the Hun at the battle of the Catalaunian fields (with the help of Romano Gauls, Franks, Goths, Allemani and other tribes.
When Aetius arrived in Ravena, Valentia murdered him out of jealousy and fear, as Aetius was more popular than Valentian, and four years later Geoseric leader of the Vandals, swept through the west Roman Empire,laid waste to Ravenna and Rome, because there was no competent military leader to stop him, Valentian had murdered the last great military leader.
Pope Leo the Great, was pope during Valentian's reign, and with the concurrence of Valentian, threw Manicheans and other infidels and heretics, to the lions with all of the glee once reserved for Christians.
Later Leo III, (who was an obscure bishop of Rome) (Rome then being a degraded cesspit, was plucked out of obscurity by Charlemagne, who declared him Pope, and then the Pope crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, so Charlemagne could rule the ignorant masses, as "chosen by god", aprecedent followed by all royals.
Leo I was a Roman aristocrat. He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy.
Maybe this Leo can convince our Hun to repent.....
Although Leo the Great and Augustine were contemporaries, there's no evidence they had a relationship. Augustine, btw was married, had a son and converted to Christianity. He was a Berber.
Augustine was also a Manichean Priest. And when he noticed Leo "The Great" heaving Manicheans to the lions, he "saw the light"and became a Christian.
This was at the time that someone named Jerome, compiled the first Bible, the Latin Vulgate, and itis evident that Augustine had a relationship with Jerome and a hand in writing the Latin Vulgate, for it is at this point that Manichean concepts like duality, a good god and a bad god, were introduced into the so called gospel. Also Lucifer as a bad god., as you know Lucifer was the name given to Venus as the Morning star, known as the bringer of light, and of course the enemy of ignorance and superstition is light.
Were it not for Augustine and wealth Romans like Piso, we would have a completely different Christianity today.
Mani was an Iranian prophet, the founder of Manicheanism, which itself is an offshoot of Zoroastrianism.
Christianity is a conglomerate of many religions and traditions of that time and place, but most heavily influenced by Manicheanism, gratis Augustine.
Sunni Arabs recognize Judaism and Christianity as Peoples of the Scroll or peoples of the book, and accord them status as dhimmis, (second class citizens) and allow hem to worship their religion, not so with atheists and polytheists.
Shia Muslims recognize Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians as peoples of the book.
Jesus was/is highly regarded by Islam as the greatest prophet prior to Mohammed. Mary was a virgin who gave birth to him. He performed miracles and in general followed the biblical narrative until the crucifixion and resurrection. which they do not accept. They hold that at the end times he will descend from heaven and slay the antichrist. What they do not accept is that he is the Son of God. Interestingly, they also consider John to have been a prophet. I am pretty sure the vast majority of Christians have no idea of any of this.
I know that Robert. I've studied tthe Quran, hadiths and the biog of Muhammad by ibn Ishaq. Interesting thing about Mary (or Miriam in the Quran) is that she was impregnated by Gabriel who appeared to her as a shiny, hansome man. The Quran and Islam thus deny the Christian belief that Issa was divine and hence the son of god,
BTW, Allah is a contraction of al Lihah, the pre Muhammad Moon god, also a piece of him is ensconed in the Qaba in Makkah.
If you pay attention, you will notice that quite a few Muslims flags have the new moon, as to the top of masjids (mosques), the crecent moon represents Allah , their god, and the star represents Venus, al Uzza.
We had to read City of God. Original sin. Just war. Heaven's just a sin away. The basis for Catholic philosophy (with Thomas Aquinas).
I was a fan of E.L. Doctorow, who wrote a novel, City of God. Augustine was the foundation. Most critics hated it, but I identify with it....IMHO the diversity of thought in New York constitutes a city of God.
Due to the horrible attention span of most 'murkan humans, any messaging, not matter how simple, must be regularly repeated in order to be committed to memory. With the aid of visual stimuli, music, common human society sounds such as traffic, machinery, etc., a repetition becomes associated with pleasurable or familiar identifications.
Memory via associations works like glue. Then add an emotional quality that reinforces the messaging, such as anger, fear, laughter, strength, power, manipulation, dominance, personal gain, and the human brain becomes virtually robotic.
I taught in classroom for six years and trained folks for decades in multi-functional tasking/learning. The difference between the two is remarkable. I could suggest via verbal, visual and the use of my voice in various ways, very simple memes, quotes, dates, places, etc., and then ask questions that would require a memory response to what I just said, and I did it in several ways to different students several times. This was accompanied by me writing on a black board the term(s) in question. Very good responses. But when I asked them to put that memory into a contextual situation that required problem solving, they were lost.
