• Promised to cut the deficit but added $8 trillion to it.
• Promised to build a wall; completed only 458 miles out of 2,000, mostly repairs.
• Promised Mexico would pay for the wall; they didn’t.
• Promised a new healthcare plan; it never existed.
• Promised a middle-class tax cut; primarily cut taxes for the rich, leaving the middle class to bear the burden.
• Promised not to play golf; made 250 visits to his own golf clubs, costing taxpayers $150 million.
• Promised to increase economic growth by 4%; didn’t achieve it, President Biden did.
• Promised an infrastructure plan; had none, President Biden signed a massive one.
• Promised to hire “the best people”; fired 3/4 of them, then labeled them the worst.
• Promised to reduce prescription drug prices; didn’t happen, President Biden did.
• Promised to win the trade war with China; it cost about a quarter million jobs.
• Promised corporate tax cuts would benefit workers; corporations used the money to buy back stocks instead.
• Promised to revive the coal industry; more coal jobs were lost during his presidency
• Promise Michigan one single auto plant will not close, 5 production plants closed in 2018.
• Promise he would help create jobs in the auto industry, 3500 jobs lost in 2018.
*Promised to take us out of Afghanistan, but instead Trump pulled out 17,000 troops and left a shell of 3,000 troops to protect everybody he left behind.
He didn’t care about how many Americans could die.
He also made a deal with the Taliban and released 5,000 Isis terrorist out of prison.
He did it on purpose to leave Biden a mess in Afghanistan to clean up.
There is only one question before us: Would you rather have a Fascist Dementia Addled Supreme Narcissistic Moron whose Father Also Had Dementia running this country or the Daughter of Two University Professors?
Sean Sheeter, and because tfg refused the desperate requests of women to have a seat at the table in his discussions and deal-making with the Taliban, women and girls have been thrown back into the dark ages. Not allowed to leave home unless accompanied by a man, not allowed to work outside the home, or go to school, not allowed to speak, yes I said speak, in public, and of course they are now suffering rampant rape, abuse, and other cruelties behind the doors of their prisons (houses). Many have committed suicide. This is what happens when patriarchy and misogyny flourishes in a tyrant's mind, who cares nothing for anyone but himself, and this is what the "christian" tyrants want for America's girls and women.
Remember that tfg invited the Taliban to Camp David. Gee, I wonder what was discussed? We will never know. Tfg did not allow notes, witnesses or any documentation as he spoke with Russian agents/friends of Putin, or Putin himself , or any other oligarch or dictator
David - I have maintained that Biden should have abrogated the illegal agreement with the taliban. by policy, we do not negotiate with terrorists. that ''deal" like most of his, was an abject failure and capitulation to terrorists. Biden should have forcefully and loudly repudiated it very publicly.
Biden had little leverage because tfg had required Pakistan to release 5000 taliban prisoners, who were already organizing in case of that repudiation.
Tfg took no chances on screwing the afghan people, particularly the women, knowing an orderly us troop exit would not be easy to execute.
Women in this country have it better but that hasn't always been the case either. We were not treated much better than the Taliban in this country until the mid to late 1900s.
Before no fault divorce, married women committed suicide in this country too.
Nancy Isenberg - White Trash, the real story of class in the US.
We need to get back to teaching in this country and stop letting the republicans push separate but equal again. These charter schools in the south are a disaster.
You missed his entire array of incompetence in handling Covid pandemic and the resultant deaths. And now he is talking about putting RFK, Jr., an antivaxer and conspiracy theorist, in a position over all health agencies.
So after Kamala is elected, we can't just sit around and comment on here either.
Trump is a symptom of issues as well as a tyrant.
Is everyone on here dedicated to a pledge to keep showing up? Because that's really how to solve appraisal banking frauds for housing, income inequality, women's rights.
I want the guys on here to answer a question ;) How do / did you balance a career with family life?
The way that normal people solve difficult financial problems is 'with a little help from my friends'. Band together to share occasional childcare, household items, kids stuff, and emotional support.
Maybe, but people shouldn't have to rely on friends and should be able to have a saving account for emergencies. But when people are living paycheck to paycheck - it's not possible.
My question is - how do men balance home and career? ;)
People used to be more insightful. A popular depression song, "Ain't We Got Fun?" included the lyrics, "There's nothing surer, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."
Trump's economic policies will put us into a "deep recession or depression." With Trump's tariffs, basic necessities will cost the average citizen $4000 more a year. The wealthiest love recessions because they can buy up assets at firesale prices. Inequality increases with every recession. Under Trump, workers will become more financially insecure while the morbidly rich widen the gap between themselves and the rest of us.
Jesus. It just hit me tween the eyes: that'll be new pressure on households to refinance (on lousier terms) their single most important asset, their housing, or lose it entirely, to be owned by a financialist oligarchy. At least they'll still have health insurance, so a broken leg or festering ulcer won't hobble their income entirely and further put them under water. Oh... wait....
I'm surprised Kamala hasn't mentioned that RFK would lead CDC & a potential health disaster in a future pandemic due to RFKs disdain for vaccines.....tens millions could die next time
With well over 900 pages, I imagine it would be very difficult to mention all the bad things in project 2025. She is upbeat, and smart. "Accentuate the positive"., and she has
I never believed Trump on anything as I have known for over 30 years he was a BS artist, but it wasn’t until he ran for president that I truly started to detest him.
Kathy Hughes: Totally! When Trump was a builder and golfer, to the extent I even thought about him, Trump seemed to me to be a spoilt rich guy, who was mildly amusing with his self-promoting superlatives (the best, the most spectacular . . .), and would smile over the mudthrowing between Trump and Rosie O'Donnell.
It was only during Trump's entry into politics -- the birther movement, the slurs on immigrants (they send us their murderers and rapists) -- that I perceived how sick and deranged he was.
If he had remained a popular real-estate man and entertainer, I would not have taken the effort to learn more about him, and he would have been an odd, mildly amusing figure.
"I have known for over 30 years he was a BS artist." Exactly.
These issues are not going away after Kamala is elected. I still think trumpie was a great wake up call to issues not being addressed (see above list)
Where will all of this anger be after the election? Will you start showing up in force at your local government meetings? Will women be "allowed" now to senior positions ? Will men be asked - how do you balance family and career?
I want to fix the fact that several thousand people eligible to register to vote in Missouri are being given bad information by reputable sites like NPR and others and so don't register until later. Thereby missing their chance to vote on Nov 5th, for example.
Will this nation not once but twice reject for President highly qualified women (Hillary and Kamala) for an obviously unqualified unfit man for the job?
Once might be written off as a fluke. Twice at some level would say this is who we are.
From Robert Reich’s lips to Kamala Harris’ and her AG’s ears! Thanks Robert for a very well written, easy to understand explanation of the our current “gilded age” and what needs to be done to end it!
I keep hearing that Musk is the richest man and Bezo's the second , in the world.
But I think that overlooks the Arab potentates. They buy gold plated Mercedes.
And the really richest man in the world, is he who commands the people and economy of a nation. Putin is reputed to have many dacha's and Navalny published a photo of a billion dollar dacha.
What need have you for money, when you command the resources of a nation.
Many years ago I read that Mao only received a $300 a month allowance, yet he commanded the resources of China.
One does not need to "own" plains or luxurious dwellings, when everything is at your fingertip.
Trump if he wins will be the wealthiest man in the world, as he will have at his beck and call, the resources of the United States.
Our problem is that we are programmed to think of wealth in the form of dollars.
We have two billionaires fighting over the right to ruin our country and the world. Appalling. I think about all the money these two clowns are getting from our government that could be used right here on the planet, to make things better NOW. Considering all the problems Earth is facing, investing in a future that could be a long time in the future seems like a waste to me. Humanity will be extinct long before they colonize any other planet, in our solar system or out of it. But I guess their egos must be stroked, and we are paying the ultimate price for that.
Musk and Bezos won't colonize any planet. Take Mars for an example. It is undoubtedly possible to build a space station there, but why do you want to? Mars is like Arizona, but with a surface temperature below that of Antarctica. Boring and cold, very cold. Why not just go to Arizona?
But, Musk says that he wants to "green" the planet. OK, but the atmosphere is close to 100% CO2. So, he says, I will bring in plants to eat the CO2 and turn it into oxygen, and these plants will multiply in the greenhouses I will build, and generate ever-increasing amounts of oxygen and eventually, Mars will have a breathable atmosphere fit for humans.
Not so. If every molecule of CO2 on Mars was turned into a molecule of O2, the oxygen pressure of the Martian atmosphere would be less than 1% of Earth's atmospheric pressure.
So, Mars will always be way too cold and will never have sufficient oxygen. Sorry, Elon, you haven't thought this through, this is a totally ridiculous idea.
Come to think of it, you and Bezos are the poster children for Adam Smith's prescient observation that those who benefit most from his economic system must pay the most in taxes.
