Just like "republicans" are no longer the party of Lincoln, "populists" are now like demagogues. We need a new definition of socialism. Wait, that would require study.
Just like "republicans" are no longer the party of Lincoln, "populists" are now like demagogues. We need a new definition of socialism. Wait, that would require study.
Yup. Sadly the elements of "socialism" that would appeal to most Americans (healthcare, education, regulation of industry, food and water security) are dashed to to death by the instantaneous repellency of the word. A political term that could offer relief and opportunity has been murdered. Just like the word "conservative". Study? Research? Learn? No, listening to bobble heads on TV is much easier.
“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy, that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” John Kenneth Galbraith Such
An excellent quote! My take is that conservative is just a long high falutin’ way to spell GREED! There are reasons Carnegie and his ilk were called robber barons. The libraries and museums are all wonderful, but they came at such a great cost of opportunity for so many people. Who knows what brilliance might have been shut down by the actions of people like Andrew Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt. They were spouting the “voodoo economics” of supply-side before Reagan withi his bs.
My thoughts exactly. Right now the term is the kiss of death for almost any pol. All the R adverts here are screaming (sometimes literally) about crime, schools, homelessness, mandates, etc. One of the worst R candidates for governor (a former school superintendent in a very small place) who defied health mandates leads in some kind of poll. Ballots are out and we have voted although we have to find someplace to mail our ballots other than our local communal mailbox as someone broke into it Friday night. The latter was only a matter of time.
Martin Hagglund is reminding of a major point from Karl Marx, that has been totally ignored by all who ever pretended to practice socialism: labour, our daily work, should be organized so as to favour the development of the individual to his or her best potential. - Those who control the selling will also come to control the production in the future. IKEA as a concept, with forerunners from the 1700 hundreds. - Just to mention some possible starts for study.
Dance. Dance with me. “It’s high time you joined in the dance”. This dance is for you. This dance is for us. Welcome to the dance. Come on down to the dance hall bring pot luck. Would you dance with me? Who are you not inviting to the dance? Let’s go out on the floor and figure out this Texas Two Step. Maybe everyone could learn to dance with each other. Just a real nice social event.
Who knows- could be a cousin of some sort. My Stratton line (also, obviously, my name line), goes back to 1600s New England, and scattered from there beginning in the late 1700s, kept going until we hit the west coast, then added Alaska and Hawaii. Most of my Strattons ended up in Great Basin, then the PacNW. Not sure about Montana, but could be. We have western indigenous connections too. Probably some from before we got there too. For reasons too complicated to go into, I ended up in Vermont. Looks like I'm stuck in Vermont (which is an old VT joke with many stories attached to it).
Lynn, I like Bruce's take on that, to take the labels back and re-legitimize them. In his letter sometime about an hour before this one, he takes off using the term "radical",
A quote from Bruce's letter: ". . . the label they have attached to us is "radical". We all know that that is a misnomer. To further riff on what you wrote above, Barbara: Is it "radical to want to cut the price of insulin? Is it "radical" to want a child tax credit for struggling families? Is it "radical" to want affordable, quality childcare? Is it "radical" to want universal pre-k? Is it "radical" to want investments in affordable housing? Is it "radical" to want adequate elder care? Is it "radical" to be concerned about our climate changing? Is it "radical" to [insert countless other concerns]? . . ."
I like this. In polls and studies, people do want all those things. By disconnecting the label, I think we can find ways to reach past it to the common support of the things that help all of us.
Just like "republicans" are no longer the party of Lincoln, "populists" are now like demagogues. We need a new definition of socialism. Wait, that would require study.
Yup. Sadly the elements of "socialism" that would appeal to most Americans (healthcare, education, regulation of industry, food and water security) are dashed to to death by the instantaneous repellency of the word. A political term that could offer relief and opportunity has been murdered. Just like the word "conservative". Study? Research? Learn? No, listening to bobble heads on TV is much easier.
“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy, that is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” John Kenneth Galbraith Such
An excellent quote! My take is that conservative is just a long high falutin’ way to spell GREED! There are reasons Carnegie and his ilk were called robber barons. The libraries and museums are all wonderful, but they came at such a great cost of opportunity for so many people. Who knows what brilliance might have been shut down by the actions of people like Andrew Carnegie and Cornelius Vanderbilt. They were spouting the “voodoo economics” of supply-side before Reagan withi his bs.
My thoughts exactly. Right now the term is the kiss of death for almost any pol. All the R adverts here are screaming (sometimes literally) about crime, schools, homelessness, mandates, etc. One of the worst R candidates for governor (a former school superintendent in a very small place) who defied health mandates leads in some kind of poll. Ballots are out and we have voted although we have to find someplace to mail our ballots other than our local communal mailbox as someone broke into it Friday night. The latter was only a matter of time.
Perhaps a new term to encompass those concepts, and make it sound pro-American, such as American Fairness, Americans for All . . . brainstorming here.
Martin Hagglund is reminding of a major point from Karl Marx, that has been totally ignored by all who ever pretended to practice socialism: labour, our daily work, should be organized so as to favour the development of the individual to his or her best potential. - Those who control the selling will also come to control the production in the future. IKEA as a concept, with forerunners from the 1700 hundreds. - Just to mention some possible starts for study.
Dance. Dance with me. “It’s high time you joined in the dance”. This dance is for you. This dance is for us. Welcome to the dance. Come on down to the dance hall bring pot luck. Would you dance with me? Who are you not inviting to the dance? Let’s go out on the floor and figure out this Texas Two Step. Maybe everyone could learn to dance with each other. Just a real nice social event.
Ok ok you win. Take my hands, let’s jitterbug. Might as well have fun too.
Here’s a great dance tune with two stepping-the Taos variety. https://youtu.be/ku_Tj8mMk8A
Yup! Great home feeling too. I’m the fat guy that helped her on the horse. My twin. Notice those hands?
Thanks for this. Almost got lost in there somewhere. Like going home.
When I see your name I think of my old friend Skip Stratton. He jumped the White House lawn as a smokejumper, lived in Missoula.
Who knows- could be a cousin of some sort. My Stratton line (also, obviously, my name line), goes back to 1600s New England, and scattered from there beginning in the late 1700s, kept going until we hit the west coast, then added Alaska and Hawaii. Most of my Strattons ended up in Great Basin, then the PacNW. Not sure about Montana, but could be. We have western indigenous connections too. Probably some from before we got there too. For reasons too complicated to go into, I ended up in Vermont. Looks like I'm stuck in Vermont (which is an old VT joke with many stories attached to it).
Skip was tall aloof handsome smart. Very rugged. That’s a hell of a good name he carried. My best cow dog is Annie. Best ever.
Lynn, I like Bruce's take on that, to take the labels back and re-legitimize them. In his letter sometime about an hour before this one, he takes off using the term "radical",
A quote from Bruce's letter: ". . . the label they have attached to us is "radical". We all know that that is a misnomer. To further riff on what you wrote above, Barbara: Is it "radical to want to cut the price of insulin? Is it "radical" to want a child tax credit for struggling families? Is it "radical" to want affordable, quality childcare? Is it "radical" to want universal pre-k? Is it "radical" to want investments in affordable housing? Is it "radical" to want adequate elder care? Is it "radical" to be concerned about our climate changing? Is it "radical" to [insert countless other concerns]? . . ."
I like this. In polls and studies, people do want all those things. By disconnecting the label, I think we can find ways to reach past it to the common support of the things that help all of us.
DOH!