Lenny,
I'm a Yanker, but I'm getting old so maybe that explains the lack of response... ;-)
To be honest, I'm not very proud of being a citizen of the USA OR an English speaking person, given the history of genocide and colonialism associated with each...., but "we've got to deal with the hand that we're dealt"..."so to speak"...
"There's nothing new under the sun"
I used to playfully jest with my father on that one...
I'd say, "What's new?"
He'd say, "nothing, everything's old".
I'd say, "older than most people think, or can think, but you would concede to me that life is a process of constant renewal?"
Let me answer that myself. Life is so old that we can not begin to estimate (accurately or will we ever know or does it matter), but not nearly as old as existence.
However, the way things are progressing on the planet, most of life is approaching that infinite abyss, unless we turn things around and fast, unless we make a conscious worldwide change and commitment to change that has never occurred before in the history of that species that is us...
We must not only recognize that Man is a flash in geological time, but more importantly those precious fossil fuels and other natural resources are so infinitessimally tiny and more importantly than that the use of the great squanderer, the automobile, even smaller.
We in the United States MUST commit to reducing automobile usage by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years and begin implementing such a demand side management and supply side reallocation plan almost immediately, if we are to have any hope, whatsoever, of avoiding the greatest extinction of life, particularly the human sort in the next 50 to 100 years.
Can we do it?
Is there hope?
Help us!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
To Antheus Vincent ("Green Interfaith Alliance")
Antheus Vincent (Who is Gerard Frank?):
Ambitious plans you have to rebuild West Denver. Would like to be involved in any way that I can help. Can't attend your meeting, for I am in Eugene, Oregon (much too far to walk)...
Are you a Denver based group?
Have only been through Denver on a bus, so I can't visualize West Denver (Is it the "black" section of town? "Latino"? I'm guessing that it is poor and distressed. Would that be a correct assumption?).
We need to take control of the Treasury and allocate funds directly for ecological (resources are maximized and retained within neighborhoods) economic community redevelopment. That is what I mean by a socialist paradigm. Right now, the Treasury loans funds to Capitalists who loan to other Capitalists who work together with Landlords and Warlords and Investors and Owners to exploit working and poor people. Profit is the motivation, not needs of the people.
What I mean by plan and implement socialism is that we need to fundamentally change the dominant economic paradigm so that resources can be allocated directly to the people in need, to meet their needs. In Moslem law, all interest on loans is usury. In Capitalist Western Financial Empires, Central Banks and the Banking "Industry" is a big con game to further the competitive advantage of the Capitalist property holders.
Until the basic way that resources are allocated to and within communities is radically and completely changed, I don't see how you/we will be able to fund the type of redevelopment that is needed throughout this country and throughout the world. On a larger view, we also have to change the way that resources are allocated within and among economic sectors, but let that be a subject of another discussion.
I envision walkable communities where automobiles will not be necessary. This is what I call demand side management (we are way past peak in world fossil fuel production capabilities and terribly squandering such on a daily basis, wouldn't it be wise to conserve such precious resources for home heating, cooking, hot water, and electricity?) and would also require supply side reallocation so that the things people need are within walking distance of their quality of life homes.
Equity (meaning ownership and equality) is a key word.
Sustainability without equity will never happen.
Get Van Jones (appointed to CEQ by Obama) and the "Latino" Secretary of Labor to influence Obama and Gaithner and get funds dirctly allocated to (y)our communit(ies).
The USA and their Capitalist allies are on a dead end path and it is way beyond the midnight hour.
I can not over express the urgency of the situation relative to the youth and children of our communities.
I have a relatively brief essay on the concept of "Restructuring Financial Systems" that creates local and inter-community "Peoples' Equity Unions" for which ownership would be shared and redistributed in accordance with the principles that we are all kin and seek and deserve and will enjoy working to bring a quality of life to everyone. Such is a more humane world view than how can I make a profit by offering more and more absurd and irrational economic choices, within a rapidly dwindling natural resource base.
You may want to check out my web log.
Let me know if I can be of assistance.
Peace.
Ambitious plans you have to rebuild West Denver. Would like to be involved in any way that I can help. Can't attend your meeting, for I am in Eugene, Oregon (much too far to walk)...
Are you a Denver based group?
Have only been through Denver on a bus, so I can't visualize West Denver (Is it the "black" section of town? "Latino"? I'm guessing that it is poor and distressed. Would that be a correct assumption?).
We need to take control of the Treasury and allocate funds directly for ecological (resources are maximized and retained within neighborhoods) economic community redevelopment. That is what I mean by a socialist paradigm. Right now, the Treasury loans funds to Capitalists who loan to other Capitalists who work together with Landlords and Warlords and Investors and Owners to exploit working and poor people. Profit is the motivation, not needs of the people.
What I mean by plan and implement socialism is that we need to fundamentally change the dominant economic paradigm so that resources can be allocated directly to the people in need, to meet their needs. In Moslem law, all interest on loans is usury. In Capitalist Western Financial Empires, Central Banks and the Banking "Industry" is a big con game to further the competitive advantage of the Capitalist property holders.
Until the basic way that resources are allocated to and within communities is radically and completely changed, I don't see how you/we will be able to fund the type of redevelopment that is needed throughout this country and throughout the world. On a larger view, we also have to change the way that resources are allocated within and among economic sectors, but let that be a subject of another discussion.
I envision walkable communities where automobiles will not be necessary. This is what I call demand side management (we are way past peak in world fossil fuel production capabilities and terribly squandering such on a daily basis, wouldn't it be wise to conserve such precious resources for home heating, cooking, hot water, and electricity?) and would also require supply side reallocation so that the things people need are within walking distance of their quality of life homes.
Equity (meaning ownership and equality) is a key word.
Sustainability without equity will never happen.
Get Van Jones (appointed to CEQ by Obama) and the "Latino" Secretary of Labor to influence Obama and Gaithner and get funds dirctly allocated to (y)our communit(ies).
The USA and their Capitalist allies are on a dead end path and it is way beyond the midnight hour.
I can not over express the urgency of the situation relative to the youth and children of our communities.
I have a relatively brief essay on the concept of "Restructuring Financial Systems" that creates local and inter-community "Peoples' Equity Unions" for which ownership would be shared and redistributed in accordance with the principles that we are all kin and seek and deserve and will enjoy working to bring a quality of life to everyone. Such is a more humane world view than how can I make a profit by offering more and more absurd and irrational economic choices, within a rapidly dwindling natural resource base.
You may want to check out my web log.
Let me know if I can be of assistance.
Peace.
Intro. to "Green-InterFaith" Discussion Group
I just joined this group and wanted to introduce myself and query current memebers about their activities and ideologies.
I am an Ancient Green, having come of age during the early years of The Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Total Environmental Action, R.A.I.N, and the multitude of other green organizations that flourished in the 70's.
I have read Van Jones' book. I have tremendous respect for his call to inclusion for the envireonmental movement, but must point out that Van's understanding of "green technologies" is naive, as we were in the early days.
The real opportunity for a "green collar economy" is in a comprehensive demand side management plan coupled with a comprehensive supply side reallocation scheme in which we rebuild neighborhoods and reallocate goods and services to those neighborhoods in a "plan and implement" socialist paradigm.
I have given many years of study and thought to the situation and see no alternative other than to fundamentally change the ways in which resources are allocated to and within communities and within and among economic sectors.
I am an Ancient Green, having come of age during the early years of The Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Total Environmental Action, R.A.I.N, and the multitude of other green organizations that flourished in the 70's.
I have read Van Jones' book. I have tremendous respect for his call to inclusion for the envireonmental movement, but must point out that Van's understanding of "green technologies" is naive, as we were in the early days.
The real opportunity for a "green collar economy" is in a comprehensive demand side management plan coupled with a comprehensive supply side reallocation scheme in which we rebuild neighborhoods and reallocate goods and services to those neighborhoods in a "plan and implement" socialist paradigm.
I have given many years of study and thought to the situation and see no alternative other than to fundamentally change the ways in which resources are allocated to and within communities and within and among economic sectors.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
(Yahoo) Organizational Discussion Introduction
Let's make no mistake about it, the future for the youth and children of the world has never looked bleaker.
I make no false promises, hold out no false hopes.
The Peoples' Equity Union concept attempts to be a bright, if infinitessimally small, glimmer of hope in a world that precludes such.
I have dedicated most of my life to the improvement of conditions for the people of the planet and believe that if we do not choose to attempt to lever the fulcrum of change and commit to a fundamental change in the way that people interact (i.e. cooperate not compete) with each other economically using the highest powers of knowledge and reason at our collective resources, then we ALL face certain extinction.
The Peoples Equity Union seeks to be a pivotal "point" of change that will unite all people in a rational, ecological economic planning and implementation organization to revolutionize life on earth. I recognize a finite planet, all of human history and pre-history and place the needs of ALL the children and youth of the planet and future generations as prominent.
If you decide to join the discussion, the attempt to form an ecologically economic democratic local/regional/world organization, and I hope that you will, I ask that you identify yourself by using your real and full name and your location.
It is my hope to endeavor to discuss how local, inter-community, inter-regional, and worldwide organization and redevelopment progress can be achieved.
Please, do not argue to make yourself right and others wrong, although you and they may be just that. Remember the goal is cooperation and as close to selflessness, relative to improvement of the human condition, as one can get.
Thanks.
Keep hope alive!
I make no false promises, hold out no false hopes.
