Well, folks, the midterm election is something like 2 weeks away, and while most midterm elections are typically a big yawn, this one seems to be set to determine a lot. All year long I was saying it was a slam dunk for the GOP; now, the abortion issue/Supreme Court decision has muddied the waters. The Dems believe it could be an important playing card for them, possibly drawing voters away from the GOP and into the Democratic camp. We won't know the answer to that until the dust settles.
Hovering over all of this is a mad paradox, perhaps more than one. The GOP has already signaled that if they take the House, they intend to review all of this $ being pumped into the Ukraine. My own view is that this is absolutely necessary, since the Ukraine war is an illusion, a pile of shit cooked up by Biden and his admin to revive the Cold War, inasmuch as when it comes to foreign policy, the guy as no imagination whatsoever. The drawback of such a victory, however, is that a large % of GOP candidates believe Trump really won in 2020, and if this MAGA crowd takes over, a complete lie becomes the official "truth". In a larger philosophical arena, it pretty much destroys the notion of truth altogether, as something rooted in empirical evidence. Postmodernism, once a weird French fetish, would now be the order of the day. Plus, this would bring us much closer to a Trump victory in 2024.
This would not be the case if these folks are defeated. Sanity would reign if the Dems win, with one important exception: Biden is a warmonger, and this absurd resurrection of the Cold War would
continue to be our daily reality, possibly even pushing the edge of going nuclear. We are, then, screwed either way, the choice being between absurdity/surrealism and brinksmanship/potential holocaust. Yuck, is all I can manage to say about that.
Maybe comedy is all that is left to us, at this point. Survey the public field: what could be funnier than Kamala Schmamala, Tulsi Schmulsi, Kanye West/horse-ass-face/Marjorie Taylor Green toting her Jewish space lasers, Herschel Walker, etc.? It's getting to the point that Bill Maher might as well rename his show "The Parade of the Grotesque," because that is literally what is on display in the US these days. That prescient film of 2006, "Idiocracy," is now with us, except that we could probably use a remake and call it "Buffoonery Unleashed". At the end of the day, only 4 people were correct about the real story of America: H.L. Mencken, Gore Vidal, George Carlin, and of course--moi.;-) As we used to say when I was a student at Cornell, SMF; Sayonara, Mother Fuckers. (Which also translates as Whee!)
-mb
How does the nations main propaganda organ sell declining living standards to working Americans along with the US "hourglass" economic model as China rolls out high speed rail and Russia has created a middle class in its previously poverty-rife economy? Luxury busses.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/19/travel/luxury-bus.html
Can anyone imagine bumping into privileged NY Times subscribers on one of these?
Tom-
ReplyDeleteI guess yr not familiar with how this blog works. Let me help you out. 1st, you posted 4 times. Here's the rule: post only once every 24 hrs, max. 2nd, you provided no evidence for yr argument. This is a big no-no. In the future, try this:
1. State an argument you have regarding the collapse of the American empire.
2. Provide proof of your thesis, in the form of links or reliable references.
Thank you.
mb
The elites in this country arent just trash they are pathetic. They have no honor, integrity, respect for themselves and their families. Most importantly they have no respect for the institutions they are running . Here is senator Lee from Utah begging for donations on Fox News for the second time. https://youtu.be/pPfWeY2hj7I
ReplyDeleteThere is also jd Vance the senate candidate in Ohio. Trump humiliates him to his face and gets on the stage like nothing happened.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/tim-ryan-calls-j-d-vance-asskisser-debate-trump-1234608585/amp/
Also Ted cruz who is now trumps cheerleader even after trump called his wife ugly.
https://www.businessinsider.com/liz-cheney-cruz-criticism-wife-father-constitution-attacks-trump-2021-11?amp
Mother Nature always finds a way to play her game. She always wins.
ReplyDeleteNearly A Third Of Men Under 30 Aren't Having Sex:
https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/nearly-a-third-of-men-under-30-arent-having-sex
Shocking? Not at all.
Our very way of life in America is an outrage against nature herself. We've WILLFULLY thrown away the most important parts of human life in the interest of 'hustling'.
Intimacy, emotional connection, and vulnerability cannot co-exist with a social order that establishes primacy of the 'SELF" above all else. Successful procreation just cannot happen without these things.
Of course, Declinists and WAFers will see this for what it is: An absolute good, and a sign that Mother Nature is seeking homeostasis using her tools.
Mo-
ReplyDeleteThey are, indeed, the lowest of the low. Meanwhile, the goal of the non-elites is to be like the elites! Great country we've got here, eh? The silver lining? One way a society collapses is by an internal rot that increases every day.
Xen-
Abs. rt. The only outcome of death-oriented values is, of course, death. What % of the country is aware that we are committing suicide, do you think?
mb
MB, found the perfect club for you: Mencken Club in Brooklyn. Have you considered getting in touch with Paul Gottfried?
ReplyDeletehttps://mises.org/profile/paul-gottfried
Paul-
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ref. Unfortunately, all the guys I wanna hang out with--Mencken, Vidal, and Carlin--are dead. I guess it's up to me and Bill Maher to document the absurdity of America.
mb
Bot-
ReplyDeleteYou won't be able to post on this blog if you attack me personally and call me names. If you want back on, you will make a rather extended and sincere apology. I'm guessing that won't happen; you don't have the cojones. Yr just a hit-and-run guy, a coward. As for Mencken's antisemitism: shd we also stop rdg Shakespeare, TS Eliot, and Philip Larkin? Do you realize how stupid you are? (besides being a very angry, trashy person)
mb
MB I know you're a fan of Maher's pithy takes on woke correctness etc but he just had Netanyahu of all ppl on to talk abt anti-semetism & softballs him questions about his apartheid state's oppression etc.
ReplyDeleteYUCK
Benjamin Netanyahu on Anti-Semitism | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=jZTleWP82Zc&feature=youtu.be
Doctor & Wafers,
ReplyDeleteDon’t forget that today in the USA! USA! USA! there never is a dull moment when on an airplane. Check out this “flying Karen”. LOL!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8mL-hgeUEI
Back on the ground in our schools, North Carolinians are used to lockdowns.
https://www.wral.com/four-lockdowns-in-three-days-at-schools-in-eastern-north-carolina/20529005/
And what better way to fight an eviction than to launch a swarm of bees at the sheriff. LOL!
https://www.audacy.com/kmox/news/national/woman-tries-to-fight-eviction-and-cops-with-a-swarm-of-bees
Is this country one big comedy show or what?
Joe-
ReplyDeleteYes.
Lori-
This is the problem with American Jewry. They are so traumatized by the Holocaust, that anything Israel does, including war crimes, is OK with them. This is why it's useless to argue with a Zionist: they have to win the argument because they are fighting for their psychological lives. Bill sadly falls into this category, and he is quite prejudiced against Muslims and Islam in general. Never mind Ilan Pappe, Nur Masalha, and the fact that planned expulsion of the Arabs was in the early literature of Zionism. Or that 700,000 people were displaced under threatening circumstances. Oh no, let's not talk about that.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is a war criminal, and one of the most disgusting people on the planet. And yet, he kept getting reelected, even tho he was up to his ears in graft, because of that Holocaust dynamic. Folks like David Shulman and other peace activists are openly hated by most Israelis. If a Palestinian child gets killed by an Israeli soldier, Israeli sympathies are with the soldier, not the child. Barf, is my only response.
mb
ps: I frequently say to myself: "This is what we've come to, after being the underdog for 5,000 years??!"
ReplyDeletestop-
ReplyDeleteThis is not a blog for bloviating your personal opinions. Anyone can have an opinion; so what? Where is your supporting evidence, your links, your reliable references? Anyway, I suggest you seek out other blogs, ones that will honor yr cutting-edge insights. From our pt of view, yr a deeply wrong-headed shmuck, and we can't be bothered w/yr brand of nonsense. Yr like smog, clogging up the airwaves. Best of luck.
mb
Lori -
ReplyDeleteMaher’s laudatory interview with Netanyahu was supposedly about Kanye West’s antisemitic remarks? So why did he spend the ENTIRE time attacking left congress members for their critiques of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians?
I'm done w Maher, he isn't even a funny stand-up comedian.. it's always boring atheist stuff & warmed over political correctness shit.
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeletePoem for Liz Truss
Thou know'st that this cannot be said,
Liz Truss is fucked in the head
Poem for a trollfoon:
You impale the world with your inanity
Here for our amusement and theatricality
Hunker down in your dogmatic cocoon
Only to emerge a naive trollfoon
Stick to your beliefs and fears like glue
Pure ballyhoo on your big blog debut
Howl at the moon you silly trollfoon
Let MB deflate your ego balloon
Miles
Jeff-
ReplyDeleteYeah, poor Liz. She may even be sillier than Kamala. But also poor me, that I hafta fucking put up with trollfoons whose stupidity is off the charts. For *this* my mother raised me? (may she rest in her grave)
Wargo-
For why he did so see my reply to Lori. In addition, for most American Jews, Judaism and Zionism are identical; a terrible mistake. Zionism is a political movement, historically understandable because of centuries of oppression, to be sure (esp. in Europe), but ultimately aggrandizing and expansionist. Judaism, on the other hand, is a code for ethical living. Its finest moment came from Rabbi Hillel (1st century B.C.): 'that which is hateful to you, don't do to others'. This doesn't exactly describe the behavior of the Israeli gov't in the West Bank.
In any case, the Jews of Europe emerged from the Holocaust in search of a homeland, and they got it, but at the expense of a people who had been living on that land for hundreds of years. Very bad karma, I'm thinking. You cannot buy your freedom at the expense of the freedom of others, and if you try to do that, you won't have a moment's peace, and your behavior will become increasingly shameful. If Hillel were alive today, he would say: 'See? What did I tell you?'
mb
ps: stop: it might be time 4u 2 look in the mirror, and say to yourself: 'Jesus, Berman was right: I'm a total douchebag!'
The problem with our either/or two winged uniparty is the illusion of choice. I gotta admire China - Xi's our guy... go vote for him.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.geopolitika.ru/en/article/china-xi-gets-ready-final-countdown
Stalin story - once read a proposal to the politiburo and said I am "For". Who is "Against?" and smiled at the silence.
I'm sick at Russian soldiers getting killed, and steppes littered with bodies of dead ukrainians so that MIC profits are maximized. Getting rid of Biden's party in The House probably can't hurt as a step in the right direction. I'd also hate to be a tree in western Europe this winter. So many buffoons, so little urine.
tribalism-
ReplyDeleteAre you really not aware of how this blog works? This is not a forum for people to bloviate their opinions. Anyone can have an opinion, after all, and yours proves 0, esp. since there are many ways of interpreting the bible. Your antisemitic view is only one of them, and your 'historical analysis' is pretty feeble. But most impt, we operate on evidence, wh/means you substantiate your arguments with links and reliable references. Where are yours? You come off like a vapid individual--a clown. In any case, the focus of this blog is the decline of the American empire. For all of these reasons, I urge you to seek out another blog, one that will honor your cutting-edge insights. Post here, and you'll only get deleted. A man of your stature, dignity, and vast learning deserves better, no?
mb
Note to Jack L.-
ReplyDeleteI recently heard a rumor that Evergreen is going to boost their enrollment by admitting turkeys. I don't mean metaphorical turkeys (they already have plenty of those). I mean actual, physical birds. I'm wondering if Tulsi might be persuaded to draw up a program of study for them.
mb
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/21/politics/america-britain-politics-truss-trump-analysis/index.html
ReplyDeleteA crucial quote from this essay: "[they] built power bases by stoking resentment from the detritus of inequality brewed by globalization." Surely this is at the root of it, no? The demise of capitalism and that whole shitty, anti-human way of life (finally!).
mb
Liaquat-
ReplyDeleteWe are actually a discussion forum, not just a bulletin board. Maybe you could resend that link, but with a para of commentary of your own. Thanks.
mb
This is what a decaying empire in its freefall descent looks like: A group of unruly brats were recorded bullying some old lady on a DC bus. Said bullying included shoving her off the bus, among other things. Kids like this typically end up in 1 of 2 places...y'all probably know what those places are
ReplyDeletehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/group-throws-woman-off-dc-metro-bus-video-shows/ar-AA138JGg
Flying-
ReplyDelete1st of all, the old woman is at fault, for living in America as an old woman. 2nd, what kind of teenagers are these, that were not packing heat, and didn't gun the woman down like a dog in the street? These kids are not true Americans, imo.
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteWhat to do w/Liz Truss? She comes across as an airhead, a silly little schoolgirl who had no idea as to what she was doing, and managed to stay in office, in a state of total confusion, for all of 45 days. My own recommendation is that someone in her party hold her head under water for 5 to 10 minutes. Once again, keep in mind the Wafer slogan: the elite are trash.
