"When we remember that we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." Twain / "I write to keep from going mad from the contradictions I find among mankind - and to work some of these contradictions out for myself." Montaigne / "I write because I have found no other means of getting rid of my thoughts." Nietzsche / "Writing is an integral part of the process of understanding." Arendt / "Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers." Asimov.
All this tariff talk is provoking a recession, which seems to be a feature, not a bug. As the economy falls, companies go bankrupt and are cheap to take over by the wealthy. The very rich will be able to take advantage of desperate times to buy businesses and property, and then are even further ahead when (or if) the economy rebounds. More power. More control. More stuff. The suffering of the citizens is not a concern. At all.
This entire scheme was kick-started back in 1971 by the Powell Memorandum. Chomsky and Chris Hedges have been talking about this forever. And, of course, Ralph Nader. It's the precursor to disaster capitalism. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell wrote a memo attacking "extremists" like Nader who was doing things like trying to get cars to add seatbelts to improve traffic safety. The Memorandum is a push to allow unfettered capitalism without any regulations because, as far as Powell was concerned, businessmen really own the country. They pushed for more business involvement in colleges and universities way back then.
A couple days ago, Senator Chris Murphy clearly outlined the corruption in the White House. It's all out in the open BECAUSE THEY CAN. Like in Russia, few in positions of power dare call them on it.
"Trump and Elon Muck and their billionaire friends have engaged in a stunning rampage of open public corruption. It's not fundamentally different than what happened in Russia. These are efforts to steal from the American people to enrich themselves, and their strategy is to do it all out in the open. ...
There are tons of explanations for it. Here's a roundup of a few perspectives that helped me wrap my head around it all.
Last January, British journalist George Monbiot predicted this possibility as a result of the American culture:
"People with a strong set of intrinsic values are inclined towards empathy, intimacy and self-acceptance. They tend to be open to challenge and change, interested in universal rights and equality, and protective of other people and the living world. People at the extrinsic end of the spectrum are more attracted to prestige, status, image, fame, power and wealth. They are strongly motivated by the prospect of individual reward and praise. They are more likey to objectify and exploit other people, to behave rudely and aggressively and to dismiss social and environmental impacts. They have little interest in cooperation or community. People with a strong set of extrinsic values are more likely to suffer from frustration , dissatisfaction, stress, anxiety, anger and compulsive behaviour.
"After we analyzed the decision-making processes before, during, and after the closure of Minden ER, our team audited teh audited financial statements of every hospital in Ontario. . . . For FY22, 25% of Ontario hospitals posted a deficit . . . For FY23, 75% of Ontario Hospitals posted a deficit. . . . Their average deficit was $5.9 million. . . . One healthcare system -- Mackenzie Health [in Richmond Hill] -- posted a $93 million surplus. . . .
George Monbiot has a compelling theory to explain what makes people believe conspiracies.
"Those who believe unevidenced stories about hidden cabals and secret machinations tend to display no interest in well-documented stories about hidden cabals and secret machinations. Why might this be? Why, when there are so many real conspiracies to worry about, do people feel the need to invent and believe fake ones? These questions become especially pressing in our age of extreme political dysfunction. This dysfunction results, I believe, in large part from a kind of meta-deception, called neoliberalism. The spread and development of this ideology was quietly funded by some of the richest people on Earth. Their campaign of persuasion was so successful that this ideology now dominates political life. It has delivered the privatisation of public services; the degradation of public health and education; rising inequality; rampant child poverty; offshoring and the erosion of the tax base; the 2008 financial crash; the rise of modern-day demagogues; our ecological and environmental emergencies.
But every time we start to grasp what is happening and why, somehow this understanding is derailed. One of the causes of the derailment is the diversion of public concern and anger towards groundless conspiracy fictions, distracting us and confusing us about the reasons for our dysfunctions. It’s intensely frustrating."
He spoke to one conspiracy theorist, Jason Liosatos, who called Covid a fraud and "called doctors promoting Covid vaccines 'Mengele medics'." Yet Monbiot aligned with him in some ways:
Last week David Moscrop wrote an excellent piece in The Walrus about Loblaw.
