Eric Michael Moberg | San Francisco State University (original) (raw)
Papers by Eric Michael Moberg
The purpose of this report is to review the literature on theoretical frameworks, best practices,... more The purpose of this report is to review the literature on theoretical frameworks, best practices, and conceptual models for the 21 st century collegiate writing program. Methods include electronic database searches for recent and historical peer-reviewed scholarly literature on collegiate writing programs. The author analyzed over 65 sources from the century, mostly within the last three years. The results were clear and consistent. The author recommends a collegial and comprehensive collegiate writing program that begins with entrance and placement assessments and continues through culminating papers, capstones, theses, dissertations, staff development, and even faculty mentoring. Collaboration for the common good will be paramount. Implications for practice also include strategic planning, staff development, and release time. Includes one table and one figure.
Online Submission, 2010
Best practices in adult transition special education for moderate to severe students suggest stud... more Best practices in adult transition special education for moderate to severe students suggest student-centered planning that maximizes independence in adult life. Based on the above sources, school districts and governing boards would best serve moderate to severe transition special education students with increasing integration into the community and decreasing time in the classroom on the campuses. A gradual transition would allow for an orderly solution of logistics problems, such as rerouting transportation, retraining staff, outreach to students and parents, rewriting individualized education programs, and arranging for storage of supplies and equipment. Such initiatives would require no additional funds from districts if implemented as described and would free classrooms for other programs on campus. Thus, districts would save overhead, such as energy costs of lighting and heating, by moving 18 to 22-year old special education students into the community.
Online Submission, Nov 29, 2009
Online Submission, Aug 9, 2009
There are many competing and complementary theories of intelligence. Some reviewed below are unit... more There are many competing and complementary theories of intelligence. Some reviewed below are unitary, and some are multiple. Some older models argue that intelligence is strictly inherited, and there exist no means of increasing intelligence. While none of the modern theories of intelligence reviewed here explicitly argue that intelligence is strictly inherited, the author explicitly argues here that intelligence is dynamic, and can improve through education. The author cites 21 sources as evidence.
Online Submission, 2006
In Alex Haley's Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), Haley recounts the life of an historical perso... more In Alex Haley's Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), Haley recounts the life of an historical personage of enduring controversy. Whether one reveres or reviles Malcolm, "X", Little, his is a fascinating story of lifelong learning. Rather than conforming to one theory, Malcolm's learning is well explained by certain theorists at certain times in Malcolm's life, but better explained by other theorists at other times in his life. Like most Americans, Malcolm Little's learning developed over his life. His early education as a child was based largely on teaching methods and learning styles that differed as he aged and became an adult. Knowles' (1999) theory of andragogy generally explains Malcolm's adult learning as being different from his learning as a child. Malcolm X, therefore, informed and educated Malcolm Knowles later theoretical framework for adult learning known as "andragogy."
Online Submission, Jan 2, 2006
Malcolm Knowles laments the paucity of "thinking, investigating, and writing about adult learning... more Malcolm Knowles laments the paucity of "thinking, investigating, and writing about adult learning" in the opening sentence of his theoretical framework of "Andragogy" (1998, p, 35). Knowles' central argument is that we learn differently as adults from how we learn as children, so we should tailor adult education accordingly. Knowles highlighted his position in the very title of his 1983 article, "Adults Are Not Grown-Up Children as Learners." Indeed, Knowles has argued consistently since as early as 1968 for "andragogy, not pedagogy." As Clardy (2005) reminds us, however, Knowles did not coin the term "Andragogy," rather, it goes back to nineteenth-century Germany. In fact, Lindeman brought the term to American education discourse as early as 1926 (Clardy, 2005, p. 4). Additionally, Knowles features Lindeman's five key assumptions about adult learning in Knowles' 1998 work on adult learning theory (p. 39). Knowles himself set forth his own similar set of six assumptions in 1980 (St. Clair, 2002, p. 3). While St. Clair and Clardy fairly criticize Knowles for overreach and his imperfect empirical sources, Knowles' central point and at least two of Knowles' assumptions are well founded.
Online Submission, Mar 7, 2010
Online Submission, Nov 23, 2010
The purpose of this report is to review the literature on theoretical frameworks, best practices,... more The purpose of this report is to review the literature on theoretical frameworks, best practices, and conceptual models for the 21 st century collegiate writing program. Methods include electronic database searches for recent and historical peer-reviewed scholarly literature on collegiate writing programs. The author analyzed over 65 sources from the century, mostly within the last three years. The results were clear and consistent. The author recommends a collegial and comprehensive collegiate writing program that begins with entrance and placement assessments and continues through culminating papers, capstones, theses, dissertations, staff development, and even faculty mentoring. Collaboration for the common good will be paramount. Implications for practice also include strategic planning, staff development, and release time. Includes one table and one figure.