The Peoples' Equity Union concept attempts to be a bright, if infinitessimally small, glimmer of hope in a world that precludes such.
I have dedicated most of my life to the improvement of conditions for the people of the planet and believe that if we do not choose to attempt to lever the fulcrum of change and commit to a fundamental change in the way that people interact (i.e. cooperate not compete) with each other economically using the highest powers of knowledge and reason at our collective resources, then we ALL face certain extinction.
The Peoples Equity Union seeks to be a pivotal "point" of change that will unite all people in a rational, ecological economic planning and implementation organization to revolutionize life on earth. I recognize a finite planet, all of human history and pre-history and place the needs of ALL the children and youth of the planet and future generations as prominent.
If you decide to join the discussion, the attempt to form an ecologically economic democratic local/regional/world organization, and I hope that you will, I ask that you identify yourself by using your real and full name and your location.
It is my hope to endeavor to discuss how local, inter-community, inter-regional, and worldwide organization and redevelopment progress can be achieved.
Please, do not argue to make yourself right and others wrong, although you and they may be just that. Remember the goal is cooperation and as close to selflessness, relative to improvement of the human condition, as one can get.
Thanks.
Keep hope alive!
Let's Organize!!!
Please join me in an attempt to make socialism real.
Join the Yahoo discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peoplesequityunion .
This is a discussion group that aims to realize the eutopian socialism goals of the Peoples' Equity Union , a comprehensive neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional worldwide ecological economic redevelopment organization with the mission of and based on the principles of equity, humanity, inclusion, quality of life, peace and sustainability.
We, as a unified world, need to radically change the ways in which resources are allocated to and within communities and within and amongst economic sectors. Let's discuss how we can accomplish this in a world way past its eleventh hour.
Especially for the youth and children.
Join the Yahoo discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peoplesequityunion .
This is a discussion group that aims to realize the eutopian socialism goals of the Peoples' Equity Union , a comprehensive neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional worldwide ecological economic redevelopment organization with the mission of and based on the principles of equity, humanity, inclusion, quality of life, peace and sustainability.
We, as a unified world, need to radically change the ways in which resources are allocated to and within communities and within and amongst economic sectors. Let's discuss how we can accomplish this in a world way past its eleventh hour.
Especially for the youth and children.
Why are "we" in Afghanistan?
Let me straighten you out as to why "we" are in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is a strategic location for oil and gas pipelines that the US and allies want to build to what is perhaps the last frontier of oil and gas deposits in the more northern "Stans" (Kazhakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, etc.?), all former members of the USSR, for which the Soviet Union has done all the leg and ground work (geological survey) to find such resources.
Since pipelines through and across Iran are relatively out of the question, and Pakistan was/is? considered an ally then pipelines through Afghanistan and lower Pakistan geopolitically seems to be the more feasible route to get those precious resources, to feed the USAs gluttonous appetite, to the Arabian Sea and under "Western" control.
Don't be fooled by any other propaganda. Tell O'Bomber to go "fly al quaeda".
That's the truth of the matter. It is almost amazing (they murdered (medical-industrial complex) my Friend, Karl Davies, a brilliant geo-politicist for spreading the truth widely back in the early days after 9/11) that it is not common knowledge in AmeriKar. Then again, the AmeriKarnageians prefer to remain ignorant and their "leaders" certainly prefer them that way.
Now, they are uncovering "terrorist plots" (in the media), thus rallying the paranoia of the AmeriKarnageian pigs so that they will allocate more of our endless resources to "homeland security", surveillance, "defense" spending, locally opening up more jail cells in Lane County (don't buy it, but if you have access to the Register for the Guard, read the ongoing drama about how the "Prison-Industrial Complex is lobbying a gullible public about dangerous criminals on the street, all with the real intentions of increasing work for pigs with Gestapo mentalities and increasing the number of political prisoners.
Anyway, I thought that you all would like to know.
Afghanistan is a strategic location for oil and gas pipelines that the US and allies want to build to what is perhaps the last frontier of oil and gas deposits in the more northern "Stans" (Kazhakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, etc.?), all former members of the USSR, for which the Soviet Union has done all the leg and ground work (geological survey) to find such resources.
Since pipelines through and across Iran are relatively out of the question, and Pakistan was/is? considered an ally then pipelines through Afghanistan and lower Pakistan geopolitically seems to be the more feasible route to get those precious resources, to feed the USAs gluttonous appetite, to the Arabian Sea and under "Western" control.
Don't be fooled by any other propaganda. Tell O'Bomber to go "fly al quaeda".
That's the truth of the matter. It is almost amazing (they murdered (medical-industrial complex) my Friend, Karl Davies, a brilliant geo-politicist for spreading the truth widely back in the early days after 9/11) that it is not common knowledge in AmeriKar. Then again, the AmeriKarnageians prefer to remain ignorant and their "leaders" certainly prefer them that way.
Now, they are uncovering "terrorist plots" (in the media), thus rallying the paranoia of the AmeriKarnageian pigs so that they will allocate more of our endless resources to "homeland security", surveillance, "defense" spending, locally opening up more jail cells in Lane County (don't buy it, but if you have access to the Register for the Guard, read the ongoing drama about how the "Prison-Industrial Complex is lobbying a gullible public about dangerous criminals on the street, all with the real intentions of increasing work for pigs with Gestapo mentalities and increasing the number of political prisoners.
Anyway, I thought that you all would like to know.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
With Respect to a "Green" Economy
Hi Uyen,
Thanks for writing.
I don't recall where I said that "Green Jobs were Fictitious"
What I probably meant was that within the current economic, political, and technological paradigm/understanding, they are very little more than a false promise. Obama and Clinton are good at that.
You state the key, but I suspect you misunderstand the term that you used, "demand side economics". For example, there is more than ample demand for wind and PV, but the reality is that the supply side of these technologies are a fiction relative to that demand. Solar thermal has a huge potential but will never be realized in the Capitalist economy.
The whole Classical and Neo-classical notion of supply and demand is an almost totally invalid abstraction when used to develop mechanistic and/or econometric models of the so-called "market system". There are so many simplifying assumptions that supply and demand curves prove to be of marginal, if any, use. But, I understand your term demand to be a more generic application of the word.
The key is demand side economics, and supply side reallocation, and I will restate what I wrote in the second essay. We need to abandon the fallacious notions of a Capitalist scam "market economy" and move judiciously to a "plan and implement" socialist economy. You are quite correct when you say that when communities have the resources both to aggregate and bargain relative to their demands (I would substitute needs and wants) then we will be able to successfully implement a green economy based on the principles of equity, humanity, quality of life, inclusion, peace, and sustainability.
Two important points.
1.) Demand side management for fossil fuels and even more odious alternatives (i.e. nuclear) needs to be the priority when talking about energy resources. We need to rebuild communities and reallocate goods and services in a manner that will reduce the use of the automobile by 80% in the next twenty to forty years. If this is a pipe dream, then it is far superior to Obama's 35.5 mpg fantasy, which even if doable, will have little to no positive impact on the magnitude of the problem that we face.
2.) Fundamental change is necessary in the way that we allocate resources to and within communities and within and among economic sectors. Plan and implement. Plan and implement. Plan and implement... We need a worldwide understanding that neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional and worldwide cooperation must become the modus operandi.
I hope this helps to clarify my position.
I am a Eutopian Socialist who has conceived the Peoples' Equity Union, a bright and tiny (or should I write "infinitesimal") glimmer of hope for the youth and children of the planet at a time in history where there really (should I leave room for error?) is exactly none.
Nonetheless, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and although the people of Eugene choose to be completely uncaring of the fate of our progeny, and no significant others have acknowledged that there is real hope in my proposals, I continue to reach out.
It is my hope that I can find renaissance thinking in the environs and that we can "keep hope alive" and begin to grow a movement that would need to be the largest fulcrum of change that the human race has ever experienced.
Let's be sufficiently cynical, and not delusional, and understand that reality from the start.
Thanks for writing.
I don't recall where I said that "Green Jobs were Fictitious"
What I probably meant was that within the current economic, political, and technological paradigm/understanding, they are very little more than a false promise. Obama and Clinton are good at that.
You state the key, but I suspect you misunderstand the term that you used, "demand side economics". For example, there is more than ample demand for wind and PV, but the reality is that the supply side of these technologies are a fiction relative to that demand. Solar thermal has a huge potential but will never be realized in the Capitalist economy.
The whole Classical and Neo-classical notion of supply and demand is an almost totally invalid abstraction when used to develop mechanistic and/or econometric models of the so-called "market system". There are so many simplifying assumptions that supply and demand curves prove to be of marginal, if any, use. But, I understand your term demand to be a more generic application of the word.
The key is demand side economics, and supply side reallocation, and I will restate what I wrote in the second essay. We need to abandon the fallacious notions of a Capitalist scam "market economy" and move judiciously to a "plan and implement" socialist economy. You are quite correct when you say that when communities have the resources both to aggregate and bargain relative to their demands (I would substitute needs and wants) then we will be able to successfully implement a green economy based on the principles of equity, humanity, quality of life, inclusion, peace, and sustainability.
Two important points.
1.) Demand side management for fossil fuels and even more odious alternatives (i.e. nuclear) needs to be the priority when talking about energy resources. We need to rebuild communities and reallocate goods and services in a manner that will reduce the use of the automobile by 80% in the next twenty to forty years. If this is a pipe dream, then it is far superior to Obama's 35.5 mpg fantasy, which even if doable, will have little to no positive impact on the magnitude of the problem that we face.