He wrote,
"If you live in Canada, you're probably part of the Loblaw ecosystem, whether you like it or not. . . . It accounts for nearly a third of Canada's grocery market. . . . Loblaw's sensational fourth-quarter results--$14.53 billion in revenue and $541 million in profit--suggest the mission is going well. . . . President Galen Weston Jr. was hauled before a parliamentary committee, which grilled him over soaring food prices. . . . Grocers in Canada have recently enjoyed not just higher profits but higher profit margins--a practice one might call profiteering. Retailers keep charging more, in other words, not just because of increased industry costs but because there isn't enough competition to stop them. . . . Another wave of outrage from customers and experts forced health insurer Manulife to walk back a deal to cover certain prescription drugs exclusively at Loblaw-owned pharmacies--an arrangement that would have deepened Loblaw's reach into Canadian lives, a presence already bordering on the imperial. . . . As Shoppers Drug Mart expanded into health services, critics warned it might be pressured into putting profits first and care second by cutting corners, rushing patients, and pushing unnecessary treatments. And right on target, Shoppers was recently accused of unethical billing practices in its MedsCheck consultation program.
"Sooner or later we're going to have to face the reality that conservatism and capitalism are killing us. It's not a debate. It's a fact. It's literally happening right now in front of our eyes. If you can't see it, you either don't understand it, or you are intentionally lying to yourself. It seems that we would rather all die than face this terrible inconvenient truth."
That provoked environmentalist Stephen Barlow to respond at length:
"We're in a dire climate and ecological emergency, which is going to lead to the collapse of our civilization unless we urgently change direction, and hardly anyone realizes the seriousness. It is now being framed by those committed to business as usual (BaU), as if climate activists are overreacting, catastrophizing.
No, the situation is far worse and far more dire than most could imagine, as
Peter Kalmus has been trying to point out. We find ourselves in a dire situation. Yet only a small proportion of people really understand how dire the situation really is, and most are in some level of denial. How, do you discuss this situation, when most people, to some degree, are in some form of active denial?
They highlight that the risk of long term symptoms is cumulative, increasing with the number of Covid infections. By three or more infections, 38% of people - more than a third of people - report long term symptoms. They also report that "Black Canadians were most likely to report multiple infections." About half of people with Long Covid report they haven't had any improvement in symptoms over time. Among people working or in school, 20% had to miss work or school, absent an average of five weeks. Almost half the people reported difficulties accessing healthcare services. 11% of people - one in nine - report having Long Covid, and most of them have been sick for over six months so far.
Getting the newest vaccine will help keep you out of the hospital and somewhat prevents Long Covid, but the best thing people can do now is to wear a well-fitting N95 whenever they're inside a public place (hospitals, schools, busses, etc.).
Seriously, do everything you possibly can to avoid getting infected over and over!!
The neoliberal governments are taking advantage of this crisis to privatize the shit out of healthcare. A recent NY Times video explains that, in the UK, the destruction of the NHS started with Thatcher. Our version of that was Mulroney, but Doug Ford had gone to town with the plan: "We're at risk of abandoning the idea of universal healthcare itself, and, if we do, we'll all lose the world's most famous example of an ideal: that healthcare is a human right and a public responsibility."
ETA: Dr. Mona Nemer, Chief Science Advisor to the Government of Canada posted that Stats Can data too. Her comment:
"Even mild cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection are at risk of becoming Long Covid and these results suggest the threat increases with multiple infections. Overcoming it once doesn't necessarily protect you from subsequent cases that are worse. Best to avoid it altogether. These results are corroborated by scientific studies, including this one by Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly and team."
ETA: This perfect line from British MP Florence Eschalomi:
"Freedom in death is only possible if you have freedom in life."
In March 2024, Canadians with mental health problems who haven't found significant relief from their condition will be able to get Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).
"We no longer lock people up in asylums; instead, we give them less than they need to survive, and they end up living in tents that randomly get bulldozed into the trash by government officials. We're back to the pre-asylum days where people who couldn't work because of a mental health condition have to resort to begging in the streets. In just a few months, they'll be eligible for MAiD."
