487 Comments

As an American living in Australia, I can tell you that the comments in the scholarly letter regarding other countries attracting America's best and brightest (and those with money to invest) to emigrate is real. New Zealand is actively taking this course of action and why not? NZ (and Australia if they would wake up to the opportunity) can offer democratic stability, relatively strong economies, rational government intervention in society (look at the pandemic response), high-quality affordable nationalized health care, great public transportation, almost no gun crime, public investment in beautiful public spaces, spectacular natural areas ....the list goes on. It has been painful to watch the decline of America under the previous administration (he who shall go unnamed) and while as an optimist I have to believe the decline can be reversed, it will take a huge effort. It is a shame that is has gotten to this- my Australian friends (who universally admire America) can't believe what they see before their eyes. The world needs America as it sees itself - the old (and getting a bit worn) "beacon on a hill" metaphor. If that light goes out, where will the world look?

Thanks for what you do.

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Dave. I'm in CT. It's 3:30 am here and I'm reading this. To think of people fleeing this country, fleeing THE US to go to more stable, functioning, flourishing democracies is not going to let me sleep tonight. I did not know NZ is actively recruiting our best and brightest. Already. And if things do not shift, and shift very very soon, it will not only be the best and brightest fleeing to God knows where because places like NZ will naturally only want highly educated, specialized (healthy) people, not refugees. I cannot believe I am writing these words. Two generations ago, my family (Jewish) came HERE to flee endless persecution, to pursue a life where their children could live and thrive in relative safety, with opportunities that Jews rarely had in Europe. I was born in 1967, and though always aware that as a Jew one is never quite "safe," I certainly grew up with the knowledge that I was lucky to be in America, in this beacon on a hill, as you called it.

"If that light goes out, where will the world look?" I am literally praying for that light to remain.

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Hey, Nomi. My grandmother sailed the Atlantic with my grandfather when she was pregnant, birthed my mother just a month after they landed on U.S. shores. They fled the rise of Mussolini, leaving the bulk of their wealth behind to start a new and free life in the United States.

Staying here in Virginia (the former seat of the confederacy...now blue) to keep the light burning.

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Morning Lynell, morning all.

My grandfather left Mother Russia in 1921 during the height of the Russian Revolution (not an easy thing to do). He was a 'White Russian' while his sister was a Bolshevik, or 'Red Russian'. His sister turned in their mother to the KGB.

He left, knowing that he would never see his own mother or family ever again. He attended USC to study engineering. One day while vacationing in Yosemite National Park, a Montessori teacher (who studied with Maria Montessori and opened the first Montessori school in San Francisco) saw this young man diving off a bridge into the south fork of the Merced River. She said to one of her assistants, 'bring that young man over to me, I'd like him to meet my daughter'. This is how my grandparents met.

I am not leaving this country of such beauty and strong spirit. Though I have traveled all over the world and seen a great deal of beauty elsewhere, I consider the greatness and promise of this country worth keeping.

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Wow, Stephen...Such sadness and joy all rolled into one.

Will be on this end covering the East while you cover the West!

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Someone needs to cover the North....I may be too old.

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Such richness in your story 🤩

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Bittersweet, Stephen and I’m with you 1000%.

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Hopefully, there are exceptions to my following comments:

Capitalism has little allegiance to any nation. The investments they make in politics and religion are made in view of profits and lessening of regulations. During the Reagan administration when laws were passed making it more profitable for manufacturing to move out of the country, every company that could roll up their tents immediately made a bee-line for Mexico, China, Thailand, etcetera. Wherever they could employ slave labor or children, that is where they bought tickets for.

If the United States becomes too unstable to ensure their businesses can survive, there will be no need for active recruitment; the capitalists will be there, looking for the best labor and tax options.

And the church? Likewise. Whether it's the rich capitalists or authoritarian governments, the church will be camping there.

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Thank you, Lynell, for staying in Virginia to fight the good fight.

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Hey, Lynell, I highly recommend a book by Jennifer Anton : “Under the Light of the Italian Moon”. It is historical fiction, based on her family’s travails in Italy under Mussolini during WWII.

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Thanks, Annette. Will check it out.

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Thank you!

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“If that light goes out, where will the world look?” How awful that some people are working hard to put out that light.