But in multi-functional tasking, the learning could not happen without contexts and associations, and students/workers, especially working in teams, could learn an entire regime of situational realities and their components. In other words, some form of critical thinking.
I read recently that the modern human mind can only hold about 7 factoids or words in their near-term memory. And the attention span on any one was well under one minute. This is how thinking is manipulated. Emotive, psychologically rewarding, personalized drama/trauma associations stick like glue without any need for continuity or contextualization.
In other words, brainwashing, which leads to cult-like behaviors.
Sabrina, one of the first things the democratic leaders of Poland did when they broke away from Russian control was to take over the national news media. They also ended voter suppression, reorganized the court system, and arrested corrupt politicians. They understood that to protect a fledging democracy, they had to fight those that were intent on restoring Russia dominance of Poland.
When the good people of America rise out of the ashes of the failed trump administration the same the same thing will happen here. Those people in power that broke their oath of office will be impeached, or disqualified from office, and a Democratic controlled Congress will restore the Constitution and our Democracy as are for forefathers intended when they started our great nation.
Dear God, I know you don't hear from me very often, but please, please, help us return to something like the Fairness Doctrine before Hitler's spawn convinces people that truth is the enemy. In the UK, the Online Safety Act 2023 places duties on platforms to address misinformation and disinformation; they also require truth and fairness in reporting the news. If they can do it, why is it so goddamn hard for us to do? Is it because we are inherently stupid? Or because Citizens United makes "truth" depend on who is paying for it (ie, corporate owned media)? Asking for a friend.
Sabrina,the US would never have anything like theOnline Safety Act 2023. We should demand he US have the same,it will never happen. We unfortunately are lazy and in many cases inherently stupid. Trump is a persistent liar,his supporters and the Republicans know that,they don't care.
Over the last few decades, probably in a parallel universe to "trickle down economics", there has been an explosion of administration, management, finance, and suit and tie jobs. These status quo people would almost inflict self-harm if they had to ditch the suits and the country club social peer group association for a "worker's job". The damage to their frail ego would simply be too much for them to shoulder. So they lie. Lying is shown to them as the ticket to job security. Join the ranks of the "soul sellers" and keep your well earned class status alive. I grew up inside of this cabal and I know from experience of what I have seen. When I hit a spell of hard times and had to drive a cab and live in a tent for a year, my family and friends quickly turned their backs on me. Greed and massive consumption leads to people living beyond their means and increases the individual and national debt load. Eventually the bill comes due and the lies exposed. Can the subscribers to Kindness be the salvation of our nation? I think we shall see.
During the 2016 campaign CBS executive Leslie Moonves celebrated the "circus" of "bomb throwing" in Trump's campaign as bad for America but great for CBS. Ratings went up, money was rolling in, and network pundits couldn't wait for the next antic. Now it's SOP for news to legitimize Idiocracy as serving the public interest.
When I was young in the Regan years my Dad, a world War II vet and lived through the depression told me “Look out if they ever get the Press". I vaguely realized he was talking about “The Wealthy" and this battle started the day the New Deal passed. The wisdom of the comment cannot be overstated. If one wonders how Hitler took over and convinced his military to murder Jews and invade other countries, one just need to look no further than the MAGA movement.
I have tried to use reason with people associated with the right and they are so brainwashed you can't get through. If you tell them Jan 6th was a riot and violent they will tell you the mainstream press made it up. If you tell them Trump has gone bankrupt 6 times, they will tell you that is a lie for the WOKW left. If you point out he was convinced of 32 felonies, they will tell you it was the Deep State responsible and that he was not guilty. The point is you can't get to a cult member who is fully brainwashed with facts. They can only be deprogrammed if you can remove them from the cult influence, they are under. This does not seem in the cards for the foreseeable future with FOX news and the other sources of right-wing poison.
Until the MAGA crowd sees the economic situation worsen ,for a prolonged amount of time, they will not snap out of their trance. Unfortunately, they will cause the rest of us to suffer until this occurs. My only question is how bad can this get? Germanys History is a stark reminder that the whole country could be devasted and turned to rubble. The specter of a declining Empire with nuclear weapons has never occurred before and has no historical analogue. I fear this could lead to the end of Modern Civilization and horrors so extreme that we can't really comprehend them.
Christopher I fear that even if they take it in the shorts, the MAGAts won't abandon their lord and savior, because they have a religious belief in Trump, they actually believe he is gods agent to put the DEI, woke, atheistic, liberals in their place.. 6 ft under ground or in a concentration camp,.