I've also been musing about Kamala Schmamala. I can't decide if she is a rancid bag of douche fluid, or a bag of rancid douche fluid. Help me out, guys.
mb
Here's Paul Krugman in today's New York Times hyperventilating over the prospect that high gas prices might, in his estimation, doom democracy:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/20/opinion/will-gas-prices-doom-democracy.html
Here's his first sentence: "Will the price of gasoline — a price that has very little to do with which party controls the government — nonetheless determine the outcome of the midterm elections, and quite possibly the fate of American democracy?"
The claim that something or other that's not going well right now has very little do with which party is in power is one that he's been making a lot lately. Can there be any doubt that he'd find tons of reasons to blame the Republicans for high gas prices were they in power right now?
But even worse: Democracy is about to be doomed because of high gas prices? What a joke. That horse left the barn a long time ago. The douchebaggery of Paul Krugman continues unabated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmkXR7EL_RY
ReplyDeleteI implore all of you. If you get the time, search out the political commentary by the American left from the year 2017. Much of it is on YouTube. It's shocking.
Like the video I've posted above, it will give you a window into the breathtaking levels of denial our 'professional experts' were indulging in at the time. As far as they were concerned, Trump could NOT have legitimately won the election under any legal circumstances. In their minds, it ONLY could have happened due to Russian influence. No other explanation was permitted.
In fact, I'll make some regular contributions to this blog when I find good examples on YouTube of how laughably gullible the American left became in the wake of Trump's election.
Xen-
ReplyDeleteWell, the entire population is wallowing in illusion and delusion. But from a declinist pt of view, this is a gd thing.
ccg-
It's amazing, how Krugman is adored as some sort of economic guru. In fact, his analyses are superficial, and his 'solutions' hackneyed and useless. Nobel prize my ass. The whole NYT is full of shit, really. The only Times headline that wd make any sense wd be WE ARE BUFFOONS. All the US is doing these days is pursuing a dysfunctional narrative into the grave.
mb
ReplyDeleteDoctor,
Here is a teenager ( both in mind and actuality since he still is 19) that has it “right” ( no conservative pun intended). This high school dropout wants everyone in this country to pack heat. He’s the perfect role model for people here blowing each other away. I mean, he’s actually becoming a celebrity answering questions to the many dumb, imbecilic USAins out there. LOL!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEFq0CQ8knk
And here he is in a helicopter practicing with a similar weapon he used to blow two persons and almost a third person away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOPxJQ1LYJQ
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteThere's an essay in a recent NYRB called something like "These Disunited States" that bears rdg. I liked it because instead of trying to save our current system, it devotes its energy to discussing what to do *after* an inevitable apocalyptic event, whether civil war, complete implosion of the system, a Trump reelection, etc. How feeble are the NYT clowns compared to this, wh/is wrestling w/reality. This is where our attn shd be, i.e. on activities of the post-crash US. Cd be secession, or Dual Process, or mass emigration, and so on. But we shd hardly waste time writing abt how to rescue a de facto pile of shit, a dysfunctional society with anti-human values. The only thing that I'm concerned abt is the nature of the population before and after. Rt now, we have 99% buffoons. But crash and resurrection can't really chg this. The buffoons will remain. There is no effective way to de-buffoonize them that I can think of.
mb
https://www.foxnews.com/world/russian-citizenship-means-snowden-conscripted-fight-ukraine-state-dept.amp
ReplyDeleteSo here’s our State Dept. saying with a straight face that Edward Snowden ‘may well be conscripted' to fight in Ukraine. Really? I guess Americans—most of them as befuddled as Schmiden—- won’t question how silly this sounds: that Putin grants Snowden full Russian citizenship only to send him to the front lines in Ukraine? BTW how many Americans —“apparently nearly half can't read or write fluently” (see Guardian link)— even know who Snowden is?
IMO, spokespersons at our State Dept sound like “Baghdad Bob.” U may remember Bob during the 1st month of Gulf War 2 (2003), and his “absurd”declarations about how the war was going. "’Baghdad Bob,’ now denotes someone who confidently declares what everyone else can see is false--someone so wrong, it's funny.” But check out the link Wafers: it turns out that ol’ Bob got the essentials right. Turns out we were the real buffoons all along, not Bob. Aha! Karma?
“Ignorance, Joe Bageant concludes, is the greatest enemy of working-class Americans: not terrorism, or drugs, or illegals, but sheer daftness.” ..well not just the working class, dearest Joe. Sheer daftness? Nearly all Americans.
https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2008/sep/06/5
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/03/baghdad-bob-and-his-ridiculous-true-predictions/274241/
Ro-
ReplyDeleteOf course, we are dealing with a joke country and joke people. The % that can identify Snowden (or Dylann Roof, or FDR, or Julian Assange) is surely less than 10%.
mb
Here's a sign of decline:
ReplyDeletehttps://rumble.com/v1p5xkx-biden-says-string-of-incoherent-words-and-walks-away.html
Starting at about 2:55 we get Biden accidentally revealing the truth, in a way:
"America is a nation that can be defined in a single word: [gibberish]"
We also find that neither Biden nor Trump can count:
Biden: "Let me start off with two words: made in America!"
Trump: "With those four beautiful words: made in America!"
The future of the US is bright.
Cranston-
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! I hope during yr time away you have been contemplating the degradation and debasement of the American people on a daily basis. This link, of course, is an excellent illustration of this. The country is drifting without any purpose or meaning, so of course, gibberish is a gd definition of it, and of what it is now about. Then add Kamala Schmamala into the mix, who is little more than a bag of rancid douche fluid, and we have the nation in a nutshell. All of these are gd illustrations of what happens when an empire collapses. It moves from coherence to incoherence, which can also be called a BRE: Buffoon-Rich Environment.
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can help me. I've been working on an alternate version of the old Bob Dylan song, which I call 'Barfin' in the Wind':
How much nonsense must an American spout
Before you call him a buffoon?
Help me out, por favor, with the next stanzas.
mb
Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteWokeism in action at Portland State: The clip shows WOKEISM’s blatantly unscientific ideology on display. Loud & clear on campuses.
https://twitter.com/RajivMessage/status/1584053856995942400?s=20&t=uiYg2A7u4Tyj2XHvDW-PKw
Some observations:
1. The Wokes have no depth (speaking in soundbites: This is fascism, Nazis not allowed in civil society, etc)
2. They all look angry all the time.
3. Their makeup and dress borders on the bizarre.
Himanshu
Gen Z dollars today have 86% less purchasing power than those from when baby boomers were in their twenties
ReplyDeletebaby boomers are causing a supply issue by staying in their homes longer than other generations.
Blaming the boomers seems justified based on housing, CPI, and income data.
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/finance/comparing-the-costs-of-generations.html
Here are some stanzas for "Barfin' in the Wind":
ReplyDeleteHow much nonsense must an American spout
Before you call him a buffoon?
How much pee must a Wafer piss
Before it becomes a monsoon?
Yes, and how many times must the piggies fly
Before they're forever kaboom?
The answer, my friend, is twistin' in the wind
The answer is twistin' in the wind
Yes, and how many years must Evergreen exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
And how many years can buffoons exist
Before they stop botherin' me?
Yes, and how many times can Tulsi shake her bum
And pretend she really isn't trashy?
[Wafers such as Miles and Dr. Shit are encouraged to add more to these lines.]
Jack-
ReplyDeleteVery moving. It just shows that no amt of urine or slapping can change anything.
Himan-
See my reply to Jack.
mb
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteJack, MB, and Wafers,
"Barfin' in the Wind" cont.:
Yes, and how many times can an American fuck up
Before he can understand why?
And how many shoes must one man wizz
Before he completely runs dry?
Yes, and how many floes will it take 'til he knows
That Ed Meese is no longer in attendance?
The answer, my friend, is Barfin' in the wind
The answer is Barfin' in the wind
Miles
Decaying empire, pt. 2. This time, someone was knocked down from a scooter, @ a subway station AND was robbed. Though if you look closely @ one of the pix, it seems like the perp was going to ride the scooter ON the escalator
ReplyDeletehttps://wtop.com/dc/2022/10/police-suspect-hit-robbed-stole-scooter-from-woman-at-columbia-heights-metro-station/
Your bk Why America Failed was indeed the autopsy report of a failed state. It's strange how the majority still think of it as an enduring superpower
Fly-
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure "think" describes American mental activity. It's rather hard to think when you have pieces of dog excrement in your head.
Jeff-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Meese
There once was a man named Meese
Who went in search of the Golden Fleece.
He convinced Sarah Palin
To copulate while sailin'
Which she did between Wasilla and Nice.
mb
More barfin' in the wind:
ReplyDeleteSchmiden's paltry student loan forgiveness plan temporarily blocked by the lawsuit industry. What a cruel, vile place the US empire is and was.
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-appeals-court-temporarily-blocks-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-plan-2022-10-21/
Interesting that Ukraine's endless billions of US 'aid' / 'support' did not appear to go through such scrutiny and rumination.
Not only is there no universal health care, but the populace must pay to attend uni, collect large debts with compounded interest, and go into an anemic job market with no employment rights/contracts (uniquely USian-employment at will doctrine) to help pay down accrued debts, because someday that ship may come in w/riches...
Curious if the EU vassals, "South" Korea, Japan, and AU puppets truly understand what the US empire is and was? Do they barf too?
I tried having a political discussion with some family members recently, I showed them one of Mearsheimer's recent talks. https://youtu.be/qciVozNtCDM
ReplyDeleteI tried explaining that I don't see it as an unprovoked attack like they do.
My evidence was propaganda in their eyes.
Then they sent me a cspan video put out by the Atlantic Council https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/
I have a hard time not seeing their evidence as basically Western propaganda. Will pointing this out to a family member make a difference? No, because Americans gun be Americans and the head remains further in the rump than before.
Krak-
ReplyDeleteNot clear why u.r. doing this. Masochism?
mb
As for Mr. Oops' comment about high-speed rail in China: While it started out as economically useful transport between major urban centers, it has become a massive boondoggle. Shiny new infrastructure for the sake of shiny new infrastructure. Not only is the showpiece a massive drain on state resources, it's getting in the way of much more important freight rail.
ReplyDeletehttps://eurasiantimes.com/a-whopping-900b-debt-chinas-once-profitable-high-speed-railways/
Dr. Berman's intuition that China is merely US 2.0 is most likely correct
Dr. B-
ReplyDeleteRE: Krak. It's indeed a losing battle trying to convince family members that they are living in the last act of "Götterdämmerung," with the world as they know it likely to be destroyed and something new arising from the ashes. Being a New Monastic Individual helps if you can't leave, but I find myself lately waking up at 3 a.m. with my heart literally pounding through my chest. If I, a mere high school graduate, can see through the propaganda, why can't "smart" people? Anyone who reads your books knows why, of course. Edward Curtin recently wrote an op-ed on the subject-
http://edwardcurtin.com/only-adult-children-still-believe-u-s-propaganda/
birn-
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind the distinction between intellectual and ontological knowing. People who are smart in the 1st category are very often dumb in the 2nd, wh/deals w/existential issues. These issues are often very threatening, so smart people run from them. Most of Americans, of course, are stupid in both categories; but the 2nd one is way way beyond 99% of the population. Wh/is why they can rightly be called horses' asses--clueless and brainwashed. Great essay by Curtin; it will make no difference at all. Americans live in a fog, and will stay in a fog.
Alamein-
I think I said China was just the US in Mandarin. So long as geopolitics consist of hegemony games, we'll remain fucked. For my own political, non-hegemonic vision, check out the 2nd story in my bk "The Heart of the Matter." Yes, rather utopian, but then everything else is a pile of horse dung.
mb
ps: Just hafta add that Curtin is rt on the money: the crux of our problem is that for centuries now, America has been a nation of adult children. This simply will not change, and it's why, in the Twilight bk, I offered the only viable solutions to the few who are adults: the New Monastic Option, or just emigrate.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteJust another normal ho hum violent weekend in the Land of Shit. A deadly shooting at a hospital. There was one recently in another city.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/10/22/Dallas-methodist-shooting-hospital/7271666472659/
Here’s another now normal one here: young children getting shot.
https://abc11.com/nc-shooting-multiple-victims-children-oxford/12365800/
No. Wait. Here’s a new one. Yankee ingenuity! A shooting at an impromptu drag race where thugs took over public streets. And the cops euphemistically refer to it as a “car caravan”. LOL!
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/10/23/chicago-drag-race-shooting-3-dead-2-injured/4171666557703/
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
El Alamein,
ReplyDeleteYou have fallen for the fallacy that the government is like a household, when it's not. See the following book (_Seven Deadly Innocent Frauds of Economic Policy_ by Warren Mosler) for a basic overview of why this is incorrect:
http://moslereconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Seven-Deadly-Innocent-Frauds-of-Warren-Mosler.pdf
Dr. Berman,
Surely the emergence of a BRE would coincide with a steady historical increase in the BI, a measure you have proposed in the past.