Makes perfect sense. You'd think NASA and the government would realize this and stop funding their crazy ideas. It seems we're dealing in a lot of short-sightedness these days. As for wanting to go to the moon again: why? Been there, done that, got the damn rocks.
There is too much money, and too many jobs and careers dependent on the notion that will colonize the stars, and people like Musk and millions of others need the fantasy that they can shit in their own home, befoul it and when full, just pack up and move to another home.- Theo.
Bezos and Musk have confiscated the resources of our country and now hoard them. The decisions they have taken unto themselves they have no right to. Our resources need to be reclaimed (taxes!) and put to better use to serve the lives of our people.
The intensity of radiation on Mars is such that any humanoid life forms would need to live in shielded structures. The planning for a Mars outpost is placing its inhabitants in lava tubes that have very thick layers of rock to shield from radiation. It is not Arizona.
Also, some wiser folks than me have assessed that the lower martian gravity will cause a deterioration in bone and cell structure, such that earth mammals will, in time, decompose to gelatinous mounds of goop. Which is how I've been visualizing our heroic martian colonizers for some time. /s
I am with you on this. the gravity of Mars is.34ge we are told, based on a 17th century theory, that requires circularity of reasoning, that of mass gravity.
The atmospheric pressure of Mars is less than experienced in the stratosphere, where water and blood boil. Thus space suits would be required in door or out,unless they could pressurize geometric domes, but then the tiniest leak would be a catastrophe.
Atmospheric pressure is the result of gravity pulling particles of gases like oxygen,nitrogen and carbon dioxide to the source of gravity, the center of the earth.
On the surface, a step by a human will result in a bound of 7 ft into the air any vehicle that hits a rock will be bound into the air. Any human who stays on Mars long enough, will require, should they return to earth, an exoskeleton just so they can perambulate.
Has anyone seen astronauts climb out of their "space ships", what they call those cone shaped capsules, when they return to the earth. The one that made it to the press, showed the returning astronaut being carried, that is because in reduced gravity you lose bone mass, because bone mass is produced by stress on the bones. And in reduced gravity or zero gravity, there is no or reduced stresss on the bones.
A child born on Mars is forever consigned to life on Mars, thanks to it's reduced gravity and atmospheric pressure, it's extremities will be spindly, underdeveloped, its head will be large in proportion to it's size, it will be smaller compared to it's parents, because there is less stress on the bones, and it's eyes will have adjusted to the Martian light, thus bigger, it would be blinded by light on Earth and have to wear glasses at all times when outside, maybe even to see
There is no way to terraform Mars, because the gravity is insufficient to holdkught gases to the ground., such as oxygen and nitrogen.
Such gases will be spun off into space by the centrifugal force of the planets rotation, and therein lies the answer as to what happened to the water and atmosphere of Mars.
Back in the 90's I got into a quarrel with dudes from Skunworks . I told them that there was water on Mars, at the poles because there is no centrifugal force at the poles. (People and things weigh more at the poles, than they do at the equator, because of centrifugal force)). was called a crank a kook, then spectometry revealed that there was indeed water on the poles, and I strongly believe there is subterranean water as well, just as on earth.
But the water on Mars boiled off aeons ago, when the gravity diminished to the point that it could no longer keep the gases in suspension, and water boiled off, flung into space and then was drawn by the gravitational pull of it's nearest neighbor as an cloud , taking millions of years to make the trip, blocking out the sun, freezing the planet, until finally it reached it's destination and periodically warmed by a huge solar flare, parts if it fell on the planet creating a deluge, until about 12,000 years ago, a huge event melted the last of it the end of the Younger Dryas.
And now they have discovered water on the moon, again at the poles
As you decrease stress on the bones, you decrease size (Ask your dentist or anyone who has had teeth pulled.
The corollary is true, increase stress and you increase size.
An increase in the gravitational pull of the earth, would even more condense the molecules of air, making it more viscous and requiring greater effort to perambulate, the increase in size of muscles and tendons would of necessity increase the size of the bones and the creatures, And an increase in atmospheric density would enable creatures that weighed 100 lbs or more to be able to fly, whereas in the present atmosphere the largest flying creature weighs 40l bs.
Reduce the gravity and you reduce atmospheric pressure, and you reduce the size of creatures, until the largest animal that can live today is an Elephant, any larger and they suffocate under their own weight like a whale.
Whales are large because the atmosphere they live in is thick enough for them to be buoyant, but it is buoyant that they don't need legs because they don't perambulate.
Musk’s Starlink satellites were provided to Ukraine for internet service after Putin invaded. They were essential in helping Ukraine resist Russia’s war crimes. Now it has been revealed that Musk has been regularly in contact with Putin, taking the
satellites from Ukraine and giving them to Russian troops. Musk has a top secret security clearance and it is clear that he has violated the basic terms of knowing our country’s secrets. You don’t abandon our ally and become BFFs with our enemy!!!
Imperceptible the frequencies which are used for long distancecommunications are line of sight, because the Earth is spherical, the very best line of sight is a range of 7 miles with a high antenna.
When I was in the military we used a man pack portable radio that had a transmission radius with an extended antenna of , at best 2 miles over land, to another transceiver, yet I could communicate with aircraft at 35 miles, until the signal weakened as it expands outwards like the waves created when you drop a pebble into a lake, as it expands it weakens.
This scientific fact is what created cable TV. The very first cable TV was built on the top of a small mountain,it captured the signal of broadcast stations, then transmitted them via cable to the town below in a valley.. Before that the only way to hear radio or watch TV was to receive a signal transmitted by a relay transmitter.
The first use of satellite communications I know of was the military in Operation Eagle Claw, where they used special radios and antennas to communicate with the Pentagon.
The Iran hostage rescue attempt that cost President Carter his job, and ushered in Ronald Reagan, the treason president who brokered a deal with Khomeini, but that is another story
Thanks for sharing! I hadn't heard of Eagle Claw. I do a bit of research on cataloguing wireless tech. One is called LoRa. There's also LoReA. A world record for small bytes of data is 300+ km:
I also read that the military has some really long tunnels underground for thousands of miles, which similar boring for smaller pipes could be developed just for fiber optic cables.
The worse part of Elon Mosca is that he is not even a U.S. citizen and when 45 spews his venoum toward immigrants stating that they are "poisoning American's blood" there you have Mosca trying to ruin this country!
Why is govt outsourcing space exploration? NASA was perfectly capable of doing this with the Mercury, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. Bring this back into government control and cut out the middle man's profit.
Regarding Musk, he needs to lose all security clearances and govt contacts due to his cozy relationship with Putin. Where is Garland and the DOJ?
For all the good Biden did....he erased it with a poor pick for AG.....when are these moderate Dems gonna learn that right wingers should NOT be at FBI/DOJ.
tpsea, I've given this a lot of thought, People who sit behind the Resolution Desks, are not omnipotent and omniscient, they, sit on the commode like you and I and are probably of average intelligence (less if Trump). They are not connected to and with every expert in the U.S.A.. Thus their appointments are people whose names were provided to them by a grise eminence. I know the name of Obama's, LarrySummers, but there is a coterie of grise eminence's, that gather round them, with their own names, just as Trump relied on someone who used Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society for names of federal judges.
In many ways the President is akin to a sock puppet and some one has their hand up their ass.
Garland's appointment was the consequence of a mind addled by 34 years in a Senate in which the greatest value was comity, compromise and bipartisanship.
I cast no aspersions on his moral character or motivation, but only on his learned political instincts.
I, personally, don't think that presidents are omnipotent and all wise,so they don't rule, but make decisions based on information provided them by a cabinet and advisors who they haven't actually chosen.
Trump didn't know anyone that he appointed as cabinet and advisor, neither did Obama, both were neophytes as regards beltway politics.
There is indeed and invisible hand that moves the helm of the ship of state.
Twas, IMO, Larry summers for Obama.
Does anyone think that Trump actually knew the names,much less the persons of Steven Miller, Mark Meadows, or any of his staff and cabinet, before he took office?
Biden missed his chance when he didn't challenge Hillary for the nomination. As Obama's veep, he was the natural next candidate. I'm afraid Biden's legacy with be tied with Netanyahu's. And maybe torpedoing Harris by staying in the race too long.
If Hillary was President on Jan 6th, we would still have done the same.
The only one with a personal relationship with Bibi is Trump.If Trump is elected Bibi gets all he wants, including a war with Iran.
Israel is a land locked air craft carrier that is within striking distance of the hands that control the oil spigots.
Oil spigots which can be turned clockwise and cut off the flow of oil, which will bring Europe to it's knees and raise the price of oil, astronomically, and usher in a depression worse than 1929.
Saudi Arabia has an aim to control the world, to Islamicize it. That is what that "orb" that Trump laid his hands on is all about. It was more than orb, engraved on it were the seven continents, symbolic world domination by Wahhabiyyah Islam.
Unlike westerners who are always in a hurry and want an immediate fix, Islam is patient and strive slowly to their goal, just like HAMAS.
