demockracy's Comments (195)

“Once again, the specialist weighs in, ignoring the context. This is why calories in high-fructose corn syrup are cheaper than calories in carrots... and gee! I wonder why obesity and type II diabetes are such problems!

The big problem this article ignores is city design. The U.S. continues to build its cities so old folks like those described here are isolated, and, because they can't drive, are socially "disabled." That's suburban sprawl....

It is a comprehensive loss, too. Because driving is, by design, the only connection between things, the U.S. continues to be entangled in overseas resource wars. Peak U.S. oil production was in 1971, when we imported 30% of domestic consumption. Now we import 70% of our oil.

Imagine what it would be like to build neighborhoods where shopping, work and living spaces were within a walk of one another! Imagine what it would be like to build roads that invited pedestrians rather than excluding them. (True fact: In the Sacramento region the estimate of the cost to simply connect all the disconnected sidewalks: $50 million).... Imagine the possibility of working transit, rather than the third-rate orphan step-child subsidized systems that roll around a bunch of empty buses because riders simply can't walk to the stops!

Imagine the absurdity that is suburban sprawl, and the actual, if not moral, bankruptcy it induces as the population ages.”

“As a person close to someone diagnosed with osteoporosis, I've done a little research. IMHO, the definitive word is in "The China Study" by Colin Campbell -- the Columbia biochemist who discovered aflatoxin, and was commissioned to produce the largest study of the correlation between diet and health ever done (commissioned by Chou En Lai as he was dying of cancer, as it happens).

Campbell notes that animal protein, in particular dairy, is behind many modern, Western diseases. Given agribusiness's massive marketing campaign to the contrary, that sounds backwards, since dairy has lots of calcium, but the net calcium absorbed is really what matters. Dairy acidifies the blood, which leaches calcium from the bones as the body tries to buffer the lower blood pH. All these "medications" (really scams run by big PhRMA) are futile if you don't change your diet.

So get soy milk (or rice milk).

See http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_osteoporosis.html for more.”

“Given that our current regulators are captives of the institutions they regulate, the whole question of regulation is problematic.

The other problem is the amount of attention given to misdirection. For the last three decades the U.S. economy has experienced real productivity gains, which would mean real incomes should increase. What happened, however, since we have been in the thrall of Reaganomics, is that the bottom 90% of real incomes declined, those at the 90th percentile received roughly a 1% per year raise, and those at the 99.99th percentile had a 497% raise (the real numbers per Paul Krugman here: http://select.nytimes.com/2006/02/27/opinion/27krugman.html)

But the line we hear 24/7 from the right wing noise machine is that we need even less regulation, and even lower taxes on the wealthy. The gay, married Hispanic terrorists are the real problem...”

“Once again, Jeff, you throw out the baby with the bath water. What you'd accomplish is a tremendous empowerment of the lobbyists. They would, in effect, be the institutional memory for our government. Do you think they'd be unbiased in its use for public service?

And if you think government does nothing, or nothing well, I suggest you start driving 20MPH on those government -built freeways, because government couldn't build a safe road, and wear a hard hat when you go in buildings that the building inspectors have passed, and whatever you do, boil that government-treated water before you drink it.

Better than anti-government rhetoric would be public financing of campaigns, the end to corporate personhood (even if they kill someone now, we can't terminate a corporation)... that and good candidates.”

“Dear Yolanda: Term limits should be more correctly termed "Lobbyist empowerment provisions," because in amputating the institutional memory lobbyists are the only ones who win. Check out the State government in California if you don't believe me. There's an exercise in institutional incompetence in the service of the oligarchs if ever there was one.

As for punishing legislators by paying them less -- once again a perfect way to insure only the wealthy will run. It's pretty much that way now.

How about some things that would actually work? For example, public financing of elections.”

“This kind of anti-government sentiment is justified in right-wing bizarro world, but not on planet earth. Medicare, and for that matter any of the dozens of other single-payer systems worldwide are hardly nightmares. They typically are about half as expensive and produce far better results than what we had.

When the lament that corporations have far too much power is overlooked in favor of "government produces only nightmares" (even overlooking that the nightmares are produced by our "public servants" in the service of their corporate masters)... well, let's just say that's incorrect.”

“Sorry, "every other network" ... and for that matter most of the print media are owned by a handful of corporations. Mussolini didn't call his form of government "corporatism" for nothing. The pounding of the war drums is so loud in these "liberal" networks and papers because GE, among others, gets a tremendous boost to its bottom line when war continues. They might have to produce something useful rather than something that exploded, otherwise.