The purpose of this paper is to argue for the ongoing use of dialogue as a modern pedagogical and... more The purpose of this paper is to argue for the ongoing use of dialogue as a modern pedagogical and andragogical method. The author reviewed 18 scholarly sources from three education databases in this literature review. The use of dialogue as mode of instruction dates from the Socratic Method of 399 B.C.E. to present uses. The literature reveals current studies of successful use in math, ESL, business, law, and teacher preparation instruction. Also, the dialogue as avenue into reflective self-learning appears prominently in modern practice. Multimedia, computer, and online dialogue methods also show good results in several well designed models. The author concludes that dialogue in different forms remains an effective method of instruction in wide applications. The research revealed several improvements and new applications for dialogue as method of education from Socrates in ancient Greece to public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions in 2009.
Virtually every police department in the United States claims to " protect and serve, " yet, we s... more Virtually every police department in the United States claims to " protect and serve, " yet, we see throughout the country that sworn officers insist and depend on impunity from the law that they purport to enforce. Internal affairs units suffer from an inherent conflict of interest in that the same force that pays the reviewing officers and is civilly liable for civil rights violations by their employers, so dismissal of officers who illegally harass, beat, or even kill innocents remains rare under a system in which the police monitor the police. Instead, rogue officers should lose their credentials to continue to work in law enforcement; independent state agencies, under the review of federal authority, must review any and all complaints against officers, and take appropriate independent action—including permanent revocation. We credential teachers, plumbers, and even lawyers—none of whom carry weapons or operate bomb-throwing robots in public. It is time to credential all police officers in the name of freedom and democracy.
Policarpa Salavarrieta was raised by her sister after her mother and father perished during a sma... more Policarpa Salavarrieta was raised by her sister after her mother and father perished during a small pox epidemic when “La Pola” was only eleven.
Simón Bolívar was raised, largely, by his slave nanny, Hipólita.
Colombia commemorates Both Bolivar and Salavarrieta on coins and currency still circulating today. Theirs was a fascinating story of nineteenth-century class war that still reverberates all over the continent today.
Much of Bolívar’s family wealth from his mother’s family, the Palacioses, came from slave labor in the Cocorote copper mines. Some slaves also worked the estates that Bolívar inherited from his father’s family, and Bolívar, ironically, spent much of this family wealth generated partly from slave labor to “liberate” Venezuela from Spanish colonialism.
"We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world— benefac... more "We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world— benefaction…. We should cease to talk about vague and unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better." —George Kennan head of U.S. State Department Policy Planning Staff, 1948. ______________________________________________________________________________ 80 percent of the world lives on less than $10 per day. Source: World Bank ________________________________________________________________________ The world is on the precipice of a Second Renaissance or a Second Dark Ages. Income and, especially, wealth inequality have never been more severe, now to astronomical levels where many live on less than the price of a cappuccino a day while others amass billions, usually by manipulating or exploiting the masses, aggravating poverty and instability, and not stopping at waging wars or committing genocide for profit. The legal and illegal drug and arms trades are booming, just as speculation on the worthless derivative assets continues unabated and largely untaxed. We are here as the result of ongoing class war waged by the ownership and ruling classes against the middle and working classes. The history of societies, nations, and empires establishing class systems so as to divide and conquer includes examples from and well before biblical times, slave trades in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas, genocide of the American natives and other indigenous peoples, colonialism all over the globe that continues to this day as near as in Mexico, wars of aggression such as Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the never ending and often fraudulent exploitation of the poor by the powers that be. The only solution is revolution. Revolution, when successful, often follows a trichotomy model that we have seen historically in several examples covered in later chapters of this book and recently on display in the Arab Spring as well as what is currently taking shape in the Occupy and Black Lives Matter movements finally challenging corrupt American institutions as never before. The trichotomy begins with (1) oppression and exploitation by a ruling class, such as Wall Street and the government it buys. Next there is (2) a rebel group that struggles to capture the imagination and support of (3) the majority of the given population. If it does not, it is eventually crushed, sometimes from within by infiltrators, sometimes from without by selective or corrupt prosecution, or ultimately brutally by police-state tactics such as tear gas, rubber bullets,
Class War 2016: Rhetoric and Revolution Eric Michael Moberg, M.F.A., Ph.D. Copyright © 2016 Lond... more Class War 2016: Rhetoric and Revolution
Eric Michael Moberg, M.F.A., Ph.D.
Copyright © 2016
London: Prescott University Press
All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form except with prior written permission of the author.
ISBN-13:
978-1533526335
ISBN-10:
1533526338
To Humanity
“I want what’s coming to me…everything.”
—David Koch, billionaire co-owner of Koch Industries and major contributor to the Tea Party and other conservative projects, such as the climate change denial industry.
“And what the media hasn’t caught on, and what the establishment hasn’t caught on, is that the American people are sick and tired of establishment politics and establishment economics….It is time for a political revolution…”
—Bernie Sanders, United States Senator from Vermont and 2016 candidate for president.
Contents
SECOND RENAISSANCE OR SECOND DARK AGES 5
POLICARPA AND THE SONS OF AMERICA 13
THE ONE PERCENTERS 25
SO MANY TIGERS 31
DEATH OF THE MIDDLE CLASS 43
BREAD OR THE CLUB 51
TOO CORRUPT NOT TO FAIL 63
NGUYỄN AND THE PATRIOTS 73
CORPORATE SLAVERY 87
CHILDREN OF THE CASBAH 95
PRIMOGENITURE AND POVERTY PIMPS 105
ALMA MATERS 111
TEN POINTS OF PRAXIS 119
Second Renaissance or Second Dark Ages
"We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world—benefaction…. We should cease to talk about vague and unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better."