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Hello Dave, I’m in Australia too, but am American to the core. What would I do without Heather! I watch in despair as so much of our country seems to slide down the ‘hill’. My friends here find it also hard to believe. But read Don Watson’s American Journey and see revealed the America that is now showing itself and gaining power. I can only hope the republicans come to their sesnses. Deb

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Deb and Dave, I have many friends who either are from Australia or work there and my impression is that often, its politics resemble the USA in that the Conservatives are blinkered blowhards, climate change has been ignored until recent catastrophic events forced people to be aware, and the oppression of non-white people (which as I have understood recent Australian history also has included Greeks and Turks), especially indigenous peoples, is pervasive and hard to get under control. What's your impression? I would sincerely like to know because my Aussie friends are super worried about their country.

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I too had that thought. That is not to say I don't like Australia, I do. Especially I admire her actors, film, and other art based contributions. But I think it is true that it also has a blemished history and current iron-fisted conservatism.

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It may be beyond their conscious senses based on what I learned from a former cult member while listening to an intense conversation on The Lincoln Project podcast recently. Don’t let the title fool you. It goes way back before tRump. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5TuxYlpUNYRjihg5Olj8tn?si=lfLr5YSbRc--EL0ZZhKZ9Q

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**HCR friends: THE INTERVIEW above by the LINCOLN PROJECT WITH STEVEN HASSAN, FORMER CULT MEMBER, IS WORTH ½ hour OF YOUR LIFE! Thank you, Diane LeClaire for posting this. Five years+ we have been watching the negative mental programming spread across our country and the world like wildfire by authoritarian leaders and regimes seeking total power and control.

Sorry to yell above, but this is critical in understanding what is going on and how Putin, Pence, TFG, and all their comrades are operating. The great puppeteer of TFG & his comrades, points frequently to Putin, who may be the major cult leader as he knows the brainwashing tactics from years in the KGB and in controlling his own people via propaganda and fear.

I have spent years studying cults and brainwashing trying to understand how Hitler and other deranged dictators can manipulate and control the vast majority of a nation. I have also read some of Steven Hassan's works, most of which are very good. Many friends of mine have relatives who became "under the influence" of TFG via Fox which is a repetitive mind control tool as are TFG's rallies and former tweets. Anyone who has friends or family members who have been hypnotized by the GOP will find very useful information in how to gently begin to bring them out of their trance states. This takes a lot of love and a long dedication of time to help them begin to think for themselves.

I find this a very significant issue to educate ourselves in if we are to learn to fight this modern psychological warfare battle. I do not know how we do it, but we need to stop the flow of hypnosis from TFG, Putin, Fox, Breitbart, Qanon, Proud boys, KKK, etc.

I know this sounds really strange, but I wonder if some of our "plops" here are watching us to see what kind of information and ideas we are sharing. That is how cults work as they find out who is groom-able and who might thwart their agendas.

Critical thinking skills are numbed. We have a lot to do America, a lot. We have never been at this critical place in our history due to the internet combined with a global pandemic. Not many of us in the psych field, as Hassan mentions, are trained in how to deal with masses of hypnotized people. We need to all learn how to gently undo this hold, individually, on our peers as well as suspend the flow of proven mind control venues that are detrimental to the well-being of our democracy. I know, I know, freedom of speech and all that-- but we need to grapple with these massive speech tactics that involve manipulation and mind-control. Perhaps if it meets the criteria for negative, corruptive and undue influence then it could be suspended? If we do not learn how to stop/intervene in psychological cyber warfare via neurolinguistic means, our freedoms of speech and democracy will become relics of our American history, anyway.

Fig, I was going to try to be really positive and uplifting today... then Diane woke me up! It is actually positive to understand how we got where we are in this dangerous predicament we find ourselves in today.

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Thank YOU, Penelope, for articulating that which I find difficult to express, but feel the weight of, the frustration of being unable to break through the propaganda fog that has enveloped friends and family. Quite sure I haven’t gone about it the right way, or a helpful way, but if a door cracks open, hopefully sooner than later, I aim to try a different tact.

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Ditto here in Portugal

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If I were four decades younger I'd be choosing between those two and Scandinavia.