Ishmael Haniyeh said, "we are a nation of martyrs, and we will come back again and again" (until the goal of ridding sacred Arab land of Jewish lice is achieved).
Islam doesn't mourn the death of martyr's, they celebrate it, maybe a mother will beat her chest and wail, but the community celebrates. You see martyrs get a get out of jail pass and an immediate ticket to paradise.
Launch cost-wise, she may have been right to push for more private involvement. Politically, though, it’s clear she didn’t take into account the risks of having, say, a Putin-friendly billionaire become the sole launch provider for American ISS crew. I blame her.
The Space program is big business, profits for investors, jobs for workers, and most of all jobs for workers in NASA from clerks and communications to astrophysicists, academics and mathematicians
The only benefit derived from space so far is telecommunications, GPS and eye in the sky.
Professor Reich: corruption, corruption everywhere, but no concern for those millions of people who are being robbed blind.
Musk and Trump also plan to completely crash the american economy and rob the 90% of us into penury so they can "grow their wealth" whilst the rest of us go homeless and hungry and die from common illnesses. (they also plan to defund scientific research and destroy academia completely.) america will be transformed into a third world country overnight, with a couple white slave owners at the top of the heap, one of whom is an obscenely wealthy illegal immigrant who is the shadow president awaiting the death of the supreme leader. if i'd written a book like this, it would have either never been published or it would have been published under the label "dystopian science fiction".
Here is the Republican message on everything of importance:
1. They can tell people what to do.
2. You cannot tell them what to do.
This often gets mistaken for hypocrisy, there’s an additional layer of complexity to this (later in the thread), but this is the basic formula.
You've watched the Republican Party champion the idea of "freedom" while you have also watched the same party openly assault various freedoms, like the freedom to vote, freedom to choose, freedom to marry who you want and so on.
If this has been a source of confusion, then your assessments of what Republicans mean by “freedom” were likely too generous. Here’s what they mean:
1. The freedom to tell people what to do.
2. Freedom from being told what to do.
When Republicans talk about valuing “freedom”, they’re speaking of it in the sense that only people like them should ultimately possess it.
So with this in mind, let’s examine some of our political issues with an emphasis on who is telling who what to do. And hopefully there will be no ambiguity about what the Republican Party message is ever again.
Let’s start with the COVID-19 pandemic. We were told by experts in infectious diseases that to control the spread of the pandemic, we had to socially distance, mask, and get vaccinated. So, in a general sense, we were being told what to do. Guess who had a big problem with that.
All Republicans saw were certain people trying to tell them what to do, which was enough of a reason to make it their chief priority to insist that they will not be told what to do. Even though what they were told to do could save lives, including their own.
As you can see, this is a very stunning commitment to refusing to be told what to do. So much so that it is not in fact “pro-life.” But Republicans will nevertheless claim to be the “pro-life” party. That is because they recognize “pro-life” can be used to tell people what to do.
The reason they say they are “pro-life” when they are trying to tell women what to do with their bodies is not out of genuine concern for human life, but because they recognize that in this position, they can tell women what to do with their bodies.
That’s why when you use that same appeal—“pro-life”—when you ask Republicans to do something about gun violence in schools, it doesn’t work. Because you are now in the position of telling Republicans what to do. That’s precisely why they don’t want to do anything about it.
Anyway, gun violence in schools is not a problem, but their children having to wear masks in schools is. Because somebody is telling their children what to do. Dead children don’t bother them, but telling their children what to do? Only *they* should do that.
They claim to be for “small government”, but that really means a government that tells them what to do should be as small as possible. But when the Republican Party recognizes it has an opportunity to tell people what to do, the government required for that tends to be large.
The reason Republicans are so focused on the border isn’t because they care about border security, it’s because they recognize it as the most glaring example of when they can tell other people what to do. That's why it’s their favorite issue. You want in? Too bad. Get out.
If Republicans could do this in every social space—tell the people who aren’t like them too bad, get the fuck out—I’m here to assure that would be something resembling their ideal society.
Now, there are economic policies that we’ve proposed that we can demonstrate would be of obvious benefit to even Republican voters. So how do Republicans leaders kill potential support for these policies? Make the issue about who is telling who what to do.
They focus on the fact that Democrats may raise taxes. Even when it’s painfully obvious that Democrats aren’t going to raise taxes on everyone (or on very few people), what’s important here is that Democrats are the people telling certain people what to do.
If you want to know why Republicans can easily be talked out of proposals from the Democratic Party that are shown to be of benefit to them, it is precisely because they have to entertain the idea of Democrats telling certain people what to do.
What you didn’t understand from the very beginning is that Democrats should not ultimately be in the position to tell anyone what to do. Only Republicans should be in the position to tell people what to do.
On the issue of climate change, a lot of them don’t regard it as a serious issue to the extent that they think it is a hoax. This is because when you tell Republicans to do something for the sake of the planet, you are still ultimately telling them to what to do.
Furthermore, you are conceiving the planet as a thing that all human beings should have to share. I am here to assure you that the GOP’s main concern with the planet is to ensure that they don’t have to share it.
Now here’s where things get interesting: when you explain to Republicans you want them to do something and explain it’s on the basis of benefitting other people. Now you have really crossed a line. Not only did you tell them what to do, you told them to consider others.
The whole point of an arrangement where you can tell people what to do, but you can’t be told what to do, is precisely to avoid having to consider others. This is why this is their ideal arrangement: so they don’t have to do that.
As you can see, this is a very toxic relationship with the idea of who can tell who what to do. So much so that it seems like the entire point is to conceive of a “right” kind of people who can tell other people what to do without being told what to do. Yep, that’s the point.
So let’s add one more component to the system for who tells who what to do:
1. There are “right” human beings and there are "wrong" ones.
2. The “right” ones get to tell the “wrong” ones what to do.
3. The “wrong” ones do not tell the “right” ones what to do.
As you can see, I've just been talking about white male supremacy and the accompanying caste system structure it enforces all along. And I'm talking about this because the message of the Republican Party is that they quite like it.
But I realize that we are operating in an environment where white male supremacy is so entrenched that the press can’t even conceive of the Republican Party’s agenda of sorting the “right” human beings from the “wrong” ones as maybe presenting a “messaging problem.”
This is because the press has chosen to accommodate the Republican Party in a very specific way:
1. It normalizes the Republican agenda.
2. It normalizes framing the responsibility for stopping that agenda as ultimately being on Democrats.
Think about it: white supremacy is not allowed to be viewed as a “messaging problem.” Even when it’s a threat to democracy. Because if it’s a “messaging problem”, to Republicans, that sounds you're telling them that's a problem they have to solve.
Anyway, I made this thread mostly because I realize that the press has a "messaging problem." Namely, in the sense that they seem extremely averse to explicitly identifying the message of the Republican Party. It's called white male supremacy. Thanks for reading
Wow, Sean! That was great! While I was reading your post, I thought about when my kids were little tots. When I would tell them it was time to pick up their toys, it was amazing to watch their little lips come out in a pout, arms crossed and the word "NO" coming out of their mouths. Naturally, as a mom, you learn how to handle the situation. For me, I would tell them they could pick up their toys or I would pick them up and give them to children that would take care of them and put them away when they were done. You could see them thinking about it and deciding they didn't want me to give away their toys and they would pick them up. I feel like republicans are like my kids when you tell them what to do. Pouty lips, arms crossed and a resounding 'NO'! For our Democracy to survive and thrive, these little kids need to know the adults have the nation's best interests at heart and will work to ensure that Democracy continues. Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot!
The Washington Post printed The Pentagon Papers and the paper of “All The President’s Men”; this was a noble paper of truth, protector of our democracy. This is a stab in the back of the Free Press. Jeff Bezos is Trump’s toady, a sycophant.
If Harris wins and deep down I believe she will we’ve got work to do. We must make qualifications to run for president more complete. Convicted felons need not apply. A government security check should be involved. For those who say that’s unconstitutional well they didn’t have nuclear weapons then either. If we don’t raise the bar, what’s going to stop another Trump or Bezos or someone like them from taking over.
Americans are dazzled by money. I just read that Nicky Jam a rapper from Puerto Rico took back his endorsement for Trump after the Madison Gardens debacle. He said he backed Trump because he thought that as a business man he’d be good for the economy.
Not everyone is politically involved. Many hear or read a snippet about a candidate and that’s it. Oh Trump he’s rich he would be good for the economy.
That happened when Ross Perot ran. I kept hearing people say yeah he’s a rich guy, he’ll be good for the economy. I don’t remember why he dropped out I just remember how relieved I was when he did.
I’m reading a very good book called “Moral Capitalism” which explains how we got here and what needs to happen. We are living in an oligarchy there’s no doubt about it. And sadly, the people who are disenfranchised the very most are the ones who think Trump will save them.
Susan, you can count me in to help. I absolutely want much stricter qualifications for the person that will lead our country! I also want to work on term limits for politicians and judges, abolishing the electoral college, complete overhaul of the education system, climate change and getting rid of Citizens United. Please keep me in mind! Onward and blue!