I just read a survey, that 40% of Americans, the same that voted for Trump, are still loyal, and they blame any and all problems, economic or otherwise,on Biden and the libs.
Farmers who have never seen a black person or gay except on TV, voted for Trump because of DEI. Despite the fact that they are being hit because of Trump's Executive orders, they still stand by their lord and savior. It is the same even with civil service. Many civil servants voted for Trumpbecause they believed that he would fire those "useless" people in the next cubicle, not that he would fire,their lilly white,"productive" asses. Now out of a job, they still support Trump, believing it was simply a mistake.
Best estimated are that onl y 2% of Trump voters are disaffected, but still hang on to their bias and hostility towards DEI and woke.
That is why Trump has prioritized his anti DEI and anti woke campaign. It was never about the price of eggs.
Please, it's the Ministry of Truth (aka minitrue), not the Ministry of Propaganda. The article revisits Newspeak and blackwhite. That we are living in Orwell's dystopian nightmare is unnerving. That 1984 is the most banned book of all time is not surprising.
the weaponization of fear and hate mongering by republicans over the last 60+ years, starting with McCarthy then on to Nixon and moving on especially with Reagan, which was really the beginnings of the christian based oligarchy robber barons, controlling all the wealth moving to the top 1% while leaving the bottom 90+ % living and working for scraps....by controlling politicians in the 3 branches of government to enact laws to benefit them in pursuit of more money and power. ...which has now lead us here today starting with tRUMP over 9 years ago.....we must all fight against this, it will be hard and worse times are ahead but I think we will overcome this insanity....but also believe things will not be the same, we need to find new ways to improve our democracy laid down by the constitution.
Future faking is a manipulation tactic employed when a narcissist or toxic person promises to fulfill your desires in the future to get something they want in the present — which is often simply to get off scot-free, delay a commitment, obtain resources, or avoid a conflict. rump promises a great economy soon! Soon! It's narcissitic future faking. It plays on someone's deepest most heartfelt desires by promising them that to obtain something from them. Votes for future faking. Our dreams are cruelly used against us. https://katiecouric.com/lifestyle/relationships/what-is-future-faking/
GWB and your hero Triump are the grand champions. The 2017 tax cuts were irresponsible. Turns out Musk created more debt than he saved.
Despite Republican propaganda, if you had studied economics, you'd have learned that targeted government spending can stimulate growth. Depends on the timing and targeting of the spending. For example, if the spending is used to create new infrastructure, the benefits may not be felt immediately, but they could lead to long-term economic growth. Spending that is targeted to those who are most likely to spend it can also have a greater impact.
Daniel, Tim is immune to learning and logic, He claims to be open minded but evidence is otherwise.
You are correct, government spending stimulates growth. That is the essence of Keynes. FDR used government spending to haul us out of the depression. Where private enterprise could not provide jobs to employ the vast unemployed, government projects did like the Hoover dam, the Civilian Conservation Corps., which the wealthy called communist.
National debt is not like household debt. We owe it to ourselves, If we, as a nation,default there is no one to repossess the nation. If you default on your debt, the sheriff comes in evicts you, takes your property.
The worse that can happen is if the government, defaults, it loses it's credit rating, and that means that the cost of borrowing goes up (interest rates on government securities)
As interest rates go up, demand for debt goes down, as demand for debt goes down, the money supply is reduced, a reduction in the money supply,leads to depression or recession.
There is a simple equation. Our is a fractional reserve or rather a debt money system, all moneys in existence were brought into existence by debt, public, private, corporate), The equation is this: No debt = no money=depression.
No, debt does not create money. Money is a "medium of exchange." Someone exchanges goods and services for money and then loans the Capital to someone to exchange for goods and services. Money is recycled. If someone defaults, the money doesn't disappear: The creditor has lost it, but the money has gone to the benefactors of the borrower. Follow the money and you will discover the motives.
Yes money is a medium of exchange, but it is created out debt. Damn you are either pig headed or plain stupid. I gave you evidence from the mouth of the Federal Reserve, if you don't believe me, then read it for yourself.
Money is only recycled until it disappears with taxation, that is the basis of the money multiplier. $1 spent by the government, creates $7, as it circulates, but is reduced by taxation.
If debt and the money created was not wiped off the books, we would be awash in money, drowing in it, and a dozen eggs would cost hundreds if not thousands.
We need to use the same Dictionary. You are calling "money" what I would call "capital." Banks use -- lend -- the (depositors') money. In that sense, it is "borrowed (debt)." But it is not created out of nothing.