Of course this is not to suggest that all homeless have a mental illness, but that many people with a mental health condition end up homeless because of a lack of supports.
"In the database, the underlying cause of death is defined as the disease or injury that initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death. As such, MAiD deaths are coded to the underlying condition for which MAiD was requested, . . . In the case of a disability or mental health condition, deaths are coded to the underlying disability or mental health issue that MAiD was granted for."
A Taylor Swift fan took the brave position of calling out the beloved superstar, and everyone else involved, for the death of Ana Clara and many in need of medical attention at her concert Friday night in Rio:
"First of all, Taylor made sure fans had water during the show. She took a pause a few times and even adjusted her performance in "All Too Well", the 10 minutes version, to include a heads-up to her crew about water supply. There are people blaming the heat wave for Ana Clara's passing, but let's be clear—it's not a "natural disaster." The venue intentionally shut the air vents to block the view from outside. Reports say the heat index hit 120F or 62°C. Despite the scorching conditions felt by everyone, Taylor included, the staff refused to tweak the script. Adding to the discomfort, stage flames blazed on, and local news reports reveal a staggering 1,000 people required medical support. Despite efforts from Taylor's team to provide water consistently, there are reports indicating that the supply eventually ran out, leaving certain areas without water.
Psychoanalyst Sally Weintrobe coined the term "culture of uncare" to explain intentional efforts to sever links from one another and from the environment.
She calls it "severing links," but the word that comes to mind is alienation. We've been alienated from our environment, from our work, from others, and from ourselves. The neoliberal capitalist system has been far too successful at breaking us away from our own sense of integrity, of wholeness, as it works to turns us into unquestioning cogs in the machine.
This manufactured uncaring, the loss of a capacity to care, is at the heart of why we can't actually do anything about climate change, or covid, or all the horrific conflicts going on right this minute. Marx predicted that capitalism would naturally, eventually, self-destruct as inequity got too extreme for people to accept. But that was before (just before) we understood that burning fossil fuels could have a profound effect on the stability of our ecosystems. Marx wrote about alienation in 1855, and John Tyndall started looking at how carbon dioxide concentrations change the climate in 1859. Now we're frozen in place, watching industry continue to expand while the world literally burns. We won't make it to the glorious end of capitalism.
Studies make it very clear that Covid is really bad for us, yet we're going to do nothing to prevent the spread.
In case you didn't know, if you have almost $20,000 to spend each year, per kid, on a private school, that many of them have excellent pandemic plans still in place. People with money are able to keep their children very safe from the pandemic. One school still recognizes that,
"There is no such thing as a harmless single case of Covid that someone with 'a healthy immune system' can overcome." So, all staff, students, and any visitors, "will wear masks whenever we are indoors, and any time we are close to one another outdoors. . . . The only options for masks indoors are KF94s, KN95s, or N95s (or higher filtration masks or respirators), and they must completely cover both the nose and the mouth and be snug against the sides of the face."
What a dream it would be if all schools cared so much for our kids!
A recent National Geographic article explains how Covid triggers cardiovascular problems by directly infecting the arteries of the heart. The study they discuss was published in Nature in September. The big news is that they figured out that, "the virus can survive and grow inside the cells that form plaque. . . . If the plaque breaks, it can block blood flow and cause a heart attack or stroke. The SARS-CoV-2 infection makes the situation worse by inflaming the plaque and increasing the chance that it breaks free."
"Disability rates haven't stabilized since the great mass infection event of early 2022 [masks dropped in March 2022]. They're still rising. These are the rates for the US and the UK. How many times do public health leaders plan to have everyone play the chronic disease/disability lottery? What's the plan?"
