Up until today, I agreed with the popular notion that George W. Bush destroyed America’s economy. Then, I started reading Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Whew! She presents a whole new way of looking at what is going on now.
After the Great Depression, most folks thought a more socialist approach would be good--government FOR the people--a Keynesian approach to economics.
This went on until the 1980s, when Thatcher and Reagan fell under the spell of Milton Friedman, a famous economist, who said that free markets, completely unfettered, were the way to go.
Since the 1980s, the major players in the economic game have been playing by Friedman's rules, gradually eroding as many publicly-supported and taxpayer-funded programs as possible. I recall some of these actions, since a field of study I got a master's degree in sorta disappeared right after I got the degree in 1981. A side effect of these same philosophical and economic changes was the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Many of the folks in Bush's administration learned at Friedman's knee, and agreed that a completely unfettered, capitalist economy was the way to go.
This is hard to implement, since so many people think that government is a public entity, and is there to serve the public.
It wasn't until 9/11 that disaster capitalism was able to really take hold in this country. People were so frightened, that, just like victims of torture, they were not able to stand up for themselves, they agreed to have many of their rights taken away, and they agreed to just about anything the government wanted to do. As Friedman himself said, "only a crisis--actual or perceived--produces real change." So, a lot of money went into Homeland Security, and away from public programs. More and more, private corporations began to provide services to the military, to prisons, etc. Just think Halliburton. Now, we have a system of corporatist rule, where much public money goes directly to corporations, who are now a sort of defacto government for-profit.
The U. S. is not the only country in which this has occurred. Remember Chile? And Argentina? Tiananmen Square, the Falklands, etc. etc. Once the populace is frightened, radical free-market capitalism steps in, for the profit of private corporations and stockholders.
Now, all around the world, disaster capitalism is the rule. A disaster like Katrina occurs, and who comes in? Corporations. Profit-making corporations. Tsunami? What a break for the corporations who wanted the beach-front property previously owned by individuals. How about a nice war in Iraq? Yup, more and more corporate involvement in every sector.
The Bush Administration just got lucky. They were able to put a cherry on top of the sundae that Reagan started scooping. Not only did they get 9/11, they used that to get Iraq, and then Katrina fell into their laps. And Sri Lanka. And now the financial crisis, which has occurred since Klein wrote her book.
Now the government is directly supporting some of the world's largest corporations, so that this doctrine does not get undermined any time soon. The U.S. government has nationalized banks, manufacturers and Wall Street. Without asking for a single word of documentation. Just by scaring us. I knew there'd be another 9/11 on Bush's watch--it has just taken me quite a long time to understand it.
This is an eye-opening book. Even if you don't want to slog through 430+ pages, just read the introduction. It all makes way too much sense.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Thought for the Minute
Thought for the minute: just for the minute--the whole day would be too much!
One person's utopia is another person's dental appointment.
And yes, of course I just made that up!
One person's utopia is another person's dental appointment.
And yes, of course I just made that up!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Obama Didn't Pick Me Either
President-elect Obama has chosen many people for his cabinet posts. So far, I haven’t heard a lot of whining and bitchin’ about his picks. A little, but not a lot. Until his choice of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inaugural. Mein Gott, you would think Rick Warren had been chosen to be Reverend in Chief, which he has not.
Most of the whining has come from gays and lesbians. Why? Because RW has said that he doesn’t think that gays and lesbians should be able to marry, etc. Rick Warren is a fundamentalist Christian man who believes what so many Christians believe—that being gay is a sin against God. If there is a fundamentalist, Christian man on this planet who does not share this belief, I’d like to nominate him for Christ-hood, because Jesus NEVER said that being homosexual was a sin. If you don’t believe me, read the bible, any version that dates from a few years back, not the crap that is being published today. Jesus, as I understand from having read the whole bible first page to last, was a pretty cool guy. He thought people should get along with each other, and treat each other well. He didn’t get treated very well himself, and after he was tortured to death, whenever I see people wearing symbols of his torture, I just have to wonder. Why would they do that? Why would they be proud of that? Does that make any sense? It doesn’t make any sense to me.