-- Torreblanca
Torre-
ReplyDeleteI don't see where Alamein says that the gov't is like a household, so perhaps yr attacking a straw man. But I agree w/u that the BI is reaching asymptotic proportions.
But this brings up an interesting issue, coming off of the link posted by birney, the article by Curtin. If nearly all Americans fall into the category of adult children, then what does the midterm election really amount to? Kant once wrote that "Out of the crooked timber of humanity, nothing straight was ever made." Shift to an American context, and it wd read, "Out of a huge collection of buffoons, nothing even remotely intelligent was ever fashioned." I mean, if you vote Democratic, you are voting for a warmonger, and for (possibly eventual) nuclear war. Whereas if you vote Republican, you are voting for a semi-fascist authoritarian state. Both of these are the buffoon choices of adult children. Neither outcome is remotely intelligent.
mb
I know this has been said many times before, but it’s remarkable to me how the Left and Right in America come to resemble one another more and more with each passing year. I’m reminded of a scenario where two nations are engaged in war and one nation feels obligated to match the atrocities of the other in order to level the field. You use nerve gas; we’ll use nerve gas. You bomb our schools and hospitals; we’ll bomb your schools and hospitals. As the Right becomes more angry, more vicious, more authoritarian, those on the Left become more angry, more vicious, and more authoritarian in an effort to keep up. The idea that integrity means doing the opposite of one’s enemies rather than mimicking them has all but vanished. Lewis Black once said that the American two-party system was a bowl of shit looking in a mirror at itself. That has never been truer than now.
ReplyDeleteDr. B: Enjoyed your comment on the midterms and thanks for the recommendation to read "These Disunited States" in NYRB (22 September). The essay describes the US as "virtually a binational state" [51] where extremism is becoming normalized but has not yet reached "critical momentum." [53] It cites Gallup stats that suggest extremism resides in the two parties, not the vast middle (Republicans: 28%; Democrats: 29%; Independents: 41%). It claims it's not too late for the US to change course. "Before civil strife acquires critical momentum, Democrats need to embrace a more radical political solution to stave it off. Purposeful defederalization is one possibility." [53] My question: Is that even possible? If the US breaks up, who gets the nukes? Who handles the budget? And so on. Is purposeful action even possible in an Idiocrasy? Seems unlikely. To me it looks like the US has already reached critical momentum and that political violence is inevitable. I think the midterms will further animate the extremists. But still a good essay. Thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteRuskin-
ReplyDeleteExcept for this: the GOP genuinely wants the end of democracy, to be replaced by an authoritarian state. The Dems want a continuation of democracy, led by a duffer who is moving the country toward war.
mb
It’s disappointing, but I guess not surprising, to see this Columbia professor shut down when he comments on the USA’s imperialistic violence. https://twitter.com/lkseng3/status/1584065383589302273?s=61&t=iFvnXFoA9ZPzI2dHQHfBlA
ReplyDeleteDidja hear about the recent curfew set in motion in Prince George's county? They're trying to curtail crimes done by these lil future convicts, though this may just be a band-aid. If today's kids aren't screwed, then I'm King Tut.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/pr-george-e2-80-99s-curfew-data-shows-mixed-results/ar-AA13g9HR
Note to Putin is a war criminal-
ReplyDeleteWell, amigo, it looks like you are one of the millions of adult children Ed Curtin talks abt. Nothing he, or John Mearsheimer, or Scott Ritter, or numerous savvy political analysts, can say--and their empirical evidence is very good--will change yr mind. Yr caught in a myth, and that's where you will stay. Comparing Putin to Hitler is the usual American m.o., and it's quite laughable. Of course NATO and the US cornered Putin into invading the Ukraine; the documentation, by the Army, of plans to provoke Russia is there from 2019, and the link to that very lengthy document has been posted on this blog. But the US hardly forced Hitler to invade Poland or Czechoslovakia; no one is arguing that. In any case, you really are a child, and will eventually die believing American propaganda. Your karma, what can I say.
However, I'll be happy to post yr argument, complete with relevant links/refs/evidence, if you can free it of Attitude. You aren't familiar with this blog, but an important rule is that it doesn't tolerate Attitude, insults, snide or sarcastic remarks, put down of me or the blog, arch rhetoric, and so on. You are full of yrself, and we have no interest in your supercilious way of arguing. In fact, it just shows you know yr argument is weak. But as I said, rephrase your thesis in a polite and respectful way (a big stretch 4u, of course), provide hard evidence for your pt of view, and I'll post your message. Try to grow up, my friend. Millions of Americans think that being sarcastic and 'witty' bolsters their arguments, when just the opposite is true. There is a name for these people: assholes.
mb
Baron-
ReplyDeleteFree speech in America: what a farce. This sort of thing is typical. Yrs ago, Charlie Rose had Noam Chomsky on his show for an interview, and wd barely let him speak. He was so threatened by Noam's evidence for our violent foreign policy that he kept talking over him. I think that during an hour-long show, Noam got to speak for less than 10 minutes. As for Jeffrey Sachs: an excellent scholar. By marginalizing such people, the gov't produces the kind of adult children Ed Curtin is talking about. The clown that posted here b4 u is a classic case: there is simply no way to penetrate the fog he lives in, and he is certainly not interested in people like Chomsky or Sachs. Almost no Americans are.
mb
Prof Berman
ReplyDeleteCould you get more into the distinction between 'intellectual and ontological knowing' you previously mentioned?
Would an example be that some intellectuals get lost in ideology and dogma and dismiss the more existential issues involved?
Thanks!
Richard-
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to denigrate intellectual knowing, wh/includes critical analysis. I constantly harp on this blog for evidence, a crucial part of intellectual knowing. But ontology is of a different order; ontos, in Greek, means Being. So this is gut/body knowing, deep intuition. Some people make the tragic mistake of thinking I'm a guru, so they come to me about advice regarding their existential dilemmas. I tell them to meditate, and to keep a dream journal. I ask them, "What is your deepest desire?" Because trying to solve life-issues via cerebral cogitation will get you nowhere. You hafta dig down deep, into somatic sources of wisdom. Then you'll know what to do.
Example of failed ontology: Kamala Schmamala. You listen to her speeches, and it's obvious she has no idea of who she is, or what she's doing. She lacks any basic purpose. The same goes for Hilary: it's all words, on the surface, 0 more. Schmiden is so out of touch that he often talks pure gibberish. Stop any American on the street, randomly, and ask them what they are doing on this earth. They won't even understand the question.
Examples of people who were deeply connected in both senses: check out my bk, "Eminent Post-Victorians."
Example of someone with good intellectual knowing and nonexistent ontological knowing: Ivan Ilyich, in Tolstoy's story, "The Death of Ivan Ilyich."
mb
"But the US hardly forced Hitler to invade Poland"
ReplyDeleteEthnic Germans were living in west Poland and strongly wanted Germany to invade Poland and to join with Germany. They were regaining the vast territory (10% of Germany) stolen from Germany after WWI (Treaty of Versailles), which was forced onto the Germans by the west (including the US), and was in large part the reason for the rise of Hitler. To pretend the US had zero to do with the rise of Hitler is wild.
You don't see any similarities with Ukraine and ethnic Russians? Many Russians living in Ukraine wanted to be part of Russia and they support Putin, just like those in Danzig supported Hitler.
However, Hitler had motivations far beyond US meddling, just like how Putin has intentions (he wants Russian imperialism to come back) far beyond whatever NATO was up to. This is something you can't comprehend for whatever reason. Hitler was heavily influenced by "root race theory" which was all the rage (e.g. Steiner) among European elites in the 19th cent.
You really need to look at evidence first before making conclusions.
ReplyDeleteThe weekend is over. So it’s just another boring ho hum new week for adolescent students in school here in the deplorable violent Land of Shit. First off, in the Show Me State:
https://apnews.com/article/st-louis-shootings-crime-5aa844c9d070bb4e6fc64151da76d6a4?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_06
But Metro New York and Long Island students also know how to show everyone how it’s done.
https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/multiple-threats-to-li-schools-lead-to-arrest-of-boy-evacuation
https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/local/teen-caught-with-knife-loaded-gun-in-backpack-at-lic-hs
It’s all in preparation for …um... “National Education Week” that’s coming up in November
https://nationaltoday.com/national-education-week/
And here are some stats for it:
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/school-shootings-this-year-how-many-and-where/2022/01
Yes. With youth like these, this country’s future is a declinist’s dream come true.
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
If you want to add historical context to "These Disunited States", read "Break It Up", Kreitner, 2020.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.littlebrown.com/titles/richard-kreitner/break-it-up/9780316510608/
He argues that internal secession movements have been present since the beginning. .
The idea of “one nation, undivided” , he writes, has always been a myth. The US has never really been united. Consensus and unification are the exceptions.
“We were never one people and never really had a country” Nathaniel Hawthorn
A quick article that goes along with americans' inability to think, and just mindlessly accept whatever the tv tells them to.
ReplyDeletehttps://thesaker.is/why-ukraine-is-always-winning-the-war/
I got a bunch of years sober in AA and it is said that meeting are a well represented cross section of people. I think that must be true since the entire room is fulla people thinking just like the article describes, thus it's another data point for american buffoonery.
BTW, we moved to Astoria, Oregon so it's not like being among the brain dead in Asshole, Kansas. Brain Dead In Astoria - also has a nice ring to it, eh?
look-
ReplyDeleteSure, the Treaty of Versailles was crushing to Germany, but that was 1919, not 1939; and all of the Allies wanted to punish Germany for WWI, not just the US. Yr argument is rather weak, in short. However, you still don't understand how this blog works. 1st, you provided no evidence whatsoever; not a single link or reference. Why shd we take your word for anything? 2nd, you are still engaged in putting me down (your last sentence), preaching to me. This is a no-no, and you come off as an arrogant peacock; wh/is what you are. Why not try preaching to yourself instead? Semi-faulty history, absence of evidence, and condescension: a winning formula for getting posted here, eh? Look, I said before you wdn't be able to do what was required, and I was rt. So enuf, already, OK? Time 4u to find a different blog, amigo; yr not going to get posted on this one. Jesus, what a horse's ass you are. (Something you will not recognize in this lifetime, for sure.)
comrade-
American 'news' is now basically propaganda. And the adult children swallow it whole.
mb
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeletelook-
As MB indicated, you have to be really careful directly connecting events (Treaty of Versailles/Second World War) that happened 20 yrs apart. In addition, the US Senate ultimately refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles due to its opposition (Republicans in particular) to Wilson's proposition of a League of Nations, which left the organization seriously weakened w/o US participation or military backing. The US ultimately signed a separate peace treaty w/Germany sometime in 1921. With a more nuanced view, one could actually make a strong case (as many historians have) that US refusal to join the League of Nations, as well as the rise of the Stalinist regime in the Soviet Union, are larger factors than German opposition to the Versailles Treaty in understanding the path to the Second World War.
Miles
Miles
Jeff-
ReplyDeleteThanks for yr input. I tell ya, 'look' is one of the dumbest clucks to appear on this blog in all the yrs of the blog. He chides me for supposedly ignoring evidence, when his own posts contain 0 in that regard. Nor does he grasp the irony of his position. No evidence, faulty history, and arrogant condescension--a trifecta of sheer stupidity. I told him to go elsewhere because not only can't he follow instructions, but all we can expect from him is that he'll just double down. I'd really love to bang his head together w/that of David Brooks for 20 mins. on nationwide TV. Followed by a plentiful dose of the yellow river, of course. Man, what a creep. America sure knows how to crank these assholes out.
mb
I've decided to call my contributions to this blog "The Buffoon Bibliography". I hope this name is OK with you, Dr. B but if you have any other names, I'm certainly open.
ReplyDeleteToday's Turkey is Keith Olbermann (again):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo0koTYc4zg
Here's Keith, once again, basically writing Trump's obituary as a president in 2017. Between Comey, Mueller, Russia, and the pee tape, Olbermann was 100% ULTRA-MEGA-POSITIVE-SURE that the legal system would remove the Trump aberration.
Most of us on this blog knew better. Trump was truly a 'man of the people' in all his vulgar idiocy.
Xen-
ReplyDeleteSounds gd. You know, it's nice that the Jan. 6 Committee held all those hearings, but ultimately it's just theater. I simply can't imagine that Trump will be indicted, and then thrown in jail. What do you guys think? It seems so far-fetched. He always wriggles out of everything, no?
mb
Here's a video that I think is worth watching that goes into the shutting down of Jeffrey Sachs at that the Athens Democracy Forum:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjMiIKG0_cU
It was nice to learn that the moderator who shut him down is a douche bag with the New York Times. What could be more natural?
ccg-
ReplyDeleteBravo for Jimmy Dore! What a load of crap: the "Democracy Forum." Yeah, sure: if someone challenges the national narrative, aka the b.s. of the NYT, he gets shut down. And that IS the American version of democracy. I wonder what that tool, 'look' (see above) wd say abt this. But to their credit, the people in the audience were not fooled; they cd see what was going on. A pity they didn't come to Sachs' defense, however. Meanwhile, the moderator was a paid underling of the NYT--que sorpresa!
