I would expect a professor to both understand the differences between industrial capitalism and pre-industrial capitalism while also understanding that they are both the same system at heart.
The global system of black slavery, and the institutional racism it led to were both creations of pre-industrial capitalism. In fact they were essential. Vast plantations grow nothing without masses of cheap labor to work them. That system could not have grown to dominate global trade using only indentured labor. There were not enough workers available, and creating the conditions to increase the pool of laborers willing to migrate would have destabilized the home countries.
I expect Professor Loomis is right to think that capitalism wasn't the INLY cause of racism. Traits as obvious as skin color are gonna be attributed to SOMETHING. But the growth of pre-industrial capitalism into an economic system that can be the foundation of nations and empires over entire continents required continental-sized workforces that Europe couldn't afford to send away and the Americas no longer had after all the epidemics. Those workers would necessarily come from Africa or Asia and the capitalists were going to exploit their race to keep them in peonage or slavery. And when industrialization spelled the end of forced labor, the system of racism was already established and was adapted again, to justify and enforce the existing hierarchy.
California, Oregon, and Washington need to accept that the GOP has irrevocably broken this country and turn to Pacifica or Cascadia or whatever we want to call our new nation.
Trump put sanctions on the Brazilian judge overseeing the case against former President Bolsonaro. Trump doesn’t like former Presidents facing legal charges. EXCEPT when he wants to charge Obama with treason. The endless horseshit coming from the Trump administration. AHHHHH!!!
This is important. It is good and necessary reporting. I am not undermining that when I add a but.
The but is that his supporters and his staff want this to be the case. This is not something that will give them second thoughts, it is something that will make them proud.
Yeah, that's what they sent them to El Salvador for to begin with. Nobody was running around saying "Deport immigrants to humane and safe settings," they are vile and vicious about it.
In all those pictures of Noem and whoever posing in front of the prisoners, I wanted to ask, "Is this supposed to make us think of concentration camps, or slave ships?"
But I would not ask, because I feared the answer would be "Yes."
Don’t forget, veterans are almost universally qualified to handle 2nd Amendment solutions, and, as is true with our two veteran family, frequently armed.
I won't forget. And I'm hoping that no veteran will have to raise arms to protect our democracy from this internal coup. I AM hoping for Team CVA, however.
The NYT is the worst. This is a reference to their recent reporting on an 18 mont old dying of malnutrition due to the war in Gaza. They issued an addendum that stated the child has a “preexisting condition”.
The addendum was added because the Israeli government complained that their previous reporting had made it seem like the death of the child was their fault.
A small piece of good cheer to share here: Wanda the Imperial Princess is showing subtle signs of being a little more perky today. She was so flatlined yesterday that I was really afraid she would slip away. But when I went into feed her this morning, she was up and moving around and seemed entirely ready for breakfast.
I had to make an early run to town today. When I got home, I went in to her room. She was awake, watching her cat music video. I lay down,with her for a bit, and she seemed very pleased. I was told she would start feeling the effects of the medication in three or four days, and today’s day number three. I was also told it takes three or four weeks before it really kicks in and steadies her metabolism. But today is bringing some encouragement that we can get her along that far.
The lady who belongs to the cat that I am cat sitting is supposed to come back tomorrow. That will ease some pressure. A step along the way to finding our new normal with another cat in the house. I think it’s too soon by several weeks for introductions. I want her to be strong enough to handle the stress of that. Maybe even wait until she has the oral surgery.
Such a beautiful day today. It’s a bit chilly, but the ground is saturated from yesterday’s Rains, and the leaves are all washed cleaned, and there are gorgeous clouds scudding through the sky.
I think she’s going to be such a joyous addition to these beautiful cats that live here. It makes me happy to share the good news, and it is a comfort to bring my worries and sorrows about her. So thank you for being part of her journey.
I am just too allergic to have one in my life, so I have to love them from afar (though whenever I'm near a cat they are on me). You write so well about your life with them, and it makes me just happy and peaceful, and I pretend I am also The Cat Whisperer.
Not that you want to know, but he thinks he's Canada's answer to Trump.... arrogant, mouthy businessman, ran for public office, on a reality TV show for business startups.... did I say arrogant and mouthy?