It is not just America. The German economy is on the ropes now because of years of chasing shiny objects of cheap energy and fossil fuel dependent industry, i.e. motor vehicles. When a former Chancellor could be purchased by the Russians, one realizes the depth of the problem.
Don’t think Ross Perrot (who actually was a smart and very successful businessman -not just an actor) ever dropped out of the race. Votes for his “reform party” most likely enabled Clinton’s election in 92!
In hindsight, perhaps Congress insisting on putting its own imprimatur (a semblance of democracy, if you will) on the Space Launch System (NASA’s own in-house Moon rocket) wasn’t such a bad idea.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m critical of its contractors (Boeing and Northrop Grumman) and the whole cost-plus contracting omnishambles for putting SLS behind schedule and over budget, but at least it’s a stable option for NASA (again, it’s an in-house design it owns). Musk and Bezos, being the fickle billionaires that they are, are not in spaceflight for the public interest. (I’ll say the same for Boeing and NG, but that’s not my point.)
One final point: The technological marvels of Blue Origin and SpaceX should be credited to the workers there. It’s silly and at the same time gravely worrying that Blue’s sister company Amazon has joined SpaceX in complaining that the NLRB is unconstitutional, which if the courts find true, would give Bezos and Musk carte blanche to start suppressing unionization in those companies.
Louis Brandeis was 100% correct and we are seeing why now. For people like musk, bezos and the orange man, it is all about the money. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. To think any of those three care about our country or our Democracy is ridiculous. These ultra rich little boys and the orange man treat our country as their own little playground and it is hurting all of the rest of us. They seem to forget that without all the rest of us, they wouldn't have all the money they have. We are the customers and employees that worked for their profit. They don't care. The fact that bezos schmoozed with the orange man hoping for favors if the orange man got elected tells me all I need to know about his morals and his character. Muskrat on the other hand is completely and totally unhinged and living in the alternate reality of the orange man and his cult. It is up to us, Americans, to step up and prevent their complete take-over of our country. Sometimes I worry it might be too late, but after hearing Kamala's speech at the Ellipse, I actually felt a sense of hope. We must never stop fighting and defending our Democracy. It is way too important and necessary for our future generations. Only six more days. That old saying "Keep Calm and Carry on" needs to stay at the forefront of our minds. Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot! Onward and blue!
Peggy, and thanks to the loss of the fourth estate, 40%+ of US citizens are incapable of rationale judgement, and need Daddy/ God/ Strongman to tell them what to do....and to admire. Maine high schoolers just voted for Trumpty in a mock election.. when will we step up for the revolution? It better be immediately if Trumpty the mobster is elected.
The U.S. Congress needs investigated, for violating their 'oaths-of-office'. Musk needs to register as a 'foreign agent'. H ehas ties to Putin & Saudi Arabia, and at the same time has U.S. Federal government space contracts worth $billions. How to file charges against a Congress that is violating their duties. These red and blue power hungry crooks, must be in cahoots with the 'cahooters'. Wake up Congress, - 'we-the-people' are watching you. Remember our votes count. Again, the U.S. Congress needs investigated. - jw
He is indeed a Foreign Agent. And his tentacles extend everywhere. Read his bio in the Wiki and you'll read that he was born in South Africa in 1971 [known for living under APARTHEID until 1990.] At 18, he emigrated to Canada and became CANADIAN, thanks to his mother, who was Canadian.
He moved to California in 1995 but did not become American until 2002, so he must have been on a student visa for 7 years?
So far, he has led a truly visionary life. His financial success is impressive as he seems to move from project to project and bring them all to fruition.
The fact that he's had secret conversations with Putin is, in my humble opinion, extremely dangerous.
as he is poised to negotiate with a hostile nation with or without the consent of our present President. He certainly has the money [and the inclination] to totally F*ck up anything our legal Government wants to do.
The second concern is really his personality: he is a "wanderer": from country to country, project to project, alliance to alliance, the man can't stand still. He is a genius and a visionary who is not attached to any country, like you or I are, and he seems to have acquired a sense of superiority bordering on megalomania.
He has no sense of patriotism, or keeping a good system going. He is most comfortable in chaos.
Nation-states are a relatively recent creation in the history of civilization. I hope that someday, the people of the world will cooperate in saving the planet and making it a better place for everyone without the arbitrary lines on the globe that have been drawn.
We are far from that place in history, if we even survive long enough. In the meantime, the citizens of the U.S. need to protect our interests from evil, megalomaniacal, morbidly rich types like Musk and Murdoch.
Musk isn't a genius or visionary....he, like Trump, has just placed his name on existing companies he's bought. Visionary my butt...he can't even keep ones solar panels from failing.
Yes indeedy. Note NY Mayor Eric Adams’ phone was seized immediately. Why weren’t all the phones used in the insurrection immediately seized as well? They should have been — from Trump on down …
You are absolutely correct Professor Reich. These oligarchs are out of control and they have to be stopped immediately! Next Tuesday on November 5th, those who haven’t voted yet will vote for either to save our democracy or turn our country into an authoritarian ruled nation. These oligarchs have tasted the power and they like it. We can’t be submissive anymore. It’s time to put them in their place!
The Space biz has a Huge carbon footprint & the last time I looked, Earth's atmosphere is a narrow veil encircling our planet & protecting some precious cargo such as oxygen; I'm not happy having it poked thru with rockets.
Not just space. Anything and everything business-related is built into their agendas. Control government (through puppets like Trump) and they WILL indirectly control government spending.
"American Democracy: the best government money can buy."
Trump: Promises vs. Reality
• Promised to cut the deficit but added $8 trillion to it.
• Promised to build a wall; completed only 458 miles out of 2,000, mostly repairs.
• Promised Mexico would pay for the wall; they didn’t.
• Promised a new healthcare plan; it never existed.
• Promised a middle-class tax cut; primarily cut taxes for the rich, leaving the middle class to bear the burden.
• Promised not to play golf; made 250 visits to his own golf clubs, costing taxpayers $150 million.
• Promised to increase economic growth by 4%; didn’t achieve it, President Biden did.
• Promised an infrastructure plan; had none, President Biden signed a massive one.
• Promised to hire “the best people”; fired 3/4 of them, then labeled them the worst.
• Promised to reduce prescription drug prices; didn’t happen, President Biden did.
• Promised to win the trade war with China; it cost about a quarter million jobs.
• Promised corporate tax cuts would benefit workers; corporations used the money to buy back stocks instead.
• Promised to revive the coal industry; more coal jobs were lost during his presidency
• Promise Michigan one single auto plant will not close, 5 production plants closed in 2018.
• Promise he would help create jobs in the auto industry, 3500 jobs lost in 2018.
*Promised to take us out of Afghanistan, but instead Trump pulled out 17,000 troops and left a shell of 3,000 troops to protect everybody he left behind.
He didn’t care about how many Americans could die.
He also made a deal with the Taliban and released 5,000 Isis terrorist out of prison.
He did it on purpose to leave Biden a mess in Afghanistan to clean up.
There is only one question before us: Would you rather have a Fascist Dementia Addled Supreme Narcissistic Moron whose Father Also Had Dementia running this country or the Daughter of Two University Professors?
Sean Sheeter, and because tfg refused the desperate requests of women to have a seat at the table in his discussions and deal-making with the Taliban, women and girls have been thrown back into the dark ages. Not allowed to leave home unless accompanied by a man, not allowed to work outside the home, or go to school, not allowed to speak, yes I said speak, in public, and of course they are now suffering rampant rape, abuse, and other cruelties behind the doors of their prisons (houses). Many have committed suicide. This is what happens when patriarchy and misogyny flourishes in a tyrant's mind, who cares nothing for anyone but himself, and this is what the "christian" tyrants want for America's girls and women.
And who got the blame? President Biden.
David Sea, exactly tfg sabotaged the next Dem President's withdrawal and then blamed what went wrong in the withdrawal on the next Dem President..
With complicity from MSM
Remember that tfg invited the Taliban to Camp David. Gee, I wonder what was discussed? We will never know. Tfg did not allow notes, witnesses or any documentation as he spoke with Russian agents/friends of Putin, or Putin himself , or any other oligarch or dictator
Well, Mr Long, it IS Halloween. Spooky!
David - I have maintained that Biden should have abrogated the illegal agreement with the taliban. by policy, we do not negotiate with terrorists. that ''deal" like most of his, was an abject failure and capitulation to terrorists. Biden should have forcefully and loudly repudiated it very publicly.
Biden had little leverage because tfg had required Pakistan to release 5000 taliban prisoners, who were already organizing in case of that repudiation.
Tfg took no chances on screwing the afghan people, particularly the women, knowing an orderly us troop exit would not be easy to execute.
Women in this country have it better but that hasn't always been the case either. We were not treated much better than the Taliban in this country until the mid to late 1900s.
Before no fault divorce, married women committed suicide in this country too.
Nancy Isenberg - White Trash, the real story of class in the US.
