WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?

By Courtenay Barnett

Dearly beloved, we are gathered once more at the place of the holy truth, to preach yet again about truth, rights and justice. The sermon today asks the question:-

What are friends for?

Many in the congregation may think that this is a simple inquiry regarding likes and dislikes – loyalty or disloyalty. To some extent that is correct, but the actual dynamics of friendships or lack of friendships or waning friendships or abuse of friendships is what we shall weigh and consider from the pulpit today.

May I use a personal example to get to the topic of concern – Venezuela/Jamaica relations are very much on my mind. The personal example shall lead to the broader and more important issue of political friendships on a global scale.

During my time at London University there were some eight Caribbean fellow students. We ranged from Black British of Caribbean parentage to latter day migrants’ children to British born to persons such as myself who had been shipped off to get an education. We bonded in that we realised that we were the so-called ‘minority’ and not necessarily with overt disapproval of our presence we were nevertheless colourfully noticeable, be this by dint of our complexion or the lively personalities of some of us. Not to say that the Anglo-Saxons had disavowed our right to be there, for we accepted them as friends to the extent that such friendships were invited and/or welcomed. So, within this demographic sub-group of said Caribbean students there was a person, like myself, who had sights ultimately set on a career in the business and professional world. The majority of the others went on to earn doctorate degrees, become a professor or lecturer in a university or in one way or another remained directly affixed to academia. Note that I have chosen not to call this person’s name. Some, like myself and this “friend” ended up back in the Caribbean – while others remained in Britain.

Thus, a young lawyer and a migrant from Jamaica to the Turks and Caicos Islands ( where I built my career), I would frequently visit Jamaica and spend time with my beloved ( now deceased) mother. On a Sunday my habit was to drive and visit friends and have discourse, meet their families and wish them the best for their futures. The kind of things friends normally do with true friends. Upon returning to my Mom’s home she asked this particular Sunday, “ So Courtenay, who did you visit today?” I was not in a pleasant mood for reason of something I had experienced and I shared it with her.

I drove to this “friend’s” home up to the security gate and sought entry to visit “X”. The security guard rang up and I replied, “Tell him Courtenay, he will know who.”

Word came back, “He is in the bathroom.”

I replied, “Tell him I will wait.”

Another message came back, “He says he won’t be out for another twenty minutes”.

Well, kiss mi neck back and another part of mi anatomy thereafter. Mi kiss mi teeth, tun mi vehicle and proceeded to visit true friends.

My mother understood fully my feelings, for she had visited me in London at my flat, helped cook food for my party guests, met friends ( including this “friend”) and remembered all, and did inquire at times how “X” or “Y”, as the individual may be, was getting on in life. She was like that; she meant people well and had genuine concern for human welfare. Her reply came to me in a memorable one liner, “Courtenay di higher monkey climb, di more ‘im backside expose”, and we proceeded to discuss more pleasant things and persons. I have not exchanged words with “X” since then, chalked him up as shallow and opportunistic, and have elected to walk through life on the other side of the road with true friends instead.

Dearly beloved, we must reflect in this fleeting passage of time we call “life” and ask ourselves, “ what are friends for?” For, it is sagaciously said, “a friend in need is a friend indeed.” If I were in need when I sought to visit “X”, be assured, he was confirming – I am fine and rich and mighty; do not come knocking; I am fine; I don’t care how you are; I have neither time nor care nor concern for your piddling friendship for there are more important persons in life for me to engage. Yes – I heard and understood your message loud and clear.

Let us therefore reflect and now turn our minds to the really big question regarding Venezuela and Jamaica’s friendship with our said Latin American neighbour. I shall do so, not with any sense of grievance and/or resentment as I felt about my assumed personal friendship – but – by reference to standards of international law and global political values.

Venezuela

The post World War 11 era has seen several Latin American coups and dictatorships installed – and many of them were either supported by, approved of, or directly engineered by the United States of America.

Following the 1953 CIA led coup in Iran, the next one was in Guatemala to assist the preservation of the Dulles brothers’ interest in that country to the advantage of Chiquita bananas and to the manifest disadvantage of the Guatemalan people in this notable example which gave its literal name to the now well known phrase – ‘banana republic’.

The facts do reveal that be it the military in Argentina or in Brazil or in Chile under Pinochet, the patterns have only changed to the extent that elections take place and the question for the US is not one of real concern for preservation of democracy ( recall the US support for the short lived coup against Chavez and the overnight reversal when the OAS renounced the action of the military) – but for support of the supplicants who can support US foreign policy. This brief background serves well to address the current Venezuelan crisis with facts and direct questions:

A.       Did a paper ballot validate the electronic votes in Venezuela?

B.       Why when Macron in France was voted in with the same turnout at 48% as was Maduro voted in with is there an assumption that there is not a broad ( even as so declined) base of support for the elected government?

C.      Why evidentially and in point of law are the Venezuelan elections fraudulent?

If there were European Union election observers, it would be interesting to read their assessment and analysis and conclusions about the Venezuelan elections.  But, those are issues of the internal affairs of Venezuela, which interestingly, while I can discern same as being vital and important in getting to the truth regarding the ultimate question of legitimacy of an elected government ( leaving aside for the moment the paramount legal issue of ‘sovereignty’) – there is no such valid questioning and provisions of analysis which directly provide verifiable answers in the mainstream Western media.

My long-term observation is that the US has consistently embraced regimes across the world  doomed to failure while  threatening  reformist and/or revolutionary governments which make the promise of betterment for their people more difficult to achieve in practical terms. Likewise,  Britain and the other European powers reflect this same pattern of opposition, be that in Rhodesia or then Apartheid South Africa.

In the 1980s when Reagan was the US President, he had this to say about then President Mobutu of then Zaire and his ‘Kleptocracy’ – now  Congo:-

Reagan, astonishingly, described the dictator Mobutu: “A voice of good sense and good will.”

Not in the least surprising for Mobutu Sese Seko, as a leader acceptable to both Belgium and Western multinational interests, was installed as President and dictator in 1965, when the democratically elected Patrice Lumumba proved objectionable. It was the Belgians and the CIA that had worked jointly and murdered Patrice Lumumba, a man who at the independence ceremony openly critcised the Belgians for their exploitation of the Congo. In 1956 the Congo had its first university graduate. Between 1908 and 1960, when the Congo became politically independent, there were a mere 17 university graduates from the already decimated Congolese population of some 13.5 million. Belgium was offended by the truth as spoken by Lumumba – and the CIA quite helpfully installed a compliant and plundering leader to continue the looting of the Congo (likely the world’s richest territory with its oil, uranium, minerals, gold and diamonds). That is the truth; that is the established historical pattern. Belgium subsequently acknowledged its wrongdoing and apologised to Lumumba’s children.

I was a student in the 1970s in London when I noted that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was working actively to prolog Apartheid’s racism in South Africa, which she found desirable and acceptable. Not surprisingly, it was no other than her husband, Denis Thatcher, who had substantial investments in Apartheid South Africa at the time.

All the above to give context. And now back to Latin America and Venezuela.

China now happens to be the world’s most dynamic economy. President Trump finds himself continuing to embrace failed and losing strategies. He is embracing Bolsonoro’s Brazil while confronting China, in a manner reminiscent of the ‘opium wars’ when the European powers unilaterally dictated to the minions and lesser breeds across the world.

What are Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro and President Trump trying to achieve? They both want  to reverse nearly a century of state directed economic growth.  They both believe that privatization of the entire – or –  most as possible of the public sector, including the strategic finance, banking, minerals, infrastructure, transport, energy and manufacturing sectors  – or – so  much of it as politically they can in their respective countries force to take effect – is the path to greatness. In Brazil, priority is now given to the sellout to foreign multi-national corporations. Interestingly, previous authoritarian civilian and military regimes both had protected nationalized Brazilian firms as part of tripartite alliances which included foreign, state and domestic private enterprises.  I use this example to contrast what had happened under Chavez in Venezuela, for he had significantly reversed foreign ownership and consequentially also reduced the net capital outflows from Venezuela while simultaneously raising living standards – which – now, admittedly for reasons both domestic and international are under serious threat of reductions, if not ultimate reversals. That is the truth; those are the realities being faced by the Latin American and more particularly, for purposes of this sermon, the Venezuelan people.

Venezuela and Jamaica

One does not need to be a student of international law to accept and recognise that Venezuela is a sovereign nation.

Jamaica, for its part, as a small state should be able to exercise its sovereignty in its best interest to command respect, trust towards finding avenues of constructive and beneficial of co-operation in and with the international community.

Have we done so in response to Venezuela?

  • At a time when oil prices were souring on the global market, and when small oil dependent Caribbean nations, such as Jamaica, saw their entire economic future facing dire consequences once required to purchase oil at those prices – what happened? Under the Pertocaribe deal, it was Venezuela which came to the rescue of the Jamaican economy, and on generous terms of payment for extended periods of payment made oil affordable for the Jamaican consumer. What Jamaica received was in excess of US$3.2 billion in deferred debt.
  • Venezuela paid Jamaica an equity cheque of US$63 million.
  • It was Venezuela via the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica ( Petrojam) in 2006 agreed with Jamaica to a 49/51% ownership between Venezuela and Jamaica where the long-term objective was towards having the facility move from hydro-skimming to catalytic cracking technology – all to the advantage of Jamaica. Application of that technology would make the petroleum product more aligned to the energy-consumption patterns of Jamaica.
  • Venezuela bought back Jamaica’s debt at 50 cents on the dollar where some US$3billion is accepted as satisfied for a mere US$1.5 billion.

Venezuela, way beyond the few facts stated above, has been a friend to Jamaica for a very long time.

So, what does our foreign minister do to this friend?

What does the Jamaican government do to this friend?

Recall the loving relationship between Presidents Mobuto and Reagan and note that genuine concern which Prime Minister Thatcher had for democracy in South Africa. Care? Concern? For those people?

First I ask, whether Jamaica’s Foreign Minister asked the questions I did above. Then if she did, did she bring her findings to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the Jamaican people before rushing to judgment on the recent Venezuelan elections? At the very least, if a friend is flawed or coming up short, then as a true friend, would one not engage, discuss and then make an informed decision? International law recognises the principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of all nation states, one to the other around the globe. If, for a small nation state, there were findings that a big power did interfere in the internal affairs of a middle range or small state’s domestic affairs, should not enlightened self-interest give pause for concern and questioning? Well, our foreign minister voted not to recognise the elected government of Venezuela.

Moreover, there are moves afoot to effect a hostile take over ( buy out – more like “sell-out”) of the Venezuelan held shares in Petrocaribe.

Are all these moves by the Jamaican Government, principled, enlightened, right, justice, fair, loyal – or demonstrating any of the attributes of true friendship?

As with my long lost once assumed “friend” – I raise these questions, for as a student I was proud of Jamaica’s stand against Apartheid, from the colonial days when then NW. Manley ( small as Jamaica is) took a stance of non-importation of South African produce through to the respectful relationship under both political parties in respect for and response to Nelson Mandela and the ANC. If Usain Bolt earned his respect on the international stage by virtue of sterling and consistent performances on the international track; then Jamaica did too earn its respect for sterling performances in joining with the global forces standing up for justice  – as distinct from being supportive of – oppression.

Jamaica finds herself having to service debt, while education, health care and provision of other vital social necessities go wanting. Thus, did the Venezuelan government’s direct assistance in reducing the debt burden while assisting in securing energy security not serve well Jamaica’s long term economic and social developmental prospects?

Tell me – for I am truly concerned – my friend was not a friend. Does Jamaica show herself acting comparatively much the same as my “friend”?

Is that what friends are for?

And so endeth my sermon for today.

AMEN!

Courtenay Barnett is a graduate of London University. His areas of study were economics, political science and international law. He has been a practising lawyer for over thirty years, has been arrested for defending his views, and has argued public interest and human rights cases. He lives and works in the Caribbean.  

 

THE EARTHIAN — 6

 

 

THE EARTHIAN    —     6

 

Effective Learning Publications, 32 East Main Street, Statesboro, Georgia, USA, Spaceship Earth, January 8, 2019

Or So It Seems to Me Today

Richard John Stapleton, PhD, CTA, Editor & Publisher

Weltanschauung:   Doom, gloom, increasing competition and agitation, untrustworthy governments and economic systems, uncertainty, unease.

Zeitgeist:    To migrate or not to migrate and to get or not to get more aggressive to improve one’s own lot in life at the expense of others.

Doomsday Clock:   About the same as last month.

There remains fulsome talk and writing around Spaceship Earth about the consequences of global warming and climate change, the consensus among experts being that if significant reductions in atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane do not occur in the next ten years there is going to be hell to pay by humans alive after that. There seems to be increasing awareness and conviction among ordinary humans that something has gone wrong with local weather patterns.

It will do little good to play AIN’T IT AWFUL, a psychological Game identified and labeled by transactional analysts , to stroke humans for being passive Victims of obsolete economic, religious, and political systems manipulated and exploited by rapacious sociopathic Persecutor oligarchs and leaders and their corrupt bought and paid for lackey politicians for selfish gain, however true that might be in reality.

On the other hand, it will do no good for Earthians to stick their heads in the sand or 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 strokes for making nonsensical positive comments about the environment and their lives.

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; but more importantly they should select politicians who will create economic and political policies and actions to correct environmental and social problems on a mass scale.

In the past four months I have endeavored to set up a De-Gaming Democracy group here in Statesboro, hoping to engage citizens of various persuasions in discussions of relevant economic and political problems and opportunities, in what I call the Ogeechee Economic Forum meeting the third Saturday of each month.  It appears most people have little interest in, or are insecure about, transacting in Game-free Adult ways in public dealing with economic and political problems and opportunities. Hopefully interest in this forum will pick up during the new year, 2019.

For more information regarding the nature, purposes, and uses of Transactional Analysis click here.

For information on how to create Game-free democratic learning processes see inside 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 free 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 Earthians might eventually co-construct an economic and political system that is viable and satisfying for everyone.

Human migration is now on the mental radars of most humans around Spaceship Earth. Migration problems in the US have caused a shutdown of the US government. The elected president of the US is now holding the government hostage by refusing to sign a new federal budget if Congress does not appropriate him funds to build a wall across the southern border of the US to keep humans from Latin America from migrating into the US.

Much has been researched, written, taught, and published about human migration problems in academia. One of the pioneers in the migration academic field is Kurt Lewin, who wrote Principles of Topological Psychology (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1936). Lewin pointed out human migration happens because of push and pull forces, or vectors, propelling and compelling people to move from one country to another. Few would move from their country of origin if the place enabled them to get their natural human needs met, physical needs for food, clothing, and shelter, and social needs for safety, love, acceptance, belonging, and self-actualization.

It seems to me almost all emigrants emigrate because their countries of origin fail to enable their subjects or citizens to get their legitimate human needs met, and that includes Europeans emigrating to the US.

Unfortunately, as I pointed out in “The Evolution of Spaceship Earth, Inc.,” moving farther west to escape problems at home is no longer an option for most humans.

I wrote about some of my ancestors who immigrated into what is now the US in “A Synopsis of my Family Background.”  My ancestral gene pool started migrating to Virginia before the US Revolution in the 1700s, and according to Ancestry.com it’s composed of genes similar to those of humans now living in Ireland (about twenty percent); Scotland, Wales, and England (about fifty percent); France, Holland, and Belgium (about twenty percent); Spain, Italy, and Greece (about five percent); Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland (about five percent); and Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and Russia (about two percent).