Only one narrative is allowed in America, and Americans, aka adult children, just lap it up. In WAF, I argue that America failed because it persistently marginalized dissenting voices. The result is the America we have today, living in a mental straight-jacket, and not able to engage reality in a mature and honest way. What a surprise, that the NYT did a hatchet job on my bk DAA, and then refused to print my response. All I cd do was post it here, which basically means it remained invisible.
http://morrisberman.blogspot.com/2006/06/letter-to-new-york-times.html
mb
Unknown-
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't post Unknowns. Try using a real handle, like Marvin J. Urineshoes. Thank you.
mb
On false narratives:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmOePNsNFw0
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteJesus, this nation is a complete and utter horror show:
https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/holocaust-museum-of-la-flooded-with-antisemitic-messages-after-offering-kanye-west-a-private-tour/
Kanye rejects an offer to tour the LA Holocaust Museum to learn about his antisemitism, and the place is hit w/a barrage of hate messages against the Jews. Plus, Jew haters executing Nazi salutes hung a banner over the 405 freeway that said,"Kanye was right about the Jews." Could there be a bigger jackass than Kanye?
Miles
Dr. Berman
ReplyDeleteContinuing on the theme of stupid:
There are two major types of stupid people, each one characteristic of two extremes:
Stupid (ignorant) people who are aware of their shortcomings and genuinely want to improve themselves so with humility and gratitude carefully absorb and learn from their brighter companion, and
Stupid people who are oblivious to their cluelessness and get annoyed and offended by your ideas, and become increasingly judgmental and dismissive towards you as they try to refute your ideas with vapid comebacks and attitude.
The second type of stupid reflects a Bill Murray quote:
"It's hard to win an argument with a smart person but it's damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person."
Has this been your experience too, or how do you see it?
Thanks.
Jeff-
ReplyDeleteWhat cd be clearer evidence of national disintegration than the fact that for millions of Americans, Kanye--a man who has been diagnosed as mentally ill--is a hero? He is a declinist's delight.
Richard-
Just to be clear: this is not a forum for people to air their personal opinions, for the most part, no matter how congenial their opinions are. Let's do it this way, in future:
1. You have an argument you wish to make regarding the collapse of the American empire
2. You make the argument, and also provide evidence for it in the form of links or reliable references.
Thank you!
mb
Note to the clown who wrote in that the official narrative of the Ukraine war must be rt, because millions believe it: Seriously? The truth for you is nothing more than a matter of majority vote? Wd this include the millions in past history who believed the earth was flat? I said nothing cd penetrate yr skull, and I was rt. Again, few people as stupid as yrself have chosen to honor this blog. You badly need to find a different one, amigo; we can only tolerate so much inanity. What a sad piece of dreck you are; it's actually painful to behold.
ReplyDeletemb
MB - Since you are presumably not a connaisseur of hip hop, I wanted to point out that Kanye's peer J Cole, in the song "False Prophets", begged everybody to stop enabling Kanye. J Cole noted that Kanye's erratic behavior was a clear cry for help and even went to far as to indict himself in the mass hero worship that enabled the man's downward mental spiral.
ReplyDeleteNow, this wouldn't in and of itself be notable, except for the fact that the song came out six years ago and that J Cole, while not as famous as Kanye, is still one of the most popular artists alive and well-respected within the same circles. Thus, the majority of people who allowed this to happen and who continue to defend Kanye even now, have likely heard the plain and obvious truth in the form of easily digestible entertainment.
As in one of our mutual favorite Gore Vidal quotes, "Americans never learn. It's part of their charm"
I don't know whether or not more evidence is needed to demonstrate that the US wants the war in Ukraine to continue, but here it is anyway:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-10-25/progressives-retract-ukraine-letter-to-biden-after-uproar
Yep, there's been an uproar over an attempt by some "progressive" Democrats to push Biden towards negotiations directly with Russia. But look how easily these "progressives' folded.
It's just heartwarming to see an uproar occur over the prospect of peace, isn't it?
ccg-
ReplyDeleteI guess even the slightest glimmer of truth can't get thru. The progs have no cojones, obviously. Deviate from the official narrative and yr toast. This is a gd example of what happens when myth meets fact. In the latter category, a ton of evidence from Mearsheimer, Ritter, Sachs, Curtin et al. that the official narrative is false. Who's listening? Certainly not the Dems, the W.H., or the American people. Better to drift toward war, I guess is the idea, than engage the facts. Facts wh/include the 2019 Army document posted here, in wh/the Army is exploring ways to provoke Russia. Jesus, there really is no hope. Check out some of the essays in QOV: war, or Manichaean conflict, has always been at the center of our national identity. We sure as hell ain't gonna stop now.
Alamein-
Once again, Kanye gives me hope (as a declinist). Perhaps it's not surprising that a bipolar mental patient says the things that he does; mental illness is mental illness, and it may even be beyond his control, like Tourette's. The real issue is that millions idolize him, worship him, agree w/what he says and who he is. This says a lot abt who we are. Go, Kanye!
mb
The US narrative about Ukraine continues to be enforced among the sheeple. But a few individuals apparently haven’t let the wool be their eyes – I had to chuckle while watching this clip of Senator Elizabeth Warren continue talking at a community meeting in Boston over shouts from a constituent to halt funding for the war in Ukraine. Don’t expect an uprising from the so-called Progressive Caucus in Congress. Those progs are completely worthless:
ReplyDeletehttps://t.co/kGP5pL4HSY" / Twitter
And unfortunately, one of our regional progs, representing a Congressional district in Seattle, was at the center of the recent retracted letter, and subsequently threw her staff under the bus for CYA purposes:
https://seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/pramila-jayapals-disastrous-ukraine-letter-what-were-they-thinking
And to conclude my post this morning, I just found this useful compendium of so-called “strategic thinkers” who warned about the coming Ukraine war as early as 1998:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1498491107902062592.html
Jack-
ReplyDeleteThe sheeple are not only clueless buffoons; they are also spiritual cowards. Why confront the massive counter-evidence that exists, indeed exists on this very blog, when you can just keep yr head in the sand?
mb
“It wouldn’t matter one bit if guns were outlawed. Americans instead would be killing each other with machetes.” -GSWH
ReplyDeletehttps://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/local/man-struck-in-head-with-machete-on-brooklyn-street
https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/local/woman-with-machete-attacks-man-in-lower-manhattan
https://abc7ny.com/sword-subway-crime-man-slashed/12350533/
The GSWH is absolutely correct. A machete is just one violent tool used in this Land of Shit as it slowly and inexorably comes crumbling down.
The Brittney Griner saga: a WNBA player is currently held in Russia for SUPPOSEDLY smuggling Hashish oil into the country via Moscow. I heard about this incident from a message broadcast by a local radio station in my city. The message says she's basically stuck in the crosshairs of the rift between Amerikkka & Russia, and is a political prisoner.
ReplyDeletehttps://news.yahoo.com/hashish-oil-did-land-brittney-170922064.html
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteRandy Kaufman, GOP candidate for Maricopa County Community College District, was arrested for pulling a Toobin in his car less than 200 feet from a preschool:
https://www.newsweek.com/gop-republican-randy-kaufman-allegedly-masturbating-school-arizona-election-maricopa-1753459
Is this really that big of a deal anymore? I mean the whole nation is jacking off in some form or another, no? So I encourage Randy to win his election; get seated on the Board; and stroke his erection whenever the mood strikes him. Go Randy!
Miles
Alamein-
ReplyDeleteWha? You aren't new to this blog, so what's this, posting pure opinion w/o a shred of evidence to back it up. Big no-no, amigo. What in hell were you thinking??
jobs-
Did you really think I'd post you? 1st of all, evidence provided on this blog, and my bks, is heavily statistical as well as anecdotal. You walk onto this blog like a peacock, not bothering to do any research, and make accusations. Go spread yr feathers elsewhere.
2nd, yr message was an attack, not a responsible dialogue,and quite rude to boot. No way I'll entertain condescension such as yours.
Finally, I do deal w/Japan, at great length, and show that in many ways it's worse off than the US. The bk is called "Neurotic Beauty." Again, why bother to do the research when you can just run off at the mouth?
In sum: yr a real piece of dreck. I have no respect 4u at all, and will delete any of yr future messages. How did you get to be such an asshole? What did yr parents do to you, to produce a completely failed human being?
mb
If a society can be judged by its prison population, I believe it also can be judged by its poorest areas.
ReplyDeleteThere are hundreds of these videos on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/GGQZ7jskOQs?t=18
The ghettos and trailer parks of America tell the REAL story of America. Whether or not we consciously admit it, Americans have given up on each other. My family in Europe can scarcely believe that America has allowed entire areas to devolve into anti-social chaos of this level.
In Rome, you can see people casually enjoying each others' company in piazzas. In New Orleans, you see people trying to avoid each others' stray bullets.
MB's response to Jobs:
ReplyDeleteSince you brought up your "Neurotic Beauty" I just wanted to add that it's one of my fav books of yours! Might be my 2nd personal favorite, next to "Wandering God" :)
Bakker-
ReplyDeleteI dunno exactly why I am being bombarded by offensive douche bags at this particular time, but there we are. It does get annoying, how these morons make false accusations based on complete ignorance of the blog, or of my work. Perhaps in its final phase, America is chock full of assholes spewing utter nonsense. Just as well, from a declinist pt of view, I suppose. Anyway, thank you for yr appreciation. The 2 bks u cite are my longest, and most dense. Each took yrs to write.
Xen-
Mexico too: gang warfare aside, there is a graciousness abt daily life that is a pleasure to be part of. Americans might think that this constant refrain of "con permiso", "buen provecho", "pase, por favor", "adelante", "muy amable", and so on is meaningless, but it is the grease of sociability, and also a reminder that we are all in this together, not a collection of alienated atoms. In the US, people live in a totally degraded state w/o realizing it. Americans are deluded on so many levels it's staggering. In such conditions, only clueless buffoons can keep chanting, "We're No. 1!" Sure: No. 1 in violent stupidity.
mb
Elite are trash dept.:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.thedailybeast.com/robert-flaxman-real-estate-mogul-convicted-in-varsity-blues-scandal-dies-of-suicide
This bozo pursued the glamorous life while being empty on the inside. And this is the life 99% of the country wants, and spreads to the world as the only life worth living. How did we get to be such a collection of human garbage?
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteTell me this face doesn't resemble the rear end of a horse:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/27/entertainment/kanye-west-hitler-album/index.html
mb
ps: OK, let's try to keep an open mind abt Kanye West. Here's what we know:
ReplyDelete1. He has been diagnosed as mentally ill.
2. His face resembles a horse's ass.
3. He is a rabid anti-semite, and has expressed great admiration for Hitler.
4. He is also a racist, walks around wearing a T-shirt that says "White Lives Matter." This is widely regarded as hatred of black people.
5. He is a big partisan of Donald Trump.
And yet, he is regarded as a great musician and artist. His albums sell in the millions, and he has won awards. I realized I might be being unfair to him, because I had never listened to any of his songs. So I plugged "Kanye West greatest hits" into Google, got his top 10, and started listening.
It was hard not to puke. He is barely singing. He just talks, w/music in the background. How much talent does this require? Anybody could do this. In fact, I'm currently working on a song that goes:
"Hey, motherfucker, I just killed a cop
I made him eat slop
His kishkas went pop"
But back to Kanye. Not only is he a trashy person, he's also a trashy artist. Wafers, help me out here: What is it I am missing? A short while ago, a real asshole came onto this blog arguing that the truth was a matter of majority vote. This was re: the war in the Ukraine, but why not extend this brilliant argument to Kanye? I mean, millions regard him as a great artist. Is he? Wafers, help me out here. Is the man *not* a puddle of vomit?
mb
Russell Brand interviews Tulsi, including re: Musk's twitter takeover:
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/YyT3ZKbVRzM
My guess is Musk will eventually be hounded into de-platforming not only figures like Trump and Kanye West, but essentially all the same voices twitter had been muting before his takeover. I remember one time some DC commentator talking about the Democrats and about how Ralph Nader had been reduced to an obscure voice in the wilderness for daring to expose the reality that Dems and Republicans are basically the same. "These guys [the Democrats] are the meanest motherf*ckers around."
