Time Enough at Last

Beyond the unpopularity of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is a profound crisis of the two party system in America.

The for decades invisible American working class- over-shadowed by fatuous " identity politics " - is awakened and angry.

Where do they go ? Are they " stronger together " with Wall St. , the Pentagon, the CIA, the FBI, and treacherous " intellectuals " ?

Is not Hillary Clinton the Queen of the Status Quo ? Is not Donald Trump right out of the Sinclair Lewis novel : " It Can't Happen Here " ?

As a democratic socialist, and a critical supporter of the sabotaged campaign of Democrat Bernie Sanders, I can see how the mainstream establishment news media is trying to sell the voting public rotten meat.

What would Upton Sinclair think of " Wall St. Hillary " ? More than rotten meat was exposed in his anti-capitalist classic " The Jungle ".

Hillary is no Eleanor Roosevelt. In just a few weeks the Hillary Democrats have evolved into a neo-con War Party, the kind anti-imperialist author Mark Twain ridiculed more than 100 years ago.

Image result for Upton Sinclair , rotten meat

Black athlete thinks Hillary should be in jail

Decades of neo-liberal " identity politics " has muddled the CLASS issue of economic and political oppression in the United States.

The decay of capitalism is spreading misery to everybody below the ONE PERCENT. What seems like racial oppression is an effect of poverty and the " culture of poverty ".

Are working class whites beneficiaries of " white privilege " ? Are homeless whites more " privileged " than homeless blacks ? Are poor white prisoners better off in prison than poor black prisoners ?

The Hillary Democrats have evolved into a neo-con War Party- no friends of working class America - black or white .

The American voter must live with his or her own life experience.

Here in a most Catholic neighborhood ( Knightsville ) in very Catholic Rhode Island I encounter no Catholics who even consider " Wall St. Hillary " a lesser evil.

Trump and Sanders won the primaries here last April.

I think Trump will take Rhode Island in November

Image result for st mary's feast cranston ri

As a supporter of " democratic socialism " -and not out of touch with crude " reality ' - I do not idealize the " people of the Abyss ". I think the socialist fight against abject poverty- poverty made unpleasantly visible by these less than charming panhandlers -is less utopian than any program of character reform.

The " right to life " goes way beyond respect for life in the womb. There is a natural right to a HOME and a useful place in society.

For profit capitalism is increasingly antagonistic to human dignity.

The Hillary Democrats have turned their backs on the American working class -which includes the very poor and the unemployable.

Image result for " The people of the Abyss ", Jack London

Most of the time respecting national, religious, ethnic rituals just shows a degree of a little something called " emotional intelligence ". Institutionalized racism has been successfully outlawed in the United States. To deny this is to declare that the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s was a miserable failure.

It is " identity politics " that keeps up this false emphasis on race. Police brutality is best explained by class oppression. " Socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders got that right , making his " political revolution " all about unacceptable economic inequality.
It is a phony patriotism that denies social injustice .

Colin Kaepernick explains why he sat during national anthem

NFL.com‎ - 9 hours ago

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a ... "The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. ... being one of the most promising players in the NFL during ...

Not needed now - 70 state social workers

" Depeña Affigne says the laid-off employees will be invited to apply for
jobs in other state agencies, such as the Department of Children, Youth,
and Families."

In the photo Affigne seems to be smiling at very dubious " progress " in Rhode Island. You would think that a state social worker in so liberal , Democrat controlled Rhode Island , would have a very secure career.

We are becoming more like those Greeks - oppressed by relentless budget cuts dictated by ruling class interests.

If this is what pro-Hillary Democrats have to offer us, how can Donald Trump be any worse ?

Image result for Depeña Affigne says the laid-off employees

Depeña Affigne- another Hillary fan ?

News report said that this most unfortunate woman was run over by that bus AT THE CROSS WALK ? " No charges against the Peter Pan driver yet ". Since when is it OK to run people over at cross walks ?

There is a pattern here . Recall the death of Bobbie Moore crushed by a RIPTA bus : The local news media treated Bobbie Moore as a non-person. Not even a routine death notice:
[ One witness said : " She was banging on the bus so she could get
on, and he just kept going slowly and then he ran right over her, and
he had to stop because everyone was screaming ". ( Pauline Goss " who
had just gotten off the bus ... " )

A RIPTA rider said this in May 30 , 2014 article ( " RIPTA drivers,
riders, reflect on system in wake of fatal accident " ) [ a 9 year old
girl died ] :

" IF I AM TAPPING ON THE SIDE OF THE BUS , SHOW ME A LITTLE
COURTESY ... Some are rude and arrogant ", Jackie Baker of Providence
said. " They seem to forget they( RIPTA Bus drivers ) are public ...]