2.) Fundamental change is necessary in the way that we allocate resources to and within communities and within and among economic sectors. Plan and implement. Plan and implement. Plan and implement... We need a worldwide understanding that neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional and worldwide cooperation must become the modus operandi.
I hope this helps to clarify my position.
I am a Eutopian Socialist who has conceived the Peoples' Equity Union, a bright and tiny (or should I write "infinitesimal") glimmer of hope for the youth and children of the planet at a time in history where there really (should I leave room for error?) is exactly none.
Nonetheless, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and although the people of Eugene choose to be completely uncaring of the fate of our progeny, and no significant others have acknowledged that there is real hope in my proposals, I continue to reach out.
It is my hope that I can find renaissance thinking in the environs and that we can "keep hope alive" and begin to grow a movement that would need to be the largest fulcrum of change that the human race has ever experienced.
Let's be sufficiently cynical, and not delusional, and understand that reality from the start.
Perspective on a Gloomy Day (or is it Future?)
To the Good Folks of the Austin Eco Network:
Austin is a beautiful city, at least the old town and the surrounding hill country, that is...
I lived in Dallas for three years and had the opportunity to visit Austin, more than twenty years ago...
I now, live in Eugene, Oregon but have been invited by this list to participate.
I am a Eutopian Socialist who has conceived the Peoples' Equity Union, a bright and tiny (or should I write "infinitessimal") glimmer of hope for the youth and children of the planet at a time in history where there really (should I leave room for error?) is exactly none.
Nonetheless, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and whereas the people of Eugene choose to be completely uncaring of the fate of our progeny, and no significant others have acknowledged that there is real hope in my proposals, I have decided to post three basic position papers with respect to the protein (most would say "meat", but I am a vegan) of the Peoples' Equity Union.
It is my hope that I can find renaissance thinking in the environs surrounding the U of T and that we can "keep hope alive" and begin to grow a movement that would need to be the largest fulcrum of change that the human race has ever experienced.
Austin is a beautiful city, at least the old town and the surrounding hill country, that is...
I lived in Dallas for three years and had the opportunity to visit Austin, more than twenty years ago...
I now, live in Eugene, Oregon but have been invited by this list to participate.
I am a Eutopian Socialist who has conceived the Peoples' Equity Union, a bright and tiny (or should I write "infinitessimal") glimmer of hope for the youth and children of the planet at a time in history where there really (should I leave room for error?) is exactly none.
Nonetheless, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and whereas the people of Eugene choose to be completely uncaring of the fate of our progeny, and no significant others have acknowledged that there is real hope in my proposals, I have decided to post three basic position papers with respect to the protein (most would say "meat", but I am a vegan) of the Peoples' Equity Union.
It is my hope that I can find renaissance thinking in the environs surrounding the U of T and that we can "keep hope alive" and begin to grow a movement that would need to be the largest fulcrum of change that the human race has ever experienced.
Let's be sufficiently cynical, and not delusional, and understand that reality from the start.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Is Obama Really Any Different than (the) Private BusHitlers and Dick Halliburton?
Subject: Usury: Financial and Other(wise?)
An interesting development going on in the USA related to the Great False Hope, Barracks O'Bomber is the winnowing out of the "grass-roots reform group" ACORN (Action for Community Reform), an (almost?) exclusively "people of color" "community organizing" organization which Capitalists poured a great deal of money to organize "blacks" and "Latinos" (i.e. many of the poor people) to vote for the butler puppet because they were hoodwinked into thinking that he'd be different because of the color of his skin.
I have a comprehensive list of ACORN contacts on my worldwide organizing e-mail list. What I have been noticing is more and more of those e-mail addresses coming back as "undeliverable". Figure it out, the Capitalists elected their Liberal Puppet, now they have no more use for the folks at ACORN. The constituency that swung the election to Clinton O'Bomber are on their own...
As we all are...
Personally, the law took away my right to vote, but I would have held my nose and voted for the "Liberal" Capitalist with the far-fetched hope that he would stop playing the disgusting, cowardly political games that the "Democratic" leadership told him were necessary to win the election. But, of course, once a cowardly puppet, always a cowardly puppet.
Let's see... not out of Iraq immediately, but by the end of 2011, yet the Liar won't even do that, because "he" has moved more troops into Basra where the secured Iraqi oilfields lie for the taking of the gluttonous theivery of the people of Monroe, WMD stands for World Manifest Destiny, too...
The Fascists at the top are so villanous, so buffered, so inhumane, and so ridiculously stupid that they believe that they can achieve a mostly robotic genocide in Afghanistan and Pakistan to secure the area and have Halliburton build piplelines and eventually win control of the more northern "Stans" to drill where the last great pool of untapped oil and gas remains. This devastation, this (unachievable) goal of genocide, so that the automotive drivers can be free to commit the liqidation of their own children as well as every other child on the planet while O'Bomber loans $8 billion to Mercedes and calls it a "national tradition, well worth saving" (nazional tradition it is, if you know your history you know that the "Big 3" and the shipbuilders and the gun manufacturers and the whole logistical support "infrastructure", GREW US out of the Great Depression.
The "gears" are in motion? Does that little puppet have a clue?
O'bomber really must show the true red, white, and blue and start rattling his sabres at a wider enemy, but maybe the genocide and the occupations will suffice, because this is only a "recession" and hell, the Christmas shopping season will be here before you know it. Heil Christ Almighty!!!
Besides, we, in the USA, don't really have the overpopulation problem we had in the 1930's, maybe they should try again for a call to the "Coalition (or is it Oilition?) of the Wlling" and see if the worldwide community wants to be slaughetered Japanese/USA/European style...
This is a call to gluttony! This is a call to all genocidal maniacs of the world!
Perhaps identifying the Private BusHitler culprits is what has got me sent away and injected with Medical/Prison/Military Industrial Capitalist for-profit "pharmaceuticals" and now with an either ridiculously naive and/or totally desensitized soothing of an unachievable National Health Care Plan and a not yet made promise of an African-American/Latino/Gay/Transvestite choice for the Rich Capitalists' Supreme Court. We should all be on the edge of our seats on that one. (Pro-"lifers" to the rescue...) I dare to go beyond calling the "Commander-in Chief", Clinton O'Bomber, and suggest to you that the little puppet is also, like BusHitler and Dick Halliburton, Adolph Hitler in the flesh.
Remember, Lawrence Summers was one of Ronald Reagan's top economic advisors.
Donations to the IMF, anybuddy?
An interesting development going on in the USA related to the Great False Hope, Barracks O'Bomber is the winnowing out of the "grass-roots reform group" ACORN (Action for Community Reform), an (almost?) exclusively "people of color" "community organizing" organization which Capitalists poured a great deal of money to organize "blacks" and "Latinos" (i.e. many of the poor people) to vote for the butler puppet because they were hoodwinked into thinking that he'd be different because of the color of his skin.
I have a comprehensive list of ACORN contacts on my worldwide organizing e-mail list. What I have been noticing is more and more of those e-mail addresses coming back as "undeliverable". Figure it out, the Capitalists elected their Liberal Puppet, now they have no more use for the folks at ACORN. The constituency that swung the election to Clinton O'Bomber are on their own...
As we all are...
Personally, the law took away my right to vote, but I would have held my nose and voted for the "Liberal" Capitalist with the far-fetched hope that he would stop playing the disgusting, cowardly political games that the "Democratic" leadership told him were necessary to win the election. But, of course, once a cowardly puppet, always a cowardly puppet.
Let's see... not out of Iraq immediately, but by the end of 2011, yet the Liar won't even do that, because "he" has moved more troops into Basra where the secured Iraqi oilfields lie for the taking of the gluttonous theivery of the people of Monroe, WMD stands for World Manifest Destiny, too...
The Fascists at the top are so villanous, so buffered, so inhumane, and so ridiculously stupid that they believe that they can achieve a mostly robotic genocide in Afghanistan and Pakistan to secure the area and have Halliburton build piplelines and eventually win control of the more northern "Stans" to drill where the last great pool of untapped oil and gas remains. This devastation, this (unachievable) goal of genocide, so that the automotive drivers can be free to commit the liqidation of their own children as well as every other child on the planet while O'Bomber loans $8 billion to Mercedes and calls it a "national tradition, well worth saving" (nazional tradition it is, if you know your history you know that the "Big 3" and the shipbuilders and the gun manufacturers and the whole logistical support "infrastructure", GREW US out of the Great Depression.
The "gears" are in motion? Does that little puppet have a clue?
O'bomber really must show the true red, white, and blue and start rattling his sabres at a wider enemy, but maybe the genocide and the occupations will suffice, because this is only a "recession" and hell, the Christmas shopping season will be here before you know it. Heil Christ Almighty!!!
Besides, we, in the USA, don't really have the overpopulation problem we had in the 1930's, maybe they should try again for a call to the "Coalition (or is it Oilition?) of the Wlling" and see if the worldwide community wants to be slaughetered Japanese/USA/European style...
This is a call to gluttony! This is a call to all genocidal maniacs of the world!
Perhaps identifying the Private BusHitler culprits is what has got me sent away and injected with Medical/Prison/Military Industrial Capitalist for-profit "pharmaceuticals" and now with an either ridiculously naive and/or totally desensitized soothing of an unachievable National Health Care Plan and a not yet made promise of an African-American/Latino/Gay/Transvestite choice for the Rich Capitalists' Supreme Court. We should all be on the edge of our seats on that one. (Pro-"lifers" to the rescue...) I dare to go beyond calling the "Commander-in Chief", Clinton O'Bomber, and suggest to you that the little puppet is also, like BusHitler and Dick Halliburton, Adolph Hitler in the flesh.