Probably most useful in assessing the right/left balance in media, however, is the absence of a Labor page in most newspapers. They've all got a "Business" section, though. If they're so "liberal" where is the labor reporting? Or the reporting about all the stuff you'll hear about only on www.democracynow.org, (or www.chomsky.info).

The lie that the media is liberal is exactly like the rest of the Faux News talking points -- largely fabricated.”

“Uncontroversially, the U.S. spends twice as much as single-payer plans in other countries (and gets outcomes that rank 37th in the WHO survey comparing health care internationally). I'm not saying Medicare can't blow it, but the facts seem to favor single-payer over for-profit insurers.

As for government deficits, generally, despite the whining about how we're "running out of money" it only took a 3% rise in the topmost progressive income tax bracket for the Clinton administration to put the federal budget in surplus.

Gosh, could all this "controversy" simply be a way for our wealthy oligarchs to remain attached to their ill-gotten gains?... I wonder...”

“Nah, the listed order is of "return on investment." When you invest trillions and get only the promise of more security threats in the future as the major payoff, then that's not as tangible as the return on the minimal investment of the arms suppliers, for example.”

“Paul Farmer calls U.S. foreign policy "Yelling at the poor."”

“Sorry, the U.S. invaded after turning down an offer from the then-ruling Taliban to turn over Ben Laden for trial in a neutral third country, not because they "refused to stop" Al Quaeda. The same astonishingly arrogant administration (Bush 43) turned down Iran's offer to negotiate about nukes, stop funding Hezbollah, and continue providing cooperation in tracking down Al Quaeda.

Most of the "safe harbor" planning for 9/11 occurred in Germany, yet strangely we hear little request to invade Germany....

Let's keep our eye on the pipeline...er, I mean "ball," of course.”

“Sorry... "two spheres of gold the size of the earth" is what the original comment should say.”

“If innovation can wake us up from delusional thinking and an epidemic of mental illness, then I'll vote for that too. Unfortunately, I don't believe Apple has done anything to make us more sane.

Things like delaying gratification, accepting responsibility, dedication to truth, and balancing are what is needed. These are so far from innovative that they are a summary of ancient wisdom.

They amount to conscious suffering, an acceptance of the difficulty of life.

Read a little Jung about the "shadow" and get back to me (here: http://psikoloji.fisek.com.tr/jung/shadow.htm)”

“One commenter writes: "So our salvation depends on higher taxes and larger government. That's gonna be a tuff sell for me, as I'm a private citizen and not a member of government.

...the generally infallible government [sometimes acts] outside the interests of its citizens."

That someone could even think such a thing is problematic. First of all, the eras of higher taxes actually were the most prosperous. See Larry Beinhart's article "Why the Economy Grows Like Crazy Amid High Taxes" (here: http://www.alternet.org/workplace/106979/)

So yes, *much* higher taxes (mostly on the rich) made for a better economy. Even if people don't pay the 92% (or 70%) top brackets, they spend their money on improving productivity rather than on CEO compensation and $4,000 shower curtains.

So the principle of government that performs public service is not such an abstraction that it never has happened. If that were true you would have to boil that government-treated water you've been drinking.

On the other hand, the idea that government is "infallible," is, as Mr. Shear amply documents, absurd. That criticism does not mean we must throw the baby out with the bath water, though.”

“The trouble with the U.S. is almost entirely unrelated to "innovation" (something shunned as vulgar by mature cultures). For just one example, the ipod has robbed more people of musicality than it has contributed (How many of us can actually *make* music, not just turn on a device? And no, I don't mean play "Guitar Hero")

The trouble with the U.S. is that it's delusional. How else could W even come close to being elected?

Despite clear evidence to the contrary, large portions of our population currently believe that private concerns are *always* much more a) productive and b) honest than public ones. How else could the current health care "debate" occur?

Representative government, not private concerns, is what breeds corruption -- never mind that public ones must disclose what goes on in their meetings, make their accounting available for public scrutiny etc. Large portions of our population believe taxes are theft, not the price we pay for civilization.

A significant portion of the trouble with the U.S. is that it believes some magical "innovation" will overturn the laws of thermodynamics, too.”

“Cap & Trade will destroy jobs? Why won't it create innovation jobs as we manage higher energy prices?