Taxation removes the money from the System until the Government "reinvests" that money back into the System. The Government can invest in "infrastructure" which has or produces '"value," but it is not "creating" money.
"Debt" does not = "money." Nor is Capital equivalent to the National Debt.
Apparently, you see the National (or State) debt as "good" or necessary. If that Debt is defaulted, someone will lose that money -- it is in someone else's pocket.
Yes Tim: read the link to Modern Money Mechanics. All of our medium of exchange, which we call Dollars, English calls pounds, Germans call Marks, French call Francs, others call Peso's, Bolivars, Yuan, Yen owe their existence to the function of debt, All debts public (government securities), corporate, individual (even credit cards, mortgages,car loans)
The alternative is for the government to print money to pay it's bills, that is fiat money, the government does in fact print money, but they sell it to the Fed for the price of printing, and the Fed sells it to their member banks to meet the demands of drug pushers,street corner vendors, Mom and Pop stores, gamblers. the real money, the vast majority of money is in the form of electronic digits transmitted over twisted pairs, fiber optics and even the air.
I am reading the link. If what you say is true, it is nothing more than a Ponzi Scheme. I have never believed the Federal Reserve (Central Bank) should have been formed in the first place. And Congress has not done its job of oversight!
We can hope that the new Leo will be able to turn the U.S. Catholic church toward the workers, the poor, the immigrants. That will be fought by the almost wholly Catholic Trump cult, led by the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society and their similar organization. Capital is all the news, labor is suppressed.
"In fact, the morbidly rich simply put that extra money into their offshore accounts and money bins."
I've read two books on offshore money . You need to educate your subscribers about the seriousness of this matter. Trillions of dollars are floating worldwide free of taxes and any regulation. It is where large corporations and autocrats hide what they steal!
You would think the Church known to be against lies (ideologically) would be a check on it. That the Repubs have blended its propaganda perfectly with their mystery religion belies the truth. Mystery religions require leadership that does not fall into the lies of Satan. There are always a few failures in society but whole branches was not aligned against known truths. Once slavery was defeated on the battle field the whole society was not in favor of reinstituting it. Such a suggestion was a minority position. It required whistle words that the majority did not understand their meaning. Those that held them pretended Jesus was on their minority side. The father of all lies is Satan and Jesus is against lies directly and words that are propaganda memes. God is against lies period. It cannot be more clear that spirit is against lies of any kind. That means any and all that twist the truth have no legit place in society. The Cosmic Dreamer Halfdragon is rising. The end of lies is coming. The shift has already come. The end of the worlds past forms of lying is coming to a complete end. Praise God from whom all blessing come.
Religions are based on lies, thus a church cannot logically beagainst lies, as it would be against itself. What profit this myth has wrought, Pope Leo the X in 1515.
Hate to say this, I really do, because I do not like to disparage what is sacred to so many, but I’m kind of suspicious as to why exactly an American Pope was finally chosen—and now? Although, Pope Leo IV was “created” a Cardinal in Sept. of 2023, this was not made official until January of 2024.
Are the ring kissers actually kissing the ring? Is this more deal making? I hope not, but then I’ve had a lot of hopes dashed this past year. And, whoever is pulling Trump’s strings knows where all the bodies are buried, obviously. I don’t believe for an instant that the idiot is capable of instilling as much fear as is being systematically generated and attributed to him, all over the world. He’s unstable, erratic, dumb and now powerful, and over 77 million of our people mindlessly follow him, mob mentality does that, but why do so many other rich and power people bow to him and support him?
There are four professions that are seekers and speakers of evident truth--science, education, law, and journalism. The right wing is working to undo or compromise all four. An attack on truth is an attack on democracy, and on all human progress since the Renaissance.
How about the clergy? In France, the clergy belonged to the First Estate. This estate also included all members of the Catholic Church, such as bishops, priests, monks, and nuns.
......
In honor of Pope Leo.....
......
I dreamed I saw St. Augustine
Alive as you or me
Tearing through these quarters
In the utmost misery
With a blanket underneath his arm
And a coat of solid gold
Searching for the very souls
Whom already have been sold
...
Arise, arise, he cried so loud
In a voice without restraint
Come out, ye gifted kings and queens
And hear my sad complaint
No martyr is among ye now
Whom you can call your own
So go on your way accordingly
But know you're not alone
...
I dreamed I saw St. Augustine
Alive with fiery breath
And I dreamed I was amongst the ones
That put him out to death
Oh, I awoke in anger
So alone and terrified
I put my fingers against the glass
And bowed my head and cried
Bob Dylan https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE9bjdXCU_Q
I read emails this morning, about how a name chosen by a Pope is an indication of where he is as regards ideology, doctrine, etc. Pope Leo XIII in the late 19th Century was progressive as regards labor.
