David Harvey, Michael Hudson, David Kotz and Alexander Buzgalin: The End of the “End of History” (Left Forum 2019)

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with Michael Hudson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
July 9, 2019

Left Forum 2019

At the panel, speakers will argue that the decline of neo-liberalism and the growth of a new conservative wave are objectively conditioned. The prevailing model of late capitalism that has led to the domination of the market of simulacra, financialization and stagnation, called the ‘new normality’, cannot ensure the progress of the productive forces that are on the verge of not just another technological revolution, but a qualitative change – the genesis of the economy in which a decisive role will be played not by reproductive, but by creative work.

Chris Hedges: The Radical Transformation of Jackson, MS

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Dandelion Salad
Originally posted March 4, 2018; updated below

“Self-determination is not possible within the capitalist social framework, because the endless pursuit of profits that drives this system only empowers private ownership and the individual appropriation of wealth by design. The end result of this system is massive inequality and inequity.” — Kali Akuno, Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi

Chris Hedges’ Commencement Address: Integrity Forged in Cages

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Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

Nigrotime on May 21, 2019

On May 10, 2019, Chris Hedges gave this talk to 27 graduating students who were formerly incarcerated—several of whom he taught in prison—and their families at Rutgers University on Friday. The ceremony was held by the Mountainview Program at Rutgers, which helps students complete their degrees at Rutgers after they take college courses inside prisons through the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons Consortium (NJ-STEP) program.

Society Is In Decay by Ralph Nader

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Dandelion Salad

by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page
May 30, 2019

Plutocrats like to control the range of permissible public dialogue. Plutocrats also like to shape what society values. If you want to see where a country’s priorities lie, look at how it allocates its money. While teachers and nurses earn comparatively little for performing critical jobs, corporate bosses including those who pollute our planet and bankrupt defenseless families, make millions more. Wells Fargo executives are cases in point. The vastly overpaid CEO of General Electric left his teetering company in shambles. In 2019, Boeing’s CEO got a bonus (despite the Lion Air Flight 610 737 Max 8 crash in 2018). Just days before a second deadly 737 Max 8 crash in Ethiopia.

Memorial Day Myths by David Swanson

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by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy
Originally published May 30, 2018
May 27, 2019

“Memorial Day is a time to remember, appreciate, and honor the selfless patriots who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to freedom. At a time when our country seems so divided, we must not forget that it is because of their service and sacrifice that we live in the most free and prosperous nation on Earth.” —Congressman Tom Garrett

Who Among the Contented Classes Will Unfurl the Flag of Rebellion Against the Plutocrats and the Autocrats? by Ralph Nader

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Dandelion Salad

Updated: May 22, 2019

by Ralph Nader
The Nader Page, May 9, 2019
May 21, 2019

For all the rhetoric and all the charities regarding America’s children, the U.S. stands at the very bottom of western nations and some other countries as well, in terms of youth well-being. The U.S.’s exceptionalism is clearest in its cruelty to children. The U.S. has the highest infant mortality rate of comparable OECD countries. Not only that, but 2.5 million American children are homeless and 16.2 million children “lack the means to get enough nutritious food on a regular basis.”

The USA Has Been A Plutocracy Thinly Disguised As Democracy Ever Since Its Founding by Eric Schechter

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Updated: May 20, 2019

by Eric Schechter aka LeftyMathProf
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Eric’s Rants and Videos blog
May 13, 2019

Progressives are fooled by the corporate news media, who are paid to lie about wars, climate, economics, everything. Progressives believe the abuses in capitalism can be removed through reforms; they haven’t realized that the abuses are capitalism. A simple analysis shows that inequality, externalities, and alienation are terrible evils inherent in every version of capitalism.

Debate on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) Parts 1-4 (updated)

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Dandelion Salad

Updated: May 13, 2019

Modern Monetary Theory – A Debate: Randall Wray (Pt 1/4)

TheRealNews on Apr 22, 2019

Randall Wray, one of the founders of the economic theory known as Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) lays out some of its main arguments. Paul Jay hosts

Abby Martin and Peter Phillips: Corporations Rule the World

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Dandelion Salad

with Abby Martin and Peter Phillips

Empire Files on Apr 13, 2019

Abby Martin sits down with Peter Phillips, former director of Project Censored and professor of Political Sociology at Sonoma State University. His new book, Giants: The Global Power Elite details the 17 transnational investment firms which control over $50 trillion in wealth—and how they are kept in power by their activists, facilitators and protectors.

Paul Street: Reflections on the Absurdity of the U.S. Constitution

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with Paul Street
Writer, Dandelion Salad
The Official Website of Paul Street
March 25, 2019

“The Democratic Party isn’t about social and economic justice, democracy or ecological survival. It isn’t even mainly about winning elections, it’s about serving and colluding with corporate sponsors and climbing the neoliberal capitalist oligarchy. Think Bill (NAFTA) Clinton, the multi-millionaire head of The Clinton Foundation, think Barack (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Obama who has entered the economic oligarchy now as a reward to his dutiful service to the nation’s unelected dictatorship of capital.”

Who Was The Real Adam Smith? by The Anti-Social Socialist

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“Wherever there is great property there is great inequality. For one very rich man there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the few supposes the indigence of the many.” ― Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, 1776

Will Griffin: How the U.S. Military Shaped Global Capitalism

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With Will Griffin
Writer, Dandelion Salad
The Peace Report
March 14, 2019

Thirty-One Actual National Emergencies by Paul Street

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by Paul Street
Writer, Dandelion Salad
The Official Website of Paul Street
February 18, 2019

A Wannabe Strongman’s Brown Menace Straw Man

Everyone with five functioning gray cells knows that the aspiring fascist strongman Donald Trump’s Declaration of a National Emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border is absurd.

There is no “national security crisis” of illegal immigration on the southern United States border.

Throw Off the Yoke of Indoctrination!

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The Essays of The Man From the North by Rivera Sun
Writer, Dandelion Salad
February 11, 2019

We say we want change. So every few years, we elect new officials, and they continue to churn out more of the same policies, legislation, and rhetoric. The rich continue to get richer. The poor slide deeper into poverty. Corporations and the wealthy see pet projects and sweet deals passed through Congress. The People receive yet another bitter slap in the face.

Michael Parenti: The Culture Struggle

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with Michael Parenti
Writer, Dandelion Salad
January 31, 2019

“But you can’t do that with Class. By definition, you can’t say we’ll have a society where the rich capitalists and workers are equal together.”