—George Kennan head of U.S. State Department Policy Planning Staff, 1948.
_______________________________________________________________________________
80 percent of the world lives on less than $10 per day.
Source: World Bank
________________________________________________________________________
The world is on the precipice of a Second Renaissance or a Second Dark Ages. Income and, especially, wealth inequality have never been more severe, now to astronomical levels where many live on less than the price of a cappuccino a day while others amass billions, usually by manipulating or exploiting the masses, aggravating poverty and instability, and not stopping at waging wars or committing genocide. The legal and illegal drug and arms trades are booming, just as speculation on the worthless derivative assets continues unabated and largely untaxed.
Alma Maters Comandante Ramona did not die from a bullet, but lack of health care. Comandante Ramo... more Alma Maters Comandante Ramona did not die from a bullet, but lack of health care. Comandante Ramona was the alma mater of the Chiapas rebellion. The rebel is the alma mater of social change. Then too, we all nourish the rebel, whether we march with the rebel, oppose the rebel, or, by our indifference, create a vacuum for the rebel to fill. We allow a magical semi-realistic incarnation of our nourishing mothers. The Christian Mary, mother of Jesus, we are taught, and some believe, is a virgin. Hope is popular, and hope is human. The Mary myth is about hope. Hope is alluring, and hope is free. Revolution is freedom, but it is not free; we often pay for revolution with human blood. The Comandante Ramona legend is not about hope; it is about freedom. Thomas Jefferson advised us that a free people must be willing to revolt as often as every generation to cast off any government that does not serve us so that we can replace it with one that does. Comandante Ramona's Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) fights for the same thing that Sojourner Truth and Geronimo fought for: freedom. Freedom is magical, but it is also real–as real as we are willing to make it.
The Warts were a one performance wonder. In a way they were not even a real band. The lead sing... more The Warts were a one performance wonder. In a way they were not even a real band. The lead singer, Richard Elvern Marsh, was from Salt Lake City and had moved to California in 1963 to study piano at UCLA and start a doo-whop band. The Warts’ only appearance was in a 1967 episode of the short-lived television sitcom Mothers-in Law, starring Eve Arden as the mother of a newlywed bride living in her parents’ garage with her new husband; the husband’s mother lived next door. The comedy derived from the “generation gap” between the parents and newlyweds all living so close together. In the Warts episode the newlyweds invite the band over to the house to perform for their parents in the hopes that the parents will help promote the band.
You never ask a homeless person where they sleep. Nine out of ten of these people are cut-throat... more You never ask a homeless person where they sleep. Nine out of ten of these people are cut-throat drug addicts or alcoholics, or both. One of these guys was flyin’ a sign in front of Home Depot the other day and got in a fight with his ol’ lady, so he started beatin’ her right in front of the cars he was gonna ask for handouts. This town is real good to homeless, too. The Salvation Army gives better food than I had when I was in the Navy. I’m over 50, so I can get food stamps, $202 a month, but I can’t buy much with that. It’s just easier to come here, especially Sunday. They got the church people come out and bring us home-made cookies. During the week there’s fish, chicken, ham—always something different. The government never treats us that good.
The purpose of this report is to review the literature on theoretical frameworks, best practices,... more The purpose of this report is to review the literature on theoretical frameworks, best practices, and conceptual models for the 21 st century collegiate writing program. Methods include electronic database searches for recent and historical peer-reviewed scholarly literature on collegiate writing programs. The author analyzed over 65 sources from the century, mostly within the last three years. The results were clear and consistent. The author recommends a collegial and comprehensive collegiate writing program that begins with entrance and placement assessments and continues through culminating papers, capstones, theses, dissertations, staff development, and even faculty mentoring. Collaboration for the common good will be paramount. Implications for practice also include strategic planning, staff development, and release time. Includes one table and one figure.
Online Submission, 2010
Best practices in adult transition special education for moderate to severe students suggest stud... more Best practices in adult transition special education for moderate to severe students suggest student-centered planning that maximizes independence in adult life. Based on the above sources, school districts and governing boards would best serve moderate to severe transition special education students with increasing integration into the community and decreasing time in the classroom on the campuses. A gradual transition would allow for an orderly solution of logistics problems, such as rerouting transportation, retraining staff, outreach to students and parents, rewriting individualized education programs, and arranging for storage of supplies and equipment. Such initiatives would require no additional funds from districts if implemented as described and would free classrooms for other programs on campus. Thus, districts would save overhead, such as energy costs of lighting and heating, by moving 18 to 22-year old special education students into the community.
Online Submission, Nov 29, 2009
Online Submission, Aug 9, 2009
There are many competing and complementary theories of intelligence. Some reviewed below are unit... more There are many competing and complementary theories of intelligence. Some reviewed below are unitary, and some are multiple. Some older models argue that intelligence is strictly inherited, and there exist no means of increasing intelligence. While none of the modern theories of intelligence reviewed here explicitly argue that intelligence is strictly inherited, the author explicitly argues here that intelligence is dynamic, and can improve through education. The author cites 21 sources as evidence.