However as a former Catholic and student of religion. I hark back to the first Pope Leo, Leo the Great who reigned during the reign of Valentian III. Valentian III called the General Flavius Aetius to his seat in Ravenna, after Aetius stopped the rampage of Attila the Hun at the battle of the Catalaunian fields (with the help of Romano Gauls, Franks, Goths, Allemani and other tribes.
When Aetius arrived in Ravena, Valentia murdered him out of jealousy and fear, as Aetius was more popular than Valentian, and four years later Geoseric leader of the Vandals, swept through the west Roman Empire,laid waste to Ravenna and Rome, because there was no competent military leader to stop him, Valentian had murdered the last great military leader.
Pope Leo the Great, was pope during Valentian's reign, and with the concurrence of Valentian, threw Manicheans and other infidels and heretics, to the lions with all of the glee once reserved for Christians.
Later Leo III, (who was an obscure bishop of Rome) (Rome then being a degraded cesspit, was plucked out of obscurity by Charlemagne, who declared him Pope, and then the Pope crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, so Charlemagne could rule the ignorant masses, as "chosen by god", aprecedent followed by all royals.
Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest. ~Denis Diderot (Disputed)
Leo I was a Roman aristocrat. He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452 and persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy.
Maybe this Leo can convince our Hun to repent.....
Although Leo the Great and Augustine were contemporaries, there's no evidence they had a relationship. Augustine, btw was married, had a son and converted to Christianity. He was a Berber.
Augustine was also a Manichean Priest. And when he noticed Leo "The Great" heaving Manicheans to the lions, he "saw the light"and became a Christian.
This was at the time that someone named Jerome, compiled the first Bible, the Latin Vulgate, and itis evident that Augustine had a relationship with Jerome and a hand in writing the Latin Vulgate, for it is at this point that Manichean concepts like duality, a good god and a bad god, were introduced into the so called gospel. Also Lucifer as a bad god., as you know Lucifer was the name given to Venus as the Morning star, known as the bringer of light, and of course the enemy of ignorance and superstition is light.
Were it not for Augustine and wealth Romans like Piso, we would have a completely different Christianity today.
Mani was an Iranian prophet, the founder of Manicheanism, which itself is an offshoot of Zoroastrianism.
Christianity is a conglomerate of many religions and traditions of that time and place, but most heavily influenced by Manicheanism, gratis Augustine.
Sunni Arabs recognize Judaism and Christianity as Peoples of the Scroll or peoples of the book, and accord them status as dhimmis, (second class citizens) and allow hem to worship their religion, not so with atheists and polytheists.
Shia Muslims recognize Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians as peoples of the book.
Jesus was/is highly regarded by Islam as the greatest prophet prior to Mohammed. Mary was a virgin who gave birth to him. He performed miracles and in general followed the biblical narrative until the crucifixion and resurrection. which they do not accept. They hold that at the end times he will descend from heaven and slay the antichrist. What they do not accept is that he is the Son of God. Interestingly, they also consider John to have been a prophet. I am pretty sure the vast majority of Christians have no idea of any of this.
I know that Robert. I've studied tthe Quran, hadiths and the biog of Muhammad by ibn Ishaq. Interesting thing about Mary (or Miriam in the Quran) is that she was impregnated by Gabriel who appeared to her as a shiny, hansome man. The Quran and Islam thus deny the Christian belief that Issa was divine and hence the son of god,
BTW, Allah is a contraction of al Lihah, the pre Muhammad Moon god, also a piece of him is ensconed in the Qaba in Makkah.
If you pay attention, you will notice that quite a few Muslims flags have the new moon, as to the top of masjids (mosques), the crecent moon represents Allah , their god, and the star represents Venus, al Uzza.
We had to read City of God. Original sin. Just war. Heaven's just a sin away. The basis for Catholic philosophy (with Thomas Aquinas).
I was a fan of E.L. Doctorow, who wrote a novel, City of God. Augustine was the foundation. Most critics hated it, but I identify with it....IMHO the diversity of thought in New York constitutes a city of God.
Due to the horrible attention span of most 'murkan humans, any messaging, not matter how simple, must be regularly repeated in order to be committed to memory. With the aid of visual stimuli, music, common human society sounds such as traffic, machinery, etc., a repetition becomes associated with pleasurable or familiar identifications.
Memory via associations works like glue. Then add an emotional quality that reinforces the messaging, such as anger, fear, laughter, strength, power, manipulation, dominance, personal gain, and the human brain becomes virtually robotic.
