Saturday, June 30, 2018
Does St. Augustine's " City of God " have a message for " Christian " socialists today ?
[ The fundamental pastoral point made by A. writing on the two cities is that Christians live in this world but they are not of this world.
They are present here as strangers sojourning in a foreign country, enjoying the blessings the world has to offer, but always ready to move on.[[13]] Heaven is the Christian's true home, and it is to heaven that his affections and his loyalties should be directed.
It was probably the happenstance observation of the analogy that obtained between this metaphor for Christian life and the facts of the situation in Africa after 410 that inspired A. to join the intended work on the two cities with the rejoinder to the skeptics of those years.
The skeptics were to be found among wealthy and discontented refugees from Rome, who found themselves living as aliens in Africa, discontented and frustrated, taking the pleasures of the theaters and shows, but always hankering to return to the great city far away.
The neat, even witty, polemical point of the opening book of ciu. is that the refugees have exactly the right attitude:
they need to realign their loyalties and their longings toward a greater city, farther away, and then only will they see the fate of temporal kingdoms in true perspective. ]
EXCERPT ABOVE FROM BOOK REVIEW
They are present here as strangers sojourning in a foreign country, enjoying the blessings the world has to offer, but always ready to move on.[[13]] Heaven is the Christian's true home, and it is to heaven that his affections and his loyalties should be directed.
It was probably the happenstance observation of the analogy that obtained between this metaphor for Christian life and the facts of the situation in Africa after 410 that inspired A. to join the intended work on the two cities with the rejoinder to the skeptics of those years.
The skeptics were to be found among wealthy and discontented refugees from Rome, who found themselves living as aliens in Africa, discontented and frustrated, taking the pleasures of the theaters and shows, but always hankering to return to the great city far away.
The neat, even witty, polemical point of the opening book of ciu. is that the refugees have exactly the right attitude:
they need to realign their loyalties and their longings toward a greater city, farther away, and then only will they see the fate of temporal kingdoms in true perspective. ]
EXCERPT ABOVE FROM BOOK REVIEW
Did homeless friend " Emo " witness a child prostitution ring in downtown Providence ( 1998 ) ?
Child prostitutes in downtown Providence ?
My friend " Emo " - being homeless - is very familiar with
the night scene in downtown Providence. He is very suspicious that he
witnessed a young " blond blue-eyed " boys prostitute ring operating
boldly out of the Holiday Inn in downtown Providence, R.I. The time
of this was around midnight, July 26.
The group of " come hither " cuties were on the side of the
hotel facing the Civic Center.
" These kids should be home in bed or under visible adult
supervision ", Emo commented.
A little cynical I thought : " A police sting operation " ?
Trying to catch some vulnerable candidates for high office in
the Ocean State ?
" Emo " wanted to call the police. Next time he will.
I told Emo I will e-mail the Projo about this local scandal.
Mark Patinkin had a write up on poor homeless and brilliant
Emo the Cat Man - who lost his house to City Hall a while back.
Keep his name out of it until I talk to him again.
the night scene in downtown Providence. He is very suspicious that he
witnessed a young " blond blue-eyed " boys prostitute ring operating
boldly out of the Holiday Inn in downtown Providence, R.I. The time
of this was around midnight, July 26.
The group of " come hither " cuties were on the side of the
hotel facing the Civic Center.
" These kids should be home in bed or under visible adult
supervision ", Emo commented.
A little cynical I thought : " A police sting operation " ?
Trying to catch some vulnerable candidates for high office in
the Ocean State ?
" Emo " wanted to call the police. Next time he will.
I told Emo I will e-mail the Projo about this local scandal.
Mark Patinkin had a write up on poor homeless and brilliant
Emo the Cat Man - who lost his house to City Hall a while back.
Keep his name out of it until I talk to him again.