Online Submission, 2006
In Alex Haley's Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), Haley recounts the life of an historical perso... more In Alex Haley's Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), Haley recounts the life of an historical personage of enduring controversy. Whether one reveres or reviles Malcolm, "X", Little, his is a fascinating story of lifelong learning. Rather than conforming to one theory, Malcolm's learning is well explained by certain theorists at certain times in Malcolm's life, but better explained by other theorists at other times in his life. Like most Americans, Malcolm Little's learning developed over his life. His early education as a child was based largely on teaching methods and learning styles that differed as he aged and became an adult. Knowles' (1999) theory of andragogy generally explains Malcolm's adult learning as being different from his learning as a child. Malcolm X, therefore, informed and educated Malcolm Knowles later theoretical framework for adult learning known as "andragogy."
Online Submission, Jan 2, 2006
Malcolm Knowles laments the paucity of "thinking, investigating, and writing about adult learning... more Malcolm Knowles laments the paucity of "thinking, investigating, and writing about adult learning" in the opening sentence of his theoretical framework of "Andragogy" (1998, p, 35). Knowles' central argument is that we learn differently as adults from how we learn as children, so we should tailor adult education accordingly. Knowles highlighted his position in the very title of his 1983 article, "Adults Are Not Grown-Up Children as Learners." Indeed, Knowles has argued consistently since as early as 1968 for "andragogy, not pedagogy." As Clardy (2005) reminds us, however, Knowles did not coin the term "Andragogy," rather, it goes back to nineteenth-century Germany. In fact, Lindeman brought the term to American education discourse as early as 1926 (Clardy, 2005, p. 4). Additionally, Knowles features Lindeman's five key assumptions about adult learning in Knowles' 1998 work on adult learning theory (p. 39). Knowles himself set forth his own similar set of six assumptions in 1980 (St. Clair, 2002, p. 3). While St. Clair and Clardy fairly criticize Knowles for overreach and his imperfect empirical sources, Knowles' central point and at least two of Knowles' assumptions are well founded.
Online Submission, Mar 7, 2010
Online Submission, Nov 23, 2010
The purpose of this report is to review the literature on theoretical frameworks, best practices,... more The purpose of this report is to review the literature on theoretical frameworks, best practices, and conceptual models for the 21 st century collegiate writing program. Methods include electronic database searches for recent and historical peer-reviewed scholarly literature on collegiate writing programs. The author analyzed over 65 sources from the century, mostly within the last three years. The results were clear and consistent. The author recommends a collegial and comprehensive collegiate writing program that begins with entrance and placement assessments and continues through culminating papers, capstones, theses, dissertations, staff development, and even faculty mentoring. Collaboration for the common good will be paramount. Implications for practice also include strategic planning, staff development, and release time. Includes one table and one figure.
The purpose of this paper is to argue for the ongoing use of dialogue as a modern pedagogical and... more The purpose of this paper is to argue for the ongoing use of dialogue as a modern pedagogical and andragogical method. The author reviewed 18 scholarly sources from three education databases in this literature review. The use of dialogue as mode of instruction dates from the Socratic Method of 399 B.C.E. to present uses. The literature reveals current studies of successful use in math, ESL, business, law, and teacher preparation instruction. Also, the dialogue as avenue into reflective self-learning appears prominently in modern practice. Multimedia, computer, and online dialogue methods also show good results in several well designed models. The author concludes that dialogue in different forms remains an effective method of instruction in wide applications. The research revealed several improvements and new applications for dialogue as method of education from Socrates in ancient Greece to public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary institutions in 2009.
Virtually every police department in the United States claims to " protect and serve, " yet, we s... more Virtually every police department in the United States claims to " protect and serve, " yet, we see throughout the country that sworn officers insist and depend on impunity from the law that they purport to enforce. Internal affairs units suffer from an inherent conflict of interest in that the same force that pays the reviewing officers and is civilly liable for civil rights violations by their employers, so dismissal of officers who illegally harass, beat, or even kill innocents remains rare under a system in which the police monitor the police. Instead, rogue officers should lose their credentials to continue to work in law enforcement; independent state agencies, under the review of federal authority, must review any and all complaints against officers, and take appropriate independent action—including permanent revocation. We credential teachers, plumbers, and even lawyers—none of whom carry weapons or operate bomb-throwing robots in public. It is time to credential all police officers in the name of freedom and democracy.
Policarpa Salavarrieta was raised by her sister after her mother and father perished during a sma... more Policarpa Salavarrieta was raised by her sister after her mother and father perished during a small pox epidemic when “La Pola” was only eleven.
Simón Bolívar was raised, largely, by his slave nanny, Hipólita.
Colombia commemorates Both Bolivar and Salavarrieta on coins and currency still circulating today. Theirs was a fascinating story of nineteenth-century class war that still reverberates all over the continent today.