My ancestors in what is now the US were mainly farmers and ranchers generally producing families of six to ten offspring per family. Thus there was never enough land where they were to support all their children and grandchildren when they grew up, so some offspring in most generations had to migrate to the western frontier of their recently conquered and expanding country to acquire enough cheap undeveloped land to make a living as independent Calvinist patriarchal landowners. My ancestors on this continent created two main paths on their westward journey across what is now the US, some migrating from Virginia to North Carolina to Tennessee to Texas, with most of the rest migrating from Virginia to South Carolina to Georgia to Alabama to Mississippi to Texas, generally staying in each state for a generation or so before someone in the family had to move farther west to pioneer new territory to act out the family script.  I cover in more detail the causes and consequences of family scripts in Born to Learn.  Yes, some of my ancestors owned slaves and some were Indian fighters, not something to be proud of.

I was born November 3, 1940 at Corpus Christi, Texas where my father worked as a carpenter at a Naval Base at the outset of World War II. My parents soon moved back to Northwest Texas near Lubbock to be near their relatives who were cotton farmers. My father, Richard Gathright Maury Stapleton, soon acquired a cotton farm himself, which he sold after about two years, later starting a lumber yard and hardware store selling lumber and hardware to cotton farmers surrounding the town of Wolfforth, where I grew up and lived to age twenty-four. He and my mother, Ida Belle Coston Stapleton, a preacher’s daughter, had two children, my brother, James Clay Stapleton, three years younger than I, and me.

My father volunteered for the Seabees after he sold his farm and worked in Okinawa during World War II on construction projects. He returned to Wolfforth after the war and became a businessman.

His father, Sidney Clay Stapleton, had migrated as far west as New Mexico, owning a ten thousand acre ranch near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, “The Old Bear Ranch,” with a Spear-X brand, which he sold during the Great Depression. He then moved himself, his wife, his two daughters, and his four sons back east to Oklahoma, where he moved to be near a brother who owned a Chevrolet dealership in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma.

My Stapleton grandfather was born on a cotton plantation in Mississippi, where he taught school for a while, from whence he migrated to Jasper, Texas, where he managed a sawmill, where my father, the next to youngest of six children, was born.  My grandfather and his family later migrated to New Mexico where he bought a ranch with some Mississippi plantation money he and his wife inherited, where they lived and ran their ranch for ten or so years.  His wife Catharine Gathright Maury Stapleton served as a midwife in those years, sometimes being gone from home weeks at a time helping birth babies.

My father graduated from high school at Carnegie, Oklahoma at age twenty, having had to drop out of school at fifteen to help support his family because of the depression.   The Great Depression declassed his father from patriarchal landowner status to itinerant carpenter status, managing his crew of four sons building barns, houses, corrals, loading chutes, and what-have-you in the wide-open spaces of Oklahoma and Northwest Texas. I remember him saying, “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” My father said he changed schools five times before he finally graduated from high school.

Those days are over, not only in the US but also around Spaceship Earth. There is no cheap undeveloped agricultural land left for migrants to take over and develop. Humans migrating now are generally so desperate that they will do jobs that most natives won’t do, hard, poorly paid, low status work. They are pushed out of their countries of origin because of collapsed economic, political, and social systems, being generally willing to migrate anywhere that is better than where they are.

A relevant consideration is what caused the economic, political, and social systems of their countries of origin to collapse? A simple answer is that their support systems were purposely collapsed by the wars, intrigues, sanctions, and machinations of imperialistic nations to acquire cheap resources in their countries, primarily oil. Other causes include natives producing more children than the natural resources of their countries can support. Other causes include the greed and callousness of top leaders of their countries who hog most of the resources for themselves.

Unfortunately, human migration problems around Spaceship Earth have increased in recent decades because of the US’s overt military destruction of regimes and governments in the Middle East and North Africa and its covert clandestine destabilization of Latin American regimes and governments, sometimes replacing socialist governments with right-wing dictators and fascist regimes who terrorize their own people, causing them to flee, causing them to flood European countries and the US, or at least try to. Whether Trump’s wall or anything else can keep them out of the US remains to be seen.

Who were the prime allowers of unauthorized immigrants into the US? Clinton and Bush II. According to the Pew Research Center unauthorized immigrants into the US increased from 3.5 million in 1990 to 8.6 million in 2000, the Clinton years, and from 8.6 to 12.2 million during 2001 to 2007, the Bush II years, and then declined to 10.7 million by 2016, during the Obama years. According to the Center for Migration Studies there are now ten to eleven million unauthorized immigrants living in the US.

At the same time, conditions have become so agitated and uncertain in some so-called developed not-yet-collapsed countries that some fairly well off humans born there would like to migrate to other countries to escape local conditions in their countries, which they perceive to be more onerous and oppressive than those in other countries, to escape high taxes and social unrest (in some cases caused by having to live cheek by jowl with recent immigrants who will not assimilate), feeling and thinking the grass might be greener in several places on the other side of the fence.

Some people now claim the US has become a third world country because of poverty, inequality, debt, and dysfunction and corruption in all branches of the US government, largely caused by corporate private money being used to bribe lawmakers, presidents, and bureaucrats to pass and create rules and laws to advance the interests of corporate oligarchs and the elite rich rather than we the people.

I studied migration problems writing my doctoral dissertation, “An Analysis of Rural Manpower Migration Patterns in the South Plains Region of Texas,” at Texas Tech University, which was supported by a $6500 grant from the Office of Manpower Policy, Evaluation, and Research of the US Department of Labor in 1969. Young people at the time were migrating out of the South Plains of Texas for the same reasons their parents and grandparents had migrated in: It had become hard for children born in farm families to make a living growing cotton when they grew up where they grew up. Most Northwest Texas rural high school graduates around where I grew up were migrating to Dallas and Ft. Worth for the same reasons humans today all around Spaceship Earth are migrating from rural areas to urban areas, primarily because that’s where the money is. I used t-tests to determine whether rural out-migrants from Northwest Texas got better off than those that hung around.

Moving from rural to urban areas won’t work if everybody does it. All around Spaceship Earth Earthians need humans to stay where they are to farm small organic farms. To solve the Earthian environmental problem a case can be made that the status levels of agricultural lifestyles should be higher than those of bankers sitting in offices atop skyscrapers in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, Hong Kong, Moscow, Brasilia, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City, or Ottawa, or generals sitting in the US Pentagon and in equivalent command posts in other countries, or top leaders sitting in the US White House and in equivalent houses in other countries.

I included and quoted original research data I acquired by questionnaires as well as published academic secondary research and literature in my study of migration. The management science idea I explained in “The Evolution of Spaceship Earth, Inc.” for ultimately solving the Earthian migration problem, published in 2015, happened to me in 1969 when I was writing my dissertation, and is affixed to the dissertation as an appendix.

You can download a free copy of “An Analysis of Rural Manpower Migration Patterns in the South Plains Region of Texas” from Texas Tech University.

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 agreed 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 THE EARTHIAN.

It’s not easy, impossible some say, to separate relevant from irrelevant focal points to see what’s really going on while being inundated with the incredible volume of noise, facts, and information generated daily around Spaceship Earth and disseminated by various media.

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 please go to my RESPONSES page and let me know about them.

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 this newsletter and would like to reciprocate go to the Effective Learning Publications page and purchase one or more books.

SOURCES:

January 8, 2019

About time.

SOURCE: “9/11: Finally the truth comes out?,” by Paul Craig Roberts, INTREPID REPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25869.

January 8

Say it ain’t so Joe.

SOURCE: “Universal Basic Income is easier than it looks,” by Ellen Brown, INTREPIDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25854.

January 8

Sounds good to me.

SOURCE: “There is quick way to end Trump’s government shutdown,” by Bev Conover, INTREPIDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25859.

January 8

Say it ain’t so Joe.

SOURCE: “Freedom Rider: Elizabeth Warren and the trap for black voters,” by Margaret Kimberley, INTREPEIDREPORT, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25865.

January 8

Say it ain’t so Joe.

SOURCE: “How The Federal reserve Quitely Bankrupted The US Pension System,” by Stephanie Pomboy, Macro Mavens, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-07/how-federal-reserve-quietly-bankrupted-us-pension-system?fbclid=IwAR16aTmeBx2-H_JNqw6UPxcwWedGVaF8R0Q8n4KpLR_aX_UuBNbgM9XFSlE.

January 8

So the US is not getting out of Syria?

SOURCE: “Reasons To Believe in Trump’s Syria Withdrawal Are Vanishing,” by Caitlin Johnstone, MEDIUM.COM@CAITYJOHNSTONE, https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/reasons-to-believe-in-trumps-syria-withdrawal-are-vanishing-280b0a90b1bb.

January 8

Is this the new Zeitgeist?

SOURCE: “Orbanonomics (Or The Return of National Economics),” by Guillaume Durocher, UNZ.COM, http://www.unz.com/gdurocher/orbanomics-or-the-return-of-national-economics/.

January 8

Is this a game changer?

SOURCE: “Hypersonic Weapons Pose ‘Significant Challenge to World Peace,’: Expert,” by Tyler Durden, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-06/hypersonic-missiles-pose-significant-challenge-world-peace-says-expert?fbclid=IwAR2qzzwCv1jlgFA2kjhDXNCts_BJv0H8fGptp-rHXa7genUJ4OZQkieURrg.

January 8

Migration gone awry.

SOURCE: “Gun Ownership Surges In Europe Amid Wave of Terror Attacks, Migrant Crime,” by Tyler Durden , ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-07/gun-ownership-surges-europe-amid-wave-terror-attacks-migrant-crime?fbclid=IwAR0sowEWPfltdODbqLmh2htKWFjlDsSmpBhMxjp4fpQ6WmmbKGO5ePl-25A.

January 8

Immigration it seems is not working so well in France.

SOURCE: “France in Free Fall,” by Guy Milliere, GATESTONEINSTITUTE.ORG, https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13500/france-in-free-fall.

January 8

Having lived in Turkey three months in 1982 teaching in a management science program with Troy State University at Incirlik Air Base near Adana I learned something about Turkish culture and the Kurdish issue. This was a touchy problem then and little has changed in the meantime. Trump wants to get out of Syria. The US deep state including the military does not. What will give?

SOURCE: “Lira Slides After Erdogan Refuses To Meet Bolton For Blocking,” by Tyler Durden, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-08/lira-slides-after-erdogan-refuses-meet-bolton-blocking-syria-withdrawal?fbclid=IwAR3bebKgiE1punbr2KCfFGIiCI3MII4SSuF0E3gfM_lBoeGh_sUA702ODWg.

January 5

What percentage of Democrat politicians in Washington have been bought off?

SOURCE: “Biggest Threat to Single – Payer? Democrat Support for a Public Option,” by Michael Corcoran, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/biggest-threat-to-single-payer-democrat-support-for-a-public-option/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR07CAF4d6x6cRI7GLynjLNLttKyjqiQX9ftOwEKskDk6NO52R3S-0an7XU.

January 5

FYI

SOURCE: “Watching the World Burn: Truthout Readers Share Their Climate Stories,” by Dahr Jarmail, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/watching-the-world-burn-truthout-readers-share-their-climate-stories/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR06sIDqjxTPA8TKXl7RpHKno9Drj_q7TW1csxc6BRIW3R9nzhDoGVp6-M4.

January 5

So be it.

SOURCE: “House Democrats Release Sweeping Legislation to Drain the Swamp,” by Jake Johnson, TROUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/house-democrats-release-sweeping-legislation-to-drain-the-swamp/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR0FmHSFu1LouX4wR6SaE4GOqoXTeGaXxlA1JHwxJczaD4ufA1uCWXxpK_8.

January 5

An interesting perspective.

SOURCE: “World is safe from global conflict in 2019,” by M. K. Bhadrakumar, INDIANPUNCHLINE.COM, https://indianpunchline.com/world-is-safe-from-global-conflict-in-2019/?fbclid=IwAR3C-ad64C8iGzlk86VX8wq3p4YWby8tq5jjPZPVQ5gxHWC8ybNaI3tybtw

January 4

Nothing more insane than this.

SOURCE: “Trump ready to shut government ‘for years’,” Video and text, BBCNEWS.COM, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46763940?fbclid=IwAR2tmvO7cEXslXZ35DswX6D2p7R77k9litsG3KQ69YdEDa_XeJnIh-4USlE.

January 4

Say it ain’t so Joe.

SOURCE: “Top Trump officials are about to get a $10K raise while federal employees work without pay during the shutdown,” by Emma Ockerman, NEWS.VICE.COM, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46763940?fbclid=IwAR2tmvO7cEXslXZ35DswX6D2p7R77k9litsG3KQ69YdEDa_XeJnIh-4USlE.

January 4

So very sad.

SOURCE: “Rich Democrats Don’t Care About Income Inequality Any More than Rich Republicans,” by Ethan Wolff-Mann, BBC.COM, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46763940?fbclid=IwAR2tmvO7cEXslXZ35DswX6D2p7R77k9litsG3KQ69YdEDa_XeJnIh-4USlE.

January 4

Shows the dynamics of arguing.

SOURCE: “A transactional analysis of truth,” by Richard John Stapleton, EFFECTIVELEARNING.NET, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/a-transactional-analysis-of-truth/?fbclid=IwAR0NF3RVJkkdduPBGkFWimuavwElOoca56at08-jUQj43EeysJ6a9uN9dvI.

January 4

Another useful article on how to educate your children by Joyce Wilson.

SOURCE: “6 Fun Projects to Introduce Your Learning Disabled Child to the Arts,” by Joyce Wilson, EFFECTIVELEARNING.NET, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/a-transactional-analysis-of-truth/?fbclid=IwAR0NF3RVJkkdduPBGkFWimuavwElOoca56at08-jUQj43EeysJ6a9uN9dvI.

January 3

A hard hitting article pulling no punches backward or forward.

SOURCE: “2019 FROM A FOURTH TURNING PERSPECTIVE, Administrator, THEBURNINGPLATFORM.COM, https://www.theburningplatform.com/2018/12/31/2019-from-a-fourth-turning-perspective/?fbclid=IwAR1t_WivgHMeBhQytKzbj0I1CtSQmKzzLywT8keHUWJA3G6ujnmQEbRqwUo.

January 2

Here is where the money is.

SOURCE: “Visualizing The Extreme Concentration of Global Wealth,” by Tyler Durden, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-01/visualizing-extreme-concentration-global-wealth?fbclid=IwAR0Nq63PeXvHAx1naCZEH863OcKlbB1jg9WgyvDer4fgr0b_jZTyca2OVAI.

January 2

How many secrets are there to be hacked about the World Trade Center blow up in September of 2001?  Thousands?

SOURCE: “’Pay The F*ck Up’: Hackers Threaten To Dump Secret 9/11 Attack Files If Bitcoin Ransom Not Met,” by Tyler Durden , ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-01/pay-fck-hackers-threaten-dump-secret-911-attack-files-if-bitcoin-ransom-not-met?fbclid=IwAR2OP4RnBnuSLsRWDI1P8IBglXrDnKM8zjzT9Ab87XDizWRGp6T8U_cCIt8.

January 2

Telling and chilling. Seems as though the Euro has not been so hot. Maybe there’s more to it than paper money. Maybe such things such as number of mouths to be fed and resources to produce things to satisfy those mouths have something to do with it.

SOURCE: “The Delusional Leaders of the Eurozone,” by Phil Dobbie, PATREON.COM, https://www.patreon.com/posts/delusional-of-23670929.

January 2

Not good signs.

SOURCE: “New Year’s Hangover Hammers Markets – Stocks Slammed, Bonds Bid,” by Tyler Durden, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-02/us-futures-tumble-ahead-eu-open-new-years-hangover-hits?fbclid=IwAR2Y5W5hWZLUmmlXOwz3GbqMNdsPq7slJPLL8qbq8oU76eeLSTCI7ygcE9k.

January 2

Agree

SOURCE: “How the War Party Lost the Middle East,” by Kurt Schlichter, TOWNHALL.COM, https://townhall.com/columnists/patbuchanan/2019/01/01/how-the-war-party-lost-the-middle-east-n2538314?fbclid=IwAR2t9swxdoKf73V9hNj35WWsUs83tnMYEtrEtuTmeBLYZVe_VDgfKQqj8Pc.

