Voices from Russia

Sunday, 20 January 2019

20 January 2019. Back After Three Months of Hell…

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It’s been three months since my last post in October. Nicky’s health continued to deteriorate and I was getting about two to four hours of sleep a night, combined with six-day work-weeks. Finally, in November, he had to go to hospital. He’s now in rehab. This has given me the chance to recover from that period of too much work and not enough rest. I’m still working hellish hours, as that’s the only way that I can earn enough to pay the bills. I’m also going to be 65 and I’m unable to retire because of Republican cuts to Social Security (the new age of full retirement benefits is now 70, thanks to Republican greedsters allied with Establishment Dem Corporate Ass-kissers).

The system of oppression put in place by Reagan and refined by Clinton, Bush II, and Obama put most working people under the boot of worthless sorts such as hedge-fund managers, subcontractors, real-estate developers, and stock-market drones. The “conservatives” and “liberals” are the same… it’s like the last scene of Orwell’s Animal Farm… there’s no difference between Establishment Republicans and Democrats… both favour the fatcats over the common man. The worst came this January… I got a raise… from 11.00/hour to 11.10/hour, that is, I now get 4.00 USD more a week. That’s because the minimum wage in New York State went up to 11.10/hour. In effect, my employer said to me by doing that:

If we could pay you less, we would, but the law won’t let us. Now, take this extra dime and be grateful for it. We won’t give you any more. We deserve it far more than you do.

This is common throughout the USA. For the first time in its history, the USA is full of quietly desperate people. You see, since the Affluent Effluent are doing well, that’s the only thing that matters. It doesn’t matter that hedge-fund shysters ruined Sears and Toys r’ Us deliberately to earn short-term profits… the affluent managers got off relatively scot-free. The workers got fucked with no vaseline? That’s just the “invisible hand of the market”… the management class says:

We’re not to blame. We didn’t make the system. This is the world is, the way it’s always been, and the way it’s always going to be!

That’s not so. Bernie scares the shit out of them. The new class of US Representatives includes people who truly rile he Corporate Class. Trump and Clinton were of the same social background… they were “strivers”, people who wanted to be in the upper reaches, but who were kept out by the Rockefellers, Whitneys, Mellons, Scaifes, and Gardners. Obama, as a Harvard-educated corporate lawyer, was actually of higher social standing than those two are. These two are the poisoned fruit of the noxious era brought forth by Reagan, refined by the Clintons, continued by Bush II, and brought to its logical culmination by Obama. Remember, in 2008 Obama had plenty of aid for fatcats impacted by the Great Recession, but next to nil for ordinary folks. 

However, do note that the NYT, WaPo, and CNN all ignore the Yellow Vests in Europe… the media is trying to bury it. Yet, reality has a way of asserting itself. The most popular Dem candidate for 2020 is Bernie… not Warren… not Biden… not Gabbard… but will the DNC pull its head out of its ass and go back to FDR? Remember, the first president to attack the New Deal was Harry Truman… not a Republican. He was a corrupt Pendergast Machine pol who made deals with Republicans… he allowed Taft-Hartley and he instigated the Cold War. McCarthy ran rampant because Truman let him (Ike stopped McCarthy… never forget that). However, the existence of the USSR meant that the American Corporate class didn’t want to let the working people get influenced by socialism. They used two things… one, they allowed the workers to have relative prosperity, and two, they used relentless propaganda to demonise socialism. When the USSR fell and the USA congratulated itself on winning the Cold War (wrongly, but that’s what happened), the Managerial Class felt that they could do as they pleased. The Clintons did more to harm working people than Reagan ever did. 

Yet, we’re at the end of an era, not the beginning of one. Trump is a result, not a cause. Hillary Clinton is a result, not a cause. Remove both, and the infection is still there. However, we can bring back the New Deal, and take it further. Socialism is the most-favoured political stance of the young… it’s simple… the greed of the Corporate moloch has ground them down with massive student debts. Shall we see a change? Yes… the only question is how violent the transition will be. I hope that it would avoid that. God willing, I’d hope that would be so.

Well, I’m back. Maybe, not every day, but I’m feeling well enough to take my place on the firing line. Keep it focused and keep it prudent. You win nothing by pointless bravado or pseudo-intellectual vapouring. Take my hand… the way won’t be easy, but we can make it if we stand united…

BMD

Tuesday, 7 August 2018

I’m Still Here… Going Through Some Dicey Times in the Real World

Filed under: personal reflections — 01varvara @ 00.00
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I’ve been silent online for a while. That’s because real-world concerns are taking up my time. Firstly, my Nicky’s health hasn’t been good. He’s physically frail, but he doesn’t have dementia yet. That is, he’s not in good shape, but his mind is still there. On top of that, I’ve been working overtime to catch up on bills and the rent. That does take a high priority. I’ll be back, no doubt. However, I’m takin’ care of business (as I should). Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

No matter what, I know where my duty lies. I’ll never abandon Nicky… I’ll stay with him until the end, God willing. Love demands that… we’re Christians; that’s what we do.

BMD

Sunday, 1 July 2018

1 July 2018. The USA Has Gone Crazy…

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Reflecting on the path that the USA has taken since the time of Slobberin’ Ronnie Reagan, it becomes clear that the USA has become a psychopathic society. Any society that elevates moneygrubbing filth like Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Mark Zuckerburg, Hillary Clinton, and Jeff Bezos has lost its collective mind. The problem is that this psychopathic society has nuclear weapons and is willing to use them, even in a fit of childish pique. It struts about shouting to all sundry how moral and benevolent it is… when the opposite is clearly abundant to all except Americans.

I can’t mince my words. America has become an evil society obsessed with money, power, and arrogant showmanship. There’s little that you or I can do of it… however, we can stop the monster in whatever small ways that we can. One way is to stop the money-worship put in place by filth like the Clintons and Reagan. We’re at the end, not the beginning, of a historical cycle. The present neoliberal abomination is unstable and ready to collapse. Our job is to see that its collapse hurts as few as possible. What’ll replace the present evil system? I haven’t a clue… no one does, however, we must do what we can to build a just and humane society for our children and grandchildren.

Deus Vult…

BMD

Saturday, 12 May 2018

12 May 2018. A Point to Ponder From FB

Filed under: personal reflections — 01varvara @ 00.00
Tags: , , ,

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Here’s something that I saw on Facebook:

A haiku we offer in apology to our children on the course of action we took to arrive at the world we’ll leave them:

In retrospect, we
Will say, “It seemed like a good
Idea at the time”.

I need add nothing more to that…

BMD

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