Much of Bolívar’s family wealth from his mother’s family, the Palacioses, came from slave labor in the Cocorote copper mines. Some slaves also worked the estates that Bolívar inherited from his father’s family, and Bolívar, ironically, spent much of this family wealth generated partly from slave labor to “liberate” Venezuela from Spanish colonialism.
"We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world— benefac... more "We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world— benefaction…. We should cease to talk about vague and unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better." —George Kennan head of U.S. State Department Policy Planning Staff, 1948. ______________________________________________________________________________ 80 percent of the world lives on less than $10 per day. Source: World Bank ________________________________________________________________________ The world is on the precipice of a Second Renaissance or a Second Dark Ages. Income and, especially, wealth inequality have never been more severe, now to astronomical levels where many live on less than the price of a cappuccino a day while others amass billions, usually by manipulating or exploiting the masses, aggravating poverty and instability, and not stopping at waging wars or committing genocide for profit. The legal and illegal drug and arms trades are booming, just as speculation on the worthless derivative assets continues unabated and largely untaxed. We are here as the result of ongoing class war waged by the ownership and ruling classes against the middle and working classes. The history of societies, nations, and empires establishing class systems so as to divide and conquer includes examples from and well before biblical times, slave trades in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas, genocide of the American natives and other indigenous peoples, colonialism all over the globe that continues to this day as near as in Mexico, wars of aggression such as Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the never ending and often fraudulent exploitation of the poor by the powers that be. The only solution is revolution. Revolution, when successful, often follows a trichotomy model that we have seen historically in several examples covered in later chapters of this book and recently on display in the Arab Spring as well as what is currently taking shape in the Occupy and Black Lives Matter movements finally challenging corrupt American institutions as never before. The trichotomy begins with (1) oppression and exploitation by a ruling class, such as Wall Street and the government it buys. Next there is (2) a rebel group that struggles to capture the imagination and support of (3) the majority of the given population. If it does not, it is eventually crushed, sometimes from within by infiltrators, sometimes from without by selective or corrupt prosecution, or ultimately brutally by police-state tactics such as tear gas, rubber bullets,
Class War 2016: Rhetoric and Revolution Eric Michael Moberg, M.F.A., Ph.D. Copyright © 2016 Lond... more Class War 2016: Rhetoric and Revolution
Eric Michael Moberg, M.F.A., Ph.D.
Copyright © 2016
London: Prescott University Press
All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form except with prior written permission of the author.
ISBN-13:
978-1533526335
ISBN-10:
1533526338
To Humanity
“I want what’s coming to me…everything.”
—David Koch, billionaire co-owner of Koch Industries and major contributor to the Tea Party and other conservative projects, such as the climate change denial industry.
“And what the media hasn’t caught on, and what the establishment hasn’t caught on, is that the American people are sick and tired of establishment politics and establishment economics….It is time for a political revolution…”
—Bernie Sanders, United States Senator from Vermont and 2016 candidate for president.
Contents
SECOND RENAISSANCE OR SECOND DARK AGES 5
POLICARPA AND THE SONS OF AMERICA 13
THE ONE PERCENTERS 25
SO MANY TIGERS 31
DEATH OF THE MIDDLE CLASS 43
BREAD OR THE CLUB 51
TOO CORRUPT NOT TO FAIL 63
NGUYỄN AND THE PATRIOTS 73
CORPORATE SLAVERY 87
CHILDREN OF THE CASBAH 95
PRIMOGENITURE AND POVERTY PIMPS 105
ALMA MATERS 111
TEN POINTS OF PRAXIS 119
Second Renaissance or Second Dark Ages
"We need not deceive ourselves that we can afford today the luxury of altruism and world—benefaction…. We should cease to talk about vague and unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better."
—George Kennan head of U.S. State Department Policy Planning Staff, 1948.
_______________________________________________________________________________
80 percent of the world lives on less than $10 per day.
Source: World Bank
________________________________________________________________________
The world is on the precipice of a Second Renaissance or a Second Dark Ages. Income and, especially, wealth inequality have never been more severe, now to astronomical levels where many live on less than the price of a cappuccino a day while others amass billions, usually by manipulating or exploiting the masses, aggravating poverty and instability, and not stopping at waging wars or committing genocide. The legal and illegal drug and arms trades are booming, just as speculation on the worthless derivative assets continues unabated and largely untaxed.
Alma Maters Comandante Ramona did not die from a bullet, but lack of health care. Comandante Ramo... more Alma Maters Comandante Ramona did not die from a bullet, but lack of health care. Comandante Ramona was the alma mater of the Chiapas rebellion. The rebel is the alma mater of social change. Then too, we all nourish the rebel, whether we march with the rebel, oppose the rebel, or, by our indifference, create a vacuum for the rebel to fill. We allow a magical semi-realistic incarnation of our nourishing mothers. The Christian Mary, mother of Jesus, we are taught, and some believe, is a virgin. Hope is popular, and hope is human. The Mary myth is about hope. Hope is alluring, and hope is free. Revolution is freedom, but it is not free; we often pay for revolution with human blood. The Comandante Ramona legend is not about hope; it is about freedom. Thomas Jefferson advised us that a free people must be willing to revolt as often as every generation to cast off any government that does not serve us so that we can replace it with one that does. Comandante Ramona's Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (EZLN) fights for the same thing that Sojourner Truth and Geronimo fought for: freedom. Freedom is magical, but it is also real–as real as we are willing to make it.