BTW, how are the estimated hundreds of billions in subsidies for the petroleum industry helpful (World Resources Institute, wri.org estimated $300 billion annually goes to subsidize petroleum use -- and this was in in 1989)”

“For more, see http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/16/amory_lovins_expanding_nuclear_power_makes.

Amory Lovins says expanding nuclear increases global warming because it's "neutral" carbon footprint ignores the cost of mining and processing uranium. Peak uranium is 2040, unless we build lots of plants, then it's 2015.

Meanwhile, and perhaps most significantly, Lovins says that the markets have already decided: unless it's heavily (government) subsidized, nuclear doesn't make economic sense. Conservation and renewables are what private enterprise favor.”

“Don't forget Elliot Spitzer... He's got a little free time now. Put him in charge of the SEC.”

“One poster already cited the Rocky Mountain Institute's take on nuclear. The fundamental problem is that the containers last for centuries while the waste is hot for millenia. Oh yes, and peak uranium is in 2040 unless we build lots of nuke plants, then it's 2015. "Peak" means declining supplies ever after.

I'll second Learsy's and Friedman's sympathies for the Frenchies. But let's remember that they made Minitel and the U.S. made the internet (a government program, BTW), so we're not such awful dummies that we *always* fall short.”

“I'll second PWM's remarks. The idea of solitary wealth is truly absurd. What good would a pile of gold have done Tom Hanks on his Cast Away island?

If you're sincere about your insistence on avoiding "slavery" then you must hurry to move to Outer Mongolia. The taxes are very low there... Of course the infrastructure and human capital sucks too, but you won't mind because you are a "Rugged Individual" (tm), and you sew your own clothes, grow your own food, vet your own medication, etc. etc.

How many billionaires in Borneo, BTW?”

“Nice to hear that the insanity defense is available for the right. Insanity is really the only thing to explain it.

Of course this current anger may simply be part of the process of change-- you know, right after Denial, but before bargaining.

One encouraging note: If you have a vasectomy, they have to tie the little tubes down after severing them, otherwise, they may spontaneously re-connect (in the dark, no flashlight!)... In other words, healing is a natural process. Knowing this has made a vas deferens to me...8^)”

“I'll buy this narrative if you can point to a single major Obama legislative initiative that favors the public rather than Wall St. or the oligarchs. It's one thing to believe Obama is secretly on your side, but quite another when you ask for the evidence for this.”

“As a former mortgage loan officer who has since found honest work, I can tell you with absolute certainty that 99.999% of those applying for mortgages do not even read the docs. That includes attorneys. Ms. Warren's solution actually might address that. "Buyer beware" in this case is like blaming a rape victim for wearing provocative clothes.

The current standard for real estate sale contracts (much shorter than the loan or escrow docs) is four double-sided, densely packed legal sheets (in quadruplicate). The 1947 real estate contract, framed at our local board of Realtors, is one side of an 8.5 x 11 sheet, about a third of which is blank lines.

So you do actually have a point about the eternal human tendency to exploit complication. I guess if we graduate all those attorneys, they have to occupy themselves somehow.

Cuneiform, the first writing, was tightly controlled by the scribes in ancient Babylon -- a phenomenon called "guild literacy" by archaeologists. When competing, easier phonetic alphabets (e.g. Hebrew) came along, the scribes made cuneiform just a little more complicated.

And that's from 1500 BC.

On the other hand, the ancient cultures understood that the geometric progression embodied by compound interest was unsustainable in a non-geometrically expanding world. (If you invested a penny at Christ's birth, 5% compounding would mean you're owed two spheres the size of the earth today) They had a "jubilee year" of loan forgiveness to interrupt this craziness.

We're not there yet.”

“Read Krugman's "Peddling Prosperity" in which he debunks voodoo economics, and even Clinton's internationalism. In it, he actually anticipates Ms. Smiley's complaint, describing the plight of economics as a science whose practitioners are far too susceptible to moneyed influence. He also debunks the Reagan presidency pretty thoroughly.

Of course Noam Chomsky has been disgusted by the state of American intellectual integrity for decades now...

Finally, y'all need to read former World Bank economist Herman Daly's "Beyond Growth" to really appreciate the level of intellectual dishonesty promoted by ordinary economics. In it he describes the economics of sustainability. You can also see Professor Daly in Leo DiCaprio's "11th Hour" film.

Krugman is surprisingly humble for a man of his intelligence, and astonishingly honest. He just doesn't go as far as Daly.”

“Yet another Obama disappointment (sigh!) is the weak response to this outrage.”