Very good Writing. Your summation is spot on. The progressive left as some people like to be called, is nothing more than a cult ,hiding behind or within a political movement.
As Canadians we can see how this movement has overtaken our systems of education and government, with heavy emphasis on Education.
The picture of the obese "Pro-Luigi" protestors holding up their signs says it all. The cost of the rampant obesity and sedentary life in much of the US is what is sinking our healthcare. Agree with everything you stated. Merry Christmas!
I think progressive thought is unstable because it believes through social engineering (or social darwinism as one writer put it) they can bring forth a utopian society. The Enlightenment unleashed fascism and communism as means for the good of society. The means become the telos which is why they can't let go of policies that become deadly. I came across the work of Dr. Aaron Kheriaty who was fired from Irvine University for refusing the vax. Ironically, he taught medical ethics to students. He was an early opponent of the assisted dying laws understanding what would unfold as demonstrated in Canada. Sanders, Warren, etc. stupidly believe argue that the problem with healthcare is that it isn't socialized. No one discusses the rationing of healthcare in socialist countries. (I've never heard complaint about the socialized medicine in Germany and France so I would like to learn more about their systems.)
This would be an excellent deep dive. If Warren and friends were serious about health, they would be willing to do the quick dive. But considering Warren screamed my body my choice and then scampered off to Ukraine where young men are denied such a choice, I don't think an honest dive is coming.
Two of the most misleading labels in political jargon: Liberal and Progressive. Oxymorons. Unless censorship , surveillance, mandatory lockdowns, masking, eugenics, animal torture in the name of research ,racism, antisemitism, violent recidivist criminality, weaponized Lawfare,,FGM,sexualization and mutilation of children and walking off a fiscal and psychological cliff is the new “ tolerance, open mindedness and path to a healthy, positive future, the “ Liberal World Order” envisioned by “ Progressives” is a post 1984 Brave New World. And if Trump’s appointments are obstructed and his presidency again sabotaged and thwarted, Huxley’s frantic warnings will have been for naught.
Agree with most of this until you get to Israel. (And I'm Jewish.) Then the binary-think and the Judaeo-Christian world self-righteously closing ranks becomes deeply depressing. Yes, Hamas is brutal. But don't forget Netanyahu enabled them. And toddlers are not terrorists. Yes, many pro-Palestine protesters were spoiled brats in the grip of fashionable groupthink. But Israel's destruction of Gaza has been a brazen, gloating, genocidal land grab. "Western civilization" isn't wrong about everything, by far. But why do we seem so unable to hold two thoughts in mind at once?
I think you're very right about assisted dying. It can be merciful when a terminally suffering person is capable of choosing it. But it marks the new disposability of MOST of us, dismissed by an elite minority as "useless eaters" or "NPCs" and isolated by a consumerist culture of narcissism. In a vicious cycle, knowing you're disposable can make you feel like you might as well dispose of yourself. That's how we wind up helping out with population reduction.
You speak as if the Jewish nation just started being attacked. It has been happening since the beginning of time and was prophesied. Palestine elected Hamas to be their government. They elected the PLO in the past who was no better. Those organizations train kids to hate Israel and the USA (the great satan). Sounds like you don't have much experience dealing with terrorist organizations and the way they operate. You sound a little like a spoiled brat in the grip of fashionable group think.
You make him sound like a nice guy. He isn't. He was Yassar Arafat's right hand man. You left out this part as well. Not much different than what Hamas did. Everyone knows how the PLO was. I understand where you are coming from and where you stand though. The younger people admire this guy as well. Kind of like the criminals that get admired in the USA like Diddy and others. Like the CEO murderer. Goes right along with this original article we are commenting on.
As the intifada turned more violent, and amid competition with Hamas for support, Fatah established the armed Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade under Mr. Barghouti’s authority. He did not direct the brigade, colleagues claim, but gave it rhetorical backing while insisting its forces attack only military targets in the occupied territories.
Yet as the violence got out of control, they say, the decentralized brigade violated those parameters, killing civilians.
After an Israeli assassination attempt on him failed, Mr. Barghouti was arrested, tried, and convicted, though he refused to recognize the court’s legitimacy.