Remember, Lawrence Summers was one of Ronald Reagan's top economic advisors.
Donations to the IMF, anybuddy?
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
(Updated) Restructuring Financial Systems
Restructuring Financial Systems
With respect to the "nature of wealth", I think that the "quality of life" paradigm in lieu of the "standard of living" paradigm needs to be stressed."Quality of life" includes personal happiness for self, family, friends, neighbors, and all others. It includes ownership opportunities for all and everybuddy having the things they need, including health, healthy and loving relations with family, friends, neighbors, and all the people of the world. It includes peace on earth, and it includes a future for all the children of the world.
"Standard of living" implies maximizing the consumption of things.
The current Capitalist dominated system is dysfunctional both from an equity/fairness and economic and natural resource sustainability perspective.
The dominant paradigm in Capitalist financial business operations uses something called the discount rate which assumes that money will be worth less (eventually worthless) in the future, thus creating a necessity to extract profits exceeding a "hurdle" rate leading to unfair and unwise exploitation of both workers and natural resources, and to rampant inflation.
The use of credit is not a good business or personal practice. In business, it should be discouraged because creditors have first claims on net revenues and hold liens on real property and capital assets. For "consumers", the use of credit is unwise because the system is set up to extract profits from interest thus assuring that when consumers use credit that they are losing money relative to inflation. Certainly the current foreclosure crisis in the USA is ample evidence of the inflation and the unfairness and unhealthiness of the mortgage lien process.
Credit Unions and Mutual Insurance companies are in theory attempts to institute non-profit economic democracies for their respective industries. However, because of the need to compete for customers, both of these relatively progressive financial service organization types are forced to play the same game that is basically destructive to individuals, families, communities, and the natural environment. Ideally, credit should only be used as a last resort, much more preferably not at all.
We should replace all aspects of the extant financial system with an Equity Union. In some ways, a mutual insurance company is similar to an equity union. However, because such companies are required to realize profits in order to compete for "policy holders" (really investors), the companies that comprise the portfolios of the mutual insurance firms cannot be not-for-profit, can not be mutual organizations themselves.
In a not-for profit Equity Union financial services system based on principles of mutuality working in concert with ethical, wise, knowledgeable, and intelligent community, inter-community, inter-regional, and worldwide planning there would certainly be an important role for financial service workers.
A major impediment to such an Equity Union would be the competitive advantage of the current financial sector and the fear of the friction of change to those individuals and organizations. Dealing with this sector of "the" economy, it would be more feasible with regards to Capitalist resistance and more humane, to orderly and peacefully transition to an Equity Union, coordinated with ecologically sound economic planning.
I am writing and talking about transitioning slowly, methodically, and with the minimum amount of friction and hardship from a dysfunctional financial system, based on self-interest, to one designed to benefit everybuddy.
At risk of understatement, it will take a huge amount of work to educate folks to the need and benefits of such change and to communicate the basic Plan. Transition Planning will also be a very difficult process, but I see no alternative to the current, impending and worsening global economic, political, social, and natural environmental collapse.
The Peoples' Equity Union concept is designed to be a grass roots, popular choice "movement". I am organizing with individuals, workers, and shopkeepers in my neighborhood, adjoining neighborhoods, and through the inter-net to whomever I can attract an interest in the concept.
The focus is primarily local, yet global at the same time. It is my dream, not a hope yet, to encourage a critical mass of people to organize locally around a unifying mission, unifying principles, unifying strategies, and unifying tactics in order to minimize the amount of executive administration at the regional and global levels.
The theory is that neighborhood locales, the neighborhood community/worker hybrid association will have maximum autonomy and will be guided only, in their inter-community and inter-economic sector relationships by regional Planning Boards and a Global Policy Committee.
We must replace the current equity trading systems, corporate conglomerate corporations, insurance companies, and usurious banking systems of the Capitalist status quo with a worldwide Peoples' Equity Union with branches in every community/neighborhood.
The goal is to be a true economic democracy: of, for, and by the people.
Housing and Property Ownership
Concurrent with financial systems reform, discussed in a previous essay where equity sharing and not-for-profit equity investing would replace the current financial paradigm of for-profit equity investing, equity trading, and usurious credit arrangements, we need to evolve to a different system with respect to residential and other real property occupation arrangements.
In lieu of rent or leases, people should be allowed to acquire equity in their abodes and business properties. For example, in the case of an apartment, if one paid $500 per month to a property management firm, let's say $50 per month would go to property maintenance, and another $40 to administration fees, insurance, etc. This would leave the resident with $410 of accumulated equity added to their account each month. If we had a large cooperative housing organization (preferably world-wide, and preferably the only form of property ownership) then when someone had to move or wanted to move, they could take their equity with them to the new property.With regards to mortgages, they are horribly usurious and should be banned. The scenario related above would also replace the current system of financing "home ownership loans".
A huge problem that we are facing now is the terrible inflation in the market values of real property (and capital assets, for that matter). If we pooled our equity, pooled our assets, and collectively wrote off our liabilities, then we could significantly write down the market values of real and capital assets.
More on Equity Union(s)
In a not-for profit Equity Union financial services system based on principles of mutuality working in concert with ethical, wise, knowledgeable, and intelligent community, inter-community, inter-regional, and worldwide planning would serve the needs of the people.In local and inter-community equity unions, equity sharing would be the modus operandi. People with funds being held in credit unions would have the option of investing in primarily worker owned community betterment projects based on the principles of quality of life, equity (which means ownership, and also means equality), humanity, and sustainability (which means there will be an economy and natural resources for the youth and the children, and for generations to come).
If the inflation spiral can be removed (and the cost of real and capital assets brought back to earth), then indigent and poor workers could hope to increase their equity holdings and quality of life assets and equity investors could hope to get their money back. Some endeavors, beyond poor workers enrichment, would be not-for-profit. That is, profits made beyond a pre-determined return to the poor workers, would be re-invested in more such worker/community betterment hybrid businesses (preferably cooperatives).
Equity investments in community businesses could not be sold to others, but could be bought back at par value (the price of the share of the stock when it was invested). Such would be discouraged, and disallowed if it was a qualified low-income/low wealth equity investor who may or may not if they were allowed to collect (limited) personal dividends.
Equity Union branches in low income/low wealth neighborhoods would be allowed to set up a (501)(c)(3) to receive donations to an equity fund for their neighborhoods, to be kept in a local Community Development Credit Union and the funds allocated (equity grants) by a Board committed to community betterment and the likely success of the endeavor(s).
With respect to the "nature of wealth", I think that the "quality of life" paradigm in lieu of the "standard of living" paradigm needs to be stressed."Quality of life" includes personal happiness for self, family, friends, neighbors, and all others. It includes ownership opportunities for all and everybuddy having the things they need, including health, healthy and loving relations with family, friends, neighbors, and all the people of the world. It includes peace on earth, and it includes a future for all the children of the world.
"Standard of living" implies maximizing the consumption of things.
The current Capitalist dominated system is dysfunctional both from an equity/fairness and economic and natural resource sustainability perspective.
The dominant paradigm in Capitalist financial business operations uses something called the discount rate which assumes that money will be worth less (eventually worthless) in the future, thus creating a necessity to extract profits exceeding a "hurdle" rate leading to unfair and unwise exploitation of both workers and natural resources, and to rampant inflation.
The use of credit is not a good business or personal practice. In business, it should be discouraged because creditors have first claims on net revenues and hold liens on real property and capital assets. For "consumers", the use of credit is unwise because the system is set up to extract profits from interest thus assuring that when consumers use credit that they are losing money relative to inflation. Certainly the current foreclosure crisis in the USA is ample evidence of the inflation and the unfairness and unhealthiness of the mortgage lien process.
Credit Unions and Mutual Insurance companies are in theory attempts to institute non-profit economic democracies for their respective industries. However, because of the need to compete for customers, both of these relatively progressive financial service organization types are forced to play the same game that is basically destructive to individuals, families, communities, and the natural environment. Ideally, credit should only be used as a last resort, much more preferably not at all.
We should replace all aspects of the extant financial system with an Equity Union. In some ways, a mutual insurance company is similar to an equity union. However, because such companies are required to realize profits in order to compete for "policy holders" (really investors), the companies that comprise the portfolios of the mutual insurance firms cannot be not-for-profit, can not be mutual organizations themselves.
In a not-for profit Equity Union financial services system based on principles of mutuality working in concert with ethical, wise, knowledgeable, and intelligent community, inter-community, inter-regional, and worldwide planning there would certainly be an important role for financial service workers.
A major impediment to such an Equity Union would be the competitive advantage of the current financial sector and the fear of the friction of change to those individuals and organizations. Dealing with this sector of "the" economy, it would be more feasible with regards to Capitalist resistance and more humane, to orderly and peacefully transition to an Equity Union, coordinated with ecologically sound economic planning.
I am writing and talking about transitioning slowly, methodically, and with the minimum amount of friction and hardship from a dysfunctional financial system, based on self-interest, to one designed to benefit everybuddy.
At risk of understatement, it will take a huge amount of work to educate folks to the need and benefits of such change and to communicate the basic Plan. Transition Planning will also be a very difficult process, but I see no alternative to the current, impending and worsening global economic, political, social, and natural environmental collapse.
