tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post754926653103891750..comments2024-03-28T16:08:29.578-04:00Comments on Sardonicky: Griftopolis, Part TwoKaren Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-7800698509756930532015-05-07T14:00:54.551-04:002015-05-07T14:00:54.551-04:00Karen: Thanks for your reply about supporting (fin...Karen: Thanks for your reply about supporting (financially and politically) Bernie Sanders and with warnings. It is not just my decision that counts but decisions by many progressives as well who may also be puzzled about which direction to go and who trust your judgment. I will save my money and patiently wait until some real action somewhere is forthcoming. But as long as we are burdened with this Congress and those with power and money run the country nothing will change. As many of us have said, real changes have to happen which may be forced on the leadership such as another l929 crash among other things. It is hard to look ahead into the future at this point in time.<br />It is most helpful to have all the information and opinions in Sardonicky to figure out how to best be useful and influence others in their decisions which I am most grateful for. I also have the ammunition to influence my granddaughters when they ask me questions about their futures and how to deal with challenges they see coming along. Thank you Karen for taking the time to address the issues many of us bring up.Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-45381221341462522782015-05-07T13:10:14.449-04:002015-05-07T13:10:14.449-04:00Pearl,
I am verbally "supporting" Berni...Pearl,<br /><br />I am verbally "supporting" Bernie, because I agree with his ideas. However, his promise that he would endorse Hillary in the end is disheartening, to say the least. I stand by my comment the other day that his challenge within the safe confines of the Democratic Party is probably at least passive-aggressively designed to herd the undecideds and the malcontents into the veal pen. I already got a fund-raising appeal for him from Act Blue, that super-annoying outfit responsible for all those scare-tactic emails from the midterms. Any money donated to them in his name can be legally used for other candidates... so beware.<br /><br />I will never give money to another political candidate. Any spare change I can scrounge up goes to my food bank and Doctors Without Borders.Karen Garciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-23580914502842396742015-05-07T12:38:43.364-04:002015-05-07T12:38:43.364-04:00annenigma: Your article about Sanders being a shee...annenigma: Your article about Sanders being a sheep dog is very convincing as well as the comments following. That is why I was asking whether I should send money to Bernie Sanders. I would rather he had planned to run for a third party and now see his decision to remain and support the Democratic party a serious mistake. Karen, are you going to support him as you do in your comments to the NYTimes? I also feel that I will vote for the Green Party and Jill Stein. I think I wrote to him once asking him to run and doing it as an independent. However, he can be cut down if necessary no matter how he runs but wish he had disengaged himself from the democratic party. Perhaps he hopes to affect support for Hillary. Also people wondering about his socialist tendencies may be afraid to support him. It is not a hopeful picture.<br />Anyhow your printing that article was very important and has affected my choices now. But coming from Black Agenda means that black voters will not have choices and may avoid the voting booths as a result as I don't see them supporting Hillary.Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-68520682831572106262015-05-07T10:23:16.707-04:002015-05-07T10:23:16.707-04:00'Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders: Sheepd...'Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders: Sheepdogging for Hillary and the Democrats in 2016'<br /><br />http://blackagendareport.com/bernie-sanders-sheepdog-4-hillaryannenigmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-37856852963589184892015-05-06T20:29:36.695-04:002015-05-06T20:29:36.695-04:00
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/chelsea_manni...<br />http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/chelsea_manning_and_the_deepwater_horizon_killings_20150418#.VUqfVRtHylM.email<br /><br />Here is a recent report from Greg Palast which is not off topic because the results of criminal behavior of those in charge of our country past and present continues unabated. Frightening. Never read about this before.Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-45711247866465754352015-05-06T18:43:28.906-04:002015-05-06T18:43:28.906-04:00K and Pearl,
Good ones!
