My formerly quite positive opinion of Oprah shifted during the Maui wildfires. She owns a house on the island and it was reported at the time she’d been buying up property there. She showed up for what appeared to me to be a photo op serving food, etc that was tone deaf (just help, forget the publicity!). In my opinion it sure seems she could have created tons of goodwill by either donating those properties she’d been buying (or selling them at a very nominal amount) back to the Native islanders so they could rebuild. Many of the Native peoples who lost their homes did not have the wherewithal to make that happen and literally had nowhere to go with no way to rebuild. It left a very unpleasant taste as I’d always felt she had a fair amount of empathy.
Also, she was instrumental in promoting Bezos early on (when he was a bookseller only) as well as Dr Phil who has embedded with ICE on raids. Not a great track record. I’m not sure what happened between the feel good of her show and now. Kinda sad.
We are, in my humble opinion, an immature collective and want a savior, hero, or rescuer more than we want the responsibility, work, agency, and accountability of co-creating a real democracy together. I think we are all culpable, and I, for one, want to continue building civic action with nonviolence at the core. I am headed to the Summer Institute @ URI for two weeks of Kingian Nonviolence Training. I will be equipped to offer the introductory 16-hour course when complete. Anyone interested in studying Kingian praxis by summer's end?
Right on, Anand! I think that if Mr Mamdani and his cohort of leaders tax the shit out of billionaires (I heard him quoted saying that he doesn’t believe billionaires should exist - YES!) then this awful, awful era will come to an end. It’s gonna take a while, but it will end.
I just looked up the 2 oldest Republicans in the House of Representatives and contacted them. Carter 83
(TX) and Rogers 87(KY).
I asked them to demonstrate Wisdom and vote No on the big bill. I said they have nothing to loose, but I do! I asked them to follow the lead of fellow R, Senator Thom Tillis. Famous now.
My political book club is reading "Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism" by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchinson. Hutchinson is the filmmaker and is making a film, which I am looking forward to seeing. It explains the economics of the world we are living in and how we got here, as well as how neoliberalism goes so well with fascism. In fact, what we live in is more aptly described as a Plutocracy. We live in a plutocratic oligarchy, and at the same time a Kakistocracy and kleptocracy. All of these seem to go nicely together, only it is not so nice.
Meanwhile Trump has not only screwed us, he has screwed Ukraine by providing Russia with lots of funding. Trump has quietly removed the sanctions on Putin's war funding banks. Trump wants to destroy Ukraine and the EU, and let nothing get in his way. I personally think NATO should decide to go in and help Ukraine directly with feet on the ground, and then Trump can really decide whom he is helping.
I never thought I would be spending my golden years fretting about the direction in which this country is heading because billionaires, in their search for happiness, don't give a flip about the destruction they leave behind. You would think that they would have discovered by now that their obscene wealth is just that- obscene, and more of it won't elevate them to wherever the hell they seem to want to ascend. It certainly can't be heaven.
Thank you for connecting these three seemingly disparate events. And you are right. They are all part of a larger phenomenon. It’s a scary time for us. Keep talking and writing.
I agree, but think some of the big donors, in the past and now, did an amazing amount of good. The Gates Foundation is an example. They have had a major impact on public health in Africa. J
ane Goodall has some very big donors, which has helped her save chimps. I don't think that is trivial, because extinction is forever.
Did he make the same argument as he did online about philanthropy? I like him on many subjects, but sometimes I find him narrow. Since my academic field is nonprofits and philanthropy- 3 books on the developing world- I come from a different place on this.
I don't know what happened to my generation, Anand. As far as the "power elite" goes, only Bernie and Elizabeth Warren seem to be on the right track. But the rest of us? We're still hippies. We just don't have any power.
But what I really want to say is this: where are the best places to donate to make up for the things that are being cut, like USAID, NOAA, Medicaid, SNAP? We need this work to continue.
Anand, I read Winners Take All when it first came out and that is what opened my eyes to how the big corps, richest people pretend to do good while lobbying for health destroying, environment destroying laws, etc. Since then, I have slowly begun to understand more of what is going on in our country. Your book gave me an important foundation for understanding today’s politics. Thank you. Yes, I agree that it’s a relief to have it all out in the open. It makes everyone else come out too, and take a stand.
It may be a bit dated, as Anand suggests, but I nonetheless strongly endorse reading Winner Take All. As far as I'm concerned it's up there with Hofstadter's work in being essential for understanding what America is.
Powerful words, Anand. Yah, the greed is now naked, no need to attempt to hide it behind corporate (or individual) responsibility for the welfare of society. We might have hoped that those in the federal government would have eschewed such naked indifference to the people they supposedly represent, but any sense of responsibility to their constituents--or the oath of office they swore to--has long since vanished. So this is where we are. Let's hope the rising groundswell of people who now see what is happening will be able to turn it back. It won't be easy. But we must give it all we've got.
