A Most Unusual Lovely “musical” Alibet Somewhat Raucous Interlude. Hit It Joe

The light was incredible this morning.

Been doing this for years. Now I have neighborhood people collecting them for me to distribute. So😊

And otherwise, millions of pounds of pumpkins end up in landfills. And no, you can’t use them to make pies out of!!!

Making more $$$ from practicing medicine is NOT better health care. That is just an elitist way of rationing healthcare. Pursuit of the almighty unbridaled profit $ is destroying this country.

10/04/2025 Doctor Beverly Crusher @SpaceDocMom Incoming Transmission…

Capitalism and good health care do not mix. emojis: black heart, blue heart, masked, spoon

Capitalism is not equitable or sustainable. Unending pursuit of ‘profit’ ( or any other single minded objective ) at the cost of subjugating and exploiting the people doing the work to produce said ‘profit’ —— never ends as well as you think.

How long can an extreme ultra-capitalist nation survive without becoming an authoritarian dystopia?

I’ve been pondering that today, but it’s occurred to me that it’s worth noting this extremist capitalist society called the United States did start out as an authoritarian dystopia.

I had originally typed “for a massive number of people living within it” to the end of the sentence above, but I’ve erased it because that’s what all dystopias are. They are never horrific dictatorships to everyone. There is always an in-group that lives in relative comfort with relative freedom that simply does not consider the suffering of others to be relevant to their lives.

The US was built by a wealthy merchant class to be that dystopia where those merchants and landowners were the in-group, replacing the king and his appointees. The country shifted toward freedom for all, toward democracy over time, not away from it. The right to vote was first held only by male landowners of the upper class, it was not designed to be egalitarian for all. The notion that it was ever meant to be for all people is a lie we tell ourselves so we can feel special about our country’s founding, but it’s still a lie, and it’s a dangerous one.

Accepting this history, and considering it, changes the question. It becomes:

How long can an extreme ultra-capitalist nation survive without returning to an authoritarian dystopia?

That’s a more tangible premise to consider. It shifts the argument from an inevitable economic condition in the hands of capital, to a political one in the hands of people. Extreme capitalist oligarchy has always been in direct opposition to full democracy, because under democracy, capital’s power can be overruled by the will of the people. When the needs of the people cannot override the interests of wealth, then democracy is no longer functioning; an oligarchy has control. Maintaining that control in the face of increasing hardship for people inevitably requires more power. This premise leads us to look at how oligarchy may strengthen its grip.

We can look right now and see precisely which elected politicians are arguing that the US is not (and should not be) a democracy, but a republic. We can see exactly who is arguing for a return to constitutional principles, while suggesting we suspend the Constitution. We can see exactly who preaches “Law & Order” while ignoring the law. We can see exactly who claims that some votes should count more than others, and that their candidate is “the real winner.” We can also listen and learn exactly who is paying them to do that. We can then gauge their support and the support for their ideas to see how much time we have left before we empower people to undo the past century of incomplete social progress.

An oddity of today is that the US is hurtling in two directions at once. One is toward a more empowered people, with unions rising, differences celebrated and enjoyed, and a support for struggling individuals. The other is accelerating wealth inequality, indifference to suffering, and desperation driving down wages while increasing profits. Both are happening, both are accelerating. That’s not sustainable.

The highly dedicated people pushing hard in both of those directions often see the other side as a destabilizing anti-American force, determined to upend whatever greatness we have. And they’re both right about that, it’s just that one sees America as a fully-formed sacred ideal that’s been lost, and the other sees it as a process for building a more perfect Union. This is the divide that the nation was born with, and the same divide that led to the Civil War.

I’m not shy about which side I’m on. We have to keep pushing for stronger democracy and a happier people.

The other side, the one that sees America as built by prophets, that wants to ban history so their prophets won’t be questioned, that unrealistically imagines themselves to be the in-group the founders intended, will return us to their authoritarian dystopia. That is where all of their arguments originate, and where all of their arguments lead.

That’s why MAGA uses the word “again.” They mean to return us to a time they thought was great, where the in-group was clear and life was miserable for everyone else, because they genuinely believe they’ll be the new in-group. They won’t, they all can’t, but they will take us there quickly as soon as they can.

Whole hearted agreement with that sentiment @oni-with-an-iron-club..

Significantly over 60 years. There’s probably at least one more, Hopefully I’m wiser now and it will be in an entirely new setting. Almost looking forward to it. Top five life challenge. Anybody up for that. ?

Would this now mean. That these countries , with Russian citizens in then, are now eligible for Russian invasion and annexation .? Seems to be the trend. Especially if it is a country with a shared boarder.

Latest on EU-Russian borders:

🔹66 000 Russian citizens have entered the EU over the past week, a 30% increase in comparison to the preceding week

🔹Most of the Russian citizens are entering the EU through Finnish and Estonian border crossing points

More details >>

When the mace

Doesn’t smash your face

That’s amoreè

Having been around electric fences, of various voltages, face it it’s just going to happen. Ahhhhh, Only for experimentation purposes, I’m also a very scientific person.

Vet wrap is the best. In every first aid kit I have. (There are several.) always recommending it , along with aloe and arnica.

Sorry to hear about your eminent demise. You could use arnica and aloe.

also I got a tattoo partially re-coloured today and they bandaged me in veterinary wrap like I'm a sick horse

No better conceptualization for the second heating you get from making firewood and carrying water from the well than.

I’m old enough to have actually done that many times, and now on occasion still do and have a whole new appreciation of it. 🪵. 🔥. 💦