I heard you speak on the Oberlin zoom call and have just ordered your books. I do rural organizing in Central PA and really agree with your ideas. Any chance to discuss these ideas more? Penn Garvin class of '70 penngarvin@gmail.com
Brother Les, (like the old school style union address?)
I just finished posting to Jim Hightower's site. He's hopeful about the new D party leadership because they've called for local grassroots organizing. I used the Schumer quotation and said that mobilizing more people but using the same mistaken strategy won't work. The upper middle class professionals typical of the D party should learn to talk with us, the blue collar worker majority, and not just talk down to us. That's how to win.
Coalition building is difficult and it takes time to earn trust. Or for the D party, to earn it back. I mentioned that your book has robust stats showing that as mass layoffs went up, D votes went down in a county--local info. At the same time, these same voters have grown more socially liberal. The easy dismissal of us as ignorant bigots undeserving of economic relief is both deeply unfair and in reality untrue. I said to read the solid research in the book or check the Labor Institute website or your blog.
I also finished reading the alt. economist Steve Keen's 2022 book //The New Economics// and re-read his 2002 //Debunking Economics.// I knew Friedman and his Chicago School are full of it; their assertions have little, if any, empirical supporting evidence. But the 2022 book was even scarier. Econ journals very, very seldom accept anything contrary to the consensus econ belief system--and that's de facto the High Church of the Chi School. The rest of humanity is irrelevant.
The econ gatekeepers adhere to dogma, including on the effects of climate change. Several of the leading members of their priesthood have published on this, using formulae developed out of their own erroneous assumptions while ignoring the extensive work of actual climate scientists. According to the econ priestly caste, any effects will be minor. Since they quote each other as proof, there appears to be more data on their side than there actually is. Of course their "facts" are pushed by right wing media. Now we know why there are so many bizarre and badly informed deniers. And why the D party elite has done so very little. They're part of the same econ faith.
Brother Rafi, I really appreciate you efforts in spreading the word. I hope the discussion spreads and we can figure out ways to build working-class political power.
The founding fathers of America were of one mind that the government they were creating should be limited in scope and control. Today we have a bloated and greedy government that is interested in growing larger and increasing it’s control of the people. This is contrary to the original intent. We need to limit a government that has spent more than $36 trillion and is technically bankrupt.
What they're REALLY concerned about is registered voters refusing to vote. Bcuz it's tough to claim you got "a mandate from the voters" when the voter turnout was 10%.... Which is probably why I got junk mail from at least 2 different non-profit organizations before the election, imploring me to vote, for the usual nonsensical reasons, as if my vote were necessarily going to be counted ACCURATELY--something which hasn't happened in 24 years, at least.
Why should the richest man in the world have the "right" to control anything??? Money talks and the people walks...
All these white collar pundits acting like they know
what is best for the blue collar ?
Ain't that the truth.
I heard you speak on the Oberlin zoom call and have just ordered your books. I do rural organizing in Central PA and really agree with your ideas. Any chance to discuss these ideas more? Penn Garvin class of '70 penngarvin@gmail.com
Hi Penn. Would be great to connect. I'm at LesLeopold@aol.com
Brother Les, (like the old school style union address?)
I just finished posting to Jim Hightower's site. He's hopeful about the new D party leadership because they've called for local grassroots organizing. I used the Schumer quotation and said that mobilizing more people but using the same mistaken strategy won't work. The upper middle class professionals typical of the D party should learn to talk with us, the blue collar worker majority, and not just talk down to us. That's how to win.
Coalition building is difficult and it takes time to earn trust. Or for the D party, to earn it back. I mentioned that your book has robust stats showing that as mass layoffs went up, D votes went down in a county--local info. At the same time, these same voters have grown more socially liberal. The easy dismissal of us as ignorant bigots undeserving of economic relief is both deeply unfair and in reality untrue. I said to read the solid research in the book or check the Labor Institute website or your blog.
I also finished reading the alt. economist Steve Keen's 2022 book //The New Economics// and re-read his 2002 //Debunking Economics.// I knew Friedman and his Chicago School are full of it; their assertions have little, if any, empirical supporting evidence. But the 2022 book was even scarier. Econ journals very, very seldom accept anything contrary to the consensus econ belief system--and that's de facto the High Church of the Chi School. The rest of humanity is irrelevant.
The econ gatekeepers adhere to dogma, including on the effects of climate change. Several of the leading members of their priesthood have published on this, using formulae developed out of their own erroneous assumptions while ignoring the extensive work of actual climate scientists. According to the econ priestly caste, any effects will be minor. Since they quote each other as proof, there appears to be more data on their side than there actually is. Of course their "facts" are pushed by right wing media. Now we know why there are so many bizarre and badly informed deniers. And why the D party elite has done so very little. They're part of the same econ faith.
Brother Rafi, I really appreciate you efforts in spreading the word. I hope the discussion spreads and we can figure out ways to build working-class political power.
in solidarity,
The founding fathers of America were of one mind that the government they were creating should be limited in scope and control. Today we have a bloated and greedy government that is interested in growing larger and increasing it’s control of the people. This is contrary to the original intent. We need to limit a government that has spent more than $36 trillion and is technically bankrupt.
You got a point. Thanks for your comment.
Don't Tread on Me /
Then they TREAD over the Appalachians across the Ohio Valley
moving west stomping over every native tribe .
No Amerika is not the same .
What does limiting the size of government have to do with the westward expansion of the United States?
Easy to limit government in a little Greek village
not so easy for a bloated empire
to bring together a disparate populace
with differing ideas, religions and cultures .
The bureaucracy grew with the increase of citizens .
Should not have Tread over such a large area
if you wanted a nice little democracy.
What they're REALLY concerned about is registered voters refusing to vote. Bcuz it's tough to claim you got "a mandate from the voters" when the voter turnout was 10%.... Which is probably why I got junk mail from at least 2 different non-profit organizations before the election, imploring me to vote, for the usual nonsensical reasons, as if my vote were necessarily going to be counted ACCURATELY--something which hasn't happened in 24 years, at least.
Thanks for your comment. Wish we could do more about your concerns. sigh!
In addition to abandoning the working class majority decades ago, the Ds ignore WHY there are so many non-voters. It's clearly another way to say NO!
"Act of Defiance" I believe that's the message we're getting but that the Dems can't hear. Trump sure did.