I taught in classroom for six years and trained folks for decades in multi-functional tasking/learning. The difference between the two is remarkable. I could suggest via verbal, visual and the use of my voice in various ways, very simple memes, quotes, dates, places, etc., and then ask questions that would require a memory response to what I just said, and I did it in several ways to different students several times. This was accompanied by me writing on a black board the term(s) in question. Very good responses. But when I asked them to put that memory into a contextual situation that required problem solving, they were lost.
But in multi-functional tasking, the learning could not happen without contexts and associations, and students/workers, especially working in teams, could learn an entire regime of situational realities and their components. In other words, some form of critical thinking.
I read recently that the modern human mind can only hold about 7 factoids or words in their near-term memory. And the attention span on any one was well under one minute. This is how thinking is manipulated. Emotive, psychologically rewarding, personalized drama/trauma associations stick like glue without any need for continuity or contextualization.
In other words, brainwashing, which leads to cult-like behaviors.
agree 100%. we're a nation held hostage to algorithms.
Sabrina, one of the first things the democratic leaders of Poland did when they broke away from Russian control was to take over the national news media. They also ended voter suppression, reorganized the court system, and arrested corrupt politicians. They understood that to protect a fledging democracy, they had to fight those that were intent on restoring Russia dominance of Poland.
When the good people of America rise out of the ashes of the failed trump administration the same the same thing will happen here. Those people in power that broke their oath of office will be impeached, or disqualified from office, and a Democratic controlled Congress will restore the Constitution and our Democracy as are for forefathers intended when they started our great nation.
Wangone,appreciate you're optimistic view.How long do you think this will take.
We are a nation enamored of and armored by our own ignorance.
Mick,well written.
Dear God, I know you don't hear from me very often, but please, please, help us return to something like the Fairness Doctrine before Hitler's spawn convinces people that truth is the enemy. In the UK, the Online Safety Act 2023 places duties on platforms to address misinformation and disinformation; they also require truth and fairness in reporting the news. If they can do it, why is it so goddamn hard for us to do? Is it because we are inherently stupid? Or because Citizens United makes "truth" depend on who is paying for it (ie, corporate owned media)? Asking for a friend.
Sabrina,the US would never have anything like theOnline Safety Act 2023. We should demand he US have the same,it will never happen. We unfortunately are lazy and in many cases inherently stupid. Trump is a persistent liar,his supporters and the Republicans know that,they don't care.
Restack this report for the sake of repetition - and brilliance.
As my "ol pappy used to say, "Repetition is an aid to learning."
We should be protesting MSM.
Over the last few decades, probably in a parallel universe to "trickle down economics", there has been an explosion of administration, management, finance, and suit and tie jobs. These status quo people would almost inflict self-harm if they had to ditch the suits and the country club social peer group association for a "worker's job". The damage to their frail ego would simply be too much for them to shoulder. So they lie. Lying is shown to them as the ticket to job security. Join the ranks of the "soul sellers" and keep your well earned class status alive. I grew up inside of this cabal and I know from experience of what I have seen. When I hit a spell of hard times and had to drive a cab and live in a tent for a year, my family and friends quickly turned their backs on me. Greed and massive consumption leads to people living beyond their means and increases the individual and national debt load. Eventually the bill comes due and the lies exposed. Can the subscribers to Kindness be the salvation of our nation? I think we shall see.
During the 2016 campaign CBS executive Leslie Moonves celebrated the "circus" of "bomb throwing" in Trump's campaign as bad for America but great for CBS. Ratings went up, money was rolling in, and network pundits couldn't wait for the next antic. Now it's SOP for news to legitimize Idiocracy as serving the public interest.
"Look Out"
When I was young in the Regan years my Dad, a world War II vet and lived through the depression told me “Look out if they ever get the Press". I vaguely realized he was talking about “The Wealthy" and this battle started the day the New Deal passed. The wisdom of the comment cannot be overstated. If one wonders how Hitler took over and convinced his military to murder Jews and invade other countries, one just need to look no further than the MAGA movement.
I have tried to use reason with people associated with the right and they are so brainwashed you can't get through. If you tell them Jan 6th was a riot and violent they will tell you the mainstream press made it up. If you tell them Trump has gone bankrupt 6 times, they will tell you that is a lie for the WOKW left. If you point out he was convinced of 32 felonies, they will tell you it was the Deep State responsible and that he was not guilty. The point is you can't get to a cult member who is fully brainwashed with facts. They can only be deprogrammed if you can remove them from the cult influence, they are under. This does not seem in the cards for the foreseeable future with FOX news and the other sources of right-wing poison.
