I know a person who's seriously ill with an epidemic illness -- an illness which has been known for a long time but used to be quite rare. Now it's quite common. The particulars, I think, don't much matter for the purposes of this particular Rambler essay.

I was discussing my sick friend's predicament with yet another friend tonight. Let's call the sick friend A, and the interlocutor B.

I was musing, as I talked to B, about how people tend to blame the mother, or the father, or the self, for these illnesses. Oh, if I weren't such a bad person, with such bad habits, I would never have fallen ill, the patient says. Meanwhile the mom and dad are asking themselves -- and if they're divorced, asking each other, in fairly acrimonious terms -- what did we, or I, or you do to make this happen?

Of course my own inclination is to discourage a sense of personal responsibility as much as possible. So I asked B whether the patient and the parents shouldn't maybe let themselves, and each other, off the hook a bit, and seek a more contextual explanation? (Recall that this is an illness that used to be rare and is now common. 'Why' seems like a reasonable question.)

B's response surprised me. What about consumption, and hysteria, and ergotism, and the Spanish Inquisition? he asked. It's always something.

I was puzzled a bit by B's response, but then the penny dropped. B heard my comments as an exercise as social criticism. B thinks our society is not so bad, comparatively speaking, and B has a case.

But really, who cares about the comparisons with the Spanish Inquisition, or Auschwitz, or the Bataan Death March? Undoubtedly we live better than other people elsewhere and othertime, and even better than we might (and better than we will tomorrow, I'd add).

The Bataan death march is over. The Inquisition is no more. Auschwitz was shut down some time ago. The few remaining hysterics in the world write well-remunerated copy for Fox News and the New York Times. Truly we live in an age of miracle and wonder; I suppose this is the sort of thing people mean when they talk airily about 'progress'. Perhaps it's what B was thinking of too.

I take the opposite tack. I think the only useful and constructive comparisons of our own world with elsewhere and elsewhen are the ones that make us look bad. I don't care how awful the Spanish Inquisition was. All I care about is how bad my friend's insurance is; and what makes it so bad; and what it is in our world -- not Torquemada's -- that made her, and all the others like her, sick in the first place.

]]> http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/original_sin_or_some_such.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/original_sin_or_some_such.html Mon, 14 May 2012 19:41:33 -0500

