Zucked: A Facebook Morality Tale

The New Yorker this week features an article on Roger McNamee, early technology pioneer, on the Facebook matter.  It is a fascinating story of the conversion experience of an important early investor in, to a critic of, Silicon Valley.

The focus of his 2019 book is, of course, the creation of Mark Zuckerberg.  But were you, dear reader, aware that Facebook is currently valued at $500 Billion dollars?  That is an astronomical sum by an measure.

More to the point, McNamee charges that Facebook, Google, and other such firms have made our private data a source of profit.  Is this right?, McNamee asks.

Regular readers of this blog can easily guess at my own personal response.  But, naturally, I encourage each person to make up his or her own mind.  Zucked should help.

N.B.  Also see comment below for more.  

Netherlands Faces Threat of Becoming a "Narco State"

A system of inter-connected drug distribution has solidified into a behemoth threatening to over-take the Dutch nation.  The article hyper-linked below tells the story.

The story of the Netherlands is a warning for nations considering the legalization of something as supposedly harmless as marijuana.  As I have detailed here in the past marijuana is no more inherently harmless than alcohol which is itself a drug -- and the arterial flow-through for countless societal problems around the world.

In the case of Holland a seemingly innocuous decriminalization of pot has developed into a nation awash in drugs of all kinds, especially the illegal kind.  The country is essentially crying out for help from the international community.

The experience of the Netherlands is clearly a clarion wake-up call for the United States which has insufficient control over the pot producers in the land, according to reports I have seen.   And now come further reports that Congress is considering loosening federal restrictions on marijuana as well.

Parenthetically, I can say that users and abusers of pot should be pitied and aided, not given life-sentences.  But as for national policy, there is absolutely no need to repeat the Dutch mistake.  Instead, let us be sure to learn from it.  


Drug Lords Threaten to Take Over The Netherlands

Sages from the Past Can Help Us Now

Below are two quotations from ancient and classical sources which describe our American scene now.  It is indeed a perilous time for democracy with enemies both foreign and domestic.  Let us hear these sages speak now....

When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents...is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity -- to join in the cry of danger to liberty -- to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion -- to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day -- It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may "ride the storm and direct the whirlwind."  

                                                                                               -- Alexander Hamilton
 

++++++++++++++

Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face:  should I be enquired of at all by them?

Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD;  Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet;  I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

 Therefore saith the Lord GOD;  Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols;  and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

                                                                                           -- Ezekiel 14:1-6


Posted on this the final day of scheduled open hearings into impeachment by the House Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman 

Courts Being Corrupted by OML

Rush Post

via People for the American Way

**BREAKING** Republicans in the Senate JUST used their rubber-stamp majority to confirm one of Trump’s worst judicial nominees yet … and just a week after "The New York Times" reported on the nominee Steven Menashi’s part in an illegal scheme with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to deny debt relief to students who were ripped off by greedy for-profit universities!

Nearly every Republican voted “yes” to confirm Menashi, a Trump White House lawyer, who was hand-selected by Trump for a lifetime seat on one of our nation’s most powerful courts – the very same federal appeals court that just issued a ruling against Trump’s efforts to hide his tax returns from prosecutors in New York.

Menashi is a radical right-wing extremist who, in his many writings, has expressed blatant hostility towards...  women, low-income families, Muslims, and immigrants. But he’s not the first unfit, unethical bigot nominated by Trump or confirmed by Mitch McConnell’s Republican majority to a lifetime seat on the federal bench. And he might not be the last.

                                                                                              -- People for the American Way

--------------------
This is a reminder that OML can be impeached, but that is not all that must be done now.  I'll have more to say about this soon.  In the meantime, it is clear it is time for all hands on deck so the ship of state may be swabbed clean of filth and corruption.

TMP
 

Politico Suggests Not One But Several "Simple" Ways OML Could Be Removed from Office

"Politico," the popular on-line political magazine, says it has found one or more easy ways OML could be convicted and removed from office.  I posit there could be others, once all the options are investigated.   After all, few Americans -- including journalists -- understand all the Senate rules.

As a musician, one of my constant annoyances is the un-creative and ignorant attitudes the press and media take toward politics.   They are constantly looking into crystal balls, with little or no evidence to go on.  This is made obvious by their frequent use of the words "likely" and "unlikely."  This, when you come down to it, is nothing but personal speculation.  Remember, Richard Nixon was re-elected by one of the biggest margins in American history.   Only fantasists on the left were predicting anything like impeachment at that time.

