THE EARTHIAN is a digest of linked articles containing facts, events, analysis, perspectives, and comments concerned about existential states of affairs around Spaceship Earth.
Effective Learning Publications, 32 East Main Street, Statesboro, Georgia, USA, July 12, 2019
Or So It Seems to Me Right Now
By Richard John Stapleton, PhD, CTA, Editor & Publisher
Here I am one more time,
with one more issue of THE EARTHIAN – 10, one more time as our legendary
football coach at GA SO Univ, Erk Russell, used to say about the next football
game.
What sort of age is this
anyway?
A writer-source posted below says we are now living in “The Age of Stupidity,” epitomized by the emergence of Donald Trump on the world stage, exemplified by his performance July 4, 2019 in Washington, DC at his military parade, replete with army tanks rolling down Washington streets with air force jets flying in formation and then dramatically fanning out overhead, and his speech, in which he revved up his congregation with his interpretation of the Star Spangled Banner, in which he said Americans were still behind the ramparts and their flag was still standing, as if still fighting the Revolutionary War, in which they took over the air and airports, heroes of mythic courage and virtue, as his pack of hungry hounds ate up every word he said, ecstatically howling and yelping as each new bone was thrown their way–which was fine so far as it goes for such a speech on such an occasion–except for the fact the Star Spangled Banner was written during the War of 1812 and there were no airports to take over then, airplanes unfortunately having not been invented yet.
Maybe we should call our
age The Age of Suspended Disbelief or the Age of Awakening or The Age of
Anger or The Age of Reckoning or the Age of Letting It All Hang Out.
Possibly because of the
emergence of the Internet and electronic media in general, human Earthians
around Spaceship Earth in recent decades have been exposed to a greater variety
of facts, data, propaganda, fake news, information, and honest and dishonest
analysis than ever before in history, possibly causing widespread bewilderment
and frustration. Humans are like field mice forced out of their burrows into
the light of day that do not know what to make of what they see. They have
learned that much of what they were taught was wrong and that things are often
not what they seem.
Not only ideas and
doctrines but events and practices contradict themselves at every turn. Nothing seems to work anymore. The global
economy is stagnant or prosperous, going to hell or getting better, depending
on which version of truth you believe; nations are at peace or in constant war,
depending on which version of truth you adhere to, with various dichotomies and
bifurcations presenting themselves, such as the quality of human life on Earth
declining or improving, a country getting greater or weaker or becoming more
just or unjust or getting smarter or stupider, and so on.
It seems to me right now a
better trope for our time might be “The Age of Contradiction.”
A
fundamental teaching of transactional analysis is that humans should learn to
“see what is really going on” with themselves and others as they transact with
one another socially and psychologically living their daily lives, so as to
maximize their shot at being successful and satisfied with their lives, despite
how not-OK their economic, social, psychological, and political worlds might be.
Transactional
analysis, or TA, teaches there are three naturally occurring life outcomes for
humans: winner, loser, and non-winner– caused
by the sum total of inherited physical characteristics and “messages” one is
exposed to from the moment of birth, even including messages some say one is
exposed to in one’s mother’s womb–and by the decisions offspring make about the
outside messages that become permanent determinants of emotional, intellectual,
and behavioral responses throughout life that determine the three generic life
outcomes, or life scripts.
In
other words, it’s all a matter of luck in the naturally-occurring world of inevitable
cause-effect chains causing human scripts and outcomes, all of which are to
some extent different for individuals, a blind unfair process that produces in
the aggregate predictable outcomes that recur in about the same proportions
among the human population generation after generation.
A major purpose of TA is to add new artificial causes of causation to alter the path of the naturally-occurring cause-effect chain of an individual so as to increase her or his life satisfaction, helping the person to escape the “script” naturally imposed on him or her throughout life–if the individual decides her or his natural script is less-OK than it should be.
Changing a loser script to a winner script requires a lot of hard work but it can happen if a person somehow acquires artificial script messages powerful enough to control the naturally-occurring deleterious or debilitating script messages. TA can provide people basic concepts and tools for attempting such a thing, requiring perhaps the use of different ego states and transactional patterns, learning how to communicate in more effective ways psychologically as well as socially with others, psychological messages being ulterior and non-spoken, social messages being overt and spoken.
Changing a loser script may also entail changing the way one structures his or her time, learning how to spend more time working than playing Games, or learning how to spend more time being intimate instead of pastiming, performing rituals, or playing Games, especially playing Games similar to those Trump plays with people, seeking but rarely achieving intimacy, most likely, possibly being the most Game-infested actor on the Spaceship Earth global stage in history.
Does the man have a loser script? A loser is someone who cannot achieve his or her goals. Trump seems to think he’s a winner whose political purpose is to rescue losers.
One can build a case it’s better not to try to change a loser script. Just let nature take it’s course. The Prayer of Serenity goes something like this: Lord give me the intelligence and strength to change what needs changing, and the wisdom to know what I can and cannot change, knowing full well that some suffering, losing, and grieving is inevitable.
