The Big Swindle

What would happen if Americans became convinced that they live neither in a democracy nor a capitalist economy?  For two generations now, Noam Chomsky has been in the forefront of those building a strong case for such an unsettling model of US governance.

The Guilty Truth

The "Guilty Truth" of America is much older than the United States.

It was here for the Pequot War in 1634-38, at the Boston gallows in 1660, and in 1692 Salem.  It was with us in the Philippine "Zones of Protection" enforced by the US Army

It's Never Too Late To Think

"Idiocy" is not the opposite of intelligence.  There is actually a positive correlation between the two, just as there is a positive correlation between intelligence and "stupidity" (which is emotional).  This is especially true in the culture which we are continually creating: one where the self and selfishness are idealized

Stagnation

The "Greatest Generation" surely knows better, but insufferable baby boomers can revel in annoying younger (and even lesser) generations by asserting a distinct lack of innovation in popular music since approximately 1980.

The Law Does Not Have to be an Idiot

"Law is whatever is boldly asserted and plausibly maintained."

-- Aaron Burr


"Law is merely the expression of the will of the strongest for the time being."

-- Brooks Adams

Thanks to scoundrels like Antonin Scalia, the Constitution and our laws can seem inexorably weighted to the benefit of the corporate investor class (.01%). But the law is actually older and more flexible than the greedy few would have us believe.

Jeremy Brecher reminds us of the "Public Trust Doctrine" which is the principle that the sovereign holds in trust for public use some resources such as shorelines, running water, and the atmosphere, regardless of private property ownership. This doctrine goes back at least as far as the Roman Emperor, Justinian. It was substantiated in English Common Law and in US Case Law (Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois, 146 U.S. 387 (1892). Today in most states, lakes and navigable-in-fact streams are maintained for drinking and recreation purposes under a public-trust doctrine.

Brecher advocates extending the doctrine to justify direct action against the agents of climate change where civil disobedience becomes law enforcement, and the children are leading the way.

The rich are different from you and me. Having more money, they can chip away at hope and sustainability. But it's not because they're particularly evil. It more because they are Trump Stupid, and (often seeing themselves as victims) willfully blind to the consequences of their actions.