I want to give this Politico article its due.  I can see other scenarios, too.  Politico actually mentions other factors, such as the retirements of several aged Republicans, and the low approval ratings of McConnell.  A scenario in which Republicans find it very difficult to vote against conviction could well develop if the Congressional hearings are clear and convincing.  Add in a serious economic down-turn, and it is not hard to see a snow-ball effect toward impeachment and conviction.

I'll stop there.   I don't want to take up the habit of crystal ball gazing, after all. 


Politico Finds an Easy Path or Two or Three to Impeachment Conviction

The Media Inch Their Way Toward "The Whole Truth"

One of the recent additions to my life is satellite television service.  For many years I simply didn't have either cable or satellite service.  Now for the last several months I have been enjoying accessing everything from baseball to politics to religion via my satellite dish.  The plethora of commercials on most channels, including news channels is astonishing, aggravating, and distracting.  This subject will be handled in a later post.

It is clear at this point that the media is slowly -- ever so slowly -- crawling toward the truth about the state of our voting in this country.  Tomorrow, elections will be held in numerous locations in the United States.  Here's hoping for a relatively trouble-free, calm, and viable election out-come.

Tonight on the Chris Hayes program election integrity was skirted around.  But at least it was present, however dimly.  It is true, as the Hayes program said, that the circumstances of the 2020 election, with the same "swing" states, are similar to those of 2016.  What is different, as was also pointed out, are the impeachment inquiry and the softening of the economy.

Still essentially unreported are the vast efforts of vote suppression and other dirty tricks being conducted by various forces allied with the Republican Party.  One of the most recent examples is highlighted at the link below.

The American media, itself a beneficiary of corporate largess through the copious quantity of those commercials and ads, still needs to report on the truth of the methods of vote suppression which have been rampant and so very hurtful in our land.   


Jim Crow Steals Election in North Carolina

Graphic courtesy Elections at Risk by Dorothy Fadiman

Noam Chomsky Offers Alternative View on U.S.-Russia Relations

From 2018 --

At the link below you will find Noam Chomsky's views on U.S.-Russian relations as the second decade of the 21st Century heads toward its close.   There is a video of an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, as well as a written transcript.  With a little time and mental focus, I believe you will see what Prof. Chomsky, esteemed former MIT instructor, is getting at.


I do remember how, over the years, the spirit of detente with Russia soured, and relations deteriorated almost to the point of the Cold War.  This process accelerated in the early part of the 21st Century. 

I regard the Trump domestic policy to be disastrous.   However, sad to say, this is nothing new in America.  And certainly, we must protect our sovereignty.

Further, as I have reported here over and over again, it was not the Russians who were responsible for the victory of OML in 2016.   That nefarious feat was accomplished by nine methods of Republican voter suppression as documented by the well-regarded journalist, Greg Palast. 

For now, the Chomsky interview will serve as well as any other for helping us re-focus on just what is at stake in international relations, errant President or no.  


Noam Chomsky on U.S.-Russian Relations 

What the House Is Doing Apart From Impeachment: Much

It is a refreshment to see all the work the various sub-committees of Congress were doing just today alone.  While the impeachment inquiry gets the news it is heartening to see hearings on everything from cyber threats to -- well -- hearing!

Let's celebrate Congress for a change.  After so many years of inaction and acrimony, it is a thrill to see actual work being done on behalf of the people.

This is a foundation of accomplishment worth building on.

Bravo, Speaker Pelosi, and the House of Representatives!


https://www.house.gov/legislative-activity

Via Bloomberg:

Biden Braces for Rivals’ Attacks on Son at Democratic Debate 
Really?!

Here we have what I most disdain about our way of electing Presidents:  the televised debates.  This was not always the case.  But in recent years these "debates" -- which have always actually been nothing but joint news conferences (albeit confrontational) -- have become seemingly an opportunity for the non-leaders (in the polls) to take shots at the leader.

There is a certain way that criticizing an opponent can be useful, even healthy.   No one should have a free pass to the Presidency.  But, if attacking a candidate's son is considered part of the back and forth, the dignity of the office itself is in danger.  Sadly, this is not a new phenomenon.  But in the era of television, the danger of histrionics is magnified, and the ill effect spread far and wide.


N.B.:  Why does CNN seem to be the exclusive debate sponsor?  And, in case you were wondering, yes, I do miss the League of Women Voters.