Using TA can in some cases increase serenity. On the other hand, a basic problem or question is whether serenity is possible in today’s world, beset as it is by global warming and climate change and by escalating hostilities and agitations among organizations and groups around Earth, especially between big organizations and groups, such as the US and Iran, with the US government trying to goad Iran into doing something rash that will give the US government an excuse to tear Iran to shreds with another war in the Middle East, a gruesome Game indeed.
How could anyone be serene knowing his or her country is being lead by top leaders such as Trump, Bolton, Pompeo, and all members of Trump’s cabinet for that matter, government leaders ranking high on the list of unqualified government leaders through time? Or how serene could anyone be knowing the judicial system is ruled by a dumbed-down prejudiced and biased supreme court such as the current SCOTUS?
TA never promised anyone any rose gardens on Earth, or eternal bliss in heaven, but it does advertise that it can help specific individuals, groups, and organizations become more ok, ok not only in terms of achieving personal goals but more ok transacting with others so as to live with more dignity, satisfaction, peace, and tranquility, based on Adult mutually agreed to contracts.
No one could blame you if you believe in tuning out TA and blogs such as this one. Maybe the best strategy is to tune out the world, burrowing up in your burrow as much as possible, reading no newspapers and not watching television, with no Internet. One can build a case this is the way to maximize your mental health. The problem however if you do that is boredom. Most humans have an innate need for stimulation, achievement, and recognition.
To maximize your chances of satisfaction it seems to me it’s best to try to solve problems and take action to bring about satisfactory conditions and outcomes. TA is a field of study that might help you do this on your life journey.
Regardless of what sort of techniques and cognitive structure you use sooner or later you have to take action, and this entails defining the problem, delineating the alternatives, and making recommendations for changing things, choosing things, trying new things, trial and error, over and over, till something works.
1–What is the problem?
2–What
are the alternatives?
3–What
do you recommend?
Unfortunately this Adult problem-solving process does not seem to work with nations. Who would be idealistic or grandiose enough to think he or she could define the problems of a nation, generate alternatives for solving them, make recommendations for change, and then start an action plan of things to do to cure the not-OKness?
It seems nations never solve their problems. All they ever do is change the actors of roles required by the script, which may involve trivial script changes over time, say changing from a monarchy to a republic, or from feudalism to capitalism to socialism to communism to fascism, and maybe back again to capitalism; but so what, the dynamics remain the same. The top leaders wind up screwing and exploiting the members regardless of the economic or political system de jure, caused by the innate greed and corruption of top leaders incessantly fighting for more money and power, playing the ultimate Game, trying to be the top dog.
Yet so far humans have kept on muddling through somehow despite their chronic problems doing about the same things over and over, despite the fact no single human or nation has been smart enough or wise enough or powerful enough to start and implement an action plan that results in real improvement and correction for everyone.
The problem now however if climate change and global warming are real in ways thousands believe they are we may be living in
The
Age of No More Muddling Through
or
The
Age of No More Bullshit.
Politicians promise to start and implement action plans for real improvement if you will just vote for them. Most of their promises are snake oil such as “socialism” or “cutting taxes” or “more military spending” or “Make America Great Again”–but It never happens or does any good, despite the billions of dollars spent on campaigns, and the new characters acting out the same roles after the elections; and the country keeps sliding downhill, as if the purpose of the whole charade was to give winners the pleasure of winning elections and acting out the roles they tried out for, giving them a taste of increased power and recognition as a top dog, with no real achievement for everyone.
We live in precarious times, but it will do little good to play AIN’T IT AWFUL, a psychological Game identified and labeled by transactional analysts, in which psychological Game players collect strokes by constantly complaining about the evils and troubles of the cold cruel world, positioning themselves as Victims of obsolete economic, religious, and political systems manipulated and exploited by greedy self-interested power-mad sociopathic oligarchs and leaders and their corrupt bought and paid for lackeys, especially lobbyists and politicians, however true that might be in reality.
Yet, it seems to me humans
should discuss serious economic, political, environmental, social, and
psychological problems in Adult Game-Free ways to develop consensual bottom-up
policies and strategies, and the more groups around Earth the better, which
increases the odds of developing workable and cooperative approaches for
staving off the dire consequences of global warming and climate change.
At the same time, it will do
no good for Earthians to stick their heads in the sand to passively pretend
everything is just hunky-dory and swell, with everything coming up roses for
everyone, living in small imaginary Candide-like best of all possible worlds,
playing a psychological Game labeled GREENHOUSE by transactional analysts, in
which players are rewarded with plastic (fake) strokes (units of recognition)
for making nonsensical positive cheerful upbeat comments about the environment
and political, economic, social, and psychological states of affairs.