The Warts were a one performance wonder. In a way they were not even a real band. The lead sing... more The Warts were a one performance wonder. In a way they were not even a real band. The lead singer, Richard Elvern Marsh, was from Salt Lake City and had moved to California in 1963 to study piano at UCLA and start a doo-whop band. The Warts’ only appearance was in a 1967 episode of the short-lived television sitcom Mothers-in Law, starring Eve Arden as the mother of a newlywed bride living in her parents’ garage with her new husband; the husband’s mother lived next door. The comedy derived from the “generation gap” between the parents and newlyweds all living so close together. In the Warts episode the newlyweds invite the band over to the house to perform for their parents in the hopes that the parents will help promote the band.
You never ask a homeless person where they sleep. Nine out of ten of these people are cut-throat... more You never ask a homeless person where they sleep. Nine out of ten of these people are cut-throat drug addicts or alcoholics, or both. One of these guys was flyin’ a sign in front of Home Depot the other day and got in a fight with his ol’ lady, so he started beatin’ her right in front of the cars he was gonna ask for handouts. This town is real good to homeless, too. The Salvation Army gives better food than I had when I was in the Navy. I’m over 50, so I can get food stamps, $202 a month, but I can’t buy much with that. It’s just easier to come here, especially Sunday. They got the church people come out and bring us home-made cookies. During the week there’s fish, chicken, ham—always something different. The government never treats us that good.
Senator Manchin isn't stupid, as the title of Heather Digby Parton's recent article suggests, he'... more Senator Manchin isn't stupid, as the title of Heather Digby Parton's recent article suggests, he's just talking stupid in the hopes that enough of his West Virginia voters are stupid enough to believe that bipartisanship is not a tactic or principle or even strategy but an actual accomplishment in itself.1 On a recent conference call with big donors, Manchin explained that bipartisanship was invaluable because it allowed acts of congress to survive through several, or many, election cycles.2 The stupidity of this elevation of long-lasting bipartisan consensus to a level of sacrosanctity could not have become more obvious this week when the wise and moral Representative Barbara Lee finally convinced enough fellow members to repeal the 2002 Authorization to Use Military Force against Iraq.3 What was the vote count nearly 20 years ago? In the house, 215 Republicans and 81 Democrats agreed4 to attack Iraq, ostensibly because of the then baseless-and later disproven-claims of weapons of mass destruction and the knowingly false but incessantly repeated innuendo that Saddam Hussein was involved in the September 11 attacks (77 senators-representing both parties-also voted in the affirmative). The bipartisanship of the vote to invade Afghanistan the year before was even more overwhelming: 214 Republicans and 204 Democrats voted in support in the house, with Barbara Lee the lone nay5 (98 senators joined the 418 war mongering representatives, zero voted against, and 2 moral cowards voted "present"6). But, this bipartisan foolishness is indeed long lasting: similarly in 1964, 98 senators voted to start the war against Vietnam,7 leading to the deaths of nearly 60,000 Americans and as many as 4 million Asians8 by the very bipartisan passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
Is Šamhat an empowered woman in the epic?
First, If your march begins in a Florida golf cart, transfers you to a limousine shuttling you to... more First, If your march begins in a Florida golf cart, transfers you to a limousine shuttling you to Air Force One and ends with a helicopter ride dropping you off on a plush, taxpayer-funded lawn, you are doing it wrong.
Appearing now below, the Actual Bill of Rights of the Congress of the United States as revealed b... more Appearing now below, the Actual Bill of Rights of the Congress of the United States as revealed by the Formidable Marjorie Taylor Greene on the final broadcast of the Rush Limbaugh Show.
As CEO, Tillerson “disparaged and downplayed the science on climate change, and his company is ev... more As CEO, Tillerson “disparaged and downplayed the science on climate change, and his company is even currently under investigation under investigation for defrauding the public and shareholders for decades about the dangers of climate change caused by fossil fuels,” according to Ken Kimmel, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Yet some such as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice touted Tillerson’s credentials and experience for the job, but after seven months on duty, Tillerson faced public ridicule in establishment publications such as Foreign Policy: “It’s time to acknowledge that Tillerson is an abject failure, particularly in the area in which he was supposed to be best prepared,” because he wrongly pursues a “robust American foreign policy,” without recognizing “America’s role as a real “force for universal” human and civil rights in a global economy and society. But Rice and others should not be surprised, given Tillerson’s long history of presiding over exploitation, corruption, and even torture by Exxon-Mobil, “it’s hard to believe Tillerson wouldn’t have had some idea of” the torture by “Exxon’s Army” in Aceh, where the rampant “abuse was covered by news organizations—including the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal—as early as the 1990s.” Abusing, exploiting, displacing, and torturing workers or dissidents is typical behavior for a Fascist state, in this case, the Great State of Exxon-Mobil. So, shouldn’t Madison have shown more concern for the undue influence of the overbearing minority—plutocrats like Rex Tillerson and the rest of the Trump billionaire cabinet? As founder Abigail Adams noted, “Every man would be a tyrant if we let him.”