Where is my old homeless friend " Emo " today ? ( Radical Ron 's, 1998 blog entry )
" Emo "- Patinkin column ( June 23, 1998 )
I have known the subject of Mark Patinkin's excellent column
today ( " Mo quotes Robert Frost and rescues cats " -June 23 )
- " Emo " Hovannesian - neighborhood philosopher, rescuer of stray
cats, down and out lost soul eccentric, heir to an imagined Czarist
Russia oil fortune, now pathetic victim of Mayor Cianci's " neighborhood
improvement " --since 1970.
He is a chartered member of Our Gang.
I can assure Providence Journal readers that he is no " fabrication ".
He is our answer to New York's Ratso Rizzo of " Midnight Cowboy "
fame. In fact playing " Emo " would be a perfect role for brilliant
actor Dustin Hoffman, a sure Academy Award Winner !
When THEY are demolishing his humble house at 327 Dexter St., I
want all Rhode Island to hear his plaintive cry : " I'm here! I'm here ! "
I first met Emo at the former " wild-hippie " Armando's Bar in
downtown Providence.He was the friend of another " our gang " friend-
now a math teacher at URI - who now and then -too drunken to go home-
crashed in my bathtub in a squalid rooming house on North Main Street.
Those " welfare blues days " !
" Emo" was the gang's technical advisor on race track gambling. Once
I made a " grandma bet " and won enough money to treat myself to an ice
cream sunday at Lincoln Downs.
He is still one of the few people in Providence with whom I can
discuss IDEAS- and the OLD DAYS.
I hope Mark Patinkin's column will help people to see him as I've
always seen him - a saint without God.
I thank Mark again for finding a great - if rather pathetic story.
The property you are searching for is no longer an active listing.
" Emo " was evicted from 327 Dexter St.
today ( " Mo quotes Robert Frost and rescues cats " -June 23 )
- " Emo " Hovannesian - neighborhood philosopher, rescuer of stray
cats, down and out lost soul eccentric, heir to an imagined Czarist
Russia oil fortune, now pathetic victim of Mayor Cianci's " neighborhood
improvement " --since 1970.
He is a chartered member of Our Gang.
I can assure Providence Journal readers that he is no " fabrication ".
He is our answer to New York's Ratso Rizzo of " Midnight Cowboy "
fame. In fact playing " Emo " would be a perfect role for brilliant
actor Dustin Hoffman, a sure Academy Award Winner !
When THEY are demolishing his humble house at 327 Dexter St., I
want all Rhode Island to hear his plaintive cry : " I'm here! I'm here ! "
I first met Emo at the former " wild-hippie " Armando's Bar in
downtown Providence.He was the friend of another " our gang " friend-
now a math teacher at URI - who now and then -too drunken to go home-
crashed in my bathtub in a squalid rooming house on North Main Street.
Those " welfare blues days " !
" Emo" was the gang's technical advisor on race track gambling. Once
I made a " grandma bet " and won enough money to treat myself to an ice
cream sunday at Lincoln Downs.
He is still one of the few people in Providence with whom I can
discuss IDEAS- and the OLD DAYS.
I hope Mark Patinkin's column will help people to see him as I've
always seen him - a saint without God.
I thank Mark again for finding a great - if rather pathetic story.
The property you are searching for is no longer an active listing.
" Emo " was evicted from 327 Dexter St.
327 DEXTER ST, Providence, RI
$119,900
What others say this house is worth:
$286,790
$243,771 - $329,808
Billionaire LIBERAL sees positive side of nuclear war !
Capital Gazette Keeps Working, And Publishing, After 5 Die In Newsroom Shooting
Headline today :
POLITICS
[ says 'Nuclear war' could provide 'course correction' from Trump presidency, billionaire liberal donor ] THE LIBERAL agenda for the New McCarthyism ?]