Regardless of the causes of
the Earthian plight, it seems to me individual humans should assume
responsibility and take action for conserving energy as best they can in their
daily lives to reduce greenhouse gases and the effects of climate change; but
especially they should help select politicians who will vote for economic and
political policies and strategies that will help correct environmental,
economic, political, social, and psychological problems on a mass scale, before
it’s too late.
For at least two centuries humans have lived under the illusion that technology and labor-saving devices, new chemical applications in agriculture (fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides), and new scientific discoveries of all sorts would enable them to live happily ever after, while producing as many offspring as they wished, thereby increasing the world human population without limit, despite the admonitions of humans like Thomas Malthus, an English parson, who published in 1798 in an essay titled “An Essay on the Principle of Population” what became known as the Malthusian Concept, namely that human population grows geometrically while the human food supply grows arithmetically, and therefore most humans were doomed to suffer food shortages, poverty, subsistence living, and premature deaths. Up until the last few years economists have generally taught that Malthus was wrong, arguing that technology, chemical agriculture, better seeds, and better irrigation would enable an ever-increasing human population to be adequately fed and housed. Unfortunately it now appears that Malthus was right after all. World hunger, poverty and misery are increasing, even in the United States; and, even worse, it appears that some forms of technology, however beneficial and enjoyable they have been in the short run, have led human Earthians down a dangerous path to possible extinction, namely electricity and the internal combustion engine used to power billions of cars, trucks, motorcycles, riding lawn mowers, tractors, airplanes, boats, ships, houses, refrigerators, central heating and cooling systems, factories, computers, and what have you around Earth, requiring the ignition and burning of many millions of barrels, cubic feet, and tons of fossil fuel (oil, gas, and coal) every day as an energy source, the burning of which is causing global warming and climate change by putting ever more tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. All forms of technology are not good things; and humans have to learn how to use good technology instead of bad technology, however horribly addicted to bad technology they may be; and the Earthian human population should be peacefully reduced through natural attrition, natural deaths exceeding births, thereby reducing the need to deplete resources necessary to sustain the Earthian human population in the short run, irrespective of long run consequences. Bringing that about will require many different kinds of changes not only in the behavior of human Earthians but especially in the behavior of large human institutions controlled and manipulated by deluded self-interested sociopaths. The situation is especially ominous when one considers that if humans were to give up all their addictions to bad technology cold turkey they would immediately cause an economic and political catastrophe of unimaginable proportions, possibly extinction. Humans are cornered or trapped in a Global Catch-22 or Gordian Knot–in a damned-if-they-do-and-damned-if-they-don’t situation–and there are no easy answers for getting loose.
Unfortunately, it seems to me right now
that human Earthians over and over fight (and sometimes win) the same sorts of futile
battles, while they inexorably lose the long war.
For more information regarding the use of Transactional Analysis go here. To create better discussion groups and democratic processes read my book Born to Learn: A Transactional Analysis of Human Learning .
For more information on how to co-construct better organizations and economic systems read my book Business Voyages: Mental Maps, Scripts, Schemata, and Tools for Co-Constructing Your Own Business Worlds .
See my article “The Evolution of Spaceship Earth, Inc,” for some management science ideas on how human Earthians might eventually co-construct an economic system that is viable and satisfying for everyone.
TO
RESPOND:
As usual this month’s THE EARTHIAN links and cites as SOURCES recent articles
written and published by clear deep-thinking hard-hitting independent writers
in various Internet publications on ecological, economic, social, political, religious,
and military affairs around Spaceship Earth. I generally agree with these writers about
what is most relevant about Spaceship Earth states of affairs, but each of them
brought up facts, analyses, conclusions, ideas, or perspectives that were new
to me when I read them during the last thirty days or so, thereby teaching me
something, which is why I included them in this issue of THE EARTHIAN.
It’s not easy, impossible some say, to
separate relevant from irrelevant focal points in order to comprehend global cases,
systems, and processes, while being inundated with fake news and true facts of
states of affairs generated daily around Spaceship Earth, made public on the
Internet, and elsewhere, to see what’s really going on, using primarily inductive
and analogical reasoning, based on probability, not deductive logic, or
irrelevant authoritarian make-believe certainty, to be memorized and obeyed by
sheeple.
If you have ideas on how to democratically discuss in Game-free ways economic and political problems and opportunities in something like the Ogeechee Economic Forum go to our RESPONSES page and let us know about them.
Feel free to respond with comments
about any of the SOURCES listed below using our RESPONSES
page; but please refrain from making ad hominem attacks. Criticize any
of the facts, data, evidence, reasoning, and conclusions in any of the
articles; but please refrain from slandering the characteristics of the authors
to illogically try to prove their arguments and conclusions are wrong and yours
are right.
I have no desire to sell subscriptions or advertising or solicit donations for THE EARTHIAN, but I would like to sell more books. If you feel you’ve gained value from THE EARTHIAN and would like to reciprocate go to our Effective Learning Publications page and purchase one or more copies of my books.