From a mailing list. Peter Beinart and Michael Lerner. Oy gevalt! ]]> http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/conversations_you_dont_want_to.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/conversations_you_dont_want_to.html Sun, 13 May 2012 22:21:49 -0500 ".. the Democrats are now and will be in the future an obstacle to progressive change" ya ya ya i altered that phrase the real line goes like this ".. None of this is to suggest that the Democrats aren't now or won't be in the future an obstacle to progressive change: in too many instances they are, but they aren't the main obstacle for the moment." "This election... is not about choosing a lesser evil. It is about our nation's future" " are we going to move in a progressive-democratic direction or a rightwing anti-democratic-authoritarian direction" ------------------------------------------------------------- NB " distinguish this characterization" rightwing anti-democratic-authoritarian " from fascism which has a particular meaning in the communist movement: - the open terroristic dictatorship of the most backward sections of the capitalist class- " ------------------------------------------------------------- " the labor-led people's coalition, and Communists as a current within that coalition, must make every phase of the election process a number one priority." "The people's coalition must be a major factor in the primaries. It must reach, register and educate new and stay-at-home voters. It must guarantee a maximum voter turnout on Election Day." "No less important, it must unrelentingly expose the reactionary positions of the Republican candidates and their racist and anti-democratic systematic campaign to disenfranchise tens of millions of voters." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Not everyone shares this view. Some think the Democrats are as bad as the Republicans. Others go further and say that the Democrats are worse because they create popular illusions that change is possible within the two-party system. Still others say the electoral process is so compromised by corporate money that participating in it is a fool's errand. And finally there are advocates of running a third-party presidential candidate in this election." "Like it or not, millions go to the polls in spite of their misgivings. They are invested in the electoral process. Voting is a sacred duty. And the Democratic Party is the vehicle of reform for tens of millions, the majority of whom are working and oppressed people." "What is more, labor will throw itself into the campaign to elect Democrats, moderate as well as progressive, albeit from its own organizational base. Four hundred thousand campaign volunteers are going to walk neighborhoods this fall." "Much the same can be said about the racially oppressed. Ditto women and seniors. The majority of youth will also take part in the elections, and like four years ago on the side of President Obama and the Democrats." "A third-party presidential candidate would only help the extreme right as well as isolate the left from the broader movement." "The two parties of the capitalist class have similarities. That is undeniable. But differences also exist at the level of social composition and political policies - policies that can be widened under the impact of a powerful people's movement, as they were in earlier historical periods." " It is easy to imagine any number of electoral strategies but....." " which one is rooted in objective realities and advances class and democratic struggles? which one positions the popular forces to go on the offensive in the post-election period? which outcome will clear the ground of neoliberal polices and debris? Which one will weaken the corporate class as a whole? " "To skip over the current stage in the name of militant radicalism may feel revolutionary, but in the end it is self-defeating and strategically misguided." http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/nerfer_commie_reasoning.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/nerfer_commie_reasoning.html Sat, 12 May 2012 12:04:29 -0500 http://www.cpusa.org/defeating-the-rightwing-on-the-road-to-socialism/ meet the commie line : its lenin lite but its leninite so its still stagey ... of course it is and being as SMBIVA is a right now kinda site here's the first stage : "the struggle against right wing extremism." " This is not a new policy; it goes back to the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. At that point and since then it became evident that the main obstacle to social progress remains rightwing extremism and its corporate backers. They cast a reactionary shadow over the whole political process then and now." "The election of Barack Obama was a blow to the right, but subsequent events have demonstrated that it wasn't a decisive blow. The right still retains considerable power, and initiative to frame the debate and disrupt the legislative and political agenda." "Its overarching goal this year is to regain control of all three branches of the federal government. " "how dangerous is that? ...it would set the stage for a period of extreme rightwing onslaught." "...take a glimpse at Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio where rightwing Republicans took control of the levers of power in 2010 and then ruthlessly rolled back rights, eliminated social programs and attacked the labor movement. Those actions are a harbinger of what the Republican Party would do if in command of the federal government next year." "By contrast, the decisive defeat of the right would weaken Wall Street and the entire corporate class, give leverage and momentum to the people's movement and clear the ground for an era that puts people and nature before profits and "free markets."" " that will happen only if an electoral coalition is assembled that includes the left, progressives, independents and moderates." "Said differently and dialectically, the defeat of the right at the polls next year cannot be achieved on a pure anti-corporate basis, given the existing relationship of forces." "The 99 per cent versus the 1 per cent is a good slogan and representation of economic reality, but it doesn't reflect the actual political balance of forces on the ground at this moment." "The political complexion of the country is more complicated, thus making a broader strategy that reaches out to moderates (Republican as well as Democrats) and independents necessary." "Moreover, such a strategy if successful becomes the basis on which tens of millions will encounter a new relationship of forces, which, in turn, is the ground on which to move to a higher level of understanding and struggle." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- part II will cover the bastard's lay down roll over blubber gut senile softee parlor red "reasoning " about this filthy sham of a strategic blockaide called THE FIRST STAGE ON THE ROAD TO SOCIALISM USA http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/nerf_commie_line_these_days.