Not only did Obama choose this RW guy, he did not choose a gay person, a single person, a woman, a Jew, a Muslim, a Mexican American, a Black person, a crippled person, a person with PTSD, an ADD person, a transsexual person, a cross-dresser, a mime, a mine worker, a social worker, a Mormon, a Jehovah’s Witness, the CEO of a major international corporation, an elected official, a Mason, a member of the Elks, a postal worker, a doctor, a lawyer or an Indian chief.
I do not sit at the foot of God like so many folks, I’m sorry to say. I’m not sure I would choose to do that even if I had the chance, but from what I read there are more people sitting at the foot of God than there are people sitting in Barcaloungers. So for all of you folks sitting at the foot of God, I have a few questions:
How did you get to be so important? Did you earn the position or did you inherit it?
Did you have to get a degree in Christian understanding or did it come to you in a vision?
How do you know you’re right? Did Jesus tell you? As I recall, even Jesus had moments of major doubt. How is it that you don’t?
When did you learn that you were Jesus’ chosen one? Was there a flash of bright light? Did a halo appear on top of your head?
How does one apply to be holy?
And, for me, the most important question of all—when did the Golden Rule go out of style?
Thanks, and don’t worry, I forgive you.
Most of the whining has come from gays and lesbians. Why? Because RW has said that he doesn’t think that gays and lesbians should be able to marry, etc. Rick Warren is a fundamentalist Christian man who believes what so many Christians believe—that being gay is a sin against God. If there is a fundamentalist, Christian man on this planet who does not share this belief, I’d like to nominate him for Christ-hood, because Jesus NEVER said that being homosexual was a sin. If you don’t believe me, read the bible, any version that dates from a few years back, not the crap that is being published today. Jesus, as I understand from having read the whole bible first page to last, was a pretty cool guy. He thought people should get along with each other, and treat each other well. He didn’t get treated very well himself, and after he was tortured to death, whenever I see people wearing symbols of his torture, I just have to wonder. Why would they do that? Why would they be proud of that? Does that make any sense? It doesn’t make any sense to me.
Not only did Obama choose this RW guy, he did not choose a gay person, a single person, a woman, a Jew, a Muslim, a Mexican American, a Black person, a crippled person, a person with PTSD, an ADD person, a transsexual person, a cross-dresser, a mime, a mine worker, a social worker, a Mormon, a Jehovah’s Witness, the CEO of a major international corporation, an elected official, a Mason, a member of the Elks, a postal worker, a doctor, a lawyer or an Indian chief.
I do not sit at the foot of God like so many folks, I’m sorry to say. I’m not sure I would choose to do that even if I had the chance, but from what I read there are more people sitting at the foot of God than there are people sitting in Barcaloungers. So for all of you folks sitting at the foot of God, I have a few questions:
How did you get to be so important? Did you earn the position or did you inherit it?
Did you have to get a degree in Christian understanding or did it come to you in a vision?
How do you know you’re right? Did Jesus tell you? As I recall, even Jesus had moments of major doubt. How is it that you don’t?
When did you learn that you were Jesus’ chosen one? Was there a flash of bright light? Did a halo appear on top of your head?
How does one apply to be holy?
And, for me, the most important question of all—when did the Golden Rule go out of style?
Thanks, and don’t worry, I forgive you.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
OMG It's Rick Warren!
President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Rick Warren to give the opening invocation at his inauguration. This has whipped up a storm of protest from the gay and lesbian community, who are still smarting from the Prop. 8 loss in California. By golly, this honeymoon didn’t last long, did it?
Gays and lesbians have the right (and the privilege in the U.S.) to protest the discrimination against them. Those issues are not at the forefront of the world's problems right now, however.
It could be, and has been, one hell of a lot worse. It could be and will be, a lot better. Give the man a break, realize how politically savvy he is, and let Rick Warren crow. Then, we'll get down to business, opposing parties appeased and ready to work.
Like any other protest group, GLTB (et al) folks are most interested in their own desires. But sometimes the shortsightedness of protest groups shifts them right over to the periphery of politics and society in the time it would take to pop a pack of microwave popcorn.
From all the brouhaha, you’d think Rick Warren was the Jerry Falwell of 2009. Remember him? He’s the one who said, "9-11 was the supported work of pagans, gays, lesbians, and liberal feminists". I don’t know much about Rick Warren, but I’m pretty sure that is not even close to something he’d say.
