SHOCK POLITICS

NAOMI KLEIN GIVES ME THE BEST EXPLANATION I HAVE SEEN OR HEARD REGARDING OUR INABILITY TO CONTEND, OR EVEN EXPLAIN, DONALD TRUMP. SHE DESCRIBES "SHOCK DOCTRINE" AS "A BRUTAL TACTIC OF SYSTEMATICALLY USING THE PUBLIC'S DISORIENTATION FOLLOWING A COLLECTIVE SHOCK---WARS, COUPS, TERRORIST ATTACKS, MARKET CRASHES, OR NATURAL DISASTERS--TO PUSH THROUGH RADICAL PRO-CORPORATE MEASURES."  AFTER REELING FROM HIS ELECTION, WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND OUR BARRINGS. PEOPLE ARE NOT ACTING IN THEIR BEST INTERESTS. WE SEEM SO DISORIENTED THAT WE DON'T KNOW, OR NO LONGER CARE, WHAT IS BEST FOR US. WE'VE SEEN SHOCK POLITICS AT WORK SINCE 9/11, HURRICANE KATRINA, THE IRAQI WAR, AND NOW THE ELECTION OF TRUMP. IT IS TIME FOR US TO GATHER OURSELVES. BECAUSE WE ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT MUCH FURTHER. THERE IS A WHOLE LOT AT STAKE.

BUY, "NO IS NOT ENOUGH," BY NAOMI KLEIN, ONE OF OUR BEST INVESTIGATIVE WRITERS.

FROM "NO IS NOT ENOUGH" BY NAOMI KLEIN

"WATCHING DONALD TRUMP'S RISE, I'VE HAD A STRANGE FEELING. IT'S NOT JUST THAT HE'S APPLYING SHOCK POLITICS TO THE MOST POWERFUL AND HEAVILY ARMED NATION ON EARTH. IT'S MORE THAN THAT. IN BOOKS, DOCUMENTARY FILMS, AND INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING, I HAVE DOCUMENTED A RANGE OF TRENDS: THE RISE OF SUPERBRANDS, THE EXPANDING POWER OF PRIVATE WEALTH OVER THE POLITICAL SYSTEM, THE GLOBAL IMPOSITION OF NEOLIBERALISM, OFTEN USING RACISM AND FEAR OF THE "OTHER" AS A POTENT TOOL, THE DAMAGING IMPACTS OF CORPORATE FREE TRADE, AND THE DEEP HOLD THAT CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL HAS TAKEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM. AND AS I BEGAN TO RESEARCH TRUMP, HE STARTED TO SEEM TO ME LIKE FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER, SEWN TOGETHER OUT OF THE BODY PARTS OF ALL OF THESE AND MANY OTHER DANGEROUS TRENDS."

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I'M NOT LOOKING TO OVERTHROW THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT, THE CORPORATE STATE ALREADY HAS."

John Trudell, Santee Dakota

IT SURE IS WHITE AROUND HERE, BUT IT HARDLY EVER SNOWS

HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, ARKANSAS. A FINE PLACE TO RAISE YOUR CHILDREN ASSUMING YOU ONLY WANT THEM TO BE EXPOSED TO WHITE, CHRISTIAN, REPUBLICAN, RIGHT-WING PEOPLE. IT'S NOT THAT THAT WOULD BE BAD. IT'S MORE LIKE IT WOULD BE UNFORTUNATE. PARTICULARLY FOR THEM.

'Revolting': Trump Openly Calls for Police Brutality in Long Island Speech

'Revolting': Trump Openly Calls for Police Brutality in Long Island Speech



Dah. Thank you Mr. Trump, for legitimizing our violence perpetrated on the American public, in particular the minority population. We appreciate your support. Could you also mention something abut shooting them? You are the greatest. We salute you.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"IF ROSE PARKS HAD TAKEN A POLL BEFORE SHE SAT DOWN IN THE BUS IN MONTGOMERY, SHE'D STILL BE STANDING."