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Moving to New Zealand from the US

“New Zealand is actively seeking international investors to settle or spend time living here.”

https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/choose-new-zealand/compare-new-zealand/usa

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We forget how important the "bully pulpit" is. In my view Biden is handling it very well in his low key but unmistakably firm, non inflammatory manner. Now, it is up to the Democratic leadership in the House and in the Senate as to what to do next. I think it will be necessary to suspend the filibuster, a parliamentary procedure in the Senate used for over 100 years to restrict voting rights for all. I cannot imagine a more fitting reason to suspend it than to obtain voting rights for all who wish to vote and to assure an accurate vote count. Our democracy depends on the outcome of this fight. The current Republican Party has abandoned its support of democracy and with the exception of a few Republicans in the House and even fewer in the Senate and, of course, a great number of former Republican elected officials, cannot be trusted as a partner in the venture of obtaining voting rights for all. It is wonderful that Biden has given the important work of coordinating the fight for equal voting rights to the Vice President. This is a powerful statement on his part. While I am at it, I want to say how right it is that Biden is not touching any of the delusional material coming from the ex President and from the Republican base. In treating delusional patients, psychiatrists learn early on not to directly challenge the person with the delusion, nor do they agree about the delusional idea, but they patiently work with those around the patient to produce a healing atmosphere and wait until the delusional person gradually comes into their right mind.

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I agree with this about not challenging the person with delusions. But, I doubt tRump will ever come to his "right mind."

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tRump won't ever. But perhaps my 3 trumper brothers will.

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Fingers crossed for you and your brothers.

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One of my relatives posted on facebook the other day. It was a slightly customized repetition of radical right campaign talk about Biden's cognitive capacity. She got quite offended when two of us pointed that out, insisted she was making an independent non-political medical judgment (based on 'news' video clips) out of concern for the poor man.

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MaryPat I admire your optimism. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. I was in a relationship in which I thought that witnessing measured and rational discourse would change the mind of the person with whom I was partnered. He just got worse.

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Kinzinger's family members, I think about ten of them, apparently wrote a scathing public letter ripping him apart for not supporting their naked emperor. He needs our support!

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Speaking of Bully Pulpit's...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/02/politics/donald-trump-blog-scaramucci/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/02/trump-blog-dead/

Former president Donald Trump’s blog, celebrated by advisers as a “beacon of freedom” that would keep him relevant in an online world he once dominated, is dead. It was 29 days old.

Upset by reports from The Washington Post and other outlets highlighting its measly readership and concerns that it could detract from a social media platform he wants to launch later this year, Trump ordered his team Tuesday to put the blog out of its misery, advisers said.

On its last day, the site received just 1,500 shares or comments on Facebook and Twitter — a staggering drop for someone whose every tweet once garnered hundreds of thousands of reactions.

Trump still wants to launch some other platform — timing not yet determined — and didn’t like that this first attempt was being mocked as a loser, according to a Trump adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly about the former president’s plans.

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An invaluable review and measured assessment of the historical highlights of the day, Prof. HCR. Thank you!

I wonder why the scholars took this long to pen their concerns. While it is not my place to critique their motives for this time and this day (1st June, 2021), their timing fits in splendidly with President Biden's words and actions -- almost as though they were choreographed to bring his presidency to its climax a mere four months since its inception and as a counter pirouette to 45's acceptance of a new insurgence to place him on the throne of his imagination.

The names Manchin and Sinema will, no doubt, go down in history as semi-insurgents in this fight for democracy. They couldn't have been as effective had they been Republican plants, which, to my mind, appears to be a likely scenario. How can any Democrats be so determined to undermine their party's survival?

President Biden's speeches on this 1st June, 2021, give me hope that his leadership will be filled with the vim and vigor of a founding parent -- a mama bear who will protect her cubs and her freedom at all costs! And I am willing to give heart and soul to the unfolding of his vision. In the words of my college's signatory battle cry: Audeamus, Let Us Dare!

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Morning, Rowshan!! Great battle cry and so relevant. Invoking the "mama bear" into this reminds me of the story I heard yesterday about the woman who saved her dogs from a mama bear who was protecting her cubs. My first thought was it's the women/mothers who will do the saving. I was struck by the fact that she was able to push that huge bear off the ledge, and the bear did not attack her but walked away. Truly amazing!! https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=woman+pushes+bear+off+ledge&docid=13903298632523&mid=192CF7D5606E721DD322192CF7D5606E721DD322&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

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Good morning, Lynell! That's a wonderful story. Thank you! It just goes to show the amount of strength a teenager can muster when her mama bear instincts come to the fore!!!

Similarly, an older president can call to those very same impulses, hidden deep within, to defend the country that he loves from her most dangerous, white supremacist enemies.

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PaJoe celebrated legacy of Greenwood and made it something special yesterday. Pivotal speech for freedom.

