The ability to communicate is important, yes. Sometimes this takes enormous effort, however, and frankly most of us are too busy, too illinformed, too lazy or, I'm sad to say, too stupid to do so. I'm probably at least 3 of those myself hell I probably shouldn't even be allowed to vote. I agree there's very little difference between our choices of government these days. I see things really going to hell fairly soon. High debt, monetary easing, interest rates already practically at 0 and unemployment at record levels despite the lies fed us by our governments. What if China goes bankrupt? Who's going to loan us money? I wouldn't put it past the current administration to just steal from those they think have too much already. Alexander Hamilton would not approve. The Republic would officially be over as, in my mind, it already is unofficially.
Too many have a cavalier attitude about debt. We are spoiled beyond belief. You say, Neil, that "neo-liberalism" has failed. I submit the enormous prosperity brought on by freer markets since the turn of the 18th century and the wealth this has generated and the inventions and progress flowing from business friendly environs and global trade has been truly fantastic. Has it all been sunshine and roses? Well, no. Those two wars were certainly inconveinant. Breaking up Ma Bell and Standard Oil were neccesary to protect us from the excesses of Capitalism. It is time to protect ourselves from the excesses of Socialism. Actually, I believe it is past time to break up the monopoly the Federal Government has become. I'll take Thatcher in drag over Obama's redistribution tactics any day of the week and Sunday too. Along with this excess of prosperity has come lethargy and atrophy. Resting on our laurels as it were. Steadily eroding society's ability to recover on our own. We've become such a Nanny State here in the USA many feel no obligation to provide for their families. We EXPECT the police to protect us, the government to provide us with shelter and food in emergencies(or all the time in some cases) and to always have a doctor available for free when we are sick. This is hugely difficult to achieve in opulent times and impossible when the fecal matter hits the rotary oscillator and blood is running in the streets. This expectation cripples our chances of meaningful recovery. Same with the bank bailouts. Does anyone think they would have loaned so irresponsibly if they thought they'd be covering their own losses? It's going to happen again because we have no accountability. The politicians and bankers that created the sub-prime mortgage mess are still in power for the most part(or soon will be, yes, I mean the Clintons) and richer then ever. I don't begrudge them riches it just chaffs my backside how they got it. Liars and theives. Investing your money, taking calculated risks and winning some and losing others is part of the game. Too many have rigged the system by stacking the deck with favorable regulations, taxes, tariffs and laws. This is crony capitalism and it's what we have and I hate it. In my mind, if government didn't have the massive power and influence they currently have things would be more competitive and therefore more friendly to us consumers. Starve the beast. Why are you anti austerity? Should Greece be rewarded, yet again, for their duplicity and mismanagement? I agree that Germany is probably the best of all of us Western countries at productivity. I submit much of their troubles comes from trying to fund other country's cock-ups. That's better then going to war again, certainly, but one would hope some of these other countries would start taking better care of themselves. But really, why should they? One good thing about Obama giving Saudi Arabia and Israel and various other "so-called" friendly nations the finger and trying to cozy up to "Death to America!" Iran is that it should be a wake up call to them. Hey SA, maybe when we ask you nicely to drill for more oil you shoud accomodate us for a few months to help us over the hump. Hey Israel, maybe you shouldn't steal our military secrets. Payback is a bitch; especially when it's served cold. On Sun, May 17, 2015 at 2:51 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > It is very good to read your input again Neil.. still want to see a > cricket match. And i have not forgotten. . But it will take some planning > before hand as i have to make travel and lodging reservations. > > تجنب. القتل والاغتصاب واستعباد الآخرين > Avoid; murder, rape and enslavement of others > > -----Original Message----- > From: archytas <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Sun, 17 May 2015 8:24 AM > Subject: Mind's Eye Freedom Falls > > We used to be able to think that if we obeyed the law, "they" would leave > us alone.. I doubt this was ever true. When the "social contract" is > broken the idea is that we revolt. The threat of this revolt is supposed > to control those in power. "Mob rule" has changed over the years and we > have great fear of revolution and perhaps now view it in terms of the > famous Russian curse 'may