I just finished that book! Worth reading. Explains a lot.
yes, I like Hidden Figures too.
We need to get back to teaching in this country and stop letting the republicans push separate but equal again. These charter schools in the south are a disaster.
It's a great book. I borrowed it from the library, and after I read it, I decided I wanted to own it. I found an inexpensive, used copy to refer to.
I think it's a software issue - it won't let me just click "like" on comments. I have to say something - I "like" your comments lol
I have the same problem, Janet, but only on my iPhone. I ❤️ comments on my computer later.
You missed his entire array of incompetence in handling Covid pandemic and the resultant deaths. And now he is talking about putting RFK, Jr., an antivaxer and conspiracy theorist, in a position over all health agencies.
MAGA -- Make America Garbage Again
Appropriately, Trump showed up wearing a garbage man's outfit, riding in a garbage truck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7GkdebsvCc
Reminds me of Redd Foxx.
"Redd, the garbage man is here."
"Tell him to LEAVE three cans."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUasY84me_I
So after Kamala is elected, we can't just sit around and comment on here either.
Trump is a symptom of issues as well as a tyrant.
Is everyone on here dedicated to a pledge to keep showing up? Because that's really how to solve appraisal banking frauds for housing, income inequality, women's rights.
I want the guys on here to answer a question ;) How do / did you balance a career with family life?
The way that normal people solve difficult financial problems is 'with a little help from my friends'. Band together to share occasional childcare, household items, kids stuff, and emotional support.
Maybe, but people shouldn't have to rely on friends and should be able to have a saving account for emergencies. But when people are living paycheck to paycheck - it's not possible.
My question is - how do men balance home and career? ;)
Janet ❤️ 👏
People used to be more insightful. A popular depression song, "Ain't We Got Fun?" included the lyrics, "There's nothing surer, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."
Trump's economic policies will put us into a "deep recession or depression." With Trump's tariffs, basic necessities will cost the average citizen $4000 more a year. The wealthiest love recessions because they can buy up assets at firesale prices. Inequality increases with every recession. Under Trump, workers will become more financially insecure while the morbidly rich widen the gap between themselves and the rest of us.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Z9RmVoHVg>
Yes, did you finish the White Trash book? I 'm going to buy. That was shocking
Jesus. It just hit me tween the eyes: that'll be new pressure on households to refinance (on lousier terms) their single most important asset, their housing, or lose it entirely, to be owned by a financialist oligarchy. At least they'll still have health insurance, so a broken leg or festering ulcer won't hobble their income entirely and further put them under water. Oh... wait....
We need to take out the garbage
He also has worms in his head, like a rotten apple.
I'm surprised Kamala hasn't mentioned that RFK would lead CDC & a potential health disaster in a future pandemic due to RFKs disdain for vaccines.....tens millions could die next time
Tfg is a loser.
With well over 900 pages, I imagine it would be very difficult to mention all the bad things in project 2025. She is upbeat, and smart. "Accentuate the positive"., and she has
I never believed Trump on anything as I have known for over 30 years he was a BS artist, but it wasn’t until he ran for president that I truly started to detest him.
Kathy Hughes: Totally! When Trump was a builder and golfer, to the extent I even thought about him, Trump seemed to me to be a spoilt rich guy, who was mildly amusing with his self-promoting superlatives (the best, the most spectacular . . .), and would smile over the mudthrowing between Trump and Rosie O'Donnell.
It was only during Trump's entry into politics -- the birther movement, the slurs on immigrants (they send us their murderers and rapists) -- that I perceived how sick and deranged he was.
If he had remained a popular real-estate man and entertainer, I would not have taken the effort to learn more about him, and he would have been an odd, mildly amusing figure.
"I have known for over 30 years he was a BS artist." Exactly.
You stated succinctly my own reaction, too.
Post to Joe Rogan website and Youtube,
Done that. To VDH youtube video for example.
These issues are not going away after Kamala is elected. I still think trumpie was a great wake up call to issues not being addressed (see above list)
Where will all of this anger be after the election? Will you start showing up in force at your local government meetings? Will women be "allowed" now to senior positions ? Will men be asked - how do you balance family and career?
Stay tuned!
I want to fix the fact that several thousand people eligible to register to vote in Missouri are being given bad information by reputable sites like NPR and others and so don't register until later. Thereby missing their chance to vote on Nov 5th, for example.
Trump: Flaws & Crimes
-insurrectionist
-international security risk
-cruel bully
-lying liar
-cheats at everything
-children in cages
-alleged pedophile
-alleged ties to thugs
-blatant ties to Putin
-apparent drug abuse
-global embarrassment
-allegedly illiterate
-allegedly a moron
-shockingly uneducated
do not forget - SEXUAL ASSAULTER!
Well said.
Thank you for the FYI. Why can’t the democrats advertise this?! in clear comparison .
I agree. Now imagine something worse attended by the neo Nazis of Project 2025. It's a night mare.
Lenin: "Promises are like pie crusts; made to be broken".
Will this nation not once but twice reject for President highly qualified women (Hillary and Kamala) for an obviously unqualified unfit man for the job?
Once might be written off as a fluke. Twice at some level would say this is who we are.
Steve. Yep. And if Trump wins, the rest of the world will know that not only the “Emperor” but the whole USA isn’t wearing any clothes.
I expect Russia and China will happily lead the way.
From Robert Reich’s lips to Kamala Harris’ and her AG’s ears! Thanks Robert for a very well written, easy to understand explanation of the our current “gilded age” and what needs to be done to end it!
Except there is actually no way that Bezos supports Trump. Apparently he has the same kind of megalomania that Musk has --only room for one (1).
Bezos, along with LAT owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, is violating the first rule Tim Snyder gives in his book “On Fascism,” “Do not obey in advance.”
I keep hearing that Musk is the richest man and Bezo's the second , in the world.
But I think that overlooks the Arab potentates. They buy gold plated Mercedes.
And the really richest man in the world, is he who commands the people and economy of a nation. Putin is reputed to have many dacha's and Navalny published a photo of a billion dollar dacha.
What need have you for money, when you command the resources of a nation.
Many years ago I read that Mao only received a $300 a month allowance, yet he commanded the resources of China.
One does not need to "own" plains or luxurious dwellings, when everything is at your fingertip.
Trump if he wins will be the wealthiest man in the world, as he will have at his beck and call, the resources of the United States.
Our problem is that we are programmed to think of wealth in the form of dollars.
We have two billionaires fighting over the right to ruin our country and the world. Appalling. I think about all the money these two clowns are getting from our government that could be used right here on the planet, to make things better NOW. Considering all the problems Earth is facing, investing in a future that could be a long time in the future seems like a waste to me. Humanity will be extinct long before they colonize any other planet, in our solar system or out of it. But I guess their egos must be stroked, and we are paying the ultimate price for that.
Musk and Bezos won't colonize any planet. Take Mars for an example. It is undoubtedly possible to build a space station there, but why do you want to? Mars is like Arizona, but with a surface temperature below that of Antarctica. Boring and cold, very cold. Why not just go to Arizona?
But, Musk says that he wants to "green" the planet. OK, but the atmosphere is close to 100% CO2. So, he says, I will bring in plants to eat the CO2 and turn it into oxygen, and these plants will multiply in the greenhouses I will build, and generate ever-increasing amounts of oxygen and eventually, Mars will have a breathable atmosphere fit for humans.
Not so. If every molecule of CO2 on Mars was turned into a molecule of O2, the oxygen pressure of the Martian atmosphere would be less than 1% of Earth's atmospheric pressure.
So, Mars will always be way too cold and will never have sufficient oxygen. Sorry, Elon, you haven't thought this through, this is a totally ridiculous idea.
Come to think of it, you and Bezos are the poster children for Adam Smith's prescient observation that those who benefit most from his economic system must pay the most in taxes.
Makes perfect sense. You'd think NASA and the government would realize this and stop funding their crazy ideas. It seems we're dealing in a lot of short-sightedness these days. As for wanting to go to the moon again: why? Been there, done that, got the damn rocks.
There is too much money, and too many jobs and careers dependent on the notion that will colonize the stars, and people like Musk and millions of others need the fantasy that they can shit in their own home, befoul it and when full, just pack up and move to another home.- Theo.
Arizona is no twin of Mars. And we don't want them here, but we have Gila monsters for that.
Bezos and Musk have confiscated the resources of our country and now hoard them. The decisions they have taken unto themselves they have no right to. Our resources need to be reclaimed (taxes!) and put to better use to serve the lives of our people.
Not confiscation. For the most part they got them fairly under the rules of the game. We need to change the rules. Contrary views welcomed.
The intensity of radiation on Mars is such that any humanoid life forms would need to live in shielded structures. The planning for a Mars outpost is placing its inhabitants in lava tubes that have very thick layers of rock to shield from radiation. It is not Arizona.