According to Akima, the two sides around pandemic actions have to do with the competing economic philosophies of Keynes and Hayek. In a very brief nutshell, Keynes influenced the New Deal type of governmental "interference" to prevent abject poverty following the premise that governments must spend to create jobs even if it means going into debt briefly (and government debt isn't like personal debt). Free markets create unemployment because profits depend on lowering wages and cutting costs by outsourcing in a downward spiral that governments should actively prevent through legislation. By contrast, Hayek influenced Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics and Mont Pelerin Society with the underlying premise that limiting corporate freedom is limiting freedom of the people, so government shouldn't interfere in markets, which self-regulate. Hayek said they should almost never interfere, but Friedman took this further to suggest they should never interfere and ran a little experiment to see how well it works (spoiler: not very well). Instead of controlling wealth inequities, the role of government was to use austerity measures and to privatize all services and clear the path for corporate deregulation. And then people died so profits could be free. Here's what Akima says in full, followed by a rebuttal at the end, followed by my concerns with the rebuttal.
"The central error of the pandemic is that of running pandemic management by laissez-faire socioeconomic principles.
If you grasp this, all the other errors fall into place as the inevitable consequence of following that line of thought.
Economics is the final bastion of Social Darwinism. Its laissez-faire principles dictate that all Keynesian central government-instituted intervention, even in a crisis, only makes things worse. A crisis should be allowed to run its natural course. A crisis is a welcome process of cleansing out of the unfit, resulting in economic renewal through creative destruction. It is often likened to a forest fire. The charred remains of the fire fertilizes renewal. When the weak, economically unviable units are cleansed out while the strong survive, it is deemed progress. It is an unnatural perversion to intervene in the order of Nature, as it perpetuates the sustenance of unfit and unhealthy “zombie” units. If the vulnerable die from wilfully spreading SARS-CoV-2, that is just an unavoidable historical necessity, the price one pays for progress. The end justifies the means—for the alternatives could only be worse.
The demagogues of laissez-faire had meanwhile devised their own plan: the herd immunity strategy. This involved using SARS-CoV-2 as nature’s gift of a vaccine against itself (there is historical precedent with smallpox variolation). Once enough of the population had been mass infected, the pandemic would end from herd immunity. The sooner everyone was mass infected, the sooner the pandemic would end. Central government intervention to slow the spread would be harmful because it would merely “kick the can down the road” and prolong the pandemic. It was thus necessary to promote rapid SARS-CoV-2 mass “variolation” as a safe and “natural” form of vaccination with “mild” side effects. Thus, СОVID minimisation was born.
That was a headline in Forbes yesterday, followed by: "Scientists Issue New Warning as World Enters 'Uncharted Climate Territory.'"
The Forbes article summarizes an article from BioScience: "The 2023 State of the Climate Report: Entering Uncharted Territory," a follow-up on a 2020 report co-signed by over 15,000 scientists from 163 countries that called on government to make rapid changes:
"We are increasingly being asked to tell the public the truth about the crises we face in simple and direct terms. . . . Record climate anomalies seen around the world in 2023 have astonished the scientific community, raising concerns that further extreme weather, as well as climate tipping points, could arrive sooner than expected . . . pushing our planetary systems into dangerous instability. Such instability, they warn, means that this century as many as six billion of the Earth's almost eight billion people could find themselves in regions that are no longer habitable, due to climate impacts such as extreme heat and dwindling food supplies. . . . The world is now undergoing changes at a speed never before seen in human existence. . . . It is the moral duty of us scientists and our institutions to clearly alert humanity of any potential existential threat and to show leadership in taking action. . . .
Without actions that address the root problems of humanity taking more from the Earth than it can safely give, we're on our way to the potential collapse of natural and socioeconomic systems and a world with unbearable heat and shortages of food and freshwater. . . . The authors call for governments and communities to change their perspective on climate change, 'from being just an isolated environmental issue to a systemic, existential threat.' . . . Simply switching to renewable energy from fossil fuel sources will not be sufficient . . . They call for:
* The implementation of policies that help reduce resource consumption, by reducing, reusing and recycling waste. * A global, collaborative effort to ensure climate justice, entailing the fair distribution of the costs and benefits of climate action across less wealthy and more vulnerable parts of the world. * The reorienting of economic measures to prioritize human well-being over growth. * A stabilization and gradual decrease of the human population by supporting women and girls' education and rights. . . .