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Boy Howdy, Rowshan. My thoughts exactly.

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Wow! Thank you for sharing this, Lynell! Others have remarked that her actions were foolish and, from the standpoint of her personal safety, maybe so. But I know I would do something similar, given a similar situation. I walk my dogs (who are now trending towards ‘elderly’) daily and often think of how I would protect them from an attack by my neighbor’s dogs should that be necessary - we have had a lot of trouble with their dogs in the past and it could happen again at any time. I would also do the same without thinking twice to save my children or grandchildren from harm. Never underestimate the power and ferocity of a protective mamma!

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She is a teenager! Brave and foolish and lucky. It’s an amazing video.

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Morning, Kathy!! Best wishes for you today.

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Thank you! Surgery went well. I’m home, up and about, pain isn’t too bad which is probably drugs and the nerve block but I’ll take it!

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Wonderful news, Kathy! Hoping soon you will be hanging out with Peter and Hudson.

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I had to laugh at that one - I'm sure it would have been a different story if those cubs had gotten between their mom & that gal - not funny then. And truly have to wonder exactly this gal's reaction after the fact - possibly after seeing that video? I'm betting that took some recovery time.

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She was interviewed about it last evening. Basically said she did what she had to do.

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She sure did!

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WHOA!!! Amazing. And I don't think it was just any bear, but a brown bear -- a grizzly! (I'm not an ursa expert.)

Well done on both sides -- real bear and dog mama.

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So-called "black bears" come in many colors from black to gold, and this one just happened to be a brown black bear. Black bears are generally pretty mellow. Still, a mama bear.

Definitely not a grizzly, though- which are easy to tell from their hump and size. I have waited out a mama grizzly with 3 cubs, one with her and two on the other side of the road. I backed up to a curve to give her space and made sure that cars behind me (well-traveled mountain road in CO) understood what was happening. I could see that somebody on the other side had done the same thing. We waited quietly and patiently for her to get it across. The remaining cub, smallest, hid and took more time. Eventually she went over, clearly distressed, and nudged it out and gave it a swat in the direction of the road, then nudged it into running. We all gave her a few minutes to collect everyone and continue downhill in the brush before proceeding, waving and grinning at each other as we passed. Patience and common sense saves lives. So does advance warning. On the trail, wear bells or rattles and chatter as you walk. Not kidding.

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Whoa, Annie. That story is too cool by half! What a memory to hold and refer to throughout your life. Just priceless. Thanks so much for sharing.

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Oh, I'm full of wilderness stories- you don't want to encourage me! Love the western mountains and deserts, and out of the way places. Hiking, snowshoeing. Getting a bit long in the tooth now, and focusing a bit closer to my own yard. But yeah, I do enjoy my memories. Lucky to have experienced them. No videos, do have a few thousand photos.

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Have seen a couple videos of that scene. Wasnt it cool tho?

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Saw something similar to that as well, Maggie. And yes, way cool!

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Amazing video! Mama bears do what they need to do to protect. Thanks for this Lynell.

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Lynell! Amazing video.

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That is a great video! She just did what she had to do. I’m sure she surprised the mama bear.

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A mother bear with cubs. Consider that.

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"How can any Democrats be so determined to undermine their party's survival?" Isn't it, How can any Democrats be so determined to undermine their nation's democracy?

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They are totally focused on their personal political survival and nothing else.

It’s all about me.

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💯

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Democrats?

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Marcy...I believe this references Manchin and Sinema.

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Absolutely! I was writing at 3 am. 😏

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Wasn't meant as criticism, Roshan. This community has a nice amplifier effect. ❤

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It's called either money or power. I suspect both.

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Rowshan, scholars, singly and as groups, have been commenting all along about their concerns. Scholars are not a monolith in opinion; if they were, they would not be scholars, whose goal is exploration and discourse. This particular group of scholars is a group of people who found themselves sharing concerns and, as scholars do, issued a statement about things that they substantially agree about. Being scholars, I'm sure they gave some thought to the timing. But also please keep in mind that 100 scholars (+/-) are 100 scholars (+/-) out of many thousands. Lots of time for more scholarly collaboration and exploration and discourse. There will be more announcements. In the meantime, these people make a good point for us to consider in our own ponderings.