Best wishes, RJS
SOURCES:
June
26, 2019
Jonathan
Walker Stapleton, my son, the author of this article, was born June 17, 1972 in
Savannah, Georgia, reared in Statesboro, Georgia, graduating from Statesboro
High School in 1990 as the Star Student of the 12th Congressional District of
Georgia, graduating from Rice University in Houston, Texas in 1994. He now
teaches physics and earth sciences at Essex High School in Essex Junction,
Vermont. He was selected to deliver the commencement address this year by the
graduating seniors at Essex High School. This article is the text of his
speech. A video is attached.
“A
Graduates’ Brief Guide for Dealing with Inevitable Failures,” by Jonathan
Walker Stapleton, EFFECTIVE LEARNING REPORT, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/a-graduates-brief-guide-to-failure/?fbclid=IwAR0TBvPADYi3OkjdLRGQnFcoW3cm3ZooZayUEP9K8nIYf8g5RxdNob9J-Wg.
July
12
Good
questions indeed.
“Capitalism
and a primitive, violent society,” by Dave Alpert, INTREPID REPORT, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/27556.
July
12
Ellen
Brown again tells it like she sees it, about right, as I too see it.
“How
to pay for it all: An option the
candidates missed,” by Ellen Brown, INTREPID REPORT, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/27559.
July
12
John
Whitehead again tells the truth as he sees it.
“The
heart of darkness: The sexual predators
within America’s power elite,” by John W. Whitehead, INTREPID REPORT, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/27561.
July
12
Another
great article by Paul Street, one of the greatest writers alive.
“Skull
of Death: Mass Media, Inauthentic
Opposition, and Eco-Existential Reality in a Pre-Fascist Age of Appeasement,” by
Paul Street, COUNTERPUNCH, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/07/12/skull-of-death-mass-media-inauthentic-opposition-and-eco-existential-reality-in-a-pre-fascist-age-of-appeasement-2/?fbclid=IwAR2-WniRRkLQO_PyU5rhL6IC56Em_FFwVjyNaAEvp1Nbc6v14QroyUPab5U.
July
12
Always
about oil.
“Oil’s
Enduring Sway in US Policy in the Middle East, by Michael T. Klare, TROUTHOUT, https://truthout.org/articles/oils-enduring-sway-in-us-policy-in-the-middle-east/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR2wVmyF7EukpfDw8JBIloWY0XzNCzQtGdTZvkj39ZwotASG4pFOLEibmtk.
July
12
Say
it aint so Joe.
“The
Climate Crisis Has Made Breathing Smoke Normal in Pacific Northwest,” by Martha
Baskin, TRUTHOUT, https://truthout.org/articles/the-climate-crisis-has-made-breathing-smoke-normal-in-pacific-northwest/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR2IASWWJJ5rOSM7LWGiKb8aqEmKARPAwxuYW4GG-eoDFdL9XGXUnh0zFCM.
July
12
Serious
indeed.
“Iran
Tells US and UK to Leave Gulf Region immediately as Tensions Soar,” by Jake
Johnson, TRUTHOUT, https://truthout.org/articles/iran-tells-us-and-uk-to-leave-gulf-region-immediately-as-tensions-soar/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR0gWkoORq8H9MRepPJRtwVcGIBBk7z1RahGIAKH6HIYJLzbiwNkYf1idN0.
July
12
Yuk.
Let us pray this climate change was caused by humans, since there is some
chance we could turn it around. If we
did not cause it we are at the mercy of fate.
“Up
to 25 inches Of Rain!–New Orleans Faces “Storm Of Biblical Proportions,” by
Michael Synder, END OF THE AMERICAN DREAM, http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/up-to-25-inches-of-rain-new-orleans-is-about-to-be-absolutely-devastated-by-a-storm-of-biblical-proportions.
July
12
Quite
a story.
“The
mystery surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s private island,” by Jonathan Levin, SAN
FRANCISCO GATE, https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-mystery-surrounding-Jeffrey-Epstein-s-private-14090511.php?utm_campaign=CMS+Sharing+Tools+%28Desktop%29&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&fbclid=IwAR2SQHueQs-x5nYkDevjSqyveGdr3KETHfYMmQghrC1Dr2sXgm5PBnXdGQ0.
July
10
Interesting
the parallel downhill courses of UKania and USia, both declining economically,
socially, psychologically, and politically, both soon to be ruled by buffoonish
conservative over-weight male monied moral degenerates with weird blonde hair.
“London’s Burning: Brexit and Climate Change,” by Kenneth Surin, COUNTERPUNCH, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/07/10/londons-burning-brexit-and-climate-change/?fbclid=IwAR38lpbUoWyw-KZHS7A1stJWFuU-JUHwrXrMie-vOuHfn9R9N_jDzBfIteA.
July
10
Yes,
a must do.
