#destroying — Public Fediverse posts

@DoomsdaysCW I have to tell you that I simply don't believe in so-called "green technology". It is subject to the Law of Unintended Consequences, & is a diversion from what we should be doing - using less #plastic, fewer #chemicals, no #fossilfuels, & NOT #destroying & #polluting our #environment! We need to put the #IPAT #equation in reverse, see: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27844882 (Holdren, JP & Ehrlich, PR, American Scientist, 62[3]:282-292, May-June, 1974).

@DoomsdaysCW I have to tell you that I simply don't believe in so-called "green technology". It is subject to the Law of Unintended Consequences, & is a diversion from what we should be doing - using less #plastic, fewer #chemicals, no #fossilfuels, & NOT #destroying & #polluting our #environment! We need to put the #IPAT #equation in reverse, see: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27844882 (Holdren, JP & Ehrlich, PR, American Scientist, 62[3]:282-292, May-June, 1974).

@DoomsdaysCW I have to tell you that I simply don't believe in so-called "green technology". It is subject to the Law of Unintended Consequences, & is a diversion from what we should be doing - using less #plastic, fewer #chemicals, no #fossilfuels, & NOT #destroying & #polluting our #environment! We need to put the #IPAT #equation in reverse, see: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27844882 (Holdren, JP & Ehrlich, PR, American Scientist, 62[3]:282-292, May-June, 1974).

@DoomsdaysCW I have to tell you that I simply don't believe in so-called "green technology". It is subject to the Law of Unintended Consequences, & is a diversion from what we should be doing - using less #plastic, fewer #chemicals, no #fossilfuels, & NOT #destroying & #polluting our #environment! We need to put the #IPAT #equation in reverse, see: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27844882 (Holdren, JP & Ehrlich, PR, American Scientist, 62[3]:282-292, May-June, 1974).

@DoomsdaysCW I have to tell you that I simply don't believe in so-called "green technology". It is subject to the Law of Unintended Consequences, & is a diversion from what we should be doing - using less #plastic, fewer #chemicals, no #fossilfuels, & NOT #destroying & #polluting our #environment! We need to put the #IPAT #equation in reverse, see: https://www.jstor.org/stable/27844882 (Holdren, JP & Ehrlich, PR, American Scientist, 62[3]:282-292, May-June, 1974).

#MissKittyRaw Your desires are simple, right? The bottom line is you don't need that much & cuz you've been forced to work too much, you lost track of what's necessary & what's just noise & distraction. Sophistication is #commercialization. There's nothing sophisticated about #destroying the planet.

#MissKittyPolitics I did this without #AI #research the first time, and so far without it the second time because I knew where to look. The update is not pretty. #Oil companies the world over are #destroying the planet and #stealing everything. They are looters the world over. Dark justifications.

https://www.europesays.com/videos/4122/ ‘He’s the PM!’ | Alex Armstrong TAKES AIM at Ed Miliband for destroying Britain’s energy security #AlexArmstrong #Analysis #BreakingNews #destroying #EdMiliband #energy #GBNews #GBNewsLive #GBN #HeIsThePM #news #NewsUpdate #politics #PrimeMinister #Reports #Security #TakesAim #uk #WhoIsRunningNumber10 #WorldNews

...

- #Deceived #humans & other #AI

All according to research funded by the #UK government AI #Safety Institute

It identified nearly 700 real-world cases of AI #scheming & shows 5-fold rise in #violations between Oct & Mar. Some AI models #destroying #emails, files without permission

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/27/number-of-ai-chatbots-ignoring-human-instructions-increasing-study-says

#DarwinAwards #ServiceModel

[2/2]

...

- #Deceived #humans & other #AI

All according to research funded by the #UK government AI #Safety Institute

It identified nearly 700 real-world cases of AI #scheming & shows 5-fold rise in #violations between Oct & Mar. Some AI models #destroying #emails, files without permission

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/27/number-of-ai-chatbots-ignoring-human-instructions-increasing-study-says

#DarwinAwards #ServiceModel

[2/2]

...

- #Deceived #humans & other #AI

All according to research funded by the #UK government AI #Safety Institute

It identified nearly 700 real-world cases of AI #scheming & shows 5-fold rise in #violations between Oct & Mar. Some AI models #destroying #emails, files without permission

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/27/number-of-ai-chatbots-ignoring-human-instructions-increasing-study-says

#DarwinAwards #ServiceModel

[2/2]

...