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Martin Luther King said we have 3 evils to contend with. Racism, militarism and poverty (economic exploitation). All 3 are tightly wound up in our corporatocracy , our oligarchy. Exactly where did the significant funds come from that support and supported those Republican legislators behind the insurrection, the traitorous drive in States to limit the vote and discount the voice of the people? What has been the role of the Chamber of Commerce and ALEC? Can we have a genuine democracy with flourishing monopolies, an unnatural, obscene wealth gap, corporations buying up large swaths of real estate, corporations paying no taxes, and where inherited mega wealth creates a class with assured guaranteed unearned political power? I look forward to the day when Americans are given a big green light to have the kind of serious discussions about our contemporary form of capitalism attendant to the required structural reforms.

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Capitalism is sacrosanct in this society, more so than faith or a moral imperative. Capitalism IS the moral guide, as we refuse to confront the inherent greed in capitalism. My liberal friends take in enormous profit from renting their multiple units, while at the same time decry higher taxes on their greed.

Capitalism is the primacy of capital. Socialism is the primacy of society, including spouse, partner, children, family, neighbors and beyond. Socialism is society, which includes everybody.

Democracy is something different. It is our decision making apparatus in America. And it is owned by capitalists as corporations are defined as people, and exert undue and unnatural influence on our decision making. Which makes America an oligarchy, I guess.

Now I will raise the blinds of my bedroom, to view a socialist, city street. And I see my next door neighbors yard, where we together will host our city counselor tomorrow night, at a neighborhood gathering. And everyone will come via the socialist sidewalk.

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Our sacrosanct capitalism has enjoyed the favor of our immense government since the first farm bill was passed. We are a government of, by, and for corporations as I see it.

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I hang onto this quote from Ursula K. Le Guin: "We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable – but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art. Very often in our art, the art of words." - Excerpt from Ursula K Le Guin's speech at National Book Awards

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“Power to the People” - how do we get there? How do we move away from corporatist abuse of the planet and of people?

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Le Guin feels that the arts have power especially the are of words. "Silent Spring" changed our whole relationship to the environment. But, as consumers, we need to stop buying stuff for starters. There would be no "corporatist abuse of the planet and of people" is we stopped buy anything but necessities, even for a year. WE are also part of the problem. The larger problem seems to me to be that we don't demand that manufacturers provide a cradle to grave strategy for the disposal or recycling of products before they can manufacture anything. That would require dedicated politicians which would require campaign finance reform that prevents corporations from "buying" our politicians.

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I agree with your conclusions, janjamm. I've been saying for a long time that campaign finance reform has to be one of the critical first steps.

I am fascinated that you reference two women who have been huge influences on my life. LeGuin was a thoughtful and imaginative writer of fiction that reflected our own society by looking at redefinitions of it, and creating a revisioned philosophy around it. She was a remarkable philosopher.

Rachel Carson was a scientist who went beyond collecting facts into looking at human beings as a philosopher as well. Add HCR: historians by nature are philosophers. Philosophy begins by making assumptions about (or defining, if you prefer) what it means to be a human being in the world, and then figuring out how those people operate in the world we create. Most of the disagreements, I think, derive from the differences in how human beings are defined, and the characteristics ascribed them by different thinkers.

George Lakey's name has come up several times recently. He puts this aspect of defining the nature of human beings front and center in his teaching related to economics as well as his teachings about social change. It can bend some people's minds, because it just doesn't fit with our "individualistic" perspective, something that is relatively recent in human thought.

I delighted recently when Heather laid our her vision of how human beings function at their best, and emphasized the word community. I hope I am accurately reflecting her intent here. Janjamm, you hit on the same track in your post above. You took your discussion all the way from something essentially human (art and words) through our relationship with the earth, consumerism, the recognition that we are being used to maintain an artificial economy, and ended with two solutions: the first being evaluating what we really need for a fulfilling life, and, second, recognizing that when we do create or make something, we also recognize all the costs associated and plan accordingly. Finally, you offer the beginning point that might get us started on our way there.

Thank you, ma'am. Not bad at philosophy yourself.

And this has gotten my mind started on remembering the many names of unexpected philosophers who have influenced the way we look at each other and how we do things. I often stumble across them through other readings, conversations with friends (or strangers), off-hand suggestions. Found a few here, some in the flesh, some in references. I can tell I'm going to finish this evening by pondering some of what I've learned. And anticipating what I might find out tomorrow.

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I bow to you.