Do these people realize that part of Mamdani's appeal is all of the absolute worst fucking people just sit around all day and complain about him? I seriously want to move to New York just to vote for that guy, and I was saying that Lander was the stronger candidate.
We had our version of Trump. He ended up in prison, and when he was let out he ended up running himself over with his own tractor and he died from that. Even had the stupid fucking hair. Wiki link:
“Traficant was expelled from the House on July 24, 2002, after being convicted of 10 felony counts, including taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his congressional staff to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C.”
Only 10 felony convictions? By my math he’d be a Republican candidate for President in 2028.
Him too. Traficant hits a bit closer to home for me, because while I live in Houston, Texas now, I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and Traficant was my House representative for a long time.
Memories of the time a person outside my apartment was blasting x-rated gangsta rap music on his boombox...I opened my window, moved the speakers to the window sill and put on William Shatner's THE TRANSFORMED MAN cranked up all the way.
Ah the Shat "singing" Mr. Tambourine Man drove that guy away.
Fucking Trump making me have an ounce of sympathy for big pharma.
They actually deserve to be crushed.
But not by a goddamn dictator trying to distract from his 15-year friendship with a rapist.
***
President Donald Trump signed off on a series of letters Thursday to 17 American pharmaceutical companies demanding they lower drug prices for Medicaid patients within 60 days, and under threat that his administration would “deploy every tool in our arsenal” to gain compliance.
The letters were previewed on Thursday by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, shortly before Trump posted all 17 of them to social media. Sent to major pharmaceutical companies like Boehringer Ingelheim and AbbVie, Trump demanded the companies extend to Americans what’s known as "most-favored-nation" drug pricing, which would require offering drugs at prices similar to those of other nations.
“Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients,” the letter reads. “But if you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from the continued abusive drug pricing practices.”
Americans have historically paid significantly higher prices for drugs than other countries. The popular GLP-1 drug Ozempic, for example, costs an average of $936 a month in the United States. Conversely, the same drug in Germany, Sweden, Australia and France has an average monthly cost $103, $96, $86 and $83, respectively.
Under Trump’s demand, which extends to “every (drug) manufacturer doing business in our great country,” pharmaceutical companies would also have to guarantee MFN pricing for newly-launched drugs and provide those reduced costs directly to consumers and businesses.
I dunno. This is almost venturing into third rail territory. Big Pharma won't buckle under like other industries. And if he's going to demand this of pharma companies, it only makes sense to apply the same pressure to insurance companies (glaring at you, United "Health""Care").
Every time he says "our great country" I want to puke. Not only because we have a long way to go but because it's one of those verbal tics I can't stand. Just say it, you twit.
I would expect a professor to both understand the differences between industrial capitalism and pre-industrial capitalism while also understanding that they are both the same system at heart.
The global system of black slavery, and the institutional racism it led to were both creations of pre-industrial capitalism. In fact they were essential. Vast plantations grow nothing without masses of cheap labor to work them. That system could not have grown to dominate global trade using only indentured labor. There were not enough workers available, and creating the conditions to increase the pool of laborers willing to migrate would have destabilized the home countries.
I expect Professor Loomis is right to think that capitalism wasn't the INLY cause of racism. Traits as obvious as skin color are gonna be attributed to SOMETHING. But the growth of pre-industrial capitalism into an economic system that can be the foundation of nations and empires over entire continents required continental-sized workforces that Europe couldn't afford to send away and the Americas no longer had after all the epidemics. Those workers would necessarily come from Africa or Asia and the capitalists were going to exploit their race to keep them in peonage or slavery. And when industrialization spelled the end of forced labor, the system of racism was already established and was adapted again, to justify and enforce the existing hierarchy.
Ta, Erik. I always learn something from your posts. Solidarity Forever!
Another ditto
Dito!
Having run several union manufacturing shops I will say union leadership got better on the racism issue.
Folks, I'm just to depressed about the state of this country to tune in. Maybe I'll feel better after having a cupcake.
You always feel better after cupcake(s)*
*Sometimes you have to repeat the dose a time or two for optimal results.
I hope you brought enough for the rest of us.
Have two. We won't judge.
Looks like CNN is giving the green light on ending democracy.