That’s part of the story, yes. Continue seeing in black and white, while the other side sees in white and black. That’s always been the human way, except now we have nukes. So our love of hate will end in extinction.
We have had nukes since the 1940's. I see reality. I expressed no hate anywhere in this. I am not going to embrace those who do evil to others. Just because the young people embrace him because he is willing to use violence to get what he wants. I believe that there is a God in control and our end will come at some point anyway when Christ returns.
The Israelis are over the top in using violence to get what they want, which is not only survival. but ... you could call it Lebensraum. But that's OK because it's part of the plan for Jesus's return. What primitive nonsense still drives us.
The “center left” is the Left of institutional leadership. Business CEOs, university deans and presidents, media, and the mayors/councilmen of our cities. They run things. They run the things that affect our culture and daily lives.
Not wishing to be lumped in with the Trump Right, they allowed their activist, militant (far left) wing to be the muscle of the Left. The protesters. The online thought enforcers. They agreed to their demands on DEI and pride flags and the punishment of all normal people in their institutions who disavow expanding pronouns, gender identity. All to preserve their grasp on leadership and not get sideways with their psychotic fringe wing. They allowed their cities to become crime dens and open air drug markets. They elected activist DAs to go easy on criminals while telling normal people we should check our privilege. They allowed millions to pour across our border unchecked.
In short, “center left” moderates laid down on their watch. They abdicated their responsibility of leadership - all to cater to their far Left activists in this tacit agreement to mutually oppose Trump.
The Far Left has always been corrupted. Only this dereliction of duty from the moderates enabled these levies to break and flood western democracies with this rancid poison.
The blame, fully and rightfully, rests on those “good” Progressives who were too cowardly and craven to use their power to preserve decency and a society for the vast majority of normie Americans and Canadians. This has broken their party and destroyed our trust in their institutions and their leadership.
There is a good bit of chit-chat about the purportedly dismal state of the progressive left, what with the loss of the presidency notwithstanding Harris valiant 100 day money burn, racking up more that $2B in costs. The number gets bigger every day. Such rapid -- perhaps rabid -- spending can only be the work of people who hate money, and must dispose of it as quickly as is possible, to purge themselves of the taint of its possession, and, of course, to bestow the funds on friends.
I do not for a minute believe that there is a decline and fall of the left. They are just recharging their batteries, beavering behind the scenes on the next roster of destructive acts in which to engage.
Moreover, they must amass a concordance of blame, for surely the left cannot be responsible or its own downfall. The core teaching of progressiveness is that every ill is someone else's fault, so that those at fault must fork over their dough. Retributive and restorative justice. The beauty of it.
One caution: we must distinguish between the progressive left and the center-left. I'm not arguing that the center-left will is in decline but rather the progressive left.
We need a strong center-left and center-right for healthy political discussions. It's the extremes we can do without.
The thing that has put healthcare in the mess it is Obamacare. It promised everything different of course, but was snuck through for a different reason. That is the real blame, not CEO's. Progressives are not going to admit that of course. Then they would have to look inward at their policies instead of blaming someone else.
I'm going to steal part of a reply from another thread:
There are a few differences between socialist medicine and the capitalist approaches but both function under the universal rule of limited resources. In the capitalist approach insurance companies decide who gets treatment. In the socialist approach a bureaucrat does. In the capitalist approach, cost is the biggest complaint. In the socialist approach it is wait times.
There is no perfect solution. Pick you poison.
You can take the position that Obama made things worse (I'm not sure about this) but even without his changes the system would have issues.
The thing is with Obamacare is the state mandated everyone had to be insured or pay a penalty. That isn't really the way things are supposed to work in this country. There is plenty of evidence that it has increased the cost of healthcare every year since it was signed into law. It was presented as this will make it so much cheaper for everyone. Nancy Pelosi passed it through in the middle of the night not giving the members a chance to read it. This article breaks it down good why it was the failure instead of what was promised. Everything is bad when it becomes government run.
I look at that CEO the same way I would look at a mafia boss - he is responsible for the deaths that occurred under his orders, even though he didn't kill anyone with his bare hands. Fundraisers for his widow and kids are unnecessary; he was the equivalent of a well paid hitman, and they will never want for money.
