RE: "SAVE AMERICA"

 A reminder--- I'm not a Republican OR a Democrat.  I've studied USA politics since 1956.

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https://twitter.com/ScottHa85992272/status/1346972530318462976?s=20

and

https://twitter.com/ScottHa85992272/status/1346977984796831745?s=20

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Despite the fact that our various systems (political, economic, & social) here are flawed to various degrees, I love this Land. For many years, I've watched various aspects of it change and some aspects remain pretty much the same. There's good, and bad, and everything in-between here.

Hands down, Trump is the worst politician ever elected to high office

in our country. His words and actions are egregious, dangerous, and embarrassing beyond the pale. The fact that he was elected to the Presidency is quite a testament to the power of propaganda, as well as to the degree of ignorance apparently rampant among too many of us. Thank heaven he was soundly defeated in the recent election.

His prior election was not mainly due to votes for him, but rather because of votes against the ESTABLISHMENT candidate, Clinton. People in the Rust Belt of America - and elsewhere - were fed up to the hilt with neoliberal policies resulting in jobs and manufacturing being shipped overseas or south of the border. Other factors played a part, too, such as deep-seated racism in various parts of the country and the bane of nationalism (as opposed to genuine patriotism). Mainly, though, people voted for Trump as a vote against the neoliberal Establishment.

Such voters apparently thought Trump would improve things. He lied to them, and I guess they believed the lies. And so, our nightmare began.

Biden is no prize, but he's a gazillion times better for us and the world than is/was Trump. So, let's make the best of a new day.

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Not only my opinion. Stay Well

"Getting Back to Normal" is Not Where We Want To Be

Here's what "normal" has meant for decades---

 Neoliberalism, Climate Change, Migration: George Monbiot in conversation with Verso - YouTube

Trumpism is small potatoes compared to the scourge of neoliberalism.  Monbiot writes for The Guardian, & is one of my favorite writers.  In this short clip, he explains how neoliberalism is destroying democracy while claiming to promote freedom.  He also shows how a wannabe autocrat can rise to power in the current neoliberal environment.

At the link below is a review of Monbiot's book, Out of the Wreckage.  Not being one to only warn people of danger and disaster, in the book he offers beginning steps to correct the wreckage caused by neoliberalism.

Out of the Wreckage by George Monbiot review – the thrill and danger of a new left politics | Politics books | The Guardian

In addition to his suggestions, I again encourage you all to work toward the implementation of ecological economics, a la Herman Daly, et.al. [See previous posts on this venue, especially those in May - September.]

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Not only my opinion.  Stay Well 

The Radiant Joy of BEING

 https://twitter.com/ScottHa85992272/status/1345006244420083713?s=20

Happy New Year!

If viewing & listening to the very short clip above does not bring a smile to your face, then I'll eat my Stetson hat.

[Note: Be sure to turn on the sound on the piece. Without the music, it's only about one-tenth as enjoyable.]

Naturalists, conservationists, ecologists, truly spiritual people, and like-minded others especially will be entertained to the max by this compilation of natural actions. Enjoy.

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Not only my opinion. Be Well

It's Not a Great Mystery

The first link: 

Protecting nature is vital to escape 'era of pandemics’ – report | Wildlife | The Guardian

A report issued by a scientific group which was convened by the  Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services includes the following conclusions (among others):

1.  the increasing number and frequency of pandemics is due in large part to anthropocentric damage to natural ecosystems;

2.  in addition to reaction to pandemics, prevention is crucial; and,

3.  leading experts in ecology, wildlife biology, epidemiology, and similar fields have made the above points clear, but there has been little government action.

Here's a link to the report:

IPBES Workshop on Biodiversity and Pandemics Report_0.pdf

The Executive Summary starts on page 2, and in it, needed actions are capsulized.

Politicians have been tinkering around the edges of the pandemic problem for decades.  Emphasis almost always is on a reaction to an outbreak.  Not enough effort is put into prevention.  That involves significantly reducing our negative impact on the natural environment.  We have to stop pretending we're doing that already.  Not only politicians have to stop; all of us must.

Suggestion:  bookmark the above three links; continually build your eco-library.  [If you've never done "library research" prior to the advent of the internet, you may not fully realize how fortunate we are to have such a tool:]

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Not only my opinion.  Happy Trails

American Totalism

This speaks for itself, and we have only ourselves to blame.

 American Totalism: Technology, Economy, and Nationality (steadystate.org) 

It's past time for a new paradigm.  Tick-tock.

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Not only my opinion.  Stay Well

"Neither private property nor state-owned property is sufficient to guarantee equality and liberty for all"

Innovative solution Number One---

The Case for 'Universal Property' - Scientific American

In 2001, Peter Barnes came up with a brilliant idea:  universal property, and how to use it.  It sounds much like "public" property, but it's more than that.  The problem with public property is that the government acts as if the government owns it (& the revenues from it), rather than everyone.

In the article at the link above, you'll find a proposed practice which could contribute significantly to reducing anthropocentric greenhouse gases, AND could also reduce poverty while giving more than half the population of the world some degree of economic security.  Implementation of it cuts across political party lines and ideological divisions.

Some, perhaps many, Oligarchs probably already oppose the idea.  Most likely, that's because they view air, most water, and a good deal of land as waste sinks which are theirs to use at no cost.  Some Main Street people believe the same thing.  That view is not reasonable, and must be opposed.

Paying for the use of universal property and distributing the proceeds to everyone is a stunning idea, and makes perfect sense.

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Not only my opinion.  Stay Well

The Dynasty That Never Was, PLUS - It's Time to Dump Neoliberalism Forever

 Trump hates being Old News.  No one pays much attention to him anymore.  Lately, most of the focus has been on the Neoliberal & his Team.  That's great.  Trump should be totally shunned.  His mental illness is now more visible than ever before.  The more he blabbers about the election, & the more he virtually ignores the raging pandemic, the crazier he looks.  Even Repubs finally are taking note... jumping ship, resigning on their own, making public comments criticizing the Cult Leader.  It's about time.

Trump soon will leave in disgrace.  He'll still be around politics, making noise now & again; but that only will appeal to, at most, about 20% of the USA population... perhaps less.  The man-child finally is Old News.

The biggest testament to the political ignorance of Trump True Believers is their calling Biden a "socialist" (or a puppet of socialists).  Apparently, they know essentially nothing at all about neoliberalism (which isn't "new", or "liberal").  

I think we're the only country in the entire world with a majority of folks who don't have a clue about that ideology.  Everyone else gets it.  Plus, except for Oligarchs (& their puppets), everyone else despises it.  At least it's finally getting mentioned once in awhile in American public discourse.  Again, it's about time.

In my view, until this country fully understands neoliberalism, we will continue to have:  rule by Oligarchs/Plutocrats (whether Repub or Dem), gross inequality, perpetual war, the American "Empire", American hegemony, monopoly-crony-casino capitalism, increasing shrinkage of the middle class, increasing poverty, increasing privatization (which means high fees for "public" services), stagnated wages, less of a social safety net, more pandemics, more suicides (especially among veterans & other young people), more social unrest, more ecological devastation, more mega bank fraud, more propaganda, etc., ad nauseam.  

It's way past time for a paradigm shift which dumps neoliberalism forever.  Except for the Super-Rich, that ideology has been an utter failure.

More and more people around the world - especially in Europe, Canada, a significant portion of South America, parts of Africa, parts of Asia, & elsewhere - are realizing that we all must change our impact on the natural environment.  This is truly a turning point in human history.  Let's make it a good one.

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Not only my opinion.  Be Well