Showing posts with label alexandria ocasio cortez. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alexandria ocasio cortez. Show all posts

Monday, September 23, 2019

Young Progressives Making Mistakes






Hillary Clinton wanted to become the first female President Of The United States so bad that she decided on the self-goal of not putting Elizabeth Warren on the ticket. Donald Trump did not make her do it. She did it herself.

A Clinton Warren ticket would have been the Clinton Gore ticket. It would have won in a landslide. But, hey, hooray for self goals.

These four are the real squad. But they don't know how to get along to go along. They don't know how to join forces. Only one will run for office. And we know ultimately it is about running for office. If you don't run and win, you are left petitioning.

Just like Hillary needed to put Warren on the ticket in 2016, these four need to merge their two organizations Justice Democrats and the Sunrise Movement into one organization to be called Green New Deal Nation and they need to really organize. This requires accepting AOC as the mascot. She is first in class. She is the natural political leader. And she is ready.

The planet is not going to run on your schedule. So you better run on the planet's schedule. The time is now. It is already late.

These three firebrands run around like headless chickens. They don't realize their work becomes so much easier if they can only learn to get along.

AOC's committee work in Congress is death by a thousand cuts. She needs to get out there, and she needs to get out there in a big way.

Political leadership is not about saying I have written the most research papers, or have read them, it is not about saying I have organized the most rallies, or even addressed them. That is where the other members of the squad come in.

Political leadership is saying I ran for office and I won. That is AOC.

Capitalism's Own Propaganda Machine
The Blockchain Will Make A Global Wealth Tax Possible

Capitalism's Own Propaganda Machine

Look at this.

News: Hong Kong, Vancouver, Diaspora Nationalism

Over a hundred million Chinese travel outside China every year. And, out of their own seeming free will, they travel back. China, obviously, is no North Korea. A lot of them will tell you, they support their government. They will line up arguments in its defense. What is going on? It is conditioning. And it is so total.

There is a similar conditioning in America. It is capitalist conditioning. The corporations that so own the political process, that so own the media, have also similarly conditioned 300 million Americans.

China needs a heavy dose of democracy. China needs to open up. That is the only way it will avoid the middle income trap. The only way China can hope to become a high tech superpower that it aspires to be is if there is free speech in China.

America also needs a fair dose of democracy. Right now it is not a democracy. America is corporate socialism. It is a corporate welfare state. It is a political system designed to work for the biggest corporation and its richest citizens. Not even the top 1% but 1% of that 1%.

The CCP has a political monopoly in China that needs to be broken. Similarly, the stranglehold of the 0.01% in America has to be broken. Then America will become a democracy.

There is need for triangulation. We want post-capitalism. We want post-communism. We want democracy. We want a market economy devoid of monopolies and oligarchies and one party ownerships.

Hong Kong should not try to imitate America. Hong Kong needs to show America the way.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Green New Deal Nation









Inequality And Climate Change Are Existential: A Blueprint For Survival
Towards A World Government
AOC 2028    


Thursday, September 12, 2019

Dem Debate: Texas Edition

Saturday, July 20, 2019

This Orange-Utang Of A President


This orange-utang of a president ("Orange is the new black!") who wants to send Ilhan "back," and Alex and Tlaib and Pressley "back," well, I have bad news for him. The mayor of the town in Germany from which his grandfather came to America has put out notice saying, "We don't want him back!" Looks like there is no place for Donald in Germany.




Video: Mayor says Trump will have to 'go back to hell'

Friday, July 19, 2019

These Are Concentration Camps On The Border

The US President is on record telling the top immigration law enforcement officer, if you break the law, I will pardon you. As in, break the law as much as you want. When you create such an environment, you will see the sociopaths and the sadists in such organizations gravitating towards the scenes of action. Obviously, the policy is break the families, traumatize the too young, torture as necessary. So as to send the message. Don't be coming over to the US border.