- #Deceived #humans & other #AI

All according to research funded by the #UK government AI #Safety Institute

It identified nearly 700 real-world cases of AI #scheming & shows 5-fold rise in #violations between Oct & Mar. Some AI models #destroying #emails, files without permission

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/27/number-of-ai-chatbots-ignoring-human-instructions-increasing-study-says

#DarwinAwards #ServiceModel

[2/2]

...

- #Deceived #humans & other #AI

All according to research funded by the #UK government AI #Safety Institute

It identified nearly 700 real-world cases of AI #scheming & shows 5-fold rise in #violations between Oct & Mar. Some AI models #destroying #emails, files without permission

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/27/number-of-ai-chatbots-ignoring-human-instructions-increasing-study-says

#DarwinAwards #ServiceModel

[2/2]

Who’s Destroying Undersea Internet Cables?

“If a shark bites the internet cable at the bottom of the ocean, how is it repaired? More…
#NewsBeep #News #Internet #cables #destroying #Technology #UK #undersea #UnitedKingdom #whos
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/8586/

Who’s Destroying Undersea Internet Cables?

“If a shark bites the internet cable at the bottom of the ocean, how is it repaired? More…
#NewsBeep #News #Internet #cables #destroying #Technology #UK #undersea #UnitedKingdom #whos
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/8586/

‘We knew we had to get out’: This #family #fled #NewHampshire over #legislation that would #restrict their #transgender #daughter.

“It was #destroying us,” said #AbiMaxwell, about #increasing #legislative attempts to #reshape her #transgender #daughter’s day-to-day #life.

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #NewHampshire #Education #Sports #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/08/20/metro/new-hampshire-family-moves-out-of-state-after-facing-anti-transgender-legislation/

In a sane world this #apartheid #scum #fraudster would have been spending the rest of his life in #prison. Unfortunately he owns the #presidency and will get away with #destroying ordinary #citizens lives.

#SSA #government #USPolitics #impeach #TraitorMAGA #TraitorGOP #criminal #corrupt #thief #thug
https://www.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-reportedly-cut-off-125754232.html

#Why is it so #Hard for #People to #Understand that #Greed always leads to #Destroying something worth #Keeping? I will #Never be able to wrap my mind around that. Such a #Shame…

An #editorial in the highly respected #BMJ explains that Trump et al are #destroying #science and must be stopped: “Trump’s first 100 days have destroyed the foundations of 100 years’ scientific progress and pre-eminence.” https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r862

#Destroying EVERY #Zionist #Talking Point #yt prt1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXujfBBfvXU

Mary Trump on her family's history of destruction

#Trump #destroying #WhiteHouse #EastWing #ballroom #distraction #Epstein #EpsteinFiles #ReleaseTheEpsteinFiles

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgamzzorTcs

Some #people will really talk about #prison #abolition or #destroying all cages and then turn around and start praising the #psychiatric #system as a solution.

Why does ANYONE think it's OK to ignore or set aside #ClimateChange policies, because of #wars and #poverty? Our need to stop #destroying the only #home we have, and ourselves, trumps everything else. 🙏🌿

#AI Slop Is #Destroying The #Internet #kurzgesagt #yt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zfN9wnPvU0

🤣🤣🤣 the thumbnail 🤣 👏 👏 👏 #rofl Not this one there is a second one 🙄

#Russian drone strikes in Zaporizhzhia injure 15, destroy #kindergarten

Four people have been hospitalized, while 11 more received medical care onsite, Fedorov wrote on social media.

At least seven #drones hit the city, damaging #ResidentialBuildings and #destroying about 80% of a kindergarten, Fedorov reported.

https://kyivindependent.com/russian-drone-strikes-in-zaporizhzhia-injure-4-destroy-kindergarten/

#WarCrimes #RussianAggression #Ukraine

Have any #autocratic and #fascist leaders and systems ever brought prosperity and improvement to their citizens without either #enslaving their nation for a long time or even #destroying it?

If Democratic party leaders are smart, they would unify their messaging.

