I read Little House on the Prairie when I was very young, and eventually went on to read the whole Little House series. I didn’t know any other girls named Laura — there were at least five in my Master’s program, but it wasn’t a popular name back then —
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Writings of J. Todd Ring: History Repeats: The Decline & Fall of the Western Corporate Empire
“The Goths remained on Roman land and would ally themselves with the Roman army. Later, however, one man, a Goth and former Roman commander, rose up against Rome – a man who only asked for what had been promised him – a man who would do what no other had
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Plague: Then & Now
Europe did not respond well to the biggest plague in its history, in 1347-1351, to put it mildly – with anti-semitism, pogroms, scapegoating, witch trials, burning heretics at the stake, torture, self-flagellation, misanthropy, self-loathing, death cults, cultural morbidity and dark obsessions, paranoia, highly dubious medical practices, xenophobia, soaring cultural and
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Moral bankruptcy in a time of “plague”
20,000 children die a day of hunger, and nobody notices, nobody makes a peep: outcry is basically zero. But a new strain of the flu (statistically less dangerous than the typical annual flu) scares people into thinking THEY themselves are in danger, and everyone loses their mind. Clearly, we
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Threat of Populism and Anti-Populism – Thomas Frank
This from the latest issue of Harper’s. I urge my readers to read the entire essay, as it provide a great amount of pertinent history about he American political system and illustrates clearly how the Establishment often acts in concert to dampen the will of the people. “Further examples
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Work and Workaholism: Puritanism, and A Day Off
This morning when I got up, feeling exhausted again from the on-going 30-year stint of sleeplessness and insomnia, I thought, I should take a day off – considering I pretty much never take a day off. (Some people imagine that writers and philosophers sit around all day staring at their
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Real Resistance: Lessons From History
It does not require a majority to defeat tyranny and defend liberty, but only a small and dedicated minority – as we saw in the American and French Revolutions, and in the defeat of the first wave of fascism, which arose in the 1930’s (and was greatly loved and
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Nostalgia For Simpler Times
I generally am not one for nostalgia, having a strong preference for living in the present, and looking to the future. Further, I rarely write in conversational colloquialisms. But I must say this, as a short note: Holy shit do I miss the ’70’s! Things were fucked up and crazy
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: political graphic nonfiction: wobblies, studs terkel’s working, people’s history of american empire
Continuing the series, started here. I’ve decided not to review these books, but instead to post a cover image and a quote. It was difficult to choose quotes for these books, since they are books about ideas and events, with hundreds of different people quoted and referenced. After flipping through
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Unplug: Nine Weeks To Basic Clarity
Important, extremely useful books here. A brain washing, in the sense of clearing away the fog and gaining some clarity and perspective, is critically needed, now more than ever. What Huxley and Orwell warned of is here. We need to read, reflect, and disconnect from the mediadrug. Shut off the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Plague Update: Masks and Memes
Protests continued: Over 2,000 people attended an event formed by San Franciscans called themselves 'THE ANTI-MASK LEAGUE,' denouncing the mandatory masking ordinance The gathering was of "public spirited citizens, skeptical physicians and fanatics," writes historian Crosby — Tim Mak (@timkmak) April 19, 2020 I once agreed that masks were probably
Continue readingwmtc: 11 things you should know about u.s. presidential elections
Here are some facts about US elections. There are mountains of evidence to support each of these. If you have doubts, do some homework. This is merely a summary of facts. 1. The Electoral College. Up to 50% of votes in any state are wiped out. Canada has first-past-the-post voting
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Bridge of Montaigne; and The Roots of Our 21st Century Crisis
What a delightful bridge Montaigne has been, and is: not only between the present modern world and the Renaissance, which is stupendous treasure enough, but also, in another short span, to the ancients. And he takes us over the bridge with such immediacy that in an instant we are there!
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Angkor Wat: Reflections On Our Modern World
~*~ Angkor Wat is the crown jewel of a 400 square kilometer set of temples and holy sites, set in the jungles of Cambodia. Built as a Hindu temple in the 12th century, later transformed into a Buddhist temple, Angkor Wat alone is the largest religious monument on Earth. That
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: 1858 New Yorkers Buring Down Quarantine Hospitals
As the curve of the current pandemic increases world wide, we need to heed the lessons of the past and not let the less scrupulous among us advance their agendas using the pandemic as cover. “The New York Times called the vigilantism “the most diabolical and savage procedure that has
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Decline, Decay, Death and Rebirth of Democracy and Freedom
The two greatest threats to democracy and freedom in the West, or to peace, justice, equality, or even a viable future for humanity, are without question, the currently reigning de facto world government of neofeudal corporate oligarchy, also known as neoliberalism, and the fascist order which it is rapidly
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Efficiency Versus Resilience
One of the many calculations going on in the background within varied historical contexts is the relationship between efficiency and resilience. Consider arch construction from Roman times and now. The Roman arch has a distinct set of design principles that focus on the utilitarian principles of usefulness and longevity in
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