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szielinski commented on the diary post Legal Status of the Trillion Dollar Coin by masaccio.
In other words, the foolishness of the American legal system and the political and economic interests of its banksters will prevail over the recommendations of economic scientists. And it’s not even clear that minting a $100T coin would be unconstitutional. But if it were unconstitutional and if the MMTers are right about the economic rationale [...]
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szielinski commented on the blog post Adam Green: “Nuclear War On The Left” If Social Security and Medicare Benefits Are Cut
Cutting Social Security and Medicare still remain a top
Republicanruling party duopoly priority and for those with short memories, Obama put cutting Social Security and Medicare on the table in previous negotiations. So Green will likely face the scenario of major Democrats publicly putting it on the table if not cuts being part of a larger package.Fixed.
When will DPers learn that their party is also a party of neoliberal foolishness?
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szielinski commented on the blog post Judge: Bradley Manning Punished Unlawfully But Not Enough to Warrant More Than Weak Relief
I see a “Pulitzer” in your future K.G. Continue to speak truth to power. You have a gift! Thank you for using your gift in a productive manner, for the correct reasons.
KG and GG are necessary reading on the topics they cover. Superb investigative and critical journalism.
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szielinski commented on the blog post Judge: Bradley Manning Punished Unlawfully But Not Enough to Warrant More Than Weak Relief
I read comment 17, and I found this statement to be unfounded speculation:
It’s almost like they feel that if that knowledge [knowledge of Manning's sexual identity] was widely known, people would begin thinking he’s getting what he deserves or something, though I don’t believe that has been the reasoning, at least not consciously.
What evidence exists supporting this claim?
Your own admission tells us that FDL writers on Manning mentioned his sexual orientation. If there is a lack of strong evidence showing a causal relationship between Manning’s sexual identity and his treatment, if it’s not feasible to collect this evidence and if alternative evidence exist which do provide a plausible explanation for Manning’s confinement, why, then, spend time on that particular issue? In other words, it may be that Manning’s jailers tortured him, in part, because of his sexual orientation, but lack of strong evidence showing that claim to be true means that stating it publicly amounts to asserting speculation as if it were a warranted factual claim. I do not see how this helps Manning, Manning’s cause, transgendered people or those writing about Manning.
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szielinski commented on the diary post The Small Ball Trillion Dollar Coin Seigniorage Exception by letsgetitdone.
Another recommendation for a thoughtful, well-written post.
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szielinski commented on the blog post Judge: Bradley Manning Punished Unlawfully But Not Enough to Warrant More Than Weak Relief
I knew Manning identified himself or was identified by others as transgendered. I believe I learned that fact by reading at FDL.
It’s unclear what effect Manning’s sexual orientation had on his confinement. His whistleblowing actions, on the other hand, appear to be clear causes of the nature of his confinement. Manning’s sexual orientation may have been one motive for his torturers, but it is not likely the key motive.
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szielinski commented on the blog post Judge: Bradley Manning Punished Unlawfully But Not Enough to Warrant More Than Weak Relief
But the judge did not think that there was any culture in the military that would have led to Manning being punished.
Judge Lind thus sacrificed her credibility in order to whitewash the Marine Corps’ treatment of Manning while he was confined.
…there is no ruling for the public to read today. The judge read a ruling for over one hour and a half and the entire press pool scrambled to keep up with what she was reading. There were no breaks. She read the entire ruling, which was probably at least fifty pages if not more.
I’m shocked that the Pentagon refused to provide the means for public scrutiny in this matter.
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szielinski commented on the diary post How Do We Know The $1T Coin Option Is Legal? Republicans Want To Outlaw It. by Phoenix Woman.
Good one!
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szielinski commented on the diary post How Do We Know The $1T Coin Option Is Legal? Republicans Want To Outlaw It. by Phoenix Woman.
If you don’t have red-blue glasses, you’re pretty screwed at a 3-D movie. ;-)
I’d say that lacking Red/Blue glasses enables one to better appreciate the illusion which is the movie!
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szielinski commented on the diary post Wake Up Progressives: The Bad Guys Are Trying To Steal the Trillion Dollar Coin to Save the Financial Status Quo! by letsgetitdone.
It appears silly only to those individuals who believe money can originate in debt alone. They prefer the workings of the Fed and big finance capital to the workings of Congress and the Executive. They also prefer that the majority suffer from shortages caused by a shortage of money and productive capital. Orthodox economists and [...]
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szielinski commented on the diary post Trillion Dollar Coin: Posts on Legality and Constitutionality by letsgetitdone.
The reimposition of the Gold Standard after the Civil War led to the appearance of the populist movement. With this means the Federal government sponsored debt peonage among the small farmers in the United States. But that movement foundered on the free silver movement and in the Democratic Party.
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szielinski commented on the diary post Trillion Dollar Coin: Posts on Legality and Constitutionality by letsgetitdone.
The Framers would support sound money, Wall Street, fiscal responsibility, etc. Many of them were the oligarchs of their time. The Constitution they authored and passed through the states reflected their class and race biases. Debts were to be repaid; property was to be respected — human property too.
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szielinski commented on the diary post Trillion Dollar Coin: Posts on Legality and Constitutionality by letsgetitdone.
Article 1 Section 9 Clause 7 (“No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law …”) gives Congress complete control of what comes out of the Treasury, and nobody is proposing any change in this regard. Article 1 Section 8 Clasuses 1, 2, and 5 gives Congress power to [...]
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szielinski commented on the diary post Recommended: Michael Hudson: America’s Deceptive 2012 Fiscal Cliff, Part II by szielinski.
Thanks! One more to go.
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szielinski commented on the diary post Recommended: Michael Hudson: America’s Deceptive 2012 Fiscal Cliff, Part II by szielinski.
Marxism?
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szielinski wrote a new diary post: Recommended: Michael Hudson: America’s Deceptive 2012 Fiscal Cliff, Part II
Wage Slavery plus debt peonage — these are the fates awaiting the ‘better off’ members of the 99%, Alan Simpson’s “ lesser people .” The ‘worst off’ shall continue to find themselves existing on city streets, squatting in vacant land and buildings, suffering one of the many prisons which pockmark the body politic or dying from untreated illnesses. These [...]
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szielinski commented on the blog post Silent Night: Another American Suicide In Afghanistan
Stability Operations: Kill bad guys who cause instability.
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szielinski commented on the blog post Silent Night: Another American Suicide In Afghanistan
It’s a form of barbarism to use a cost-benefit analysis to evaluate a war crime such as the the American-led invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. This invasion was indeed a war crime. So too the occupation. There is no benefit equal to the collective suffering imposed on that country, its peoples, the country and peoples of Pakistan and the countries and peoples of the invading-occupying forces. The loss of life by itself generates an infinity of human suffering. No monetary value can be justly assigned to that.
American ‘citizens’ ought to consider the nature and moral significance of what their ‘leaders’ do in their name.
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szielinski wrote a new diary post: Wishing for justice to be done
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szielinski commented on the diary post Recommended: Why the Anti-Mursi Protesters are Right by szielinski.
You’re welcome! Mahalo — my new word for the week! Voting on a new constitution next week will merely postpone the day of reckoning for Egypt. The new constitution ought to preserve social diversity. The draft constitution already has enemies because of the composition of the constituting body. A democratic vote for the draft constitution [...]
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