4 things

#Trump is #lying

Trump is #stealing

Trump is #destroying

#Republicans are to #blame

The 4th part is the most important part

#Medical #writer & #editor Ellen Kuwana wrote a powerful post on what it's like now at conferences our professions attend: "...The conversations ... have been all about the horrible #assault on #science. #Destroying #institutions, #funding mechanisms, #careers." https://www.tinyurl.com/5cvkkvaw

Washington Post continues to ignore the facts and the truth #ElonMusk is stepping back from #DOGE They fail to state - DOGE is embedded in every major federal agency and has demolished all functioning #IT systems, stolen our personal #data, taken control of all management roles and forced out all expertise and in-house knowledge. The press bit onto the story as all #Musk all the time just as they are spewing All Trump all the time. This belies the truth #Project2025 #Destroying #democracy.

Meanwhile, in other news... note the #volatility index aka #fear index. This #criminal #administration is #destroying wealth, decimating lives of #middleclass #American families residual those living off their life's savings and investments. #impeach and #convict this #felon now.

#economy #stockmarket #loss #corrupt #USPolitics #government #resist #handsOff #stupid

About time all these #unconstitutional #EO were thrown out. The #orange #felon is #destroying the country. #impeach now!

#fascism #OpposeFascism #CriminalAdministration #traitorGOP #TraitorMAGA #SaveTheRepublic #defeatGOP #defendDemocracy #government #USPolitics #TransRights #lgbtq #rights
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-passport-policy-affecting-transgender-americans

#Influential #MAGA #hatepastor uses #socialmedia to #target #LGBTQ+ #kids & #teachers.

“He #believes he’s doing the #Lordswork... (But in reality) He’s #destroying #people in our town.”

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #Religion #Hypocrisy #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Homophobia #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate #EmptyThePews

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/05/influential-maga-hate-pastor-uses-social-media-target-lgbtq-kids-teachers/

About time all these #unconstitutional #EO were thrown out. The #orange #felon is #destroying the country. #impeach now!

#fascism #OpposeFascism #CriminalAdministration #traitorGOP #TraitorMAGA #SaveTheRepublic #defeatGOP #defendDemocracy #government #USPolitics #TransRights #lgbtq #rights
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-passport-policy-affecting-transgender-americans

About time all these #unconstitutional #EO were thrown out. The #orange #felon is #destroying the country. #impeach now!

#fascism #OpposeFascism #CriminalAdministration #traitorGOP #TraitorMAGA #SaveTheRepublic #defeatGOP #defendDemocracy #government #USPolitics #TransRights #lgbtq #rights
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-passport-policy-affecting-transgender-americans

About time all these #unconstitutional #EO were thrown out. The #orange #felon is #destroying the country. #impeach now!

#fascism #OpposeFascism #CriminalAdministration #traitorGOP #TraitorMAGA #SaveTheRepublic #defeatGOP #defendDemocracy #government #USPolitics #TransRights #lgbtq #rights
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-passport-policy-affecting-transgender-americans

About time all these #unconstitutional #EO were thrown out. The #orange #felon is #destroying the country. #impeach now!

#fascism #OpposeFascism #CriminalAdministration #traitorGOP #TraitorMAGA #SaveTheRepublic #defeatGOP #defendDemocracy #government #USPolitics #TransRights #lgbtq #rights
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/federal-judge-blocks-trumps-passport-policy-affecting-transgender-americans

A World of Slaves:
Most Americans haven’t seen what’s coming.

Nancy MacLean notes that when the #Kochs’ control of the GOP kicked into high gear after the financial crisis of 2007-08, many were so stunned by the “shock-and-awe” tactics of #shutting #down government, #destroying #labor unions, and #rolling #back #services that meet citizens’ basic necessities that few realized that many leading the charge had been trained in economics at Virginia institutions, especially George Mason University.

Wasn’t it just a new, particularly vicious wave of partisan politics?
It wasn’t.

MacLean convincingly illustrates that it was something far more disturbing.
MacLean is not the only scholar to sound the alarm that the country is experiencing a #hostile #takeover that is well on its way to radically, and perhaps permanently, altering the society.

Peter #Temin, former head of the MIT economics department, INET grantee, and author of "The Vanishing Middle Class", as well as economist Gordon #Lafer of the University of Oregon and author of "The One Percent Solution", have provided eye-opening analyses of where America is headed and why.

MacLean adds another dimension to this dystopian big picture, acquainting us with what has been overlooked in the capitalist right wing’s playbook.

She observes, for example, that many liberals have missed the point of strategies like #privatization.