My bet is what is happening to Trump legally is a sneak preview of what's in store for Musk unless he plays ball, courtesy those same motherf*ckers: https://consortiumnews.com/2022/10/25/caitlin-johnstone-white-house-may-block-russia-friendly-musk-from-buying-twitter/
Pol-
ReplyDeleteI say we forget abt all that and focus on Gisele Bundchen:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/28/sports/football/tom-brady-gisele-bundchen-divorce.html
This is what really counts in America today.
mb
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nancy-pelosi-husband-paul-pelosi-assaulted-san-francisco-suspect-david-depape-police-say.amp
ReplyDeleteA man attacks Nancy Pelosi's husband and wants to know where she is. This is sick, what more can I say.
Well, the New York Times seems to be going way over the top with it's anti-Russia propaganda in tn the way it covered remarks by Putin a couple of days ago:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-putin.html
It's an opinion piece presented as a news story, which is what can be said almost all of their reporting these days. They seem especially upset with Putin's remarks about Western elites being the enemy. Hmm. That seems about right to me.
The Times is also melting down today over the fact that Twitter has been taken over by Elon Musk. I'm no fan of Musk, but when the establishments freaks out like this, what he's doing can't be all bad.
Yesterday, the Times had a story on the question of who destroyed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. They claim it's a big mystery. It doesn't seem like much of a mystery to me, nor has it to Jeffrey Sachs (as he mentioned in the Jimmy Dore video I posted a few days ago).
Someone said to me the other night about the New York Times: "All the news that fits the narrative."
ccg-
ReplyDeleteOr "All the news that fits our views." What a joke the Times proved to be, with the professional classes lapping it all up.
To assholes sending hate mail-
I recognize you 3 words in, and then delete w/o rdg any further. So yr wasting yr time, but hey, knock yrselves out. I can't imagine you have much else to do, am I rt?
Sad, sad people out there, w/no chance of waking up. Keep in mind that hate is merely the flip side of love. (Apathetic yr not)
mb
Like in the Lover Boy song, “Everybody’s working for the weekend…..Everybody's goin' off the deep end”
ReplyDeleteAnd it’s only Friday evening as I post this recent newest type of mass shooting! At a funeral!
Is this country and its violent, gun toting society a pathetic joke? LOL!
https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/28/us/pittsburgh-funeral-service-shooting
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/10/28/Pittsburgh-funeral-shooting/1231666990280/
Yep. Only here in the U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
Hello Wafers, in the meantime we, the Indians ( which in circa 2022 means Hindus) have taken over the empire. It’s just that you didn’t realise. Ha! One of us in no 10 now, and rule henceforth.
ReplyDeleteHere is Pankaj Mishra in The Guardian on the pitiful vision of diversity of the Tory party and the pathetic drooling by the Indian elite.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/28/rishi-sunak-britain-first-hindu-prime-minister-destroying-tories-pitiful-vision-of-diversity
I am curious to see how the whole Ukraine situation evolves with Rishi at the helm in UK, and the Democrats loosing control in a couple of weeks. Interesting days ahead.
Indian-
ReplyDeleteYes, an interesting development in the UK. He won't be able to get England to change course, but obviously he can't be worse than Truss, the greatest douche baguette England has ever produced. An empty-headed buffoonette.
Meanwhile, back home: early this yr both Bill Maher and I began pleading w/the Dems to stop beating off, and to start countering the GOP at all levels. Their response? They beat off some more, and with even greater vigor. Now, as a result, they will get their asses handed to them on a platter on Nov. 8. This will cut Schmiden off at the knees, and prepare the way for Trumpi in 2024. America will enter semi-fascism in earnest, and the nation's collapse will accelerate. What I'd really like to see, however, is Kanye in the W.H. w/MT Greene at his side. The two of them will waste no time requiring all Jews to wear yellow stars. Actually, I think a lot of Jews are currently contemplating emigrating, wh/they'll do if they have a lick o' sense.
mb
I'm firmly in the anti-technofeudalism camp, but the thesis has a grain of truth to it, in that Google, Facebook, and Amazon do exercise a kind of state-like sovereignty over our digital lives that's not market-mediated. The "platform" is not a space governed by market relations into which participants enter willingly, and that's the basis of the liberal critique of tech by Zuboff, Pistor, etc: that the relationship between Ford and its customers is not the same as between Facebook and its users
ReplyDeleteAre We Living Under ‘Technofeudalism’?
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/10/what-is-technofeudalism.html
Neptune-
ReplyDeleteWe are more a discussion forum than a bulletin board. Pls re-send the link, but add a para of yr own commentary to it. Thanks.
mb
For what it's worth, my admittedly layman's reading of 20th century history has led me to believe that Communism and Fascism seemed to rise around the same time. Almost as increasing reactions to each other playing brinksmanship.
ReplyDeleteOn some level, it does seem like the current meta-movement in the UK/US is toward political extremism once again.
And I do have to concede that as much as I probably can be labeled as a liberal, there IS a very nasty strain of leftism alive right now that seems entirely in keeping with 'death oriented values':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCKcs4ODJBY
I can't pretend that telling children their 'bodies' are wrong speaks to how deep the sense of 'alienation' is in our hustling cultures. How inhumane does a society have to become before people become alienated from their own bodies?
Xen-
ReplyDeleteAmericans are alienated from their bodies big time. This is at the root of much of their self-hatred, and hatred of others. Two useful texts on the subject:
-CTOS, by me
-'The Body Keeps the Score', by Bessel van der Kolk
mb
Benny-
ReplyDeleteYou might wanna check out ch. 3 of WAF, on technology as the hidden religion of the US.
Meanwhile, I can't reveal my sources, but I've discovered that a secret cabal of very powerful women are actually running the US from behind the scenes. Here are their names:
-Gisele Bundchen
-Sarah Palin
-Kamala Schmamala
-Tulsi von Schmulsi
-Liz Truss
-M.T. 'Jewish lasers' Greene
-Lauren Boebert
-Kanye 'Stop the Jews' West (honorary male member)
Trumpi, Schmiden, are merely their front men. This explains a lot of what's been going on in the US during the last few yrs.
mb
Could there be anything more devoid of meaning than college football? Or any USian football for that matter? Anything more emblematic of decline?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.yahoo.com/sports/jim-harbaugh-michigan-players-assaulted-in-postgame-tunnel-altercation-with-michigan-state-players-043455272.html
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/georgia-and-florida-condemn-antisemitic-message-projected-onto-tiaa-bank-field-exterior-after-win-145047396.html
DTE
Saturday Night’s all right for fighting; get a little shooting in!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2022/10/30/tallahassee-shooting-police-leaves-least-one-dead-multiple-injuries-leon-county-homecoming-stadium/10645540002/
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/10/29/6-hurt-when-suspects-in-car-shoot-at-lounge-near-florida-mall-deputies-say/
https://6abc.com/shooting-mass-multiple-nightclub/12397750/
https://www.live5news.com/2022/10/30/4-wounded-early-morning-shooting-charleston-apartment-complex/
Just a normal weekend in the slow violent disintegration of the biggest shit show on earth.
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
Benny, Morris Berman:
ReplyDeleteHow did transhumanism become the religion of the super-rich? | by Jules Evans | Oct, 2022 | Medium
https://julesevans.medium.com/how-did-transhumanism-become-the-religion-of-the-super-rich-d670a410b01a
We live in this perverse hyperreality now and this is the sort of kink the oligarchy's into.. There was a free screening of Fellini's "Satyricon" on Weds at Emory University and it was wild how on the nose the debauchery of ancient Rome in free fall was to what we see all around us today..
Great film to check out btw, Wafers!
Unknown-
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't post Unknowns.
Torn-
Also check out Fellini's "La dolce vita."
Dio, Joe-
Hate, violence, and stupidity. What more cd a declinist ask for?
mb
I find it interesting the way art sees things that the logical mind can't or won't.
ReplyDeleteJamaica is a beautiful country with a history of immense suffering. Somehow through all that, reggae artists managed to write uplifting songs that simultaneously pointed out how wicked and corrupt 'Babylon' (America/Britain) is.
Tell me this isn't a perfect description of the cruelty of American/British life:
Them a walk, them a shoot, them a loot
Babylon them a brute
Them a walk, them a loot, them a shoot
But we know evil by the root
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU959L4fLO0
Xen-
ReplyDeleteAlso relevant: "The harder they come, the harder they fall." (Jimmy Cliff) This may come true for the US, in various parts of the world. (look up 'karma' in yr dictionary)
mb
Check it out:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/-/es/Avram-Alpert/dp/0691204357/ref=sr_1_3?__mk_es_US=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&crid=JI3AL6KZKUHC&keywords=good+enough+society&qid=1667182165&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjY4IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&s=books&sprefix=good+enough+society%2Cstripbooks%2C396&sr=1-3
Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteWith the midterms about a week out I thought it would be good to revisit the following quote by Mencken:
"The larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, a first-rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even the mob with him by force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide, and the fight must be waged chiefly at second and third hand, and the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most easily adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum.
The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." - HL Mencken
The question today is: Can a first rate candidate get elected in small electorates/areas?
Himasnhu
Just your daily reminder that some Jews are antisemites too. This book shows how after WWII, many Jews were defenders of Pope Pius XII, who silenced all the opposition against the violence being committed by Hitler, even of the death camps. Why Jews would speak favorably of him after the war is a mystery to me. Clearly Pius XII is one of the most evil leaders that has ever been, and certainly the most evil pope (he has the most blood on his hands).
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Pope-War-Secret-History-Mussolini-ebook/dp/B09N292JW5
Himanshu - Mencken was a racist and antisemite. I thought this blog had a blanket rule against posting the works of antisemites (e.g. Michael Hoffman), but for whatever reason Mencken gets a pass? What's the logic behind this?
ReplyDeleteI would suggest ignoring all of his works and finding other social theorists to quote. Even his fans have had to admit he was a simple racist & antisemite, though of course they try to say, "well his ideas were good & everyone was a racist, so he gets a pass." Mencken himself admitted much of his work was wrong, and time has shown he only underestimated how wrong he was.
https://apnews.com/article/e64e97725923bb7b64aa8e054aabe4b2
Diary-
ReplyDeleteThe logic is that much of what he wrote abt America was correct, and also constituted fine satire. This is why he gets a pass, and why the raving contemporary antisemites that attack me, Jews, and the blog, do not. Hoffman is a Nazi sympathizer and Holocaust denier. Him I shd post, according 2u? Really? In addition to Mencken, Shakespeare, TS Eliot, and Philip Larkin also get passes. Do you really not get the difference? Yr ability to make 'logical' distinctions is quite feeble, amigo. Lumping everyone together is typical pseudo-analysis for folks like yrself, whose 'thought-process' is an embarrassment.
some Jews-
r.u. the same person? Sounds like it, and if yr logically weak, yr also empirically weak. 1st, how many is 'some'? 3? Where is your data base? 2nd, yr link contains no information whatsoever regarding your assertion, and thus cannot constitute evidence for yr argument. I have this feeling--just a guess--that for you and Diary, yr own antisemitism has fogged yr brain(s).
In any case, this blog is not about Jews or antisemitism; it's abt the collapse of the American empire, wh/is why Mencken gets mentioned at all. A pretty prescient guy, imo. I take it yr not really interested in the theme of this blog, so perhaps you might look around for another one. There are thousands out there that are rt down yr alley, and wd be eager to host your well-considered opinions. Gd luck.
mb
Dear Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteIn reference to Kayne West and his unfortunate physiognomy, just imagine if there were two of him and you had to state into their faces from a distance of 2 feet or so all the way from Rome to Gaul - quite a long trip!
https://www.facebook.com/photofbid=10226141541178565&set=gm.5893373157392358&idorvanity=226096020786795
I know I have not substantiated this info but...well... I wasn't able to find anything that served. Still, I thought it would be a shame not to share such edifying material with you and, if you think it proper, the WAFERs.
Yours,
Heidi
Heidi-
ReplyDeleteLink didn't work. But keep in mind that what comes out of a horse's ass, is shit. Why is a piece of trash like Kanye even in the news? Why Gisele Bundchen? How did a moron get to be VP? What more evidence do we need that the US is in a state of free-fall? Plus, the cumulative effect of the Dems beating off all yr long will soon be upon us. Aargh!
mb
And before we forget, here’s a very HAPPY HALLOWEEN from some “very happy” USAins! This country certainly is “exceptional”! LOL!
ReplyDeletehttps://abc13.com/houston-road-rage-driver-attacks-man-car-vandalized-police/12403369/
https://www.ktvu.com/news/early-halloween-festivities-in-san-jose-end-in-violence
https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/halloween-celebrations-across-country-marred-by-violence-152110661757
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteI ask u2 contemplate this phase: "A degraded populace cannot reverse a doomed trajectory." (Feel free to quote me.)
mb
"A degraded populace cannot reverse a doomed trajectory." Yes. This article, for example, finds a cross-section of Americans "broken" by the ludicrous circus their politics have become as they either plan to skip or half-heartedly vote in the mid-terms:
ReplyDeletehttps://news.yahoo.com/were-broken-suburbs-north-los-120033459.html
Of course, as Professor Berman often asks, where do they think their leaders come from, Mars?