Then you bar journalists from getting anywhere near. Unless you are doing the illegal and the inhumane, why will you feel the need to deprive US journalists of their lawful rights? And how is it being possible to deny those rights? Of the journalists.

What are concentration camps?

These people are fleeing gang violence. They are fleeing other forms of violence. They are fleeing acute destitution due to things like hyperinflation brought about by US policies like economic sanctions.

This is cruelty. America is losing its character, slowly but surely.

The definition of a concentration camp is, are they being dehumanized before they are being eliminated? You don't need copycat gas chambers. Elimination by gang violence can also be counted. Dehumanization through the mouth of the President Of The United States counts. Filthy, racist talk, whether or not it be supported by polls counts. Racism is not okay, poll-tested or not.

The world is watching. God is watching.

Concentration camps are places where you keep people against their will (and, in this case, against the law) to dehumanize them so that when you later eliminate them there is little outcry. So the question is, are these people being dehumanized. They are. By the dude holding the biggest microphone in the country.

If the likes of them stay away from the border, might they be eliminated? Yes. Most of them are fleeing violence.

The Statue Of Liberty has become unnecessary in the New York harbor. It is an anachronism. Take it to the southern border. That land is the new ocean.

To call these camps concentration camps is not disrespect for the Holocaust victims. The only true way to honor them is to act so such acts are not repeated. Standing against border racism is honoring the Holocaust victims.

This country needs to protect itself first and foremost. Right now it is busy eating itself from the inside. It is fast losing its character, at least the official version of it.

Before Germany became officially a fascist country, it was a vibrant democracy of very well educated people. Before Hitler became a dictator, he was thought of a clown.

The time to speak up is now.

A lot of Americans opposed Jewish immigration in the 1930s. How is that for a comparison? There were organized efforts.



Monday, July 15, 2019

Trent Lott, Donald Trump And The United States: 2002 To 2020

Trent Lott resigned as Senate Majority Leader for making a comment that was perceived as racist. It was not even explicitly racist. He simply praised a guy who was out and out racist. That is all. But such was the political culture that he resigned.

Today! The guy in the Oval Office can tell four Congresswomen to go back to their countries while having conducted impeachable actions, all in a dossier provided by a former FBI Director ..... This country is coming off its wheels.


Lott resigns as US senate majority leader | US news | The Guardian The US senate majority leader, Trent Lott, bowed to the politically inevitable today and resigned his post as US senate majority leader, two weeks after praising the segregationist 1948 presidential campaign of Strom Thurmond. Republicans, Democrats and many media outlets have been calling for Mr Lott's head since his comments at a 100th birthday party for Mr Thurmond. Yesterday the country's most prominent black Republican, Colin Powell, went on record as "deploring the sentiments" expressed by Mr Lott at the now infamous party. The president's brother, Florida governor Jeb Bush, also signalled that he though Mr Lott should step down.

There was a time not long ago when Repulicans actually took a stand against racist comments.



'RACIST AND DISGUSTING': EX GOP CONGRESSMAN JUSTIN AMASH BLASTS TRUMP AFTER HE SAYS CONGRESSWOMEN SHOULD 'GO BACK' TO THEIR COUNTRIES
Trumpism is built on racism President Trump is a racist. This is the most important issue in the 2020 presidential campaign. Everything else is secondary....... This is not just a cosmetic political issue. Many of Trump's worst policies are arguably race-related: His administration's bids to undo the Affordable Care Act and scuttle the joint agreement halting Iran's progress toward a nuclear weapon do not stem from any real ideological motivation on his part — instead, he seems motivated primarily to undo the most notable policy achievements of his predecessor. Former President Barack Obama, of course, was another black politician whose citizenship was called into question by Trump. Again: That is probably not a coincidence. ............ Prejudice spans the breadth of presidential policymaking under Trump. His policies on immigration are designed to appeal to conservatives who believe the "ceaseless importation of Third World foreigners" is a national emergency. His administration's positions on the Census citizenship question, voting rights, and police powers, likewise, appear to be aimed mostly at preserving white political power in this country. Even his well-documented misogyny finds its fullest flower when aimed at women of color....... Racism is the foundation upon which Trumpist governance and politics are built. ....... when the president tells a handful of non-white liberal women to go back to where they came from? Crickets. ....... Pelosi can aid the cause of unity by finally giving her blessing to an impeachment inquiry against the president. ... Attempting to impeach the president is the right thing to do — and that's the only sufficient reason to do it — but the effort might also help unite her fractious caucus. ...... Trump has harnessed overt racism to a degree unmatched by any national politician since George Wallace; there is little historical reason to believe the prejudice he has unleashed will subside unless it is directly confronted and roundly defeated.