I'm foreseeing a pos...K and Pearl,<br /><br />Good ones!<br /><br />I'm foreseeing a post at Goldman Sachs for the much well-endowed ex-First Lady. After all, someone should get some payback, right?<br /><br />Okay, maybe second in command to Jamie at Morgan Chase.<br /><br /><i>On January 24, 2014 it was announced that Dimon would receive $20 million for his work in 2013, despite what was reported as the bank’s worst year under Dimon’s reign. The award was a 74% raise, which included over $18 million in restricted stock.<br />. . . As head of JPMorgan Chase, Dimon oversaw the transfer of $25 billion in funds from the U.S. Treasury Department to the bank on October 28, 2008, under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).[30] This was the fifth largest amount transferred under Section A of TARP[31] to help troubled assets related to residential mortgages. It has been widely reported[32] that JPMorgan Chase was in much better financial shape than other banks and did not need TARP funds but accepted the funds because the government did not want to single out only the banks with capital issues.<br /><br />JPMorgan Chase advertised in February 2009 that it would be using its capital-base monetary strength to acquire new businesses.[33]<br /><br />By February 2009, the U.S. government had not moved forward in enforcing TARP's intent of funding JPMorgan Chase with $25 billion.[30] In the face of the government's lack of action, Dimon was quoted during the week of February 1, 2009, as saying,<br /><br /> JPMorgan would be fine if we stopped talking about the damn nationalization of banks. We've got plenty of capital. To policymakers, I say where were they? ... They approved all these banks. Now they're beating up on everyone, saying look at all these mistakes, and we're going to come and fix it.<br />. . . Following the acquisition of Washington Mutual by JPMorgan Chase, Obama commented on Dimon's handling of the real-estate crash, credit crisis, and the banking collapse affecting corporations nationwide, including major financial institutions like Bank of America, Citibank, and Wachovia (now Wells Fargo).<br /><br /> You know, keep in mind, though there are a lot of banks that are actually pretty well managed, JPMorgan being a good example, Jamie Dimon, the CEO there, I don't think should be punished for doing a pretty good job managing an enormous portfolio.[39]<br /><br />Dimon has had close ties to some people in the Obama White House, including former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.[40] Dimon was one of three CEOs—along with Lloyd Blankfein and Vikram Pandit—said by the Associated Press to have had liberal access to former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner."<br />-Wikipedia</i><br />Cirzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07070125217972397204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-47500854993006120552015-05-06T11:41:08.813-04:002015-05-06T11:41:08.813-04:00I don't think we were pointing to any conspira...I don't think we were pointing to any conspiracy, but as Ann pointed out (and I thought too) it seemed strange that he was on the floor unnoticed for so long in <i>The Four Seasons</i> and I don't know, but the press seems pretty cowed by Facebook. I'm not saying we "have aright to know", but I am saying that the press seems to be acting differently with this death and strange circumstances (plus the denial by the Four Seasons that he was ever on their property). It is Facebook. They are in the surveillance business.Katnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-15126901401076765972015-05-06T10:22:38.420-04:002015-05-06T10:22:38.420-04:00The initial secrecy and mystery surrounding Dave G...The initial secrecy and mystery surrounding Dave Goldberg's death were the fuel for the Internet conspiracy theories. Major publications like the Times and the WSJ ran prominent laudatory stories which not only provided no details, but admitted that they were honoring the wishes of a wealthy family for privacy.<br /><br />This is pretty ironic. given that the widow is the COO of Facebook, one of the worst enemies of privacy in the modern world. <br /><br />A lot of people were also aggravated that the spin of the initial obits was how this guy assisted his wife. spent two whole hours a day with the kids, and was a real down to earth feminist above and beyond all his other accomplishments. It was very classist, in my opinion.<br /><br />When the story first broke I thought it had all the makings for one of those old Colombo episodes, or an Agatha Christie Poirot story about death in the snobbish upper classes.<br /><br />If only the original news stories had just stated that Dave Goldberg died in a treadmill accident, there probably wouldn't have been as much speculation amongst the hoi polloi. <br /><br />Even so, I agree with Anne that it is weird that this guy could have lain on the floor for hours, unnoticed. Don't these exclusive resorts have CCTV or human attendants to assist the clientele?Karen Garciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-43058772414862775982015-05-06T05:55:00.894-04:002015-05-06T05:55:00.894-04:00There are many posts around the internet verging o...There are many posts around the internet verging on the ridiculous regarding David Goldberg’s death from a head injury due to a treadmill fall.<br /><br />There is no deep, dark, conspiracy. If one falls, whether from a bicycle or a treadmill or skis, and hits his head just right, the result can be a fatal head injury. <br /><br />It's very easy, for instance to lose your balance, to fall off a treadmill. I've done it.<br /><br />Mr. Goldberg was found lying in a pool of blood. He may have been there for several hours before he was found. <br /><br />The initial few seconds, minutes, and hours after a brain injury has occurred are the most critical. Chance of survival often depends upon access to brain injury treatment, and the more advanced the treatment center and their level of preparedness when treating a TBI, the greater one’s chances of survival become.