“High-Impact
Opportunities Exist to Restore Tropical Rainforests Around the World, by Robin
Chazdon, TROUTHOUT, https://truthout.org/articles/high-value-opportunities-exist-to-restore-tropical-rainforests-around-the-world/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR27L5zQmz_s6fteLLCFDNW3SbzIAHQgPi1A-g4RDSz-ZEfOHFKuasvGBjY.
July
10
So
it seems.
“Climate
Crisis Disasters Now Occur Weekly, UN Warns,” by Jessica Corbett, TRUTHOUT, https://truthout.org/articles/un-warning-that-climate-crisis-disasters-now-occur-weekly-provokes-calls-to-act/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR3CkQstKTPL7_CX9pAG3CyurexBI8huHGIS6BH6qAVNUxyaeRl3trpG43c.
July
10
If
you try to bully others enough sooner or later some of them will find a way to
get back at you.
“Weaponizing
the Dollar,” by Patrick Lawrence, CONSORTIUM NEWS, https://consortiumnews.com/2019/07/09/patrick-lawrence-weaponizing-the-dollar/?fbclid=IwAR3RVY58rztBNmEtMBNqFrbH-w2gw6F-c7mQmXVe4Pe5iP8_Sc5QcQdcQzc.
July
10
Never
heard of it in the US before. Crazy.
“A
Time of Unspeakable Things,” by Umair Haque, EUDAIMONIA, , https://eand.co/a-time-of-unspeakable-things-e221a4060bf4.
July
10
Say
it aint to Joe.
“The
quake to make Los Angeles a Radioactive dead zone…be afraid…be very afraid,” by
Harvey Wasserman, INTREPID REPORT, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/27507.
July
9
Pathetic.
Make up nonsense and supporters will still eat it up.
“The
age of stupidity,” by Wayne Masden, INTREPID REPORT, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/27509.
July
9
Hope
it’s so.
“US
Doctors Call for Universal Healthcare:
‘Abolish the Insurance Companies’,” by Olga Oksman, OCCUPY.COM, https://www.occupy.com/article/us-doctors-call-universal-healthcare-abolish-insurance-companies#sthash.DpQqgcKM.dpbs.
July
8
Another
must read article by Michael Hudson, the greatest economist alive.
“The
IMF and World Bank: Partners in
Backwardness,” by Michael Hudson, COUNTERPUNCH, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/07/05/the-imf-and-world-bank-partners-in-backwardness/?fbclid=IwAR1WZUQc-7laCzZ0vEnkFLx4LG1t1YWm5iboSWFUxt3OePvVsayt2h3yJjY.
July
8
Another
article by Michael Hudson, well worth a read.
“An
Interview with Michael Hudson, author of Super Imperialism,” by Michael Hudson,
COUNTERPUNCH, https://www.counterpunch.org/2003/04/21/an-interview-with-michael-hudson-author-of-super-imperialism/?fbclid=IwAR0YLQ3WDP5IbW37DlDCWskMx-Z1cI1x7b0BAX0uia6Q9rkLSIdQOkH3Jn4.
June
30
Is
it the US is just getting old, because of having old men past their primes as
leaders?
“A
Story: The Global ‘Old Man’,” by Courtenay Barnett, EFFECTIVE LEARNING REPORT, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/a-story-the-global-old-man/.
June
30
No
more invading, bombing, and destroying nations that do not pose a military
threat to the US!
“From
Cyber War to Omnicide,” by Paul Atwood, COUNTERPUNCH, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/28/from-cyber-war-to-omnicide/?fbclid=IwAR0Vg2A5JjRIlIHdaHKWAdYE29m7ECV9e4Yd54wL_4a6OnsMEQtvS6hAGzU.
June
30
Does
capitalism inevitably cause trends that grind middle and lower classes down
while enriching the rich?
“Unfair
Food Pricing Is Killing Family Farms and Regenerative Farming,” by Elizabeth
Henderson, TROUTHOUT, https://truthout.org/articles/unfair-food-pricing-is-killing-family-farms-and-regenerative-farming/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR0-DSODwIuaWXg35m3l1aVq7VCc9_bD8gBea7qQCROL5XkfypJaidqgrwI.
June
26
Sounds
spot on to me.
“The
Real Reason Why The Fed Isn’t Cutting Interest Rates,” by Brandon Smith,
ALT-MARKET.COM, http://www.alt-market.com/articles/3821-the-real-reason-why-the-fed-isnt-cutting-interest-rates.
June
29
An
unexpected perspective.
“Dalai
Lama: Europe Will turn ‘Muslim Or
African’ If Migrants Not Returned ‘To Their Own Land’,” by Tyler Durden, ZERO
HEDGE, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-27/dalai-lama-europe-will-turn-muslim-or-african-if-migrants-not-returned-their-own?fbclid=IwAR3fBMJoFKkgYdiMqkG4NF_s60BuJ0BNwdBPAjozPCRdmeJoAL2wO3B0hrs.