‘All The Difference In the World’: CNN’s Enten Says Trump’s Texas Redistricting Is Enough to Keep the House
https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/all-the-difference-in-the-world-cnns-enten-says-trumps-texas-redistricting-is-enough-to-keep-the-house/
Okay, California. You know what to do.
Take another hit and go back to gaming?
We do, but wouldn't that be uncivil or something?
Unilateral Disarming cannot fail, it just hasn't been perfected
This is it. Don’t get scared now, Dems!
Oregon and Washington state need to align themselves with California and thusly proceed.
Some folks also need to update their political understanding of E WA. Not folks here. Others I connect with in different places
California, Oregon, and Washington need to accept that the GOP has irrevocably broken this country and turn to Pacifica or Cascadia or whatever we want to call our new nation.
Every blue state needs to take action
CNN has always had a Republican bias.
Try to imagine how the media would have reacted if KJP had gone out and said it was past time to give Biden a Nobel.
Leavitt Says From White House Podium It’s ‘Well Past Time Trump Was Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize’
https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/leavitt-says-from-white-house-podium-its-well-past-time-trump-was-awarded-the-nobel-peace-prize/
It’s well past time you paid back the illegal campaign contributions you received from from donors, Karoline.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/karoline-leavitt-failed-congressional-bid-152204313.html
She’s hoping everyone forgets. Modus Operandi for Republicans
On today's episode of 'Lyin With Leavitt'...
What a coincidence. The book I'm currently reading is titled "The Lion, the Witch, and the Audacity of This Bitch."
it is, finally and suddenly, time for yr
smoking lamp
to be lit! [and less that 24hrs 'til yr Hooperday hooraaaaay!]
Trump put sanctions on the Brazilian judge overseeing the case against former President Bolsonaro. Trump doesn’t like former Presidents facing legal charges. EXCEPT when he wants to charge Obama with treason. The endless horseshit coming from the Trump administration. AHHHHH!!!
The Washington Post
@washingtonpost.com
One was beaten unconscious. Others were covered in bruises, struggling to walk or vomiting blood. Another said he’d been sexually assaulted.
These are the stories of 16 former detainees who were deported to El Salvador’s mega prison.
https://bsky.app/profile/washingtonpost.com/post/3lvbsiubqzc2r
This is important. It is good and necessary reporting. I am not undermining that when I add a but.
The but is that his supporters and his staff want this to be the case. This is not something that will give them second thoughts, it is something that will make them proud.
Yeah, that's what they sent them to El Salvador for to begin with. Nobody was running around saying "Deport immigrants to humane and safe settings," they are vile and vicious about it.
In all those pictures of Noem and whoever posing in front of the prisoners, I wanted to ask, "Is this supposed to make us think of concentration camps, or slave ships?"
But I would not ask, because I feared the answer would be "Yes."
bloomberg is reporting that the big banks met with the fat orange asshole, abut Freddie and Frannie exiting conservatorship.
Most likely this will end gov't backed home mortgages.
Jared Kushner needs more $$$$ billions to extract from people needing housing.
How else will he raise the funds to build the Trump Gaza Plaza Resort?
Shitcoin HUD stuff?
Except for VA home loans, maybe?
Oh, you sweet, summer child ...
Don’t forget, veterans are almost universally qualified to handle 2nd Amendment solutions, and, as is true with our two veteran family, frequently armed.
I won't forget. And I'm hoping that no veteran will have to raise arms to protect our democracy from this internal coup. I AM hoping for Team CVA, however.
Team CVA?
I haz a confuse.
https://www.teamcva.com/
Because, of course, the oligarchy wants to be Potter in Pottersville.
While Anne Frank did die in a Nazi concentration camp. It is important to note that the cause of death was typhus. Are the Nazis really to blame?
NYT
Also, her deportation was completely legal. Mandated by law as a matter of fact.
The NYT is the worst. This is a reference to their recent reporting on an 18 mont old dying of malnutrition due to the war in Gaza. They issued an addendum that stated the child has a “preexisting condition”.
Jesus, I wasn’t too far off with this a week ago.
NYT story headline: Gazans Are Dying of Starvation
Finally. I would have expected "Lack of Food Creating Issues for Gaza"
https://open.substack.com/pub/wonkette/p/another-creepy-ass-man-trying-to?r=5n29h&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=138516647
Called "being 18 months old."
