But let's take a step back and look at the bigger picture.
Maybe when you are outside the US it is hard to see, but with the Trump presidency there has just been a hostile takeover of our Democracy by the billionaire class.
(...)
The only thing that separates the US from becoming a full fledged Oligarchy (similar to Russia) is the Special Counsel by Robert Mueller.
It is essential for our democracy that Mueller can continue his work and hold those in power accountable. If Mueller fails, our democracy is doomed.
THAT is why the Mueller investigation is so important and deserves ample air time on all news outlets.
Rob, in my view US democracy has been taken over by the billionaire class quite a while ago. Now, of course, the billionaire class isn't a unified whole (I don't believe in the NWO Illuminati conspiracies), so you might argue that there are good oligarchs and bad oligarchs. If the good oligarchs rule us, all is fine. You know, names like Gates, Soros, Bezos, Buffett, Musk, and so on. However if the bad oligarchs get into power, things are bad. I'm talking Mercer and the Kochs, etc.
I think that discussion is superfluous. A more important discussion is whether we want to be ruled by invisible kings, and if there is even such a thing as a good oligarch. Does that really lead to any good? I don't think so.
You see, the problem isn't the billionaires per se, but their money. Their money demands growth, and because that money is so powerful everything is geared towards that growth. Our culture, for instance, which almost entirely revolves around the consumption of goods and activities. Or our education systems which are set up in a way to get as many specialized producers as possible, so that they can consume as much as possible (how to become a good, happy person is something they can try to figure out in the little spare time they have). All of which leads to AGW and countless other societal and planetary threats.
I don't think Mueller can change that, or even
wants to change that. He wouldn't have gotten as far as he has done, if he had strong principles and stood up to power. That's why I suspect his investigation is in fact a negotiation between the establishment oligarchs and the even more sociopath outsider faction of oligarchs, with Trump as its puppet/face. It's politics one level op from the politics that we, the small people, think we are engaged in. The oligarchs are trying to find a way to make this work, as their money stacks probably overlap a lot. And they're doing a good job so far. The whole nation is paralyzed by Trump's antics (with lots of help from the media), while insane policies are being pushed through at a faster pace than we were used to under Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama.
Giving so much attention to Russiagate and the Mueller investigation (which more and more shifts towards corruption, because the collusion is probably very hard to prove, or at least with Russia, the collusion with Saudi Arabia and Israel is blindingly obvious), actually detracts from your bigger picture. It obscures the context and the processes that has led to all of this and to more to come.
I'm not saying Russiagate shouldn't be covered, but not as a ratings amplifier for the media, or to draw attention away from other issues (both the Trump camp and the establishment are abusing it that way). What is important is that Trump is depicted as being part of the swamp/establishment, that everything he said and promised, was a lie. And then you present a real alternative.
Which brings me to this:
As Rachel Maddow often says, we are all tired of all the Russia entanglements, the corruption, the ineptitude, the stupid tweets — things that in any other administration would long ago have led to impeachment and/or resignations. The danger is that because it keeps happening, and keeps happening, and keeps happening... that we are no longer shocked. Like a repetitive beating, we get dulled to it. But we MUST keep learning more about it, keep reminding ourselves that this cluster of an administration Is Not Normal. We can’t afford to feel too tired to not listen, to not care any more — because then evil wins. And democracy is lost.
I agree somewhat, but it's even more important to understand the processes that have led to all of this. The money stacks of the oligarchs demand that they become bigger at an exponential rate, which is why they control so much of US politics (rest of the world not that much better). But someone has to pay to make those stacks bigger, and 90% of the population is paying so much that their health and happiness are suffering. People are seriously hurting. Maybe not most of the ASIF members (or not on a material level), but the rest of society does.
Some of these people are insane, bigoted deplorables, but a lot of them aren't. And these people feel ignored and betrayed, and they think that the only way they can make a statement is by voting for ridiculous things like Brexit and Trump. Because they don't trust the establishment any longer. Obama put an end to that.
So that offers possibilities, and unfortunately the Trump faction got in first and so things will get even worse for a while (not that anything was getting better). But it also means a new round of opportunities, because Trump will ultimately fail. And so in my view it's more important to ask the question 'what do we replace Trump with?' than to say 'we must replace that vulgar idiot, at any price'.
You can't replace him with the establishment and incremental lesser-evil politics. It's too slow and actually obstructs systemic changes, which are needed to stave off things like AGW. People like Sanders and Corbyn are showing the way, but we have to all get involved to make that work. And for that we need to understand the context and the processes, where the hurt is coming from, what is causing it, and then speak out about that first and foremost.
It's the stacks of oligarch money (mind you, not the rich themselves, Biden had a point there, but their money) that demands perpetual, exponential growth at the detriment of the majority's well-being, and that's how every empire has collapsed so far. But we have the Internet, vast amounts of scientific knowledge, and robotics/AI (that, though scary, can also be used for good).
And that's the reason why I keep coming back to these discussions: because I think that ASIF members have the intelligence, time and resources to be leading in this, to spread the awareness. We can do so much more than just sit here gossiping about the 'facts' that are thrown to us as crumbs, going 'tick tock, Mueller tough guy has got the moron by the balls, tick tock, just like Watergate, one more year to go, tick tock, tick tock'.
Forget Them. What do We stand for?