The circumstances call for a thunderous, revolutionary response that must include a cultural and ... more The circumstances call for a thunderous, revolutionary response that must include a cultural and societal awakening that we are beginning to see in the many protests of 2016 and 2017; we also need a 28th Amendment to curb corporate power and influence on our elected representatives, who rarely even consider, let alone obey, the will or good of the people. And, at the same time, as Jane McAlvey urges, we must organize ourselves with millions of other ordinary people to transfer power from elites to the majority so that we can analyze the circumstances, set the goals, design the strategy, and pursue our own success.
All of the 2016 GOP presidential hopefuls supported the death penalty or left it to the states, a... more All of the 2016 GOP presidential hopefuls supported the death penalty or left it to the states, and many in the party continue to reject the LGBQT movement, and Senator Ted Cruz took the extraordinary position of urging states to “ignore” a United States Supreme Court ruling recognizing gay marriage. The GOP continues to urge party members to “just trust” leadership while they increasingly conduct public business in private, assuring followers that Senator McConell and five other white men are ideal leaders who know what is best for the country. Trump advisor Steven Miller publicly asserted presidential supremacy over the other branches of government on the controversial Muslim ban, though not a single of several courts have agreed. Stereotyping of others transcends race and gender to include bashing of political opponents as weak, elitist, insane, or even treasonous. Ambassador to the United Nations Nicky Haley warned the Security Council that the United States might take “considerable military actions” against North Korea if the other member states did not acquiesce to Trump administration threats. President Trump mocked commentators who criticized the overwhelming wealth of his cabinet members, explaining to a laughing audience at a rally that he just doesn’t “want a poor person' running the economy.”
To DeVos and the corporate-fascist powers that be, making boatloads of money is ultra-American wh... more To DeVos and the corporate-fascist powers that be, making boatloads of money is ultra-American while they enact Mussolini’s principle of separating “treasure” into the exclusive private schools and the “trash” into defunded public schools or unregulated charter schools, and they see Jefferson’s quest for enlightenment as a counterproductive project that only serves to agitate the masses, who are expected to labor and consume but not to think.
In 1995, Umberto Eco, a former Fascist youth, outlined a list of features typical to what he refe... more In 1995, Umberto Eco, a former Fascist youth, outlined a list of features typical to what he referred to as Ur-Fascism or Eternal Fascism. Each and all apply historically and currently to the Fascist State of the United States of America.
CIA Director Pompeo recently claimed—contrary to all evidence—that Assange and Wikileaks are “not... more CIA Director Pompeo recently claimed—contrary to all evidence—that Assange and Wikileaks are “not reporters doing good work trying to keep the American government honest” but instead “are people who are actively recruiting agents to steal American secrets with the sole intention of destroying the American way of life.” Pompeo’s naked betrayal of the American values of limited government and the Ninth Amendment guarantee that the “enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people” could hardly be more stunning in his assumption that he, as director of the same Central Intelligence Agency that experimented with LSD on American citizens without their consent or even knowledge, should hold the authority to decide what constitutes good reporting or the American way of life.
Art will be part of our solution, as it has been. Soon after the 100th day of the Trump administ... more Art will be part of our solution, as it has been. Soon after the 100th day of the Trump administration, author John Altman reminded us of the 1935 cautionary tale It Can’t Happen Here, in which a fascist candidate comes to power As Altman saw it, “Now it has happened here. And it continues to happen, week after week. And authors, along with countless others, scramble to find their footing amid the chaos—and hope that sanity eventually prevails, and rules once again apply.” Three days before Trump’s inauguration, the New York Times published a current review of the classic. The reviewer compares the fictitious Berzelius Windrip, “a blustery populist candidate rising, against all odds, to the presidency of the United States,” to the 21st century Twitter artist in chief.
No court has yet addressed the question of the government collecting facial recognition data in p... more No court has yet addressed the question of the government collecting facial recognition data in public, and ongoing Carnegie Mellon University research highlights some of the power and dangers. The CMU research team cross-referenced social media profile photographs with photographs on ostensibly anonymous dating sites in one experiment; in a separate experiment, the researchers identified students on campus based on their online social media photographs; and the team eventually designed a smartphone app that combined online and offline data to overlay private and personal information onto the facial photographs. For those who do not post photos on social media, CMU researchers developed a camera that can collect iris scans of unwitting persons in a crowd: “There’s no X-marks-the-spot. There’s no place you have to stand. Anywhere between six and 12 meters, it will find you, it will zoom in and capture both irises and full face.” The private citizen is are endangered species in the new Fascist United States.
The disgust of American society by the abuse of authority and excessive use of force was so promi... more The disgust of American society by the abuse of authority and excessive use of force was so prominent as to cause Wall Street to react with United Airlines stock losing more than $1 billion in value. In the end, the same society that allows the corporate capitalism that forcefully asserts property rights over human rights ultimately condemned the authoritarianism as unacceptably excessive and fascistic.
