Control

  • The Self-Satisfied Strutting of the Idiocracy

    …When all’s said and done, one factor in all this is is becoming more and more obvious and yet no one will say it out loud: It’s not merely a Right vs. Left political conflict in America anymore, it’s a… Continue reading

    The Self-Satisfied Strutting of the Idiocracy
  • The Reign Of Morons Is Here | Esquire

    We have elected a national legislature in which Louie Gohmert and Michele Bachmann have more power than does the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who has been made a piteous spectacle in the eyes of the country and doesn’t… Continue reading

    The Reign Of Morons Is Here | Esquire
  • The Myth of Welfare Queens and the Reality of Racism

    Fiscal conservative politicians including some Democrats like Bill Clinton have presided over a massive and systematic redistribution of wealth into the 1 percent since the 1980s. For African-Americans this means that we lost over half of our collective and meager… Continue reading

    The Myth of Welfare Queens and the Reality of Racism
  • “Democracy”, Crisis, and Control

    Ted Asregadoo speaks with U.C. Santa Barbara sociology professor, William I. Robinson, about the crisis of global capitalism and social democratic ways to address the financial, ecological, and social crises wrought by this system. Related articles Society of Control (keithwaynebrown.com)… Continue reading

    “Democracy”, Crisis, and Control
  • Is America’s Militia Movement on the Rise? | The Nation

    You may have seen it on the Colbert Report. A proposed walled city of “patriots,” known as The Citadel, received the particular dose of sarcastic humor the show reserves for militiamen and gun nuts. Colbert’s reading of the requirement that… Continue reading

    Is America’s Militia Movement on the Rise? | The Nation
  • Money and Power: The (Secret) City

    Interesting bit of knowledge about the financial world of which I was unaware. I am not putting this forward to participate in conspiracy theories. I have read enough Robert Anton Wilson to know that can never be anything more than… Continue reading

    Money and Power: The (Secret) City
  • A Slow Death by the Proper Name…

    Since 1954, the World Meteorological Organization has been naming extreme storms after people. But we propose a new naming system. One that names extreme storms caused by climate change, after the policy makers who deny climate change and obstruct climate… Continue reading

    A Slow Death by the Proper Name…
  • Poverty does bad things to your brain | Futurity

    Poverty and the worry that goes with it uses up so much mental energy that the poor have little room in their brains for anything else. As a result, people of limited means are more likely to make mistakes and… Continue reading

    Poverty does bad things to your brain | Futurity
  • The Confidential Memo at the Heart of the Global Financial Crisis | VICE United Kingdom

    The whole sorry thing is both depressing and infuriating… When a little birdie dropped the End Game memo through my window, its content was so explosive, so sick and plain evil, I just couldn’t believe it. The Memo confirmed every… Continue reading

    The Confidential Memo at the Heart of the Global Financial Crisis | VICE United Kingdom
  • Freelance Nation: How to Become a Part-Time Worker Without Really Trying | The Nation

    This originally appeared as a Tomgram over at Tomdispatch and was picked up by the Nation… …what a weird economic downturn and recovery this has been.  From the end of an “average” American recession, it ordinarily takes slightly less than… Continue reading

    Freelance Nation: How to Become a Part-Time Worker Without Really Trying | The Nation
  • the escape from reality

    Originally posted on coromandal: Here is the economist John K. Galbraith making two more excellent points about the popularity and insanity of speculation.  He describes two reasons why after a bubble bursts — as it did in a spectacular fashion that… Continue reading

    the escape from reality
  • dignity, trust, failure

    Originally posted on coromandal: Acumen Fund’s observations about poverty alleviation at their 10 year anniversary. What does not help: money and markets as the only measure, parachuting solutions remotely, depersonalized analytic approach. What does work: dignity, local leadership, government, patience… Continue reading

    dignity, trust, failure
  • Ripping Off of Young America: The College Loan Scandal

    Good investigative piece from Matt Taibbi and well worth your time. If you are not sure, just read these few paragraphs and decide if you can afford to not read the whole article. …How is this happening? It’s complicated. But… Continue reading

    Ripping Off of Young America: The College Loan Scandal
  • Restore Honor and Pardon Edward Snowden | The Nation

    …Julian Assange, no stranger to unrequited integrity, nailed it. “Today, the president of the United States validated Edward Snowden’s role as a whistleblower by announcing plans to reform America’s global surveillance program,” the WikiLeaks founder said in a statement posted… Continue reading

    Restore Honor and Pardon Edward Snowden | The Nation
  • Generation X gets really old: How do slackers have a midlife crisis? | Salon.com

    …There is a reason, says historian and generational expert Neil Howe, why members of Generation X have been cast as perpetual adolescents. Their parents – “the Silent Generation” – originated the stereotypical midlife breakdown, and they came of age, and… Continue reading

    Generation X gets really old: How do slackers have a midlife crisis? | Salon.com
  • Confessions of a Google Glass Explorer | The New Yorker

    Author Gary Shteyngart beta tests Google Glass… On February 23, 2013, I entered a Twitter contest run by Google to pick the first batch of Glass Explorers with the following tweet: “#ifihadglass I could dream up new ideas for the TV… Continue reading

    Confessions of a Google Glass Explorer | The New Yorker
  • Concentrating on U.S. Prisons

    Ted Asregadoo speaks with Truthout Executive Director, Maya Schenwar, about her current book project on prisons in the United States, solitary confinement, the nature of time, and why the humane treatment of prisoners is integral to the preservation of human… Continue reading

    Concentrating on U.S. Prisons
  • Corporate sell-outs exploit a secret new gimmick – Salon.com

    With more and more operations of the executive and judiciary branches happening behind closed doors and out of public view, the legislative branch was bound to join Washington’s secrecy-fest at some point. That point apparently is now. As The Hill… Continue reading

    Corporate sell-outs exploit a secret new gimmick – Salon.com