The addendum was added because the Israeli government complained that their previous reporting had made it seem like the death of the child was their fault.
So the Israeli government objected to accurate reporting? And The NY Times said that it wouldn’t happen again.
“…the child has a “preexisting condition.”
A preexisting condition like requiring a minimum number of calories to survive?
Being a Palestinian
A small piece of good cheer to share here: Wanda the Imperial Princess is showing subtle signs of being a little more perky today. She was so flatlined yesterday that I was really afraid she would slip away. But when I went into feed her this morning, she was up and moving around and seemed entirely ready for breakfast.
I had to make an early run to town today. When I got home, I went in to her room. She was awake, watching her cat music video. I lay down,with her for a bit, and she seemed very pleased. I was told she would start feeling the effects of the medication in three or four days, and today’s day number three. I was also told it takes three or four weeks before it really kicks in and steadies her metabolism. But today is bringing some encouragement that we can get her along that far.
The lady who belongs to the cat that I am cat sitting is supposed to come back tomorrow. That will ease some pressure. A step along the way to finding our new normal with another cat in the house. I think it’s too soon by several weeks for introductions. I want her to be strong enough to handle the stress of that. Maybe even wait until she has the oral surgery.
Such a beautiful day today. It’s a bit chilly, but the ground is saturated from yesterday’s Rains, and the leaves are all washed cleaned, and there are gorgeous clouds scudding through the sky.
I love that Wanda found you, and I love our updates on her and the whole gang.
I think she’s going to be such a joyous addition to these beautiful cats that live here. It makes me happy to share the good news, and it is a comfort to bring my worries and sorrows about her. So thank you for being part of her journey.
I am just too allergic to have one in my life, so I have to love them from afar (though whenever I'm near a cat they are on me). You write so well about your life with them, and it makes me just happy and peaceful, and I pretend I am also The Cat Whisperer.
I’m allergic, but, apparently, with ongoing exposure, it got better?
When I was young the allergies were pretty bad.
Longhair kittehs still trigger my allergies. But, for some reason, shorthair kittehs don’t any more.
Plus there is always this option that eliminates the allergic to cat fur problem.
https://substack.com/profile/155617549-bradthe/note/c-140904357
Definitely ask somebody who knows more about it than I do, but I’ve heard that the allergies are actually to their dander, not to their fur.
Wanda chose her human well.
Rich Canadian Asshole Kevin O'Leary threw a fit on CNN because Zohran refused to meet with him.
Why would Zohran want to meet with such an asshole as O'Leary?
https://bsky.app/profile/thetnholler.bsky.social/post/3lvbnrzsx622v
O’leary has a flawed boatload of ideas.
Also a boatload of flawed ideas.
Who's Kevin O'Leary?
According to Google's AI, his Spice Girl equivalent is Posh Spice.
Not that you want to know, but he thinks he's Canada's answer to Trump.... arrogant, mouthy businessman, ran for public office, on a reality TV show for business startups.... did I say arrogant and mouthy?
His mom's cow burned down Chicago.
Wasn't that Nunes' mom?
Some rich pecker head that's on Shark Tank. I'm sure there's moar but that's all I care to know.
That's the correct answer.
Do these people realize that part of Mamdani's appeal is all of the absolute worst fucking people just sit around all day and complain about him? I seriously want to move to New York just to vote for that guy, and I was saying that Lander was the stronger candidate.
"Democrats need their version of Trump!"
Democrats elect increasingly lefty progressives.
"No! Not like that!"
We had our version of Trump. He ended up in prison, and when he was let out he ended up running himself over with his own tractor and he died from that. Even had the stupid fucking hair. Wiki link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Traficant
“Traficant was expelled from the House on July 24, 2002, after being convicted of 10 felony counts, including taking bribes, filing false tax returns, racketeering, and forcing his congressional staff to perform chores at his farm in Ohio and houseboat in Washington, D.C.”
Only 10 felony convictions? By my math he’d be a Republican candidate for President in 2028.
Guy was a fucking crook. He had mafia ties and should have been ousted a long time before that, but he managed to beat the charges.
Wow, definitely throwing Jim Jones cult leader vibes from that official portrait pic
No honorable mention for Rod Blagojevich?