Efforts to “reform” #public #education and #Social #Security are not just about a preference for the private sector over the public sector, she argues. You can wrap your head around those, even if you don’t agree.

Instead, MacLean contends, the goal of these strategies is to radically alter power relations, #weakening pro-public forces and #enhancing the #lobbying #power and commitment of the corporations that take over public services and resources, thus advancing the plans to #dismantle #democracy and make way for a return to #oligarchy.

The majority will be held captive so that the wealthy can finally be free to do as they please, no matter how destructive.

MacLean argues that despite the rhetoric of Virginia school acolytes, shrinking big government is not really the point.

The #oligarchs require a government with tremendous new powers so that they can bypass the will of the people.
This, as MacLean points out, requires greatly #expanding #police #powers “to control the resultant popular anger.”
The spreading use of pre-emption by GOP-controlled state legislatures to suppress local progressive victories such as living wage ordinances is another example of the right’s #aggressive use of #state #power.

👉Could these right-wing capitalists allow private companies to fill #prisons with helpless citizens—or, more profitable still, right-less undocumented #immigrants? ☑️They could, and have.

👉Might they engineer a #retirement #crisis by moving Americans to inadequate 401(k)s? ☑️Done.

👉Take away the rights of consumers and workers to bring grievances to court by making them sign #forced #arbitration agreements? ☑️Check.

👉Gut #public #education to the point where ordinary people have such bleak prospects that they have no energy to fight back? ☑️Getting it done.

👉Would they even refuse children #clean #water? ☑️Actually, yes.

MacLean notes that in #Flint, Michigan, Americans got a taste of what the emerging oligarchy will look like — it tastes like #poisoned #water. There, the Koch-funded Mackinac Center pushed for legislation that would allow the governor to take control of communities facing emergency and put unelected managers in charge.
In Flint, one such manager switched the city’s water supply to a polluted river, but the Mackinac Center’s lobbyists ensured that the law was fortified by protections against lawsuits that poisoned inhabitants might bring. Tens of thousands of children were exposed to #lead, a substance known to cause serious health problems including brain damage.

Libertarian economist Tyler #Cowen has provided an economic #justification for this kind of #brutality, stating that where it is difficult to get clean water, private companies should take over and make people pay for it. “This includes giving them the right to cut off people who don’t—or can’t—pay their bills,” he explains.

To many this sounds grotesquely #inhumane, but it is a way of thinking that has deep roots in America.

In "Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative" (2005), Buchanan considers the charge of #heartlessness made against the kind of classic liberal that he took himself to be.

MacLean interprets his discussion to mean that people who “failed to foresee and save money for their future needs” are to be treated, as Buchanan put it, “as #subordinate members of the species, akin to…#animals who are dependent.’”

Do you have your education, health care, and retirement personally funded against all possible exigencies?
Then that means #you.

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america

A World of Slaves:
Most Americans haven’t seen what’s coming.

Nancy MacLean notes that when the #Kochs’ control of the GOP kicked into high gear after the financial crisis of 2007-08, many were so stunned by the “shock-and-awe” tactics of #shutting #down government, #destroying #labor unions, and #rolling #back #services that meet citizens’ basic necessities that few realized that many leading the charge had been trained in economics at Virginia institutions, especially George Mason University.

Wasn’t it just a new, particularly vicious wave of partisan politics?
It wasn’t.

MacLean convincingly illustrates that it was something far more disturbing.
MacLean is not the only scholar to sound the alarm that the country is experiencing a #hostile #takeover that is well on its way to radically, and perhaps permanently, altering the society.

Peter #Temin, former head of the MIT economics department, INET grantee, and author of "The Vanishing Middle Class", as well as economist Gordon #Lafer of the University of Oregon and author of "The One Percent Solution", have provided eye-opening analyses of where America is headed and why.

MacLean adds another dimension to this dystopian big picture, acquainting us with what has been overlooked in the capitalist right wing’s playbook.

She observes, for example, that many liberals have missed the point of strategies like #privatization.

Efforts to “reform” #public #education and #Social #Security are not just about a preference for the private sector over the public sector, she argues. You can wrap your head around those, even if you don’t agree.

Instead, MacLean contends, the goal of these strategies is to radically alter power relations, #weakening pro-public forces and #enhancing the #lobbying #power and commitment of the corporations that take over public services and resources, thus advancing the plans to #dismantle #democracy and make way for a return to #oligarchy.