Indeed: spot on. If it’s all-out-there for all-to -see, it also means its eventual demise. It’s no fun if your parent sees you sneak out your window to continue partying down the street and sees you return some time later … and lets you know “they’ve seen it all” as they turn on the porch light and open the door so you can enter more easily…no having to go to the back of the house and re-climb into your bedroom through that window.
There’re simply no more stupid antics to go through to feel you have once again (!) outwitted that stupid and old parent of yours.
There’s little that these full-of-greed-and-self-satisfied oligarchs can do any more except simply run out the clock—-and they will run out the clock because that’s the only thing they know how to do to feel proud of themselves.
In time they will realize in the end they’ve only ruined things for themselves.
Everyone else has made new, meaningful, caring lives elsewhere.
And yes, most will simply fall into the abyss with no one around who cares.
Indeed: spot on. If it’s all-out-there for all-to -see, it also means its eventual demise. It’s no fun if your parent sees you sneak out your window to continue partying down the street and sees you return some time later … and lets you know “they’ve seen it all” as they turn on the porch light and open the door so you can enter more easily…no having to go to the back of the house and re-climb into your bedroom through that window.
There’re simply no more stupid antics to go through to feel you have once again (!) outwitted that stupid and old parent of yours.
There’s little that these full-of-greed-and-self-satisfied oligarchs can do any more, except to simply run out the clock—-and they will run out the clock because that’s the only thing they know how to do to feel proud of themselves. Then they will find how empty it is.
Then and only then they will realize they’ve only ruined things for themselves.
Everyone else will have made new, meaningful, caring lives elsewhere.
And yes, most of these oligarchs, and those who are their lapdogs, will simply fall into the abyss and there will be no one where they are who cares enough to help them out.
Did i see oprah at that gaudy wedding? I did, didn’t I? How pitiful is that? Revealed!
Rosie O’Donnell called her (and other celebs) out for attending. See it on her substack.
My formerly quite positive opinion of Oprah shifted during the Maui wildfires. She owns a house on the island and it was reported at the time she’d been buying up property there. She showed up for what appeared to me to be a photo op serving food, etc that was tone deaf (just help, forget the publicity!). In my opinion it sure seems she could have created tons of goodwill by either donating those properties she’d been buying (or selling them at a very nominal amount) back to the Native islanders so they could rebuild. Many of the Native peoples who lost their homes did not have the wherewithal to make that happen and literally had nowhere to go with no way to rebuild. It left a very unpleasant taste as I’d always felt she had a fair amount of empathy.
Also, she was instrumental in promoting Bezos early on (when he was a bookseller only) as well as Dr Phil who has embedded with ICE on raids. Not a great track record. I’m not sure what happened between the feel good of her show and now. Kinda sad.
With Gayle King. I used to think she was the best morning news person but now I refuse to watch her.
That is a disappointment.
We are, in my humble opinion, an immature collective and want a savior, hero, or rescuer more than we want the responsibility, work, agency, and accountability of co-creating a real democracy together. I think we are all culpable, and I, for one, want to continue building civic action with nonviolence at the core. I am headed to the Summer Institute @ URI for two weeks of Kingian Nonviolence Training. I will be equipped to offer the introductory 16-hour course when complete. Anyone interested in studying Kingian praxis by summer's end?
Right on, Anand! I think that if Mr Mamdani and his cohort of leaders tax the shit out of billionaires (I heard him quoted saying that he doesn’t believe billionaires should exist - YES!) then this awful, awful era will come to an end. It’s gonna take a while, but it will end.
I just looked up the 2 oldest Republicans in the House of Representatives and contacted them. Carter 83
(TX) and Rogers 87(KY).
I asked them to demonstrate Wisdom and vote No on the big bill. I said they have nothing to loose, but I do! I asked them to follow the lead of fellow R, Senator Thom Tillis. Famous now.
Love this! I want someone to start a Substack called “Donald, you ignorant slut.” Who’s with me?
Because he’ll sleep with anyone. And because it’s just funny like it was on SNL 50 years ago. (God, I’m old.)
My political book club is reading "Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism" by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchinson. Hutchinson is the filmmaker and is making a film, which I am looking forward to seeing. It explains the economics of the world we are living in and how we got here, as well as how neoliberalism goes so well with fascism. In fact, what we live in is more aptly described as a Plutocracy. We live in a plutocratic oligarchy, and at the same time a Kakistocracy and kleptocracy. All of these seem to go nicely together, only it is not so nice.