Until the MAGA crowd sees the economic situation worsen ,for a prolonged amount of time, they will not snap out of their trance. Unfortunately, they will cause the rest of us to suffer until this occurs. My only question is how bad can this get? Germanys History is a stark reminder that the whole country could be devasted and turned to rubble. The specter of a declining Empire with nuclear weapons has never occurred before and has no historical analogue. I fear this could lead to the end of Modern Civilization and horrors so extreme that we can't really comprehend them.
Christopher I fear that even if they take it in the shorts, the MAGAts won't abandon their lord and savior, because they have a religious belief in Trump, they actually believe he is gods agent to put the DEI, woke, atheistic, liberals in their place.. 6 ft under ground or in a concentration camp,.
I just read a survey, that 40% of Americans, the same that voted for Trump, are still loyal, and they blame any and all problems, economic or otherwise,on Biden and the libs.
Farmers who have never seen a black person or gay except on TV, voted for Trump because of DEI. Despite the fact that they are being hit because of Trump's Executive orders, they still stand by their lord and savior. It is the same even with civil service. Many civil servants voted for Trumpbecause they believed that he would fire those "useless" people in the next cubicle, not that he would fire,their lilly white,"productive" asses. Now out of a job, they still support Trump, believing it was simply a mistake.
Best estimated are that onl y 2% of Trump voters are disaffected, but still hang on to their bias and hostility towards DEI and woke.
That is why Trump has prioritized his anti DEI and anti woke campaign. It was never about the price of eggs.
Please, it's the Ministry of Truth (aka minitrue), not the Ministry of Propaganda. The article revisits Newspeak and blackwhite. That we are living in Orwell's dystopian nightmare is unnerving. That 1984 is the most banned book of all time is not surprising.
the weaponization of fear and hate mongering by republicans over the last 60+ years, starting with McCarthy then on to Nixon and moving on especially with Reagan, which was really the beginnings of the christian based oligarchy robber barons, controlling all the wealth moving to the top 1% while leaving the bottom 90+ % living and working for scraps....by controlling politicians in the 3 branches of government to enact laws to benefit them in pursuit of more money and power. ...which has now lead us here today starting with tRUMP over 9 years ago.....we must all fight against this, it will be hard and worse times are ahead but I think we will overcome this insanity....but also believe things will not be the same, we need to find new ways to improve our democracy laid down by the constitution.
TIL about "Future Faking." What is future faking?
Future faking is a manipulation tactic employed when a narcissist or toxic person promises to fulfill your desires in the future to get something they want in the present — which is often simply to get off scot-free, delay a commitment, obtain resources, or avoid a conflict. rump promises a great economy soon! Soon! It's narcissitic future faking. It plays on someone's deepest most heartfelt desires by promising them that to obtain something from them. Votes for future faking. Our dreams are cruelly used against us. https://katiecouric.com/lifestyle/relationships/what-is-future-faking/
OVERSPENDING "throw(s) the nation into debt!"
GWB and your hero Triump are the grand champions. The 2017 tax cuts were irresponsible. Turns out Musk created more debt than he saved.
Despite Republican propaganda, if you had studied economics, you'd have learned that targeted government spending can stimulate growth. Depends on the timing and targeting of the spending. For example, if the spending is used to create new infrastructure, the benefits may not be felt immediately, but they could lead to long-term economic growth. Spending that is targeted to those who are most likely to spend it can also have a greater impact.
Daniel, Tim is immune to learning and logic, He claims to be open minded but evidence is otherwise.
You are correct, government spending stimulates growth. That is the essence of Keynes. FDR used government spending to haul us out of the depression. Where private enterprise could not provide jobs to employ the vast unemployed, government projects did like the Hoover dam, the Civilian Conservation Corps., which the wealthy called communist.
National debt is not like household debt. We owe it to ourselves, If we, as a nation,default there is no one to repossess the nation. If you default on your debt, the sheriff comes in evicts you, takes your property.
The worse that can happen is if the government, defaults, it loses it's credit rating, and that means that the cost of borrowing goes up (interest rates on government securities)
As interest rates go up, demand for debt goes down, as demand for debt goes down, the money supply is reduced, a reduction in the money supply,leads to depression or recession.
There is a simple equation. Our is a fractional reserve or rather a debt money system, all moneys in existence were brought into existence by debt, public, private, corporate), The equation is this: No debt = no money=depression.