Trump’s racist outburst was unbelievably vile — but why is anyone surprised?
Trump opens new attack on AOC's 'squad' as he blasts Tlaib for vowing AGAIN to 'impeach the motherf***er' – and claims far-left lawmakers made Israel 'feel abandoned'
Ocasio-Cortez Rips Trump’s Racist Attack: Our Power ‘Makes You Seethe’
Stephen King Has A Chilling Theory On What Comes Next For Trump Supporters King asked: “How long before Trump supporters realize that you don’t surround yourself with dirty guys unless you’re dirty yourself?” ...... “I might’ve said he had his head somewhere where a certain yoga position would be necessary to get it there,” King explained last year. “And that was it, man.”
Ocasio-Cortez versus Pelosi: It’s a long-term power struggle — not a ‘catfight’ Conditions in our so-called republic are terrible, but never so bad that the political and social crucible of the Trump era can’t make them worse........ “Concentration camps” is an entirely accurate description, by the way, but call them whatever you like: Freedom dispensaries, indoor picnic areas, beach volleyball camps without beaches (or volleyballs). They are just one more ingredient in our national shame, confusion and collective trauma, and perhaps that’s the really shocking part. The gradual revelation that our government is holding unknown numbers of human beings in shocking and inhumane conditions — living in stench and filth, sleeping on concrete floors, denied basic standards of health or hygiene — becomes just another outrage on a seemingly endless list, and has left most Americans numb. ...... In the manner of bigots, xenophobes and nativists throughout our history, the grandson of immigrants suggested these four women of color should “go back” to their home countries........ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s parents are from Puerto Rico, which is … OK, never mind........

the American-born ancestry of Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who is black, precedes Donald Trump’s (or mine, or that of most white Americans) by many generations.

..... the racism and sadism of his administration’s immigration policy — if to call it “policy” at all is not an insult to language ..... Chakrabarti is perceived by some observers as the Rasputin behind the Squad’s agenda, which sounds like a grossly sexist assumption in general, and outright ludicrous when applied to these four women. But that’s where we are. ......... Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens, whose district adjoins Ocasio-Cortez’s. Meeks was recently “elected” to replace Crowley as Queens Democratic leader, in a rubber-stamp election held at a private meeting with roughly the same degree of transparency and democracy that attended local party elections in the Soviet Union. There were no other candidates....... If New York’s districts start to fall to left-wing insurgents, one by one, the nation will notice and the pattern will spread. If the pattern spreads, what is endangered is not just the power of certain individuals, but the entire theory of power that has driven the Democratic Party for generations. Those are literally the stakes.


