Take the loss of global biodiversity. The denialist would say, "Environmentalists exaggerate the threat of extinction just to get attention." The optimist would say: "It sounds really bad, but nature is resilient, and ecologists are resourceful. Why, just the other day they discovered a frog they thought was extinct for decades!" The magical thinker combines that optimism with a self-interest that can take root when a solution to a problem conflicts in some way with their identity or values, or simply takes too much effort and time. "Smartphones use rare-earth metals mined in biodiversity hotspots? Awful," the magical thinker would say. "I love gorillas. But as a busy working mom, I cannot give up my phone. Someone will find a safer source of metals before long." This discomforting cognitive disson....

The social and environmental perils
https://www.salon.com/2021/08/27/the-social-and-environmental-perils-of-magical-thinking_partner/

I was banned from Facebook for fully expressing my outrage at our stupidity in allowing these murders with our cowardly niceness period lost the esteem of those that had any for me in the process. no regrets.

 I was banned from Facebook for fully expressing my outrage at our stupidity in allowing these murders with our cowardly niceness. lost the esteem of those that had any for me in the process. no regrets. 

"The main character in Notes from Underground carries the bankrupt ideas of liberalism to their logical extreme. He eschews passion and moral purpose. He is rational. He accommodates a corrupt and dying power structure in the name of liberal ideals. The hypocrisy of the Underground Man dooms imperial Russia as it now dooms the American empire. It is the fatal disconnect between belief and action.... " Chris Hedges quoting Dostoevsky

"The main character in Notes from Underground carries the bankrupt ideas of liberalism to their logical extreme. He eschews passion and moral purpose. He is rational. He accommodates a corrupt and dying power structure in the name of liberal ideals. The hypocrisy of the Underground Man dooms imperial Russia as it now dooms the American empire. It is the fatal disconnect between belief and action.... " Chris Hedges quoting Dostoevsky

I take no hope or comfort in little bits of hopefulness. Quite the opposite. We will avoid......

I take no hope or comfort in little bits of hopefulness. Quite the opposite. We will avoid...... saving the world precisely because we find little bits of Hope to keep us in our comfort zone and on the sidelines. The Guardian newspaper, which usually I'm grateful for today ran an article on the seven hopeful things, megatrends, that might avert global warming. F*** them. We don't have a problem with people finding reasons to stay on the sidelines. That's not our problem.

How is it Humane to blindfold horses? And our children, and ourselves? Mere survival is not life.

How is it Humane to blindfold horses? And our children, and ourselves? Mere survival is not life.

The pressure increases. If you stand for nothing people flock to stand with you. If you stand for something, you stand alone when people realize that. The one individual cyclist in Silicon Valley who offered a place to park legally just backed out. Out of the 30 that I contacted, along with every Unitarian Universalist Church, every Quaker Meeting, no room at the Inn. I'm not surprised but I hadn't understood. I understand now. The political stances that I take people out there are terrified of being associated with. Sure looking like jail time for vagrancy.

The pressure increases. If you stand for nothing  people flock to stand with you.  If you stand for something,  you stand alone when people realize that. The one individual cyclist in Silicon Valley who offered a place to park legally just backed out. Out of the 30 that I contacted, along with every Unitarian Universalist Church, every Quaker Meeting, no room at the Inn. I'm not surprised but I hadn't understood. I understand now. The political stances that I take people out there are terrified of being associated with. Sure looking like jail time for vagrancy.

James, many of us are living the nightmare. Respectfully I disagree, I replied. I see many existing in the Nightmare, and living in denial of it. At the same time. To live the nightmare is to be at total all out War to stop it. I......

James, many of us are living the nightmare.  Respectfully I disagree, I replied.  I see many existing in the Nightmare, and living in denial of it.  At the same time.  To live the nightmare is to be at total all out War to stop it.  I....... feel very very alone in that. Near totally, more so every day. I see many in sympathy with the cause, almost none committed. This is not a condemnation it is an honest and sorrowful observation. My father's generation said, where can I enlist? Today's generations say, what will it cost me? What can I do? I don't know what to do, and on and on and on and on and on. Endless denial, endless excuses.

As someone committed to saving the world, there is little that I saw at Standing Rock that I liked, that was of any substantial hope, and even less afterwards. But to the......