Mary Frances Berry

For Defeat of Trumpcare, Thank Disability Rights Activists, Not John McCain

For Defeat of Trumpcare, Thank Disability Rights Activists, Not John McCain



McCAIN TOOK THE LIMELIGHT, WHICH HE DID NOT DESERVE. LOOK AT THE MONEY HE TAKES FROM HEALTHCARE. HE'S NOT ABOUT TO HELP THOSE IN NEED. HE GETS UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE. HE DOESN'T MUCH CARE ABOUT THE REST OF US. WE'LL SEE IN THE COMING MONTHS IF HE TURNED OVER A NEW LEAF. I WOULDN'T HOLD MY BREATH.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"REALIZE THAT FOR EVERY ONGOING WAR AND RELIGIOUS OUTRAGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEVASTATION AND BOGUS IRAQI ATTACK PLAN, THERE ARE A THOUSAND COUNTERBALANCING ACTS OF STAGGERING GENEROSITY AND HUMANITY AND ART AND BEAUTY HAPPENING ALL OVER THE WORLD, RIGHT NW, ON A BREATHTAKING SCALE, FROM FLOWER BOX TO CATHEDRAL...RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO DROWN IN FATALISM, TO SHAKE YOUR HEAD AND SIGH AND JUST THROW IN THE KARMIC TOWEL...REALIZE THAT THIS IS THE PERFECT MOMENT TO CHANGE THE ENERGY OF THE WORLD, TO STEP RIGHT UP AND CRANK YOUR PERSONAL VOLUME; RIGHT WHEN IT ALL SEEMS DARK AND BITTER AND OFFENSIVE AND ACRIMONIOUS  AND CONFLICTED AND BILIOUS...THERE'S YOUR OPENING."

Mark Morford

Researchers: Trump Tweets Reveal 'Neurotic' and 'Unstable' Leader

Researchers: Trump Tweets Reveal 'Neurotic' and 'Unstable' Leader



DEAR WORLD: WELCOME TO REALITY

HEIL HITLER

Trump addresses the Boy Scouts. The occasion was reminiscent of Hitler addressing young males in Germany. He incorporated Hitler Youth into the Nazi rise to power. Trump sounds and acts very much the same, right down to his salute. I'm beginning to think the whole thing is part of his mental illness. It's really eerie.

I would have to say, all things being equal, which they seldom are, that this is the most fearful and dangerous time in American history. Remember, he has his deranged hand on the nuclear button. And there is no one wise, or brave enough, to stop him. I'm guessing we will just sit back and watch this unfold, as he leads us back to the primordial ooze that we once, at least most of us, crawled out of.

HOW MANY WAYS CAN YOU SAY "WE'RE SCREWED."

1. WE ELECTED TRUMP. WELL, SORT OF. THAT'S A BIG SCREWING. THAT'S ALL THE SCREWING A PERSON NEEDS. THAT SCREWS UP JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING.
2. SEE NUMBER 1.
3. SEE NUMBER 2.
AND SO FORTH AND SO ON.

HOLD YOUR BREATH

WELL, TODAY IS THE DAY THE CLOWNS ARE SUPPOSE TO VOTE ON A HEALTHCARE BILL. THE REPUBLICANS WANT TO DISMANTLE OBAMACARE, WHICH ISN'T THE GREATEST, BUT AT LEAST IS SOMETHING. THE REPUBLICANS HAVE NOTHING. THEY JUST WANT TO EMBARRASS OBAMA. (YES. I THINK THEY ARE RACIST). AT ANY RATE, WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS. I'M SURE THOSE REPUBLICANS AGAINST WERE THREATENED WITH JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING BAD THAT IS POSSIBLE. IF THEY PASS THIS BILL, THEY BETTER HIRE MORE BODYGUARDS. AS SOON AS THE PUBLIC REALIZES WHAT THEY PASSED, NOTHING IS GOING TO HELP THEM. THE REVOLUTION WILL BEGIN.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANY PROBLEM IN THIS COUNTRY, NO MATTER HOW TOUGH IT IS, THAT AMERICANS, WHEN THEY ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES, CAN'T COMPLETELY IGNORE."

George Carlin

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"IF WE LISTEN ATTENTIVELY, WE CAN HEAR, AMID THE UPROAR OF EMPIRES AND NATIONS, A FAINT FLUTTER OF WINGS, THE GENTLE STIRRING OF LIFE AND HOPE. SOME WILL SAY THAT THIS HOPE LIES IN A NATION; OTHERS, IN A PERSON. I BELIEVE, RATHER, THAT IT IS AWAKENED AND NOURISHED BY MILLIONS OF SOLITARY INDIVIDUALS WHOSE DEEDS AND WORKS EVERY DAY NEGATE FRONTIERS AND THE CRUDEST IMPLICATIONS OF HISTORY."