June
29
Go
Tulsi.
“Memo
to Trump: Trade Bolton for Tulsi,” by Patrick J. Buchanan, BUCHANAN.ORG, https://buchanan.org/blog/memo-to-trump-trade-bolton-for-tulsi-137211.
June
28
Audacious
all right. Maybe an idea that somebody should not have had. Facebook is already
powerful and rich, but if they make this come true they will almost rule
Spaceship Earth, which might not be such a bad idea per se given how badly
Spaceship Earth is currently being run, but if this Libra idea comes true, like
the Facebook idea did in the beginning, it will hasten the march of humanity
toward a world government, because that is what will be required to regulate
Facebook and Libra, and that would lead to who knows what, good and bad. Got to
give them credit, Zuckerberg and his cronies do know how to think big.
See my article “The Evolution of Spaceship Earth, Inc.” for more context for this article at https://blog.effectivelearning.net/the-evolution-of-spaces…//
“Libra: Facebook/s audacious bid for global monetary control,” by Ellen
Brown, INTREPID REPORT, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/27429.
June 28
Shame. Fie on the 5-4 SCOTUS biased
decision.
“SCOTUS Hands GOP Gerrymandering Victory, Ensuring ‘Massive Election
Rigging,” by Amy Goodman, Democracy Now, TRUTHOUT, https://truthout.org/video/scotus-hands-gop-gerrymandering-victory-ensuring-massive-election-rigging/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR2jDCYntRREMK59nEaxqat2JRlgh6ZzjzevGj6CIQO_OGD4lNcybsKt1Xo.
June 28
Agree. This is a serious threat to
democracy.
“Demasking the Torture of Jullian Assange,” by Nils Melaer, MEDIUM.COM, https://medium.com/@njmelzer/demasking-the-torture-of-julian-assange-b252ffdcb768.
June 26
Another great article by Courtenay Barnett dealing with a very serious
problem.
“Iran – War: One Small Step For Man; A Disastrous Leap for Humankind,” by
Courtenay Barnett, EFFECTIVE LEARNING REPORT, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/iran-war-one-small-step-for-man-a-disastrous-leap-for-humankind/?fbclid=IwAR1pxJtWnDiQwLt7Fz0OWJjHM0xpGGGgujep_UFyolCz1TlYHKawZYaOO8o.
June 25
Straightforward writing by a straight shooter, Paul Craig Roberts.
“The Diminishing American Economy,” by Paul Craig Roberts, INSTITUTE FOR
POLITICAL ECONOMY, https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/06/25/the-diminishing-american-economy/.
June 25
So it seems.
“As we face Armageddon the Western world is leaderless,” by Paul Craig
Roberts, INTREPID REPORT, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/27389.
June 24
Sad but true.
“Capitalist Workplaces Set Bosses Up to Be Authoritarian Tyrants,” by C.J.
Polychroniou, TRUTHOUT, https://truthout.org/articles/capitalist-workplaces-set-bosses-up-to-be-authoritarian-tyrants/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR1PYHDq8HULU6Tkf_OHy-9_oQgNoK0VcVcOlfIFq6AsB9qUYBv694Tb3i8.
June 24
A hell of a note.
“Rich Americans publish open letter asking to be taxed more,” by Andrew
Buncombe, THE INDEPENDENT, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/open-letter-tax-rich-george-soros-chris-hughes-2020-democrats-elizabeth-warren-a8973111.html?fbclid=IwAR2b4VMYp1llSZNVK0N7mGPD99jMOHf3xMCct0h7bjSdKllcGCus2MlJ-oM.
June 24
So it seems to me.
“No, It’s Not Time to Break up Facebook,” by Richard John Stapleton, EFFECTIVE
LEARNING REPORT, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/no-its-not-time-to-break-up-facebook/?fbclid=IwAR0-xj_rs8fKxlkgrnsZjIb2LQwmjj66IVO_Vhh1DJmiDQu9BZC5pbY_h2w.
June 23
Yes, it is time to break up Facebook, according to this writer.
“It’s Time to Break Up Facebook,” by Chris Hughes, THE NEW YORK TIMES, https://medium.com/new-york-times-opinion/its-time-to-break-up-facebook-8b6ae2cb3d9d.
June 22
Agree.
“Noam Chomsky: Israel’s Actions in Palestine are ‘Much Worse Than Apartheid’
in South Africa,” by Noam Chomsky, DEMOCRACY NOW, https://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/8/noam_chomsky_what_israel_is_doing?fbclid=IwAR18Rzd9asmLrk2OkOdnC1tBkMKFIRsuQ6hoQt55LqQbhG9FaRX_ab0HXmI.
June 22
Well said.
“No Dare Call It Austerity,” by Ajamu Baraka, COUNTERPUNCH, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/21/no-dare-call-it-austerity/?fbclid=IwAR3xlDs8o5Ixwl7zY0oJa-4OEjYqvQM4UL8Wc_TVstaDJJ7nKKJxfgfZ9Es.