Also, some wiser folks than me have assessed that the lower martian gravity will cause a deterioration in bone and cell structure, such that earth mammals will, in time, decompose to gelatinous mounds of goop. Which is how I've been visualizing our heroic martian colonizers for some time. /s
I am with you on this. the gravity of Mars is.34ge we are told, based on a 17th century theory, that requires circularity of reasoning, that of mass gravity.
The atmospheric pressure of Mars is less than experienced in the stratosphere, where water and blood boil. Thus space suits would be required in door or out,unless they could pressurize geometric domes, but then the tiniest leak would be a catastrophe.
Atmospheric pressure is the result of gravity pulling particles of gases like oxygen,nitrogen and carbon dioxide to the source of gravity, the center of the earth.
On the surface, a step by a human will result in a bound of 7 ft into the air any vehicle that hits a rock will be bound into the air. Any human who stays on Mars long enough, will require, should they return to earth, an exoskeleton just so they can perambulate.
Has anyone seen astronauts climb out of their "space ships", what they call those cone shaped capsules, when they return to the earth. The one that made it to the press, showed the returning astronaut being carried, that is because in reduced gravity you lose bone mass, because bone mass is produced by stress on the bones. And in reduced gravity or zero gravity, there is no or reduced stresss on the bones.
A child born on Mars is forever consigned to life on Mars, thanks to it's reduced gravity and atmospheric pressure, it's extremities will be spindly, underdeveloped, its head will be large in proportion to it's size, it will be smaller compared to it's parents, because there is less stress on the bones, and it's eyes will have adjusted to the Martian light, thus bigger, it would be blinded by light on Earth and have to wear glasses at all times when outside, maybe even to see
There is no way to terraform Mars, because the gravity is insufficient to holdkught gases to the ground., such as oxygen and nitrogen.
Such gases will be spun off into space by the centrifugal force of the planets rotation, and therein lies the answer as to what happened to the water and atmosphere of Mars.
Back in the 90's I got into a quarrel with dudes from Skunworks . I told them that there was water on Mars, at the poles because there is no centrifugal force at the poles. (People and things weigh more at the poles, than they do at the equator, because of centrifugal force)). was called a crank a kook, then spectometry revealed that there was indeed water on the poles, and I strongly believe there is subterranean water as well, just as on earth.
But the water on Mars boiled off aeons ago, when the gravity diminished to the point that it could no longer keep the gases in suspension, and water boiled off, flung into space and then was drawn by the gravitational pull of it's nearest neighbor as an cloud , taking millions of years to make the trip, blocking out the sun, freezing the planet, until finally it reached it's destination and periodically warmed by a huge solar flare, parts if it fell on the planet creating a deluge, until about 12,000 years ago, a huge event melted the last of it the end of the Younger Dryas.
And now they have discovered water on the moon, again at the poles
As you decrease stress on the bones, you decrease size (Ask your dentist or anyone who has had teeth pulled.
The corollary is true, increase stress and you increase size.
An increase in the gravitational pull of the earth, would even more condense the molecules of air, making it more viscous and requiring greater effort to perambulate, the increase in size of muscles and tendons would of necessity increase the size of the bones and the creatures, And an increase in atmospheric density would enable creatures that weighed 100 lbs or more to be able to fly, whereas in the present atmosphere the largest flying creature weighs 40l bs.
Reduce the gravity and you reduce atmospheric pressure, and you reduce the size of creatures, until the largest animal that can live today is an Elephant, any larger and they suffocate under their own weight like a whale.
Whales are large because the atmosphere they live in is thick enough for them to be buoyant, but it is buoyant that they don't need legs because they don't perambulate.
why does NASA even grant any of the two contracts for things like satellites? There could be terrestrial internet, land-based internet, that doesn’t require satellites https://physicsworld.com/a/ground-based-alternative-to-gps-achieves-10-cm-accuracy/
Musk’s Starlink satellites were provided to Ukraine for internet service after Putin invaded. They were essential in helping Ukraine resist Russia’s war crimes. Now it has been revealed that Musk has been regularly in contact with Putin, taking the
satellites from Ukraine and giving them to Russian troops. Musk has a top secret security clearance and it is clear that he has violated the basic terms of knowing our country’s secrets. You don’t abandon our ally and become BFFs with our enemy!!!
Excellent point!
Relics, if we kept our tax money and actually gave it to NASA to spend, we could make and launch our own satellites!
Imperceptible the frequencies which are used for long distancecommunications are line of sight, because the Earth is spherical, the very best line of sight is a range of 7 miles with a high antenna.
When I was in the military we used a man pack portable radio that had a transmission radius with an extended antenna of , at best 2 miles over land, to another transceiver, yet I could communicate with aircraft at 35 miles, until the signal weakened as it expands outwards like the waves created when you drop a pebble into a lake, as it expands it weakens.
This scientific fact is what created cable TV. The very first cable TV was built on the top of a small mountain,it captured the signal of broadcast stations, then transmitted them via cable to the town below in a valley.. Before that the only way to hear radio or watch TV was to receive a signal transmitted by a relay transmitter.
The first use of satellite communications I know of was the military in Operation Eagle Claw, where they used special radios and antennas to communicate with the Pentagon.
The Iran hostage rescue attempt that cost President Carter his job, and ushered in Ronald Reagan, the treason president who brokered a deal with Khomeini, but that is another story
Thanks for sharing! I hadn't heard of Eagle Claw. I do a bit of research on cataloguing wireless tech. One is called LoRa. There's also LoReA. A world record for small bytes of data is 300+ km:
https://meshtastic.org/docs/overview/range-tests/#current-ground-record-254km
There's also shortwave radio internet: https://github.com/rhizomatica
Also I sketched a possible Ethernet alternative:
https://github.com/EI2030/Low-power-E-Paper-OS/commit/e7c672486866504bf963b01d4498c7513b048291
I also read that the military has some really long tunnels underground for thousands of miles, which similar boring for smaller pipes could be developed just for fiber optic cables.
The Navy also has ultra low frequency, which can penetrate the earth and communicate with submarines
There is a receiving station located in Alice Springs, Australia,there are monthly flights, at least, from Area 51 to Alice Springs.
Just unbelievable! They won’t even be alive! Jokes on them. 🤪
Yes, absolutely true!
The worse part of Elon Mosca is that he is not even a U.S. citizen and when 45 spews his venoum toward immigrants stating that they are "poisoning American's blood" there you have Mosca trying to ruin this country!
He acquired citizenship in 2002. But having been an immigrant, you'd think he'd have more empathy for others trying to come here.
Musk is a racist South African, his sympathies are limited to Nordics
Why is govt outsourcing space exploration? NASA was perfectly capable of doing this with the Mercury, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. Bring this back into government control and cut out the middle man's profit.
Regarding Musk, he needs to lose all security clearances and govt contacts due to his cozy relationship with Putin. Where is Garland and the DOJ?
Indeed, and where are Garland and the DOJ on Musk’s flagrant violations of Federal election law in Pennsylvania?
Garland was an unfortunate appointment when there were better options like Sally Yates. Biden picked another old white guy.
For all the good Biden did....he erased it with a poor pick for AG.....when are these moderate Dems gonna learn that right wingers should NOT be at FBI/DOJ.
tpsea, I've given this a lot of thought, People who sit behind the Resolution Desks, are not omnipotent and omniscient, they, sit on the commode like you and I and are probably of average intelligence (less if Trump). They are not connected to and with every expert in the U.S.A.. Thus their appointments are people whose names were provided to them by a grise eminence. I know the name of Obama's, LarrySummers, but there is a coterie of grise eminence's, that gather round them, with their own names, just as Trump relied on someone who used Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society for names of federal judges.
In many ways the President is akin to a sock puppet and some one has their hand up their ass.
Garland's appointment was the consequence of a mind addled by 34 years in a Senate in which the greatest value was comity, compromise and bipartisanship.
I cast no aspersions on his moral character or motivation, but only on his learned political instincts.
I, personally, don't think that presidents are omnipotent and all wise,so they don't rule, but make decisions based on information provided them by a cabinet and advisors who they haven't actually chosen.
Trump didn't know anyone that he appointed as cabinet and advisor, neither did Obama, both were neophytes as regards beltway politics.
There is indeed and invisible hand that moves the helm of the ship of state.
Twas, IMO, Larry summers for Obama.
Does anyone think that Trump actually knew the names,much less the persons of Steven Miller, Mark Meadows, or any of his staff and cabinet, before he took office?
Like himself! SO-O-O-O GLAD BIDEN IS GOING! HE CAN'T GO SOON ENOUGH TO SUIT ME!
Biden missed his chance when he didn't challenge Hillary for the nomination. As Obama's veep, he was the natural next candidate. I'm afraid Biden's legacy with be tied with Netanyahu's. And maybe torpedoing Harris by staying in the race too long.
If Hillary was President on Jan 6th, we would still have done the same.
The only one with a personal relationship with Bibi is Trump.If Trump is elected Bibi gets all he wants, including a war with Iran.
Israel is a land locked air craft carrier that is within striking distance of the hands that control the oil spigots.