AOC’s Chief of Change Chakrabarti is a new type on Capitol Hill: the movement chief of staff....... In my mind, an ideal situation is we have a president surrounded by a bunch of people who are constantly thinking how could we go bigger, bolder, faster, better on everything. … I don’t know if Inslee’s going to be president, but if he runs a really good campaign, maybe he ends up running a big agency. What’s the mind-set he’s going to bring to that agency?” ....... “The whole theory of change for the current Democratic Party is that to win this country we need to tack to the hypothetical middle. What I think that means is, you don’t take unnecessary risks, which translates to: You don’t really do anything. Whereas we’ve got a completely different theory of change, which is: You do the biggest, most badass thing you possibly can — and that’s going to excite people, and then they’re going to go vote. Because the reality is, our problem isn’t that more people are voting Republican than Democrat — our problem is most people who would vote Democrat aren’t voting.” ...... The son of immigrants from India, Chakrabarti grew up in Fort Worth. He graduated from Harvard with a computer science degree and went to work on the tech side of a hedge fund in Connecticut. After saving enough money to start his own company, he moved to San Francisco in 2009 and co-founded Mockingbird, a Web design tool. In 2011 he became one of the earliest employees of Stripe, the online payments platform. Chakrabarti and Ross Boucher, one of his colleagues on the Stripe product team, would work 70-hour weeks, eat dinner every night in the office, then go work out. ..... San Francisco was a shock ... it’s just huge amounts of wealth and some very rich people, and then just poverty and homelessness very visually and very viscerally ...... a learned cynicism, he thinks, of his generation having grown up watching wars, recession and bank bailouts. “We’ve only ever seen the establishment win,” he says. ...... Exley told me. “He was just a super-humble, super-level-headed guy. I always used to joke that he was the only emotionally healthy person in politics.” ....... formed a group called Brand New Congress with the mission to recruit hundreds of community leaders and working-class candidates to run on a vision of getting corporate money out of politics, tackling climate change, transforming the economy, providing health care for all, standing for racial justice and stemming mass incarceration. ....... “It was clear from the very beginning that the ship was moving with his guidance. … He was so focused that it naturally created a gravitational pull. … He was sort of relentless in that, and simultaneously just so pleasant, it was shocking. Almost not human. I used to say, ‘How do you stay so Zen?’ ” ...... many good people doing strong community work didn’t see the point of running for Congress. ...... “To boldly and decisively spur a people-led movement for social, racial, environmental and economic justice.” ....... voters really will turn out for bold ideas scaled big enough to tackle today’s crises of climate and inequality.



Lindsey Graham backs up Trump after his racist attacks on Dem women: ‘They hate our own country!’ “We all know that AOC and this crowd are a bunch of communists,” he said. “They hate Israel, they hate our own country, they’re calling the guards along our border concentration camp guards… they’re anti-Semitic, they’re anti-America.”
Trump Doubles Down: ‘Sad’ That Dems Stick Up for People ‘Who Speak So Badly of Our Country’
Trump calls on minority congresswomen to apologize after he said they should 'go back' to their countries
Donald Trump's racist tweets show he doesn't understand America

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Star Power: AOC And Pelosi Compared



When it comes to wattage, AOC is like a sun. Nancy Pelosi is like one of Jupiter's moons. Nancy Pelosi has never been a future president. Enough said. Some people are bigger than the chamber they are in. That does not apply to Nancy Pelosi.

A newly elected first black President Of The United States had to tell Nancy Pelosi: "I am not a stupid man!" Pelosi must have exhibited racist attitudes. Liberals can be plenty racist. Trump is from New York, after all. From Queens too, the most diverse large county in America.

There never were immigration laws when the Europeans came over. Latin America is the new Europe. Build a statue, not a wall.








Nate Silver's Midsummer Night's Dream





I am in broad agreement with Nate Silver here. He is that data guy. Only I venture forth to predict Joe Biden is going to sink like a stone as soon as people start tuning in. I don't see him winning either Iowa or New Hampshire. And then it is downhill from there. Harris will swamp Biden in South Carolina, should he not have already dropped out.

Between Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, I just don't know at this point. If Warren is the nominee, Kamala Harris will be the natural pick for VP. If Harris is the nominee, on the other hand, the reverse is not true. Warren perhaps will go on to become Majority Leader in the Senate. Harris might pick Pete. It will be a good Midwestern Rust Belt balance to the coastal highflies.

Harris is more muscular on gender than Obama ever was on race. I like her stand on pay equity. I like how she asks, which male body part is the government regulating? That little finger on your right?


