^ post Of the day
normally I love New page but Not this Time
normally I love New page but Not this Time
random . . . randomness
vansmack wrote:Justin wrote:
If they got rid of everything but tools and appliances, they'd survive another 100 years.
Now what say ye:
Sears Is Selling Its Iconic Craftsman Tools Brand after 90 Years
Like if Nabisco had sold off Oreo.
That is awesome
Yada wrote:Julian's America has revoked his citizenship and we are instructing various state departments that we are withdrawing his passport.
this is pretty amazing.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/nyregion/james-bond-of-philanthropy-gives-away-the-last-of-his-fortune.html
interesting perspective from Mr. Brian Eno.
2016/2017
The consensus among most of my friends seems to be that 2016 was a terrible year, and the beginning of a long decline into something we don?t even want to imagine.
2016 was indeed a pretty rough year, but I wonder if it?s the end - not the beginning - of a long decline. Or at least the beginning of the end?.for I think we?ve been in decline for about 40 years, enduring a slow process of de-civilisation, but not really quite noticing it until now. I?m reminded of that thing about the frog placed in a pan of slowly heating water?
This decline includes the transition from secure employment to precarious employment, the destruction of unions and the shrinkage of workers? rights, zero hour contracts, the dismantling of local government, a health service falling apart, an underfunded education system ruled by meaningless exam results and league tables, the increasingly acceptable stigmatisation of immigrants, knee-jerk nationalism, and the concentration of prejudice enabled by social media and the internet.
This process of decivilisation grew out of an ideology which sneered at social generosity and championed a sort of righteous selfishness. (Thatcher: ?Poverty is a personality defect?. Ayn Rand: ?Altruism is evil?). The emphasis on unrestrained individualism has had two effects: the creation of a huge amount of wealth, and the funnelling of it into fewer and fewer hands. Right now the 62 richest people in the world are as wealthy as the bottom half of its population combined. The Thatcher/Reagan fantasy that all this wealth would ?trickle down? and enrich everybody else simply hasn?t transpired. In fact the reverse has happened: the real wages of most people have been in decline for at least two decades, while at the same time their prospects - and the prospects for their children - look dimmer and dimmer. No wonder people are angry, and turning away from business-as-usual government for solutions. When governments pay most attention to whoever has most money, the huge wealth inequalities we now see make a mockery of the idea of democracy. As George Monbiot said: ?The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the purse is mightier than the pen?.
Last year people started waking up to this. A lot of them, in their anger, grabbed the nearest Trump-like object and hit the Establishment over the head with it. But those were just the most conspicuous, media-tasty awakenings. Meanwhile there?s been a quieter but equally powerful stirring: people are rethinking what democracy means, what society means and what we need to do to make them work again. People are thinking hard, and, most importantly, thinking out loud, together. I think we underwent a mass disillusionment in 2016, and finally realised it?s time to jump out of the saucepan.
This is the start of something big. It will involve engagement: not just tweets and likes and swipes, but thoughtful and creative social and political action too. It will involve realising that some things we?ve taken for granted - some semblance of truth in reporting, for example - can no longer be expected for free. If we want good reporting and good analysis, we?ll have to pay for it. That means MONEY: direct financial support for the publications and websites struggling to tell the non-corporate, non-establishment side of the story. In the same way if we want happy and creative children we need to take charge of education, not leave it to ideologues and bottom-liners. If we want social generosity, then we must pay our taxes and get rid of our tax havens. And if we want thoughtful politicians, we should stop supporting merely charismatic ones.
Inequality eats away at the heart of a society, breeding disdain, resentment, envy, suspicion, bullying, arrogance and callousness. If we want any decent kind of future we have to push away from that, and I think we?re starting to.
There?s so much to do, so many possibilities. 2017 should be a surprising year.
2016/2017
The consensus among most of my friends seems to be that 2016 was a terrible year, and the beginning of a long decline into something we don?t even want to imagine.
2016 was indeed a pretty rough year, but I wonder if it?s the end - not the beginning - of a long decline. Or at least the beginning of the end?.for I think we?ve been in decline for about 40 years, enduring a slow process of de-civilisation, but not really quite noticing it until now. I?m reminded of that thing about the frog placed in a pan of slowly heating water?
This decline includes the transition from secure employment to precarious employment, the destruction of unions and the shrinkage of workers? rights, zero hour contracts, the dismantling of local government, a health service falling apart, an underfunded education system ruled by meaningless exam results and league tables, the increasingly acceptable stigmatisation of immigrants, knee-jerk nationalism, and the concentration of prejudice enabled by social media and the internet.
This process of decivilisation grew out of an ideology which sneered at social generosity and championed a sort of righteous selfishness. (Thatcher: ?Poverty is a personality defect?. Ayn Rand: ?Altruism is evil?). The emphasis on unrestrained individualism has had two effects: the creation of a huge amount of wealth, and the funnelling of it into fewer and fewer hands. Right now the 62 richest people in the world are as wealthy as the bottom half of its population combined. The Thatcher/Reagan fantasy that all this wealth would ?trickle down? and enrich everybody else simply hasn?t transpired. In fact the reverse has happened: the real wages of most people have been in decline for at least two decades, while at the same time their prospects - and the prospects for their children - look dimmer and dimmer. No wonder people are angry, and turning away from business-as-usual government for solutions. When governments pay most attention to whoever has most money, the huge wealth inequalities we now see make a mockery of the idea of democracy. As George Monbiot said: ?The pen may be mightier than the sword, but the purse is mightier than the pen?.
