Re: disruption FREE screening climate change movie

[Scott Baker]

To be blunt: it won't work, Anthony.  People have been trying to raise consciousness since there was consciousness, even longer than any particular economic system then.  Yet, we have about the same percentage of moral heroes and people who "do the right thing" in the face of a culture that rewards the opposite, as ever, and it is small.

This article about new requirements to build affordable housing is hopeful, and might have even been inspired by the kind of outrageous giveaways to the developer lobby that were common under Bloomberg: New York Will Require More Builders to Add Affordable Units

				New York Will Require More Builders to Add Affordable... Mayor Bill de Blasio’s planning chief, Carl Weisbrod, disclosed a new policy to spur construction of housing for low- or middle-income residents.
				View on www.nytimes.com	Preview by Yahoo

“There will be a minimum that the developer has to do without subsidy,” Mr. Weisbrod said, noting that affordable units would be a baseline requirement for new projects that require a zoning change. “It’s mandatory."

Surprising some audience members, Mr. Weisbrod said the requirements would apply not only to neighborhood-wide residential zoning changes, but also to virtually every apartment project of six or more stories that city planners must approve. (Projects not requiring a rezoning would still be allowed to rise without adding affordable units.)

Weisbrod gave a breakfast speech Friday at the New York Law School to a packed crowd.  I had RSVPed to to go, but the thought of competing for Q&A time at 8:15-9:30AM was too much, and I was able to catch it online later.  Besides, I wrote to, and received a reply from, Weisbrod's office about this subject months ago (did that have an influence, or was it the cover story, "Stash Pad" in New York Magazine, or something else.  I guess we will never know).  It was a full crowd though, 500+ people.  Things are changing, but in baby steps.  The pushback from the R.E. lobby has already begun, but the Mayor and his staff seem determined to do...something about the affordable housing shortage.  In his prepared speech, Weisbrod said this was priority #1 for the Administraiton, and he said that again when asked during Q&A.  It isn't really LVT, though de Blasio's vacant land tax increase would come close, if implemented, at least for that small part of city land.  As usual in politics, the solution is complicated, a compromise, and uncertain.  That's politics in the real world, but it's a start and we should acknowledge that and support it.

I didn't emphasize this in my last message, but I should have: direct appeal to local politicians can have some effect too, but boy, it would sure help if there were solid movements (i.e. votes) behind the request, since we don't have money.  E.g. My state Senator signed onto the State Banking Study bill less than a week after I asked her to, and in direct response to my emailed request (they let me know this too).  Public Banking is an easier sell than LVT, however.

What we need, almost more than anything, are people in the movement willing to meet with their local Electeds to consistently and articulately push for the reforms we want.  This is what we push for in Common Ground-NYC.


Also, Scotland will vote on secession in a couple of weeks.  Sovereign Currency is one option on the table.  Here is an article that describes some good options: Credit Scotland.  As goes Scotland, so goes the world?

				Credit Scotland One of the interesting aspects of the Scottish independence debate is that new national monetary and fiscal systems must be built from scratch.
				View on www.pieria.co.uk	Preview by Yahoo

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

On Sunday, September 7, 2014 12:41 PM, anthony persaud <anthony...@gmail.com> wrote:

Scott, everything you are saying basically points right back to what I have been saying all along - humanity needs a new paradigm by which is views itself in relation to each other and the natural world we depend upon for our survival; this will ONLY happen with a revolution in CONSCIOUSNESS. Otherwise, we are just going in circles, round and round, same shit different generations ... Echart Tolle, in his book, A New Earth and the Power of Now,  among other authors, have DEFINED the core of the problem humanity faces which is ultimately leading us to our demise... we have a problem of MIND and unless we are able to rise beyond the preconceived false notions as to who we think we are and why we are here and the purpose of our lives, the circle continues over and over with no end in sight ... EVERYTHING, you see, we create in our world, all material and mental exemplified by all of our institutions and physical manifestations including nuclear weapons are all a PRODUCT OF MIND - so to that effect, logically, mind is at the core of where the REVOLUTION needs to happen .... 