June 22
To prevent the most insane act in US history, yes, this is a no-brainer.
“Bernie Sanders Says Everything Must Be Done to Prevent US Attack on Iran,”
by Jon Queally, TRUTHOUT, https://truthout.org/articles/bernie-sanders-says-everything-must-be-done-to-prevent-us-attack-on-iran/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR3zteZtF7k51lNonxKent4HJWmpd8Eu1KnkBck8NnsFy0gzGHWKph0lSEw.
June 20
There are interesting perspectives in the well-written article posted below,
“A Brief History of Whiteness.”
Here is my response to it.
Having been born in Corpus Christi, Texas in
1940 and soon moved to Lubbock County in Northwest Texas where i was reared to
age twenty-nine, with all four of my grandparents traced back to old Virginia
before the so-called American Revolutionary War, with grandparents and great
grandparents of respective times removed having lived since then in most states
of the South, with generation after generation of my ancestors moving farther
West to get ownership control of cheap land recently taken from Indians, I have
experienced just about any attitude, racial included, you can imagine as a
so-called “American”, better known as a US citizen, since there are
twenty-two nations in North, Central, and South America.
I can tell you all USians are “colored” to some extent, as are all
“Americans” of North, Central, and South America, except for perhaps
some albinos.
I have been accused of being almost anything–because of my curly hair,
“You must have a nigger in the woodpile somewhere,”–or because of my
high cheek bones, “You must be part Indian, meskin, nigger, or
‘somethin”–starting at an early age and continuing into my years as a
professor in a university, such slurs not all having been made by uneducated
ignorant loser bigots, some having being made by educated bigoted loser
professors.
About six years ago I decided to have my DNA tested by Ancestry.com. According to the results my
genes are similar to the genes of humans now living in Ireland (about twenty
percent); Scotland, England, and Wales (about fifty percent); France, Belgium,
and Holland (about twenty percent); Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece (about
five percent); Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland (about five percent); and
Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and Russia (about two percent).
How wonderful it was to been born in “America” to so-called “white” people in the South so as to be able to experience the joys of living among racist bigots, in the so-called “melting pot of the world.”
All white supremacists, even blue-eyed blond ones, in the US should have their DNA tested at Ancestry.com or a similar service. Quite a few of them have genes that are similar to the genes of people now living in sub-Suhara Africa.
On the other hand, all people labeled black or non-white should have their genes tested. More than quite a few of them have genes similar to those of people now living in the UK, Ireland, and Europe.
The bottom line: No one is inferior or superior with respect to anything because of race alone. Race as a category on official documents of all sorts should be abolished by law. Verbally insulting, demeaning, and attacking people because of the color of their skin or the curliness of their hair should be a misdemeanor punishable by law.
For more information regarding my ancestors see my article “A Snynopis of my Family Background.“
SOURCE: “A Brief History of Whiteness,” by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi, MEDIUM.COM, https://zora.medium.com/a-brief-history-of-whiteness-547feda4c7c7.
June 22
Is it only me, but is there a strong resemblance between Boris Johnson and
Donald Trump?
“‘I am a passionate Zionist,’ declares Boris Johnson,” JEWISH NEWS, https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/boris-johnson-zionist/?fbclid=IwAR13vsxliGnvmnYyrPBa_1Iujv-_SewGXG9Ixy0uOzi9tT8SEqR36_JEDes.
June 22
If this is rampant all humans are in deep trouble.
“The Belief that Trump is a Messiah is Rampant and Dangerous,” by Bobby
Azarian, PSYCHOLOGY TODAY, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-in-the-machine/201905/the-belief-trump-is-messiah-is-rampant-and-dangerous?fbclid=IwAR0kFk-W8b5Ndv6Sjm40F_W38zuls5IR9r7tRJ96t2xElOTZGXSO-vCWWlQ.
June 22
Go for it.
“The Green New Deal Is Exactly the Right Idea,” by Noam Chomsky, DEMOCRACY
NOW, https://www.democracynow.org/2019/5/27/noam_chomsky_the_green_new_deal?fbclid=IwAR0COo0sZIOGKixYNb4cBqQUd70zLqZH-PNGoS95I3fsw9KOlGLv50hDufM.
June 22
Could be.
“Falling profits drive U.S. war threats against Iran,” by Bill Dores, STRUGGLE LA LUCHA, https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2019/06/21/falling-profits-drive-u-s-war-threats-against-iran/?fbclid=IwAR0n4AbbfJeUGI45M0d_xRFQtSNRNR2naVHv3Gcfv0StbYbKEHyj6JbI77o.
June 22
Well written article. ‘Somethin to think about.
“My Mom Buried My Inheritance in the Ground,” by Mary Kroth, MEDIUM.COM, https://gen.medium.com/my-mom-buried-my-inheritance-in-the-ground-3ceaefb87c2b.