Daniel Penny is a hero who never should have been put on trial. He probably saved the lives of multiple people that day.
With one post you proved my point about the progressive left.
You've packed a lot of wrongheaded thinking into one short post.
1. What the mafia does is against the law and when they kill someone that's what they intended to do. Insurance is a business, it's goal is to make money, not kill people. It may be that they're denying more claims than they should but the intent is not to kill people. If it was, Luigi Mangione wouldn't have been alive to murder the CEO.
2. The CEO will be replace by another person who will continue the policies. If you don't like their policies there are other insurance companies. Your compassion for the family of a person who was murdered in cold blood is inspirational.
As you seem to be against medical insurance I will assume you're in favor of socialist medicine. There are a few differences between socialist medicine and the capitalist approaches but both function under the universal rule of limited resources. In the capitalist approach insurance companies decide who gets treatment. In the socialist approach a bureaucrat does. In the capitalist approach, cost is the biggest complaint. In the socialist approach it is wait times.
Good Morning Philip
Very good Writing. Your summation is spot on. The progressive left as some people like to be called, is nothing more than a cult ,hiding behind or within a political movement.
As Canadians we can see how this movement has overtaken our systems of education and government, with heavy emphasis on Education.
I will leave it there for now.
Merry Christmas
Happy New Year
From Laval
Thank you for reading Mark!
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too.
On assisted death: yes, this is the poster child for the term "slippery slope."
People who really want to die can find a way, without the state getting involved. Look up "living will."
The picture of the obese "Pro-Luigi" protestors holding up their signs says it all. The cost of the rampant obesity and sedentary life in much of the US is what is sinking our healthcare. Agree with everything you stated. Merry Christmas!
Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I think progressive thought is unstable because it believes through social engineering (or social darwinism as one writer put it) they can bring forth a utopian society. The Enlightenment unleashed fascism and communism as means for the good of society. The means become the telos which is why they can't let go of policies that become deadly. I came across the work of Dr. Aaron Kheriaty who was fired from Irvine University for refusing the vax. Ironically, he taught medical ethics to students. He was an early opponent of the assisted dying laws understanding what would unfold as demonstrated in Canada. Sanders, Warren, etc. stupidly believe argue that the problem with healthcare is that it isn't socialized. No one discusses the rationing of healthcare in socialist countries. (I've never heard complaint about the socialized medicine in Germany and France so I would like to learn more about their systems.)
I did a quick search (used AI actually) and here's what I found:
Canada - 61% reported wait times of at least a month for specialist appointments. 18% waited at least 4 months for elective surgery.
US - 27% and 3%
Germany - 23% and 0%
France - 36% and 7%
UK - 11% waited at least a year for treatment. The median wait time is 14.2 weeks but can extend up to 18 months.
Obviously this is just scratching the surface but shows that there are problems everywhere.
This would be an excellent deep dive. If Warren and friends were serious about health, they would be willing to do the quick dive. But considering Warren screamed my body my choice and then scampered off to Ukraine where young men are denied such a choice, I don't think an honest dive is coming.
I do not think that "social Darwinism" means quite what is presented here. In fact, it may mean the opposite of the usage here.
Two of the most misleading labels in political jargon: Liberal and Progressive. Oxymorons. Unless censorship , surveillance, mandatory lockdowns, masking, eugenics, animal torture in the name of research ,racism, antisemitism, violent recidivist criminality, weaponized Lawfare,,FGM,sexualization and mutilation of children and walking off a fiscal and psychological cliff is the new “ tolerance, open mindedness and path to a healthy, positive future, the “ Liberal World Order” envisioned by “ Progressives” is a post 1984 Brave New World. And if Trump’s appointments are obstructed and his presidency again sabotaged and thwarted, Huxley’s frantic warnings will have been for naught.
I do not support a white supremacist autocracy or endorse a convicted criminal who largely evaded serious consequences.
And you know the color of my skin? My children’s ? My grandson?