On Sun, Sep 7, 2014 at 3:52 AM, Scott Baker <ssbak...@yahoo.com> wrote:

....better watch out relying on "independent" Think Tanks too:

Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks

				Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks Prominent Washington think tanks, nonprofits known for their impartiality, have received tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments while pushing United S...
				View on www.nytimes.com	Preview by Yahoo

 

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

On Sunday, September 7, 2014 2:36 AM, Scott Baker <ssbak...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Yes, the Chris Hedges article was one of the ones I was thinking of when I wrote my comment below.  It was also Quicklilnked in Opednews as a major headlined article.

Hedges, for those who don't already know, was a NY Times correspondent for many years, and has been personally involved in fighting the government's attempt to hold broad and vague abilities to arrest anyone it decides is not just a critic but a national security threat, without trial, without even a lawyer, indefinitely.  You can read the whole back-and-forth legal cases here: Hedges v. Obama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia but the end result is that the NDAA provision which allows indefinite detention simply on the president's say-so (or, more accurately, his chosen representative) remains, because the Supreme Court declined to uphold an earlier ruling challenging it, in April, 2014.

				Hedges v. Obama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Hedges v. Obama[note 1][3][4] is a lawsuit filed January 13, 2012 against the Obama Administration and Members of the U.S. Congress[5] by a group including former ...
				View on en.wikipedia.org	Preview by Yahoo

 

Hedges has now decided, apparently, that direct resistance & confrontation, and not "reform" as people on this list have been advocating (with different variations) is the only one of two things that will work.  He readily admits this will "mean jail time and direct confrontation.  Resistance will mean severing ourselves from the dominant culture to build small, self-sustaining communities."  Well, I must object to the second part, as I did when our erstwhile HGS comrade, Philip Botwinick (remember him?) used to talk about setting up an independent farm off-the-grid (maybe he's done it by now).  As I said then, what good will it do to be independent when civilization collapses and the streaming hordes come out of the cities in search of food/water/shelter/supplies?  He and his fellow farmers will be quickly over-run by men and munitions (which will be the LAST thing to disappear under a social collapse, alas).  Of course, cataclysmic events like a nuclear war, which could grow out of WWIII (which I now give a 35% chance of occurring from events in the Ukraine, only slightly improved by Putin's peace proposal, which, however, is already being undercut by both rebel forces and Washington and its stooges in Kiev), will make the idea of off-the-grid a laughable example of naivete'.  

But, that aside, Hedges is smart and probably right.  The Climate March will be largely feel-good greenwashing.  Those who deviate will be dealt with harshly.  Hedges, and the U.N., both drastically understate the problems that they attribute too much to Climate Change, however.  Our neglected infrastructure is at least as big a problem, in the short-term anyway.  That problem would remain even if we somehow went to zero Greenhouse Gas emissions.  (There are other reasons to think the IPCC report is too optimistic too, but I won't go into them here).

The only alternative viewpoint is that society somehow stumbles and bumbles its way forward at least enough to keep the narrative credible for the top 20%, which can continue to control or at least pacify the bottom 80% with promises of something better, someday, somehow, or "Ferguson them," as Andy put it, if not. 

Maybe we'll get lucky and someone will create a commercially viable Thorium plant, or the salt water car will come way down in price and seawater extraction will replace oil-extraction on a large enough scale that Global Warming will be slowed, if not eliminated.  It's not impossible.  The discovery of oil came just in time to save the last of the whales from being hunted to extinction for their whale oil, and actually helped reforest parts of Europe and America, as we turned away from wood-burning.  It looks like we'll have to get lucky on several fronts at once, however, and that seems less likely.  I have more hope for China than America, even though their record on human rights is no better than ours, and in many cases, worse.  However, the Chinese leaders and even children are smarter and much more focused, and it does seem like Authoritarian Capitalism actually works better than Individualistic Capitalism/Socialism-for-the-rich Capitalism like we have....maybe.  Neither is what any reasonable person would consider freedom.

 
We can continue to build our little groups, striving for theoretical purity, while virtually no one pays attention, risking internal division and implossion.
Or, we can compromise our way to bland watered down nothingness, which allows the Status Quo to continue - like the Democrats and Republicans, two barely distinguishable alternatives, in action, if not in rhetoric.
With either choice, we run the risk of believing Intensity of Effort = Meaningfulness of Result.  This is a trap of hope over experience and evidence.

