How Outside Normalcy Should an Outsider Be?

Written on November 12th, 2015 in politics Comments Off

Published on Dissident Voice, by James Hoover, Nov 10, 2015.

Ben Carson is the quiet, almost somnolent, version of Donald Trump. He is, like Trump, a political outsider, but a crafty politician all the same, without the reality TV persona of Donald Trump. Carson seems to share other attributes with “the Donald” though not commonly discussed in the media.  

In an era of celebrity when we are encouraged, in fact, marketed to placate and coddle ourselves, flaws in the character of public images are usually deflected in the glow of spotlight. The image is often falsely projected and the best of it amplified for effect. Motivations and flaws are hidden behind the glow.

I don’t believe we could argue with the notion that both Carson and Trump are self-centered. We live in a society that encourages and rewards this feature, but does not consider how these traits affect ourselves and others we come in contact with.  Accordingly, our culture fosters a predisposition to ignore the needs of others, including human investment for the common good. Interdependent cultures, like those in Asia, find Asians easily able to put themselves in the shoes of others, displaying more empathy. For example, pathetic voting practices in most US elections, the latest in Kentucky, show a lack of concern for the consequences of not voting, including the harm it might do to others … //

… Thus, adding to an apparent altar of self emulation is other evidence, including espousing views that seem to deny a connection with reality. His pronouncements include six controversial views, boyishly simplistic, if not totally naïve, and far out of the mainstream: Hitler wouldn’t have been able to exterminate the Jews if they had guns; he advocates no Muslim as President; “Obamacare” is the worst thing that has happened in this country since slavery; he wouldn’t stand still, but enlist other unarmed people, not letting a gunman kill him (after Oregon shooting).

All of these signs are rather troubling for a candidate who is clearly leading in the polls for the Republican nomination for president. He is a political outsider, but how far outside reason and normalcy can you be when vying for a position that has so much control over the free world, not to speak of a nuclear arsenal? … //

… (full text).

(James Hoover is a recently retired systems engineer. He has advanced degrees in Economics and English. Prior to his aerospace career, he taught high school, and he has also taught college courses. He recently published a science fiction novel called Extraordinary Visitors and writes political columns on several websites. Read other articles on Dissident Voice by James).

Links:

Pittsburgh raise wages, Sanders rallies for workers, on Russia Today RT, Nov 11, 2015: The nationwide Fight for $15 strike is still pressing for minimum wage hikes for fast food workers, but the movement has already prompted some legislative changes. City and state employees in New York and Pittsburgh will see their minimum wages rise to $15 …;

Huge blast follows Syrian shelling of militant hideout, on RT Ruptly, Nov 10, 2015;

Finnland: Finland will drop out of EU relocation if other countries don’t get on board – Interior Minister Petteri Orpo, on yle.fi, Nov 9, 2015: he  says Finland is currently negotiating a second transfer of asylum seekers to Finland from southern Europe as part of the EU relocation programme agreed upon earlier this year. He says this second transfer may be Finland’s last, however, unless the EU can show some progress with its planned ‘hotspot’ processing centres;

Greece and Creditors at Loggerheads Again; Troika Wants More Foreclosures, on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Nov 9, 2015;

RT EXCLUSIVE: How a Syrian mountain village was liberated – but ISIS fighters are only 1km away, on Russia Today RT, Nov 9, 2015;

Governments and NGOs: Germany Spied on Friends and Vatican, on Spiegel Online International, Nov 7, 2015: Efforts to spy on friends and allies by Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, were more extensive than previously reported. SPIEGEL has learned the agency monitored European and American government ministries and the Vatican;

Is Capitalism Broken? An Interview with Professor Richard D. Wolff, 90.57 min, uploaded by Samuel Price, Nov 5, 2015;

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L’écologie politique va-t-elle vous séduire? dans Café Babel, by Jörg Shubert, le 5 nov 2015;

UBI: a basic income pilot project experiment in Quantinga Velho, Brazil, which ReCivitas have experimented since 2008, on Basic Income Earth Network BIEN, by  Toru Yamamori, Nov 4, 2015;
(about the author: he has written 68 articles. Toru Yamamori is currently a visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge, UK, and professor at Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan. See his Blog);

Finland considers paychecks for all, on Chicago Tribune, by Leonid Bershidsky, Nov 4, 2015;

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voir dans fr.wikipedia: Nouvelle Donne (parti politique) est un mouvement politique français de gauche lancé le 28 novembre 2013 par Pierre Larrouturou. Il se positionne principalement sur les questions économiques, sociales et environnementales et pour le renouvellement des pratiques démocratiques …;

Finland prepares universal basic income experiment, on inhabitat, by Greg Beach, Nov 3;

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Franc: la Caisse Interprofessionnelle de Prévoyance et d’Assurance Vieillesse CIPAV en cinq questions, dans l’Express, le 2 nov 2015;

Donating ‘edible waste’ to food banks in exchange for tax credit? Now that’s a rubbish idea, on The Globe and Mail, by Valerie Tarasuk, Nov 2, 2015;

The Case For Universal Prosperity (Part 2), on Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies IEET, by Michael Hrenka, Nov 2, 2015;

India: Union Budget and vulnerable ones, on The Free Press Journal.in, by S S Tarapore, Nov 02, 2015;

Finnland: Kela to prepare basic income proposal, on yle.fi, Oct 31, 2015: the Finnish Social Insurance Institution is to begin drawing up plans for a citizens’ basic income model. The preparation’s director Olli Kangas says that full-fledged basic income would net Finns some 800 euros a month;

United Kingdom: Opposition’s Economic Adviser Argues for UBI, on Basic Income Earth Network BIEN, by Toru Yamamort, Oct 31, 2015;

Quand François Hollande passe après Angela Merkel en Chine, dans atlantico.fr, le 31 Oct 31 2015: … la France sans une Europe relancée peut-elle devenir autre chose qu’un grand Luxembourg?

Flexibility’ Won’t Stop Women Retiring In Poverty, on New Mathilda, by Petra Bueskens, Oct 30, 2015;

Are We Allowed to Say That Marco Rubio Is Lying About His Tax Plan? on Mother Jones, by Kevin Drum, Oct 30, 2015;

Namibia: War against poverty to be fought on all fronts – Geingob, on New Era, Oct 30, 2015;

Australia: Superannuation system needs to change to address gender gap - Treasurer Scott Morrison, on ABCnews.au, by Eliza Borrello, Oct 26, 2015: Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison says he is keenly aware of the need to address the gap between the superannuation savings of men and women;

Hedge funds’ move to become family offices is not entirely popular, on Financial Times FT, by , Oct 23, 2015: being a billionaire hedge fund manager is not as much fun as it used to be. The 1990s, so legend has it, were a golden era for the humble hedge fund manager, who could set up a company with just a computer and a telephone, without facing the glare of regulators, the media or the public …;

Canada: It’s not about religion, the niqab is just cultural garb, on Maple Ridge News, by Phil Melnychuk, Oct 15, 2015;

Australia: The gender gap in retirement savings, on Australian Human Rights Commission/Our Work, not dated;

… and this:

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