Him too. Traficant hits a bit closer to home for me, because while I live in Houston, Texas now, I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and Traficant was my House representative for a long time.
Major political figure declines to meet with minor TV star.
Another rich sociopath.
OT: The construction crew next door is at it again with the jackhammer. And right now, they're blasting the Spice Girls 🤣
Thank you for your attention to this matter!
That passes for ‘macho construction guys’ these days?
The other day it was what sounded like Portuguese power ballads!
Better than Nickelback?
Almost anything is better than them.
Could have been "Muskat Love" on repeat ...
Quiet, you!
'Afternoon Delight'
Memories of the time a person outside my apartment was blasting x-rated gangsta rap music on his boombox...I opened my window, moved the speakers to the window sill and put on William Shatner's THE TRANSFORMED MAN cranked up all the way.
Ah the Shat "singing" Mr. Tambourine Man drove that guy away.
Further reading? Uh-oh. Is this going to be on the test? (Well, someone had to ask!)
Yes, and if you fail you die.
Fucking Trump making me have an ounce of sympathy for big pharma.
They actually deserve to be crushed.
But not by a goddamn dictator trying to distract from his 15-year friendship with a rapist.
***
President Donald Trump signed off on a series of letters Thursday to 17 American pharmaceutical companies demanding they lower drug prices for Medicaid patients within 60 days, and under threat that his administration would “deploy every tool in our arsenal” to gain compliance.
The letters were previewed on Thursday by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, shortly before Trump posted all 17 of them to social media. Sent to major pharmaceutical companies like Boehringer Ingelheim and AbbVie, Trump demanded the companies extend to Americans what’s known as "most-favored-nation" drug pricing, which would require offering drugs at prices similar to those of other nations.
“Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients,” the letter reads. “But if you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from the continued abusive drug pricing practices.”
Americans have historically paid significantly higher prices for drugs than other countries. The popular GLP-1 drug Ozempic, for example, costs an average of $936 a month in the United States. Conversely, the same drug in Germany, Sweden, Australia and France has an average monthly cost $103, $96, $86 and $83, respectively.
Under Trump’s demand, which extends to “every (drug) manufacturer doing business in our great country,” pharmaceutical companies would also have to guarantee MFN pricing for newly-launched drugs and provide those reduced costs directly to consumers and businesses.
Didn’t the last president, some old guy, have this already in hand?
Big pharma voted for him, at least in the executive suites.
Yeah. I fully admit to being conflicted, but, if he can cave big pharma, he can and will cave everyting else.
Including shit I actually care about.
I think the whole thing is extortion with a side order of market manipulation.
Don’t forget the most important thing, a distraction from EPSTEIN EPSTEIN EPSTEIN!
I dunno. This is almost venturing into third rail territory. Big Pharma won't buckle under like other industries. And if he's going to demand this of pharma companies, it only makes sense to apply the same pressure to insurance companies (glaring at you, United "Health""Care").
They'll negotiate meaningless "cost reductions" Trump can brag about and wind up using them to justify raising prices everywhere else.
He's trying to get to tomorrow without getting asked about Epstein, don't overthink it.
Every time he says "our great country" I want to puke. Not only because we have a long way to go but because it's one of those verbal tics I can't stand. Just say it, you twit.
It's always that bullshit. "Our great seniors," "our great farmers," "our great South Dakotans."
NO ONE TALKS LIKE THAT!
I was going to say only one who does is the person whose vocabulary consists of about 15 words, one of which is "great".
But young kids learning to speak are more creative with the words they know.
Great, beautiful, strong, powerful, terrific
Terrible, horrible, nasty, bad
You look, you see what's happening, like nobody has ever seen before, lemme tell ya, this I will say
[something, repeat the something] but [repeat the same thing again]
I disagree. "Great" is three of his words.
- Tony the Tiger has entered the chat
They don't want him to say "our rich, white country"
Our rich, creamy, delicious, wonderful white country, full of beautiful white people being rich.
Brimming with marshmallowy goodness.
I'm kinda ok with this...
There’s gotta be a catch
They'll see him in court.
Also.
If it were that simple someone would have tried before.
Goodfellas:
"Fuck you, pay me. (To forget the whole thing.)
A. TACO
2. Bribes, massive massive bribes.
There's ALWAYS a catch.