The Peoples' Equity Union concept is designed to be a grass roots, popular choice "movement". I am organizing with individuals, workers, and shopkeepers in my neighborhood, adjoining neighborhoods, and through the inter-net to whomever I can attract an interest in the concept.
The focus is primarily local, yet global at the same time. It is my dream, not a hope yet, to encourage a critical mass of people to organize locally around a unifying mission, unifying principles, unifying strategies, and unifying tactics in order to minimize the amount of executive administration at the regional and global levels.
The theory is that neighborhood locales, the neighborhood community/worker hybrid association will have maximum autonomy and will be guided only, in their inter-community and inter-economic sector relationships by regional Planning Boards and a Global Policy Committee.
We must replace the current equity trading systems, corporate conglomerate corporations, insurance companies, and usurious banking systems of the Capitalist status quo with a worldwide Peoples' Equity Union with branches in every community/neighborhood.
The goal is to be a true economic democracy: of, for, and by the people.
Housing and Property Ownership
Concurrent with financial systems reform, discussed in a previous essay where equity sharing and not-for-profit equity investing would replace the current financial paradigm of for-profit equity investing, equity trading, and usurious credit arrangements, we need to evolve to a different system with respect to residential and other real property occupation arrangements.
In lieu of rent or leases, people should be allowed to acquire equity in their abodes and business properties. For example, in the case of an apartment, if one paid $500 per month to a property management firm, let's say $50 per month would go to property maintenance, and another $40 to administration fees, insurance, etc. This would leave the resident with $410 of accumulated equity added to their account each month. If we had a large cooperative housing organization (preferably world-wide, and preferably the only form of property ownership) then when someone had to move or wanted to move, they could take their equity with them to the new property.With regards to mortgages, they are horribly usurious and should be banned. The scenario related above would also replace the current system of financing "home ownership loans".
A huge problem that we are facing now is the terrible inflation in the market values of real property (and capital assets, for that matter). If we pooled our equity, pooled our assets, and collectively wrote off our liabilities, then we could significantly write down the market values of real and capital assets.
More on Equity Union(s)
In a not-for profit Equity Union financial services system based on principles of mutuality working in concert with ethical, wise, knowledgeable, and intelligent community, inter-community, inter-regional, and worldwide planning would serve the needs of the people.In local and inter-community equity unions, equity sharing would be the modus operandi. People with funds being held in credit unions would have the option of investing in primarily worker owned community betterment projects based on the principles of quality of life, equity (which means ownership, and also means equality), humanity, and sustainability (which means there will be an economy and natural resources for the youth and the children, and for generations to come).
If the inflation spiral can be removed (and the cost of real and capital assets brought back to earth), then indigent and poor workers could hope to increase their equity holdings and quality of life assets and equity investors could hope to get their money back. Some endeavors, beyond poor workers enrichment, would be not-for-profit. That is, profits made beyond a pre-determined return to the poor workers, would be re-invested in more such worker/community betterment hybrid businesses (preferably cooperatives).
Equity investments in community businesses could not be sold to others, but could be bought back at par value (the price of the share of the stock when it was invested). Such would be discouraged, and disallowed if it was a qualified low-income/low wealth equity investor who may or may not if they were allowed to collect (limited) personal dividends.
Equity Union branches in low income/low wealth neighborhoods would be allowed to set up a (501)(c)(3) to receive donations to an equity fund for their neighborhoods, to be kept in a local Community Development Credit Union and the funds allocated (equity grants) by a Board committed to community betterment and the likely success of the endeavor(s).
(Updated) Demand Side Management, Supply Side Reallocation (Jobs, Equity)
Demand Side Management, Neighborhood Redevelopment, and Transportation Planning
I would like to address the supply side scenario for energy production based on assumptions of economic growth requiring an increase in the use of energy.
The trouble with focusing on supply side economics and energy is that they both ignore demand. In relation to economics, the lack of effective demand for the plethora of consumer products will prove to be the downfall of this past generation’s experiment with supply side economics. With respect to energy, we must recognize that demand side management is critical to any possibility of a sustainable future. Liberal economics (laissez faire, the so-called free market) cannot deal with the problem(s). We need a planned economy to effectively retrofit the infrastructure and to rebuild our communities to be walkable, therefore eliminating the terrible daily waste of oil/energy resources for transportation purposes.
I have to differ with rosy scenarios regarding the contribution that photovoltaics can make. I’m not an electrical engineer or an electrician, but it is my understanding that PVs don’t have the oomph (be it voltage, amperage, and/or wattage) to contribute very significantly to the current and recommended increased usage of electricity. Sure, PVs and wind might be able to contribute to lighting applications and a few very high efficiency appliances, but they can not power our transportation, industrial, business, and home heating and air conditioning, hot water, agricultural inputs, refrigeration, drying, and cooking needs.
We could go full throttle to the building of nuclear power plants, but I am highly leery of their toxicity and safety issues. Even if we pursued the path of electrification with the maximization of nuclear power, it will require a tremendous overhaul of our transportation infrastructure, and other applications currently met by oil products, coal, and natural gas.
First of all, nuclear is not a "free market" technology. Government programs paid for most of the resources for development of such. Then, there is the waste issue. Is it not the Federal Government who is going to or proposing to pay for the waste depository at Yucca Mountain (Nevada)? Also, there is the issue of bringing back the so-called Price-Anderson legislation. This was legislation in which the Federal Government provided insurance for nuclear power plants and related operations. No private insurer would underwrite the risks, thus the Feds had to step in.Perhaps a better scenario could be realized if we started very soon with a planned economy that focused first on economic and energy demand side management and also retrofitted infrastructures with respect to very scarce and relatively clean (I view carbon resources, if appropriately used, to be cleaner than nuclear) energy applications.
The potential for solar thermal hot water is immense. Imagine all hot water demanding properties on the planet equipped with such devices. Imagine all the (community/worker owned) jobs involved with the production, installation, and distribution of these units. I list distribution last, because all efforts need to be made to maximize the localization of such production and installation, as well as any other products for which going towards relocalization may be possible (e.g. food).
Passive solar design combined with electronic environmental sensors and controls (also relevant to solar water heating and weatherization projects) qlso can provide many high paying jobs and equity opportunities.
However, priority to upgrading housing and housing ownership conditions for the poor should take precedence over these type of projects.
Relocalization is a fundamental part of the plan (and not just for food). Instead of reversalism, the term that the author Staniford has coined as being emblematic of the relocalization paradigm, let me offer the following "re" words that imply a gradual evolution to a future which incorporates the best of the past, for your consideration, response, and action.
Reformation
Little to no beneficial change will occur without an almost religious change from the paradigm of economic growth and standard of living to one that emphasizes community redevelopment and quality of life. This is an important educational component of an alternative ecological economic plan.
Reorganization
If we can be successful and realize the educational/reform component, the next (concurrent) step is to reorganize to one of cooperative (or at least partially so – we will probably need to compromise on the divide between one dollar/one vote and one person/one vote as the dominant paradigm of economic organization) communitarian local and regional economic entities, at least until the day that we are all nearly equal in terms of ownership of the means and goods of production and distribution. How to assure the transition from inequality is problematic. However, as the entire economic system begins and proceeds to fail, those wealthy seeking to avoid total financial ruin will welcome the opportunity to accept the quality of life paradigm, foregoing their opulent, ostentatious, enslaving, ecocidal, genocidal, and suicidal "standard of living" modus operandi.
Reallocation
We need coordinated regional planning agencies that agree on the fundamental mission of a global ecological economy that have the three basic pillars of equity, humanity, and sustainability. These "planning" agencies would work together and with the local/regional economic entities to determine how resources are allocated to and within communities based on the relocalization paradigm and other governing principles. The vehicle, That I envision here is a Peoples’ Equity Union with "branches" in all communities/neighborhoods.RestructuringMany communities will need to be physically rebuilt to make them liveable and walkable (i.e. new urbanism, retrofitting residential communities built in the oil/automobile age by renovating, building or otherwise appropriately employing community economic and cultural centers making necessities and other important quality of life amenities, available to all within walking distance of their homes Also such a plan should include housing and other built environment improvement and ownership opportunities for all. Included in such a plan would be neighborhood work stations which would aid in the ability of office workers to telecommute in their occupations as we transition from a supply-side nightmare to a sustainable, equitable, and quality of life economy.
Imagine all the jobs!
But jobs are not enough, restructuring equity arrangements and reallocating resources in an equitable, humane, and ecological manner need to be a fundamental part of the plan.
Reduce
Reuse...
*************************************************************
With respect to electric vehicles, my thoughts are that they may be a small part of a longer term solution and probably restricted to rebuilt/walkable urban and suburban neighborhoods for the use of the elderly and/or infirm. The top priority with respect to fossil fuels and other energy resources is demand side management. The chief priority in planning the role of the automobile is to reduce automobile use by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years. We are currently burdened by a terrible oversupply (including owned and overstocked inventories at factories and dealerships) of fuel inefficient and poorly designed internal combustion vehicles. If these vehicles weren't so poorly designed, there could be a significant opportunity to convert a minority of them to hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. But they are very poorly designed. Perhaps the current population of vehicles should be deconstructed and parts reused or recycled. New vehicles should be exclusively, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric, except maybe for long-term transport and work vehicles...
