Once again, this weekend comes with videos providing lots of insights in our economy and politics. Especially big topic: third world poverty in America and the upcoming great economic crash. But there is plenty more. So, if you are lucky enough to have a weekend, watch these videos instead of infantile adults chasing balls in an arena or paid liars talking false politics on TV.
Topics:
Economic Update: Going from Crisis to Crisis
The Neoliberalal Con Job
Corporate-Made Death to the Economy
Profound Economic & Political Insights
Winning Elections is Not the Only Thing
System Report
American Poverty
U.S. Poverty Politics
Clueless U.S. Billionaires
American Dream History
U.S. Election Fraud
“Legal” Criminals Angling for the Next Crash & Bailout
Our Psychopathic “Leaders”
The “Elite’s” Secret Move Against Free Speech & Public Interest
When the world looks at the engraved words of our nation’s founders and early fighters they are deeply moved. No prior statements held such power as the bold proclamations that we are all created equal; with equal rights to life, liberty, and happiness; rights to be ensured by a government allowed to govern only by our consent; a government bound to serve rather than rule us, and obligated to provide for our “general welfare” (meaning a good life for all, not heaven for a few privileged and hell for everyone else by dint of being robbed by the privileged with the government standing idly by or even assisting the privileged). Continue reading “Making the American Revolution Finally Come True”→
All day, every day, I meet people with virtual blinders on. Last week, in order to help out desperate family members against government reprisals (the details are private) I accepted a menial job in a sweatshop for which I am totally overqualified in terms of education and professional experience but physically underqualified due to bad health. The task is to de-staple, de-eyelet, de-booklet thousands of paper sheets each day to make them scannable. The papers are banking files. It’s unbelievable how many inches of papers are put together for a single person’s single credit by bank clerks many of whom also plaster them with countless staples, metal eyelets, and so forth only for other people to get paid a minimum wage to remove all those troublesome metal pieces again prior to digital scanning. The hand-breaking job reminds me of the movie scene of two guys digging and tossing the dirt into each other’s holes. This dumb job is quite symbolic of the socio-economic system of today in which we modern humans waste away our lifetimes.
One of my colleagues told a local bank branch director that his workers place way too many staples and such on their paperwork requiring a lot of work to remove them again. The director’s only response was laughter. Rather than musing about instructing his clerks not to waste so much time and metal that only raises the banks’ costs for scan preparation he just laughed. Continue reading “We Need a Considerate Compassionate Culture”→
Some people, when they begin to realize how long and deeply the cruel corruption of our socio-economic and political system has been entrenched, feel like there is no more hope.
My response to that is this declaration:
Manifesto of the Elders
When you have been crushed as much as many of us, there is no point in giving up. We have one thing left to do on our way out of this hell called “life”, and that is to do our part so that future generations won’t have to suffer like us. While the millennials are beginning to revolt because they see no viable future ahead of them unless they upturn the insanity of the system, those of us who were broken decades earlier and robbed of all hope for ourselves have one last thing to do.
Here is the spillover from yesterday’s political video weekend which just had no room for more clips. So many great videos piled up for sharing this week. Here is the rest, the gist of which we might conclude is that we are on a course of self-destruction and must change course. And luckily, people are waking up to it. Especially uplifting in this respect: our youth.
I. Reconsidering Believes
Capitalism may be gutting us but is not the whole U.S. economy:
(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for Thom Hartmann and the title: “Dear Conservative Alternet Trolls: America is NOT a Capitalist Country “)
Comment: Worker-owned co-ops are actually a form of socialism (which you could call an evenly-property-shared capitalism if you wished).
II. Socialism/Communism
Historic Review of Socialism and Communism until today, and why to take an interest:
(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for Jamarl Thomas, The Progressive Soapbox, and the title: “Jason Unruhe, Communist Perspective Of Ocasio-Cortez & Sanders,Revolution & More! Fascinating Convo!”)
Quotes: “The richer you are, the more power you have.” … And: “They all are on the side of capitalism” [because it is what makes them so rich and powerful].
“Fascism is capitalism in decay.” “[In Weimar Germany], the capitalist class did whatever it took to protect [itself], and that meant funneling money to the Nazis.”