January 2

A ship of fools, sub-optimization to make a loose cannon president look good in the short run, and to hell with the long run. He actually said he won’t be around for the long run.

SOURCE: “The American Dream is Being Held Hostage,” by Virginia Fidler, GOLDTELEGRAPH.COM, http://www.goldtelegraph.com/the-american-dream-is-being-held-hostage/.

January 2

A stable genius in action.

SOURCE: “Trump Trashes Mattis, Says “I Think I Could Have Been A Good General,” by Tyler Durden, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-02/trump-trashes-mattis-says-i-think-i-could-have-been-good-general?fbclid=IwAR3LSRb4miTiqAXyENlBvkMJkISaGeMTpZEkhfoMaCmMID2RrNyxCrdaxqI.

January 2

Yuk, money talks.

SOURCE: “The New Congress and the Rolling Catastrophe of the US Body Politic,” by Roger Harris, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/01/02/the-new-congress-and-the-rolling-catastrophe-of-the-us-body-politic/?fbclid=IwAR0oUY1eBtcvwPpGXCGBbiBQMvVPj7flWjXniD23rZjjMDK4xiIZcuZiyUg.

January 2

Go Warren

SOURCE: “Elizabeth Warren Announces 2020 Presidential Run,” by Jessica Corbett, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/elizabeth-warren-announces-2020-presidential-run/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR3eUaoYIdMvzA1_-afHJr-LN83WrwNtDHoPim8mOM9627ooqO2h3Y8uhrA.

January 2

Bad joke

SOURCE: “Pentagon Rings in New Year With Joke About Dropping Massive Bombs on People,” by Jon Queally, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/pentagon-rings-in-new-year-with-joke-about-dropping-massive-bombs-on-people/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR3gQvLkJ4x7EUox_vcFlDUfpxFfOo9MqJ_ikOI_NUp4-N7NJlU9-ijiftg.

December 27, 2018

Here’s Ralph Nader’s take on single payer.

SOURCE: “Ralph Nader on Single Payer, Climate Devastation,” Video, by CP Editor, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/12/21/ralph-nader-on-single-payer-climate-devastation/?fbclid=IwAR3GZK-zZ1tQbEjC_4j_eaQ3pBV4ovUeUKmspKrOuquQRmTqusyeL5CEhCs.

December 27

Good for them.

SOURCE: “Japan Suffered Biggest Natural Population Decline On Record In 2018,” by Tyler Durden, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-26/japan-suffered-biggest-natural-population-decline-record-2018?fbclid=IwAR0PpUSmJ9nCUgHSd6nCdt5VtGDc54dQ9dPAtOfVIAusRzLmRNqXTH54tMU.

December 27

Could not agree more about the F-35, apparently one of the most egregious US waste of money Pentagon lunacies of all time.

SOURCE: “War Games in Vermont: Danger of Crashes and Permanent Hearing Loss,” by James Marc Leas, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/war-games-in-vermont-danger-of-crashes-and-permanent-hearing-loss/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR24EZ9z-t0Bg9Hmrfpwk69VD9nuIvUOpfX-dgEqxA8U733Dofe2GJ3CXfo.

December 26

Say it ain’t so Joe

SOURCE: “We Know How Trump’s War Game Ends,” by Matt Taibbi, ROLLINGSTONE.COM, https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-syria-withdrawal-772177/?fbclid=IwAR0P6lxPDkC5yQJr-yCs22hwMS8jHTOEalZxSuwHNqt5IohtmfiXQW-704w.

December 26

This is a long winded but plausible explanation of how capitalist economies work. I agree everything operates according to cause-effect chains, but whether it’s possible for mere mortals to track, much less predict, their progressions in economic states of affairs is another matter.

SOURCE: “Ray Dalio Puts ‘Recent Market Moves in Perspective’,” by Ray Dalio, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-12-26/ray-dalio-puts-recent-market-moves-perspective?fbclid=IwAR2X3gUZCif7kdR8as_eEH7gqPE48_VGPw2eT4m-r1M6pURsvVRdHP-GGGU.

December 26

Food for thought.

SOURCE: “Reading Into Albert Einstein’s God Letter,” by Louis Menand, NEWYORKER.COM, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/reading-into-albert-einsteins-god-letter?fbclid=IwAR1dThw-P6gcYwjFLUgnaSjpStdtLd_o0toViRgdSdTE8B9wkffesVUJ11E.

December 24

Is that so?

SOURCE: “What the US Can Afford vs. What the US Can’t Afford,” Video, Revere Politics,https://www.facebook.com/ReverePolitics/videos/262594257767209/UzpfSTEwMDAwMDM0OTY1MTE4NjoyMDk5NDE2NjE2NzQ2NjQw/.

December 22

Say it ain’t so Joe.

SOURCE: “Is The US Preparing For A War Between LatAm States?”, by Thierry Meyssan, VOLTAIRENET.ORG, http://www.voltairenet.org/article204400.html.

December 22

Sounds plausible to me.

SOURCE: “America’s Technology & Sanctions War Will Bifurcate The Global Economy,” by Alastair Crooke, STRATEGICCULTURE.ORG, https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/12/18/america-technology-sanctions-war-will-end-by-bifurcating-global-economy.html.

December 21

Say it ain’t so Joe.

SOURCE: “The Bombings Will Continue: US Military Role in Syria Won’t End,” Interview with Nermeen Shaikh, Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/video/the-bombings-will-continue-the-us-military-role-in-syria-isnt-over/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR1KpWn4J572FAS1-Sq0U11gGLGVudsFoZBJ9DcwCBoUho53Ig_MdXEqUpo.

December 20

Copple’s overview of how the US got where it is today and where we need to go is one of the best analyses of what the problems and opportunities are and what should be done that I have read in some time. A must read for any concerned conscientious citizen.

SOURCE: “Radical egalitarianism can save the planet, the world, and our souls, by Roger Copple, INTREPEDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25715.

December 8

William John Cox and I started our lives on Earth living in or near Wolfforth, Texas, in Northwest Texas in the 1940s, ten miles southwest of Lubbock in the Texas Panhandle. We were both descended from cotton farmers living in the Deep South going back to the American Revolution and spent our early lives living on and around cotton farms in the same vicinity. Wm had a tougher time of it than I did, becoming orphaned when he was ten years old. He moved away in high school and we never saw one another again in person, having renewed our friendship on the Internet about ten years ago. He became an officer for the Los Angeles Police Department who wrote the police manual for the LAPD, a distinguished lawyer who defended a Jewish holocaust survivor in a case he won that was made into the movie, Never Again, and a prolific author, writing several books on government, politics, science, mathematics, and philosophy. He now serves as a public interest attorney, having once run for president of the US.  He recently formulated a new strategy to improve the US government, his Declaration of Non-Candidacy:

“I, William John Cox, do hereby declare that I will not be a candidate for President of the United States in the 2020 election; however, should a majority of American voters write in my name, Wm Cox, on their ballot, sufficient to carry the Electoral College, I would be honored to administer the executive affairs of the nation, to the best of my abilities, for at least one term, under two conditions.

“That, between now and the election, the Women of America select from among themselves, a Vice President to preside over the legislative portfolio in Congress and in the States, an Assistant President to preside over the domestic portfolio, and an Assistant President to preside over the international portfolio.

“That, the Women immediately commence organization of a shadow government to publish policy papers and to identify highly qualified leaders, so as to be prepared to take control of the government on January 20, 2021, and to competently manage the government thereafter. My limited role would be to coordinate administrative policy, necessarily retaining the defense, justice, and intelligence portfolios to ensure justice and to sustain peace.

“I have already written and published on a wide variety of relevant subjects, all of which is freely available, and there is probably little I could add, in addition, at this time, that would make a difference. So, for now it is up to the Women of America, who are increasingly alarmed about the colossal corruption that is destroying our government, to take charge of our future.​

“There are six hundred and eighty-eight days until the election—time enough to make a difference.”

For more on this prolific non-candidate go here.

I have read several of Wm’s books and have found them original, fact-based, insightful, well thought out, and well written. He is also a self-taught mathematician and physicist and this book, Mind, has been commended by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator.

If you want to respond with comments or a review of this book, go to our RESPONSES page and say what you want to say.  Just click on the link below to read a complimentary copy of the book.  Here is a YouTube link to a reading and video scroll of Mind by the author.

SOURCE: Mind & Its Languages of Reason, by William John Cox, https://williamjohncox.com/mind.pdf

 

TO RESPOND:

Just for the fun of it, play like you are a virtual Spaceship Earth, Inc. stockholder, owning one imaginary share of virtual stock, which I hereby figuratively grant you, along with all humans around Earth, giving you equal theoretical power to contribute to decisions about how to manage Spaceship Earth, Inc. Tell other stockholders what you think the problems and opportunities are, what the alternatives are, and what you think should be done to make for smoother sailing for everyone.

Also feel free to write what you think pro or con about anything I or any of the authors cited above have written in this issue of The Earthian.

Say whatever you want to say in response to the facts, analysis, conclusions, perspectives, etc. offered by the writers, pro or con, but please no ad hominem attacks, i.e., don’t try to prove you are right in your argument by illogically slandering or demeaning the personal characteristics, beliefs, behaviors, or integrity of the person you are arguing against.

To write what you think about anything relative to the management of Spaceship Earth, Inc. go to the Effective Learning Company RESPONSES page and just come out with it.  Don’t worry about being “right.”  No one knows it all and everyone knows something worth something to someone.  Just say what you truly feel and think about an issue you consider relevant.

I have no desire to sell subscriptions or advertising or solicit donations, but I would like to sell more books. If you feel you have gained value from this newsletter and want to reciprocate go to our Effective Learning Publications page  , Amazon.com, or any brick and mortar bookstore and purchase one or more of my books.

Feel free to forward, share, print, reprint, copy or otherwise disseminate this issue of The Earthian any way you see fit.

Best wishes, RJS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 Fun Projects to Introduce Your Learning Disabled Child to the Arts

 

Learning doesn’t come in one set format. As Friendship Circle points out, “some children learn most effectively through the arts.” The arts make academic subjects more accessible to children with learning disabilities, promote the development of social skills and self-esteem, and reduce stress and anxiety so children with special needs are able to focus. The result is a higher academic achievement and stronger social skills for differently-abled kids.

Arts education needn’t be limited to childhood tinkering. A childhood foundation in the arts can lead to a fulfilling career in adulthood. Just look at the many successful artists, musicians, and actors with learning disabilities — Daniel Radcliffe, Chuck Close, Woody Harrelson, and Justin Timberlake are among the famous names who struggled with learning disabilities in school.

Unfortunately, as schools increasingly focus on academic instruction, kids have fewer and fewer opportunities to engage in the arts at school. As a result, it’s up to parents to provide their children with ample access to arts education.

Ideas for Arts Education at Home

Preschool and Elementary School

Arts and crafts are an excellent way for parents to introduce children to the arts at home. From an early age, kids can take simple materials and transform them into imaginative creations. Arts and crafts stimulate a child’s creativity and problem-solving skills, and they’re a fun way for families to spend quality time together. Angie’s List suggests a bunch of crafts that are perfect for kids ranging from toddlers to middle schoolers. These are some of the standouts:

  • Make paper bag puppets: Animal puppets made out of paper bags are simple, but they delight preschoolers who not only get to design the puppets but also invent stories to share with their attentive audience — whether that’s you or a gallery of stuffed animals!
  • Create clay-dough animals: Clay dough is ridiculously easy to make at home and provides endless entertainment. Instruct kids to mold animals to hone their fine motor skills or ask them to use their imagination to invent a new kind of creature!
  • Design DIY bedroom decorations: Crafts with a purpose appeal to kids in the later elementary school years. Arm your child with supplies to make their own bedroom decorations, like blinged-out picture frames, faux flowers, beaded curtains, and more.

Middle and High School

As tots mature into adolescents and teens, they’re ready for higher-level arts instruction. The following ideas are perfect for older students:

  • Recreate famous paintings: Challenge your teen to recreate famous pieces of art like Van Gogh’s “Starry Night,” Magritte’s “The Son of Man,” or Picasso’s “Three Musicians.” Instead of using paint, have kids recreate the works with a different medium entirely. Your kids will get an art history lesson and an exercise in creative problem-solving!
  • Write a screenplay: Tweens and teens might not be impressed by puppet shows, but they still love a good story. Gather a group of kids to write a screenplay and put on a performance for a live audience. From writing the script to building the set, this activity is full of interesting creative and educational challenges.
  • Build DIY musical instruments: From homemade banjos to xylophones made of driftwood, the sky’s the limit when it comes to DIY musical instruments. A2Z Homeschool has links and resources to get kids started on their musical journey.

Also, don’t limit yourself to activities at home! Community theaters, arts-based summer camps, and arts and crafts lessons at the public library are all wonderful ways for differently-abled children to get involved in the arts.

No matter their ability, engagement in the arts is incredibly rewarding for children. However, for kids with learning disabilities who struggle in traditional academia — both in performance and confidence — the arts are an invaluable resource. When kids have a place they can learn, do, and grow without limitations, both ability and confidence soar.

Contact Joyce Wilson at joyce@teacherspark.org, Teacherspark.org.

 

Problems with the Deep State

by Richard John Stapleton, PhD, CTA, Editor & Publisher

This is the first time I have posted an advertisement for selling a newsletter, but this advertisement contains some hard truths, told in an effective fashion by a fearless storyteller, David Stockman, who was the US budget director under Ronald Reagan and is sometimes called the father of Reaganomics. While I think Stockman has cut some of the truth here, I admire his courage in telling it like it is in most cases in this article using blunt no-nonsense language. What he does not spell out enough here in my opinion is that Reagan “voodoo” economics, so-described by Bush I, was a dismal failure.

The Reagan administration tripled the federal debt in eight years, by far the largest percentage increase of federal debt of any peacetime president in US history, proving beyond a reasonable doubt that simultaneously significantly cutting the income taxes of the rich while significantly increasing military expenditures for the poor, not only does not work, but is disastrous from a macro economics fiscal standpoint.

And Stockman waxes simplistic about the evils of socialism and the virtues of capitalism. Capitalism is inherently undependable and untrustworthy for many people, producing inevitable disasters from time to time, turning whole economies into the equivalent of individual humans suffering from manic-depressive emotional and behavior disorders. And socialism as commonly conceived while also undependable and untrustworthy is not as evil as Stockman implies. The bottom line is that no economic system to date has been fully successful for all humans around Spaceship Earth.

For my view on what to do about the Earthian economic system read my article, “The Evolution of Spaceship Earth Incorporated.”

Nevertheless, here is David Stockman’s magnum newsletter sales pitch on what is wrong with the US economy and what you should do about it now, which I agree with in most cases:

The Real Cause of the Coming Market Crash

This uncensored document reveals the shocking details behind the Deep State’s plan to steal your retirement.

Mind: The Languages of Reason

Here is a new book authored by William John Cox

https://williamjohncox.com/mind.pdf

and a YouTube link to A Reading and Video Scroll of Mind by the author.

https://youtu.be/4D3ukWweuNM

Wm Cox and I (Richard John Stapleton) started our lives here on Earth living in or near Wolfforth, Texas, in Northwest Texas, in the 1940s, ten miles southwest of Lubbock, Texas, in the Texas Panhandle. We were both descended from cotton farmers living in the Deep South going back to the American Revolution. Wm had a tougher time of it than I did, becoming orphaned when he was ten years old. He moved away in high school and we never saw one another again in person, having renewed our friendship on the Internet about ten years ago.

I have read several of Wm’s books and have found them thoughtful and amazingly insightful using scientific and mathematical concepts.

