THE PROBLEM WITH THE PARTY — THE BIG NEO-LIBERAL LIE By Charles Fredricks “The floggings will continue until morale improves,” has always been the Democratic Party leadership’s response whenever a challenge from the Left is met with defeat by the Right. Today, using Bernie as a prop, new Senate minority leader Schumer admits the Party needs to change its message (but not its actions, if electing Schumer over Bernie is any indication). [...]
by Charles Fredricks Reality TV may not have prepared Trump to be president, but it has prepared him to win those who prefer entertainment to hard realities Failing Tao, man resorts to Virtue. Failing Virtue, man resorts to humanity. Failing humanity, man resorts to morality. Failing morality, man resorts to ceremony. Now, ceremony is the merest husk of faith and loyalty; It is the beginning of all confusion and disorder. —Tao Te [...]
Answer to Tom Hayden writing in The Nation to endorse Hillary for president: I used to support Bernie but then I changed my mind https://www.thenation.com/article/i-used-to-support-bernie-but-then-i-changed-my-mind/ httpss://www.laprogressive.com/tom-hayden-wrong/ by Charles Fredricks Because Tom fears the alternative is Lucifer, he opts to support Lucifer's minion instead. Hyperbole? Hillary is working to export fracking technology globally, supports GMO companiesí efforts to control the food supply, is down with continuing to hold the US healthcare system hostage [...]
From: Planet Earth To: Donald Trump; the Kochs; the Waltons; Ted Cruz; Ben Carson; execs of Wall St., Monsanto and the oil companies; et cetera; on the occasion of the COP21 Paris Agreement Dear The Donald et al., I'm pretty forgiving about most things, because I know someone only really learns something when they realize it and choose to change for their own sake, so I've let you continue with some rather [...]
by Charles Fredricks We came from LA, Toronto and Alaska, to witness the results of a race for one district of the Seattle City Council. We knew the results of this election had the potential to reach far beyond Seattle's city limits. As Chris Hedges put it, I want to stress how important the re-election of Kshama Sawant is nationally you can be sure that not only the establishment in Seattle but [...]
By Charles Fredricks Contrary to what we are encouraged to accept, supporting a politician is not a beauty contest, a horse race, or a marriage. Bernie Sanders may not be a perfect candidate, but he's certainly the closest to perfect of anyone who's had a shot at winning since George McGovern (whom I must confess I didn't support based on the system is rotten beyond repair brand of cynicism). Gripes over Bernie [...]
by Charles Fredricks A recent public indoctrination event on the issue of Methane held by Climate Resolve makes for a good Earth Day inventory of where we stand in Southern California. As with the previous Climate Resolve conference, what is most remarkable is what was omitted from discussion. The panel featured regulators and scientists, funded on the public dollar with some support from industry, describing their work to isolate and plug the [...]
by Charles Fredricks scfs-la.org dsa-la.org It's said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; but then, to get where you're going, it's helpful to know where you are to begin with. For those paying attention, two alarming studies were published recently calling attention to the lack of attention paid to our global ecology. For most these reports flew by under the radar, as conflict between races and [...]
by Charles Fredricks [dsa-la.org / scfs-la.org] Washington Post columnist and American Prospect editor Harold Meyerson, in town for a DSA event, responded to an audience question with acerbic wit, "The only action we're seeing on climate change is a massive drop in gas prices." Secretary of State John Kerry made a case for climate action at the COP 20 Summit in Lima Peru, taking pains to point out that more than half [...]
By Charles Fredricks 5 or 10 years: The amount of time we may have to lock in transition of electric power generation, heating and cooling, and transportation away from carbon based fossil fuels to renewable energy, to avoid civilization-ending disaster. 50 years: The time lag roughly between when we will feel the effects in the climate system of the carbon emissions we are generating now. positive feedback mechanisms, 3: Systems in the [...]
by Charles Fredricks This year 20,000,000 people were displaced by climate events; more than by war (that's from the UN). In a few years, without prompt action, that number will increase tenfold, and from there the news will only get worse. This needs to remain a top-priority focus, educating the public and discussing steps that must be taken now to avert greater damage. To me Arun Gupta's article fails in this respect. [...]