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/nerf_commie_line_these_days.html Sat, 12 May 2012 11:55:47 -0500 " Libyans complain about the lack of safety and the accumulation of trash ." "The Tripoli government has been unable to exercise its authority over the militias that continue to patrol the streets of the various cities." " The lack of central authority has meant a collapse of the judiciary. " , "the majority of detainees remain held by ..... military and security entities and by militias operating outside the law." " On May 1, the U.N. Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).... raised concerns about the political prisoners and asked the government to "establish an effective internal inspection mechanism covering all places where persons are deprived of their liberty." " " The political prisoner issue creates a climate of impunity for the militias. If they can get away with their jails, they can get away with anything." " Ordinary Libyans ...have to walk by piles of trash, a symbol of the failure of the state." " The sad state of affairs with the trash collection has galvanized residents to form their own organizations, such as Cleaning Up Tripoli." " They cannot take on the gunmen, but they can at least sweep the streets. " "The sentiment among ordinary people is that the Tripoli government and the Benghazi NTC are more inclined to pay attention to the oil merchants and to foreign leaders than to the troubles of Libya." " Elections are slated for June 20. Last week, candidates began to file their papers. " "The Washington-based National Democratic Institute has been advising the government on elections ...." "In late April, on the advice of their betters, the NTC banned parties "based on religion or ethnicity or tribe."" " The Muslim Brotherhood turned up its nose. They were poised to do well in the elections. They are fighting to overturn their banishment. " "The capillaries of political power flow through the very social dynamics that the NTC has banned. They want to rig the election so that one of the pro-Western liberals wins." " It is likely that, close to the election, the unpopular Prime Minister Abdurrahim el-Keib will resign in favor of Benghazi's own Fathi Baja. As a preview, on April 26, the NTC sacked the cabinet of el-Keib. Baja led the move. " " Vijay Prashad in a counter punch report ----------------------------------------------------------- i like the notion of scattered multi centered pluralistic autonomous gulag units "If they can get away with their jails, they can get away with anything." !!!!! and those spontaneous clean up co ops ? gotta love that spirit of barcelona bit and of course the super natural presence of the fairy god mother of fairy god mothers the National Democratic Institute and how 'bout no tribes no sects ...please this is a democracy you want here ..right ? " ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- too bad the people in arms have to figure out how to handle each other inside their oil gig sand trap b4 some MNC steering wheel type like this fathi baja guy gets hizzself "elected " to centrally civilize the place laputa style no time to self organize the post-state voluntary society like in Somalia --------------------------------------------- for your personal dated disinfo file please find below a link to a group portrait of ostensibly laputa sponsored " national steering wheels" --very dated X out the duds at your pleasure and add fresh rogues as they emerge -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12698562 http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/libya_update.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/libya_update.html Sat, 12 May 2012 07:03:22 -0500 earlier this eventuallity was considered with all do ceremony and gravity http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/04/will_the_powerplutonian_elite.html and noooow .....here it is ! another old GOP statesman gets butchered one must expect it'll be wild gentleman boners all the way down over this at elephant house -------------------------------------------------------------------- the new GOP "too rabid to rule " ? christ i can't wait to hear the bray from the jack ass party tethered pwogs http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/lugar_now_just_guts_to_lug_off.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/lugar_now_just_guts_to_lug_off.html Wed, 09 May 2012 12:29:25 -0500 " Full employment capitalism will, of course, have to develop new social and political institutions which will reflect the increased power of the working class." " If capitalism can adjust itself to full employment, a fundamental reform will have been incorporated in it." " If not, it will show itself an outmoded system which must be scrapped" kalecki http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/kalecki220510.html some here suggest we "know" capitalisn can not make itself over will not engineer perpetual full employment in fact not even run a NAIRU line all the time policy might we not inquiry ...why ? if it means higher immediate profits ? paul kleinernuggetman: "we're currently producing around a trillion dollars less of value each year than we could and should be producing..... We're talking here about valuable products that could and should have been manufactured but weren't, wages and profits that could and should have been earned but never materialized. " http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-krugman/how-bad-things-are_b_1498070.html?page=2 note wages AND PROFITS higher PROFITS thru keynesianism ...!!!! are we simultaneously cartooning board room motives " short run greed heading ...anything goes increase our immediate profits maximo and contradicting this cartoon with a myth a vague image of higher capitalist guardians possessed of a demonic super contextual deeply long run class oriented exploitation system preserving..... black magic wisdom ? http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/whos_afraid_of_full_employment.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/whos_afraid_of_full_employment.html Wed, 09 May 2012 10:01:38 -0500 paul krugman flutters furiously http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/dangers-of-national-unity/ "consider Greece, which had a government of national unity — an alliance between the center-right and the center-left, dedicated to following what the VSPs consider responsible policies. Think of it as Michael Bloomberg with retsina. Sounds great, doesn’t it? (Not to me, but I’m not a Serious Person). The trouble is that the responsible policies aren’t — the austerity program that has defined being Serious in Europe is an abject (and predictable) failure. So voters take their anger out by voting against the insiders. And since all the respectable people are inside the political tent, backing and being identified with failed policies, that means a big vote for extremists right and left." my lord voters running to extremes both left and right ..the center may not hold..the men in jack boots just over the horizon... but errrr even PK knows the center is wrong ....dead wrong both in the euro zone and of course here too and yet cling he will to the "center left" the softee head of the choiceless choice ballot box dog orthrus cause paul loveth liberty beyond all understanding and gosh darn Lady liberty IS the vital center ya ya he lacks all conviction but madame is that not ever so ? http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/knocking_the_knees_of_lady_lib.