As veteran media and social critic Michael Parenti notes in Profit Pathology and Other Indecencie... more As veteran media and social critic Michael Parenti notes in Profit Pathology and Other Indecencies, the Occupy Wall Street movement caught the establishment by surprise and created political space for Bernie Sanders not only to run as a self-identifying democratic socialist, but for Sanders to continue his campaign after the inauguration of Donald Trump and do so in a manner and intensity that many plainly refer to as a revolution. Civic participation after the election reflects the revolutionary spirit of citizens who have taken to the streets chanting “What do we want? Trump’s tax returns. When do we want it? Now” and “We want a leader, not a tax cheater. We want a leader, not a friggin’ tweeter.” In South Carolina at a congressional town hall meeting at Aiken Technical College, constituents carried red signs charging “you lie” and shouted the phrase at Republican Joe Wilson because of his claims to defend his effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The courts are another site of the rebellion; Trump now faces multiple suits against his profiteering on his presidency, and water protectors won a victory against the administration’s rushed approval of the multi-billion dollar Dakota Access Pipeline, a project of Trump supporter Kelcy Warren. The Women’s March on the day after the inauguration, however, set the new standard and inaugurated the people’s revolution. Follow the women.
Yale Professor of History Snyder warns us in his 2017 book on tyranny that during “the campaign o... more Yale Professor of History Snyder warns us in his 2017 book on tyranny that during “the campaign of 2016, we took a step toward totalitarianism without even noticing by accepting as normal the violation of electronic privacy,” and “the theft, discussion, or publication of personal communications destroys a basic foundation of our rights” because if “we have no control over who reads what and when, we have no ability to act in the present or plan for the future,” indeed whoever “can pierce your privacy can humiliate you and disrupt your relationships at will.” Yet some see hope for the future. In a recent interview, University of California Professor of History Emerita Angela Davis noted that “there is a popular understanding of the connection between racist police violence and systemic issues. The prison-industrial complex has something to do with the CIA’s use of secret prisons and the torture that was recently revealed,” which may create “a foundation for a movement…there’s a powerful foundation and people are ready for a movement.” Long live the movement.
To mold the traditional type of child, Dobson and others, such as police sergeant Robert Surgenor... more To mold the traditional type of child, Dobson and others, such as police sergeant Robert Surgenor, recommend spanking, as set forth in the wisdom of biblical verses such as Proverbs 13:24 and King Solomon’s advice that the father “that spareth his rod hateth his son.” But the research does not bear out the wisdom of Surgenor, Dobson, or Solomon. To the contrary, spanking does not improve child or adolescent behavior, but it does lead to dishonesty, stealing, aggression, depression, anxiety, learning difficulties, as well as a cycle of generational violence: “The more parents spank, the more likely they are to physically abuse their children.” Consistent with Mussolini’s love of all things war, this traditional and patriarchal American family model creates a war on children and develops children who see violence as normal.
Mussolini early in his tenure declared that the Fascist State would abandon the “old system and o... more Mussolini early in his tenure declared that the Fascist State would abandon the “old system and old ways” of labor unions, so on December 19, 1923, he explained that: “Peace within is primarily a task of government,” and “government has a clear outline of conduct” in which “order must never be troubled for any reason whatsoever.” With the Fascists in power, Italy would tolerate no trouble from any quarter, including workers, so “little by little, the old labor structure and associations were abandoned,” as the Mussolini administration “directed more and more toward the corporative conception of the state,” because the “Fascist State with its corporative conception puts men and their possibilities into productive work and interprets for them the duties they have to fulfil.” This is perhaps as stark an admission of totalitarianism as any leader could espouse.
So far have the current authorities strayed from their supposed intellectual father Adam Smith th... more So far have the current authorities strayed from their supposed intellectual father Adam Smith that many real-estate developers such as Jared Kushner and Donald Trump pay an average one percent in taxes on their income, according to analysis by New York University Professor Aswath Damodaran. And even Ronald Reagan’s own favorite 20th century Smith protégé, F. A. Hayek, argues against the notion of an infallible free market, for the social welfare state, and for the establishment of a guaranteed basic income:
If the problem with American style corporate Fascism is the totalitarian regime that emerges from... more If the problem with American style corporate Fascism is the totalitarian regime that emerges from militarism, authoritarianism, nationalism, and expansionism at the service of capitalism, then what is the solution, and how might a constitutional amendment further our cause? Since the goal of capitalism is the accumulation of capital—money—to use to accumulate more money by any means possible, including corruption or bribery in order to create and modify markets that benefit the wealthiest and most powerful capitalists, who regularly manipulate society, polity, and disregard humanity, then we should do something to constrain money within the norms of society.
And, there are—and always have been—alternatives to militarism and imperialism. During Roosevelt... more And, there are—and always have been—alternatives to militarism and imperialism. During Roosevelt’s buildup to engaging the United States in World War II, Democratic United States Senator Louis Ludlow from Indiana introduced a constitutional amendment that would only allow war to be declared after a national referendum had approved it. The proposed amendment, however, was narrowly defeated by a 209 to 188 margin, but it is encouraging to know that a more peaceful world is possible. Is it time to resurrect the Ludlow Amendment?