There could be tremendous amounts of work generated by the reconstruction of neighborhoods and the rearrangement (read reallocation) of production, distribution, and communication systems to make them neighborhood friendly. In addition, a great potential for work lies in the field of deconstruction of transportation and related infrastructure adaptation. Parking lots could be torn up and converted to community gardens. Streets (and rail systems) could be torn up and converted to walking and bike paths and others altered to be less wide, restoring the liveability of housing located on these very noisy busy passageways. Parking garages could be torn down and replaced by mixed use developments. Highways could be dedicated mostly to bus travel, long distance transport, and perhaps some, if not many, of them torn down and reclaimed as natural and agricultural land. For automobile usage, it would be optimal to encourage the development of car-sharing cooperatives. All vehicles left in use must be quiet, and all vehicles slower (with the exception of busses, trains, and long range transport). With respect to transport and distribution systems (and production systems) relocalization and neighborhood telecommunications (including teleconferencing facilities) should be the major goal, greatly reducing the need for long-range transport.
Another Iteration of "the Plan"
We need some perspective.
Fossil fuel use is about 150 years old and automotive use about 100 years old. Look how absurdly, the personal automobile dominates our life and is destroying any hope for a future.
We need to deal with more than incremental adjustments from the modern automotive age. If we want to continue the many benefits of precious fossil fuels, the many opportunity costs of those fuels, to personal automobile usage, then we need to set as a goal (here in the USA) and realize it, to reduce the use of the personal automobile by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years.
It is not encouraging, because Obama explicitly stated the other day that the automobile is such an important part of American history and culture and needs to remain so. This is a statement of a myopic politician beholden to special interests.
If you've never lived in the Northeast (USA) where much of the city, town, and village centers were built before the automobile, it may be hard to imagine a future with the greatly reduced automobile use, but it is very possible and absolutely desirable.
The key is the walkable neighborhood. That is, neighborhoods for everybuddy where everyone can get what they need within walking distance of their residence. This will take a major shift in the way that resources are allocated and products distributed to communities. The major over-supply side mall outlets (for those products and services that have utility) could become regional warehouses and older town and village centers, where they exist could be explicitly brought back as outlets for these products. Where the town and village centers do not exist, such as here out West (I'm in Eugene, Oregon), where the mindless assumption of the automobile has led to the mindless, endless residential districts with their equally alienating and squandering strip malls and malls, communities could be rebuilt (think of all the jobs) to provide community centers and outlets.
Of course, this will not happen in the absence of a complete commitment to neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional/worldwide ecological economic resource planning and allocation and redevelopment.This Plan is too bold for American Politicians. This Plan is Socialism. With advances in communications technology, much progress, in the development of community centers, could help greatly increase the amount of tele-commuting that could help people work from and/or near their homes.
The resource allocation issue could be handled with a reformed economic system, an Equity Union, with a "plan and implement" modus operandi for economic operations. Reforming the financial system to take the fundamentally inflationary Capitalist aspect of "discounting the future" (i.e. assuming that money in the future will be worth less) could lead to a system of ecological economical redevelopment where only true growth in wealth would occur and be shared and could occur under the aegis of a mission emphasizing community betterment, peace, equity, humanity, inclusion, quality of life, and sustainability.
Removing the gluttonous oil resource use by the USA and Capitalist automotive oriented allies would slowly rescind the need for the hegemonic occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the world acting in concert would stand much better prospects for peace.
The Ecology of Redevelopment
A big part of my redevelopment plan (aside from the financial systems reform) is the REBUILDING of neighborhoods to make them liveable, and walkable for the necessities of life (that is, assuming a goal of a much less harried pace than today, but also assuming that people will have responsibilities, obligations, and desires). and the relocalization of production of necessities to the maximum extent possible. Such a plan would include a massive education program in retraining workers and training in youth in the building trades and cottage industries of local production. Human resource management would be utilized to try to maximize the match between where the primary contractors/instructors and student/workers lived and the neighborhood building projects. Whether or not we can summon up the "ancient" knowledge associated with local production artisanry, is questionable, but given enough time and the consensual commitment, I think it could possibly be done. Certainly, the over-supply (of those "goods" with utility) and the return to a rational demand brought about by the goal of quality of life in lieu of standard of living could buy us some time to overhaul the educational component.
Communities would be rebuilt to emulate mature ecological systems, in that they maximize the efficiency of energy and resource input into the community so that once resources enter a community, they stay in the community for the maximum amount of time possible. Once all communities are sufficiently rebuilt (a timeline of 20 to 40 years?) under such guidelines, they would evolve to ongoing day-to-day and maintenance communities and the amount of heavy labor required would decrease and the amount of leisure time increase greatly. Again, (day-to-day and maintenance) workers would be employed in, surrounding, and/or as close to their residency as possible and it would be a priority for real and capital assets to be owned by the workers and the community patrons who ideally would be one and the same. The Neighborhood Equity Union would replace credit unions and of course, other forms of financial institutions. Parks and gymnasiums would be an important part of the plan as leisure time increased and the healthy aspects of physical labor decreased.Concurrent with rebuilding, and the reallocation of production and distribution resources, would be efforts to make office, communications, knowledge and intelligence based labor into primarily home and/or neighborhood based vocations. Occasional travel would be necessary and desirable, but quiet bus and train travel and car-sharing cooperatives could be employed to fill this need along with family visit and recreational needs and desires. With respect to the former, extended families would be encouraged to reunite geographically
I would like to address the supply side scenario for energy production based on assumptions of economic growth requiring an increase in the use of energy.
The trouble with focusing on supply side economics and energy is that they both ignore demand. In relation to economics, the lack of effective demand for the plethora of consumer products will prove to be the downfall of this past generation’s experiment with supply side economics. With respect to energy, we must recognize that demand side management is critical to any possibility of a sustainable future. Liberal economics (laissez faire, the so-called free market) cannot deal with the problem(s). We need a planned economy to effectively retrofit the infrastructure and to rebuild our communities to be walkable, therefore eliminating the terrible daily waste of oil/energy resources for transportation purposes.
I have to differ with rosy scenarios regarding the contribution that photovoltaics can make. I’m not an electrical engineer or an electrician, but it is my understanding that PVs don’t have the oomph (be it voltage, amperage, and/or wattage) to contribute very significantly to the current and recommended increased usage of electricity. Sure, PVs and wind might be able to contribute to lighting applications and a few very high efficiency appliances, but they can not power our transportation, industrial, business, and home heating and air conditioning, hot water, agricultural inputs, refrigeration, drying, and cooking needs.
We could go full throttle to the building of nuclear power plants, but I am highly leery of their toxicity and safety issues. Even if we pursued the path of electrification with the maximization of nuclear power, it will require a tremendous overhaul of our transportation infrastructure, and other applications currently met by oil products, coal, and natural gas.
First of all, nuclear is not a "free market" technology. Government programs paid for most of the resources for development of such. Then, there is the waste issue. Is it not the Federal Government who is going to or proposing to pay for the waste depository at Yucca Mountain (Nevada)? Also, there is the issue of bringing back the so-called Price-Anderson legislation. This was legislation in which the Federal Government provided insurance for nuclear power plants and related operations. No private insurer would underwrite the risks, thus the Feds had to step in.Perhaps a better scenario could be realized if we started very soon with a planned economy that focused first on economic and energy demand side management and also retrofitted infrastructures with respect to very scarce and relatively clean (I view carbon resources, if appropriately used, to be cleaner than nuclear) energy applications.
The potential for solar thermal hot water is immense. Imagine all hot water demanding properties on the planet equipped with such devices. Imagine all the (community/worker owned) jobs involved with the production, installation, and distribution of these units. I list distribution last, because all efforts need to be made to maximize the localization of such production and installation, as well as any other products for which going towards relocalization may be possible (e.g. food).
Passive solar design combined with electronic environmental sensors and controls (also relevant to solar water heating and weatherization projects) qlso can provide many high paying jobs and equity opportunities.
However, priority to upgrading housing and housing ownership conditions for the poor should take precedence over these type of projects.
Relocalization is a fundamental part of the plan (and not just for food). Instead of reversalism, the term that the author Staniford has coined as being emblematic of the relocalization paradigm, let me offer the following "re" words that imply a gradual evolution to a future which incorporates the best of the past, for your consideration, response, and action.
Reformation
Little to no beneficial change will occur without an almost religious change from the paradigm of economic growth and standard of living to one that emphasizes community redevelopment and quality of life. This is an important educational component of an alternative ecological economic plan.
Reorganization
If we can be successful and realize the educational/reform component, the next (concurrent) step is to reorganize to one of cooperative (or at least partially so – we will probably need to compromise on the divide between one dollar/one vote and one person/one vote as the dominant paradigm of economic organization) communitarian local and regional economic entities, at least until the day that we are all nearly equal in terms of ownership of the means and goods of production and distribution. How to assure the transition from inequality is problematic. However, as the entire economic system begins and proceeds to fail, those wealthy seeking to avoid total financial ruin will welcome the opportunity to accept the quality of life paradigm, foregoing their opulent, ostentatious, enslaving, ecocidal, genocidal, and suicidal "standard of living" modus operandi.