Last year people started waking up to this. A lot of them, in their anger, grabbed the nearest Trump-like object and hit the Establishment over the head with it. But those were just the most conspicuous, media-tasty awakenings. Meanwhile there?s been a quieter but equally powerful stirring: people are rethinking what democracy means, what society means and what we need to do to make them work again. People are thinking hard, and, most importantly, thinking out loud, together. I think we underwent a mass disillusionment in 2016, and finally realised it?s time to jump out of the saucepan.
This is the start of something big. It will involve engagement: not just tweets and likes and swipes, but thoughtful and creative social and political action too. It will involve realising that some things we?ve taken for granted - some semblance of truth in reporting, for example - can no longer be expected for free. If we want good reporting and good analysis, we?ll have to pay for it. That means MONEY: direct financial support for the publications and websites struggling to tell the non-corporate, non-establishment side of the story. In the same way if we want happy and creative children we need to take charge of education, not leave it to ideologues and bottom-liners. If we want social generosity, then we must pay our taxes and get rid of our tax havens. And if we want thoughtful politicians, we should stop supporting merely charismatic ones.
Inequality eats away at the heart of a society, breeding disdain, resentment, envy, suspicion, bullying, arrogance and callousness. If we want any decent kind of future we have to push away from that, and I think we?re starting to.
There?s so much to do, so many possibilities. 2017 should be a surprising year.
excontradiction wrote:
I don't know where else to put this, and can't really figure it out right now.
The grand finale of the shit show that was 2016 is that the father of a good friend died on New Year's Eve. That makes 3 in my inner circle that lost a parent in the last 6 months, myself included. The funeral is in NC on January 19th, and I intend to be there.
For Christmas, Mrs. excon bought me tickets to see Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at Strathmore…also January 19th. I don't know the exact location of the seats, but I vaguely recall them being excellent. (I'll check tonight.)
I'm hoping to sell at face value. If anybody here is interested, PM me and I can provide more details. Thanks…
Now back to your regular shenanigans.
Front row, just off center.
excontradiction wrote:excontradiction wrote:
I don't know where else to put this, and can't really figure it out right now.
The grand finale of the shit show that was 2016 is that the father of a good friend died on New Year's Eve. That makes 3 in my inner circle that lost a parent in the last 6 months, myself included. The funeral is in NC on January 19th, and I intend to be there.
For Christmas, Mrs. excon bought me tickets to see Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt at Strathmore…also January 19th. I don't know the exact location of the seats, but I vaguely recall them being excellent. (I'll check tonight.)
I'm hoping to sell at face value. If anybody here is interested, PM me and I can provide more details. Thanks…
Now back to your regular shenanigans.
Front row, just off center.
How much?
Check your PM
hutch wrote:
most dept store days are obviously numbered.. macys is closing the one in tysons
There are two (2) Macys in Tysons, literally ~1,000 yards from each other. They should have closed that one at the Galleria a long time ago.
Justin wrote:
Like if Nabisco had sold off Oreo.
I'm guessing they tried mergers and nobody wanted them, so they sold off their only marketable brand.
Julian, wrote:Yada wrote:Julian's America has revoked his citizenship and we are instructing various state departments that we are withdrawing his passport.
this is pretty amazing.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/nyregion/james-bond-of-philanthropy-gives-away-the-last-of-his-fortune.html
I can assure you, he has no interest in being part of Julian's America.
As a beneficiary of Atlantic on a few occasions, it truly is a remarkable story and I couldn't be happier for him.
Don't you Think we'll get to a point Where you'll ask yourself . . . what there wasn't A mass shooting today?
shemptiness wrote:
Coachella Owner Donates to LGBT Hate Groups, Denies Climate Change, Has Koch Connections
bummer..
If you start looking into things it will almost always be like this…
i think Anschlutz's group was behind the Washington Examiner so that tells you all you need to know..no surprise here..
Every Millennial Across America just responded who gives a f*** as long as there's ecstasy there.
walkie,talkie wrote:
Every Millennial Across America just responded who gives a f*** as long as there's ecstasy there.
inagural DOPOTW Award
(Dead on Post of the Week)
Will any of you be celebrating on Friday?
Lee?Jackson Day is a holiday celebrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the U.S., for the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.[1] The original holiday, created in 1889, celebrated Lee's birthday. Jackson's name was added to the holiday in 1904.
In 1983, the holiday was merged with the new Federal holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, as Lee?Jackson?King Day in Virginia. This merger was reversed in 2000.
Lee?Jackson Day is currently observed on the Friday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is the third Monday in January. Typical events include a wreath-laying ceremony with military honors, a Civil War themed parade, symposia, and a gala ball.[2] State offices are closed for both holidays.[3]
Some localities such as Charlottesville, Richmond, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Lynchburg, and Norfolk, choose not to observe Lee?Jackson Day.[4]
Lee?Jackson Day is a holiday celebrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the U.S., for the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.[1] The original holiday, created in 1889, celebrated Lee's birthday. Jackson's name was added to the holiday in 1904.
In 1983, the holiday was merged with the new Federal holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, as Lee?Jackson?King Day in Virginia. This merger was reversed in 2000.
Lee?Jackson Day is currently observed on the Friday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which is the third Monday in January. Typical events include a wreath-laying ceremony with military honors, a Civil War themed parade, symposia, and a gala ball.[2] State offices are closed for both holidays.[3]
Some localities such as Charlottesville, Richmond, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Lynchburg, and Norfolk, choose not to observe Lee?Jackson Day.[4]
Friday the 13th?
No.. I stay home under the couch on such days…
No.. I stay home under the couch on such days…
My dreams are Giving my consciousness A bad name.