Albert Camus

BUMPER STICKER OF THE DAY

ONLY IN AMERICA ARE THERE ANTI-ELITIST BILLIONAIRES

Red Alert: Team Trump Unveils Anti-Planet, Anti-Worker Corporate Wish List

Red Alert: Team Trump Unveils Anti-Planet, Anti-Worker Corporate Wish List

DUMBFOUNDED

"WHAT DOES A CON ARTIST DO ONCE HE BECOMES PRESIDENT: TRY TO HUSTLE THE
WHOLE WORLD?"

Sparrow

HELP

"TRUMP RESEMBLES NO OTHER AMERICAN PRESIDENT, BUT IS STRANGELY REMINISCENT OF GEORGE 111, THE MAD BRITISH KING AGAINST WHOM WE REBELLED IN 1776."

"IN TWO WEEKS TRUMP HAS MOVED FROM crazy to CRAZY."

"I JUST REALIZED, I'VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE--AND LOSING---FOR FIFTY YEARS."

"TODAY I WROTE THIS BUMPER STICKER: I WAS AGAINST CAPITALISM BEFORE IT WAS THIS AWFUL."

Sparrow

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"DON'T AGONIZE. ORGANIZE."
Florynce Kennedy

Dear Senators: I Took an Oath to Do No Harm. You Should, Too.

Dear Senators: I Took an Oath to Do No Harm. You Should, Too.



HEALTHCARE BILL: DO NO HARM

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"WE LIVE IN CAPITALISM. ITS POWER SEEMS INESCAPABLE---BUT THEN, SO DID THE DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS."

Ursula Le Guin

THE SIXTIES

THE SUN: WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE ENORMOUS ENERGY THAT WAS GENERATED IN THE SIXTIES?

STEPHEN GASKIN: SOME OF ITS SEEDS HAVE FALLEN ON STONY GROUND, SOME OF ITS SEEDS HAVE BEEN EATEN BY BIRDS, AND SOME HAVE FALLEN IN PLACES WHERE THAT ENERGY HAS RETURNED A HUNDREDFOLD. THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR REVOLUTION: IT'S STILL HERE. ALTHOUGH THERE'S NOT A VISIBLE HIPPIE TRIBE ON THE STREETS OR ROADS OR IN THE CITIES, AS THERE USED TO BE, IT DOESN'T MATTER, BECAUSE WE PERMEATED THE CULTURE. THE POPULAR MUSIC OF THIS COUNTRY IS NOW ROCK-AND-ROLL. YOU HEAR PEOPLE STILL TALKING HIPPIE TALK THAT WAS INVENTED ON HAIGHT STREET. THEY SAY, "DIG THIS," AND "COOL." EVERYBODY DOES. WE PERMEATED THE CULTURE, AND THAT'S WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO DO...

THE SUN: WAS SOME OF THAT ENERGY MAYBE TOO OPTIMISTIC? EXPECTED SOMETHING TO HAPPEN TOO SOON?

GASKIN: THINGS DID HAPPEN. WE GOT OUT OF VIETNAM. WE MADE IT SO THAT YOU COULDN'T RUN A RACIST SOCIETY SEPARATE FROM THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES, SO THAT THE CONSTITUTION REACHED DOWN INTO THE FAR CORNERS OF ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. WE GOT RID OF A PRESIDENT WHO WAS A TYRANT. WE BROUGHT NEW FORMS OF EDUCATION TO OTHER COUNTRIES THROUGH THE PEACE CORPS. THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS CULTURAL FLOWERING THAT TOOK PLACE. ALL FLOWERS EVENTUALLY CURL UP, BUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FLOWER IS IN THE SEED. AND THE SEEDS WERE PLANTED.

(Stephen Gaskin-hippie, founder of "The Farm," commune in Tennessee).

WHERE IS A.J. MUSTE?

