Martin68
Martin68's Journal"China may very well become the world's largest democracy." A very naive view.
The Chinese government is creating the most sophisticated citizen-monitoring and behavior-control system in the world. They have imprisoned a million Muslims in "re-education" prisons. The Government controls the internet and all other media. Anyone suspected of criticizing the government is imprisoned. A so-called "anti-corruption' campaign is being used as an excuse to eliminate opposition and consolidate power. I don't think you can get to democracy from here. The Tianmen Square democracy movement was the last best chance for democracy, and it was snuffed out like a candle, all the organizers thrown into prison. That was 30 years ago, and the Chinese government will never allow such movement to get started again.
This is great news! Finally, a chink in Big Oil's armor.
Opposition to the pipeline has been strong, with different groups attacking the project from different angles. The two biggest objections have been that 1) the pipeline goes straight up and down extremely steep mountain slopes which cannot be stabilized once a 120-foot-wide swath of trees have been cut down, and 2) the pipeline crosses hundreds of streams with no requirement that erosion and sediment control plans be submitted for each one. But these arguments, while correct, can be dismissed by the Commonwealth in the case of utility projects. The soil and water conservation district I work for has submitted language for a change in the law governing large utility projects that cross more than one jurisdiction, but it would not be applicable in time to affect this project.
The so-called Centrist Democratic Party is indeed dead. We are democratic socialists, and we are
determined to reverse the decent into oligarchy and proto-fascism that the Republican Party has supported as the only way for a minority party to maintain control of the majority.
Brett Kavanaugh's conmfirmation to the highest court in the land would
result in a horrendous "trickle-down" effect throughout the justice system and society as a whole.
"This Vicious Buffoon Is a Vessel for All the Worst Elements of the American Condition"
Yup, Trump seems to be the very condensed, highly purified essence of every negative trait of the Ugly American.
I agree. McConnell had help from Trump, Paul Ryan, and others, but the Turtle did by far the most
damage to our institutions and our country. We should lock him in a very small cell with bars in front underneath Abraham Lincoln's statue in the Lincoln Memorial for tourists to taunt or gasp in horror at the sight of the "Man who Hated Democracy." His vocal chords will be removed to silence the voice that silenced the voices of so many Americans during his Reign of Terror.
What perspective is "your perspective," Officer Van Dyke?
Racist cops are deathly afraid of black men. That fear actually incapacitates their sense of judgment and causes them to interpret any behavior at all as aggressive and dangerous. I don't doubt they actually "see" a gun instead of a cell phone, or an attack rather than a retreat. Fear warps their sense of reality to the point that they have the equivalent of hallucinations. That's why we need video documentation of every cop's interactions with the public.
As a middle schooler my best friend and I listened to the records of Cosby's humorous stories about
growing up in a Philadelphia neighborhood to the point that we had many of the routines memorized. it breaks my heart that the man who played a formative role during my childhood has turned out to be a vile sexual monster. All those lovely stories are now permanently tainted by what I know know about their author. Its the ultimate metaphor for loss of innocence, the realization that so many trusting women who looked up to him as a father figure were so deeply hurt by this man for his own perverse pleasure. I weep for them.
Yes, its a pattern with these serial sexual predators.
Their victims are too traumatized after being drugged, plied with alcohol, and assaulted to go public with their experiences. But when one woman comes forward, others are impelled to face their own darkest fears and support her by testifying. Only then do they realize that they were one of many who were attacked and severely wounded by the same monster.
"The bright side of the Kavanaugh nomination fight" Yes!
the Party set itself on an unsustainable course when they abandoned truth altogether and became the Party of Fear and Falsehood in the service of the wealthy and powerful. Trump or someone like him was the inevitable result, as was the nomination of someone like Kavanaugh to the supreme Court. Now the GOP will collapse under the weight of their own absurdity.
Profile Information
Name: Martin JohnsonGender: Male
Hometown: Virginia
Home country: U.S.A.
Current location: Charlottesville, VA
Member since: Tue Jun 8, 2010, 02:30 PM
Number of posts: 22,776