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/knocking_the_knees_of_lady_lib.html Tue, 08 May 2012 13:20:08 -0500 http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/07/the-evolution-paradigm-shift/ this character is at war with dawkins !!!!! cal him THE SHAP : "(1) Cells act in what I call a cognitive way or an information processing way. Some people like to say “computational.” The only reason that I don’t use the word computational is that it doesn’t include the sensory aspect of how cells operate. And the sensing and it’s molecular bases are all very firmly established scientifically. There’s no question about it. What we don’t understand is how everything is integrated, how the information is processed and how the cells end up doing the appropriate thing. We know a lot about the components involved in signal transfer and decision-making, but we don’t know how the whole system works. That I think is the key frontier in the 21st century. The research will not only impact biology, but it will possibly revolutionize computation as well. (2) Cells engineer their own genomes and they do it in a wide variety of ways that are subject to sensory inputs and which can be targeted within the genome. I document that pretty extensively in the book. (3) We know from the DNA record that natural genetic engineering systems have been important in the evolution of new life forms. The key questions that I see in evolution science besides learning more about those three components are: (i) What is the link between ecological change and genome change in organisms? (ii) What is it about the natural genetic engineering processes and how they are regulated and controlled that biases them towards creating new functionalities? We know we can stimulate rapid genome change in the laboratory by starving cells, or putting them under pressure or in high salt and other stress conditions. Similarly, by manipulating their genomes the way McClintock did so they don’t operate normally. Or by hybridizing, as in horticulture, having different species mate or different populations mate. All of those things will trigger very significant episodes of genome restructuring. And we know genome restructuring has played a role in evolution and evolution is marked by the appearance of biological functional innovations " http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/our_purposively_self_modifying.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/our_purposively_self_modifying.html Mon, 07 May 2012 14:53:08 -0500 estimated seat count ------------------------------------------------- two main parties 111 ND 42 PASOK --------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------- the right 32 INDEPENDENT GREEKS 21 GOLDEN DAWN ----------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- the left 50 SYRIZA 26 KKE ------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- the middle 18 DIMAR ----------------------------------------- http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2012/may/06/greece-elections-results-map?newsfeed=true http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/mnc_backed_main_parties_vote_f.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/mnc_backed_main_parties_vote_f.html Sun, 06 May 2012 18:24:54 -0500 "Should a progressive be satisfied with a regime of the political business cycle ... I think she should oppose it on two grounds: (i) that it does not assure lasting full employment; (ii) that government intervention is tied to public investment and does not embrace subsidizing consumption." " fuller utilization of resources should not be applied to unwanted public investment merely in order to provide work. " . ' The rest of government spending necessary to maintain full employment should be used to subsidize consumption .." " Opponents of such government spending say that the government will then have nothing to show for their money. " " The reply is that the counterpart of this spending will be the higher standard of living of the masses. Is not this the purpose of all economic activity?" http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/kalecki220510.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/what_the_masses_now_ask_for_is.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/05/what_the_masses_now_ask_for_is.html Fri, 04 May 2012 17:51:15 -0500 why is there no bonus march movement these days? ya a big one off bonus to all our VETS living VETS or their living SOs .... demand it vets and make it large !!! use the nation's massively cultivated warrior as golden leverage march in your uniforms blazing battle medals and flags a-sway ask for a real big bundle uncle ...america.... pay up or shut up ! http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/04/grandstand_movement.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/04/grandstand_movement.html Sun, 29 Apr 2012 09:57:34 -0500 http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/04/twenty_years_ago_this_coming_w.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/04/twenty_years_ago_this_coming_w.html Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:52:07 -0500 tea party real "wild grass skirt " guy is after dick's scalp and his job http://thehill.com/capital-living/bookshelf/219819-dick-lugar-the-perils-of-bipartisanship can dick survive ? don't count on it "The latest sign of Lugar’s vulnerability came Saturday when Mourdock won 88 percent of a straw vote among GOP precinct committee members in Muncie" let this loyal subaltern of the Wallyocracy get trampled by a corn toothed yahoo ? maybe we steely pinks oughta suppose the laputa crowd hardly care.... always plenty of talented supplicants to promote ..eh?.. why not some plug ignorant fresh blood in the greatest deliberative body on planet earth ? besides its gotta be fun watching one of your sedulous bag carriers viciously traduced degraded hurled on the shit heep ...prolly gives em boners http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/04/will_the_powerplutonian_elite.html http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/2012/04/will_the_powerplutonian_elite.html Sat, 21 Apr 2012 14:58:07 -0500