I do think focusing on the broad themes of: Sovereign Money, Taxing the Land not the People, Banking in the Public Interest, and similar populist messages can work, at least until they are co-opted by the elites.  This may be more stumble-and-bumble politics, in the end.

What else is there?

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

On Saturday, September 6, 2014 7:22 PM, Allen Smith <al...@infostation1.net> wrote:

So what would you suggest someone do on the 21st, given that

"The march, because its demands are amorphous, can be joined by anyone. This is intentional. But ... this also means some of the groups backing the march are little more than corporate fronts. The Climate Group, for example, which endorses the march, includes among its members and sponsors BP, China Mobile, Dow Chemical Co., Duke Energy, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Greenstone. The Environmental Defense Fund, ... has funding from the oil and gas industry and supports fracking as a form of alternative energy. These faux environmental organizations are designed to neutralize resistance."

I've highlighted the Chris Hedges article, and attached it here.

On Sep 6, 2014, at 2:23 PM, Scott Baker wrote:

I don't think the Social Safety net itself has stopped us from thinking, but our educational/media/corporate/government conglomerate certainly has, for the most part. 

Who's Nikki Minaj (Oh, I see: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=nicki+minaj&qpvt=Nikki+Minaj&FORM=IGRE)?  I really am living in a bubble, I guess.  But yikes, those are some discouraging numbers.  Georgists are lucky to get 168 viewers on a video.  16,800 is reserved for only the most popular Georgist videos.

I don't know the answer to that; I try to find topical flashpoints in my presentations.  I thought the 94% tax abatement that led to a $95m penthouse with a criminally low $1,500/month property tax might be one, but it hasn't worked out that way.  How do we sex-up LVT, Greenbacking (Lincoln is not the draw I thought he would be either), Public Banking, etc?  Should we get this Minaj person to be a spokesmodel? 

Lately, I've been wondering about America's need (I think it's recent) to punish itself for a multitude of supposed sins: profligacy (but not by bankers, oddly), avarice (but not at the highest levels, oddly), laziness (but not of the rentier class, oddly).  It's all very Puritan and masochistic, and terribly unhealthy.  The video you mention probably feeds that with its alternating temptation and withdrawals (I've seen videos like that, I think).  It's part of how the media makes us feel inferior and desperate for validation, making us willing to go into debt and do almost anything to feed the consumer machine.

I did a slideshow on E-Activism for the HGS a few years ago: http://www.slideshare.net/ScottOnTheSpot/eactivism-how-to-reach-people-about-your-cause-on-and-offline which is still relevant, but maybe not that helpful after all.  As I said before, this needs serious analysis.

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

On Saturday, September 6, 2014 1:44 PM, Billy Fitzgerald <billyfi...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Scott said:

 

Hmmm...  They advocate marching, protesting as an absolute requirement.  I believe they are right.  Are you willing to march, to risk arrest and the very real possibility of imprisonment and even physical harm to effect change?

We talked about what it will take to change things in an earlier thread.  I'm afraid watching a few movies, teaching a few classes, or even writing 200+ articles (me) is not nearly enough.  We need to rethink our approach...and then decide how much commitment we really have.

We do need to constantly rethink our approach. But first, how do you interest people in topics of substance when over 168 million people have time to watch one Nikki Minaj music video that is degrading to almost everyone (including the rapper herself)?

 

As Andy mentioned on Thursday, the social safety net was put in place to keep us from communism. Has it also stopped us from thinking?

 

B

On Saturday, September 6, 2014 10:37 AM, anthony persaud <anthony...@gmail.com> wrote:

indeed ... its becoming a matter of our survival in the very near future 

On Sat, Sep 6, 2014 at 6:15 AM, Scott Baker <ssbak...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hmmm...  They advocate marching, protesting as an absolute requirement.  I believe they are right.  Are you willing to march, to risk arrest and the very real possibility of imprisonment and even physical harm to effect change?

We talked about what it will take to change things in an earlier thread.  I'm afraid watching a few movies, teaching a few classes, or even writing 200+ articles (me) is not nearly enough.  We need to rethink our approach...and then decide how much commitment we really have.