In fact, I feel strongly that Rick Warren is one heck of a lot better than his predecessor in the Christian heart of America—Billy Graham.
Obama has made no bones about his desire to bring this country together. That, above all else, has been his slogan, his raison d’etre, his true mission. Think, for just a moment if you will, about what that could mean. Some of us live in areas of the country that are almost all white and Christian, while others of us live in parts of the country that are a stew of all kinds of folks from all parts of the world.
If any one of us, or all of us for that matter, could sit down at the bus stop of America, and sit comfortably next to any and all people we might find in this country, say “hey, how you doin?”, smile, and maybe even say a word or two about the weather, would that be cool or what? I think this is what Obama is all about. And if we could do that in this predominantly white, Christian, frightened, and classist country, just think what we could do in the world. Just think how we might find our own roots in the folks who left a country not much different than what we are now, to make a better place for themselves way back before the Declaration of Independence.
So what does this have to do with Rick Warren? Nothing at all. It has to do with Barack Obama, the man we elected to get us out of the mess we’re in. The man who brings us to tears every time we see him on TV, or hear him on the airwaves. The man who spoke of the audacity of hope. The man who had the actual audacity to talk about the Golden Rule.
I say give the man a break. He wasn’t elected to make sure gays and lesbians could marry. GLTB folks have hopes, but there is much more going on the world right now. Let’s work for a better world for everyone, overall, and let the man do his job. As the world gets better, ask for more. In the meantime, let’s recognize the savvy in bringing in the opposition to celebrate with us.
Gays and lesbians have the right (and the privilege in the U.S.) to protest the discrimination against them. Those issues are not at the forefront of the world's problems right now, however.
It could be, and has been, one hell of a lot worse. It could be and will be, a lot better. Give the man a break, realize how politically savvy he is, and let Rick Warren crow. Then, we'll get down to business, opposing parties appeased and ready to work.
Like any other protest group, GLTB (et al) folks are most interested in their own desires. But sometimes the shortsightedness of protest groups shifts them right over to the periphery of politics and society in the time it would take to pop a pack of microwave popcorn.
From all the brouhaha, you’d think Rick Warren was the Jerry Falwell of 2009. Remember him? He’s the one who said, "9-11 was the supported work of pagans, gays, lesbians, and liberal feminists". I don’t know much about Rick Warren, but I’m pretty sure that is not even close to something he’d say.
In fact, I feel strongly that Rick Warren is one heck of a lot better than his predecessor in the Christian heart of America—Billy Graham.
Obama has made no bones about his desire to bring this country together. That, above all else, has been his slogan, his raison d’etre, his true mission. Think, for just a moment if you will, about what that could mean. Some of us live in areas of the country that are almost all white and Christian, while others of us live in parts of the country that are a stew of all kinds of folks from all parts of the world.
If any one of us, or all of us for that matter, could sit down at the bus stop of America, and sit comfortably next to any and all people we might find in this country, say “hey, how you doin?”, smile, and maybe even say a word or two about the weather, would that be cool or what? I think this is what Obama is all about. And if we could do that in this predominantly white, Christian, frightened, and classist country, just think what we could do in the world. Just think how we might find our own roots in the folks who left a country not much different than what we are now, to make a better place for themselves way back before the Declaration of Independence.
So what does this have to do with Rick Warren? Nothing at all. It has to do with Barack Obama, the man we elected to get us out of the mess we’re in. The man who brings us to tears every time we see him on TV, or hear him on the airwaves. The man who spoke of the audacity of hope. The man who had the actual audacity to talk about the Golden Rule.
I say give the man a break. He wasn’t elected to make sure gays and lesbians could marry. GLTB folks have hopes, but there is much more going on the world right now. Let’s work for a better world for everyone, overall, and let the man do his job. As the world gets better, ask for more. In the meantime, let’s recognize the savvy in bringing in the opposition to celebrate with us.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Qwerty
As I was keying in a story for one of my blogs recently, I started thinking about how I learned to type. It was in high school, I was in 10th grade, 20 people in my typing class, all but 2 of them girls. The others were sissy boys, who played on no sports teams, but one of them did beat me in the student council’s presidential race. Typing was a girl’s thing in those days, 1964, the same year the Beatles first performed on Ed Sullivan.
