We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, September 3, 2021

Posts that I especially recommend for Friday, September 3, 2021

Note: Monday after I completed my posts, I watched on TV the tennis matches at the US Open. I realized how much I enjoyed watching tennis matches by expert players. So, I decided to wait until the 13th of September to take off on my road trips east from my home in southern Minnesota. I will go as far as New York state and possibly up into Vermont and across to Massachusetts.

I won't patronize any businesses that require papers to prove that I have been vaccinated because I haven't been. (I have enjoyed the longest streak of good health that I can remember, that is, outside of my balance problems I experienced in April.) Thus, I can't visit people in Nova Scotia and I won't go into New York City because authorities in both places require proof of vaccination.

Wednesday I received an email from someone who is living in Albuquerque (New Mexico) who has followed my website for over six years! However, I'm not going in that direction. But I could use more volunteers of regular readers of my website to meet along the way to the east coast. Hopefully, more will respond (goatmeal36@yahoo.com) before the 13th of September. I want to meet some of my regular readers over coffee, tea, or beer to get acquainted with them.

  • Why the U.S. Still Suffers from Covid by Margaret Kimberley from Black Agenda Report. My reaction: This is Kimberley's take on the present status of the Covid pandemic, not mine. My interpretation: the pandemic represents the transnational capitalist ruling class's population reduction program.
  • 💥The Covidian Cult (Part III) by CJ Hopkins, a wise satirical comedian in an age when satire is dead and is now devoting himself to serious essays, from his weblog Consent Factory, Inc. This is a best post. (Note: Hopkins, an American blogger, is currently living in Berlin, Germany.) My reaction: Hopkins' take on ideology somewhat differs from mine. He sees the current "reality" as defining the ideology of the globe--"global capitalism". I see the latter as the "reality" (the "new normal") only as the creation of the de-facto US/Anglo/Zionist Empire. I see the mixed economies led by Russia, China, and Iran as being somewhat compromised by their capitalist components because they tried socialist paths and failed due to the historical actions of the capitalist nations and the Empire. Because of the class nature of capitalism, socialism (abolishment of private ownership of the economy) cannot co-exist with capitalism.
  • The nature of satire features Chris Hedges interviewing Joe Sacco, a satirist, from RT's channel on YouTube (25:49m). My reaction: Isn't the success--the "new normal"-- of fascists in the ruling capitalist class and created by them beyond satire?
Neither Wall Street nor its front men are happy with the current constraints on the Fed’s ability to lavish trillions of dollars in bailout money on the Wall Street mega banks every time they blow themselves up with their latest innovations in financial weapons of mass destruction.
 
My reaction: Ha! Some "Wall Streeters" will be concerned, but not sufficient in number or dedication to be able to change anything. This view ignores the latest evolution of the fascist stage of capitalism. Wall Street derives too much benefit from the Fed and its essentially printing-of-money operations.
  • The American Invasion of Syria from the channel of Tales of the American Empire on YouTube (14:35m). My reaction: This video shows the liars and lies told to Americans by our government officials under the control of the capitalist ruling class.
In 2011, the United States, Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and most Persian Gulf states conspired to destroy Syria for different reasons. They covertly sent tens of thousands of jihadist mercenaries to Syria and shipped them billions of dollars of weaponry and supplies to overthrow the government of Syria. This effort failed so the USA launched a massive bombing campaign to destroy eastern Syria while an American led mercenary force invaded from Iraq to occupy eastern Syria before it could be liberated by the Syrian army. This effort stalled, so President Barack Obama authorized thousands of American combat troops to invade Syria, even though he had publicly promised not to send American ground troops into Syria.
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