[Newfie]

R Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina now running for President.

https://morganton.com/news/sen-tim-scot ... m=referral

[AdamB]

R Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina now running for President.

https://morganton.com/news/sen-tim-scot ... m=referral

Seems to lack the MAGA, white Christian nationalist bring back the Confederacy street cred required of the proto-fascist jackbooted goosestepping Republlicrat primary voters. I am not hopeful that he can win without this core of the party.

[ralfy]

About that ego, I'm reminded of the liberal Atlantic and how it tried to explain how sociopathic behavior is needed for effective political leaders:

"The Startling Accuracy of Referring to Politicians as 'Psychopaths'"

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/arch ... hs/260517/

and then tried to do the opposite:

"Donald Trump: Sociopath?"

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/arch ... hy/491966/

LOL.

[Newfie]

R Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina now running for President.

https://morganton.com/news/sen-tim-scot ... m=referral

Seems to lack the MAGA, white Christian nationalist bring back the Confederacy street cred required of the proto-fascist jackbooted goosestepping Republlicrat primary voters. I am not hopeful that he can win without this core of the party.

Of course he can not win, he can offer an alternative that can become the germ of a 3rd party.

And all the same can be said about your beloved D party where 1/3rd of the votes are seg aside foe the party faithful " Super Delegates." By comparison the R process is positively egalitarian.

Bottom line, the USA is NOT a democracy but is run by 2 corrupt geriatric oligarchsies. (That is probably not spelled correctly but the GD spell check insists)

[Plantagenet]

R Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina now running for President.

Sen Tim Scott is running for President. I hope he is successful at defeating Trump.

Scott is another person running in the R primary who would be so much better than Trump.

I applaud Senator Scott for having the guts and fortitude to get into the R primary Race to defeat Trump.....I would definitely consider supporting him if I wasn't already backing RFK Jr. in the D primary.

Unfortunately on the D side so far there is no one except RFK Jr. who has the guts to challenge Biden in the D primary.....all the other other prominent Ds seem content to say nothing as mentally deficient people like Biden, Fetterman, and Diane Feinstein continue to lead the D party.

Cheers!

[AdamB]

R Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina now running for President.

https://morganton.com/news/sen-tim-scot ... m=referral

Seems to lack the MAGA, white Christian nationalist bring back the Confederacy street cred required of the proto-fascist jackbooted goosestepping Republlicrat primary voters. I am not hopeful that he can win without this core of the party.

Of course he can not win, he can offer an alternative that can become the germ of a 3rd party.
And all the same can be said about your beloved D party where 1/3rd of the votes are seg aside foe the party faithful " Super Delegates." By comparison the R process is positively egalitarian.

Careful Newfie, VT made the same bad assumption, that my wholehearted bashing of a party that just loves a traitor does not mean I am any happier with the proto-communists happily spending the country into bankruptcy being led by a middle stage dementia suffering geriatric who's only redeeming feature is he is probably the best hope from keeping the traitor out of office.

Bottom line, the USA is NOT a democracy but is run by 2 corrupt geriatric oligarchsies. (That is probably not spelled correctly but the GD spell check insists)

I'm not sure an oligarchy can be corrupt. But there aren't two of them Newfie, only one. And it, like any organism, just does what it does. In the case of the oligarchs, they want power, control, money and need to milk the consumer class to keep their multi trillion dollar income streams while they seek world domination. At the expense of 99% of the world's population, the environment, the improvement of mankind, etc etc.

[ralfy]

Now, you're beginning to see that common denominator.

John Pilger came up with a remarkable documentary entitled, "The Coming War on China," where he argued that the U.S. is the main aggressor of the world, with over 700 (some say it's now 900) military bases and installations worldwide, and used to maintain U.S. superpower status. Just as it used NATO to encircle Russia, it's doing the same with China.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJa8jiD8bxA

One Chinese resource person interviewed, at one point, briefly explained the difference between China and the U.S. He said that China is ruled by a Communist Party and the U.S. by Wall Street.

In short, the U.S. is not even ruled by two competing political parties. Rather, those parties, together with the government itself, the military, businesses, and households, all work for and are dependent on the rich which control the bulk of assets of the U.S. itself.

[AdamB]

In short, the U.S. is not even ruled by two competing political parties. Rather, those parties, together with the government itself, the military, businesses, and households, all work for and are dependent on the rich which control the bulk of assets of the U.S. itself.

One angle. And even if true, then such a construct made the US the hyperpower it is, and Third World denizens are whining because they are jealous over the entire affair.