If you read this book and want to respond with comments, go to our RESPONSES page at the top of  this page and say what you want to say about Wm’s book, within the bounds of our guidelines specified on our RESPONSES page.

RJS, Editor & Publisher, Effective Learning Report

 

A transactional analysis of truth

by Richard John Stapleton, PhD, CTA

Individuals A and B had known one another for over fifty years, at one time being best friends.

After not seeing one another for thirty or more years they had a face-to-face reunion.

Everything seemed to go well.

They discussed old times and what had happened in their lives in the meantime. Both seemed to enjoy the visit.

About one month after the visit however A telephoned B on his/her cellphone and told him/her Bush I was one of the best presidents the US ever had, kind, gentle, and civil, and was very sad about his having died.

Individual B said s/he disagreed, saying Bush I was a lying two-faced hypocrite, a war criminal, a toady for the establishment, and one of the prime conspirators assassinating JFK.

After twenty or so minutes of heated discussion B told A s/he could not believe what A was saying, telling A s/he knew A was an intelligent person, but was worried if they kept this up they could destroy their relationship.

A continued to make her/his case from a one-up Parent position; B also continued to make his/her case blow by blow.  B said again the best thing to do was end their telephone conversation now before they destroyed their friendship.

A continued trying to convince B of the truth as defined by A.

B finally exploded, “Goddamn it A I’ve had enough of this shit.”

A then said, “Well, now that you have insulted me, I might as well hang up.”

The two have not spoken to one another since.

Here is a transactional analysis of the case:

Both A and B in their face-to-face visit realized they differed politically but had the good sense to say nothing about it so as not to destroy their visit. Unfortunately their differences grated on A after the visit, causing him/her to telephone B to straighten the situation out.  A had been older and dominant in their earlier lives and wanted to reestablish the previous psychological structure, to again become one-up and more OK than B psychologically.

B having grown up would have none of it wanting to be I’m OK—You’re OK in the relationship.

A started the episode from the Parent Persecutor Game position socially and from the Child Rescuer position psychologically.  B responded from the Adult position socially and the Rebel Child position pyschologically.  A ended up trying to lay a guilt trip on B for insulting her/his character and hurting his/her feelings from an Adapted Child Victim position, insinuating B caused A to suffer by being so harsh and callous with his/her explosive uncouth language.

Transactional Analysts call this Game SCHLEMAZAL.  A broke the relationship by making the telephone call and saying what s/he said, psychologically attacking B, causing a loss for B, but ended the Game accusing B of immorally insulting A by saying what B said using the language and tone s/he used, with A finally switching to a woeful hurt Child ego state Victim position, having lost as much or more in the Game as B.

Most likely what A was primarily looking for in the first place by telephoning B were strokes, i.e. units of recognition.  A is getting up in years and lives alone and wanted to talk to someone.  Unfortunately this conversation with B did not go well, the primary currency being traded in the transaction being negative strokes, not positive strokes.  The positive stroke bank accounts of both A and B were depleted by the Game they played during the transaction, causing both to be more depressed than they were before the Game was played with lowered self-esteem as payoffs for the Game.  Both A and B had been relatively successful in their careers and had probably been playing SCHLEMAZAL and its complementary cognate Games all their lives, proving once again that money cannot buy happiness in all cases.

Psychological Games are often described by transactional analysts as bridges to intimacy.  Game players not being fully honest start off conversations with ordinary chickenshit or bullshit transactions about the weather, sports, politics, and such hoping they might get to something serious and honest, such as whether they and their marks really like one another, and what they really think and feel about things, intimacy, which rarely happens.  Transactions between people are structured in a hierarchy from least stoke intensive to most stroke intensive—withdrawal, pastimes, rituals, activities, Games, and intimacy.

An individual’s definition of truth is caused by the facts, analyses, and conclusions s/he was exposed to in life and by what was required to be believed by individuals to be accepted, survive, and make a living in particular authoritarian groups and organizations.  Since individuals have been exposed to different facts, analyses, and conclusions in various amounts and have accidentally been exposed to different kinds of authoritarian groups and organizations they now quite naturally store different kinds of truths about various issues, problems, opportunities, etc.

For more on truth and psychological Games read my book, Born to Learn: A Transactional Analysis of Human Learning at https://www.amazon.com/Born-Learn-Transactiona…/…/0692584331.

What most people cannot accept is how difficult it is to convince an individual her/his truth is not the real truth if you disagree with it.  The following linked article sheds important light on this problem.

SOURCE:  “Manufacturing Truth,” by C. J. Hopkins, The Unz Review:  An Alternative Media Selection, A Collection of Interesting, Important, and Controversial Perspectives Largely Excluded from the American Mainstream Media, http://www.unz.com/chopkins/manufacturing-truth/?fbclid=IwAR0nv5goF8LADiBk9Z_FDhIHqEML2Ngt8g5SK8uhrEZG8fHIo7EqjvVw1M8.

Feel free to share, forward, copy, print, reprint, or otherwise disseminate “A transactional analysis of truth,” any way you see fit.  To respond to this article click on our RESPONSES prompt to the left of this page.   RJS, Editor & Publisher, Effective Learning Report

THE EARTHIAN – 5

THE EARTHIAN    –     5

Effective Learning Publications, 32 East Main Street, Statesboro, Georgia, USA, November 30, 2018

Or So It Seems to Me Today

Richard John Stapleton, PhD, CTA, Editor & Publisher  

My weltanschauung and zeitgeist have not changed much since the publication of The Earthian   4   but it seems to me the Doomsday Clock has moved a bit closer to Midnight.

There has been increasing talk, writing, and chatter around Spaceship Earth about the almost certain dire consequences of global warming and climate change, the consensus among experts being that if significant reductions in atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane do not occur in the next ten years there is going to be hell to pay by Earthians alive after that.  There has also been more conversation about the possibilities of another world war, entailing the risk of a nuclear Armageddon.

It’s hard not to play AIN’T IT AWFUL, a common transactional analysis psychological Game, in this blog by citing and linking nothing but articles painting Earthians as Victims of obsolete economic and political systems manipulated and exploited by rapacious sociopathic Persecutor oligarchs and their corrupt bought and paid for lackey politicians, however true that might be in reality.

On the other hand, it will do no good to play the transactional analysis Game of GREENHOUSE, citing and linking nothing but upbeat articles encouraging humans to stick their heads in the sand, or pretend everything is just hunky-dory with everything coming up roses for everyone, to live in Candide-like worlds.

In the past three months I have tried to set up a De-Gaming Democracy group    here in Statesboro, to engage citizens of various persuasions in face-to-face discussions of relevant economic and political problems and opportunities, in what I call the Ogeechee Economic Forum meeting the third Saturday of each month, with little success. So far two attendees have shown up. It appears most humans are not interested in, or are afraid of, transacting in a Game-free Adult way in public dealing with economic and political problems and opportunities. Hopefully interest in this will pick up in the coming year.

For more information regarding the use of Transactional Analysis to create better 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 a free Kindal copy of my book Business Voyages: Mental Maps, Scripts, Schemata, and Tools for Co-Constructing Your Own Business Worlds.

See my article “Toward the Creation of Spaceship Earth, Incorporated,” published in MWC News (Media With Conscience) September 2013 for some management science ideas on how humans might eventually co-construct an economic and political system that is viable and satisfying for everyone.

As usual this month’s THE EARTHIAN cites and links as SOURCES recent articles written by clear deep-thinking hard-hitting independent writers published in various sorts of Internet publications around Spaceship Earth dealing with ecological, economic, social, political, religious, and military affairs around Spaceship Earth. While I generally agreed with these writers about what is most relevant about Spaceship Earth states of affairs, before I read their articles, they all 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.

This issue of THE EARTHIAN is linked with 78 articles published in Internet publications of various sorts around Spaceship Earth.

It’s not easy for humans to separate relevant from irrelevant focal point entities and issues to see what is really going on when they are inundated and saturated with propaganda, fake news, sanitized pablum, and sensationalized drama produced by mainstream and government media around Earth.

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 to separate relevant events from irrelevant events go to my RESPONSES  page and let me know about them.

I do not want 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 some 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. Born to Learn will be an unusual and potentially useful gift for anyone who can read English.

BEST WISHES FOR GOOD READING AND A SATISFYING HOLIDAY SEASON!

 

SOURCES:

November 30, 2018

If nobody else wants to buy treasury bonds to finance the US budget deficit the US Federal Reserve can buy them by just punching digits into computers and calling the resulting numbers money and then buy Treasuries by depositing the numbers in the US Treasury bank account, with which the US Treasury can write checks to pay for things, such as its military adventures and its social security loan repayment obligations, at least for a while longer, maybe a trillion-plus dollars worth a year of these numbers for another decade or so before everything goes to hell in a handbasket.

“These Countries are Dumping the Dollar,” by Robert Wheeler, THEORGANICPEPPER.COM, https://www.theorganicprepper.com/dumping-the-dollar/?fbclid=IwAR1MkSTV3Qg8YmwwDK33smoGwCh6QXlQ_oKtBDEK2iNGe6My2x4-p9Sw9YY.

November 30

Sounds right to me.

“When you want to sanction States, you call them terrorists,” by Thierry Meyssan, VOLTAIRENET.ORG, http://www.voltairenet.org/article204116.html?fbclid=IwAR1qgkEVSWyG6TQm-phR76iE3DaH6HVQqIOL_dB4rwIY_p7R9SQzeEiLKuQ.

November 30

Say it ain’t so Joe

“Eyewitness Juarez: There’s no ‘you break it, you buy it’ policy here,” by Jane Stillwater, INTREPIDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25648.

November 30

Sounds right to me.

“Freedom Rider: The Democrats win and black people lose,” by Margaret Kimberly, INTREPIDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25651.

November 30

History it seems really does repeat itself.

“Who’s funding Bannon’s Fourth Reich?,” by Wayne Madsen, INTREPIDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25656.

November 30

Most Demo politicians in Washington like to stay in office and selfishly hog power as long as they can about as much as Repug politicians, consequently at the end of the day doing what their party bosses tell them to, regardless of what is best for we the people. What a nasty business.

“Demcratic Party ‘Leadership’ is Upside Down,” by Norman Solomon, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/29/democratic-party-leadership-is-upside-down/?fbclid=IwAR3ZVvGe9b81Pva6qTjyNR6eKvlva8Du7azysbs6Aorm4MDWELzjplVDGFw.

November 30

I am not in favor of worshiping labels and ideologies such as capitalism and socialism, although I agree with most of the policies of this article. See my FreeFairProgressParty platform showing what I think should be done ASAP to get the US back on track.

“The Principles of Socialism,” by Charles McKelvey, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/29/the-principles-of-socialism/?fbclid=IwAR0nkFVW87rrXICyel36VddW6uR1WXVTceEV8jMKejv5_BNMYBVRGwpNHm4.

November 30

Say it aint so Joe

“The Audacity of Struggle,” by Ron Jacobs, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/29/the-audacity-of-struggle/?fbclid=IwAR3miekxBHaUBXsOSAImnRk-DBiano7Zbo7J95S4-ZxplQb8F8zIuqngTpA.

November 30

A positive step. About time.

“The Senate’s Yemen Vote is a Historic First,” By Amy Goodman and Nermeen Shaikh, Democracy Now, TROUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/video/the-senates-yemen-vote-is-a-historic-first/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR0BjvJIYlz9N9aHahR7kYUe7Q7-BcU6FPIeu2OEpKRTEzLrTRwbmFoMtfU.

November 30

This is a new one on me.

“South Koreans lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life,” by Minwoo Park, REUTERS.COM, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-prisonstay/south-koreans-lock-themselves-up-to-escape-prison-of-daily-life-idUSKCN1NS0JB?fbclid=IwAR0vuR_C7BZ6pE98oOyNRTCzYojION8cQQ2iMhivsmXUDNbwKe-Zl2mybeE.

November 28

This may be the most sordid and pathetic sex story of modern times. Human nature run amok. Sick sexual desires and behaviors, intelligence, and money causing the exploitation and further degradation of pubescent girls caught in the worst of circumstances not of their making. Where is the fairness in the world? What caused it all? What causes some children to be born into these situations? Is it the capitalistic economic system causing some highly intelligent perverted people to acquire enough money without working to afford to do something like this, while causing some people to live miserable homeless lives? Is it the greed of less guilty people causing them to make money by helping the prime crime perpetrators evade common law to live opulent lives devoid of generally accepted decency, fairness, and morality? What causes the prime crime perpetrators to do what they do in the first place? Are the causes primarily biological or psychological? What can be done to stop the progression of their cause-effect chains in society? Are we all victims to some extent in a hierarchy of worst off to best off? Bill Clinton and Alan Dershowitz flew around with this guy on his Lolita Express airplane to private events.

“How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime,” by Julie K. Brown, MIAMIHERALD.COM, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html?fbclid=IwAR3LOI5DDa13dVV720CwvRZEoy20eUOh4fZhD-9NpTlHdpehg5lOvvaus10.

November 28

Would be an interesting precedent since the Demos could do the same thing the next time one of them gets to be president. Maybe Trump is not as antisocial as he seems to be most of the time.

“Exclusive: Trump threatens to declassify ‘devastating’ docs about Democrats,” by Marisa Schultz and nikki Schwab, NYPOST.COM, https://nypost.com/2018/11/28/trump-threatens-to-declassify-devastating-docs-about-democrats/?utm_source=NYPFacebook&utm_medium=Native&utm_campaign=NYPFacebook&fbclid=IwAR23dH6NUWPjbhR7diSEJNJtysyF-7T9Hor2VeoPW0kq1STzNvKmNpXJOb0

November 28

Growing up in Northwest Texas various people told me I looked like I was part Cherokee Indian. About eight years ago I paid Ancestry.com to check my DNA. According to the Ancestry.com test I am ninety-eight percent European and two percent Western Asian. Because of the early assertions about my ancestry I learned to appreciate better than most what it feels like to be subjected to racial slurs. I have read several accounts of the Trail of Tears disaster, one of the most heinous acts of the US government against natives of this continent. Therefore this poem resonates with me more than it would with most.

“Poem of the Day: ‘Trail of Tears: Our Removal,’” by Linda Hogan, https://us12.campaign-archive.com/?e=f9ab7e9ce1&u=c993b88231f5f84146565840e&id=6af868b6f5&fbclid=IwAR3CIzg5S_MXyX1Mgw8E12jiamNeWTRBe85YWjSOebNpnyT4XZSq_bSk6so

November 28

Ever heard of Katharine Hayhoe? Neither had I until I read this. This strong intelligent brave lady is doing what all of us should do if we had the brains and means to do it, argue against these people who deny climate change.

“Author of U.S. Climate Assessment drops epic Twitter thread: ‘I’m here to set the record straight,’” by Walter Elnenkel, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/27/1815601/-Author-of-US-Climate-Assessment-drops-an-epic-twitter-thread-I-m-here-to-set-the-record-straight.

Novenber 28

How would Trump know what is or is not fake news. Most likely he cannot keep up with the facts of any of it, since he is apparently suffering from dementia. But this article discloses a new twist, once again making the Russians conveniently look like the bad guys. One thing is for sure: this is pure soap opera, diverting human attention from serious issues, such as over population, climate change, and nuclear weapons.

“Here’s what Paul Manafort was lying about—and it’s the missing piece between Moscow and Trump,” by Mark Summer, DAILYKOS.COM, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/27/1815508/-Here-s-what-Paul-Manafort-was-lying-about-and-it-s-the-missing-piece-between-Moscow-and-Trump.

November 27

Talk about a narcissistic egomaniac. This self-described genius thinks he can do no wrong since he has a divine right to reign superior. Whatever he says and does is right because of his superior intelligence. He said so in this article. We, mere average mortals, are supposed to believe or pretend to believe his bullshit no matter what he says like adapted children.