you live in interesting times'. Molly framed > this in terms of 'cops and robbers' - the largely black protests about > their treatment by cops and the Establishment - yet seen as riots against > police violence. This situation is complex, not least because most of us > want protection against so many of the people the police take action > against. Tony gets a lot of this right in his question about whether you > want to call cops or a mob. Writ larger than this we have seen the old > Soviet empire collapse and the Arab springs. Democracy and transitional > economics have not worked even though many 'braved the bullets' and we have > seen elections. The election situation is close to that in Germany when > the Nazis and Communists were putting themselves up for election with the > express intent of having no more elections - think the Muslim Brotherhood > and the situation in Iran. > > I think we should be overthrowing government. Yet I hardly want the > 'interesting times' many in the Middle East are suffering or the riots in > Baltimore or those in the UK, which spread like wildfire after the shooting > of Mark Duggan. I want an end to the state terrorism that has long existed > in "empire". There are only 22 countries (out of about 180) that Britain > did not invade in empire days, the US having almost caught up on this list > of shame. Yet I also don't want to live under foreign jackboots or Sharia > Law. > > In recent UK elections I voted Green. I would have voted for the Scottish > National Party, given the chance, but I live in England. This is because > the SNP is a Scandinavian-style social democratic and anti-austerity > party. Our Labour Party in now an anachronism and fit only for > dissolution. I had no real vote for anything I would support and our > first-past-the-post system is a paradigm in decadent decay - to the extent > Britain feels increasingly fascist. I say this having lived and worked in > the old Soviet block best described as the USSR (four words four lies) and > Middle Eastern terror states (best described by an old Iraqi friend > disgusted by Saddam, but who said 'at least he keeps the Mullahs off our > backs). Political choice in the UK and US is really no choice at all - we > essentially "choose" one form of neo-liberalism or the other. This is > really not unlike the "choice" in Soviet or third-world voting systems > where there is a one-party state. Karl Popper said it mattered much less > who we elect and much more what control we have over those who get in > power. We have lost a great deal of this control. Blair was elected here > on our democratic urges, yet became Thatcher in drag and a disgusting war > criminal. I even suspect Thatcher would have kept us out of Iraq and > Afghanistan. Of course, we never got to vote as a public about the wars > since WW2,that have claimed more than 25 million and have many more living > in "interesting times". > > Now, many living in these interesting times are trying to flee them and we > face massive immigration pressures from countries freed from the Soviet > yolk and various dictatorships we have deposed. There is other blow-back > too. Francis mentioned the 'rough beast' of WB Yeats the other day and I > now dream of something vile to come - the the dream content is empty of > what this will be. I think this content may be empty because it is played > out in the main media theatre that flows past our eyes. We are hands-on in > almost nothing these days, as clueless as undergraduates in the theatre of > corrupt higher education. Hardly any literature tries to deal with the > reality - there is no Belassario producing anything other than government > propaganda. > > We are living in an Emperor's New Clothes age. I defy anyone to read and > understand company accounts and what is passed in front of us government > statistics. It takes me days to find killer entries in the accounts of > even disasters like Tesco and even then one can only find the money trail > to a £250 million hole that is really £6.4 billion one. I can vouch that > we are being lied to on the economy and could argue this on the quants, but > there is almost no point in a society where most are innumerate. Much > business accounting and economics is expressed like this: > > 1. The Conservatives won a majority in the election. > 2. Forget this 'majority' is 37% of those eligible to vote. > 3. Forget that 10 million we not registered to vote ("majority" down to > 20%) > 4. Lots more forgetting that votes only matter in 14% of our > constituencies and only 20% of people in them ... > > The "majority" is achieved by influencing perhaps as few of 5% of the > total population. > > Freedom has fallen because we are not capable of rational discussion. > Answer - lets educate everyone to be capable of rational discussion - a > great Catch 22 as we are obviously no good at education. Arghh! > > > > > -- > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > ""Minds Eye"" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > ""Minds Eye"" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