Last week, I got an email from Craig, a guy I graduated from high school with. Presumably, his email was from himself, and not from his secretary. I wonder how Craig learned to type? I wonder what happened to all the secretaries? I do know that Craig was on the football team and not in the typing class.
Remember when the first men landed on the moon in 1969? It was on TV, and those guys weren’t sending typed messages, either. I wonder if that was because they didn’t know how to type? Seems like a typed message would have been one heck of a lot easier to arrange than a voice message. But a typed message would not have been very macho in 1969, and they sure as heck would not have wanted to send women up there into deadly space where it might be seen that they could survive quite as well as men.
After high school, I worked as a secretary for a while. I took “dictation”, but I didn’t know shorthand. Gregg’s shorthand, another “girl’s” class offered in my high school. The dictation I took in my first job out of high school was tape recorded, and it included loud throat clearing’s, hacking and harrumphs from my cigar-smoking (male) boss. Sometimes I even got to listen to an entire (one-sided) telephone conversation, as I waited for his next paragraph to drop.
I never wanted to take Home Economics in high school. There were certainly no boys who took it, and that wasn’t because they were refused. I wanted to take shop, but that was prohibited. I learned to love to cook, anyway, and have spent a good part of my life making a living as a chef. Of course, the people who have made the most money and accumulated the most fame cooking are….boys. I didn’t want to learn to sew, either, and wouldn’t you know it, the most famous and wealthy clothing designers are…boys.
Men’s work and women’s work have long been two very different things. With the speed of snails moving through a garden, some changes have been made. I now see men pushing strollers. My favorite car mechanic is a woman. There are many other examples, but I still wonder—what happened to all the secretaries?
Last week, I got an email from Craig, a guy I graduated from high school with. Presumably, his email was from himself, and not from his secretary. I wonder how Craig learned to type? I wonder what happened to all the secretaries? I do know that Craig was on the football team and not in the typing class.
Remember when the first men landed on the moon in 1969? It was on TV, and those guys weren’t sending typed messages, either. I wonder if that was because they didn’t know how to type? Seems like a typed message would have been one heck of a lot easier to arrange than a voice message. But a typed message would not have been very macho in 1969, and they sure as heck would not have wanted to send women up there into deadly space where it might be seen that they could survive quite as well as men.
After high school, I worked as a secretary for a while. I took “dictation”, but I didn’t know shorthand. Gregg’s shorthand, another “girl’s” class offered in my high school. The dictation I took in my first job out of high school was tape recorded, and it included loud throat clearing’s, hacking and harrumphs from my cigar-smoking (male) boss. Sometimes I even got to listen to an entire (one-sided) telephone conversation, as I waited for his next paragraph to drop.
I never wanted to take Home Economics in high school. There were certainly no boys who took it, and that wasn’t because they were refused. I wanted to take shop, but that was prohibited. I learned to love to cook, anyway, and have spent a good part of my life making a living as a chef. Of course, the people who have made the most money and accumulated the most fame cooking are….boys. I didn’t want to learn to sew, either, and wouldn’t you know it, the most famous and wealthy clothing designers are…boys.
Men’s work and women’s work have long been two very different things. With the speed of snails moving through a garden, some changes have been made. I now see men pushing strollers. My favorite car mechanic is a woman. There are many other examples, but I still wonder—what happened to all the secretaries?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Hitting Bottom 101
Seems like everybody is frightened to death about The Economy. Or maybe I should say THE ECONOMY OMG!!! :-((( I say give it up, folks, we've been there, done that and the end of the world is not just around the corner, at least not in any way that we can imagine it now. Shoe bomb? Maybe. Economic disaster for us underlings? Naw.
To a large degree, the "economy" is a virtual concept. We, meaning everyone who plays in the economic game, which is nearly everyone, help determine what is "good" and what is "bad". This is basic economic theory. If a stock like Sears is selling for $20 today, after being much higher than that for decades, try to recall that today's $20 is a price higher than the $15 it sold for at some time in the past. Economic facts only have meaning when taken in context. Yes, the "bottom" has fallen out of the stock market, but that has meaning only when viewed in the light of our expectations. As the "bottom" falls out, prices go down. I don't think that lower prices are such a bad thing. It all slides up and down together.