But I gotta tell you Ralphy, you were so wrong on all your peak oil ideas, what have you learned since then that make your geopolitical ramblings of any higher quality? You fell for peak oil hook, line and sinker, have you educated yourself in some way since then, gone to school, figured out why you were wrong about peak oil and corrected for those errors, etc etc?

[Newfie]

Ralph,

Again there is much to your arguments, and I agree at least in broad outline.

The point is where this turns in the future.

I do not know the USA must be “defeated” as I think that tide has already turned. Yes we are moving from the “uni-polar” or globalized world. That has been ongoing naturally for a while and it is being hastened by the Ukraine war.

[Plantagenet]

One Chinese resource person interviewed, at one point, briefly explained the difference between China and the U.S. He said that China is ruled by a Communist Party and the U.S. by Wall Street.

That just shows how ignorant many Chinese are about the US.....which isn't surprising since they live in a dictatorship where the media is totally state controlled.

First of all Wall Street is not a political party----and it doesn't rule anything. There is a lot of money and power on wall street, yes, but it isn't a monolith with a single policy. AND, in the US, there are competing major power centers in Silicon Valley, Texas and the oil biz, the agricultural midwest, and there are literally thousands of slightly less powerful but still competing interests in cities and states and regions and industries and interest groups all over the USA.

In short, the U.S. is not even ruled by two competing political parties.

Of course there are two main competing political parties. Really.....open your eyes to basic facts.

those parties, together with the government itself, the military, businesses, and households, all work for and are dependent on the rich which control the bulk of assets of the U.S. itself.

Yes, but the wealthy are not a monolith with a single policy. In the USA there are competing groups of all kinds who all try to influence policies and move governmental policy in the direction they think best.

If you want to criticize a country for being ruled by a narrow unrepresentative clique of militaristic people, then criticize China. The communist party there is the worst kind of autocracy....and it's just launched yet another attack on freedom of speech in China, this time targeting a comedian who dared make a joke about the PLA's corny recruiting slogan. SHEESH!


If you want to criticize a country for being ruled by a narrow clique of people, then criticize China

Cheers!

[ralfy]

Ralph,

Again there is much to your arguments, and I agree at least in broad outline.

The point is where this turns in the future.

I do not know the USA must be “defeated” as I think that tide has already turned. Yes we are moving from the “uni-polar” or globalized world. That has been ongoing naturally for a while and it is being hastened by the Ukraine war.

The U.S. must not be defeated because various countries hold U.S. debt, including China. Also, the U.S. has a lot to share with the world in terms of resources, energy, and know-how. Also, most Americans, like most people, are decent and peaceful.

The problem with the country is the rich which controls it. The same rich even oppress most Americans, and most Americans are getting angry at them, as seen in low approval ratings for Biden. I also think they want MAGA not because they like Trump or want America to be great again but to make America normal again. It's borrowing and spending heavily, bailing out the rich at the expense of the public, spending heavily on wars and manipulating other countries, and so on.

At the same time, a country that has only around 5 pct of the world's population but needs to use four to five times more in oil, plus a quarter or so of the world's resources and energy, will need to adjust, and that's inevitable if the rich are controlled, as the credit needed to borrow and spend heavily will decrease.

FWIW, similar is happening to the global economy, as seen in a growing global middle class, with the rich controlling various countries and the world economy itself.

But the rich, both in the U.S. and in the rest of the world, will not agree to such, which means there will be more conflict, especially given the point that they are also the main funders of armaments manufacturers. And conflict will grow worse when nature starts batting last, i.e., given peak oil and diminishing returns in general coupled with pollution and the effects of global warming.

[Newfie]

Again, much to agree with.

The thing is statistically we humans are all pretty much alike. Which means the differences we see are usually situational. There but for the grace of God go I.

While I am not "wealthy" in the traditional sense I am "well off", in that I have enough money. I also have good health and a loving Wife. Most of this can be attributed to some good sense, persistence(stubbornness) and a healthy dose of good luck.

I would not trade places with Bill Gates let alone Elon Musk and would check myself into a metal hospital if I awoke with a Kardashian.

I spend a lot of time in poorer places, and clearly happiness is attainable with limited wealth. That is an obvious fact available to the most casual observer. Yet it seems to escape awareness in Western culture. I attribute this largely to advertising, which is of course driven by the money starved elites who can, and do, convince us happiness is having a Coke vs a Pepsi as we drive our Tesla.

[ralfy]

https://twitter.com/caitoz/status/1687589737341796352

Ask an anti-imperialist what's the worst thing Trump did and they'll talk about real things like Yemen, Venezuela, Soleimani, Assange, the JCPOA, and the new cold war.