POLITICS
[ says 'Nuclear war' could provide 'course correction' from Trump presidency, billionaire liberal donor ] THE LIBERAL agenda for the New McCarthyism ?]
 |
| Tom Steyer Democrat |
Mad billionaire Democrat
The more nasty SOCIALIST IRS : " They're coming to get you, Martha ! "
SEP candidate Niles Niemuth says “the attacks on immigrants are aimed at the entire working class”
“There’s enough for everybody though. There’s so much money, but some people have so much that you couldn’t even spend it in your whole lifetime.”
I keep thinking how easy it should be in the early days of a triumphant socialist revolution to separate the parasite ruling class from their cash flow wealth. For emergency situations it should be so easy to transfer wealth from the various bank accounts of Donald Trump ( now perhaps confined to the top floor of " Trump Towers " ) to-say- my old homeless friend " Emo " in Kennedy Plaza Rhode Island.
" Emo " knows that greed is not good. He just wants to celebrate a very Merry Christmas for a change. And a bonus for ALL getting SNAP benefits.
I hear those frequent IRS commercials on radio ( " They're coming to get you, Martha ! " ) and think that's just what we need : a SOCIALIST IRS . " They can seize your assets ! "
Happy campaigning to Niles Niemuth .
I keep thinking how easy it should be in the early days of a triumphant socialist revolution to separate the parasite ruling class from their cash flow wealth. For emergency situations it should be so easy to transfer wealth from the various bank accounts of Donald Trump ( now perhaps confined to the top floor of " Trump Towers " ) to-say- my old homeless friend " Emo " in Kennedy Plaza Rhode Island.
" Emo " knows that greed is not good. He just wants to celebrate a very Merry Christmas for a change. And a bonus for ALL getting SNAP benefits.
I hear those frequent IRS commercials on radio ( " They're coming to get you, Martha ! " ) and think that's just what we need : a SOCIALIST IRS . " They can seize your assets ! "
Happy campaigning to Niles Niemuth .
Friday, June 29, 2018
Thursday, June 28, 2018
We socialists must build bridges .. civility is not counter-revolutionary
I think the World Socialist Web Site is just speaking with the EXPERIENCE of more than a century of CLASS STRUGGLE war behind it .
More than 100 years ago the American socialist Eugene V. Debs protesting the slaughter of the Great War- the " war to make the world safe for democracy "- in his famous Canton Speech-warned the American workers not to be sucked in by the Democratic Party. In 1917 Wilsonian blather was the ruling class line just as today the " liberal " Democrats ( where is the anti-war voice in this " Party of the People "? ) -are promoting the HATE RUSSIA New McCarthyism.
Presently the American ruling class is DESPERATE for a foreign enemy ( besides cartoon generic " terrorists " ).
You can be sure that CLASS WAR - the only just war, said Debs- is not on THEIR agenda.
Of course, we must not assume that every vocal supporter of the Democrats is a bought and sold enemy of the working class. Revolutionary socialists must build bridges to all groups that would really benefit from " progressive " social change. For example, it is foolish to alienate working class Christians or ANY ethnic group -
or any " identity politics " group with a real grievance and history of discrimination.
Rather than call religious people " stupid " in the manner of the late Christopher Hitchens socialists should just encourage them to take New Testament humanity seriously. And what kind of socialist was New Atheist Christopher Hitchens in the end ?
Today in this crisis of human civilization different views of God and Faith can be put aside until more serene times -when ordinary people will be free to re-examine traditional religious creeds.
WE socialists must build bridges. Civility is not counter-revolutionary. And it would not surprise me if more than a few entrenched privileged class individuals have an " epiphany " about social justice .
Neither Marx nor Engels discovered revolutionary socialism in a London or Berlin slum.
More than 100 years ago the American socialist Eugene V. Debs protesting the slaughter of the Great War- the " war to make the world safe for democracy "- in his famous Canton Speech-warned the American workers not to be sucked in by the Democratic Party. In 1917 Wilsonian blather was the ruling class line just as today the " liberal " Democrats ( where is the anti-war voice in this " Party of the People "? ) -are promoting the HATE RUSSIA New McCarthyism.