No, debt does not create money. Money is a "medium of exchange." Someone exchanges goods and services for money and then loans the Capital to someone to exchange for goods and services. Money is recycled. If someone defaults, the money doesn't disappear: The creditor has lost it, but the money has gone to the benefactors of the borrower. Follow the money and you will discover the motives.
Yes money is a medium of exchange, but it is created out debt. Damn you are either pig headed or plain stupid. I gave you evidence from the mouth of the Federal Reserve, if you don't believe me, then read it for yourself.
Modern Money Mechanics, by FRBNY https://archive.org/details/modern-money-mechanics
Money is only recycled until it disappears with taxation, that is the basis of the money multiplier. $1 spent by the government, creates $7, as it circulates, but is reduced by taxation.
If debt and the money created was not wiped off the books, we would be awash in money, drowing in it, and a dozen eggs would cost hundreds if not thousands.
We need to use the same Dictionary. You are calling "money" what I would call "capital." Banks use -- lend -- the (depositors') money. In that sense, it is "borrowed (debt)." But it is not created out of nothing.
Taxation removes the money from the System until the Government "reinvests" that money back into the System. The Government can invest in "infrastructure" which has or produces '"value," but it is not "creating" money.
"Debt" does not = "money." Nor is Capital equivalent to the National Debt.
Apparently, you see the National (or State) debt as "good" or necessary. If that Debt is defaulted, someone will lose that money -- it is in someone else's pocket.
Yes Tim: read the link to Modern Money Mechanics. All of our medium of exchange, which we call Dollars, English calls pounds, Germans call Marks, French call Francs, others call Peso's, Bolivars, Yuan, Yen owe their existence to the function of debt, All debts public (government securities), corporate, individual (even credit cards, mortgages,car loans)
The alternative is for the government to print money to pay it's bills, that is fiat money, the government does in fact print money, but they sell it to the Fed for the price of printing, and the Fed sells it to their member banks to meet the demands of drug pushers,street corner vendors, Mom and Pop stores, gamblers. the real money, the vast majority of money is in the form of electronic digits transmitted over twisted pairs, fiber optics and even the air.
But it was all created out of debt.
I am reading the link. If what you say is true, it is nothing more than a Ponzi Scheme. I have never believed the Federal Reserve (Central Bank) should have been formed in the first place. And Congress has not done its job of oversight!
We can hope that the new Leo will be able to turn the U.S. Catholic church toward the workers, the poor, the immigrants. That will be fought by the almost wholly Catholic Trump cult, led by the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society and their similar organization. Capital is all the news, labor is suppressed.
"In fact, the morbidly rich simply put that extra money into their offshore accounts and money bins."
I've read two books on offshore money . You need to educate your subscribers about the seriousness of this matter. Trillions of dollars are floating worldwide free of taxes and any regulation. It is where large corporations and autocrats hide what they steal!
Every advancement put forth by the human race has been corrupted and none more than the ability to speak.
You would think the Church known to be against lies (ideologically) would be a check on it. That the Repubs have blended its propaganda perfectly with their mystery religion belies the truth. Mystery religions require leadership that does not fall into the lies of Satan. There are always a few failures in society but whole branches was not aligned against known truths. Once slavery was defeated on the battle field the whole society was not in favor of reinstituting it. Such a suggestion was a minority position. It required whistle words that the majority did not understand their meaning. Those that held them pretended Jesus was on their minority side. The father of all lies is Satan and Jesus is against lies directly and words that are propaganda memes. God is against lies period. It cannot be more clear that spirit is against lies of any kind. That means any and all that twist the truth have no legit place in society. The Cosmic Dreamer Halfdragon is rising. The end of lies is coming. The shift has already come. The end of the worlds past forms of lying is coming to a complete end. Praise God from whom all blessing come.
Religions are based on lies, thus a church cannot logically beagainst lies, as it would be against itself. What profit this myth has wrought, Pope Leo the X in 1515.
Hate to say this, I really do, because I do not like to disparage what is sacred to so many, but I’m kind of suspicious as to why exactly an American Pope was finally chosen—and now? Although, Pope Leo IV was “created” a Cardinal in Sept. of 2023, this was not made official until January of 2024.
Are the ring kissers actually kissing the ring? Is this more deal making? I hope not, but then I’ve had a lot of hopes dashed this past year. And, whoever is pulling Trump’s strings knows where all the bodies are buried, obviously. I don’t believe for an instant that the idiot is capable of instilling as much fear as is being systematically generated and attributed to him, all over the world. He’s unstable, erratic, dumb and now powerful, and over 77 million of our people mindlessly follow him, mob mentality does that, but why do so many other rich and power people bow to him and support him?
Sorry, Pope, Leo XIV