“Trump slams Fed chair, questions climate change and threatens to cancel Putin meeting in wide-ranging interview with The Post,” by Philip Rucker, Josh Dawsey, and Damian Paletta, MSN.COM, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-slams-fed-chair-questions-climate-change-and-threatens-to-cancel-putin-meeting-in-wide-ranging-interview-with-the-post/ar-BBQaAmg?fbclid=IwAR1ElBdRloCfwErbEgLHPTid2p10vxSR4XtgEDRQBgoTXYZdATJ45g56oHk.

November 26

Say it aint so Joe

“It’s Getting Hot in Here,” by Jeffrey St. Clair and Joshua Frank, COUNTREPUNCY.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/23/its-getting-hot-up-in-here/?fbclid=IwAR1AEzl86SFrPQhbTqXiHqzKWdvmf2ADAdux8UJqpvtB-Y5FNINfVrZ3xdI.

November 26

Leave it to the French students.

“Employment, Ecology, Extinction: French Students Take on the System to Save the Species,” by Kristine Mattis, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/26/employment-ecology-extinction-french-students-take-on-the-system-to-save-the-species/?fbclid=IwAR1wjyJKb0QGJaTyEU_lVTnflPiQkhKFWKQsreaA6VsifolKltjDbGBFxKQ.

November 26

Right way to go.

“A New Economic Model for the South: Ditch Corporate Welfare and Fund Farm Co-Ops,” by Valerie Vande Panne, In These Times, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/26/employment-ecology-extinction-french-students-take-on-the-system-to-save-the-species/?fbclid=IwAR1wjyJKb0QGJaTyEU_lVTnflPiQkhKFWKQsreaA6VsifolKltjDbGBFxKQ.

November 26

Say it aint so Joe

“Neoliberalism Has Vandalized Latin America: The Roots of the Migrant Crisis Go Back Decades,” by Natalia Segura, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/26/employment-ecology-extinction-french-students-take-on-the-system-to-save-the-species/?fbclid=IwAR1wjyJKb0QGJaTyEU_lVTnflPiQkhKFWKQsreaA6VsifolKltjDbGBFxKQ.

November 26

Raise taxes on all of them back to where they were before the Reagan administration lowered them from eighty percent in the 1980s setting in motion the catastrophe that has been gradually unfolding ever since.

“Restore Higher Tax Rates for Corporations That Can’t Contain CEO Pay,” by Dean Baker, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/restore-higher-tax-rates-for-corporations-that-cant-contain-ceo-pay/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR20VCLLNOpv7Uuw9hb_IoLCYpe8MxVKxN1VVFL-ZGJfBs2koMlhAVH6p30.

November 26

What the heck is going on here?

“CDC identifies 31 states with 116 confirmed cases of AFM,” by Debra Goldschmidt, CNN.COM, https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/health/acute-flaccid-myelitis-afm-numbers/index.html.

November 26

The most nitwit idea yet by a nitwit president.

“Trump Seeks to Reignite Feud With CNN, Proposes State-Run Television,” by Jeremy Barr, HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM, https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trump-proposes-state-run-television-seeks-reignite-cnn-feud-1163920?fbclid=IwAR0VaL09ETPi3imWvLqJmc3FZXOvYsriYkhGn2EYwk1ATFSzcKbqcEAq2HM.

November 26

Unbelieveble. You mean MAGA Trumpie could not keep these jobs from leaving. I wonder how many cars and trucks this CEO ever built

“GM to halt production at several plants, cut more than 14,000 jobs,” by Robert Ferris, CNBC.COM, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/26/gm-unallocating-several-plants-in-2019-to-take-3-billion-to-3point8-billion-charge-in-future-quarters.html?__source=sharebar|facebook&par=sharebar.

November 25

Another evolutionary change.

“Exclusive: Chinese scientists are creating CRISPR babies,” by Antonio Regalado, TECHNOLOGYREVIEW.COM, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/26/gm-unallocating-several-plants-in-2019-to-take-3-billion-to-3point8-billion-charge-in-future-quarters.html?__source=sharebar|facebook&par=sharebar.

November 25

A dangerous witches’ brew.

“The next crash,” by Robert Reich, INTREPIDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25582.

November 25

Sounds about right to me.

“Lessons From the California Wildfires,” by George Wuerthner, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/23/lessons-from-the-california-wildfires/?fbclid=IwAR0icEVuS85tVZQmett847duG9rW2uneOlQTNFBPR9TlbLGKhaqgSC0gaZ4.

November 25

I can believe this.

“Afghanistan is Collapsing. Get Out: Now!” by Brian Cloughley, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/23/afghanistan-is-collapsing-get-out-now/?fbclid=IwAR0VDBnnp5kRiIkHhiKS9gdCPBC_XhOEJNo0RQUsJoXsnf3iwGPWh5dBd30.

November 25

Amazing recall of facts of states of affairs underlies Chomsky’s success.  No wonder he is not president, having been blacklisted by mainstream media for decades.  Chomsky may be the smartest man alive.

“Noam Chomsky Turns 90: How a U.S. Anarchist Has More Than Survived,” by Bruce E. Levine, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/23/afghanistan-is-collapsing-get-out-now/?fbclid=IwAR0VDBnnp5kRiIkHhiKS9gdCPBC_XhOEJNo0RQUsJoXsnf3iwGPWh5dBd30.

November 24

Gasoline now costs $7.06 a gallon in Paris. What would happen in the US if gasoline suddenly cost that much?

“French protesters angry over fuel taxes clash with police,” by Thomas Adamson, APNEWSLCOM, https://apnews.com/d3033b920af449b594e66b51890b517b?fbclid=IwAR2gytfeuhqq7CH1xer3F4EEc-W6fdyTiPagEpIey6anNx6ns8xR3NLafoA.

November 19

About what I have been saying for about twenty years, albeit much less eloquently. See my FreeFairProgressParty to see what I have been saying.

“Barack von Obamenburgh, Herr Donald, and Big Capitalist Hypocrisy: On How Fascism Happens,” by Paul Street, COUNTERPUNCY.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/16/barack-von-obamenburg-herr-donald-and-big-capitalist-hypocrisy-on-how-fascism-happens/?fbclid=IwAR2SSoqLyei_ngnU9-rqXfnsEh_c2QHAzruHEfXOZp2N99x17lICId3lnVE.

November 18

Another MUST READ poignant article before the shtf by one of Earths’s smartest humans, Chris Hedges.

“Scum vs. Scum,” by Chris Hedges, TRUTHDIG.COM, https://www.truthdig.com/articles/scum-vs-scum/.

November 18

Sure looks that way.

“Noam Chomsky Calls Trump and Republican Allies ‘Criminally Insane’,” by John Horgan, SCIENTIFICAMERICAN.COM, https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/noam-chomsky-calls-trump-and-republican-allies-criminally-insane/?fbclid=IwAR0qXiErXv9ZiBWX4nT2TTRGWptGuu8ZasjeY7qONFt82ZyS1h5WQjIEyR8.

November 18

Sad and insane beyond belief.

“Mitch McConnell Calls to Cut Social Security, Medicare,” by Nicole Goodkind, MSN.COM, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mitch-mcconnell-calls-to-cut-social-security-medicare/ar-BBOtGyE?ocid=sf&fbclid=IwAR1ThbakoneuoO_5VhdQ9pulev5bFkGJtICpO_EDNz9A7YKSedoD6gSVR20.

November 17

Interesting but simplistic. There is no way corporations would spend money on employees if it did not increase productivity, and there is no way they would want to increase productivity if they could not sell what was produced. Since they are already selling enough to satisfy what people can buy there is no reason for them to want to increase the ability of their employees to produce more, by spending more money on them. If they did and productivity per employee increased with sales remaining the same they would reduce the number of employees. Therefore there is no way reducing stock buybacks would automatically help employees, unless corporations for some reason just got more fair minded and gave them significant raises, which is not likely to happen anytime soon, since they have almost never willingly done it.

“The STOP Walmart Act is Rewriting the Rules of Stock Buybacks,” by Lenore Palladino, Roosevelt Institute, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/the-stop-walmart-act-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-stock-buybacks/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR3wvHsrKhYBEmuOvk2lnRAUZ7caAJ3qNF8t6-yzPezQ_NM8fGpVJAR3pw8.

November 17

True or false?

“Dozens arrested after climate protest blocks five London bridges,” by Matthew Taylor and Damien Gayle, THEGUARDIAN.COM, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/17/thousands-gather-to-block-london-bridges-in-climate-rebellion?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR1t0q3rEIeZgQO0Jd_jvH5pvH0VEBzhkX4T9uyjM908y30fDZGwA88hqlg.

November 17

Should go without saying.

“Trump is NOT above the law,” by To: US Congress, from Your Name, ACTIONNETWORK.ORG, https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/trump-is-not-above-the-law-protectmueller?source=facebook&&fbclid=IwAR3lJwcBxYgKnaBJbqV703fJzuFFDxOQb6waWAa6T2oLMDxmH1R-5dwUzKw.

November 17

Could not agree more, since I wrote this one.  This article was also reposted in the INTREPID REPORT.

“One More Time: “Payroll taxes,” ARE NOT TAXES!,” by Richard John Stapleton, EFFECTIVELEARNING.NET, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/one-more-time-payroll-taxes-are-not-taxes/?fbclid=IwAR0bvZngxb4lzCq9K0wrpKUy24wAFM6yHuzZS9iUmINN6-x3koysh_fhH5Q.

November 16

Does Trump have dementia?

This article presents compelling evidence he does. To see and hear for yourself how Trump has declined mentally and physically see this U-Tube interview by Tom Brokaw when Trump was thirty-three years old. Back then Trump did not have problems speaking grammatically correct compound sentences or accessing and using words more specific and relevant than “wonderful,” “beautiful,” and “great.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-w47wgdhso.

“Is Something Neurologically Wrong With Donald Trump?,” by James Hamblin, THEATLANTIC.COM, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/01/trump-cog-decline/548759/?utm_source=fbb&fbclid=IwAR2sFsesZh5kE0lpp4QCiDCYF0VNMVScu_vjsjrhDDWMD3LBHzhW72Y7-7U.

November 16

Meanwhile Assange is dying in his room in the Ecquadorian embassy in London after six years of solitary confinement.

“As the Obama DOJ Concluded, Prosecution of Julian Assange for Publishing Documents Poses Grave Threats to Press…,” by Glenn Greenwald, THEINTERCEPT.COM, https://theintercept.com/2018/11/16/as-the-obama-doj-concluded-prosecution-of-julian-assange-for-publishing-documents-poses-grave-threats-to-press-freedom/.

November 16

What a fine kettle of fish.

“Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi’s assassination: CIA,” by Shane Harris and Greg Miller, SMH.COM, https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/saudi-crown-prince-ordered-khashoggi-s-assassination-cia-20181117-p50gn3.html?fbclid=IwAR1mOZ_NWYLSfvN_1WfLc7O17eFYZV6rq9iWRSw7_C3oXiIAVyMuwiYAyBs.

November 15

Here is the hard part: “Based on the science,” reads the group’s website, “we have ten years at the most to reduce CO2 emissions to zero, or the human race and most other species are at high risk of extinction within decades.”

True or False?

“The Global Extinction Rebellion Begins,” by Dahr Jamail, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/the-global-extinction-rebellion-begins/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR1zXarsOw_bj4NMt6bprXkX7VoZMKgVenfzfj_m4H8gOqGu5_6OkHsh2ZE.

November 15

Not much has changed since his time has it?

“Words of Wisdom from Harry Truman,” furnished by Gordy Teller, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=362843557802391&set=a.158713731548709&type=3&theater.

November 15

Can you believe Russia’s GDP is as small as it is? I guess having some ICBM’s and big nuclear bombs left over from their Soviet Union days makes people think they are much bigger than they are. The Russian economy is about 1/12 the size of the US economy, as this chart shows.

“The $80 Trillion World Economy in One Chart,” by Tyler Durden, ZEDROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-28/80-trillion-world-economy-one-chart?fbclid=IwAR0WKbS2UeKw0MVfqhQv0bwzy89PC7BrFkuX4dhDWR-_WKErDFY53wOroNQ.

November 15

Roy Clark and Hee-Haw: One of the best TV shows ever.

“Roy Clark, country music legend and ‘Hee Haw’ star, dead at 85,” by Sasha Savitsky, FOXNEWS.COM, https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/roy-clark-country-music-legend-and-hee-haw-star-dead-at-85.

November 15

Save the wolves!

“Gray wolf population could lose federal protection under GOP bill,” by Kellen Browning, MCCLATCHYDC.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-28/80-trillion-world-economy-one-chart?fbclid=IwAR0WKbS2UeKw0MVfqhQv0bwzy89PC7BrFkuX4dhDWR-_WKErDFY53wOroNQ

November 14

Good article but simplistic. The author says wars are not deterministic, WWI in this case, that “we” “made” it happen, not deterministic forces of history. I beg to disagree. “We” did not make it happen. Something caused the people who actually started WWI to start it. They did not just get out of bed one day and “poof” start WWI without being caused to do it, and whatever that something was was also caused, and so on back into infinite time in unbroken interconnected cause-effect chains. Whatever they were feeling, thinking, and doing, “something” caused them to feel, think, and do what they felt, thought and did—ideas, beliefs, and feelings previously stored in their brains—which were also caused by something. Which is the scary part now. “Something” can cause world leaders to do something mega dumb and stupid again, such as start WWIII. But maybe not. Hopefully the inevitable ineluctable cause-effect chains of history are now such that they will not cause another world war. That’s possible.

“For What?” by Dennis Morgan, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/14/for-what/?fbclid=IwAR0QQJz9prKhNWtTo82V2xd1acU0U50XnvwAPPPO9n9Mxbe22b7i52bHOxI.

November 14

Another article I agree with, having written it myself.

“Whence We Came, Whither We Go,” by Richard John Stapleton, EFFECTIVELEARNING.NET, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/from-whence-we-came-whither-we-go/?fbclid=IwAR2Jh21L0f30ctoTlpyZLmJJNnvbm83p_96Du6gWwNVwIxGWiEhKnjwtdL8.

November 14

As anybody should have known, the Trumpies significantly lowering federal income taxes for elite rich civilians would increase the budget deficit, as would increasing military expenditures for poor soldiers, sailors, and airmen and their staff, and their fat cat corporate suppliers. According to this article the federal deficit reached about $800 billion for fiscal 2018. It is expected to rise to about $1 trillion in fiscal year 2019, the worst ever, starting October 1, 2018. As shown here https://www.thebalance.com/current-u-s-federal-government-s… the federal budget is composed of mandatory spending for such things as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for US citizens and discretionary spending for such things as military employees, hardware, wars, and adventures. Much lying and confusion goes on regarding the funding of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Most of the time in mainstream media people say money ordinary people pay for Social Security from their paychecks and organizational revenues are “payroll taxes,” which is a misnomer, or a lie, depending on the knowledge and intention of the writer or speaker. Those payments are FICA or Federal Insurance Contribution Act insurance payments. Social Security payments to recipients are not welfare or operating expenses of the federal government; they are insurance benefits paid to people who paid into the Social Security insurance system, a quid pro quo. I can build a case Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid should not be listed as part of the federal government budget. This whole operation is a large insurance company run by the federal government for the health and welfare of US citizens, producing monetary benefits related to premiums paid, potentially a very successful insurance company, given federal power to determine by law fair prices for drugs, surgeries, and hospital stays charged policy holders. During various years after the creation of the social security system in 1935 social security payouts to beneficiaries were less than premiums paid into the system from deductions from payrolls and organizational profits and revenues, now about 6.2 percent for employees and about 6.2 percent for organizations, about 12.5 percent of yearly income per insured person overall, up to a certain level of income, now $128,400 per year. This formula generated a surplus of over $3 trillion dollars up to 2018, piled up in a Social Security Trust Fund, which the federal government borrowed from in various years to pay its bills for discretionary activities and operations, including dramatic and unnecessary military adventures, and all the rest. Unfortunately yearly social security premiums paid in are now less than social security payments paid out to beneficiaries, counting Medicare and Medicaid, and the federal government is now having to borrow money elsewhere yearly to pay back what it borrowed/robbed from its Social Security Trust Fund piggy bank through time, robbing Peter to pay Paul you might say, caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Unfortunately this borrowing is not reflected in the yearly stated US budget deficit. The US federal government in fiscal 2019 will have to borrow more than $1 trillion, maybe as much as $1.3 trillion, assuming it can continue to find ordinary people, corporations, central banks, and government agencies willing and able to buy its treasury notes, bills, and bonds. For more background and details go here, https://www.ssa.gov/oact/TRSUM/.