Reminds me of this legendary Onion article:
https://www.theonion.com/i-can-t-do-this-anymore-think-320-million-americans-1819579152
Pol-
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty sad, a broken people living in a broken nation. I guess this is how an empire ends. But we need to keep in mind that, as Toynbee wrote a century ago, this is not a question of being destroyed from the outside. No, what happens is that nations commit suicide. Of course, folks like Noam Chomsky are partly rt, saying that the elites have done this to the populace. But the major part of the story is the enthusiasm w/wh/the populace participated in the regime, in their own destruction. They were enthusiastic abt the twisted values of the American Dream, and they cheered our imperialistic wars w/loud voices (until we began losing). To top it off, they celebrated--were proud of--their own ignorance. So this is how it ends, in financial and spiritual poverty, while the populace is completely clueless as to how all this came about. I guess they can derive some comfort by cheering for the Ukraine. Whoopee.
mb
"the country has tried to come to grips with the assault on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, by a radicalized 42-year-old man who has spent the past two years living in a garage."
ReplyDeleteNone of the multitudes of pundits speaking on this event has asked: "Why was this man reduced to living in a garage? What are the societal factors that force people to live in garages? Why couldn't we help this man deal with his unraveling life and seething anger?" These, unfortunately, are questions that will not be answered until we're all living in garages.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/october-31-2022
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteIn 1 wk, Dems and wokes will very likely have their rumps handed to them on a platter. The big question is, What will they do in response to the message this sends, and to stop Trumpola in 2024?
1. Review their year of foolish beating off, take a gd look at themselves, and resolve to radically alter course. Or,
2. Beat off some more.
Gee, that's a toughie.
mb
re: Toynbee, check out this lunkheaded review in Time Magazine from 1962 of his "America and the World Revolution".
ReplyDeletehttps://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,829224,00.html
Even the review, which attempts to paint him in the least charitable possible light given his purported ignorance of "the menace of Communism", quotes Toynbee just enough to show how much smarter and more broad-minded he is than the reviewer.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/10/illuminati-conspiracy-theory-history-founding-fathers.html
ReplyDeleteWhy the Founding Generation Fell So Hard for the Illuminati StoryThey looked at France and said: “Make it make sense.”
Just shows the deficit in critical thought has been existent since out creation.. France called B.S. on this stuff in relative no time! Meanwhile in the early USA even President Washington bought this stuff..
Malc-
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's open and shut. There's a lot of lit on possible influence of Rosicrucians, for example. Not really sure anything solid has been proven, tho you cd be rt.
Alamein-
Critics of Toynbee say 'he doesn't stand up'. My reply: Lying down, he's better than they are standing up.
mb
ps: Malc: The other thing to consider is that "critical thinking" hadn't completely solidified by the late 18C. The occult sciences still had some influence over the intellectual classes. France, skeptics all, is of course a different story.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever wanted to see 7 minutes of the TRULY ugly face of America?
ReplyDeleteHere's a 2009 video of "The Gathering of the Juggalos".
https://youtu.be/6V-4jbto2C8
What is this event, exactly?
It's a yearly 'music' festival where the dregs of American society come together to listen to awful music (happens every year), watch porn stars do stand-up comedy (this happened several times), throw urine at performers (this happened once), do as many awful drugs at once, and generally act like idiots.
I'm probably stating the obvious here, but note the horrid physiognomy of these Americans. Just by LOOKING at them, you can tell they've given up on themselves, and life in general.
It's FASCINATING as far as I'm concerned.
Xen-
ReplyDeleteThis wd be fun: select any one of these distinguished Americans at random, sit him/her down, and ask them the following questions:
1. Where is Israel?
2. Who was John Foster Dulles?
3. Who are the Navajo?
4. What is the metric system?
5. What is the plural of mice?
6. Where is Hiroshima?
Oh, to be a fly on the wall for that.
mb
This is known as Buffoon-Karma:
ReplyDeletehttps://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/01/politics/democratic-seats-jeopardy-gallup-polling/index.html
You beg them, you plead w/them, and what do they do? They beat off. What will they do after Nov. 8? Beat off.
mb
Hot off the ticker. Still more violent Halloween madness that occurred here in the Land of Shit. A 4 year old gets shot on his way to do some trick-or-treating. A mayor of a small town tries to blow someone away in a passing car. And then a daughter’s fiance tries to machete the father’s leg off.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.wral.com/bullet-went-through-4-year-old-s-halloween-costume-car-seat-during-road-rage-shooting/20550295/
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/oregon-mayor-arrested-road-rage-shooting/283-50f6509d-d8bb-4fd1-b017-4d1a24c268c7
https://mycbs4.com/news/nation-world/vancouver-man-recounts-being-attacked-by-machete-wielding-man-at-halloween-party-11-01-2022
Aren’t holidays great here?! And there’s more to come. Black Friday is in 3 weeks!
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
bend-
ReplyDeleteI dunno if you'd like to participate in our discussion, but here are some guidelines:
1. Gd spelling. The word is epitaph.
2. Provide links for yr refs, like the novel you cite.
3. We are a discussion forum, not a bulletin board. A para of commentary wd have been helpful.
4. Original quote is from Tacitus: "They make a desert and call it peace."
Thank you for your cooperation.
mb
This American Life:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/02/two-teenagers-killed-spanish-teacher-iowa-bad-grade-prosecutors-allege
Part one of John’s video interview with Unherd. He also gives a written diagnosis at the link:
ReplyDelete”The best outcome would be a change in the electoral system. I’ve not always accepted first-past-the-post. I used to support, 20 or 30 years ago, changes like the Alternative Vote. I think the only way that we’re going to get fresh thinking and a way through the intractable conjunctions that we face — the failure of the Global Britain Brexit, and the almost non-attempt at the more protective and state-centred Brexit that people really wanted — is by breaking up the existing party system and having a wider variety of parties and ideas.”
https://unherd.com/2022/10/the-revenge-of-the-technocrats/
Part 2 of the interview at UnHerd: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uOYW82PQjzQ
Nuanced diagnosis as always from JG.. The striking mirroring across the pond of the state of things here is enlightening. The world system is shaken..
Moses-
ReplyDeleteThanks for refs. We now have an absurd election in Israel, and a karmic one coming up in the US. The shit deepens.
mb
New entry in the "Buffoon Bibliographies."
ReplyDelete'Hillary in the House'
2008
The singer in these videos tried to go viral with a 'Hillary in the House' chant at a rally. She lost in 2008, and poor Hillary would have to spend the next 8 years wondering why the Presidency wasn't bequeathed to her as promised.
2016
Hillary ran. Again. The creator of 'Hillary in the House' decided that the problem was that he didn't have enough production sparkle for the original recording. This time, he went full MTV style production. Hillary would end up losing to Donald Trump.
I recommend watching the 2008 version first.
'Hillary in the House' 2008 Mix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knBNX_evIOo
'Hillary in the House' 2016 Remix
https://youtu.be/VWXrpzbdqKc?t=57
Xen-
ReplyDeleteTalk abt the elite being trash. Whew!
mb
On the theme that the elite are trash, here's Barack Obama being heckled by anti-war protesters at a rally in Michigan. His response? Ya gotta be polite! And the crowd loves it. This is a Jimmy Dore video and it does not go by without it being mentioned that most the people in that crowd, the ones in thrall with Obama and apparently oblivious to the prospect of looming annihilation by nuclear war, have their heads up their ass.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFtrinXsf_I
ccg-
ReplyDeleteIt wd be great to waterboard Obama 185 times, really. He's certainly earned it. Meanwhile, what does the American public know about the reality of the Ukraine situation, and our brinksmanship in courting war with Russia? As for 'polite': Americans are stupid enough to be OK with being nuked, if it were done politely. What a country, what a people! And the alternate voices just can't get heard. 'Be polite'...why don't you kiss my ass already?
mb
https://eand.co/this-is-why-american-democracy-is-on-the-brink-745711842a9f?source=email-6e66558f60bc-1667550545778-digest.weekly-9b4cc1c6abbd-745711842a9f----0-98------------------d0eb1504_0cc5_4df5_841d_7c9cd4f580bf-1
ReplyDeleteUmair Haque gets right to the poi t how the media is undermining our democracy but not taking political violence and Trump's coup attempt seriously.
Question. None of this stuff politically speaking would not be going on unless the elite somehow push it or want it. Why do they want violence and no longer feel the need to maintain a democratic facade? And why dont they just use tools like judicial review like they have in the past to push through things the public doesnt want?
Dr. B-
ReplyDeleteIn your 2010 book "A Question of Values" on page 11 you quote Henry Wriston, president of the US Council on Foreign Relations from 1951-64. He said that US foreign policy "is the expression of the will of the people." You said he knew what he was talking about, and you are right. I closed my Facebook account in 2013 but recently re-activated it to see what people were saying. Needless to say, there is no groundswell against the U.S. proxy war in Europe; just the usual Facebook fluff of photos of vacations, kids, inane memes, etc. So- it's no wonder that most of the people at the Michigan rally of our ex-president were in thrall with him and did not join in with the anti-war protestors.
birn-
ReplyDeleteWriston's comment, wh/I believe to be true, shows the limits of the Chomsky school of argument ("manufactured consent"), that there is an elite that has oppressed the American people, and that therefore they are living w/a false consciousness. This is true to some extent, of course, but the larger part of the story, wh/folks like Noam never address, is the eagerness and enthusiasm w/wh/the American people have embraced the dominant (elite) narrative. This includes our imperialistic wars and the hustling way of life embodied in the American Dream. It's a gullible people, and overall not very bright. Suppose Janis Joplin had said to Mr. Typical Joe, "You don't really want a Mercedes Benz; this would be a case of misplaced values." And if Joe said, "Yes, I *do* want a Mercedes, and a big house, and luxury vacations; this, to me, is what life is all abt." Then what? Tell him he's wrong? If Noam is going to argue that the elite has pulled the wool over the eyes of Joe, I'm going to tell him that for 99% of the American people, the wool *is* the eyes. This is the meaning of Wriston's remark, and also of Antonio Gramsci's concept of 'hegemony': the ideology of Joe is just a replica of the ideology of the elite. If you buy Noam's argument, then the solution is obvious: a Hedgean revolution, overthrowing the elite. (aka silly optimism) But if you are a truly intelligent person, you know this is not a real option, because we have a population that is fully in accord w/the dominant ideology. Which means that the only serious way the system is going to change is by falling apart...wh/is exactly what is happening today. An intelligent person is a declinist, in other words. Shd we be surprised that what I make in book royalties in any given year is a total of abt $1,000?
mb
ReplyDeleteDr. and Wafers,
$400 million more to Ukraine!
As the saying goes in picking stocks, you have to think “long term”.
So from the article: “The new command post, called the Security Assistance Group Ukraine, signals a more permanent, ‘long-term’ program to continue to aid Kiev ( spelling correction from Kyiv mine) in its fight against Russia.”
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-to-send-400-million-more-military-aid-to-ukraine
Now what will Marjorie Taylor Greene think? Will this be more election fodder for the Republicans to win this Tuesday? And will she thus perhaps be Trumpi’s running mate in 2024? LOL!
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3719467-marjorie-taylor-greene-under-republicans-not-another-penny-will-go-to-ukraine/
U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
Why don't you ever talk of the specific negatives of Japan, such as the ongoing cases of elder abuse & murder? Japan is a horrible country, the aesthetics, hobby culture, and history cannot erase the reality of ongoing intentional genocide of the elderly.
ReplyDelete"According to the Japan Times, the number of elder abuse by relatives in the nation rose by 2.1% during fiscal 2020, which ended in March 2021, to a record 17,281 cases."
https://www.jpost.com/international/article-721535
Yeah I guess I am a glutton for punishment in asking my relatives challenging political questions. I just can't help but think there are a few friends I can "rescue from the drink" before I get outta this place. Isn't our collapse obvious to those of us living here? I guess I'm hoping to find a few or any one of the 0.07% Wafers out there who know this place is going to shit.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_ynTduON-E
Here's an example of one in an interview with Jimmy Dore. I will be interested to see if he actually stands a chance to win in Kentucky. But it'd be nice to hear more politicians speak like him.
Counterpoint to the article on Pope Pius, the atheist blogger Tim O Neill is a godsend (haha) sent to debunk new-atheist myths. I'm not a Catholic either (born one, left aged 12) but always held to the Catholic/Fascist story as a given. Not so.