Oil spigots which can be turned clockwise and cut off the flow of oil, which will bring Europe to it's knees and raise the price of oil, astronomically, and usher in a depression worse than 1929.
Saudi Arabia has an aim to control the world, to Islamicize it. That is what that "orb" that Trump laid his hands on is all about. It was more than orb, engraved on it were the seven continents, symbolic world domination by Wahhabiyyah Islam.
Unlike westerners who are always in a hurry and want an immediate fix, Islam is patient and strive slowly to their goal, just like HAMAS.
Ishmael Haniyeh said, "we are a nation of martyrs, and we will come back again and again" (until the goal of ridding sacred Arab land of Jewish lice is achieved).
Islam doesn't mourn the death of martyr's, they celebrate it, maybe a mother will beat her chest and wail, but the community celebrates. You see martyrs get a get out of jail pass and an immediate ticket to paradise.
In short, because Obama’s Deputy NASA admin Lori Garver said so. (see https://www.wired.com/story/how-lori-garver-launched-nasas-commercial-space-partnerships) She was the kind of public servant who wanted more efficiency for the tax dollar so NASA could focus on emerging tech.
Launch cost-wise, she may have been right to push for more private involvement. Politically, though, it’s clear she didn’t take into account the risks of having, say, a Putin-friendly billionaire become the sole launch provider for American ISS crew. I blame her.
Time to nationalize a few things- rocket men have had some pretty huge gov contracts…so payback time!
This is in the interest of national security-just like the chip shortage- and needs to be addressed by public investment.
The Space program is big business, profits for investors, jobs for workers, and most of all jobs for workers in NASA from clerks and communications to astrophysicists, academics and mathematicians
The only benefit derived from space so far is telecommunications, GPS and eye in the sky.
.
Elon Musk worked illegally in the US on a student VISA and he should be deported and his ill gotten gains seized by our government.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/10/26/elon-musk-immigration-status/
I just think he should go bye bye along with trump and a few others. Don’t tell me they can’t make it happen without anyone knowing.
Professor Reich: corruption, corruption everywhere, but no concern for those millions of people who are being robbed blind.
Musk and Trump also plan to completely crash the american economy and rob the 90% of us into penury so they can "grow their wealth" whilst the rest of us go homeless and hungry and die from common illnesses. (they also plan to defund scientific research and destroy academia completely.) america will be transformed into a third world country overnight, with a couple white slave owners at the top of the heap, one of whom is an obscenely wealthy illegal immigrant who is the shadow president awaiting the death of the supreme leader. if i'd written a book like this, it would have either never been published or it would have been published under the label "dystopian science fiction".
I wouldn’t be surprised if Musk has the GOP force a constitutional amendment allowing him to become president when he is not a native born American.
there's already whispers that trump is going to revoke the 22nd amendment (the one that prevents a presidents from holding more than 2 terms).
Here is the Republican message on everything of importance:
1. They can tell people what to do.
2. You cannot tell them what to do.
This often gets mistaken for hypocrisy, there’s an additional layer of complexity to this (later in the thread), but this is the basic formula.
You've watched the Republican Party champion the idea of "freedom" while you have also watched the same party openly assault various freedoms, like the freedom to vote, freedom to choose, freedom to marry who you want and so on.
If this has been a source of confusion, then your assessments of what Republicans mean by “freedom” were likely too generous. Here’s what they mean:
1. The freedom to tell people what to do.
2. Freedom from being told what to do.
When Republicans talk about valuing “freedom”, they’re speaking of it in the sense that only people like them should ultimately possess it.
So with this in mind, let’s examine some of our political issues with an emphasis on who is telling who what to do. And hopefully there will be no ambiguity about what the Republican Party message is ever again.
Let’s start with the COVID-19 pandemic. We were told by experts in infectious diseases that to control the spread of the pandemic, we had to socially distance, mask, and get vaccinated. So, in a general sense, we were being told what to do. Guess who had a big problem with that.
All Republicans saw were certain people trying to tell them what to do, which was enough of a reason to make it their chief priority to insist that they will not be told what to do. Even though what they were told to do could save lives, including their own.
As you can see, this is a very stunning commitment to refusing to be told what to do. So much so that it is not in fact “pro-life.” But Republicans will nevertheless claim to be the “pro-life” party. That is because they recognize “pro-life” can be used to tell people what to do.
The reason they say they are “pro-life” when they are trying to tell women what to do with their bodies is not out of genuine concern for human life, but because they recognize that in this position, they can tell women what to do with their bodies.
That’s why when you use that same appeal—“pro-life”—when you ask Republicans to do something about gun violence in schools, it doesn’t work. Because you are now in the position of telling Republicans what to do. That’s precisely why they don’t want to do anything about it.
Anyway, gun violence in schools is not a problem, but their children having to wear masks in schools is. Because somebody is telling their children what to do. Dead children don’t bother them, but telling their children what to do? Only *they* should do that.
They claim to be for “small government”, but that really means a government that tells them what to do should be as small as possible. But when the Republican Party recognizes it has an opportunity to tell people what to do, the government required for that tends to be large.
The reason Republicans are so focused on the border isn’t because they care about border security, it’s because they recognize it as the most glaring example of when they can tell other people what to do. That's why it’s their favorite issue. You want in? Too bad. Get out.
If Republicans could do this in every social space—tell the people who aren’t like them too bad, get the fuck out—I’m here to assure that would be something resembling their ideal society.
Now, there are economic policies that we’ve proposed that we can demonstrate would be of obvious benefit to even Republican voters. So how do Republicans leaders kill potential support for these policies? Make the issue about who is telling who what to do.
They focus on the fact that Democrats may raise taxes. Even when it’s painfully obvious that Democrats aren’t going to raise taxes on everyone (or on very few people), what’s important here is that Democrats are the people telling certain people what to do.
If you want to know why Republicans can easily be talked out of proposals from the Democratic Party that are shown to be of benefit to them, it is precisely because they have to entertain the idea of Democrats telling certain people what to do.
What you didn’t understand from the very beginning is that Democrats should not ultimately be in the position to tell anyone what to do. Only Republicans should be in the position to tell people what to do.
On the issue of climate change, a lot of them don’t regard it as a serious issue to the extent that they think it is a hoax. This is because when you tell Republicans to do something for the sake of the planet, you are still ultimately telling them to what to do.
Furthermore, you are conceiving the planet as a thing that all human beings should have to share. I am here to assure you that the GOP’s main concern with the planet is to ensure that they don’t have to share it.
Now here’s where things get interesting: when you explain to Republicans you want them to do something and explain it’s on the basis of benefitting other people. Now you have really crossed a line. Not only did you tell them what to do, you told them to consider others.
The whole point of an arrangement where you can tell people what to do, but you can’t be told what to do, is precisely to avoid having to consider others. This is why this is their ideal arrangement: so they don’t have to do that.
As you can see, this is a very toxic relationship with the idea of who can tell who what to do. So much so that it seems like the entire point is to conceive of a “right” kind of people who can tell other people what to do without being told what to do. Yep, that’s the point.
So let’s add one more component to the system for who tells who what to do:
1. There are “right” human beings and there are "wrong" ones.
2. The “right” ones get to tell the “wrong” ones what to do.
3. The “wrong” ones do not tell the “right” ones what to do.
As you can see, I've just been talking about white male supremacy and the accompanying caste system structure it enforces all along. And I'm talking about this because the message of the Republican Party is that they quite like it.
But I realize that we are operating in an environment where white male supremacy is so entrenched that the press can’t even conceive of the Republican Party’s agenda of sorting the “right” human beings from the “wrong” ones as maybe presenting a “messaging problem.”
This is because the press has chosen to accommodate the Republican Party in a very specific way:
1. It normalizes the Republican agenda.
2. It normalizes framing the responsibility for stopping that agenda as ultimately being on Democrats.
Think about it: white supremacy is not allowed to be viewed as a “messaging problem.” Even when it’s a threat to democracy. Because if it’s a “messaging problem”, to Republicans, that sounds you're telling them that's a problem they have to solve.
Anyway, I made this thread mostly because I realize that the press has a "messaging problem." Namely, in the sense that they seem extremely averse to explicitly identifying the message of the Republican Party. It's called white male supremacy. Thanks for reading
Wow, Sean! That was great! While I was reading your post, I thought about when my kids were little tots. When I would tell them it was time to pick up their toys, it was amazing to watch their little lips come out in a pout, arms crossed and the word "NO" coming out of their mouths. Naturally, as a mom, you learn how to handle the situation. For me, I would tell them they could pick up their toys or I would pick them up and give them to children that would take care of them and put them away when they were done. You could see them thinking about it and deciding they didn't want me to give away their toys and they would pick them up. I feel like republicans are like my kids when you tell them what to do. Pouty lips, arms crossed and a resounding 'NO'! For our Democracy to survive and thrive, these little kids need to know the adults have the nation's best interests at heart and will work to ensure that Democracy continues. Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot!