Reallocation
We need coordinated regional planning agencies that agree on the fundamental mission of a global ecological economy that have the three basic pillars of equity, humanity, and sustainability. These "planning" agencies would work together and with the local/regional economic entities to determine how resources are allocated to and within communities based on the relocalization paradigm and other governing principles. The vehicle, That I envision here is a Peoples’ Equity Union with "branches" in all communities/neighborhoods.RestructuringMany communities will need to be physically rebuilt to make them liveable and walkable (i.e. new urbanism, retrofitting residential communities built in the oil/automobile age by renovating, building or otherwise appropriately employing community economic and cultural centers making necessities and other important quality of life amenities, available to all within walking distance of their homes Also such a plan should include housing and other built environment improvement and ownership opportunities for all. Included in such a plan would be neighborhood work stations which would aid in the ability of office workers to telecommute in their occupations as we transition from a supply-side nightmare to a sustainable, equitable, and quality of life economy.
Imagine all the jobs!
But jobs are not enough, restructuring equity arrangements and reallocating resources in an equitable, humane, and ecological manner need to be a fundamental part of the plan.
Reduce
Reuse...
*************************************************************
With respect to electric vehicles, my thoughts are that they may be a small part of a longer term solution and probably restricted to rebuilt/walkable urban and suburban neighborhoods for the use of the elderly and/or infirm. The top priority with respect to fossil fuels and other energy resources is demand side management. The chief priority in planning the role of the automobile is to reduce automobile use by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years. We are currently burdened by a terrible oversupply (including owned and overstocked inventories at factories and dealerships) of fuel inefficient and poorly designed internal combustion vehicles. If these vehicles weren't so poorly designed, there could be a significant opportunity to convert a minority of them to hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. But they are very poorly designed. Perhaps the current population of vehicles should be deconstructed and parts reused or recycled. New vehicles should be exclusively, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric, except maybe for long-term transport and work vehicles...
There could be tremendous amounts of work generated by the reconstruction of neighborhoods and the rearrangement (read reallocation) of production, distribution, and communication systems to make them neighborhood friendly. In addition, a great potential for work lies in the field of deconstruction of transportation and related infrastructure adaptation. Parking lots could be torn up and converted to community gardens. Streets (and rail systems) could be torn up and converted to walking and bike paths and others altered to be less wide, restoring the liveability of housing located on these very noisy busy passageways. Parking garages could be torn down and replaced by mixed use developments. Highways could be dedicated mostly to bus travel, long distance transport, and perhaps some, if not many, of them torn down and reclaimed as natural and agricultural land. For automobile usage, it would be optimal to encourage the development of car-sharing cooperatives. All vehicles left in use must be quiet, and all vehicles slower (with the exception of busses, trains, and long range transport). With respect to transport and distribution systems (and production systems) relocalization and neighborhood telecommunications (including teleconferencing facilities) should be the major goal, greatly reducing the need for long-range transport.
Another Iteration of "the Plan"
We need some perspective.
Fossil fuel use is about 150 years old and automotive use about 100 years old. Look how absurdly, the personal automobile dominates our life and is destroying any hope for a future.
We need to deal with more than incremental adjustments from the modern automotive age. If we want to continue the many benefits of precious fossil fuels, the many opportunity costs of those fuels, to personal automobile usage, then we need to set as a goal (here in the USA) and realize it, to reduce the use of the personal automobile by 80% in the next 20 to 40 years.
It is not encouraging, because Obama explicitly stated the other day that the automobile is such an important part of American history and culture and needs to remain so. This is a statement of a myopic politician beholden to special interests.
If you've never lived in the Northeast (USA) where much of the city, town, and village centers were built before the automobile, it may be hard to imagine a future with the greatly reduced automobile use, but it is very possible and absolutely desirable.
The key is the walkable neighborhood. That is, neighborhoods for everybuddy where everyone can get what they need within walking distance of their residence. This will take a major shift in the way that resources are allocated and products distributed to communities. The major over-supply side mall outlets (for those products and services that have utility) could become regional warehouses and older town and village centers, where they exist could be explicitly brought back as outlets for these products. Where the town and village centers do not exist, such as here out West (I'm in Eugene, Oregon), where the mindless assumption of the automobile has led to the mindless, endless residential districts with their equally alienating and squandering strip malls and malls, communities could be rebuilt (think of all the jobs) to provide community centers and outlets.
Of course, this will not happen in the absence of a complete commitment to neighborhood/inter-community/inter-regional/worldwide ecological economic resource planning and allocation and redevelopment.This Plan is too bold for American Politicians. This Plan is Socialism. With advances in communications technology, much progress, in the development of community centers, could help greatly increase the amount of tele-commuting that could help people work from and/or near their homes.
The resource allocation issue could be handled with a reformed economic system, an Equity Union, with a "plan and implement" modus operandi for economic operations. Reforming the financial system to take the fundamentally inflationary Capitalist aspect of "discounting the future" (i.e. assuming that money in the future will be worth less) could lead to a system of ecological economical redevelopment where only true growth in wealth would occur and be shared and could occur under the aegis of a mission emphasizing community betterment, peace, equity, humanity, inclusion, quality of life, and sustainability.
Removing the gluttonous oil resource use by the USA and Capitalist automotive oriented allies would slowly rescind the need for the hegemonic occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the world acting in concert would stand much better prospects for peace.
The Ecology of Redevelopment
A big part of my redevelopment plan (aside from the financial systems reform) is the REBUILDING of neighborhoods to make them liveable, and walkable for the necessities of life (that is, assuming a goal of a much less harried pace than today, but also assuming that people will have responsibilities, obligations, and desires). and the relocalization of production of necessities to the maximum extent possible. Such a plan would include a massive education program in retraining workers and training in youth in the building trades and cottage industries of local production. Human resource management would be utilized to try to maximize the match between where the primary contractors/instructors and student/workers lived and the neighborhood building projects. Whether or not we can summon up the "ancient" knowledge associated with local production artisanry, is questionable, but given enough time and the consensual commitment, I think it could possibly be done. Certainly, the over-supply (of those "goods" with utility) and the return to a rational demand brought about by the goal of quality of life in lieu of standard of living could buy us some time to overhaul the educational component.
Communities would be rebuilt to emulate mature ecological systems, in that they maximize the efficiency of energy and resource input into the community so that once resources enter a community, they stay in the community for the maximum amount of time possible. Once all communities are sufficiently rebuilt (a timeline of 20 to 40 years?) under such guidelines, they would evolve to ongoing day-to-day and maintenance communities and the amount of heavy labor required would decrease and the amount of leisure time increase greatly. Again, (day-to-day and maintenance) workers would be employed in, surrounding, and/or as close to their residency as possible and it would be a priority for real and capital assets to be owned by the workers and the community patrons who ideally would be one and the same. The Neighborhood Equity Union would replace credit unions and of course, other forms of financial institutions. Parks and gymnasiums would be an important part of the plan as leisure time increased and the healthy aspects of physical labor decreased.Concurrent with rebuilding, and the reallocation of production and distribution resources, would be efforts to make office, communications, knowledge and intelligence based labor into primarily home and/or neighborhood based vocations. Occasional travel would be necessary and desirable, but quiet bus and train travel and car-sharing cooperatives could be employed to fill this need along with family visit and recreational needs and desires. With respect to the former, extended families would be encouraged to reunite geographically
(Updated) Agriculture and Food Issues
Hi Folks,
Since being the catalyst and one of the principal organizers of a four day conference, "Towards Self-Sufficiency", on local, regional and world food issues in 1976 (in the Amherst, MA area), I have had an interest in what you are now calling "food security".
I expand the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to the idea of regional/local community/worker hybrid cooperatives or at very least cooperating independent businesses. We need to vertically and horizontally integrate all down the line and across business sectors, with respect to growing, distribution, recycling organic wastes and educating about the need and benefits of relocalization, including equity and humanity with respect to workers and humanity with respect to animals, and responsibility with respect to the environment, with respect to eating healthily, and with respect to minimizing packaging. We also need to diversify risks relative to other necessities and our overall plans to rebuild our neighborhoods to make them walkable.
If we can't get direct cooperation and friendly participation from Capitalists who can be arrogant, self-serving, and dishonest about their historic and their perception and presumption of continuing "competitive advantage", then we surely need to be aware just how severe the competition will be, and we all better pull together with great solidarity, one way or another.
With regards to rice, are you aware that by flooding and farming wetlands to grow rice, we destroy the areas where FISH, birds and other critters spawn and sometimes make their home? Food for thought (pun intended)!
Also think about the use of planting/harvesting greasy machinery or defecating beasts and the use of any sort of fertilizer and competitive species control, be it non-organic or mythically organic, and their effects on the wetlands and associated riparian and ocean environments.
If you're one of these "back to human power" warners or advocates, think about just how hard that labor is/would be...
I suggest that we advocate the ingestion of "dryland" grasses (e.g. wheat, corn, rye), excluding alcohol products, minimizing processing, and packaging, and IF we make all the other necessary demand side management and transition away from tobacco and alcohol and corn syrup beverages, and we radically reduce the amount of land dedicated to meat production, and radically reform said industry, THEN we should consider the use of biofuels as a small part of our supply side energy program.
Community Supported Agriculture
I am really, for the most part, borrowing the name Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (or maybe I'm lifting it).
Maybe it would be better to come up with a new name like, Locally and Regionally and Inter-regionally Community Supported Agriculture (LARIRCSA) ;-) .
"Conventional" CSAs are well intentioned in that they strive to have community members share the risks associated with farming with the farmers. Fair enough, and my plan shares that objective. However, the problem with CSAs and buying your food by the pound is that early in the season, you'd probably get more strawberries than you can eat (unless you have the luxury time and resources to make jam), there are varieties of tomatoes so those can be stretched out over at least part of the growing season, but most crops tend to come to fruition in relative batches, so the variety in food boxes probably is not optimal. I'm not a farmer, and have limited experience with gardening, so correct me if I'm wrong.