This is our moment to make a profound difference for all life on Earth. We must embrace it with unwavering courage and determination to create a legacy of change that will stand the test of time."
More recommendations from the original article not mentioned in Forbes; the omissions are interesting:
* "In 2019, the top 10% of emitters were responsible for 48% of global emissions, whereas the bottom 50% were responsible for just 12%. We therefore need to change our economy to a system that supports meeting basic needs of all people instead of excessive consumption by the wealthy. . . . * Efforts must be directed toward eliminating emissions from fossil fuels and land-use change and increasing carbon sequestration with nature-based climate solutions. However, it is crucial to explore other possible strategies to efficiently remove additional carbon dioxide. . . . Although research efforts should be accelerated, depending heavily on future large-scale carbon removal strategies at this juncture may create a deceptive perception of security and postpone imperative mitigation actions. . . . * Coal accounts for . . . roughly 40% of current carbon dioxide emissions. . . . We support the Powering Past Coal Alliance and recommend the adoption of the international Coal Elimination Treaty to phase out coal and, more broadly, the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty . . . * Climate feedback loops directly affect the relationship between emissions and warming. . . . We call for an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report that focuses on the perilous climate feedback loops. . . . * In 2022, an estimated 735 million people faced chronic hunger. . . . There is danger that hunger will escalate in the absence of immediate climate action. . . . Because of the growing risks of concurrent major crop losses in multiple regions of the world, adaptation-focused efforts are needed to improve crop resilience and resistance to heat, drought, and other climate stressors. A shift toward plant-based diets, particularly in wealthy countries, could improve global food security and help mitigate climate change."
The original article is decidedly calling for a shift away from neoliberal capitalism. We have to create equity worldwide, meet the basic needs of all, reduce consumption of resources but also specifically reduce consumerism by the wealthy10% (which, worldwide, includes anyone with a net worth of over $130,000), and reduce meat consumption. If we can't do that immediately, then 75% of the world will have to migrate to the sliver of world still habitable, if anyone allows it, or else perish, within the next 75 years. 75 in 75!!
Seven years ago, I wrote about how childish we were being, ignoring all the indicators that we're headed for collapse like a kid who refuses to take an umbrella when it's clearly about to storm out. Now we're all soaking wet and some will complain that nobody told them to take an umbrella, and others will still insist it's not that rainy out today; they've seen worse. I included this bit from the Newsroom, and it just about sums it up based on our current political climate!
Here's a little story about the house at the end of my street.
About 30 years ago, it was a bit of a grow-op, with vicious guard dogs, one that actually ate the leg off the neighbour's family dog! When I'd walk down the street with my kids, we'd always cross the street to avoid walking right past the place.
Then the guy who owned it wanted to buy an RV and leave town for some reason, so he put the place up for sale, and I bought it to fix it up and make the end of the street less sketch.
It was a pretty crazy idea at the time, and sometimes hellish, but I did fix it all up!
Want to be a respected news outlet? Stop writing horribly misleading headlines.
An article in The Guardian is causing a stir, not because of what the article says, but because of the heading and subheading:
"Thousands of Covid generation under-fives excluded from schools in England: Nearly half of children in some areas arrive unable to talk and still not potty-trained as lockdown legacy take its toll, data show."
That's not actually what the data shows, however. The subheading is particularly ridiculous since these kids were infants during lockdown. They likely would have been home with mom anyway.
This type of headline is not in the realm of clickbait or fake news, but it's still bullshitty and annoying, and it's got people on social media arguing about lockdowns now instead of discussing the real issues from the article: cuts to social services. It works to get people to discuss the piece, but few are clicking on it to actually read the thing anyway, so I'm not sure how well it pays off as a tactic. Unless, of course, the tactic is to get them to ignore the content. Can't spur on a socialist movement, now can we!
The article explains that the number of term exclusions in England last year were up 11% higher than pre-pandemic years, at which time they also had a problem with kids not yet school ready:
In a local school board meeting from last June, in which they discussed their plan to remove HEPAs in rooms that had mechanical ventilation added (as if it's and either/or option), they first discussed how far they've overshot their energy budget. There were clear implications that Covid mitigations had forced this increased cost.