Meanwhile Trump has not only screwed us, he has screwed Ukraine by providing Russia with lots of funding. Trump has quietly removed the sanctions on Putin's war funding banks. Trump wants to destroy Ukraine and the EU, and let nothing get in his way. I personally think NATO should decide to go in and help Ukraine directly with feet on the ground, and then Trump can really decide whom he is helping.
I never thought I would be spending my golden years fretting about the direction in which this country is heading because billionaires, in their search for happiness, don't give a flip about the destruction they leave behind. You would think that they would have discovered by now that their obscene wealth is just that- obscene, and more of it won't elevate them to wherever the hell they seem to want to ascend. It certainly can't be heaven.
I’m glad you told me that these are golden years. Lol. Thanks Jan
Thank you for connecting these three seemingly disparate events. And you are right. They are all part of a larger phenomenon. It’s a scary time for us. Keep talking and writing.
I agree, but think some of the big donors, in the past and now, did an amazing amount of good. The Gates Foundation is an example. They have had a major impact on public health in Africa. J
ane Goodall has some very big donors, which has helped her save chimps. I don't think that is trivial, because extinction is forever.
If you haven't yet, I would encourage you to read Anand's book, Winner Take All.
Did he make the same argument as he did online about philanthropy? I like him on many subjects, but sometimes I find him narrow. Since my academic field is nonprofits and philanthropy- 3 books on the developing world- I come from a different place on this.
I don't know what happened to my generation, Anand. As far as the "power elite" goes, only Bernie and Elizabeth Warren seem to be on the right track. But the rest of us? We're still hippies. We just don't have any power.
But what I really want to say is this: where are the best places to donate to make up for the things that are being cut, like USAID, NOAA, Medicaid, SNAP? We need this work to continue.
Anand, I read Winners Take All when it first came out and that is what opened my eyes to how the big corps, richest people pretend to do good while lobbying for health destroying, environment destroying laws, etc. Since then, I have slowly begun to understand more of what is going on in our country. Your book gave me an important foundation for understanding today’s politics. Thank you. Yes, I agree that it’s a relief to have it all out in the open. It makes everyone else come out too, and take a stand.
There are genuine people with means, that do good with honest intention. But unfortunately they are few and far between.
It may be a bit dated, as Anand suggests, but I nonetheless strongly endorse reading Winner Take All. As far as I'm concerned it's up there with Hofstadter's work in being essential for understanding what America is.
Powerful words, Anand. Yah, the greed is now naked, no need to attempt to hide it behind corporate (or individual) responsibility for the welfare of society. We might have hoped that those in the federal government would have eschewed such naked indifference to the people they supposedly represent, but any sense of responsibility to their constituents--or the oath of office they swore to--has long since vanished. So this is where we are. Let's hope the rising groundswell of people who now see what is happening will be able to turn it back. It won't be easy. But we must give it all we've got.
Indeed: spot on. If it’s all-out-there for all-to -see, it also means its eventual demise. It’s no fun if your parent sees you sneak out your window to continue partying down the street and sees you return some time later … and lets you know “they’ve seen it all” as they turn on the porch light and open the door so you can enter more easily…no having to go to the back of the house and re-climb into your bedroom through that window.
There’re simply no more stupid antics to go through to feel you have once again (!) outwitted that stupid and old parent of yours.
There’s little that these full-of-greed-and-self-satisfied oligarchs can do any more except simply run out the clock—-and they will run out the clock because that’s the only thing they know how to do to feel proud of themselves.
In time they will realize in the end they’ve only ruined things for themselves.
Everyone else has made new, meaningful, caring lives elsewhere.
And yes, most will simply fall into the abyss with no one around who cares.
Brooke Portmann
Indeed: spot on. If it’s all-out-there for all-to -see, it also means its eventual demise. It’s no fun if your parent sees you sneak out your window to continue partying down the street and sees you return some time later … and lets you know “they’ve seen it all” as they turn on the porch light and open the door so you can enter more easily…no having to go to the back of the house and re-climb into your bedroom through that window.
There’re simply no more stupid antics to go through to feel you have once again (!) outwitted that stupid and old parent of yours.
There’s little that these full-of-greed-and-self-satisfied oligarchs can do any more, except to simply run out the clock—-and they will run out the clock because that’s the only thing they know how to do to feel proud of themselves. Then they will find how empty it is.
Then and only then they will realize they’ve only ruined things for themselves.
Everyone else will have made new, meaningful, caring lives elsewhere.
And yes, most of these oligarchs, and those who are their lapdogs, will simply fall into the abyss and there will be no one where they are who cares enough to help them out.
Brooke Portmann
Spot. On.