The majority will be held captive so that the wealthy can finally be free to do as they please, no matter how destructive.

MacLean argues that despite the rhetoric of Virginia school acolytes, shrinking big government is not really the point.

The #oligarchs require a government with tremendous new powers so that they can bypass the will of the people.
This, as MacLean points out, requires greatly #expanding #police #powers “to control the resultant popular anger.”
The spreading use of pre-emption by GOP-controlled state legislatures to suppress local progressive victories such as living wage ordinances is another example of the right’s #aggressive use of #state #power.

👉Could these right-wing capitalists allow private companies to fill #prisons with helpless citizens—or, more profitable still, right-less undocumented #immigrants? ☑️They could, and have.

👉Might they engineer a #retirement #crisis by moving Americans to inadequate 401(k)s? ☑️Done.

👉Take away the rights of consumers and workers to bring grievances to court by making them sign #forced #arbitration agreements? ☑️Check.

👉Gut #public #education to the point where ordinary people have such bleak prospects that they have no energy to fight back? ☑️Getting it done.

👉Would they even refuse children #clean #water? ☑️Actually, yes.

MacLean notes that in #Flint, Michigan, Americans got a taste of what the emerging oligarchy will look like — it tastes like #poisoned #water. There, the Koch-funded Mackinac Center pushed for legislation that would allow the governor to take control of communities facing emergency and put unelected managers in charge.
In Flint, one such manager switched the city’s water supply to a polluted river, but the Mackinac Center’s lobbyists ensured that the law was fortified by protections against lawsuits that poisoned inhabitants might bring. Tens of thousands of children were exposed to #lead, a substance known to cause serious health problems including brain damage.

Libertarian economist Tyler #Cowen has provided an economic #justification for this kind of #brutality, stating that where it is difficult to get clean water, private companies should take over and make people pay for it. “This includes giving them the right to cut off people who don’t—or can’t—pay their bills,” he explains.

To many this sounds grotesquely #inhumane, but it is a way of thinking that has deep roots in America.

In "Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative" (2005), Buchanan considers the charge of #heartlessness made against the kind of classic liberal that he took himself to be.

MacLean interprets his discussion to mean that people who “failed to foresee and save money for their future needs” are to be treated, as Buchanan put it, “as #subordinate members of the species, akin to…#animals who are dependent.’”

Do you have your education, health care, and retirement personally funded against all possible exigencies?
Then that means #you.

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america

A World of Slaves:
Most Americans haven’t seen what’s coming.

Nancy MacLean notes that when the #Kochs’ control of the GOP kicked into high gear after the financial crisis of 2007-08, many were so stunned by the “shock-and-awe” tactics of #shutting #down government, #destroying #labor unions, and #rolling #back #services that meet citizens’ basic necessities that few realized that many leading the charge had been trained in economics at Virginia institutions, especially George Mason University.

Wasn’t it just a new, particularly vicious wave of partisan politics?
It wasn’t.

MacLean convincingly illustrates that it was something far more disturbing.
MacLean is not the only scholar to sound the alarm that the country is experiencing a #hostile #takeover that is well on its way to radically, and perhaps permanently, altering the society.

Peter #Temin, former head of the MIT economics department, INET grantee, and author of "The Vanishing Middle Class", as well as economist Gordon #Lafer of the University of Oregon and author of "The One Percent Solution", have provided eye-opening analyses of where America is headed and why.

MacLean adds another dimension to this dystopian big picture, acquainting us with what has been overlooked in the capitalist right wing’s playbook.

She observes, for example, that many liberals have missed the point of strategies like #privatization.

Efforts to “reform” #public #education and #Social #Security are not just about a preference for the private sector over the public sector, she argues. You can wrap your head around those, even if you don’t agree.

Instead, MacLean contends, the goal of these strategies is to radically alter power relations, #weakening pro-public forces and #enhancing the #lobbying #power and commitment of the corporations that take over public services and resources, thus advancing the plans to #dismantle #democracy and make way for a return to #oligarchy.

The majority will be held captive so that the wealthy can finally be free to do as they please, no matter how destructive.

MacLean argues that despite the rhetoric of Virginia school acolytes, shrinking big government is not really the point.