Now, if gas were still selling for $4.50 a gallon, I'd be singing a different tune! Yes, some companies will go into bankruptcy (which doesn't necessarily mean they will go out of business). Some years ago Montgomery Ward went out of business after nearly 130 years of being one of the biggest department stores in the world. Other retailers have taken their place. Even communism can't stop capitalism, as we have seen in the former USSR!
The Bush administration is largely responsible for the mess we're in now. Accumulating that much debt in such a short time was so stupid and so irresponsible I can't even think of a word for it! Printing lots more money in order to bail us out will not solve the problem, either. But I believe that human nature, being what it is, will get us out of this mess. People want things, and they're willing to work for them. The scale has lowered all but a few of the folks who got super-rich during the Bush administration. We're all going to have it harder than we thought. But I don't think this is the end of the world.
I also believe that everyone is fearful. Churchill's comment comes to mind. Maybe that is indeed what we should be most afraid of--our own fear.
I'm no expert, as is probably glaringly obvious. But most of us are stewing in the same pot. At least we know it now, and we'll find ways of working together to improve things. Last year, I decided to take a long RV trip because I was certain that gas prices would just keep going up, so I'd better get it while I could. Boy, was I wrong! Those high prices reduced accidents and pollution, and led to increased sales of hybrid cars. Rising grocery prices, due in large part to increased transportation costs, caused more people to begin to raise their own food and to buy locally. Today's economic problems will have "bad" consequences, but they'll also have "good" consequences, most of which we have not yet anticipated.
When things are bad, we assume they'll just get worse. When they're good, we don't even notice! Humans! Gotta love us....
To a large degree, the "economy" is a virtual concept. We, meaning everyone who plays in the economic game, which is nearly everyone, help determine what is "good" and what is "bad". This is basic economic theory. If a stock like Sears is selling for $20 today, after being much higher than that for decades, try to recall that today's $20 is a price higher than the $15 it sold for at some time in the past. Economic facts only have meaning when taken in context. Yes, the "bottom" has fallen out of the stock market, but that has meaning only when viewed in the light of our expectations. As the "bottom" falls out, prices go down. I don't think that lower prices are such a bad thing. It all slides up and down together.
Now, if gas were still selling for $4.50 a gallon, I'd be singing a different tune! Yes, some companies will go into bankruptcy (which doesn't necessarily mean they will go out of business). Some years ago Montgomery Ward went out of business after nearly 130 years of being one of the biggest department stores in the world. Other retailers have taken their place. Even communism can't stop capitalism, as we have seen in the former USSR!
The Bush administration is largely responsible for the mess we're in now. Accumulating that much debt in such a short time was so stupid and so irresponsible I can't even think of a word for it! Printing lots more money in order to bail us out will not solve the problem, either. But I believe that human nature, being what it is, will get us out of this mess. People want things, and they're willing to work for them. The scale has lowered all but a few of the folks who got super-rich during the Bush administration. We're all going to have it harder than we thought. But I don't think this is the end of the world.
I also believe that everyone is fearful. Churchill's comment comes to mind. Maybe that is indeed what we should be most afraid of--our own fear.
I'm no expert, as is probably glaringly obvious. But most of us are stewing in the same pot. At least we know it now, and we'll find ways of working together to improve things. Last year, I decided to take a long RV trip because I was certain that gas prices would just keep going up, so I'd better get it while I could. Boy, was I wrong! Those high prices reduced accidents and pollution, and led to increased sales of hybrid cars. Rising grocery prices, due in large part to increased transportation costs, caused more people to begin to raise their own food and to buy locally. Today's economic problems will have "bad" consequences, but they'll also have "good" consequences, most of which we have not yet anticipated.
When things are bad, we assume they'll just get worse. When they're good, we don't even notice! Humans! Gotta love us....
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Now Is the Time to Convince Republican Friends
Republican friends. We all have them. Admit it. The last person to bring your family a casserole when you just got out of surgery was a Republican. Republicans really care about people. They have the best comfort recipes. Let’s not let them go at this point.