Sunday, July 07, 2019

Every Deserted Mall Is A Future Smart Town



Economic change happens. There were no malls where there are malls. And malls going out of business is not all bad news. It is just change happening. Every abandoned mall can be turned into co-living and co-working spaces. Each abandoned mall can become a stand-alone town. Each abandoned parking lot is a potential RV town.

I hear there are people lined up at the border. Bring them in. Shift the Statue Of Liberty to the Mexico border. Latin America is the new Europe. Make America officially bilingual.

An abandoned mall already has the basic physical structure. You just need to redo some interior design. This can be big business.

Dormitory living is not such a bad idea for singles. Sometimes cheap is good.



Bring in 5G. Bring in 3D manufacturing. Take orders from wherever. Put people to work. Factory manufactured homes can be put on top of parking lots. We are going camping.









Thursday, June 06, 2019

Young And Progressive

57 percent of millennials call themselves consistently liberal or mostly liberal. Only 12 percent call themselves consistently conservative or mostly conservative. This is the most important statistic in American politics right now.
Recent surveys of Generation Z voters (those born after 1996) find that, if anything, they are even more liberal than millennials........ Only 16 percent of the Silent Generation is minority, but 44 percent of the millennial generation is. If you are a millennial in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona or New Jersey, ethnic minorities make up more than half of your age cohort. In just over two decades, America will be a majority-minority country....... Seventy-nine percent of millennials think immigration is good for America. Sixty-one percent think racial diversity is good for America...... They are much more sympathetic to those who identify as transgender. They are much more likely than other groups to say that racial discrimination is the main barrier to black progress. ....... conservative intellectuals seem hellbent on taking their 12 percent share among the young and turning it to 3.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

2020: The Year Of The Social Democrat

2020 is going to be the year of the Social Democrat. The New Democrat reign lasted from 1992 to 2016. Now the mainstream talk inside the Democratic Party is that of the Social Democrat. The most popular ideas are those pushed by the Social Democrats.

Inequality And Climate Change Are Existential: A Blueprint For Survival

The New Democrat claimed to have moved to "the center," wherever that was, whatever latitude and longitude. The Social Democrat has a strong, uncompromising focus on human capital and the environment, is unapologetic about tackling inequality. But the Social Democrat also must have an energized sense of the role of tech entrepreneurship in the solutions of tomorrow. In that sense, the Social Democrat occupies the revitalized center. The Social Democrat is not giving a leftward lurch to the party and abandoning all hopes of victory.

Inequality And Climate Change Are Existential: A Blueprint For Survival

The Universal Basic Income that Andrew Yang is talking about only truly works the way it is supposed to work when new technology has given the economy massive increases in productivity. In one projection the US starts seeing annual growth rates of 50%. You can not talk down those tech entrepreneurs. They are part of the solution.

Inequality And Climate Change Are Existential: A Blueprint For Survival

The wealth tax that Elizabeth Warren is talking about is the saving grace for capitalism. Inequality is as much an existential threat as climate change. 


Andrew Yang: Universal Basic Income, Elizabeth Warren: Wealth Tax

Andrew Yang is not a one trick pony, although he almost exclusively talks about the Universal Basic Income. His website has the richest policy proposals of any candidate with the possible exception of Elizabeth Warren. Elizabeth Warren's central idea is the idea of the wealth tax. I fully support. These are two ideas that can not lose, no matter if Andrew Yang and Elizabeth Warren win or not.

That is why the presidential campaign is so important. That is why the debates are so important. These two ideas have to be hammered into the political discourse.

Bernie Sanders, similarly, talks about Medicare For All. Many candidates do. But Bernie has been the most vocal. He was talking about it also in 2016. This is also an idea I like. Obviously, three people are not going to win. There will eventually be only one winner.

But all three of these ideas must win.

And there is the Green New Deal. It is not a specific idea right now. It is more of a conversation. It is more the outlines of a paradigm. And the face associated with it is not even running, can't run. But it is the biggest idea of all. And it also must win. All four ideas must win.

The one who will win will win. But the campaign has to be conducted in such a respectful way that all the candidates together build a platform that includes these wonderful ideas.