Presently the American ruling class is DESPERATE for a foreign enemy ( besides cartoon generic " terrorists " ).
You can be sure that CLASS WAR - the only just war, said Debs- is not on THEIR agenda.
Of course, we must not assume that every vocal supporter of the Democrats is a bought and sold enemy of the working class. Revolutionary socialists must build bridges to all groups that would really benefit from " progressive " social change. For example, it is foolish to alienate working class Christians or ANY ethnic group -
or any " identity politics " group with a real grievance and history of discrimination.
Rather than call religious people " stupid " in the manner of the late Christopher Hitchens socialists should just encourage them to take New Testament humanity seriously. And what kind of socialist was New Atheist Christopher Hitchens in the end ?
Today in this crisis of human civilization different views of God and Faith can be put aside until more serene times -when ordinary people will be free to re-examine traditional religious creeds.
WE socialists must build bridges. Civility is not counter-revolutionary. And it would not surprise me if more than a few entrenched privileged class individuals have an " epiphany " about social justice .
Neither Marx nor Engels discovered revolutionary socialism in a London or Berlin slum.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
But do phlegmatic types make good revolutionaries ?
I am not turned off by " middle class civility " in any case.
Way back in tumultuous 60s the local "Trots " were famous for wearing suits and ties, short hair, speaking and writing standard English, and a drug free life style - at least when running for governor or senator. Yet THEY were the real revolutionaries and they were a key to the success of the anti-war movement.
But back then I was also fond of those talented rebels Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman and talk about " piss and vinegar " , " Revolution for the Hell of It ".- [ " You are talking to a leftist. I believe in the redistribution of wealth and power in the world. I believe in universal hospital care for everyone. I believe that we should not have a single homeless person in the richest country in the world. And I believe that we should not have a CIA that goes around overwhelming governments and assassinating political leaders, working for tight oligarchies around the world to protect the tight oligarchy here at home. "
- [32] ]
- ABBIE HOFFMAN quote
But Lenin was right anyway: " Ultra - Leftism is an Infantile Disease ".
Poor Abbey committed suicide ( so thought William Styron in his book on depression " Darkness Visible " ) and Jerry Rubin sort of sold out.
So many YIPPIES evolved into YUPPIES
.
No " socialist " safe in the Democratic Party- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Discussion on World Socialist Web Site
DSA member Ocasio-Cortez beats incumbent Congressman in New York Democratic Party primary
Local Rhode Island talk radio this morning SHOCKED by the unexpected primary victory of a " socialist - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez . The mainstream news media would have us believe that " socialism " is forever anathema within the United States.
Before the bigshot newsman came on all I heard was " socialist " victory in New York - a devastating blow to the Establishment of the Democratic Party. And that young woman was a disciple of Bernie Sanders !
The bigshot " celebrity " only referred to Alexandria Ocasio -Cortex as a " liberal " and " progressive ". For him " socialist " still bordered on the taboo, the officially " dangerous " and sinister un-respectable.
But no " socialist " survives " as a serious socialist in that snake pit of the Democratic Party. It will reform YOU quicker than YOU will reform this ruling class controlled party.
Whenever I comment elsewhere about the ruling class controlling BOTH the Democratic Party and the Republican Party some anonymous troll invariably asks : " Have you had your meds this morning ? "
Was that not a STALINIST tactic : DISSENT = mental instability ? Is that a " conversation " -a snarky remark "
You will see in the coming election season how the ruling class tries to control the parameters of public debate . To be sure, CAPITALISM will not be up for debate - not even with " socialists " like old Bernie Sanders still around.
The " liberal " Democrats will all agree on the wickedness of Donald Trump and his base of " deplorables ". They might even scorn ordinary " civility " - which never hurts revolutionary socialists.