Friends remember woman killed by bus in Kennedy Plaza - ABC6 ...

www.abc6.com/.../friends-remember-woman-killed-by-bus-in-kennedy-plaz...

WLNE‑TV

3 days ago - Friends morning the loss of Michelle Cagnon, who was killed after being hit by a Peter Pan bus in Kennedy Plaza Wednesday morning.

Why these RIPTA take backs after decades of offering senior citizens in Rhode Island a big budget break ? I note that the attacks on working class people here are being led by neo-liberal - and Hillary favorite - Governor Gina Raimondo.

There also have been painful Medicaid cuts. I guess the rich people who control the Democratic Party have suffered enough.

Not for nothing the supporters of " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders humiliated " Wall St. Gina " in last April's Democratic Primary.

We are becoming more and more like oppressed Greeks- at the mercy of finance capital.

But what a difference a woman makes in politics.

"Deadline approaching for switch to new card for RIPTA reduced fare bus pass program " ( Cranston Herald )

A return to humanity for Donald Trump

It is neo-liberal Hillary Clinton-more and more sounding like a neo-con-who is wallowing in effete ” identity politics “. In rather crude tones right wing Republican Donald Trump is telling the truth about Hillary’s own brand of ” bigotry “.

But it is false to think that race is the really big issue in the American presidential election of 2016. The really big issue was voiced by ” socialist ” Democrat Bernie Sanders : unacceptable economic class inequality.

In over-demonizing Donald Trump the mainstream news media here is losing credibility.

As a democratic socialist I think it is less than outrageous for right-wing Republican Donald Trump to call Hillary Clinton a " bigot ". Her " identity politics " is the very stuff of war in the Middle East today.

And yet , unless we assume that the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s was a miserable failure, we can be sure that RACE is not the really big issue in the United States. What is ? Unacceptable economic class inequality-that's what.

" Wall St. Hillary" is not the solution. Neither is the billionaire Donald Trump.

Image result for Trump calls Hillary a bigot

Some truth to that

Depression help for medical residents

Any human being getting worn out physically and mentally is prone to mental depression. It seems to me that there is great deal of foolish , ritualistic misery involved in the training of physicians.

I wonder to what degree the high cost of medical education and the inhumane atmosphere of for-profit medicine contributes to a depressed " conscience ".

The " cult of the doctor " hurts the doctor as much as it does his patients.

Can mental depression be cured with a pep talk and pill ? What if life itself really becomes depressing ? God help you.

Too young to despair ?

" I feel that climate change is increasingly becoming an issue that will unavoidably make large groups of people miserable within this century at the latest.

It's possible that me, as a 22 year old man, may see extreme hunger and thirst even in my home country of the USA. Because of this, I feel constantly nervous that my life may end horribly, and all my efforts to have a good life may be worthless.

I definitely do not want to have kids, and be responsible for their future suffering.

All this said, I don't want this to be the case; I would be very happy if it wasn't, I'm just not completely convinced that humanity can turn this around and continue to have a good standard of living.

I doubt that humanity will go extinct from climate change soon, but I still think it may happen. Give me hope for humanity and the world!

Edit: people are focusing on the idea of human extinction, but I intended that to be a possible worst case scenario. What I'm more worried about is the extreme lowering of the quality of human living and the immense global suffering leading to a decline in humanity's progress and overall happiness."

Kid tries to sell teddy bear for food

This horror story of gross child neglect should not culminate in a banal moral condemnation of the misfit , incapacitated parents, Tammy and Michael Bethal. Why did the police discover the nightmare family residence before state social workers ?

Many stories of child neglect and abuse point to the fragility of the nuclear family in the capitalist economic system. This " family " needs to evolve into a wider structure - where the fate of kids does not depend completely and precariously on the character and mental competence of the biological parents.

Starving kid tried to sell toy for food

Donald Trump's " God problem " ?

Donald Trump is no more insincere about his personal religious beliefs than other ruling class Americans.

TV evangelism worships the capitalist god of SUCCESS as much as any Sky God.Just a few years ago it seemed that every prominent Republican was besotted with Ayn Rand - a militant atheist.