“Yellen says rising deficit is unsustainable: ‘If I had a magic wand, I would raise taxes’,” by Fred Imbert, CNBC.COM, https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/30/yellen-says-rising-us-deficit-unsustainable-if-i-had-a-magic-wand-i-would-raise-taxes.html?__source=sharebar|facebook&par=sharebar.

November 14

Trump has told us he is a “stable genius,” whatever that means. Seems to me he would have to be some sort of idiot to say and do some of the things he comes up with, such as blaming Californians for the unprecedented wildfire disaster that has befallen their state, and threatening to withhold federal aid to deal with the aftermath. Not only does he ignore the facts of situations and their causes and consequences, an indicator of low intelligence, he is almost devoid of tact and empathy, prime characteristics of sociopaths.

“Forty-Eight Dead and Counting From California’s Deadliest Wildfire,” by Dahr Jamail, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/48-dead-and-counting-from-californias-deadliest-wildfire/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR0jl_F5dVmxMohQHYGPeuUi_9OEBpWOLTiufgCCeWHmWGQzedXrbtEyyvI.

November 12

Pathetic the way world wars happen.

“I felt then, as I feel now, that the politicians who took us to war should have been given the guns and told to settle their differences themselves, instead of organizing nothing better than legalized mass murder,”
by Harry Patch, the last veteran of WWI, who died in 2009 at 111 years old, presented by Christopher Lyden, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157019945019802&set=a.204060384801&type=3&theater.

November 12

Another peace advocate

“Albert Einstein: Rebel, failure, genius,: by Facebook Watch, https://www.facebook.com/LifeStories.Goalcast/videos/552138715245509/UzpfSTEwMDAwMDM0OTY1MTE4NjoyMDQxODc1OTQyNTAwNzA4/.

November 12

MAGA should be M”S”A”F”GA, make “some” Americans “feel” great again, maybe twenty-five percent of eligible US voters. That’s all Trump can accomplish.

While Paul Steet’s wording in this article may be inflammatory and overly harsh in the eyes of some he paints a relatively true picture of the subject state of affairs. One can build a plausible case the taking of the territory of the US, Canada, Mexico, and the nations of Central and South America from native inhabitants was caused by the greed of rich Europeans and the desperate grinding poverty of poor Europeans. Had Europeans not been moral and economic failures they would not have destroyed the original human inhabitants of “America”. They would have stayed where they were.

“When America Was Great, Savage White Un-Settlers Raped a Continent and Assaulted a Planet,” by Paul Street, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/10/26/when-america-was-great-savage-white-un-settlers-raped-a-continent-and-assaulted-a-planet/?fbclid=IwAR2kin4kjL1AGjw9bou205JF9dzK4y3cDqpvSHjd7yhcl0QoxCJ234KqL3M.

November 12

More than a grain of truth here.

“The Republican Plan to Dumb Down America,” by Colbertepisodes, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10217817168845016&set=a.10202176615200950&type=3&theater.

November 12

Say it ain’t so Joe

“The Best Way to Honor War Veterans Is To Stop Creating Them,” by Caitlin Johnstone, https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/the-best-way-to-honor-war-veterans-is-to-stop-creating-them-a034a2714499?fbclid=IwAR1F8WdXz4FMo-w2TL-oRs0IFGMlooDcukPnWpqzl4r-edcw87zSJpZpV68.

November 12

David Stockman rides again.

“Stockman: The Nation’s Fiscal Doomsday Machine is Now Unstoppable,” ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-09/stockman-nations-fiscal-doomsday-machine-now-unstoppable?fbclid=IwAR0oEQ1JW1RKQUJLSQ3_s4PKjV2Sq-Nqd45zXYFCmIPK_n1PCt6HYoscpZI.

November 12

Relevant facts on healthcare.

“Half of Health Spendoing in the US is Now Government Spendng,” Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-09/half-health-spending-us-now-government-spending?fbclid=IwAR0CS9xoAmsZzikWkwAAZrYCvU4N2w-noVwZY3rjlFWoUhJTEoT1KXNXd3w.

November 12

I still cannot get rid of the idea that the US is supposed to be the good guy. This sort of thing is what Josef Stalin used to do in his communist Russia with his gulags.

“Crucifying Julian Assange” by Chris Hedges, TRUTHDIG.COM, https://www.truthdig.com/articles/crucifying-julian-assange/.

November 12

Say it ain’t so Joe

“56 U.S. Military Interventions in Latin America,” by LiberationNews.Org, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156245035571936&set=a.386595276935&type=3&theater.

November 11

I never knew England and France started WWI. Unfortunately WWIII won’t be like WWI. It will be many orders of magnitude more horrible, if it happens.

“Margolis: We Are Heading For Another Tragedy Like World War I,” Eric Margolis, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-11/margolis-we-are-heading-another-tragedy-world-war-i?fbclid=IwAR3vmkSYswHjega8OVNwsoVAE96yEUtAtIGEEq7c2gW_HtmH2PCtrkDuTiQ.

November 11

Unfortunately this well written article is relevant.

“The Second Time as Farce: We’ve Seen It All Before,” by Jason Hirthler, INTREPIDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25542.

November 11

Right on.  According to the article, “The good news is that Democrats will take over the House of Representatives and hold onto or take back governorships in the upper Midwest and elsewhere.  That less odious duopoly party also did well in statewide elections all over the country, and about as well as could be expected in gerrymandered state legislatures.”

“What now?” by Andrew Levine, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/09/what-now/?fbclid=IwAR3WsIZ-dT2kDY9W2S135Q_I4yTopTp4C1PwfVK0bitAAYkwrJlCxFrMRnc.

November 11

The whole idea and plan is outdated. It’s absurd that small rural states should be given disproportionate power to run the whole country. Two senators per state might have been a good idea to sell the US constitution in the first place, but it’s no longer rational. The US is no longer a union of independent states, just like a state is not a union of independent counties. How absurd would it get to call each state the United Counties of whatever the name of the state is? Or each county the United Precincts of whatever the name of the county is? Either abolish the US Senate or increase and decrease the number of senators per state to make representation in the senate proportional to population in the state, thereby making all votes equal in power. And maybe come up with another name for the United States of America, such as Murica.

“The Senate is an Institutional Barrier to Democracy,” by Sohale A Mortazavi, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/the-senate-is-an-institutional-barrier-to-democracy/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR2MtTnGIbTGOxl9cEiXEVxli_lwxph9mztoEb-ubgMmLIkxreQ33FOazoo.

November 11

Life not being easy for most people living in the US most don’t want to know about the economic, political, and military atrocities of their people that have been a significant cause of living conditions getting so bad in various countries south of the US border that millions of people born there were and are willing to do almost anything to get inside the US to compete for a better life.

“US Must Take Responsibility for Asylum Seekers and Their History That Drives Them,” by David L. Wilson, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/us-must-take-responsibility-for-asylum-seekers-and-their-history/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR3flV92yskZtbsCU-1Yhc_tO3X2AtMvfCSILiZMLaxssQt_KFsq9i16mEc.

November 9

Here is another helpful article by Joyce Wilson, an Effective Learning Report correspondent, for teaching your children at home.

“How to Use Educational Online Tools to Entertain Kids on a Rainy Day,” by Joyce Wilson, EFFECTIVELEARNING.NET, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/how-to-use-educational-online-tools-to-entertain-kids-on-a-rainy-day/?fbclid=IwAR1jzar5UMu7e7M5sT3_17DcdPWFgfzhBP1v4cYu1B-lQJnEjW1TnHGrdrE.

November 9

What is going on here? Ordinary life, sex, religion, alcohol, street drugs, and other narcissistic thrills and comforts are not enough to produce dopamine highs? Hopelessness? How can anyone be truly happy with all the corruption and idiocy going on around Spaceship Earth? So you have to do something like this to prove you exist or have significance? Do some ecociders think they are making heroes out of themselves by killing others and themselves, thereby reducing environmental stress and decay by removing human genes from the causative factors, thereby improving the chances of long-run survival for all Earthians? If so, who are the worst survival threat contributors? Happy superior-feeling joyous horny cis-gendered humans with plenty of dopamine who sexually produce too many future selfiecidal depressed offspring?  Is it more moral to be depressed than happy?

For more on the natural purposes, uses and effects of dopamine read this, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine.

“Selfiecide,” Sunday Chronicle Cover Story, DECCANCHRONICLE.COM, https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sunday-chronicle/cover-story/050217/selfiecide.html?fbclid=IwAR0QwLGD5oFahZDoUPhD35qgObnUMVsUhCU-xPeMERdfxd-0EamFcyHWFRY.

November 9

They don’t “make” money they “take” money.

“Billionaires Made More Money in 2017 Than Any Other Year in History,” by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/billionaires-made-more-money-in-2017-than-any-other-year-in-history/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare&fbclid=IwAR32gHZ-2iqY_cX_ZV25X0UjDIJUADtv1KGC1MT303iv2OZkYnVfb8qdXSM.

November 9

Of course, we’ve had it.

“How Aristocracies are Born,” by Josh Hoxie, COURNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/09/how-aristocracies-are-born/?fbclid=IwAR1MNMdfNLyXvPfhwfGIjDLF7DgT6ZMAoZep2XCNr4CZZbv-LWO-uH2cIso.

November 9

And I used to think the US was the good guy.

“The Malevolent Hypocrisy of Selective Sanctions,” by Brian Cloughley, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/09/how-aristocracies-are-born/?fbclid=IwAR1MNMdfNLyXvPfhwfGIjDLF7DgT6ZMAoZep2XCNr4CZZbv-LWO-uH2cIso.

November 9

Say What? We have no defense against it, you say?  You mean the finest fighting force in history is powerless to shoot this thing down?  I thought the biggest problem the US’s finest fighting force in history had was finding enough enemies to fight to justify the money it costs US taxpayers, based on a cost/benefit analysis.

“Russia Deploys Its Avangard Hypersonic Glide Vehicle,” by Andrei Akulov via The Stragegic Culture Foundation, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-08/russia-deploys-its-avangard-hypersonic-glide-vehicle?fbclid=IwAR3LmGQGwFnaCAqmIfALOlqVDQMqHbmN8W4r4K7k05OwYO13d9TpwMV6cg0

November 9

An abomination of our time, hungry phone jackals scavenging for any scrap of cash they can swindle at any time; it’s not that all of them are inherently malevolent, they just have to make a living doing what they do. What a world. Looks like the US Federal Communications Commission ought to be able to do something to stop this.  I get my privacy and my productivity interrupted about ten times a day by these jackals, and it’s pissing me off more all the time.  And, no, there is no way I can block them by punching something on my phones.  Apparently you can block some of them with a smart phone, which I have no intentions of buying.  You have to respond to the jackals if you receive any relevant calls at all from ok people, otherwise you miss out on something valuable.

“Why robocalls have taken over your phone: The scourge isn’t going away,” by Colin Lecher, THEVERGE.COM, https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/7/18069178/end-robocalls-lawsuits-do-not-call-registry-ftc?fbclid=IwAR2vQaglzKF2IPFP2xmI5ITgIKA26RmHLhBNJnkHxBkiKFCM8-tRQgkstws.

November 9

The way to grow GDP is to produce more goods and services, not create and borrow more money.

“Why we get bad diagnoses for the world’s energy-economy problems,” by Gail Tverberg, OURFINITEWORLD.COM, https://ourfiniteworld.com/2018/11/07/why-we-get-bad-diagnoses-for-the-worlds-energy-economy-problems/?fbclid=IwAR0MMP7xnh8bWeuf6rRooCK8OF-5VWMW5uzIbiiCywKmJrH5tIf7DeZrYqg.

November 9

Hopefully close to zero.

“What are the chances that America’s disunion turns into Civil War?” by Ian Morris, MARKETWATCH.COM, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-are-the-chances-that-americas-disunion-turns-into-civil-war-2018-11-07?mod=mw_share_facebook&fbclid=IwAR0RTFRuoR9ANeFT_NfRJoBnL1p-ezyyutKZdITmyoXdvmGqXfVCj4wZuUI.

November 9

Excellent article. I vote for alternative three.

“It’s Not the End of the World,” by Jeff Thomas, INTERNATIONALMAN.COM, https://www.deccanchronicle.com/sunday-chronicle/cover-story/050217/selfiecide.html?fbclid=IwAR0QwLGD5oFahZDoUPhD35qgObnUMVsUhCU-xPeMERdfxd-0EamFcyHWFRY.

November 8

I used to think computers could not do anything humans did not instruct them to do. The problem is that humans may not be smart enough to be aware of everything they have allowed computers to do within the bounds of their instructions.

“The Dystopian Future of Facebook,” by Mark Kernan, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/08/the-dystopian-future-of-facebook/?fbclid=IwAR0_3O3Yt-w_JmmEoLn9Y39MRPZVNbvqW_xe0vqH3Zdds92baVktOOAAsH8.

November 7

Say it aint so Joe

“The Troika of Tyranny: The Imperialist Project in Latin America and Its Epigones,” by Roger Harris, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/11/07/the-troika-of-tyranny-the-imperialist-project-in-latin-america-and-its-epigones/?fbclid=IwAR1GciQ1aLnj2_9x3bngd2YsiURRHhR5z4UVGjNAe84TlB0b7SKTxNyQrr8.

November 5

Scary article, but small business people are not rich. There never was much to tax there.  There is a big difference between small business and big business.  Small business owners are mostly like we the people, having little wealth and power relative to the billionaire big business oligarchs who run the world.

“Turn Off, Tune Out, Drop Out – Small Business On The Brink,” by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog, ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-05/turn-tune-out-drop-out-small-business-brink?fbclid=IwAR30BRRTLapyIymXnaYF5PT0PtaNuPp0Ea6jZ2pE5Y5Bv4Kb1oU3XjtkQag.

November 5

What is a fourth turning?

“The Fourth Turning & War Of The Worlds,” by Administrator, THEBURNINGPLATFORM.COM, https://www.theburningplatform.com/2018/11/04/the-fourth-turning-war-of-the-worlds/.

 

TO RESPOND:

Just for the fun of it, go to my RESPONSES page on our website and play like you are a virtual Spaceship Earth, Inc. stockholder, owning one imaginary share of virtual stock, which I hereby figuratively grant you, along with all humans around Earth, giving you equal theoretical power to make decisions about how to manage Spaceship Earth, Inc. Tell other stockholders what you think the problems and opportunities are, what the alternatives are, and what you think should be done to make for smoother sailing for everyone.

Also feel free to say what you think pro or con about anything I or any of the authors of the articles cited above said in this issue of The Earthian.

Say whatever you want to say in response to the facts, analysis, conclusions, perspectives, etc. offered by the writers, pro or con, but please no ad hominem attacks, i.e., don’t try to prove you are right in your argument by illogically slandering or demeaning the personal characteristics, behaviors, intelligence, or integrity of the person you are arguing against.

