I wonder
Do the oligarchs realize that, after the revolution, their militarized cops will be working for the people?
Bikes want to be free
Most bike systems in North America, charge a yearly fee with trips capped at 30 or 45 minutes before extra fees kick in. As things stand, Santa Monica's Bike Share program will do better, with a membership fee of $20 per month for 1 hour of free riding a day, allowing people to avoid the larger upfront cost of an annual fee; and subscribers who, say, only want to ride during warmer weather can also save some money. "Casual riders," which is probably a code word for tourists, will pay $2 per 20 minutes.
By comparison, however, in Philadelphia, the U.S. city with the most bicyclists per capita, the pricing system is more affordable. Philadelphia has a $15 per month fee that offers unlimited rides up to one hour per trip. Another option there provides a year of access to the system for a base fee of $10, with a per-trip charge of $4 for rides up to one hour long. Non-members (tourists) can pay the same $4 rate for rides, but for only up to one half hour, a little higher than here.
If you want people to ride, you have to make it as affordable as possible. At the $15/mo rate, it would cost a commuter about 70 cents a day, with no expenses for bike purchase, maintenance and repairs and no worries about theft. Let's see if we can lower the monthly fee in Santa Monica and have no limit on the number of trips per day, allowing people to, say, go to the market or other errands, then to the library, then to dinner, then to the movies, without the cost and hassle of metering.
Best of all would be free bikes, like Austin's Yellow Bike program. Possible models for a free system are "bike libaries" where bikes are issued to members for specific periods and fines accrue if they are overdue on return; bike share systems that take returable deposits instead of charging fees; and advertising-supported free bikes (a geographical system similar to that used to keep carts from leaving supermarket parking lots could be used to keep bikes from gong past municipal boundaries).
By comparison, however, in Philadelphia, the U.S. city with the most bicyclists per capita, the pricing system is more affordable. Philadelphia has a $15 per month fee that offers unlimited rides up to one hour per trip. Another option there provides a year of access to the system for a base fee of $10, with a per-trip charge of $4 for rides up to one hour long. Non-members (tourists) can pay the same $4 rate for rides, but for only up to one half hour, a little higher than here.
If you want people to ride, you have to make it as affordable as possible. At the $15/mo rate, it would cost a commuter about 70 cents a day, with no expenses for bike purchase, maintenance and repairs and no worries about theft. Let's see if we can lower the monthly fee in Santa Monica and have no limit on the number of trips per day, allowing people to, say, go to the market or other errands, then to the library, then to dinner, then to the movies, without the cost and hassle of metering.
Best of all would be free bikes, like Austin's Yellow Bike program. Possible models for a free system are "bike libaries" where bikes are issued to members for specific periods and fines accrue if they are overdue on return; bike share systems that take returable deposits instead of charging fees; and advertising-supported free bikes (a geographical system similar to that used to keep carts from leaving supermarket parking lots could be used to keep bikes from gong past municipal boundaries).
Terrorism has many faces:
"Eight abortion doctors have been murdered by 'pro-life' terrorists since 1993."
Striking a balance
A January 2015 survey conducted by agricultural economists at Oklahoma State found that 82% of Americans want their food labeled if it contains GMOs. The same survey found that 80% of Americans want their food labeled if it contains DNA.
Before getting too smug, let's stop and think about this. This is where majoritarianism leads when it is matched with a dumbed-down media and institutionalized ignorance fostered by an education system modeled on industry. De Tocqueville worried that egalitarian democracy harbored the seeds of its own destruction: "Society will develop a new kind of servitude which covers the surface of society with a network of complicated rules, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate. It does not tyrannize but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd," the resulting dysfunction revealed most nakedly in ballot initiatives.
Society needs to strike a balance between the romantic notion that everyone's ideas and beliefs are equally valid and respect for knowledge, expertise, and experience. The goal of egalitarianism should be to treat all people equally; the ambition of representative democracy should be to make the best practices and outcomes available to everyone.