<br /><br />Traumatic brain injury is a catastrophic condition. Open head TBIs are frightening. One of the most common causes of open brain injury is skull fracture, in which pieces of bone from the skull penetrate the brain. When the skull is cracked and penetrated, pieces of it get lodged in the brain. Such injuries crush, rip and shear delicate brain tissue. This is the most life threatening and the most intractable type of brain injury. <br /><br />The brain is a complicated tangle of tissue. <br /><br />Recall the head injury that killed Liam Neeson's wife, Natasha Richardson, a couple of years ago. Swelling and massive bleeding in the brain probably pushed her brain downward in the skull, ultimately causing it to crush her brainstem. Brainstem damage is always a huge concern where there's swelling or bleeding in the brain, because the brain has nowhere to expand but down into where the brainstem is.<br /><br />Brain stem death is where a person no longer has any activity in their brain stem, and has permanently lost the potential for consciousness and the capacity to breathe. Once the brain stem has permanently stopped functioning, there's no way of reversing it. A person is confirmed as being dead when their brain stem function is permanently lost.<br /><br />Perhaps Mr. Goldberg had a living will and an advance directive that described his preferences for end-of-life care; that spoke for him when he wasn’t able to speak for himself after his tragic accident. And by doing so, he saved his family from unnecessary suffering, once there was clear evidence that brain death had occurred. <br /><br />Unexpected end-of-life situations can happen at any age, so it's important for everyone to prepare these documents.Denis Nevillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-88172667860685411562015-05-05T18:29:18.371-04:002015-05-05T18:29:18.371-04:00The story of Goldberg's death was strange and ...The story of Goldberg's death was strange and keeps getting stranger. He died of a head injury but they didn't put him on life support for months if not years? That's not how they usually treat a rich person. If he had a single brain wave, it wouldn't matter what his heart or lungs were doing on their own. They reportedly found him alive but he had bled out so much he couldn't be saved. No one missed him for hours? He didn't tell anyone he was going to the exercise room? No one else entered the room in those hours?<br /><br />I wonder if he committed suicide and they don't want the kids to ever know. Falling off/jumping from a tall building would result in an untreatable, irrecoverable head injury and blood loss, but a treadmill? <br /><br />It's simply unbelievable that no expensive, extraordinary, heroic efforts were made to keep this guy's body going. annenigmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-69968292495347819522015-05-05T17:19:09.575-04:002015-05-05T17:19:09.575-04:00Well, they certainly are respecting the privacy of...Well, they certainly are respecting the privacy of Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg. There has not been one whiff of "this story is strange".<br />Sandberg's utmost respect for our privacy is being returned in kind.Katnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-84588949631095784182015-05-05T16:30:58.155-04:002015-05-05T16:30:58.155-04:00Great post Karen, I'll look at Baker's pie...Great post Karen, I'll look at Baker's piece and the comments. I didn't watch Obama, it was rather a turn off, but I'll read transcript. <br /><br />I had commented to Nick Kristof related column:<br /><br />Some billionaires like Nick Hanauer, interviewed on NPR, actually push for economic equality. There’s also Millionaires for Higher Taxes. There's even Physicians For Single Payer. These drops in the bucket are never publicized on our media.<br /><br />We praise charity, but charity is big in gilded age, unequal societies, with scarce resources for the majority. A 21st C democracy shouldn’t rely on beneficent personal attitudes of the rich to decide which cause they will pour their millions into, in the spotlight of publicity and praise, or which hardship they prefer to alleviate, or what disease cure they will fund. <br /><br />In societies with full voting and education and political representation, the public can translate their needs into lawmaking. That isn’t happening in the US. The popular will doesn’t end up in laws---see Gilens/ Page study. <br /><br />Mr. Kristof, you travel the world. Any data to compare the contributions of super rich private charity vs govt support with public funds in many countries with higher equality--Scandinavia, Germany, Australia, Canada? etc? How conspicuous are their super rich? <br />Meredith NYCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-91108799648330673722015-05-05T15:16:52.957-04:002015-05-05T15:16:52.957-04:00Pearl,
Compared to Hillary, Michelle has been a f...Pearl,<br /><br />Compared to Hillary, Michelle has been a fairly innocuous first lady.I see a TV hostess spot in her future. Plus the multimillion-dollar book deal and the motivational speakers' circuit. Maybe even an occasional Habitat or KaBoom! photo-op to give the good life that famous Obama balanced approach.<br /><br />Hillary Clinton, for her part, has co-opted Eleanor Roosevelt only to the extent that she's said she can relate vis a vis the presidential marital infidelity. Eleanor pushed FDR to implement liberal policies throughout his terms. All Hillary ever did was urge her hubby to kick women off the welfare rolls. Oh, and get him to pardon those Puerto Rican bombers so that she could sew up the Latino vote for her essentially uncontested New York senate run, I mean coronation.<br />Karen Garciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-59984090858473536092015-05-05T15:03:48.520-04:002015-05-05T15:03:48.520-04:00Will,