American " public opinion " ( ruling class opinion ) tolerates open atheism more than " socialism " -which is anathema in respectable circles because it challenges the money god.

Hard to believe that " Wall St. Hillary" is devoted to the social gospel.

" The Amazing Power of Positive Thinking " also tells the true believer that God wants him to be rich.

At least Catholicism does not turn a blind eye to misery and suffering -even of INNOCENCE.

Increase in hate crimes against Muslims - blame Trump ?

Nothing would be more foolish than to think Hillary Clinton’s ” identity politics ” is an anti-dote to Trump’s Islamophobic rhetoric.

The root of Islamophobia is not individual reactionary politicians but our New Colonialism in the Middle East-the collective agenda of the U.S. ruling class.

In just a few weeks the Hillary Democrats have evolved into a neo-con War Party. Do you think an expanded war in the Middle East – under the leadership of Hillary The Hawk- will reduce incidents of Islamophobia in America ?

A lot of this ” hate ” was sparked by the Iraq War – which Hillary supported. Not for nothing Russia’s Vladimir Putin sees ” Wall St. Hillary ” as the face of World War III.

What a difference her ” more love and kindness ” makes .

Never Hillary !

Profile of Michel Chossudovsky

The U.S. military has its own agenda in Afghanistan and must use assorted scoundrels to accomplish New Colonialist ends. As a democratic socialist I cannot even credit it with good intentions.

For a while the Vietnam catastrophe taught us the wisdom of not getting involved in the internal conflicts of foreign regions.

Just consider our 2016 presidential election : does our " democracy " recommend itself to the rest of the world ?

" Wall St. Hillary " is the savior of Afghanistan ?

The so called " war on terrorism " is a miserable failure. For most of the world WE are the terrorists.

U.S. imperialism needs scoundrels

August 17, 2016

Right wing radio was -ironically - ranting about out of control on line news media" comments " months ago. There is a simple Marxist explanation for curbing this outlet for public opinion : " the ruling ideas are the ideas of the ruling class ".

And the capitalist two party system is in crisis. The American plutocracy does not want ordinary people to even imagine an economic system very different from " free market " or weakly regulated capitalism.They do not want to hear from the anti-war movement.

Presently Establishment USA - including NPR - supports Hillary Clinton, the Queen of the Status Quo.

Media & Society

NPR Website To Get Rid Of Comments

August 17, 2016

Commentary

Elizabeth Jensen

" NPR is making an announcement today that is sure to upset a loyal core of its audience, those who comment online at NPR.org (including those who comment on this blog). As of Aug. 23, online comments, a feature of the site since 2008, will be disabled. "

Clinton welfare reform was not a splendid success here in Rhode Island. The panhandling problem in Kennedy Plaza is the talk of the town and the talk of right wing talk radio. One John De Petro -known in the Boston market- does not want to dignify these " bums, perverts ,criminals, degenerates " with the more dignified description of " homeless people ".

Any democratic socialist would recognize a systemic problem here. The profit system simply cannot generate enough " for profit " work. It seems that only hateful " big government " can help the hopeless. I think Hillary has a plan. She will clear it with Wall Street.

World on the brink of war ?

One " real solution " -instead of vilifying Russia's Vladimir Putin - would be to admit the failure of the 15 year USA " war on terrorism " -a cover for the New Colonialism, not much different in crude purpose and patriotic blather from the kind of imperialism ridiculed by anti-imperialist author Mark Twain more than a century ago.

Just a century ago President Wilson was getting this country into the Great War to the tune of his own Wilsonian blather.

Do working class Americans have any " interest " in a future expansion of the wars in the Middle East ? Not for nothing Putin sees Hillary the Hawk as the face of World War III.

Another shocking war photo

Young people turned off by major party candidates

Younger people are extremely sensitive to THEIR future- pretty bleak with Trump Republicans or Hillary Democrats. The Clintons now represent only the corrupted Baby Boomer generation - their 60s idealism for a better world long ago lost. " Nothing gold can stay " ( poet Robert Frost ).

In just a few weeks the Hillary Democrats have evolved into a neo-con War Party , the kind ridiculed by anti-imperialist author Mark Twain more than a century ago.

As a critical supporter of " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders I can see how right wing Donald Trump can seem like the " lesser evil " to alienated, , and often invisible to the mainstream news media, " angry working class white people '.