Freedom for me and not for thee, and also the freedom for me to trample all over you. This isn’t my idea of freedom at all.
Real freedom involves RESPONSIBILITY. And your freedom ends before my nose. Funny, how this is displaced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVhGkgb1dwc&ab_channel=LSE
Very well explained. And I think, while we may not explain it quite the same way, they are after WHITE, MALE, POWER, UNCHECKED, AND ABSOLUTE.
Terrific!
The Washington Post printed The Pentagon Papers and the paper of “All The President’s Men”; this was a noble paper of truth, protector of our democracy. This is a stab in the back of the Free Press. Jeff Bezos is Trump’s toady, a sycophant.
Katharine Graham is no doubt spinning in her grave.
She could not believe the cowardice.
If Harris wins and deep down I believe she will we’ve got work to do. We must make qualifications to run for president more complete. Convicted felons need not apply. A government security check should be involved. For those who say that’s unconstitutional well they didn’t have nuclear weapons then either. If we don’t raise the bar, what’s going to stop another Trump or Bezos or someone like them from taking over.
Americans are dazzled by money. I just read that Nicky Jam a rapper from Puerto Rico took back his endorsement for Trump after the Madison Gardens debacle. He said he backed Trump because he thought that as a business man he’d be good for the economy.
Not everyone is politically involved. Many hear or read a snippet about a candidate and that’s it. Oh Trump he’s rich he would be good for the economy.
That happened when Ross Perot ran. I kept hearing people say yeah he’s a rich guy, he’ll be good for the economy. I don’t remember why he dropped out I just remember how relieved I was when he did.
I’m reading a very good book called “Moral Capitalism” which explains how we got here and what needs to happen. We are living in an oligarchy there’s no doubt about it. And sadly, the people who are disenfranchised the very most are the ones who think Trump will save them.
Susan, you can count me in to help. I absolutely want much stricter qualifications for the person that will lead our country! I also want to work on term limits for politicians and judges, abolishing the electoral college, complete overhaul of the education system, climate change and getting rid of Citizens United. Please keep me in mind! Onward and blue!
Absolutely Peggy!
It is not just America. The German economy is on the ropes now because of years of chasing shiny objects of cheap energy and fossil fuel dependent industry, i.e. motor vehicles. When a former Chancellor could be purchased by the Russians, one realizes the depth of the problem.
I think they should take the citizenship test.
Don’t think Ross Perrot (who actually was a smart and very successful businessman -not just an actor) ever dropped out of the race. Votes for his “reform party” most likely enabled Clinton’s election in 92!
In hindsight, perhaps Congress insisting on putting its own imprimatur (a semblance of democracy, if you will) on the Space Launch System (NASA’s own in-house Moon rocket) wasn’t such a bad idea.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m critical of its contractors (Boeing and Northrop Grumman) and the whole cost-plus contracting omnishambles for putting SLS behind schedule and over budget, but at least it’s a stable option for NASA (again, it’s an in-house design it owns). Musk and Bezos, being the fickle billionaires that they are, are not in spaceflight for the public interest. (I’ll say the same for Boeing and NG, but that’s not my point.)
For Bezos’ part, Blue Origin is putting paywalls on vital test data for NASA on its Moon lander: https://spacenews.com/data-rights-limitations-affecting-nasa-technology-development/ For Musk’s part, he’s undercutting upstart companies such as Relativity and Rocket Lab with exclusive purchase clauses, strategic discounts and radio spectrum concessions, in addition to having Putin’s ear and flouting environmental rules: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/us/politics/elon-musk-space-launch-competition.html https://www.wsj.com/business/telecom/spacex-wields-dominance-in-rocket-launches-to-boost-starlink-fde71f17 https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/musk-putin-secret-conversations-37e1c187 https://spacenews.com/faa-fines-spacex-for-launch-license-violations/
One final point: The technological marvels of Blue Origin and SpaceX should be credited to the workers there. It’s silly and at the same time gravely worrying that Blue’s sister company Amazon has joined SpaceX in complaining that the NLRB is unconstitutional, which if the courts find true, would give Bezos and Musk carte blanche to start suppressing unionization in those companies.
By the way, nice of the DoD’s procurement people to start backing away from over-relying on Musk. This (good insurance policy) was just announced today: https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Portals/3/USSF%20SSC%20Releases%20National%20Security%20Space%20Launch%20Phase%203%20Lane%201%20On-Ramp%20Request%20for%20Proposals.pdf
I don't conclude that from this.
Louis Brandeis was 100% correct and we are seeing why now. For people like musk, bezos and the orange man, it is all about the money. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. To think any of those three care about our country or our Democracy is ridiculous. These ultra rich little boys and the orange man treat our country as their own little playground and it is hurting all of the rest of us. They seem to forget that without all the rest of us, they wouldn't have all the money they have. We are the customers and employees that worked for their profit. They don't care. The fact that bezos schmoozed with the orange man hoping for favors if the orange man got elected tells me all I need to know about his morals and his character. Muskrat on the other hand is completely and totally unhinged and living in the alternate reality of the orange man and his cult. It is up to us, Americans, to step up and prevent their complete take-over of our country. Sometimes I worry it might be too late, but after hearing Kamala's speech at the Ellipse, I actually felt a sense of hope. We must never stop fighting and defending our Democracy. It is way too important and necessary for our future generations. Only six more days. That old saying "Keep Calm and Carry on" needs to stay at the forefront of our minds. Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot! Onward and blue!
Peggy, and thanks to the loss of the fourth estate, 40%+ of US citizens are incapable of rationale judgement, and need Daddy/ God/ Strongman to tell them what to do....and to admire. Maine high schoolers just voted for Trumpty in a mock election.. when will we step up for the revolution? It better be immediately if Trumpty the mobster is elected.
The entire American public needs to read this important report. Thank you Mr Reich.
The U.S. Congress needs investigated, for violating their 'oaths-of-office'. Musk needs to register as a 'foreign agent'. H ehas ties to Putin & Saudi Arabia, and at the same time has U.S. Federal government space contracts worth $billions. How to file charges against a Congress that is violating their duties. These red and blue power hungry crooks, must be in cahoots with the 'cahooters'. Wake up Congress, - 'we-the-people' are watching you. Remember our votes count. Again, the U.S. Congress needs investigated. - jw
Joe Ward ; The real problem with enforcement of justice is that the Supreme Court is null and void and needs to be purged of the Sycophant 6.
He is indeed a Foreign Agent. And his tentacles extend everywhere. Read his bio in the Wiki and you'll read that he was born in South Africa in 1971 [known for living under APARTHEID until 1990.] At 18, he emigrated to Canada and became CANADIAN, thanks to his mother, who was Canadian.
He moved to California in 1995 but did not become American until 2002, so he must have been on a student visa for 7 years?
So far, he has led a truly visionary life. His financial success is impressive as he seems to move from project to project and bring them all to fruition.
The fact that he's had secret conversations with Putin is, in my humble opinion, extremely dangerous.
For one, that is an open breach of the Logan Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act
as he is poised to negotiate with a hostile nation with or without the consent of our present President. He certainly has the money [and the inclination] to totally F*ck up anything our legal Government wants to do.
The second concern is really his personality: he is a "wanderer": from country to country, project to project, alliance to alliance, the man can't stand still. He is a genius and a visionary who is not attached to any country, like you or I are, and he seems to have acquired a sense of superiority bordering on megalomania.
He has no sense of patriotism, or keeping a good system going. He is most comfortable in chaos.
Nation-states are a relatively recent creation in the history of civilization. I hope that someday, the people of the world will cooperate in saving the planet and making it a better place for everyone without the arbitrary lines on the globe that have been drawn.
We are far from that place in history, if we even survive long enough. In the meantime, the citizens of the U.S. need to protect our interests from evil, megalomaniacal, morbidly rich types like Musk and Murdoch.
Musk isn't a genius or visionary....he, like Trump, has just placed his name on existing companies he's bought. Visionary my butt...he can't even keep ones solar panels from failing.
Yes indeedy. Note NY Mayor Eric Adams’ phone was seized immediately. Why weren’t all the phones used in the insurrection immediately seized as well? They should have been — from Trump on down …
Whose to say Musk wouldn't give all the benefits of SpaceX to Putin....work for Russia exclusively??
You are absolutely correct Professor Reich. These oligarchs are out of control and they have to be stopped immediately! Next Tuesday on November 5th, those who haven’t voted yet will vote for either to save our democracy or turn our country into an authoritarian ruled nation. These oligarchs have tasted the power and they like it. We can’t be submissive anymore. It’s time to put them in their place!
The Space biz has a Huge carbon footprint & the last time I looked, Earth's atmosphere is a narrow veil encircling our planet & protecting some precious cargo such as oxygen; I'm not happy having it poked thru with rockets.
Not just space. Anything and everything business-related is built into their agendas. Control government (through puppets like Trump) and they WILL indirectly control government spending.
"American Democracy: the best government money can buy."