I have no desire to sell subscriptions or advertising or solicit donations, but I would like to sell more books. If you feel you have gained value from this blog or any page on our website and want to reciprocate go to our Effective Learning Publications page, Amazon.com, or any brick and mortar bookstore, and purchase one or more of my books for yourself or others.

Feel free to forward, share, print, reprint, copy or otherwise disseminate this issue of The Earthian any way you see fit.

Best wishes, RJS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Use Educational Online Tools to Entertain Kids on a Rainy Day

 By Joyce Wilson

Being stuck inside on a rainy day can be a bit boring for students. With autumn and winter keeping temperatures cooler and weather wetter, educators and parents need to be prepared to keep kids busy when they’re stuck inside. Here are some engaging, educational activities you can prepare to keep students from getting bored:

Work on Everyday Math Applications

Math is an essential life skill for children to learn. But for many children, math isn’t always their favorite subject. When it’s raining outside, try coming up with fun and interesting ways to help children work on math applications in everyday life. Use these math lesson plans to help get the fun started. From architecture to space exploration, there are so many ways for students to use math in interesting, practical ways. Kids will learn about real-world applications for math, which will strengthen their academic ability while setting them up for success in their potential future careers.

 Engage in Simple Science Experiments  

Science is another vital subject for students to learn. Along with technology, engineering and math, science is an important part of the all-important STEM field. Since so many future jobs will be based in STEM (all of which will have great financial opportunity), getting students interested in these subjects is crucial to preparing them for their adult lives. Science experiments are wonderful visual and hands-on tools to teach children. By engaging them in a simple science experiment, like making a glass of lava, you can open up their minds to the wonders of science.

 Create Some Arts and Crafts

For busy students, art can be a great way to release stress and calm any anxieties. This is especially helpful for students who may be fearful of storms and bad weather. Create some lesson plans centered on helping children create some colorful crafts and artwork. They can make their own homemade puffy paint or use materials you’ve already purchased to be prepared for these rainy autumn days. Stock up on paper, brushes, markers and any other basic art materials. Be sure to cover floors so they don’t get messy, and provide aprons or encourage children to wear clothes that they don’t mind getting dirty.

Burn Off Some Excess Energy  

Kids can get a bit antsy when the weather keeps them from playing outside. Play is such an important part of children’s development that the UN designated it a basic human right for children. You can get kids active while they’re stuck inside by following along with some exercise videos. Exercise videos geared toward kids are set up like play, and allow children to stay active while having fun. If you’re in need of something a bit more calming, try switching on a fun yoga tutorial to help children unwind.

Put on a Concert

Music is an entertaining and engaging way to pass the time during rainy weather. If you have instruments handy, look up some lessons online to help children practice their musical skills. No instruments? That’s not a problem, since children can use some basic materials to craft easy-to-make instruments of their own. Even without any instruments at all, kids will enjoy singing and dancing along to their favorite tunes. There are so many ways to use music to help kids learn and stay alert on those rainy days.

Act Out a Play

The arts, including theatre, are an important part of any comprehensive academic experience. If you need to keep kids busy while stuck inside, why not help them put on a play? This can even be a multi-day activity, where children can build their play from start to finish using online tutorials and resources. You can have them build the sets using practical math skills, put together costumes, write a script, and learn lines for scenes. There are so many elements to theatre that are educational and fun for children to experience.

Rainy autumn and winter weather doesn’t have to keep students from having fun. There are so many resources online to help you plan your rainy-day lessons and activities, so don’t let bad weather get your children down!

Contact Joyce Wilson at joyce@teacherspark.org, Teacherspark.org.

 

One More Time: “Payroll taxes” ARE NOT TAXES!

By Richard John Stapleton

Anybody should have known the Trumpies significantly lowering federal income taxes for elite rich civilians would increase the budget deficit, as would significantly increasing military expenditures for poor soldiers, sailors, and airmen, and their staff, and their fat cat civilian corporate suppliers.

According to this article the federal deficit reached about $800 billion for fiscal 2018. It is expected to rise to about $1 trillion in fiscal year 2019, the worst ever, starting October 1, 2018.

As shown here the federal budget is composed of mandatory spending for such things as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for US citizens and discretionary spending for such things as military employees, hardware, wars, and adventures.

Much lying and confusion goes on regarding the funding of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Most of the time in mainstream media people say money ordinary people pay for Social Security from their paychecks and organizational revenues are “payroll taxes,” which is a misnomer, or a lie, depending on the knowledge and intention of the writer or speaker. Those payments are FICA or Federal Insurance Contribution Act insurance payments.

Social Security payments to recipients are not welfare or operating expenses of the federal government; they are insurance benefits paid to people who paid into the Social Security insurance system, a quid pro quo.

I can build a case Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid should not be listed as part of the federal government budget. This whole operation is a large insurance company run by the federal government for the health and welfare of US citizens, producing monetary benefits related to premiums paid, potentially a very successful insurance company, given federal power to determine by law fair prices for drugs, surgeries, and hospital stays charged policy holders.

During various years after the creation of the Social Security system in 1935 social security payouts to beneficiaries were less than premiums paid into the system from deductions from payrolls and organizational revenues, now about 6.2 percent for employees and about 6.2 percent for organizations, about 12.5 percent of yearly income per insured person overall, up to a certain level of income, now $128,400 per year. This formula generated a surplus of about $3 trillion dollars up to 2018, piled up in a Social Security Trust Fund, which the federal government borrowed from in various years to pay its bills for discretionary activities and operations, including dramatic and unnecessary military adventures, and all the rest.

Unfortunately yearly social security premiums paid in are now less than social security payments paid out to beneficiaries, counting Medicare and Medicaid, and the federal government is now having to borrow money elsewhere yearly to pay back what it borrowed/robbed from its Social Security Trust Fund piggy bank through time, robbing Peter to pay Paul you might say, caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Unfortunately this borrowing is not reflected in the yearly stated US budget deficit. The US federal government in fiscal 2019 will have to borrow more than $1 trillion, maybe as much as $1.3 trillion, assuming it can continue to find ordinary people, corporations, central banks, and government agencies willing and able to buy its treasury notes, bills, and bonds. For more background and details go here.

A major problem with this article , as with thousands of others, is that social security payments are not payroll taxes; they are FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) contributions to an insurance plan, as shown here. You pay premiums into the insurance plan and you take your chances. You may get more out in benefits than you pay in, as is true with any insurance policy; but you might not. If you die early you won’t get as much out as you paid in. The fact the social security system piled up a surplus of some three trillion dollars from 1935 to 2018 indicates a lot of people have received less than they paid into the insurance plan.

Who was it that came up with the idea of calling FICA contributions payroll taxes in the first place, and for what purpose, to undermine the whole idea of selling and producing social security for all US citizens?

True enough the 1935 social security plan for all US citizens, now including Medicare and Medicaid, needs some calibration with respect to premium cash inflows and benefits cash outflows to remain viable indefinitely, not costing US taxpayers anything if well managed, as was the case for many years, saving many of them thousands of dollars over a lifetime; but even so the original social security business plan has years to go before it exhausts the cash surplus it generated, a surplus that was borrowed from in various years by profligate federal politicians to pay yearly pork barrel discretionary expenses they authorized to get reelected, aggregating a large loan they and their ilk are now begrudgingly having to pay back to the social security system, a legally obligated loan repayment mind you, not a frivolous discretionary pork barrel line item expense, or military expenses. 

And for sure Social Security payments paid out to beneficiaries are not an implied unearned handout that caused the dramatic increase in the US budget deficit after the Trumpies took over, called an “entitlement” by bought and paid for politicians, such as Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.

Writers and speakers of all ilks, from bought and paid for propaganda mouthpieces to sincere truth-tellers, with evil and non-evil intent, on purpose with malice aforethought or inadvertently, generally demean, belittle, and besmirch the enlightened and highly effective US Social Security insurance plan for all citizens by labeling its premium payments the inaccurate, mean-spirited, pejorative, demeaning, rancor-engendering, confusion-sowing term “payroll taxes.”

It’s time to stop this sadistic scurrilous madness once and for all and get back to calling these premium payments what they used to be called, “FICA contributions,” an appropriate label honoring a magnificent piece of legislative wisdom in US history, the Federal Insurance Contribution Act of 1935.

 

Richard John Stapleton, PhD, CTA, an emeritus professor of entrepreneurship, organizational behavior, and business policy, is the Editor & Publisher of the Effective Learning Report, and a founder, owner, and operator of a profit-making small business, Effective Learning Company,

Feel free to forward, share, copy, print, reprint, or otherwise disseminate this article any way you see fit.

THE EARTHIAN 4

THE EARTHIAN    4

Effective Learning Publications, Richard John Stapleton, Editor & Publisher, 32 East Main Street, Statesboro, Georgia, USA, www.effectivelearning.net , October 14, 2018

Or So It Seems to Me Today

By Richard John Stapleton, PhD, CTA

My weltanschauung  has not changed much since the publication of The Earthian   3  last month; but unfortunately it does seem to me the Doomsday Clock has moved several more nanoseconds closer to Midnight.

Earthians are in a Catch-22 damned if they do and damned if they don’t situation; caught between a rock and a hard spot, or the devil and the deep blue sea; up the creek without a paddle; caught behind the eight ball; enmeshed more than ever in a Gordian Knot of rising obscene income and wealth inequality, financial manipulation, environmental destruction, global warming, military hatred, and social misery; sorely in need of rational and benevolent political leadership; being generally ruled at the highest levels by thugs, bullies, and ruffians who have taken over political playgrounds.

Thanks to unbridled sexual urges humans continue to breed children at a geometric rate, adding more and more humans to an already overpopulated Earth, requiring more and more production of goods for humans to consume, requiring the destruction of more and more natural resources, creating more and more pollution of Earth’s atmosphere, creating more and more global warming, which seems to be accelerating more than experts thought it would, creating more and more competition among people and nations for diminishing resources, creating more and more fear and hatred among people and nations, causing more and more production of war materials and military expenditures for military hardware and troops, leading to more and more military tensions around Earth, increasing the probability a madman will shoot off a big nuclear bomb that lands on a big city, setting off a catastrophe that could lead to human extinction.

If nuclear weapons don’t bring on a catastrophe global warming will, as sea levels rise and Earth gets so hot food cannot be grown in most places, assuming significant reductions in atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane do not happen, as seems likely, as humans continue to irresponsibly produce too many new hungry mouths to feed caused by their unrestrained sexual appetites, even assuming abortions are not made illegal by moral extremists in more and more countries, thereby precluding peacefully reducing the human population aboard Spaceship Earth through attrition, natural deaths exceeding births over time, to eliminate the need to destroy more and more natural resources and burn more and more fossil fuel, and on an on, thereby exacerbating and accelerating dangerous global processes and trends causing the Doomsday Clock to tell the time it does.

In other words, the deck is stacked against us.

I have used the word Earthian since encountering it in the 1970s in Buckminster Fuller’s book Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. It is my understanding that Fuller invented the word Earthian, and the appellation Spaceship Earth, implying Earth is something that has to be preserved by humans monitoring regular interdependent physical processes in the infinity of airless time and space—such as, for example, trees and other plants emitting oxygen that humans and other animals breath; with humans, other animals, and various processes emitting carbon dioxide that plants ingest, to make new oxygen in hopefully never ending interdependent closed systems. Such systems have to remain in synchronous interdependent regularities, requiring not cutting down and burning too many trees, and not putting too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere burning fossil fuels, as humans should know by now given what they have heard, seen, and read in various media about global warming, evidenced first-hand by anyone merely walking outside these days in broad daylight, feeling the heat coming down as if emitted from a heat lamp three feet away—and by daily posts on the Internet about heat and wildfires burning anything that will burn on various spots of terra firma around Spaceship Earth.

What is an Earthian? The term includes more than humans: it includes all species of fauna and flora around Earth.

The purpose of The Earthian is to advocate preserving all species around Spaceship Earth, not just human cultures and right wing or left wing political extremists, especially rich oligarchs now constructing themselves underground bunkers to survive what they call “The Event” that they think will wipe out most humans. The purpose of The Earthian is not to cause humans to learn something just for the sake of learning it, or something that might make their personal lives better, but to learn something that might help all species aboard Spaceship Earth survive, by encouraging humans to become better stockholders and managers of what I call Spaceship Earth, Inc.

See my article “Toward the Creation of Spaceship Earth Incorporated,” published in MWC News (Media With Conscience) for some hopeful ideas on how humans might pull Spaceship Earth out of its nosedive into catastrophe.   

 As usual this month’s The Earthian links and cites recent articles written and published by clear and 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 the overall lay of the land, 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. I start off this month citing my article, not the deepest or most cogent of those cited, but presenting a fuller analysis of what caused me to write this month’s “Or So It Seems To Me” editorial comment.

SOURCES:

October 14, 2018

In this article I point out some human processes that make it hard to change the course of human history; but I also recommend some processes for dealing with them, however unlikely it is significant changes will be made any time soon—yet hopefully happening before it’s too late.

SOURCE: “Whence We Came, Whither We Go,” by Richard John Stapleton, EFFECTIVELEARNING.NET, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/from-whence-we-came-whither-we-go/.

October 13

Are hurricanes getting worse because of global warming and climate change? Pity the poor folks who lost everything they had. Any of us living in the Caribbean, near the Gulf of Mexico, or near the east coast of the US could be next.

SOURCE: “With Sniffer Dogs and Hope, Rescue Teams Comb Shambles Left by Hurricane Michael,” by Particia Mazzei and Audra D. S. Burch, NEWYORKTIMES.COM, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/13/us/hurricane-michael-fema-search-rescue-florida.html.

October 13

So it seems

SOURCE: “Stark political divide points to a split decision in midterm elections,” by Paul Kane, the Washington Post, GAZETTEMAIL.COM, https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/politics/stark-political-divide-points-to-a-split-decision-in-midterm/article_8973cd41-481f-598b-8251-9b1562c1fdb8.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share.

October 13

To be or not to be a “people pleaser” will bedevil Michael Moore for some time, but probably not Obama, Biden, and Schumer, certainly not Trump, but the facts here show how difficult it is to discern what is really going on, and who is or is not to blame or praise for what. It seems we the people have had it no matter what.

SOURCE: “Michael Moore’s ‘Fahrenheit 11/9’ Shows Democrats’ Complicity in Electing Trump,” by Bruce E. Levine, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/moores-fahrenheit-11-9-shows-democrats-complicity-in-electing-trump/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare.

October 13

It’s a shame that Trump does not want to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia because a Washington Post columnist was allegedly killed by the Saudis in their embassy in Turkey; but he is fine with selling the Saudis arms to be used to kill thousands of innocent women and children in Yemen.

SOURCE: “Trump doesn’t want to stop arms sales deal with Saudi Arabia over missing journalist,” by Christal Hayes, USATODAY.COM, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/10/13/jamal-khashoggi-trump-saudi-arms-deal/1630693002/

October 12

Let’s hope Pepe Escobar’s prediction is off the mark, however plausible it seems.

SOURCE: “Future of Western Democracy Being Played Out in Brazil,” by Pepe Escobar, in Paris, Special to CONSORTIUMNEWS.COM, https://consortiumnews.com/2018/10/09/future-of-western-democracy-being-played-out-in-brazil/.

October 11

Not quite like trying to balance your family checking account, is it? In a case like this if you try enough things sooner or later something just might work, such as running for president of the US.

SOURCE: “You think the NY Times story on Trump’s Taxes was Revealing? There’s more…” by xaxnar Community, DAILYKOS.COM, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/10/1803360/-You-think-the-NY-Times-story-on-Trump-s-Taxes-was-Revealing-There-s-more.