Secondly, mixed cropping implies more labor-intensive farming, really extended gardening. While such a system would be much more healthy from many perspectives, it would be difficult for farmers employing such methods to compete with conventional farms.
Third, there are distribution issues. Who is responsible for getting the food box from the farmer to the "member"? It would be uneconomical for the farmer(s) to be responsible for the distribution, and it defeats the purpose of demand-side management relative to "consumer" activity to have the members drive all the way to the farm. Now, if members live in close proximity, then this would not be a concern.
Fourth, in places like Oregon, and even more northern climes, the harvest season is very short. It, like the growing season can be extended slightly, perhaps, by building hot houses, but only slightly.
Fifth, the extra planning involved would probably be too cumbersome for farmers.
I envision, and it may be happening (I don't know), farmers within regions and from different regions forming unions to gain control over the distribution of their products, working with cooperating truckers, warehouse handlers and associated cooperating retail outlets (perhaps incorporating pre-order systems (wouldn't electronic systems be helpful)), in a system of community/worker hybrid cooperative associations.
Similarly, relationships could be built relative to the recycling of organic wastes (of course, the objective would be to minimize such, as it would be to minimize packaging).
Now, the issue of seasonal farm workers needs to be dealt with. Migrant farm working should be eliminated. Seasonal workers need to be accommodated to their needs during the off-seasons, so that they can have the quality of life of a sedentary community. Again, I don't know the status of such a proposal. Maybe it is already happening... Certainly, a year-round living wage, equity inclusion, and educational programs so that the young can assume more progressively responsible and more highly compensated roles in the food system will need to occur.
Since being the catalyst and one of the principal organizers of a four day conference, "Towards Self-Sufficiency", on local, regional and world food issues in 1976 (in the Amherst, MA area), I have had an interest in what you are now calling "food security".
I expand the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to the idea of regional/local community/worker hybrid cooperatives or at very least cooperating independent businesses. We need to vertically and horizontally integrate all down the line and across business sectors, with respect to growing, distribution, recycling organic wastes and educating about the need and benefits of relocalization, including equity and humanity with respect to workers and humanity with respect to animals, and responsibility with respect to the environment, with respect to eating healthily, and with respect to minimizing packaging. We also need to diversify risks relative to other necessities and our overall plans to rebuild our neighborhoods to make them walkable.
If we can't get direct cooperation and friendly participation from Capitalists who can be arrogant, self-serving, and dishonest about their historic and their perception and presumption of continuing "competitive advantage", then we surely need to be aware just how severe the competition will be, and we all better pull together with great solidarity, one way or another.
With regards to rice, are you aware that by flooding and farming wetlands to grow rice, we destroy the areas where FISH, birds and other critters spawn and sometimes make their home? Food for thought (pun intended)!
Also think about the use of planting/harvesting greasy machinery or defecating beasts and the use of any sort of fertilizer and competitive species control, be it non-organic or mythically organic, and their effects on the wetlands and associated riparian and ocean environments.
If you're one of these "back to human power" warners or advocates, think about just how hard that labor is/would be...
I suggest that we advocate the ingestion of "dryland" grasses (e.g. wheat, corn, rye), excluding alcohol products, minimizing processing, and packaging, and IF we make all the other necessary demand side management and transition away from tobacco and alcohol and corn syrup beverages, and we radically reduce the amount of land dedicated to meat production, and radically reform said industry, THEN we should consider the use of biofuels as a small part of our supply side energy program.
Community Supported Agriculture
I am really, for the most part, borrowing the name Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (or maybe I'm lifting it).
Maybe it would be better to come up with a new name like, Locally and Regionally and Inter-regionally Community Supported Agriculture (LARIRCSA) ;-) .
"Conventional" CSAs are well intentioned in that they strive to have community members share the risks associated with farming with the farmers. Fair enough, and my plan shares that objective. However, the problem with CSAs and buying your food by the pound is that early in the season, you'd probably get more strawberries than you can eat (unless you have the luxury time and resources to make jam), there are varieties of tomatoes so those can be stretched out over at least part of the growing season, but most crops tend to come to fruition in relative batches, so the variety in food boxes probably is not optimal. I'm not a farmer, and have limited experience with gardening, so correct me if I'm wrong.
Secondly, mixed cropping implies more labor-intensive farming, really extended gardening. While such a system would be much more healthy from many perspectives, it would be difficult for farmers employing such methods to compete with conventional farms.
Third, there are distribution issues. Who is responsible for getting the food box from the farmer to the "member"? It would be uneconomical for the farmer(s) to be responsible for the distribution, and it defeats the purpose of demand-side management relative to "consumer" activity to have the members drive all the way to the farm. Now, if members live in close proximity, then this would not be a concern.
Fourth, in places like Oregon, and even more northern climes, the harvest season is very short. It, like the growing season can be extended slightly, perhaps, by building hot houses, but only slightly.
Fifth, the extra planning involved would probably be too cumbersome for farmers.
I envision, and it may be happening (I don't know), farmers within regions and from different regions forming unions to gain control over the distribution of their products, working with cooperating truckers, warehouse handlers and associated cooperating retail outlets (perhaps incorporating pre-order systems (wouldn't electronic systems be helpful)), in a system of community/worker hybrid cooperative associations.
Similarly, relationships could be built relative to the recycling of organic wastes (of course, the objective would be to minimize such, as it would be to minimize packaging).
Now, the issue of seasonal farm workers needs to be dealt with. Migrant farm working should be eliminated. Seasonal workers need to be accommodated to their needs during the off-seasons, so that they can have the quality of life of a sedentary community. Again, I don't know the status of such a proposal. Maybe it is already happening... Certainly, a year-round living wage, equity inclusion, and educational programs so that the young can assume more progressively responsible and more highly compensated roles in the food system will need to occur.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Action for Community Reform Now
An interesting development going on in the USA related to the Great False Hope, Barracks O'Bomber is the winnowing out of the "grass-roots reform group" ACORN (Action for Community Reform), an (almost?) exclusively "people of color" "community organizing" organization which Capitalists poured a great deal of money to organize "blacks" and "Latinos" (i.e. many of the poor people) to vote for the butler puppet because they were hoodwinked into thinking that he'd be different because of the color of his skin.
I have a comprehensive list of ACORN contacts on my worldwide organizing e-mail list. What I have been noticing is more and more of those e-mail addresses coming back as "undeliverable". Figure it out, the Capitalists elected their Liberal Puppet, now they have no more use for the folks at ACORN. The constituency that swung the election to Clinton O'Bomber are on their own...
Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
I have a comprehensive list of ACORN contacts on my worldwide organizing e-mail list. What I have been noticing is more and more of those e-mail addresses coming back as "undeliverable". Figure it out, the Capitalists elected their Liberal Puppet, now they have no more use for the folks at ACORN. The constituency that swung the election to Clinton O'Bomber are on their own...
Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Monday, May 4, 2009
Automobiles and Fossil Fuels in Perspective
Spoke at an Environmental "Racism" Conference about a week ago.
Suggested that the inter-net is too diffuse (i.e. entropic) and too elitist.
I hate to use the word "class" because it is such an over-simplification of reality, but other than the genocidal history of the Colonialists, the issue is that environmentalists tend to be too bourgeois or aristocratic to understand and/or care about the plight of other humans and only give inexperienced and/or unknowledgeable pronouncements with respect to the environment.
I am making no such elitist assertion about the writer that I am responding to, but I am making the case for the ineffectual diffusion that has occurred in the "Transition Movement", on the Transition websites and within our communities.
If creedence be given to the writings of a leader, and assistance to recognize commitments and realize fruitful change then the previous writer would not have used such a sloppy word as "bridge".
I'm not saying that bridges are not useful utilities. They are. But there are far too many of them and the "flash-in-the-pan" age of the automobile and the dismal future that one needs to project from the terrible lack of wisdom of the denizens of the 20th century, horribly aggravated by The National Highway Act of 1950, continued thereafter, and still touted by ridiculously ignorant politicians is draining within a handful of generations a precious billion year old resource (fossil fuels) towards a certain, if not cataclysmic, extinction of the human (and other) species.
I'm a Work kin for peace and cooperation.
With much love and care,
Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Suggested that the inter-net is too diffuse (i.e. entropic) and too elitist.
I hate to use the word "class" because it is such an over-simplification of reality, but other than the genocidal history of the Colonialists, the issue is that environmentalists tend to be too bourgeois or aristocratic to understand and/or care about the plight of other humans and only give inexperienced and/or unknowledgeable pronouncements with respect to the environment.
I am making no such elitist assertion about the writer that I am responding to, but I am making the case for the ineffectual diffusion that has occurred in the "Transition Movement", on the Transition websites and within our communities.
If creedence be given to the writings of a leader, and assistance to recognize commitments and realize fruitful change then the previous writer would not have used such a sloppy word as "bridge".
I'm not saying that bridges are not useful utilities. They are. But there are far too many of them and the "flash-in-the-pan" age of the automobile and the dismal future that one needs to project from the terrible lack of wisdom of the denizens of the 20th century, horribly aggravated by The National Highway Act of 1950, continued thereafter, and still touted by ridiculously ignorant politicians is draining within a handful of generations a precious billion year old resource (fossil fuels) towards a certain, if not cataclysmic, extinction of the human (and other) species.
I'm a Work kin for peace and cooperation.
With much love and care,
Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