They won't say STOP WORLD WAR III , cut the military budget . In fact, JUNK THE WAR MACHINE !
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Understanding Melania Trump - a typical American plutocrat
Clothes Talk. And Melania Trump's 'I Really Don't Care' Jacket Spoke Volumes
Melania Trump is not that much different in innate feelings and " way of life " from the rest of the American plutocracy -a tiny minority of very rich Americans who control BOTH the Republican and Democratic Parties, the mainstream news media, and even the " shadow government " of the United States. No, they " really don't care " about the vast majority of exploited and oppressed working class Americans of ALL races and ethnic groups.
But the Establishment plutocrats are embarrassed by Donald Trump because he is the Dorian Gray image of their own souls. And not for nothing Oscar Wilde was a socialist.
But democratic socialists don't believe in smearing anybody -not even President Trump. He is what he is - an arrogant plutocrat . Leave it to God to judge personal, unforgivable " evil " or to the unforged conscience of the human race.
The New McCarthyism IS evil !
But the Establishment plutocrats are embarrassed by Donald Trump because he is the Dorian Gray image of their own souls. And not for nothing Oscar Wilde was a socialist.
But democratic socialists don't believe in smearing anybody -not even President Trump. He is what he is - an arrogant plutocrat . Leave it to God to judge personal, unforgivable " evil " or to the unforged conscience of the human race.
The New McCarthyism IS evil !
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| Add caption |
Who will replace Charles Krauthammer - the Plato of right wing reactionaries ?
"This anti-Russia, anti-Trump campaign, while resonating with sections of the political establishment and the affluent upper-middle class, has left the general population cold . "
Just a FACT ! But where does the mainstream news media report this nearly self-evident truth ? Yes, find working class people with families to support frantic over Vladimir Putin in far away Russia meddling maliciously with OUR " democracy " ?
Just when will the Kafkaesque " Trump- Russia collusion investigation climax ?
Popular anger -pre-revolutionary anger - can never be petty-bourgeois POLITE . But socialists should avoid PERSONAL hatred for the same reason they reject individual acts of " terrorism ".
The root of evil is the capitalist SYSTEM. The egocentric politicians come and go-along with their 5 star intellectual representatives like Charles Krauthammer- who just died . He said America was the only country founded on an IDEA . A right wing Plato for ruling class reactionaries.
Who will replace Mr. Krauthammer - who sat at the right hand of Ronald Reagan ? Consult Harvard University -which mass produces professional enemies of the working class.
Just a FACT ! But where does the mainstream news media report this nearly self-evident truth ? Yes, find working class people with families to support frantic over Vladimir Putin in far away Russia meddling maliciously with OUR " democracy " ?
Just when will the Kafkaesque " Trump- Russia collusion investigation climax ?
Popular anger -pre-revolutionary anger - can never be petty-bourgeois POLITE . But socialists should avoid PERSONAL hatred for the same reason they reject individual acts of " terrorism ".
The root of evil is the capitalist SYSTEM. The egocentric politicians come and go-along with their 5 star intellectual representatives like Charles Krauthammer- who just died . He said America was the only country founded on an IDEA . A right wing Plato for ruling class reactionaries.
Who will replace Mr. Krauthammer - who sat at the right hand of Ronald Reagan ? Consult Harvard University -which mass produces professional enemies of the working class.
Monday, June 25, 2018
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Fwd: Why am I banned from the Brown Daily Herald ?
Date: Sat, Jun 23, 2018 at 10:56 AM
Subject: Why am I banned from the Brown Daily Herald ?
To: letters@browndailyherald.com
Could you please explain why democratic socialist Ron Ruggieri is banned from the Brown Daily Herald ?
None of my past comments were ever REMOVED . Suddenly I am persona non grata here.
I will publish this letter on my blog . If I print my blog address , this communication will be quickly DETECTED AS SPAM.
The great FREE SPEECH tradition in the USA alive and well on the university campuses?