October 11

Yeah, right

SOURCE: “Susan Collins Gets Six Figure Dark Money Payback For Kavanaugh ‘Yes’ Vote. But It’s Not A ‘Bribe’,” by Seashells Community, DAILYKOS.COM, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/10/1803421/-Susan-Collins-Gets-6-Figure-Dark-Money-Payback-For-Kavanaugh-Yes-Vote.

October 9

Say it ain’t so Joe

SOURCE: “Americans are Stuck in Abusive Relationships with Power,” by Michael Krieger, LIBERTYBLITZREIG.COM, https://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2018/10/09/americans-are-stuck-in-abusive-relationships-with-power/.

October 9

Not surprising

SOURCE: “Nikki Haley’s resignation comes one day after an ethics watchdog requested an investigation into her acceptance of free flights on private jets,” by Allan Smith, BUSINESSINSIDER.COM, https://www.businessinsider.com/nikki-haley-resign-investigation-flights-free-private-jets-2018-10?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=topbar&utm_term=desktop&referrer=facebook.

October 9

Say it ain’t so Joe

SOURCE: “Can’t Hit the Snooze Button no More,” by Marc Salomon, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/10/09/cant-hit-the-snooze-button-no-more/.

October 9

Say it ain’t so Joe

SOURCE: “Earth’s Ice Loss ‘Is a Nuclear Explosion of Geologic Change’,” by Dahr Jamail, TROUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/earths-ice-loss-is-a-nuclear-explosion-of-geologic-change/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare.

October 9

Never heard that story exactly that way before.

SOURCE: “Christopher Columbus and the potato that changed the world,” by Steve Hendrix, https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/10/08/christopher-columbus-potato-that-changed-world/?utm_term=.1759c0b4675f.

October 9

Paul Craig Roberts again tells it like he sees it.

SOURCE: “Erasing History, Diplomacy, Truth, and Life on Earth,” by Paul Craig Roberts, PAULCRAIGROBERTS.ORG, https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2018/10/09/erasing-history-diplomacy-truth-and-life-on-earth/.

October 6

Some graphic pictures

SOURCE: “South Carolina Still Grappling With Historic Flooding From Florence,” by Julie Dermansky, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/south-carolina-still-grappling-with-historic-flooding-from-florence/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare.

October 6

An interesting case of adaptation to the 2007 neoliberal ripoff.

SOURCE: “Waiting for Iceland’s Brave Stance Against Neoliberalism, 10 Years Later,” by Sam Knight, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/waiting-for-icelands-brave-stance-against-neoliberalism-10-years-later/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare.

October 4

Lunacy!

SOURCE: “US Openly Threatens Russia with War: Goodbye Diplomacy, Hello Stone Age,” by Peter Korzun, STRATEGIC-CULTURE.ORG, https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/10/04/us-openly-threatens-russia-with-war-goodbye-diplomacy-hello-stone-age.html.

October 4

So it seems

SOURCE: “Charting a Jagged Course Through the Apocalypse,” by Bill Blunden, COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/10/04/charting-a-jagged-course-through-the-apocalypse/.

October 4

BUSINESS PLANNING COURSE UPDATE

As mentioned in an email to my friends here is an update for the first Game-free BIG (Business Innovation Group) Business Planning course I have taught at the GA SO Univ City Campus in Statesboro, Georgia, located at https://cob.georgiasouthern.edu/big/.

We have now had two sessions of ten two-hour sessions planned for the course at 7-9 p.m on Monday evenings in the BIG facility. The first one lasted two and one-half hours and attracted four participants; the second one lasted one and one-half hours and attracted five participants.

Learning happened in both sessions. The sessions started off with an opportunity for participants to talk about whatever business planning thoughts they have been having about any problem—personal, local, national, or international—and get feedback from others in the group. The sessions then evolved into discussions of specific business planning issues participants have been working with.

From time to time I offered suggestions for information in my Business Voyages book (furnished free to participants) to learn general business planning concepts, techniques, and procedures.

All people in a capitalistic society such as we have in the US are on a business voyage whether they realize it or not. Their business planning issues are different at various ages and stages of life, but they all have business planning issues.

We expect to gain more participants as we go along. As I have pointed out this is an innovative course with no tests, no grades, and no teacher evaluations, that is non-sequential, i.e., learning in any session does not depend on learning gained in any other session. The course is basically a case method course in which participants learn about whatever business planning issues they happen to have on their minds that night, and the participants are the cases.

So far we have three participants working on specific things to do to make their business plans come true, which we hope they do, who can get feedback from the group in any session about what they think they have accomplished to actualize their plans.

It’s never too late to attend a session. If you cannot make session three, the next one, come to session six, or nine, or any session; if you can’t stay for the full two hours just get up and leave when you need to; join in the discussions if you want to if you come, if not that’s ok; but come and learn and teach something. You’ll be glad you did.

Once again the street address for the Business Innovation Group at the GA SO Univ City Campus is 58 East Main Street, Statesboro, Georgia, USA. The time for the next BIG Business Planning course session is 7-9 p.m. this coming Monday night. Hope to see you then and there.
The course is completely free of charge for all participants.

Feel free to forward, share, copy, or otherwise disseminate this update any way you see fit.

For background about the course, see my website for Effective Learning Company, a profit-making small business, at http://www.effectivelearning.net/.

For more on my qualifications for teaching the BIG Business Planning course go here http://www.effectivelearning.net/rjs-academic-vita.html.

To get a better idea of what is going on in the course get yourself a free Business Voyages Kindall Unlimited ebook at https://www.amazon.com/Business-Voyages-Schema…/…/B002GP76TA.

October 4

Here is Henry Giroux in 2008 writing about the possibilities Obama posed for creating a more integrated and powerful progressive intellectual force in US culture. For sure Obama was a vast improvement over Bush II, a low point for intellectualism in the White House. But here we are now in 2018 with Trump in the White House, without a doubt creating the lowest intellectual level ever reached in the White House, a president who goes around the country working his supporters into mob frenzies using simple bigoted vulgar sentences, coming across as an illiterate bully leading other bullies and ruffians who have taken over the playground at recess.

SOURCE: “Obama and the Promise of Education,” by Henry A. Giroux, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/henry-giroux-obama-and-the-promise-of-education/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare.

October 4

Tells it like it is

SOURCE: “How The Rich Are Destroying The Planet,” by Leslie Thatcher, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/how-the-rich-are-destroying-the-planet/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare.

October 4

Say it ain’t so Joe

SOURCE: “For Trump supporters, ‘the cruelty is the point,’ : Adam Serwer for The Atlantic,” by Dartagan Community, DAILYKOS.COM, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/3/1801285/–The-Cruelty-Is-The-Point-Adam-Serwer-for-The-Atlantic.

October 3

Another nail for the potential coffin, but so what. Our illustrious political hacks in Washington approved him anyway, one hundred percent party line voting. Talk about bought and paid for politicians.  This is it.

SOURCE: “150 mental health professionals sign letter calling for psychological assessment of Brett Kavanaugh,” by Walter Einenkel, DAILYKOS.COM, https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/3/1801166/-150-mental-health-professionals-sign-letter-calling-for-psychological-assessment-of-Brett-Kavanaugh.

October 2

Say it ain’t so Joe

SOURCE: “How the American media were destroyed,” by Paul Craig Roberts, INTREPIDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25260.

October 2

Generally agree except for his statement about free will. Seems to me people are caused to feel, think, and do what they do, sometimes by preachers and religions.

SOURCE: “Here’s the Truth Behind Thomas Jefferson’s Resolutely Liberal View of Religion: Are Thomas Jefferson’s not-so-radical religious views a remedy for the moral illnesses of our day,” by History News Network, ALTERNET.ORG, https://www.alternet.org/heres-truth-behind-thomas-jeffersons-resolutely-liberal-view-religion#.W7QHq85E23M.facebook.

October 2

Interesting

SOURCE: “The Changing American Population, 1610-2010,” by Manuel Garcia, Jr., COUNTERPUNCH.ORG, https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/09/28/the-changing-american-population-1610-2010/.

October 2

Great idea. Go for it.

SOURCE: “A Boost for the Worker-Owned Economy,” by Fran Korten, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/a-boost-for-the-worker-owned-economy/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare.

October 1

Here are three great articles by Courtenay Barnett, an international lawyer and Effective Learning Report correspondent living in the Caribbean about problems on the Turks and Caicos Islands caused by UK authorities mishandling mentally ill people, problems maybe worse than what US authorities inflict on mentally ill prisoners in the US.

SOURCE: “Mental Illness and Prison,” by Courtenay Barnett, SUNTCI.COM, http://suntci.com/mental-illness-and-prison-p3631-129.htm; http://suntci.com/mental-illness-and-prison-part-ii-p3654-129.htm; http://suntci.com/mental-illness-and-prison-part-iii-p3655-129.htm

October 1

Want a straightforward answer to this question? Here are some of the best I have seen. My wife told me today she heard on NPR the US is now increasing troops on the ground in Syria. If so this is a horrible mistake, possibly bringing on WWIII by threatening Russia. Why does the warmongering warmaking US keep trying to wipe out all strong regimes in the Middle East and North Africa? To better control the oil supply of course, but also to make it seem spending almost one trillion dollars per year on the US military is doing some good.

SOURCE: “What is the cause of the Syrian War in 2018?,” by Quora, QUORA.COM, https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-cause-of-the-Syrian-War-in-2018.

September 30

Say it ain’t so Joe. The repugs are destroying the US government, knowing full well these tax cuts are disastrous for the country as a whole.  They just don’t care.  They are stealing everything they can get their hands on while they can with their control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.

SOURCE: “Under the Fog of Kavanaugh, House passes $3.8 Trillion More in Tax Cuts,” by Glenn Fleishman, FORTUNE.COM, http://fortune.com/2018/09/28/house-3-8-trillion-tax-cut-passes/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-article&utm_content=20181001.

September 30

Food for thought

SOURCE: How Do We Change Our Lives in a System That’s Broken?,” by Charles Hugh Smith, CHARLESHUGHSMITH.BLOGSPOT.COM, https://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2018/09/how-do-we-change-our-lives-in-system.html.

September 30

It’s a new form of war.

SOURCE: “’It’s the Economy, Stupid’: What Really Drives US Sanctions Against Russia,” by Arkady Savitsky, STRATEGIC-CULTURE.ORG, https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/09/29/its-the-economy-stupid-what-really-drives-us-sanctions-against-russia.html.

September 29

I agree. While this sort of thing will make some small business entrepreneurs better off than they otherwise would have been, it will not make much difference in the overall state of affairs; the rich will continue to get richer and the poor and middle class will continue to stagnate or go down. The only things that will make significant change are things like significantly raising the tax rates of the rich, cutting military spending, and funding infrastructure projects to benefit the real US economy, creating aggregate demand for small businesses. In the long run you need to internationalize all large corporations producing the necessities of life and use management science techniques to distribute the output, along the lines of what I recommend in my seminal article, “The Evolution of Spaceship Earth, Inc.”

SOURCE: “Why Real Change Won’t Come From Billionnaire Philantropists,” by Richard Florida, CITYLAB.COM, https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/09/why-real-change-wont-come-billionaire-philanthropists/571354/?utm_source=fbb.

September 27

Say it ain’t so Joe

SOURCE: “Trump’s UN General Assembly dissembling and rage,” by Stephen Lendman, INTREPEDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/25222.

September 27

Wish I had known how to sleep better in high school.

SOURCE: “4 Tips for Better Sleep This School Year,” by Joyce Wilson, EFFECTIVELEARNING.NET, https://blog.effectivelearning.net/4-tips-for-better-sleep-this-school-year/.

September 26

Right on. Mainstream media are wrestling-like. We are living in a simulacrum.

SOURCE: “Professiional Wrestling and the Media,” by Jeff Thomas, INTERNATIONALMAN.COM, https://internationalman.com/articles/professional-wrestling-and-the-media/#.W6sFjCcGsaI.facebook.

September 24

Sounds about right to me.

SOURCE: “Naked Emperors Don’t Get Much Respect,” by Robert Gove, STRAIGHTLINELOGIC.COM, https://straightlinelogic.com/2018/09/24/naked-emperors-dont-get-much-respect-by-robert-gore/.

September 25

Say it ain’t so Joe

SOURCE: “Forty-five Blows Against Democracy: How US Military Bases Back Dictators, Autocrats and Military Regimes,” by David Vine, TRUTHOUT.ORG, https://truthout.org/articles/forty-five-blows-against-democracy-how-us-military-bases-back-dictators-autocrats-and-military-regimes/?utm_source=sharebuttons&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=mashshare.

September 25

Bring back Dan Rather

SOURCE: “Paul Craig Roberts: Welcome to the Truth-Free World,” ZEORHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-24/paul-craig-roberts-welcome-truth-free-world.

September 25

Agree

SOURCE: “The Four Diastrous Presidential Policies That Are Destroying The Nation,” ZEROHEDGE.COM, https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-09-24/paul-craig-roberts-welcome-truth-free-world.

September 24

Yep, it’s bleak all right.

SOURCE: “Why the American empire has lost control—and its failure is imminent – Macleans.ca,” by Brian Bethune, MACLEANS.CA, https://www.macleans.ca/politics/worldpolitics/why-the-american-empire-has-lost-control-and-its-failure-is-imminent/.

September 24

Say it aint so Joe

SOURCE: “Lest we forget one of Washington’s greatest crimes,” by William Blum, INTREPIDREPORT.COM, http://www.intrepidreport.com/archives/2519.

September 23

For good reason I suppose

SOURCE: “US Nuclear Safety: A Critical Problem That Has Largely Been Kept Out of the Public Eye,” by Peter KorZun, STRATEGIC-CULTURE.ORG, https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/09/22/us-nuclear-safety-burning-problem-largely-kept-away-from-public-scrutiny.html.

September 23

Crazy world we live in no doubt about that.

SOURCE: “Down with the Working Classes!,” by C. J. Hopkins, UNZ.COM, http://www.unz.com/article/down-with-the-working-classes/.

October 23

Socialism at its worst. No free market competition here. Everything is managed from the top down based on nefarious trade-offs and negotiations. Nobody knows what a F-35 really ought to cost. According to the Internet the cost might be about one hundred million dollars per plane, some $1.5 trillion for the whole program, per https://www.google.com/search?q=what+does+a+f-35+cost&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1.

SOURCE: “The Living Reality of Military-Economic Fascism,” by Robert Higgs, MISES.ORG, https://mises.org/library/living-reality-military-economic-fascism#.W6g0WbDebL4.facebook.

 

TO RESPOND:

Do Your Duty!

Just for the fun of it, play like you are a virtual Spaceship Earth, Inc. stockholder, owning one imaginary share of virtual stock, which I hereby figuratively grant you, just like all humans around Earth, giving you equal theoretical power to make decisions about how to manage Spaceship Earth, Inc. Tell other stockholders what you think the problems and opportunities are, what the alternatives are, and what you think should be done to better manage Spaceship Earth, Inc.

Also feel free to write what you think pro or con about anything I or any of the authors of the articles have written in this issue of The Earthian.

Type your responses at the top of my Facebook Page  where it says What’s On Your Mind?

But, Please, no vicious attacks, no slanders, no profanity. Say whatever you want to say in response to the facts, analyses, conclusions, perspectives, etc. offered by the writers, pro or con, but please no ad hominem attacks, i.e., don’t try to prove you are right in your argument by illogically slandering or demeaning the personal characteristics, beliefs, behaviors, or integrity of the person you are arguing against.

I have no desire to sell subscriptions or advertising or solicit donations, but I would like to sell more books. If you feel you have gained value from this blog or any page on our website and want to reciprocate go to our Effective Learning Publications page  , Amazon.com, or any brick and mortar bookstore and purchase one or more of my books.

Feel free to forward, share, print, reprint, copy or otherwise disseminate this issue of The Earthian any way you see fit.

Best wishes, RJS