But what has Hillary Clinton and the neo-liberals done for the Afro-American working class ?

Actually a check on news media " comment " freedom was in the air months ago.

Rhode Island radio and TV newsman " celebrity " Gene Valicenti ( WPRO ) began a campaign against " comments " in the Providence Journal on line.

The real Voice of the People , it seems, offends the big shots of right wing talk radio..

Joe Zawinul

Is this true ? NPR shutting down " comments " ? Just as the ruling class is preparing to shut down what passes for " democracy " in Hillary's America. A capitalist " democracy " exists with this inner contradiction : fear of the masses, fear of the very concept of " majority " rule.

Joe Zawinul Ron Ruggieri • 4 minutes ago

Read this: http://help.npr.org/customer/e...

"....depictions of a nation in utter distress, vacuous of hope, and on the verge of collapse.". For the vast majority of working class America that is no exaggeration.

As a democratic socialist I see clearly the character flaws of Donald Trump but don't condone this Establishment USA organized smear campaign against him.

How can any Democrat who had an iota of respect for the Bernie Sanders campaign now support " Corrupt Hillary " ( yes, Trump gets that right too ) ?

With the support of President Obama, the Pentagon, the CIA , the FBI , corrupt leaders of organized labor- in general, Establishment USA supports Hillary Clinton. In just a few weeks the Hillary Democrats have evolved into a neo-con War Party, the kind anti-imperialist author Mark Twain ridiculed more than a hundred years ago.

Do you think Hillary Clinton can win the hearts and minds of millions of " angry working class " voters with her shallow " identity politics " ? There are plenty of reactionary female politicians in high office around the world.For millions of working class American women Hillary does not represent " progress ".

Here in Rhode Island I never run into a single voter enthusiastic about " Wall St. Hillary ". No surprise that " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders humiliated the Clinton political machine here.

And how popular is Hillary's friend Governor Gina Raimondo here in Rhode Island ? The working poor and senior citizens just love her ? Say that on the side of a RIPTA bus.

Is President Obama preparing to imitate President Bush after Hurricane Katrina ? One purpose of any social order in having a " social surplus " is for emergency preparation. But our capitalist brainwashed politicians see it as an embarrassment and give it away as a tax break to the rich.

Now we will have thousands more " homeless in America ". What will Hillary Clinton's " more love and kindness " do for these people that Obama can't do ?

What does Donald Trump's " make America great again " rhetoric do for these people ?

They plan to spend a trillion dollars on updating our nuclear weapons delivery systems. That will help the hopeless in America. .

Catastrophic Floods In Louisiana Have Caused Massive Housing Crisis

NPR‎ - 4 hours ago

Devastating floods in Louisiana have left an estimated 40,000 houses damaged; some ...

Louisiana flood: Worst US disaster since Hurricane Sandy, Red Cross says

CNN‎ - 2 hours ago

Peter Quennell

In a healthy democracy is there not something childish about our obsession with the profile and " fitness " of the president of the United States ?

The basis of this presidential anxiety is a very dysfunctional Congress and very political Supreme Court. The majestic LAW , it seems, is not above the class strife below.

We let a shadow government decide foreign policy . Does any ordinary American have a quarrel with Russia's Vladimir Putin ?

Can we, without blushing, recommend our " democracy " , our " way of life " to the world ?
Peter Quennell

"As a gay American I'm surprised none of your Trump supporters mentioned his truly noble support of the LGBTQ community, especially the threat to our community from a certain fundamentalist sect."

As a gay American you might also ask why the Dark Age has made an encore in this 21st century . As a democratic socialist I think this is most rationally explained by decaying capitalism. " Identity politics " will not save the good earth or the human species from future catastrophe.Nor will our New Colonialism in the Middle East check the growing darkness.

China sees U.S. hegemony moves in South Sea

1 Comment on American Lies about the Iraq War Once Again Expose Its Hegemony

Ron Ruggieri

As a democratic socialist I am well aware of my country’s history of imperial arrogance. The American working class has no interest whatsoever in a war with China over islands in the South China Sea.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin is right to fear ” Hillary the Hawk ” – more than Republican rebel Donald Trump – as the real face of World War III.

In just a few weeks – since the sabotage of the Bernie Sanders campaign- the Hillary Democrats have evolved into a neo-con War Party, the kind ridiculed by anti-imperialist author Mark Twain more than a century ago.