The #oligarchs require a government with tremendous new powers so that they can bypass the will of the people.
This, as MacLean points out, requires greatly #expanding #police #powers “to control the resultant popular anger.”
The spreading use of pre-emption by GOP-controlled state legislatures to suppress local progressive victories such as living wage ordinances is another example of the right’s #aggressive use of #state #power.

👉Could these right-wing capitalists allow private companies to fill #prisons with helpless citizens—or, more profitable still, right-less undocumented #immigrants? ☑️They could, and have.

👉Might they engineer a #retirement #crisis by moving Americans to inadequate 401(k)s? ☑️Done.

👉Take away the rights of consumers and workers to bring grievances to court by making them sign #forced #arbitration agreements? ☑️Check.

👉Gut #public #education to the point where ordinary people have such bleak prospects that they have no energy to fight back? ☑️Getting it done.

👉Would they even refuse children #clean #water? ☑️Actually, yes.

MacLean notes that in #Flint, Michigan, Americans got a taste of what the emerging oligarchy will look like — it tastes like #poisoned #water. There, the Koch-funded Mackinac Center pushed for legislation that would allow the governor to take control of communities facing emergency and put unelected managers in charge.
In Flint, one such manager switched the city’s water supply to a polluted river, but the Mackinac Center’s lobbyists ensured that the law was fortified by protections against lawsuits that poisoned inhabitants might bring. Tens of thousands of children were exposed to #lead, a substance known to cause serious health problems including brain damage.

Libertarian economist Tyler #Cowen has provided an economic #justification for this kind of #brutality, stating that where it is difficult to get clean water, private companies should take over and make people pay for it. “This includes giving them the right to cut off people who don’t—or can’t—pay their bills,” he explains.

To many this sounds grotesquely #inhumane, but it is a way of thinking that has deep roots in America.

In "Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative" (2005), Buchanan considers the charge of #heartlessness made against the kind of classic liberal that he took himself to be.

MacLean interprets his discussion to mean that people who “failed to foresee and save money for their future needs” are to be treated, as Buchanan put it, “as #subordinate members of the species, akin to…#animals who are dependent.’”

Do you have your education, health care, and retirement personally funded against all possible exigencies?
Then that means #you.

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america

A World of Slaves:
Most Americans haven’t seen what’s coming.

Nancy MacLean notes that when the #Kochs’ control of the GOP kicked into high gear after the financial crisis of 2007-08, many were so stunned by the “shock-and-awe” tactics of #shutting #down government, #destroying #labor unions, and #rolling #back #services that meet citizens’ basic necessities that few realized that many leading the charge had been trained in economics at Virginia institutions, especially George Mason University.

Wasn’t it just a new, particularly vicious wave of partisan politics?
It wasn’t.

MacLean convincingly illustrates that it was something far more disturbing.
MacLean is not the only scholar to sound the alarm that the country is experiencing a #hostile #takeover that is well on its way to radically, and perhaps permanently, altering the society.

Peter #Temin, former head of the MIT economics department, INET grantee, and author of "The Vanishing Middle Class", as well as economist Gordon #Lafer of the University of Oregon and author of "The One Percent Solution", have provided eye-opening analyses of where America is headed and why.

MacLean adds another dimension to this dystopian big picture, acquainting us with what has been overlooked in the capitalist right wing’s playbook.

She observes, for example, that many liberals have missed the point of strategies like #privatization.

Efforts to “reform” #public #education and #Social #Security are not just about a preference for the private sector over the public sector, she argues. You can wrap your head around those, even if you don’t agree.

Instead, MacLean contends, the goal of these strategies is to radically alter power relations, #weakening pro-public forces and #enhancing the #lobbying #power and commitment of the corporations that take over public services and resources, thus advancing the plans to #dismantle #democracy and make way for a return to #oligarchy.

The majority will be held captive so that the wealthy can finally be free to do as they please, no matter how destructive.

MacLean argues that despite the rhetoric of Virginia school acolytes, shrinking big government is not really the point.

The #oligarchs require a government with tremendous new powers so that they can bypass the will of the people.
This, as MacLean points out, requires greatly #expanding #police #powers “to control the resultant popular anger.”
The spreading use of pre-emption by GOP-controlled state legislatures to suppress local progressive victories such as living wage ordinances is another example of the right’s #aggressive use of #state #power.

👉Could these right-wing capitalists allow private companies to fill #prisons with helpless citizens—or, more profitable still, right-less undocumented #immigrants? ☑️They could, and have.