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You raise a lot of valid points, especially "full cost pricing” - where nothing is left out of the cost, which now society ends up bearing the costs. Such as pollution; carcinogenic products, reuse and recycling. I feel you are speaking of a transformative capitalism, and I feel that Joe Biden is actually pushing our society far beyond anyone in our lifetime. Look at the issues: climate chaos; reparations and racial justice; ensuring our democracy; but perhaps most importantly - Joe Biden “gets it” that we are all in this struggle with life together, as one nation and one society. With the efforts around found the climate - we may see the dramatic design changes which you address! Look at how far the auto industry is pushing the envelope

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Remember when the POSer POtuS made a disparaging comment about “Shithole Nations?” Well, because of him and the Repugnant Party the U.S. has become a Shithole Nation. And, as I reflect on my ¾ century of experience, despite the lies otherwise, I grew up in a Shithole Nation. And now, as the lies come to lite I see us crumbling into disarray worse than the Third World nations I visited in the 1970s.

“As a nation spirals downward, the political scientists, sociologists, and government scholars explain, ‘violence and corruption typically flourish,’...” As Bob Dylan sang in 1965 “You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” Almost daily for the past month there has been a fatal shooting or mass shooting in South Florida, and tho we lead the nation we are not alone in this senseless violence. We are a nation at war with itself and on the ‘eve of destruction.’

It is comforting to hear President Biden finally say what every liberal voice has been saying for months – forget the facade of “bipartisan,” and try to find a way to go it alone to get the necessary job done. You cannot negotiate with the fascist Repugnant Party. Mitch McConnell has said as much and there are too many insane cult followers within that party to have any meaningful dialogue. They are too busy catering to their ignorant cult base, literally the barbarians at the gates of democracy as they were on January 6.

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Lots of classic 60’s music references in your post today, Rob. And you are spot on.

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I’ve always assumed when Biden talks about bipartisan he refers to “we the people” and not the well known obstructionists that have been Citizen’s United into leadership

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Have you noticed that for some reason after the recent larger number of "mass shootings" that we dont hear any more sad, serious public statements of "sending their thoughts & prayers" or that its too early after the "event" to think about or reps DOING something to prevent the next one? Just silence.

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"our reps"!

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Dear Heather -- I don't mean this to be a public comment -- I'm a subscriber, and a musician. I wrote a song that was released yesterday that I'm hoping will help people have a better summer than expected -- it's called, "The Best Summer." I think your subscribers would find it soothing and maybe even inspiring. Hope you will have your best summer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIWsJgfq_Nw

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Terrific song, Christine. Calls for us all to remember our Best Summer! Mine was riding our bikes to Silver Spring and back.

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Ha! Lynell! Maybe I ran into you while riding my bike in Silver Spring!!

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So that was you, Daria...I thought I recognized that spark in your eye!

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Yes Lynell! SS MD was my stomping ground...Sligo Creek Park, Rock Creek Park.

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Amazing. We left D.C. for SS when I was about 7 years old. Lived there off East-West Highway til the early seventies, though my mom stayed there longer. Remember the Silver theater, Reindeer ice cream shop, Hecht's, etc., all on Colesville Rd? Rock Creek Park was (and still is) fabulous. We hung out at Meadowbrook and Pegasus stables. Played at Candy Cane City. Oh, my goodness, a blast!

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I do remember all of those places! We lived across from Holy Names Academy then later in 4 Corners. SS was a great place to grow up!

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Thanks, Christine for that lovely song. I've enjoyed your music for many years.

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Great song, Christine! I have some of your albums and love them. I've always admired your ability to create a memorable melody and give it humorous words that make a serious point. Great to see you here!

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How lovely. Thank you for sharing this. And, I do hope this summer will be the "best summer" rather than the "long, hot summer."

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The best summer, when voting rights are protected, is coming up.

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Lovely song, nice production - and the water and waves. I know that place. :’-) Thank you. 🤙🏻

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Wonderful song and instrumentals. For those who have a fear of drowning, hang on, and listen to the music.

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Your song is beautiful! Thanks for sharing it with us. Was the video filmed on Breezy Point, NY? The video is beautiful, too.

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Great song and video! You are a NE folk icon, so great to hear your new work. My best friend and I, at 65 and 60, are looking forward to boogie boarding the gentle waves of the NH and southern ME beaches very soon. It saved us last summer and maybe this one will be the best yet!

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Beautiful, Christine, thank you.

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And we are lucky to have such lovely memories

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Lovely song Christine...now I’m remembering sweet Island summers of my own.

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The song was lovely and matched the scenery. In my case the site was Lake Michigan.

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