ReplyDeletehttps://historyforatheists.com/2019/05/the-great-myths-7-hitlers-pope/
"The reality is that the history of relations between the Catholic Church and the German state, both before and during the Third Reich, was actually one of hostility, suspicion and fear...Contrary to Hitchens’ portrayal of the 1933 Concordat as a friendly deal, concordats were generally negotiated between the Vatican and a sovereign state when relations had been distinctly unfriendly and where the Papacy was trying to secure a legal and diplomatic basis for protection of the Church in that state – particularly freedom of worship, the right to maintain Catholic schools and the maintenance of Catholic associations and youth groups. ...Pius XI was also (unsuccessfully) pursuing a concordat with the Soviet Union and for precisely the same reason: an attempt to get some legal basis for Catholic activity in the face of a highly hostile regime.
dermot-
ReplyDeleteGreat, but let's stick to the topic of the blog, eh? Collapse of American empire. Thanks.
elder-
Why don't you do yr homework, b4 showing up here, like a bloviating peacock, accusing me of this and that?:
https://www.amazon.com/Morris-Berman/dp/1621342107/ref=pd_rhf_d_dp_s_ci_mcx_mr_hp_d_sccl_1_1/147-4013881-2530468?pd_rd_w=zqAyn&content-id=amzn1.sym.0a853d15-c5a9-4695-90cd-fdc0b630b803&pf_rd_p=0a853d15-c5a9-4695-90cd-fdc0b630b803&pf_rd_r=F7BCXT0FXAGHVCYND1JJ&pd_rd_wg=mPtkW&pd_rd_r=d2e44c46-ea74-4735-abd2-ccb48e4e3a9a&pd_rd_i=1621342107&psc=1
I don't mean to offend you in any way, but a bigger turkey than you, it wd be hard to find. Shmuck of the year, amigo. How did you manage to become such a douche bag?
Note to Jeff-
Thanks for great review of EPV on Amazon. Now we can wait for Schmendrick to pan it, w/o rdg it, based on your appreciation of it.
mb
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteRecent polls suggest GOP victory on Nov. 8. Turns out, the American public doesn't care abt abortion, the end of democracy, or political correctness all that much. Their concern is the economy, and they don't see the Dems campaigning on that. The Dems, who prefer to beat off. Well, I warned 'em. Here comes karma!
mb
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteBill Maher on American democracy's deathbed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKVBvooZ2c8
Miles
Greetings Wafers,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to share this:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-announce-launch-2024-presidential-campaign-nov-14-axios-2022-11-04/
-- Torreblanca
Jeff-
ReplyDeleteThanx 4 link. One of Bill's best monologues, and certainly his saddest. After all, both he and I, back in Jan or Feb, said to the Dems: DON'T BEAT OFF! So what did they do? They beat off. And now it's karma time, and Bill is rt: we had a gd run, but it's over. Over on Nov. 8, and over in Nov. of 2024, when Trumpi will return in full glory, probably. There are, of course, many ways a civilization can collapse; our own chosen form will apparently be some form of American fascism. Remember I kept saying that by 2030, America wd be a very different country. Still true, except that I pegged it a few yrs too late.
All of this, imo, is the punishment of America; but as I have said in the past, 'punishment' isn't quite the rt word because overall, Americans are too stupid to realize that they are being punished. Overall, the avg. American can say: 'Hey, what did I do wrong? They told me to hustle; I hustled. They told me to support our vicious, imperialistic wars; I did. They told me life was abt material accumulation; I did my best to accumulate. They told me to compete, to regard everyone else as a rival, even to hate them; I hated. They told me not to get to know my neighbor, not to care if he lived or died. I acted accordingly. They told me phrases like 'the spiritual life' were a joke; I laughed. And now a handful of Wafers is going to tell me I'm getting what I deserve, namely a shitty life? That this is punishment? OK, I surrender: let's turn the clock back to 1945, and do it rt this time. We'll have different values, different behavior, a different country. I'm sorry I lived like a narcissistic pig, really I am.'
Ha ha...
mb
To your point above, Dr. Berman, the surety with which the Dems were POSITIVE Trump could never win the 2016 election is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI love going back through these videos and seeing the smug arrogance the elites carried on their faces leading up.
Here's Olbermann with a smart-ass grin on his face writing Trump's political obituary before the election (like the thing was a lock for Hillary):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWR1TAlyq9A
Here's one of Olbermann's first videos after the vile American public put Trump into office. Note how his facial expression is different:
https://youtu.be/RNcji9CknMs
You were the one who introduced me to Gore Vidal's phrase: "Stupidity excites me." This Tuesday is going to be an ORGY of stupidity and as an avowed declinist, I am here FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT!
Xen-
ReplyDeleteReally, so much slapping is necessary, I get dizzy just thinking abt it. As for Nov. 8: perhaps we can summarize it in this comment: If you live like buffoons, yr gonna die like buffoons.
mb
I just discovered this documentary called generation wealth. It’s basically a film containing many of the things we post about here. It really shows how filthy American culture is.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/QzYv_1EJ57Q
ps: While it is too late to have a decent country, some of you might enjoy this:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/-/es/Avram-Alpert/dp/0691204357/ref=sr_1_1?crid=K2NQ51UOG60H&keywords=the+good-enough+life+avram+alpert&qid=1667716459&s=books&sprefix=good+enough+life%2Cstripbooks%2C408&sr=1-1
mb
A trick-or-treater dressed as a mass shooter visited the Hedingham area of East Raleigh (NC) on Halloween. He wore a sign on his chest that read “Mass shooter’s lives matter.” Three weeks ago, a 15-year-old had killed five people in that neighborhood and wounded several others before being caught by police. When a phone call brought the Raleigh police to the scene on Halloween, they were unable to do anything: the youth was not carrying any weapons. Free speech as the trump card protecting us all. Mostly.
ReplyDeletehttps://wr.al/1OFqP
I completely understand that Russia invaded Ukraine, in part, bc of NATO encroachment, but not sure what to make of this..
ReplyDeleteMoscow now maintains that its war in Ukraine is justified by the presence of Satan.
Russia's Security Council claims there are "hundreds of sects" in Ukraine and demands "desatanisation"
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/25/7373464/
Another piece by historian Tom Holland might help in understanding this thru the lenses of 2000 yrs of christianity:
https://unherd.com/2021/04/how-hitler-killed-the-devil/
Deanna-
ReplyDeleteJust substitute the word 'Nazis', and you've probably got it rt.
mb
Another arrogant entry in the "Buffoon Bibliography". 3 weeks before Trump's repugnant rise to power:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcKT5TFkfrE
I won't defend America's brand of Christian nationalism. AT ALL. It's perverse.
But what did this smug writer for The Atlantic think was going to happen when people's sense of meaning had been destroyed? Christianity may have its flaws, but AT LEAST it provides some sort of the path to the transcendent.
The elite trash in America REALLY seem to think that an iPhone is a worthy substitute for a higher purpose in life like 'Community', for example.
It's no surprise that we're staring down the barrel of tyranny in America. The elites have been pissing on the poor and desperate for DECADES. To be fair, the American public seems to like being abused, but the elites in America are downright detestable in their hubris and cruelty.
Dagwood-
ReplyDeleteSorry, cdn't run it. I guess you dunno how this blog works. We don't really care to host bloviating opinions. What we are interested in is evidence, in the form of links or reliable references. You provided 0. Why shd we care abt yr opinion? Anyone can have an opinion. Few can intelligently substantiate it. Wanna be on the blog? Substantiate it! Also try to stick to the theme of the blog: the collapse of America.
Xen-
Problem is, the poor and the desperate have but 1 goal: to enter the ranks of the elite! Never forget this.
Meanwhile, I'm getting excited abt the election. The wokes, progs, and Dems will get crushed like bugs. Did I warn them? Did they listen? And after getting crushed, will they re-evaluate, and change their m.o.? Ha!
mb
mb
Greetings MB and Wafers,
ReplyDeleteWho will stop our descent into widespread dysfunction, civil violence, and right-wing dictatorial government? Tulsi? Gisele? Kanye? No! The answer is to be found in the construction of Bermanic Monasteries throughout the nation. We hafta go big, kidz: I'm thinking at least 5,000 monasteries. Each BM will be staffed by Wafers and Waferettes who must be willing to slap new students silly at first convocation; urinate freely in the direction of all shoes (Waferettes must learn the art of peeing from a standing position); and, in many cases, heads will hafta be dislodged from rumps w/the aid a KY-Jelly and a crowbar:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/06/how-close-is-the-us-to-civil-war-barbara-f-walter-stephen-march-christopher-parker
Goodnight, Irene
Miles
Jeff-
ReplyDeleteExciting times ahead. I look forward to tomorrow, when the Dems, wokes, and progs, who refused to listen to me, will be crushed like roaches. Then, my own preference for 2024 is not Trumpi, but Kanye, w/MT Greene at his side, along w/Gisele Bundchen. 1st, this new gov't will have all Jews wearing yellow stars, as part of the DEFCON whatzit. Then, all Jewish space lasers will be confiscated. Finally, they will all be shipped to a remote village in Bulgaria, where they will work in a chopped liver factory, while wearing T-shirts that say WHITE LIVES MATTER, BUT SO DOES PASTRAMI. I tell ya, I'm beside myself. What rational person wdn't be?
mb
According to a new survey, Amerikkkans think they'll need a million bucks to retire comfortably. How I translate that as, they wanna still be able to buy all the useless junk they did when they were in the rat race. What else do they have left? The USA was built around consumption & workaholism. It's no wonder the nation ranks low on happiness polls. A wise man once said to me that the happiest ppl aren't those who have too much or too little, but those who have just enough. He was an avid traveler who spoke multiple languages, too. Go figure
ReplyDeletehttps://news.yahoo.com/survey-says-americans-now-expect-133317781.html
Satchmo-
ReplyDelete335 million jackasses. What else is there to say? No amt of slapping, no amt of urine, can render the avg. American a semi-decent, semi-intelligent, human being. This is reality; it is not hyperbole.
Meanwhile, there will be many benefits to a GOP landslide tomorrow, but perhaps the greatest is the possible avoidance of nuclear war. Schmiden is a warmonger, and he keeps sending tons o' cash to the Ukraine. But some GOP have started talking in terms of putting a halt to that, wh/cd save our necks. Of course, then Schmiden wd just set his sights on China, because America can't function w/o an enemy. Tulsism is really the only answer at this pt.
mb
Even with the 'buffoon variable', it STILL blows my mind that the average American REFUSES to accept that The Vietnam War was not only a loss, but also an act of murderous inhumanity.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7x6upOmdrw
Every time I read something new about Vietnam, I'm horrified at just how awful the whole thing was. It doesn't matter which angle you approach it from.
The KNOWN massacres alone are enough to make a person physically ill. God knows what the ACTUAL total of murdered or maimed people actually is. We'll never know.
Xen-
ReplyDeleteQuite simply, we are talking abt very stupid people who are deep in denial. The Turse bk came out in 2013. I wonder what % of Americans wd be able to say where Vietnam is, or what the war even was. I don't know if anyone has studied that, but it wouldn't surprise me if the figures were around 20%. Much lower for younger Americans, of course. I'm also guessing that if you stopped an American in the street and asked him/her what the words 'My Lai' mean, 88 out of 100 wd have no idea. Pretty much the same if you tried 'Robert McNamara' or 'Ho Chi Minh'.
Landulf-
Cdn't run it, sorry. We have a half-pg-max limit on posts here. Por favor, compress your message by 25% and re-send. Thank you.
mb
George Carlin had an opinion or two on the phenomenon of anorexia & bulimia; He called 'em "all-American" disorders. In a country where obesity reigns supreme, & ads peddling all these "diet plans", I'm sure that'd be a perfect storm for self-loathing. The cherry on top is a populace steeped in celeb "culture", thinking they gotta look like the phony airbrushed "stars".
ReplyDeletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LH5DCIf1bRI
Wafers-
ReplyDeleteWell, here's a shock: the expected 'red wave' never materialized. Expectations/polls were that the GOP wd sweep the field, thus giving them control of House and Senate. As of this writing, everything hangs in the balance, w/a # of contests too close to call. What wd not seem to be in doubt is that the nation is poised on a razor's edge, with a 50/50 balance between the 2 parties and 2 philosophies of life, authoritarian and democratic. The ultimate outcome is thus unclear; a house divided against itself etc. Go figure.
mb
Pennsylvania: a new hope?
ReplyDeleteJosh Shapiro defeated his opponent in the governor race with a high margin, almost 60 to 40.
Biden had said democracy is on the ballot, and Shapiro said the same in his victory speech saying democracy won. His opponent had been at the Jan. 6 carnival.
Fox news called this election an 'absolute disaster' for the republican party
High inflation, stagnant wages, crime, border crisis, Biden’s rating lowest since Truman, yet no Red wave. Just extremists dividing the party.
Fetterman's victory speech
Fetterman defeated Oz in the close PA senator race. In his victory speech he celebrated that healthcare is a human right. Having suffered a stroke 6 months ago, he contrasts with the eloquent Oz; still, Oz sucks (denies armenian genocide), and not even Oprah endorsed him in the end.