Before getting too smug, let's stop and think about this. This is where majoritarianism leads when it is matched with a dumbed-down media and institutionalized ignorance fostered by an education system modeled on industry. De Tocqueville worried that egalitarian democracy harbored the seeds of its own destruction: "Society will develop a new kind of servitude which covers the surface of society with a network of complicated rules, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate. It does not tyrannize but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd," the resulting dysfunction revealed most nakedly in ballot initiatives.
Society needs to strike a balance between the romantic notion that everyone's ideas and beliefs are equally valid and respect for knowledge, expertise, and experience. The goal of egalitarianism should be to treat all people equally; the ambition of representative democracy should be to make the best practices and outcomes available to everyone.
Would Norman Thomas or Eugene Debs been more effective...
...if they'd run as Democrats?
Many of us who support him against Hillary Clinton now, warned before he declared that, by running as a Democrat instead of an independent, Bernie Sanders risks legitimizing the candidate from Goldman Sachs. Come September 2016, when most voters will be just starting to pay attention to the campaign, he will be either silenced or in the uncomfortable position of supporting a candidate for president he knows will pursue policies against which he has stood for his entire career. As Chris Hedges argues,
Many of us who support him against Hillary Clinton now, warned before he declared that, by running as a Democrat instead of an independent, Bernie Sanders risks legitimizing the candidate from Goldman Sachs. Come September 2016, when most voters will be just starting to pay attention to the campaign, he will be either silenced or in the uncomfortable position of supporting a candidate for president he knows will pursue policies against which he has stood for his entire career. As Chris Hedges argues,
If you want change you can believe in, destroy the system. And changing the system does not mean collaborating with it as Bernie Sanders is doing by playing by the cooked rules of the Democratic Party. Profound social and political transformation is acknowledged in legislatures and courts but never initiated there. Radical change always comes from below. As long as our gaze is turned upward to the powerful, as long as we invest hope in reforming the system of corporate power, we will remain enslaved. There may be good people within the system -- Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are examples -- but that is not the point. It is the system that is rotten. It must be replaced.The rest of the story: Make the Rich Panic by Chris Hedges (TruthDig).
Bernie's All In
Here's where you can sign up for Sen. Bernie Sanders's campaign emails and, should you wish, to make a financial contribution to his effort: https://berniesanders.com/
Robert Borosage of The Campaign for America's Future offers a savvy assessment of the upsides of Sanders' run. "Sanders," he writes, "is in many ways the mirror image of Hillary Clinton, the favored candidate in the race. She has universal name recognition, unlimited
funds, and a campaign operation rife with experienced political pros. He is not widely known, has little money, and has never run a national campaign. But in a populist moment, he is the real deal – a full-throated, unabashed, independent, uncorrupted, straight-talking populist. And that is a big deal."
Borosage suggests supporters of Sen. Elizabeth Warren should be full bore for Sanders, on the premise that he could be Eugene McCarthy to her Robert Kennedy.
The rest of the story: The Sanders Challenge by Robert Borosage (The Campaign for America's Future).
Robert Borosage of The Campaign for America's Future offers a savvy assessment of the upsides of Sanders' run. "Sanders," he writes, "is in many ways the mirror image of Hillary Clinton, the favored candidate in the race. She has universal name recognition, unlimited
Borosage suggests supporters of Sen. Elizabeth Warren should be full bore for Sanders, on the premise that he could be Eugene McCarthy to her Robert Kennedy.
The rest of the story: The Sanders Challenge by Robert Borosage (The Campaign for America's Future).
Security check
So.
Logan Airport last night.
TSA.
My hat on. My jacket on. My shoes on. Computer in my bag.
Took off my belt buckle, but left on a welded steel neck piece.
"Empty your pockets. No bottles."
That was it.
Could it be that it has been 13 1/2 years of bullshit?
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