1:06: “There’s never an honest conversation about wealth. You have one group of the population that brutally suffers and another part of the population that pretends that all the wealth gain it has accrued is purely of its own making.” Continuation on the latter: “That’s not honest. You were able to use a ton of labor from [other] people without necessarily giving any reparations for the labor that you were able to get.” (Comment: “any” seems exaggerated; “sufficient” or “much” would seem more accurate, since at least tiny portions are returned to the laborers to keep them alive and working, whether as terribly low pay or – slave plantation style – room and board) Continued: “and then turn around and say, ‘You people need to pull yourselves up by your bootstraps.’”)
Comment: “Radicals” who call for radical change are still being feared and seen as fringe by many. Also, they often get dragged into mud slinging fights (such as family-feud-style wars among progressives, among “leftists”, and so on) by people who self-identify with similar labels as the “radicals” do. The “radicals” themselves frequently attack those who water down or misrepresent their labels (such as socialism). All this infighting then leads to division among ourselves which keeps the corrupt establishment safe. My suggestion: wanting true and lasting change for the better instead of temporary band aids which will soon be peeled off again, is not radical in any sense other than the etymological one (that radical is a synonym for fundamental). We need to learn to stay rational and united around our widely shared most important goals.
And since this is emerging as a theme, here a light-spirited clip about socialism (which I shared before, but it seems suitable to share again in this context, especially since Newsbroke makes no more new videos):
(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for Newsbroke, Francesca Fiorentini, and the title: “The Biggest Myths About Socialism”)
And if you should want to dig deeper into the topic of socialism and haven’t watched this video I shared before, I warmly recommend this rich review of a number of meanings and flavors of traditional socialism, just to clear the establishment-polluted air a little with a bit of realism: Debunked: “Socialism Has Never Worked”
III. Mentality for Change
Backs against the wall and the legacy of our lives. As Tim Black says, what you live for matters a lot more than how you live, because you will be dead a lot longer than you will be alive. Also, other people matter too, and when we support each other, rather than push each other down, we will do better (maximizing our energies for the best effect rather than neutralizing them against each other), if you care to consider my scientific way of thinking…:
(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for Tim Black and the title: “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez How To Win Democratic Elections “)
Reminder: We cannot afford to make ourselves dependent on political candidates. We ourselves must drive for the changes we want until we get them. And we must make sure to create lasting change that won’t be rolled back like the New Deal has been.
IV. Young America Awakening
This is truly amazing. So much awareness, understanding, and commitment to responsible politics from a sixteen year-old (not to forget the 26-year old I can imagine as the future president of an America changed from hell to heaven, at least in terms of the American spirit and economic-political justice, although those of us still alive may by then be struggling heavily with a lethal climate):
(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for Nick Brana, Movement for a People’s Party, Jamie Margolin, and the title: “MPP-TV Episode Seven Interview With Jamie Margolin of Zero Hour Youth Climate March”)
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Ending Note:To get the word out, please widely share links to these posts. You can alsohelp in other ways(including much needed financial support). And don’t forget to sign up for notifications! Together can we change this messed-up world.
As a follow-up to Monday’s sharing of Chris Hedges’s and Richard Wolff’s great recent conversation and yesterday’s sharing of late Ed Schultz’s Swan Song Speech (less far along but perhaps the exactly right stepping stone for some people who have still a little to catch up), here is another speech by Chris Hedges, a short one this time (only 16 minutes!) but still packing a big punch. Enjoy:
(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for ChrisSmileyMedia and the title: “Chris Hedges Revolutionary Speech”)
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Ending Note:To get the word out, please widely share links to these posts. You can alsohelp in other ways(including much needed financial support).Only together can we change this messed-up world. And remember: signing up for notifications is the best way not to miss new articles and shared videos from this corner of awakened independent media.
Economist Richard Wolff discusses the coming economic collapse with Chris Hedges. They touch upon both past & present of the top destroying everything and the people fighting for life. This came out too late to make it into my weekend video compilation. But now here it is:
(Note: if the video linked above gets deleted, you may search the Internet for the title: “The Coming Collapse of the American Economic System with Richard Wolff”)
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Ending Note:To get the word out, please widely share links to these posts. You can alsohelp in other ways(including much needed financial support). Only together can we change this messed-up world