👉Might they engineer a #retirement #crisis by moving Americans to inadequate 401(k)s? ☑️Done.

👉Take away the rights of consumers and workers to bring grievances to court by making them sign #forced #arbitration agreements? ☑️Check.

👉Gut #public #education to the point where ordinary people have such bleak prospects that they have no energy to fight back? ☑️Getting it done.

👉Would they even refuse children #clean #water? ☑️Actually, yes.

MacLean notes that in #Flint, Michigan, Americans got a taste of what the emerging oligarchy will look like — it tastes like #poisoned #water. There, the Koch-funded Mackinac Center pushed for legislation that would allow the governor to take control of communities facing emergency and put unelected managers in charge.
In Flint, one such manager switched the city’s water supply to a polluted river, but the Mackinac Center’s lobbyists ensured that the law was fortified by protections against lawsuits that poisoned inhabitants might bring. Tens of thousands of children were exposed to #lead, a substance known to cause serious health problems including brain damage.

Libertarian economist Tyler #Cowen has provided an economic #justification for this kind of #brutality, stating that where it is difficult to get clean water, private companies should take over and make people pay for it. “This includes giving them the right to cut off people who don’t—or can’t—pay their bills,” he explains.

To many this sounds grotesquely #inhumane, but it is a way of thinking that has deep roots in America.

In "Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative" (2005), Buchanan considers the charge of #heartlessness made against the kind of classic liberal that he took himself to be.

MacLean interprets his discussion to mean that people who “failed to foresee and save money for their future needs” are to be treated, as Buchanan put it, “as #subordinate members of the species, akin to…#animals who are dependent.’”

Do you have your education, health care, and retirement personally funded against all possible exigencies?
Then that means #you.

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america

A World of Slaves:
Most Americans haven’t seen what’s coming.

Nancy MacLean notes that when the #Kochs’ control of the GOP kicked into high gear after the financial crisis of 2007-08, many were so stunned by the “shock-and-awe” tactics of #shutting #down government, #destroying #labor unions, and #rolling #back #services that meet citizens’ basic necessities that few realized that many leading the charge had been trained in economics at Virginia institutions, especially George Mason University.

Wasn’t it just a new, particularly vicious wave of partisan politics?
It wasn’t.

MacLean convincingly illustrates that it was something far more disturbing.
MacLean is not the only scholar to sound the alarm that the country is experiencing a #hostile #takeover that is well on its way to radically, and perhaps permanently, altering the society.

Peter #Temin, former head of the MIT economics department, INET grantee, and author of "The Vanishing Middle Class", as well as economist Gordon #Lafer of the University of Oregon and author of "The One Percent Solution", have provided eye-opening analyses of where America is headed and why.

MacLean adds another dimension to this dystopian big picture, acquainting us with what has been overlooked in the capitalist right wing’s playbook.

She observes, for example, that many liberals have missed the point of strategies like #privatization.

Efforts to “reform” #public #education and #Social #Security are not just about a preference for the private sector over the public sector, she argues. You can wrap your head around those, even if you don’t agree.

Instead, MacLean contends, the goal of these strategies is to radically alter power relations, #weakening pro-public forces and #enhancing the #lobbying #power and commitment of the corporations that take over public services and resources, thus advancing the plans to #dismantle #democracy and make way for a return to #oligarchy.

The majority will be held captive so that the wealthy can finally be free to do as they please, no matter how destructive.

MacLean argues that despite the rhetoric of Virginia school acolytes, shrinking big government is not really the point.

The #oligarchs require a government with tremendous new powers so that they can bypass the will of the people.
This, as MacLean points out, requires greatly #expanding #police #powers “to control the resultant popular anger.”
The spreading use of pre-emption by GOP-controlled state legislatures to suppress local progressive victories such as living wage ordinances is another example of the right’s #aggressive use of #state #power.

👉Could these right-wing capitalists allow private companies to fill #prisons with helpless citizens—or, more profitable still, right-less undocumented #immigrants? ☑️They could, and have.

👉Might they engineer a #retirement #crisis by moving Americans to inadequate 401(k)s? ☑️Done.

👉Take away the rights of consumers and workers to bring grievances to court by making them sign #forced #arbitration agreements? ☑️Check.

👉Gut #public #education to the point where ordinary people have such bleak prospects that they have no energy to fight back? ☑️Getting it done.