Ask a Democrat the same thing and they'll talk about pretend nonsense like Russian collusion and insurrection.

[ralfy]

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1 ... 2550564864

There was a time -- not all that long ago -- when the evils of the US Security State (CIA/NSA/FBI) were the centerpiece of left-liberal politics in the US.

Those days are gone. That barely exists in mainstream left-liberal discourse.

https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/ ... 3417277440

I may not like Trump, but I love our Constitution, so I feel compelled to speak out.

The latest indictment, which I encourage everyone to read, attempts to criminalize Trump’s routine misstatements of fact and law in connection with the 2020 election.

But this is precisely the sort of wrong that must be addressed politically under our Constitution, not criminally.

[AdamB]

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1688269542550564864
https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/ ... 3417277440

Any thoughts on your own, or is parrot all you've got?

[Newfie]

Adam,

You sound like a guy who is afraid to speak his mind in person. So here, in anonymity, you make up for it by being extra insulting.

In short your online persona is that of a coward and aspiring bully.

It is painful to say this, but it may be helpful to you to know how you appear to others.

It is not that you do not have a point, but your delivery assures the message will be lost due the insult. So why say it unless you are more interested in the insult than the message?

[AdamB]

Adam,

You sound like a guy who is afraid to speak his mind in person. So here, in anonymity, you make up for it by being extra insulting.

I understand the perception. And you, not having been at the places where I am free to speak my mind, be it in technical journals, or doing the conference routine of 30 minutes of analytical results using powerpoints, charts, graphs and results to back it up, have never seen my normal level of "insulting".

I will admit that to the uninitiated around here, it might look like "extra". My natural tendency to not suffer fools seems to come to the fore here, where lacking the ability to think is almost a badge of honor, and yet itself isn't near as infuriating as lacking the ability to learn. THAT has been setting me off since the peak oil days. I am not a forever student specializing in baby sitting undergrads like a run of the mill ex college professor, and have never had to develop those kinds of social skills (dealing with students or the generally uninformed, only some of whom want to become informed) who can't be bothered to read material, understand it, think about it, and proffer up reasonable counter argument.

So I will take a break, and give the forum a break from my caustic posting style and offer best wishes to all while I am away.

[theluckycountry]

personally I think those in control of America must be very pleased with the state of political affairs. There is no way the average voter would expect anything for these two circus acts so they are stuck in limbo, like a fly on fly-paper, awaiting some future day when a 'real' man with a brain will come along and save them from all the problems besetting the nation.

In the meanwhile they find their stability in paying for overpriced sickcare and toxic food stuffs while they watch their cities descend into chaos.

[Plantagenet]

personally I think those in control of America must be very pleased with the state of political affairs.

If only there were a cabal of powerful people secretly in control of America.

But no...

Sadly we are stuck with the elderly buffoons and criminal incompetents and lying hacks you see occupying the White House and Congress.



Cheers!

[theluckycountry]

If only there were a cabal of powerful people secretly in control of America.

But no...

You think the American public voted in your current president because they believed he was the right man for the job? He was simply the anointed one, given the green light by his party and by the establishment who funded the multi million dollar marketing campaign that saw him elected. The banks and the big corporations run America, have for some time now. You need to stop drinking the coolade.

As for the Red V Blue, well that's classic divide and conquer strategy. The nation is now so caught up in hating the other side there is no hope of them every banding together to fight the real enemy. Did you know many of Australia's pharmaceuticals are made in America and have to shipped out here?

Insulin Prices 8x Higher in the US
For price index results, researchers compared prices in the US with those of each comparison country. They found that overall, the average US manufacturer price per standard unit across all insulins was $98.70, compared to $6.94 in Australia...

How can this be? Why are you paying so much? It's a simple matter for the politicians to reign in the greed of these corporations, that is unless they are owned by them. Unless there is a revolving door between government and the private sector.

You are being raped and there is nothing you can do about it. Wake up plant, wake up.
https://pharmanewsintel.com/news/insuli ... 20the%20UK.

The Food and Drug Administration has had a "revolving door" problem for years. As consumer advocates have documented, the very government officials who decide how foods and medicines are regulated too often shift over to the same industries they were regulating. Some, like Daniel Fabricant — the former head of FDA’s division of dietary supplements — even return to the FDA, then bounce back to work in industry again.

This trend, the New York Times has pointed out, is like "appointing the fox to guard the henhouse."

https://www.science.org/content/article ... successful
https://www.vox.com/2016/9/28/13059538/ ... lving-door
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/when-dru ... or-pharma/