Rebirthin’ American government begins with you and me. We must do
this now. We have no choice because we are clearly well along on the road to
catastrophe.
What will our America be like? I want us all to share a life-affirming America. Now! What do you want the new America to be?
Inequality in America Townhall Meeting - 19 Mar 2018
Guardian News
Streamed live on Mar 19, 2018
Sanders has said: "The issue of oligarchy and wealth and income inequality is the great moral issue of our time, it is the great economic issue of our time and it is the great political issue of our time, yet it gets very little coverage from the corporate media."
To discuss inequality, he has convened a town hall in Washington DC with Senator Elizabeth Warren, filmmaker Michael Moore, economist Darrick Hamilton and other experts
Back in the 60s and 70s did you somehow know that we would be swimming in BS when 2018 rolled around?
If you were that perceptive, then you deserve the Nostradamus Seein' Way Out Stuff Award. Needless to say,you must already know how important this Calling Bullshit class is for all of us today.
As for me, I'm watching all these video sessions on YouTube. Not only because they are free, but also because I'm learning important stuff about how to become a savvy media consumer. For instance, I’ve learned about Alberto Brandolini's Bullshit Asymmetry Principle: "The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it."
O.K.?
I’ve also learned a new definition of Bullshit: "Bullshit involves language, statistical figures, data graphics, and other forms of presentation intended to impress, overwhelm, or persuade - presented with a blatant disregard for truth, logical coherence, or what information is actually being conveyed."
Seriously, you must watch these videos! To pique you interest, here are the first two:
Calling Bullshit 1.1: Introduction to Bullshit - 2017
Dr. Carl T. Bergstrom, Professor, Department of Biology, University of Washington
Dr. Jevin D. West, Assistant Professor, Information School, University of Washington /co-director of the DataLab
Bullshit is everywhere, and we've had enough. We want to teach people to detect and defuse bullshit where ever it may arise. Synopsis: Our world is saturated with bullshit. Learn to detect and defuse it.
Calling Bullshit 1.2: Calling Bullshit on Our Own Bullshit - 2017
Jevin uses data graphics to boast about explosive growth at our website callingbullshit.org and Carl calls bullshit. Old-school bullshit versus new-school bullshit. Synopsis: Our world is saturated with bullshit. Learn to detect and defuse it.
Recently it’s been a proven fact, to me anyway, that nothin’ gets around faster than a good lie, otherwise known as an “alternative fact”. And, those "big lies" have outstanding stayin’ power, too, longer lived than ole Methuselah, I’d reckon.
Well, now, you don’t have to take my word for it either. There’s solid proof... from MIT.
“Falsehoods almost always beat out the truth on Twitter, penetrating further, faster, and deeper into the social network than accurate information.”
"It is unclear which interventions, if any, could reverse this tendency toward falsehood. “We don’t know enough to say what works and what doesn’t,” Aral told me. There is little evidence that people change their opinion because they see a fact-checking site reject one of their beliefs, for instance. Labeling fake news as such, on a social network or search engine, may do little to deter it as well."
"In short, social media seems to systematically amplify falsehood at the expense of the truth, and no one—neither experts nor politicians nor tech companies—knows how to reverse that trend. It is a dangerous moment for any system of government premised on a common public reality."
Why would Kim Jong-un suddenly decide to meet with Mr. Trump? Several reasons come to mind, of course. But none have to do with being cowed by the Amerikanski bully president. Au contraire! Now, with the world as his stage, and Mr. Putin as his wily ally, he can "outdeal" the "dotard".
Earlier this morning, via Tweets from the Official POTUS Bed, DownriverUSA received two exclusive Twitter messages saying that POTUS has created several, startling, additions and appointments to the President’s Cabinet.
While it is not yet known where these new positions will rank, as cabinet positions do, in the order of succession to the Presidency, Mr. Trump simultaneously named both the new positions and his appointments to fill them.
Mr. Trump further tweeted, “The Marine Core should expect a beautiful appointment soon.”
Secretary of the NRA
Mr. Yosemite Sam Secretary of Outer Space
Mr. Marvin Martian
Secretary of Wall Building
Mr. Elmer Fudd
Secretary of Non-Finland Immigrants
Mr. Taz Secretary of Deals
Mr. Sylvester Secretary of Obama & Hillary Blaming
Mr. Wile E. Coyote
*Please forgive me, Mr. Looney Tunes. I could not help myself.
Huffington Post lead, 14 Mar 2018, 3:50 pm See story below.
Are we a compassionate people? Do we want our children to
have a safe haven conducive for learning, free of fear and killing? After all,
are we not, “the land of the free and home of the brave”?
Or, have we lost our courage, wallowing in self-interest and
avarice - cowards, hiding from our responsibilities, remaining undisturbed
watching our sports games and reality shows?
How is it that we have metastasized into a massive blob of cancerous
protoplasm willing to sacrifice millions of souls in the name of "Democracy" and, now, our own children as they sit, trying to learn how to read and
write?
How is it that we have allowed ourselves to become the antithesis
of the people we naively believe ourselves to be?
Now is time we must actually become the people of, “the land of the
free and home of the brave”.
As special counsel Robert Mueller continues his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, we take a look back at Washington’s record of meddling in elections across the globe. By one count, the United States has interfered in more than 80 foreign elections between 1946 and 2000. And that doesn’t count U.S.-backed coups and invasions. We speak to former New York Times reporter Stephen Kinzer, author of “Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq.”
Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs weekdays on nearly 1,400 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday.
Join me now in my WABAC machine* to the summer of 1971.
My U.S. Army basic training experience began on 10 June at
Fort Polk, Louisiana. And, this I can say about it: each time I flubbed up, my drill sergeant instantly
made clear – directly into my face – that I had just stepped on my d**k and must
face the ground, generate 50 push ups and run about a quarter mile or so with
much haste.
Now, if it were 1971 and Sec. DeVos were a man, my drill sergeant
would let her know that she was steppn’ on her d**k, too, for all the dumbass
things she says and all the stuff she doesn’t know about her job.
And, yes, her incompetence will get our students killed –
the ones she is supposed to be helping – just like stupid mistakes get your Ft.
Polk buddies killed when all those bullets start whizzin’ about.
You know, teachin’ kids is not a good job for stupid people.
It really does help the students when the teacher knows somthin’ about teachin’. Plus, the "active shooter" problem we now face in our schools can not be solved by a "clueless" ignoramus.
*The WABAC Machine or Wayback Machine is a fictional time
machine from the segment "Peabody's Improbable History", a recurring
feature of the 1960s cartoon series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