It was Toni Morrison who dubbed Bubba the f...Will,<br /><br />It was Toni Morrison who dubbed Bubba the first black president. She was writing to defend him during the impeachment scandal, noting that like so many poor black guys, he too came from a broken home and had an alcoholic mom. Pretty mind-boggling crap, when you think of it.<br /><br />Kat,<br /><br />I have had to bite my tongue and wrap my typing fingers in duct tape to keep from speaking/writing ill of the rich dead. You would not believe the tasteless jokes running through my head as I've read the tasteless, fawning puff pieces by the courtier press.<br /><br />Ruth Rendell, one of my favorite writers of all time, died the same day as Mr. Sheryl. I think the Times gave her a paragraph in the obit section, if even that. Karen Garciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-10907145457293321902015-05-05T14:20:22.094-04:002015-05-05T14:20:22.094-04:00Tribute to a dad, From Barry:
The president on th...Tribute to a dad, From Barry:<br /> The president on the White House's Facebook page drafted touching memories of the late SurveyMonkey CEO and husband of Facebook (FB, Tech30) executive Sheryl Sandberg.<br /><br />"David Goldberg embodied the definition of a real leader - someone who was always looking for ways to empower others," Obama wrote. "He was generous and kind with everybody, and cared less about the limelight than making sure that the people he worked with and loved succeeded in whatever they did.<br /><br />"His skills as an entrepreneur created opportunity for many; his love for his family was a joy to behold, and his example as a husband and father was something we could all learn from. We're heartbroken by him leaving us far too soon - but we celebrate a remarkable legacy."<br /><br />The message was signed "-bo" - the president's initials.<br /><br />Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg replied, "Thank you for this beautiful tribute." Katnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-75744976784979396482015-05-05T13:53:50.060-04:002015-05-05T13:53:50.060-04:00I have another beef - about our first lady, Michel...I have another beef - about our first lady, Michelle. I don`t recall ever seeing her visiting a low cost housing or troubled ghetto area for blacks but mainly photo ops of her trips abroad, vacations, clothes, etc. Perhaps it would be too politically incorrect to be seen, as Eleanor Roosevelt did, visiting people living in poverty and asking meaningful questions about their lives. This was brought to mind when Karen included access to an excellent article about the lack of inclusion of women in my Brother`s Keepers plans. Surely, Michelle is not an example of enabling black women living marginal lives to be included in her agenda as First Lady. The Obamas social and political connections reveal their true characters.Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-11023916295210923982015-05-05T13:32:09.210-04:002015-05-05T13:32:09.210-04:00I have a concern about all the government (taxpaye...I have a concern about all the government (taxpayer) money, going to these Initiatives and Foundations. I saw a reference recently to the CDC giving millions to Clinton's foundation for AIDS work or some such thing, but how it that work performed? Through some favorite donor's corporation? How much is going from government to private foundations to do what used to be government work? <br /><br />It would be one thing if corporations were giving to these quasi-government Foundations, but when the process is actually the reverse, that really concerns me. It's just more corporate welfare routed through a shell company called a Foundation. I'm sure there's a name for it. Protection racket? No, something else.annenigmanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-20080092176806421552015-05-05T13:29:45.970-04:002015-05-05T13:29:45.970-04:00Terribly wonderful column, Karen, plus the public ...Terribly wonderful column, Karen, plus the public comment to Baker. Now the Obamas can look forward to joining the Clintons in becoming unseemly wealthy and keeping in the respectable public eye while accepting huge fees etc. for another slush fund. All these goings on are not only for personal gain but is the way to silence the real people who might want to organize their black masses and include other future trouble makers. <br />My Brother's Keeper and other similar groups will also pretend to have meaningful messages and responsibilities toward the 99% and will put Obama in the real position of consorting with the so-called Republican enemy who may well be in charge and together they will be able to confuse the language of change.<br /><br />It is only the committed radicals on the left who will try to speak truth to power and be silenced. And so has it ever been in the nation's history since great depression days. Perhaps another one may force change in the near future but more serious global and planet issues are waiting in the wings. I only hope that my depressing vision is not accurate for the sake of our progeny.<br />But we can at least feel that we have and are trying to educate others while we still have some semblance of free speech in place. Even the left wing radicals in Israel are able to publish their articles so far. <br /><br />Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-71164215656150199782015-05-05T12:14:11.091-04:002015-05-05T12:14:11.091-04:00"How nice that they're using the spoils o..."How nice that they're using the spoils of racism to now pretend to fight racism."<br /><br />This line is my favorite thing today. Thanks, Karen!<br /><br />P.S. Bubba wasn't ever black no matter how many times people said it. And we all know Barry's certainly not. Oh and just for the record, Ben Carson ain't black either, but he makes for a great sleep-aid!Willnoreply@blogger.com