U.S. imperialism covers up its predatory nature with ” democratic ” phrase mongering. President Wilson got us into the Great War with patriotic blather.

We won’t be fooled again.

A long period of political and intellectual reaction

Show me someone who is anti trade, little less anti-free trade, and I'll show you someone who has never read an economics text "

Capitalist economics is not exactly like Newtonian physics- based on pure logic and higher mathematics. The " logic " of capitalism has a profoundly irrational basis : private profit in opposition to human need.

Capitalist economics pretends that Marxist criticism is on the intellectual level of astrology. But what is more irrational than " free market " job creation ?

Not for nothing " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders was thinking " political revolution " to counter unacceptable economic inequality. In depressed Rhode Island - now overwhelmed with aggressive pan handlers -we think : " we are all Greeks now ".

Another Great Recession is coming. Not even " The Donald " can prevent it.

It is because the Congress is perceived as so utterly dysfunctional and the Supreme Court as so utterly political that the public is so nervous about and obsessed with the profile and " fitness " of the future president.

I am surprised that the " don't trust anybody over 30 " Baby Boom generation is not more vocal about Hillary's age . Reagan was pushing 70 in 1980 and Hillary is near 70 in 2016.

In 1992 I was attracted by Bill Clinton's vigorous" liberalism " and his relative youth.
" Nothing gold can stay " ( Robert Frost ).

I think individuals should stop driving cars after age 60 and stop running for president at that age.

" Nothing gold can stay "

Another child-left-in hot car story

Big picture of Bunroth Chhun, 41 of 185 Budlong Road . I can understand the local Cranston Herald wanting to shame the shameful. But this guy is not MOST WANTED or a serial killer.

The structure of the isolated and increasing stressed nuclear family in capitalist society makes these child neglect horror stories increasingly probable-even if always preventable.

A distracted, overwhelmed father - or mother - deserves a measure of pity .Get the FACTS.
[ http://radicalrons.blogspot.com ]

Bunroth Chhun- WANTED ?

A letter to the editor in the Providence Journal this morning complains about this capitalist newspaper's bias in favor of " liberal " Democrat Hillary Clinton.

NPR in Rhode Island could use its " independence " for more objective news coverage of the presidential campaign. But they too see Hillary with a fatuous lack of critical judgment-like the rest of the mainstream news media - like the rest of Establishment USA, biased in favor of " Wall St. Hillary".

NPR nationally is hardly independent of " ruling class " opinion- even when it covers our New Colonialist wars in the Middle East, the growing tension with China in the South China Sea and with Russia over the Ukraine.

Locally NPR can compensate for the pathetic degeneration of the Providence Journal. But it too fawns on neo-liberal - and friend of Hillary- Governor Gina Raimondo.

We desperately need local news media willing to show its populist fangs.On- local " talk radio " this morning I listen to former Mayor -and big property owner- Joe Paolino- comment with some sense of responsibility on the horror of Kennedy Plaza.

Sad to say the tone of NPR-RI is too often " East Side Oblivious ".

Facing the problems of Providence's Kennedy Plaza: 'It's a combat zone'

The Providence Journal‎ - 11 hours ago

The meeting was called by former mayor Joseph Paolino Jr., a managing partner at Paolino ...

Paolino on Kennedy Plaza: ”Lead, follow, or get out of the way!”

WPRO‎ - 16 hours ago

Of course , capitalist society allowed the Clintons and many others to become very rich without breaking any laws. You can become rich in America without being a criminal type or a nasty person.

But what is the essence of " hard work " ? Medical science knows only one objective measure of human " effort " -physical or mental : CALORIES. This criterion alone should have immense propaganda significance for egalitarian " democratic socialism ".

If your mother earns a modest social security income after 30 years with the same establishment, you can tell her that she and her deceased husband did not work as " hard " as Hillary and Bill Clinton.

I suspect a clinical thermometer will be the prized instrument of some future Nobel Prize in Economics winner. Did any enemy of capitalism ever win this distinguished honor ? Any Marxist ?

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Monday, August 29, 2016

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Saturday, August 27, 2016

"Deadline approaching for switch to new card for RIPTA reduced fare bus pass program " ( Cranston Herald )

Friday, August 26, 2016

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Monday, August 22, 2016

NPR Website To Get Rid Of Comments

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Friday, August 19, 2016

Thursday, August 18, 2016

1 Comment on American Lies about the Iraq War Once Again Expose Its Hegemony

Wednesday, August 17, 2016