Agree with most of this until you get to Israel. (And I'm Jewish.) Then the binary-think and the Judaeo-Christian world self-righteously closing ranks becomes deeply depressing. Yes, Hamas is brutal. But don't forget Netanyahu enabled them. And toddlers are not terrorists. Yes, many pro-Palestine protesters were spoiled brats in the grip of fashionable groupthink. But Israel's destruction of Gaza has been a brazen, gloating, genocidal land grab. "Western civilization" isn't wrong about everything, by far. But why do we seem so unable to hold two thoughts in mind at once?
I think you're very right about assisted dying. It can be merciful when a terminally suffering person is capable of choosing it. But it marks the new disposability of MOST of us, dismissed by an elite minority as "useless eaters" or "NPCs" and isolated by a consumerist culture of narcissism. In a vicious cycle, knowing you're disposable can make you feel like you might as well dispose of yourself. That's how we wind up helping out with population reduction.
You speak as if the Jewish nation just started being attacked. It has been happening since the beginning of time and was prophesied. Palestine elected Hamas to be their government. They elected the PLO in the past who was no better. Those organizations train kids to hate Israel and the USA (the great satan). Sounds like you don't have much experience dealing with terrorist organizations and the way they operate. You sound a little like a spoiled brat in the grip of fashionable group think.
This man, the leader Palestinians actually want, https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2024/0401/Palestinian-Mandela-Marwan-Barghouti-imprisoned-preacher-of-unity was recently placed in solitary confinement, where he was beaten and injured by Israeli guards last month. (He's 64.) He won't be part of the hostage/prisoner swap now being negotiated. It's not at all clear that Hamas wants him released either.
You make him sound like a nice guy. He isn't. He was Yassar Arafat's right hand man. You left out this part as well. Not much different than what Hamas did. Everyone knows how the PLO was. I understand where you are coming from and where you stand though. The younger people admire this guy as well. Kind of like the criminals that get admired in the USA like Diddy and others. Like the CEO murderer. Goes right along with this original article we are commenting on.
As the intifada turned more violent, and amid competition with Hamas for support, Fatah established the armed Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade under Mr. Barghouti’s authority. He did not direct the brigade, colleagues claim, but gave it rhetorical backing while insisting its forces attack only military targets in the occupied territories.
Yet as the violence got out of control, they say, the decentralized brigade violated those parameters, killing civilians.
After an Israeli assassination attempt on him failed, Mr. Barghouti was arrested, tried, and convicted, though he refused to recognize the court’s legitimacy.
That’s part of the story, yes. Continue seeing in black and white, while the other side sees in white and black. That’s always been the human way, except now we have nukes. So our love of hate will end in extinction.
We have had nukes since the 1940's. I see reality. I expressed no hate anywhere in this. I am not going to embrace those who do evil to others. Just because the young people embrace him because he is willing to use violence to get what he wants. I believe that there is a God in control and our end will come at some point anyway when Christ returns.
The Israelis are over the top in using violence to get what they want, which is not only survival. but ... you could call it Lebensraum. But that's OK because it's part of the plan for Jesus's return. What primitive nonsense still drives us.
The “center left” is the Left of institutional leadership. Business CEOs, university deans and presidents, media, and the mayors/councilmen of our cities. They run things. They run the things that affect our culture and daily lives.
Not wishing to be lumped in with the Trump Right, they allowed their activist, militant (far left) wing to be the muscle of the Left. The protesters. The online thought enforcers. They agreed to their demands on DEI and pride flags and the punishment of all normal people in their institutions who disavow expanding pronouns, gender identity. All to preserve their grasp on leadership and not get sideways with their psychotic fringe wing. They allowed their cities to become crime dens and open air drug markets. They elected activist DAs to go easy on criminals while telling normal people we should check our privilege. They allowed millions to pour across our border unchecked.
In short, “center left” moderates laid down on their watch. They abdicated their responsibility of leadership - all to cater to their far Left activists in this tacit agreement to mutually oppose Trump.
The Far Left has always been corrupted. Only this dereliction of duty from the moderates enabled these levies to break and flood western democracies with this rancid poison.
The blame, fully and rightfully, rests on those “good” Progressives who were too cowardly and craven to use their power to preserve decency and a society for the vast majority of normie Americans and Canadians. This has broken their party and destroyed our trust in their institutions and their leadership.