As someone committed to saving the world, there is little that I saw at Standing Rock that I liked, that was of any substantial hope, and even less afterwards. But to the.... nice man yesterday, and the millions like him, that said, well, I have mixed emotions about Standing Rock. The tons and tons of garbage. To that man I say, number one you were not there. You don't know except what the fossil-fuel owned media told you. And that should humble you if you care the least about the truth. Number two, and more important. I would take 100 of whatever you think the Refuge mountains were, I would take 100 standing rocks as you envision it, for a half of the forest land burned because of global warming in the Northwestern United States. And I would take a thousand of your worst imaginings of Standing Rock refuse, for what was just done in the last couple of months to the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and the southeastern United States. Read the Birmingham Jail letter from dr. King sometime. My problem is not the White Citizens committee or the KKK, he said. My problem is the white moderate that says I agree with your cause, but I do not agree with the way you are fighting.

Fatal flaw of the Giants Hedges and Chomsky: never will they criticize their followers. Only empty flattery.

Fatal flaw of the Giants Hedges and Chomsky: never will they criticize their followers. Only empty flattery.

The fundamental void is that not 10, not 5 people that I see face the question , what will it take to stop the machine in time? There is no hope until that changes.

The fundamental void is that not 10, not 5 people that I see face the question , what will it take to stop the machine in time? There is no hope until that changes.

In 13 years of upfront DC experience I have seen little difference between mass demonstrations in Washington DC and mass masturbation. Maybe......

In 13 years of upfront DC experience I have seen little difference between mass demonstrations in Washington DC and mass masturbation. Maybe someday it will be different. I don't expect so but I would be happy to be wrong. The one thing I'm certain that such one two three or four day demonstrations accomplishes is to show our opposition how completely and totally un-serious we are. That we are unprepared to pay even remotely the price  required to stop them. With these pitiful self-pleasuring efforts we announce our unconditional unilateral surrender. Hell we Delight our opposition  as they watch us bleed what little time and energy we have into totally impotent meaningless efforts. There is no history or tested theoey of civil resistance, nonviolent Warfare, or violent Warfare, that suggests that such Washington DC demonstrations are other than what I say. Not that anyone cares. We like what makes us feel good, screw the next seven generations. Everyone wants a revolution. No one wants to be the revolution.

We will post about heroics in the past and ideas for today until our fingers bleed. Nothing is too much for our children and grandchildren, well, except actually spending our life limb and treasure.

We will post about heroics in the past and ideas for today until our fingers bleed. Nothing is too much for our children and grandchildren, well, except actually spending our life limb and treasure.

We will post about heroics in the past and ideas for today until our fingers bleed. Nothing is.....

We will post about heroics in the past and ideas for today until our fingers bleed. Nothing is too much for our children and grandchildren, well, except actually spending our life limb and treasure.

Standing Rock update: a group of so-called Warriors just walked past, about......

Standing Rock update: a group of so-called Warriors just walked past, about an hour after the deadline to leave the camp but they're leaving. These are Warriors, they really consider themselves that and who knows, maybe they are. But by what measure? They've had a lot of food. They've had a lot of sex. They've had a lot of adulation. They had a lot of fun. They've been playing Warrior that's for sure. They've had a lot of power on security and other things and maybe done some good with that. I don't know enough to judge them, but I certainly have my questions. If we repeat what happened at this camp 10000 times what the hell impact is that going to have other than to possibly kill the oil industry with laughter at our cowardly, historically insignificant, impotent efforts?

Mr. Trump is betting on the stupidity, ignorance, self-centeredness, smallness of heart, bigotry, fearfulness, inhumanity of Americans, and the cowardice of the ones who are not so hard-hearted. It looks like he's made the right bet.

Mr. Trump is betting on the stupidity, ignorance,  self-centeredness, smallness of heart, bigotry, fearfulness, inhumanity of Americans, and the cowardice of the ones who are not so hard-hearted. It looks like he's made the right bet.

My father's generation, the greatest Generation: I have to risk everything because of my responsibilities. I have to risk everything because of my family and my children. My generation: I can't risk anything because of....