Taking the price tags off for a moment, if we're faced with reducing CO2 emissions by reducing energy usage, OR reducing CO2 in the air by adding HEPA filters, which do we choose??
It can be both!
But we can't do it within a neolibertarian capitalist framework. I always include that 'neoliberal' part because this current version of capitalism is very different from what Adam Smith and John Locke proposed! We're essentially back to a feudal system with CEOs our new Kings and Queens and workers given scraps like peasants.
I've been thinking about the concern with kids not going to school for reasons beyond the rampant illnesses caused by letting a highly-infectious virus run wild.
The Fortune article suggests that schools are less welcoming now. "Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry." They mention a host of reasons for absences including poverty, housing instability, transportation issues, and school staff shortages that mean a rotation of supply teachers. But they don't mention that Long Covid that has led many to be chronically disabled: From this article, a 13-year-old explained, "I don't remember a day without pain." H/t Laura Miers, who points out:
"We're disabling everyone. It will NEVER improve with no mitigation. Kids and adults are at the same risk for Long Covid."
Meanwhile, the Fortune article blames online learning:
"The effects of online learning linger: School relationships have frayed, and after months at home, many parents and students don't see the point of regular attendance."
The religious far right is growing and getting more powerful and unnerving, and we know the fights happening in schools board meetings. This 25 min. BBC video from earlier this year is instructive. It's telling that Patriot Mobile put millions of dollars behind school board elections, taking over politics from the bottom up, and Steve Bannon was there to explain that "the school boards are the key that picks the lock," looking to restrict access to books and bring God back - first in schools, and then into the federal government. And it's working in many American schools. One of their stated longterm goals: "I want a definition of marriage to what it's always been."
Saw that coming.
Fox News is completely out now as the messenger of the far right, for better or worse. Once they support DeSantis over Trump, the far right completely turned on them. I wonder if that's why suddenly Fox is reporting that Covid still exists - they're no longer on the payroll of these wingnuts.
The Turning Point Action Conference was on the weekend. See Steve Bannon's rant at 6:30 here -- that's the 6.5 hours mark. Here's a little snippet:
The air quality is bad again today, but public health hasn't issued any warnings, and it's not on the Weather Network website. A few people were commenting on their eyes burning and asthma being triggered. Sure enough, the air particulate numbers are up. So, it looks like we're on our own to track which way the wind is blowing and if we're downwind from any fires and should close the windows. Good to know.
Dr. Christopher Leighton, radiation oncologist and medical educator in Windsor, wrote in Post yesterday that public health "went rogue in 2022." He asks, "If public health isn't there to protect the vulnerable, then why bother?" He made an FOI request last fall after so many protections were dismantled, and got documents in late March, which he shared with MPPs and the Chief Ontario Human Rights Commissioner. Here's his synopsis:
"During a time of increasing contagiousness and immune evasion of the circulating Omicron variants, and when less than 37% of children had completed a primary series of vaccinations, the Ontario government ignored calls to strengthen public health measures. Instead, they gradually withdrew them in overt opposition to expert guidance. . . . Dr. Jessica Hopkins, Chief Health Protection and Preparedness Officer, PHO in a March 4, 2022, communication to the CMOH and Associate CMOHs, shared a technical briefing on the removal of mask mandates and stated:
'Mask mandates are associated with reductions in population-level SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The benefits of masking likely remain in the Ontario risk context which includes possible early resurgence, introduction of Omicron sub-variant BA.2, low uptake of booster doses among eligible populations, low vaccine effectiveness of three vaccines doses against omicron infection, low levels of immunity among children under 12, negligible immunity among children under 5, and large numbers of immunocompromised individuals. Mask mandates are less restrictive than other measures used during the pandemic.'
The risks could not have been stated more clearly, yet just a few weeks later, the Ford government ignored seemingly every aspect of that evidence briefing and removed nearly all mask mandates in Ontario, also in opposition to Science Table Members and three Medical Officers of Health who publicly pleaded for a resumption of mask mandates.