There is a good bit of chit-chat about the purportedly dismal state of the progressive left, what with the loss of the presidency notwithstanding Harris valiant 100 day money burn, racking up more that $2B in costs. The number gets bigger every day. Such rapid -- perhaps rabid -- spending can only be the work of people who hate money, and must dispose of it as quickly as is possible, to purge themselves of the taint of its possession, and, of course, to bestow the funds on friends.
I do not for a minute believe that there is a decline and fall of the left. They are just recharging their batteries, beavering behind the scenes on the next roster of destructive acts in which to engage.
Moreover, they must amass a concordance of blame, for surely the left cannot be responsible or its own downfall. The core teaching of progressiveness is that every ill is someone else's fault, so that those at fault must fork over their dough. Retributive and restorative justice. The beauty of it.
Thanks for reading and for the comment.
One caution: we must distinguish between the progressive left and the center-left. I'm not arguing that the center-left will is in decline but rather the progressive left.
We need a strong center-left and center-right for healthy political discussions. It's the extremes we can do without.
The thing that has put healthcare in the mess it is Obamacare. It promised everything different of course, but was snuck through for a different reason. That is the real blame, not CEO's. Progressives are not going to admit that of course. Then they would have to look inward at their policies instead of blaming someone else.
I'm going to steal part of a reply from another thread:
There are a few differences between socialist medicine and the capitalist approaches but both function under the universal rule of limited resources. In the capitalist approach insurance companies decide who gets treatment. In the socialist approach a bureaucrat does. In the capitalist approach, cost is the biggest complaint. In the socialist approach it is wait times.
There is no perfect solution. Pick you poison.
You can take the position that Obama made things worse (I'm not sure about this) but even without his changes the system would have issues.
The thing is with Obamacare is the state mandated everyone had to be insured or pay a penalty. That isn't really the way things are supposed to work in this country. There is plenty of evidence that it has increased the cost of healthcare every year since it was signed into law. It was presented as this will make it so much cheaper for everyone. Nancy Pelosi passed it through in the middle of the night not giving the members a chance to read it. This article breaks it down good why it was the failure instead of what was promised. Everything is bad when it becomes government run.
https://www.policygenius.com/health-insurance/news/obamacare-health-insurance-premium-increase/
I look at that CEO the same way I would look at a mafia boss - he is responsible for the deaths that occurred under his orders, even though he didn't kill anyone with his bare hands. Fundraisers for his widow and kids are unnecessary; he was the equivalent of a well paid hitman, and they will never want for money.
Daniel Penny is a hero who never should have been put on trial. He probably saved the lives of multiple people that day.
With one post you proved my point about the progressive left.
You've packed a lot of wrongheaded thinking into one short post.
1. What the mafia does is against the law and when they kill someone that's what they intended to do. Insurance is a business, it's goal is to make money, not kill people. It may be that they're denying more claims than they should but the intent is not to kill people. If it was, Luigi Mangione wouldn't have been alive to murder the CEO.
2. The CEO will be replace by another person who will continue the policies. If you don't like their policies there are other insurance companies. Your compassion for the family of a person who was murdered in cold blood is inspirational.
As you seem to be against medical insurance I will assume you're in favor of socialist medicine. There are a few differences between socialist medicine and the capitalist approaches but both function under the universal rule of limited resources. In the capitalist approach insurance companies decide who gets treatment. In the socialist approach a bureaucrat does. In the capitalist approach, cost is the biggest complaint. In the socialist approach it is wait times.
There is no perfect solution. Pick you poison.
Wow. I’m glad I read the comments and your replies. They are even better than your post, which was timely and spot on. Great job!
My adult children are often confronted by their friends with the question: do you think Mangioni is a hero or a villain?
I tell my children to ask them: how would you answer that question if it was your father who was assassinated by Luigi.
Murder is murder. This is an easy moral judgement to make.
On the other hand, if United Healthcare is operating in bad faith, that is a separate legal matter that should be investigated.
If you think I'm part of the progressive left, you're sorely mistaken. Go to my substack and take a look at my posts.