the unraveling » politics

the center does not hold

iskeptici — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:20:22 +0000

So, is anyone else getting a sick feeling in their stomach watching events unfold these days?

I just finished reading Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s excellent and provocative “The Black Swan”, so I’m not making any specific predictions on where things are heading, but it seems to me that we’re driving towards some seriously mean looking dark clouds.

A very successful friend and mentor once told me, “The truth is, no one knows what they are doing. The problem is that too many people think they do.” He wasn’t excluding himself or the most powerful people in the world from this statement (and he’s known a lot of important people). I consider this to be a very sharp and profound insight. Viewing the world through this lens has given me a new perspective that often makes me laugh, but usually makes me worry.

Since my daughter was born a few months ago I have not kept up with the news as much, but today seems to be particularly irritating. I see a lot of dots but no one is connecting them.

First off… Obama seems to have gone completely off the rails with a recent statement to Bloomberg about his buddies at JP morgan and Goldman Sachs… essentially that he doesn’t begrudge them their multimillion dollar salaries, given they are both “good businessmen”. Really? Because it seems to me they really fucked up and pretty much took our economy down. I can’t believe that Obama has been so thoroughly corrupted by advice from those assholes Geithner and Summers that he can’t see what a major public relations mistake this statement is. It does not bode well for “change”, or even for keeping us afloat. Seems like we’ve hit an iceberg and most of us are stuck in steerage.

In the meantime, other crises are popping up all over the place.

The tenacious and ever-lucid Elizabeth Warren has just issued a warning that a crash in commercial real estate is coming. I know you’ve all seen the empty buildings… it’s been subliminal but evident for awhile.

And don’t even get me started on the environment. A couple of idiot scientists do something stupid and it gets taken totally off the agenda? You can almost feel the politicians sighing over that one. Seriously though… while the specific outcome of global warming is essentially a Black Swan, we can’t deny that it’s not looking good for human civilization.

So while we all languish in economic hell, dumping our tax money into failing banks, our local cities running out of money, the government pumping the largest share of our budget into the military EVER in the history of our country, while sticking it to us on health care, jobs, and the environment… the guys who helped bring us to our knees are getting a free pass and millions of dollars.

Nice. God bless America.

For Sale: The US Government

iskeptici — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:11:41 +0000

Dear Corporations,
I would like to announce my candidacy for public office. Since the Supreme Court has now made it legal for you to spend money to influence elections, I am proposing a new, more cost-effective system to get the job done! Having 35,000 lobbyists on capitol hill is so 2009. Instead, I propose you give the money directly to the legislators. Let’s cut out the middlemen and bring plutocracy direct to the public! I will happily review any and all offers!

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/01/25

The end of rational discourse

iskeptici — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:09:07 +0000

An excellent article… one could almost trace this alliance of ignorance and self-interest back to Nixon and the “New South” but it certainly has reached a shrill note in the age of Palin. I’ve been concerned about these radical elements since Obama has become president, and while he has yet to live up to his promise (despite the dyspeptic contradicting labels of “socialist” and “fascist”)…. the stew of irrational hate is brewing. Are we in for another Oklahoma City, or worse? These are the convulsions of empire at it’s end, the death throes of democracy, and an “all bets are off” power grab from those who will do and say anything to consolidate their hold on the world and it’s dwindling resources. Fact is only an inconvenient obstacle that can be manipulated, marginalized, or fabricated to serve this end.

My 1933 Nightmare - David Michael Greene

in a word… Incredible

iskeptici — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:37:07 +0000

If you were one of the many watching Barack Obama’s inauguration this morning you know what I mean. Here’s to a New Era.

http://www.commondreams.org/video/barack-obamas-inaugural-address

And…. we’re back

iskeptici — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:40:17 +0000

I don’t know if Obama’s numerous cabinet appointees are making anyone else nervous but so far the lustre of “change” is starting to look a little less shiny than it did on November 5th. I’m willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt - after all he is extremely intelligent, more than qualified, and he hasn’t even taken office yet, but let’s just say I don’t plan on being a cheerleader without cause. So where to begin? There are so many interlocking issues that need addressing. While the term “holistic” tends to conjure images of trendy new age quackery, the idea of a whole approach to our situation seems to be a good one. The economy, the environment, energy, and healthcare are major issues that are all connected, and approaching these problems from a “quality and sustainability of life” perspective would be bold. I’ve been picking up bits of ideas from various sources on the web and what I find is that no one is really connecting all of the dots here (except for Jim Kunstler, and his prognostications are grim indeed).

So what do we do? Here are a few articles I’ve read recently that may help point the way…

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/557976http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=588

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/oct/22/climate-change-renewable-energy

http://thebreakthrough.org/blog/2008/12/will_energy_efficiency_stimulu.shtml

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/26-3

Yes We Did

iskeptici — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:04:33 +0000

Congratulations to 52% of America for transcending fear in the election this year. We still have a lot of work to do and it’s not going to be easy. To the red-staters the following article may be useful. Suck it up.

McCain Endorsed by Al Qaida

iskeptici — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:36:56 +0000

Does this qualify as “palling around”?

The long view…

iskeptici — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:28:11 +0000

George Monbiot is usually right on… and this is no exception. I’ve always wondered if this development of institutional short term thinking in the populace, while nurtured by corporate powers intent on increasing profit with little regard for the future impact, grew teeth during the cold war era, as a result if the always impending doom of nuclear holocaust. When one expects annihilation at any moment the future is a distant unlikely place. Combined with the decreasing attention spans afforded by TV, the rapid technological change which seems to render visions of future life incomprehensible in a few short years, and you have a population incapable of long term planning. Good article… it would make a great late night debate…

Mike Davis on Obama

iskeptici — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:35:36 +0000

Wow. What a crazy month. I’ve been traveling for work so forgive me for the lack of new posts. In addition I’ve been so in awe of economic and political developments that I’ve been mostly struck speechless. Some interesting things going on, plenty of great articles that I would like to post, but I read this one today and had to link it. If you haven’t read Mike Davis’ “Dead Cities” I highly recommend it… it’s a fascinating anthology of modern urbanism’s slow decay. So, while I am a strong Obama suppporter, I find Mike to be insightful, and credible in his analysis. So here you go. Can Obama See the Grand Canyon?

God and Country

iskeptici — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:40:27 +0000

Thank you Sam Harris for perfectly nailing my feeling on the subject.. and props to Newsweek for publishing something this bold!