My father's generation, the greatest Generation: I have to risk everything because of my responsibilities. I have to risk everything because of my family and my children. My generation: I can't risk anything because of  my responsibilities. I can't risk anything because of my children. What the f***. Gandhi called it cowardice. My father's generation and earlier Generations called it hiding behind Apron Strings. We don't f****** love our children and grandchildren anymore.

There have been some extremely significant exceptions, but a central story of my adulthood has been a pattern of extremely intense leadership actions in dire human circumstances, attended by at least a small Cadre of excited colleagues only........

There have been some extremely significant exceptions, but a central story of my adulthood has been a pattern of extremely intense leadership actions in dire human circumstances, attended by at least a small Cadre of excited colleagues  only to find that in the midst of battle there was just one person out on the field of battle actually taking the risks, paying the price, fighting, me,  alone,  colleagues safely and immovably, with all the excuses in the world, on the sidelines.

### No friends in deed. Mission Exploring for Life in US will take place regardless, beginning Friday barring any major disasters. A little bit of lip service but no help has.......

### No friends in deed. Mission will take place regardless, beginning Friday barring any major disasters. A little bit of lip service but no help has materialized regarding Logistics or occasional lodging or shelter from likely hurricanes, no money for food, the trip will take place anyway. If there is a perfect metaphor for what my nervous system is calling me to do I haven't yet found it. Fishing Expedition captures some of it, the inability to see where the fish are but one takes One's best shot and place,  for a while, and then moves on and repeats. But there is also an element of being a cultivator of life, a sower of seeds, that I find in this call. Another metaphor, and a better one I think, is, Exploring for Life in US.  This encompasses the aspect of attempting to be a source of seeds, a sewer of seeds. Particularly if one keeps in mind the notion of, searching for Life on Mars, it incorporates the aspect of truly not knowing if there are any subpopulations or individuals in America above the age of two or three years old that can support the life of the child that is born within all of us, unconditionally loving, filled with wonder, awe, amazement. If what I'm saying seems insulting to anyone I'm okay with that. In the sheer fact that no support has emerged for this mission I don't take it personally, I take it as affirmation that even the subgroup with whom I've been in communication many for a long time now, what Gandhi considered life, the love of a mother for her child, but spread Universally, it just isn't there. I'm not denigrating anyone. I'm not elevating myself. Although I think I'm infinitely more healthy now than I was even 15 years ago, spiritually, psychologically, I was doing my absolute best then, I'm doing my absolute best now. Nothing more can be asked of any individual. But I assess that I was infinitely less healthy then. And I assess that even those with whom I have been in close communication with maybe one or two exceptions, lack what is the life that has animated the great Souls throughout history that are possessed by, seek to be possessed by, this Spirit within them that they can't control but that they can submit to, be it called conscience, heart, soul, wisdom, Loving , Divine insanity, solidarity with the neediest Among Us. The first of roughly 3,000 miles, and then 5 or ten Thousand Miles subsequently around the country begins on Friday barring any major disasters in final preparation of this vehicle.

My view is that Revolution is the only thing that can save us, anti violent, and that in Revolution the president is irrelevant, the Congress is irrelevant, the revolution prevails when the revolutionaries have become the relevant entity. It will not happen until more and more of us get past the illusion that the government will save us or that the government is the problem. Our cowardice, our inaction is the problem.

My view is that Revolution is the only thing that can save us, anti violent, and that in Revolution the president is irrelevant, the Congress is irrelevant, the revolution prevails when the revolutionaries have become the relevant entity. It will not happen until more and more of us get past the illusion that the government will save us or that the government is the problem. Our cowardice, our inaction is the problem.

The pursuit of justice is a wonderful breeding ground, a wonderful excuse, for hatred among those doing the pursuit toward whoever their targets are. The arrogance, hatred, hypocrisy in current 2016 so-called activism........

The pursuit of justice is a wonderful breeding ground, a wonderful excuse, for hatred among those doing the pursuit toward whoever their targets are. The arrogance, hatred, hypocrisy in current 2016 so-called activism is throwing this in my face as I so wish it was not. Without love, it is hatred. If anyone is being dehumanized, discriminated against against, victimized, it is not loving, just more of the same old hatred. Not Revolution. More of the same. Just an attempted change in who is doing the oppressing and who is oppressed.