I have Republican friends. They want to like McCain, they’d really, really like to like Palin, but they are as different from Palin as I am. That’s why we’re friends. We’re real and she isn’t. Neither is he. He used to be, but for the last four years, he gave up the hard work of being who he is, and just started cashing the checks. I can’t blame him—he’s old, and surely he must be as tired right now as he was when he was living in a hole in Vietman. Standing over that hole, blocking the light, was a Vietnamese man, and now it is Sarah Palin, who is telling him that she knows more than he does, so maybe he should just shut up. Ah, the arrogance of ignorance. Ah, the comfort of being a POW. Which John is again. Isn’t it funny how our old stuff comes back to haunt us?
The election is coming near. We’ve bitched and moaned to our good, Democratic friends. We’ve preached to the choir. Now is the time to call up our old Republican friends, those folks from high school, or the job we had after we graduated. Those folks we really liked, but we’ve lost touch with. Last night I called Carole. We lived together 19 years ago. Her kids liked me, and I was totally surprised to hear that they still do like me. Wow! Is that cool or what? We began by talking about what affects all of us—the money problem. She admitted that she wasn’t about to vote for McCain, but she didn’t think Obama could do the job. We talked about that a bit, and I pointed out that McCain was old, and not that healthy, and would she really want President Palin? No way, she admitted. Even Obama was better than that. Bingo! What with her kids liking me and the fact that she now felt better about voting for Obama, it was absolutely worth those cell phone minutes!
So, my friends (to quote John), call your Republican friends. Talk to them. You already like them, so you’ll have lots to say, lots to catch up with. Tell them about McCain’s age, and how Palin has charged the state of Alaska for all those trips she took with her kids, and how she’ll continue to do that just because she does just what she wants, regardless of ethics or laws. She’s the perfect Republican, for sure, but what happened to our money? Do we want to continue down the road we’ve traveled for the last 8 years? Call them, ask them. Don’t be rude, just say one thing, the right thing, the one fact that fits for them. They’re all waiting to hear from you—they want a way out of voting for people who are even worse than the ones we’ve had for the last 8 years. And we didn’t think that was possible.
What have you got to lose?
I have Republican friends. They want to like McCain, they’d really, really like to like Palin, but they are as different from Palin as I am. That’s why we’re friends. We’re real and she isn’t. Neither is he. He used to be, but for the last four years, he gave up the hard work of being who he is, and just started cashing the checks. I can’t blame him—he’s old, and surely he must be as tired right now as he was when he was living in a hole in Vietman. Standing over that hole, blocking the light, was a Vietnamese man, and now it is Sarah Palin, who is telling him that she knows more than he does, so maybe he should just shut up. Ah, the arrogance of ignorance. Ah, the comfort of being a POW. Which John is again. Isn’t it funny how our old stuff comes back to haunt us?
The election is coming near. We’ve bitched and moaned to our good, Democratic friends. We’ve preached to the choir. Now is the time to call up our old Republican friends, those folks from high school, or the job we had after we graduated. Those folks we really liked, but we’ve lost touch with. Last night I called Carole. We lived together 19 years ago. Her kids liked me, and I was totally surprised to hear that they still do like me. Wow! Is that cool or what? We began by talking about what affects all of us—the money problem. She admitted that she wasn’t about to vote for McCain, but she didn’t think Obama could do the job. We talked about that a bit, and I pointed out that McCain was old, and not that healthy, and would she really want President Palin? No way, she admitted. Even Obama was better than that. Bingo! What with her kids liking me and the fact that she now felt better about voting for Obama, it was absolutely worth those cell phone minutes!
So, my friends (to quote John), call your Republican friends. Talk to them. You already like them, so you’ll have lots to say, lots to catch up with. Tell them about McCain’s age, and how Palin has charged the state of Alaska for all those trips she took with her kids, and how she’ll continue to do that just because she does just what she wants, regardless of ethics or laws. She’s the perfect Republican, for sure, but what happened to our money? Do we want to continue down the road we’ve traveled for the last 8 years? Call them, ask them. Don’t be rude, just say one thing, the right thing, the one fact that fits for them. They’re all waiting to hear from you—they want a way out of voting for people who are even worse than the ones we’ve had for the last 8 years. And we didn’t think that was possible.
What have you got to lose?
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