This election shows the limits of democracy. For it to function, there has to be a base of common values and norms and most people really want the choice made for them. No wonder, then, that when elections really matter, like in 2016 or this one, it is experienced as a crisis in democracy.
Oswalt-
ReplyDeleteWe are more of a discussion forum than just a bulletin board. Perhaps you cd re-send the link, but add a paragraph of yr own commentary. Thank you.
mb
Greetings-
ReplyDeleteIs it true that the 2 parties represent "2 philosophies of life, authoritarian and democratic"? Or that they are identical on the important issues, with only superficial distractions of culture war/identity politics being what differentiates them?
Dems are pro-war (billions to "arm" Ukraine, etc), they support medical apartheid against those who resist leaky/harmful vaccines (1), and they support rapacious predatory capitalism (2)...
Claims of "democracy" in our currrent system seem naive to me. Is this not the Wafer position? Thanks for yr work Mr Berman, and yr consideration in reading this.
(1) https://twitter.com/foundationnews1/status/1585301148541784065
(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD_UcRtljDU (start at 50:57 to 53:17)
Herman Daly, 84, Who Challenged the Economic Gospel of Growth, Dies
ReplyDeletePerhaps the best-known ecological economist, he faulted his mainstream peers for failing to account for the environmental harm growth can bring.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/08/business/economy/herman-daly-dead.html
A fine early proponent for degrowth. In an era of the eternally regenerative resource paradigm, he questioned what was unquestioned. Now "green capitalism" means turning the global South into a giant sacrifice zone so the rich in the US and Europe can drive electric SUVs.
See also, Paul Kingsnorth's sequel essay to his Dark Ecology.
https://paulkingsnorth.substack.com/p/the-fourth-revolution
Herbert-
ReplyDeleteYes and no. Of course the similarities are obvious, like neoliberalism, American Dream, etc. But this election stands out as being truly different, as to whether we will have a democratic state or an authoritarian one. Or to take just one issue: I think that w/the GOP in power, sending huge sums of $ to the Ukraine wd stop; the provoking of Russia and China wd stop; and war, toward wh/Biden was heading, wd be averted. I do believe, that had we had the predicted 'red wave', it wd have paved the way for Trumpi in 2024, resulting in a semi-fascist regime that wd not have happened with the Dems in power. Nor wd it have surprised me if, in 2028, Trumpi canceled the election. These wd not be small differences between the 2 parties.
mb
Dr. Berman,
ReplyDeleteI came across the following article in Liberty University's student newspaper "Liberty Champion". It quotes you: "An idea is something you have, an ideology is something that has you.” The author also quotes Jordan Peterson.
https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2022/02/dont-be-an-idealogue-ideologies-are-more-harmful-than-helpful/
This being Liberty Univ the author also says: "The only consistent ideology throughout time is Christianity."
Talk about lack of self-transparency. Christian fundamentalist and Wokes seem to have a lot in common: their narrative is the one true narrative for example.
Himanshu
Himan-
ReplyDeleteThat is kinda funny. They praise my sentence, and then violate it to the max. Of course, being consistent doesn't mean it's true, or that one is not captive to it.
mb
MB, you said "the nation is poised on a razor's edge, with a 50/50 balance between the 2 parties and 2 philosophies of life, authoritarian and democratic."
ReplyDeleteI thought, Hmmm... I'm not sure which party is which? The fact that I don't know eerily disturbs me.
comrade-
ReplyDeleteYeah, I getcha. But see my reply to Herbert, above. Meanwhile, I still believe, as I've predicted all along, that the US will be a very different country by 2030; but it looks like the path will be rather murky and nonlinear. We have no clear purpose anymore, that I can see; and I think the rest of the world understands that that 'City on a Hill' crap won't wash. There may be a severe crash or two down the road, of course, but in general, I think we shall just drift away into a kind of semi-oblivion. Madeleine Albright's arrogant statement, "We are the indispensable nation," looks a bit tattered these days. China, Russia, India, Latin America--these countries all have their own agendas, and I doubt they are going to worry all that much abt the US, now in its sunset years, w/very little to offer anyone, really.
mb
Wolfgang Streeck at his absolute best with a must-read:
ReplyDelete"Westernism amounts to the internationalization, under robust American leadership, of the culture wars being fought at home, inspired by role models in the United States. In the Westernized mind, Putin and Xi, Trump and Truss, Bolsonaro and Meloni, Orbán and Kaczyński are all the same, all ‘fascists’. With historical meaning restored to the uprooted individualized life in late-capitalist anomie, there is once more a chance to fight and even die for, if nothing else, then for the common ‘values’ of humanity – an opportunity for heroism that seemed forever lost in the narrow horizons and the hedged parochialism enshrined in the complex institutions of postwar and postcolonial Western Europe."
Includes valuable nuggets on German local politics.
I forgot the link - https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/getting-closer
ReplyDeleteThe author here seems to get it, but falls short by predictably finger-pointing @ every1 but to whom it really belongs. A couple noteworthy quotes…
ReplyDeleteTucker Carlson, Faux News - "The demise of the U.S. has to come from within. “No external enemies can cause so much damage as internal operations."
Nayib Bukele, El Salvador prez - "Cities that were beautiful 30 years ago are wastelands."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/courage-strength-optimism/americas-decline-has-to-be-by-design
A nation that refuses to examine its past & was built on slavery can only follow the dark rd to its natural destination, namely one of decay. Amerikkka is just waiting 4 the final curtain call @ this pt
Satchmo-
ReplyDeleteI doubt that the disintegration of America is by design, a left-wing plot, as the author claims. Blaming the Democrats is just plain silly; the author doesn't have much in the way of historical understanding, and conspiracy theories are simplistic, an easy way out. There are a # of factors at work here; I lay them out in the Twilight bk, in a comparison w/the collapse of the Roman Empire. Much of it is dialectical: the factors that enable an empire to emerge, eventually turn against it, and become the factors that do it in. Radical individualism, imperial overstretch, obsessive focus on economic and technological expansion--these are gd examples of what I'm talking abt. In any case, America is following the pattern of all empires, as outlined by Arnold Toynbee a century ago: suicide, with an acceleration of the very behaviors that are causing the dysfunction.
mb
Don’t give up hope, Doctor. The Republicans almost already have the House. And the Senate now has a very good chance of going red. Cortez Masto is losing in Nevada. The only county in that state she has won is Clark County. Kelly’s lead in Arizona is dwindling. And Georgia is going to runoff which should give it to Walker. That’s because most of the 81,175 Libertarian votes will go to Herschel. Don’t sell Don the Con short. He’ll be there. :)
ReplyDeletehttps://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-nov-10-007b2d3aab2820016b1e009cdcbd3ecc?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_01
https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-arizona-nov-10-007b2d3aab2820016b1e009cdcbd3ecc?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_01
In the meantime, let’s get a good chuckle out of the latest Biden gaffe. When speaking about the Ukranian city of Kherson, our leader called it Fallujah! The world is laughing at us.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11410711/Biden-says-Russia-pulling-Fallujah-instead-Kherson-latest-slip-president.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWAkiC1kO7Y
Joe-
ReplyDeleteWell, if the GOP captures both houses (or even one), the whole 'red wave' thing is rather moot, because the Dems will be cut off at the knees. Kamala, Schmamala.
mb
ps: Lauren Boebert is a rancid bag of douche fluid.
ReplyDeleteOne of the greatest entries in "The Buffoon Bibliographies".
ReplyDeleteNancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer spewing their same tired campaign speeches about 'progress'. Trump acting like a deranged 8 year old on an overdose of Adderall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wm-NtMkqz8
I don't think enough time has passed to put this in its proper historical perspective, but this might be the SINGLE most embarrassing display of America's political dysfunction.
In a sane country, these idiots would have peaked at selling fake Rolexes in Times Square.
It's about that time when empty rhetoric is spewed forth about the "troops" & former cannon fodder. Such rhetoric can b found @ this here link, where Google claims to be "supporting" veterans.
ReplyDeletehttps://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/diversity/veterans-day-2022-en/?utm_source=hpp&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=veteransday22
Yet the truth is Amerikkka treats its vets like shit, & holidays like this are just emotional blackmail 2 get the flag waving morons steeped in nationalistic pride. If Amerikkka really cared about its discarded cannon fodder, dontcha think it'd "support" them ALL the time…not just 4 one day?
Thanks for your respsonse Mr Berman.
ReplyDeleteYour Wafer midterm analysis, however, is identical to the mainstream liberal narrative; that the election is truly a battle between "democracy" and "semi-fascism" (a Biden term, *1).
As for Ukraine, the War State is bipartisan. The Ukrainian conflict was pushed by the GOP during the Obama years (*2) and war hawks like Nuland/Kagan have have no party alleigance. Even now the GOP is set for more funding (*3).
Again, to me these elections seem like a bad TV show with the so-called "differences" between the parties being nothing more than shadows on the cave wall.
*1 https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/25/biden-trump-philosophy-semi-fascism-00053831
*2 https://twitter.com/timand2037/status/1521748399543967744
*3 https://www.voanews.com/a/democrats-republicans-say-they-will-back-ukraine-whoever-controls-congress/6827454.html
Dr. B-
ReplyDeleteThe author of this op-ed suggests 7 things that you can do to stop the war-
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/11/11/7-things-you-can-do-stop-war-ukraine
I wonder if she has read any of your books or works by other authors and historians that you have often quoted. The "isms" that Americans live by (Page 12 in your book QOV or "A Question of Values") would seem to prevent 99.9% from even considering her suggestions; not that they would even be aware of her op-ed. (I would guess that the linked web site is frequently read by a few thousand, at most.)
Herb-
ReplyDeleteIt's just a complicated election, imo, w/many aspects to it, including contradictory ones. I still stand by my analysis, whether it's mainstream or not. As for the Ukraine war: only time will tell. I believe the GOP is divided on this.
mb
Dr. Berman
ReplyDeleteYou are correct that there is opposition to Ukraine hawkism within the GOP. However, I believe much of this is due to misguided sympathy for Russia, rather than well-placed skepticism with the global US military projected. I cite this piece from Pat Buchanan [https://www.creators.com/read/pat-buchanan/04/14/whose-side-is-god-on-now] when the Ukraine crisis first erupted in 2014.
The idea expressed therein that Russia is a bastion of social conservative, Christian values as opposed to the decadent, leftist, atheist USA is rather contradicted by Russia's far higher rates of abortion, and alcohol/drug abuse, not to mention far lower rates of church attendance. I do not meant to paint a rosy picture of US society, but to show that sections of the GOP's sympathies towards Russia do not reflect a true anti-war tendency, but a projection of their own domestic anxieties.
To wit, the GOP is equally hawkish on China as their Dem counterparts, and ultimately a larger confrontation with China will make this year's Ukraine showdown look like child's play.
Alamein-
ReplyDeleteYr probably rt, but at this pt anything that can shut down this phony war is OK by me. As for confrontation w/China, no surprise, since both parties and all of the US are caught up in the "negative identity" syndrome that I discuss in QOV.
As far as the election goes, literally everyone, and I mean everyone, predicted a 'red wave' based on the stats and polls. The only exception was Michael Moore, who strangely predicted a blue wave. Well, he was half rt.
mb
PS to my last comment (11/17): Just to be clearer, none of the above was meant as a suggestion re how to proceed with your blog. I have no doubt you know what you're doing and why and I'm sure you don't need suggestions from me or anyone else. That was about my own perspective and interests for you to respond to or not, as you wish. Oh...and my opinion would be to only shut down the blog if you come up with another way to spend your time that's more toward your purpose - like fishing maybe. Or - wow! - an autobiography! How about, "The Education of Morris Berman"?
ReplyDeleteHeidi-
ReplyDeletePls send all messages to most recent post. No one reads the older stuff. Also, pls re-send yr original message, just compressed down to half a pg. Thanks.
mb
(Sorry - dunno how this wound up on the older thread.)
ReplyDeleteShut down the blog? No! But I'm also interested in what you +/or others may know about what/how any New Monastic Individuals (NMIs) are doing out there. Here's one such site that you noted a while back. Also an impressive talk from their site. Your series, “The American Decline”, drew the big picture! It helped me validate my NMI inclinations - my true life-purposes - and to encourage others I've known who were confused about their place in their families, communities and the world, or felt borne down by growing hopelessness.
I agree it's important to recognize how, day-to-day, uncomprehending people and groups (the majority in America) act out the Empire's demise. Your blog helps folks understand our time and offers a safe space for folks to discuss it. The 19th C painter, Thomas Cole, went there too, with his “Course of Empire” series of 5 magnificent paintings, now at the NY Historical Society in Albany: “The Savage State”, “The Pastoral State”, "Consummation",“Destruction”,“Desolation” and (the latter link is to a fine piece about the series)
Heidi-
ReplyDelete"The Midterms" IS an older post. The most recent post is called "Muddy Waters." Pls send messages to that. Thank you.
mb