I LOVE THE STORY ABOUT A.J. MUSTE, WHO, DURING THE VIETNAM WAR, STOOD IN FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE NIGHT AFTER NIGHT WITH A CANDLE--SOMETIMES ALONG. A REPORTER INTERVIEWED HIM ONE EVENING AS HE STOOD THERE IN THE RAIN. "MR. MUSTE," THE REPORTER SAID, "DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE POLICIES OF THIS COUNTRY BY STANDING OUT HERE ALONE AT NIGHT WITH A CANDLE?" A.J. RESPONDED, "OH, I DON'T DO THIS TO CHANGE THE COUNTRY. I DO THIS SO THE COUNTRY WON'T CHANGE ME."
Andrea Ayvazian

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"IN AMERICA THE WORD REVOLUTION IS USED TO SELL PANTYHOSE."
Rita Mae Brown

'Landslide Victory' for Climate as G20 Leaders (Minus Trump) Affirm Paris Accord

'Landslide Victory' for Climate as G20 Leaders (Minus Trump) Affirm Paris Accord



THE WORLD TO TRUMP: SCREW YOU

TRUMP LIES

"GLORIFY A LIE, LEGALIZE A LIE, ARM AND EQUIP A LIE, CONSECRATE A LIE WITH SOLEMN FORMS AND AWFUL PENALTIES, AND AFTER ALL IT IS NOTHING BUT A LIE."

Edwin Chapin

A ROUGHED-UP SERMON FROM THE STREET

• I'M HUNGRY. I DON'T NEED MORE WORDS. I NEED FOOD.
• IT'S RAINING. THERE GOES MY CARDBOARD HOUSE.
• A GOOD PAIR OF SHOES IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS.
• I'D BE GLAD TO WORK IF YOU PAID ME A DECENT WAGE. HOW MUCH WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO WORK FOR? YOU SAY ANYTHING, BUT I KNOW BETTER. WHY ARE YOU WORTH SO MUCH MORE THAN ME?
• SOME DAYS, THE STREET ISN'T THAT BAD. SOME DAYS, IT COMES CLOSE TO MAKING SENSE. BUT MOSTLY, IT'S HELL.
• THE RICH BOYS SAY I DESERVE WHAT I GET. SOME DAY, I'LL BE SAYING THE SAME TO THEM.
• I ASK YOU FOR SOME CHANGE, AND YOU LOOK AT ME LIKE I'M A FREAK. IT'S NOT THE MONEY YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT, IT'S THE REMINDER THAT A CHRISTIAN IS CALLED TO HELPING THOSE IN NEED. AND YOU DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER THAT.

POSITIVE DOUBTS

• Some people say I am negative. I say it's good to have doubts. I call it Positive Doubts. I don't like sugar coated nonsense. There is no nobler task than upsetting the status quo. Conventional wisdom is an excuse for not thinking on your own. Just because it has always been that way is wrought with excuses and misguided sentiment.
• I have serious doubts about people who hide behind Christianity to promote right-wing ideology. I do not think political ideology should be interwoven with theology. It begins to stink. I deeply admire Christ and is teachings. I hate to see them perverted.
• I believe, when it comes down to it, that humans are inherently good and nonviolent by inclination. When you look around, that is definitely an optimistic viewpoint.
• I continue to believe you cannot kill people and expect anything good to come of it.
• I still don't think foreign terrorists are the most dangerous people we have to worry about.
• I don't think the current administration in Washington is fundamentally good. I think Trump and his cohorts are evil. I hardly think that of anyone.
• Capitalism cannot work with democracy. They are not compatible. You cannot constantly cheat and steal from people and claim it to be democratic. The rich cannot keep getting richer and the poor poorer and have it called a just and democratic system. 
• Still, this country is worth doubting over. We could be so much more than we are.

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

DONALD TRUMP WOULD PREFER NO PRESS, SINCE HE GETS SO LITTLE COVERAGE THAT IS FAVORABLE TO HIS MARCH TOWARDS FASCISM.

RESIST: Neil Young premieres video for new protest song, "Children of Destiny"

RESIST: Neil Young premieres video for new protest song, "Children of Destiny"



INDEPENDENCE DAY-A NEW NATIONAL ANTHEM

Who Weeps Not, Sees Not: Celebrating Victor Hugo's Les Misérables

Who Weeps Not, Sees Not: Celebrating Victor Hugo's Les Misérables



RESIST

RANDOM THOUGHTS

THEREFORE, HUMAN RULERS AND ENLIGHTENED RULERS LIMIT WHAT THEY TAKE FROM THEIR SUBJECTS AND ARE MODERATE IN THEIR LIVING.

A NATION WITHOUT JUSTICE WILL PERISH EVEN IF IT IS LARGE; PEOPLE WITHOUT GOODWILL WILL BE WOUNDED EVEN IF THEY ARE BRAVE.

The Tao of Politics