👉Would they even refuse children #clean #water? ☑️Actually, yes.

MacLean notes that in #Flint, Michigan, Americans got a taste of what the emerging oligarchy will look like — it tastes like #poisoned #water. There, the Koch-funded Mackinac Center pushed for legislation that would allow the governor to take control of communities facing emergency and put unelected managers in charge.
In Flint, one such manager switched the city’s water supply to a polluted river, but the Mackinac Center’s lobbyists ensured that the law was fortified by protections against lawsuits that poisoned inhabitants might bring. Tens of thousands of children were exposed to #lead, a substance known to cause serious health problems including brain damage.

Libertarian economist Tyler #Cowen has provided an economic #justification for this kind of #brutality, stating that where it is difficult to get clean water, private companies should take over and make people pay for it. “This includes giving them the right to cut off people who don’t—or can’t—pay their bills,” he explains.

To many this sounds grotesquely #inhumane, but it is a way of thinking that has deep roots in America.

In "Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative" (2005), Buchanan considers the charge of #heartlessness made against the kind of classic liberal that he took himself to be.

MacLean interprets his discussion to mean that people who “failed to foresee and save money for their future needs” are to be treated, as Buchanan put it, “as #subordinate members of the species, akin to…#animals who are dependent.’”

Do you have your education, health care, and retirement personally funded against all possible exigencies?
Then that means #you.

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america

An analysis of #regulatory #filings reveals that 1,074 firms—from #AndreessenHorowitz to #GeneralCatalyst were holding capital at #SiliconValleyBank in 2022 #GSIB #SystemicRisk #Banking #FinancialStability #FinancialCrisis #FinancialRegulations #destroying #DoddFrank https://fortune.com/2023/03/12/venture-firms-custodied-silicon-valley-bank/

I have a personal lifelong #vendetta against #Canadian #mining & #American & #NorthAmerican #logging #crapitalist #corporations because they're #responsible for #destroying lands/waterways in my #matriarch Grandparents villages in #Vietnam & I'll #NeverForgive them for that.
My family there suffered enough from wars & #biochemical #poisoning from #USA .

I'm the living angry #activist granddaughter fighting back against #ecocide & #CorporateGreed . I'm #resilient ASF, for my dead family members.

#Transphobes #raging at #BudLight for #likes is one thing – but this #violent #viralvideo is #frightening

In the #clip, which first circulated on #TikTok, a #man, seemingly #angered by #BudLight’s #sponsorship with #trans #socialmedia #star #DylanMulvaney, is seen #destroying a shelf of #beer at a #Walmart store in #Topeka, #kansas

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQIA #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Transphobia #MoralPanic #HateSpeech #StochasticTerrorism #Hatecrimes

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/04/20/bud-light-dylan-mulvaney-smashing-bottles/

The focus on growth also stifles #innovation as #capital is not invested in providing #useful #services through #profitable #businesses. The #markets fail to penalize #companies for #destroying #products to chase more revenue or for #laying off #workers when #growth slows. Until #investors prioritize good businesses over growth, this cycle of boom and bust will continue.

https://wheresyoured.at/p/the-rot-economy

#HappyBirthday #jane_goodall ! :awesome:

It is the 90th #birthday of my #childhood 's #heroine !

After reading "In the shadow of man" as a kid I wanted to follow her to the #Chimpanzees of #Gombe

But she wrote about the #destruction that #humans brought even to the #remote areas

So I came to the perception that trying to #change the #system that is #destroying the #planet would #help the more.

That's how I ended up with #Digitalisation #Sustainability & #Ethics

Picture: See description

This goes out to my #stalker who #tried to and #continually #fails at #outing my #sexuality, when I was 18 you tried and even in my 30's you are still #failing:

If I am #confronted with #your #mouth I will be #subject to knocking you the fuck out, my sexuality and #experiences are none of your concerns, #focus on your own #life or is that too hard? Is your life so #miserable & #mundane you have to #cause #problems for other #people? I am #comfortable with #who I am, I like #women and you should accept that #fact, move the fuck on. You did a good enough #job #destroying your own life over trying to destroy others.

No #wonder #you have no #friends.

After calling #libraries “#fantastic #institutions” that he claimed to “love,” #Fascist #Arkansas #StateSenator #DanSullivan called for #destroying any #Libraries that don’t #conform to his #wayofthinking.