___
(In its time this was a unique and extremely important way for The League of Women Voters to contribute.  Again, I miss them very much.)

Former Sen. Harry Reid Says OML Would Not Be Easy to Beat

Newsmax claims to be "Independent. American."  Those are two good things to be.  Whatever their claim, they do have news about former Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada and his views on OML as well as Senate Republicans in general.

Mr. Reid is making at least two assumptions.   He is assuming the Master of the Oval Office will not be removed from office by either impeachment, resignation, the 25th amendment, or imprisonment.*  (Are there other non-violent ways?)   Ruling out all of these methods of removal might be a little unrealistic.

However, assuming OML is nominated by the Republicans or what is left of them, would he, in fact, be difficult to defeat?  It is something to consider, especially if he is "a very, very smart man," as Mr. Reid says he has come to believe.




Page also includes links to article about the supposed danger of impeachment to Democrats:

Former Sen. Harry Reid Says OML Would Not Be Easy to Beat


*Could a President serve in office even while imprisoned?  This has never seemed a remotely real possibility until this bizarre, unreal [P]residency. 

At This Tumultuous Time

Such sadness and concern envelope the political realm of our country.   The concern spreads and overflows this bountiful land full of good and beautiful people, confused though they are.

While possible foreign interference in our elections is a real worry, of far greater concern at this time is the suppression of votes involving a racist component.   Careful researcher, Greg Palast has documented the removal of 14 million persons from the voting rolls in the most recent period.  This is the true horror of now.  These voters, many of color, and with Hispanic-sounding names have been purged through a program called Crosscheck, originally developed by Kris Kobach of Kansas, and now spread to many other states.  (For further information see sidebar at right.)

But the people are aroused and they are tuning in.  A majority now favors impeachment of the President.  The story of the land of the free is still the story of the brave as well.  

"Your Mission Should You Accept It...."

 

Theme to "Mission Impossible," extended version with conductor's explanatory introduction.  (Music starts a few minutes in.)

Life's lesson to be learned:  the Impossible Missions Force never seemed to have a mission it could not accomplish.

Impeach the VICE-President?

What if it is shown that the President broke campaign finance laws in order to be elected?   What if, against all odds, it is revealed that the Republicans used nine methods of voter suppression, some illegal, to get Our Military Leader elected?

This issue has already been addressed at the link below.

Vice-President Could Be Impeached Says Law Professor

Trump Must Resign

For the good of the country

Policy of Detente with Russian should continue under new President

A Simple Proposal

In his landmark book, Move Fast and Break Things, author Jonathan Taplin quotes a letter of Thomas Jefferson from Paris where he was stationed back to James Madison who was serving at the Constitutional Convention.  Jefferson was concerned that there was no bill of rights proposed.  He wrote:

I will now add what I do not like.  First, the omission of a bill of rights, providing clearly, and without the aid of sophism, for freedom of  religion, freedom of the press, protection against standing armies, restriction against monopolies [emphasis added], the eternal and unremitting force of the habeas corpus laws, and trials by jury in all matters of fact triable by the laws of the land, and not by the laws of Nations.

This shows clearly Jefferson's concern that among the other  rights, a restriction against monopolies was necessary.  Jefferson had witnessed the monopolies of the English companies in the new world and knew how excessive power from monopolies as such was as great a threat as restrictions on freedom of the press or religion.   But Hamilton, representing as he did the big New York financial interests, objected strenuously and the "restriction of monopolies" was not adopted.  It was not until the anti-trust laws more than one hundred years later that protections against trusts and combines were written into law.

Sadly, more than anyone else, Robert Bork helped to enshrine a new doctrine of supposed "consumer welfare" as the test by which all proposed anti-trust actions would be judged.  That is, as long as prices were falling, Wal-Mart could take over the whole retail economy, as far as he was concerned.   Left out of his procedure was any concern for over-concentration of political power or predation.*

So, the anti-trust laws have essentially been put on the shelf, only trotted out from time to time for the biggest mergers, and even then only in the context of "consumer welfare."

The relevant portion in Chapter 6 of Move Fast and Break Things is well worth the reading.

But this problem could be taken care of by simply adopting an Amendment to the Constitution which would do little more than restore Jefferson's original proposal to restrict monopolies.  But this time, said restriction would be in the Constitution itself.  We could do this.  In fact, we must do this or its equivalent.   Otherwise, corporations will increasingly run rough-shod over our laws and the Constitution itself.  



*see quotation of Robert Reich, p. 112