June 20
David Stockman tells it like he sees it, most likely like it is.
“America Last – The Real Meaning Of Trump’s Deplorable Aggression Against
Iran,” by David Stockman, ZERO HEDGE, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-06-20/stockman-america-last-real-meaning-trumps-deplorable-aggression-against-iran?fbclid=IwAR2mAJCa0CZHjIUEBVfmreXL86_ZICzlfZQyPnBaAc6eVyls6vag77tUm1Q.
June 19
Is China’s communism more entrepreneurial than the US’s capitalism?
“The American Dream is alive and well–in China,” by Ellen Brown, INTREPID
REPORT, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/27325.
June 16
I had a grandfather who was a Methodist minister who did not believe an anthropomorphic god exists and did not believe the virgin birth story of Jesus who told me in his eighties he became a minister because that was all he ever wanted to do. I worked with and studied with many psychiatrists completing my post doctoral training as a certified transactional analyst at the Southeast Institute at Chapel Hill, NC during 1975-1978 and I never met one that seriously used the DSM, Diagnositc and Statistical Manual. They made their diagnoses and therapeutic interventions using simple English to describe the not ok psychological feelings, thoughts, decisions, and behaviors they saw in their clients. Prescription drugs were rarely used. I did hear of some using lithium to treat manic depression. It seems to me some psychiatrists are medical doctors who like to prescribe prescription drugs, an easy way out, some of whom it seems to me probably had less psychological and therapeutic training than I had earning a CTA in transactional analysis to be used in management teaching in a university and consulting with organizations and groups, however much they might know about the limbic system, which involves hard wiring in the brain that is hard to change. For a full listing of my credentials and experience go to http://www.effectivelearning.net/rjs-academic-vita.html.
“Tom
Paine, Christianity, and Modern Psychiatry,” by Bruce E. Levine, COUNTERPUNCH, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/14/tom-paine-christianity-and-modern-psychiatry/?fbclid=IwAR1FSUC7C-qcobygrHyCnrS8-iesl6bhnhGOh8YV4JFkRZiVO3JS6xOvzsk.
June
14
A
great speech by Chris Hedges.
“Fascism
in the Age of Trump,” by Chris Hedges, UTUBE.COM, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/14/tom-paine-christianity-and-modern-psychiatry/?fbclid=IwAR1FSUC7C-qcobygrHyCnrS8-iesl6bhnhGOh8YV4JFkRZiVO3JS6xOvzsk.
June
14
Now here is a horse
of a different color, a scholarly study by a former full professor of physics
who says climate change and global warming, gender equality, and racial equity
are forms of religion instilled in western societies by the elite class to
distract middle class attention away from the real problem, namely an attempt
by the US since Bretton Woods to harvest the rest of the world financially by
maintaining the power of the paper US dollar in global trade, and middle class
people who attack global warming and climate change, gender equality, and
racial equity as bogus issues are the smart ones who realize these
“religions” are being used by the elite class to hasten the demise of
their middle class status. If this would not make you think it’s hopeless
nothing would. Who or what could possibly solve this problem?
“From Dollar
Hegemony to Global Warming:
Globalization, Glyphosate and Doctrines of Consent,” by Colin Todhunter, COUNTERPUNCH, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/06/13/from-dollar-hegemony-to-global-warming-globalization-glyphosate-and-doctrines-of-consent/?fbclid=IwAR0pe-ALcyGEWXOUda0VAbkZW7nMxoWwOPi846bbAzQhiEqykO0O0tV0XA8.
June 14
Most religions
engender, aid, and abet discrimination against those who do not believe as they
believe.
“The Suppressed
Plight of Palestinian Christians,” by Raymond Ibrahim, GATESTONE INSTITUTE, https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14358/palestinian-christians-persecution?fbclid=IwAR0zCX8R7NAsiixbLdBrR9zpLETEz4t_M9lBE6IHyo1E__W-kp0PtAukAKw#.XQPEm0jlPz4.facebook.
June 14
Interesting insightful article. If feminists are females trying to out-patriarch males then they are not feminists. On the other hand are women like those in this photo feminists? Is the real problem a desire for power, protection, and dominance by any means, even ironically sheep-like submission and conformity, in a dystopian, violent, unfair global world, such as Spaceship Earth, since time immemorial? And patriarchy is a handy defense mechanism and rationalization for all women, and men, who are forced to submit to primarily male sociopaths ready to do violence against others at the drop of a hat, who are in control of large hierarchical dogmatic fascist organizations, including all kinds of organizations, economic, political, military, religious, social, etc.?
“Why Do (So Many)
American Women Still Support Patriarchy?,” by Umair Haque, EUDAIMONIA, https://eand.co/why-do-enough-american-women-still-support-patriarchy-53767f2d7a4.
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free to forward, share, repost, print, or otherwise copy this blog any way you
see fit.
RJS, Editor & Publisher