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

On Saturday, September 6, 2014 12:01 AM, anthony persaud <anthony...@gmail.com> wrote:

http://watchdisruption.com/

screening at all these places in NYC - who wants to go with me? 

http://events.watchdisruption.com/event/disruption/search/

--

Anthony Persaud

I.T. Support Specialist,

Henry George School Of Social Sciences

Social Economic Justice Enthusiast

--

Anthony Persaud

I.T. Support Specialist,

Henry George School Of Social Sciences

Social Economic Justice Enthusiast

--

Anthony Persaud

I.T. Support Specialist,

Henry George School Of Social Sciences

Social Economic Justice Enthusiast

[Scott Baker]

Billy summed up my feelings after reading all of your comments too.  It IS an ongoing saga, one that people from Plato (Ron's cite) to Henry George, to the present, have railed against.  As for Brett's book cited: "The Cultural Creatives" published in 1987, this just proves my point even more.  It was published in 1987.  And yet, the culture today is certainly more avaricious and psychopathic than then (see "I am FishHead," a few years old movie someone suggested to me after reading my recent article on Global Economic Intersection: A Fish Rots from the Head)

				A Fish Rots from the Head Global Economic Intersection's Opinion Blog - Econintersect.com blogs news, analysis and opinion.
				View on econintersect.com	Preview by Yahoo

 

				I am FishHead
				View on www.youtube.com	Preview by Yahoo

The psudo-reforms found in feel-good measures like buying organic (while paying higher prices at Whole Foods or Farmer's Markets), or adapting a healthier lifestyle (yes, we cut down on smoking, but that was really a no-brainer, wasn't it, and it STILL took decades of fighting the corporate lies), and holistic medicine is still hardly widely adopted in our hugely expensive and wasteful top-down medical model.  These all mask much deeper systemic problems.

Henry George of course railed against injustice as much, or more, than anyone, but he very quickly turned from rant to solution, or else he wouldn't be remembered today (not enough, of course).

That's what we need to focus on.  As Billy said or implied in an earlier comment, we will change the behavior if we change the conditions causing it.  Changing behavior alone is almost impossible in the current culture; there's just too much reward for behaving pyschopathically, or at least in passively accepting that in others.

P.S. I had another comment called out in Forbes magazine, a publication with some surprisingly "Lefty" articles, like this one about how high CEO correlates negatively with stock performance (well, I guess if they focus on stock performance, they're allowed to attack high CEO pay ):

  Called-Out Comment Alert

---

Your comment was called out!

On this post: The Highest-Paid CEOs Are The Worst Performers, New Study Says " It's good to see Forbes' pick up on this, but unfortunately, this has been going on for some time. See the two studies mentioned here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/31/high-ceo-pay-may-correlat_n_406578.html and the other studies mentioned in my 2009 article (including several mentioned in a brief New Yorker article, mostly in Japan) here: http://www.opednews.com/articles/High-CEO-Pay--Low-Company-by-Scott-Baker-091231-794.html And the current study mentioned in the article is just measuring performance by stock performance, arguably the worst thing to measure by, for a CEO whose pay performance is directly correlated to stock performance. A new study by Prof William Lazonick in the Harvard Business Review cites "an unprecedented amount of debt being incurred to support this habit which only benefits shareholders". Lazonick goes on to say that a full 91% of profits are plowed into stock buybacks and dividends, which of course benefit those who hold the most stock, i.e. the C-suite (it's not just high paid CEOs that correlate to poor performance, according to some broader studies, but those in the C-suite in general). This is no way to run a railroad...or a tech company, steel company, etc. See also here: http://econintersect.com/b2evolution/blog2.php/2014/09/03/a-fish-rots-from-the-head
 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

On Monday, September 8, 2014 10:14 AM, Billy Fitzgerald <billyfi...@yahoo.com> wrote:

The history of oppression?

 

That term implies that it is over - is there a better term that describes the ongoing saga?

 

 

On Monday, September 8, 2014 10:08 AM, RON RUBIN <harmo...@verizon.net> wrote:

Brett, et al

 

As usual, you guys are right on the mark.

 

A quick review of Plato's "Cave Allegory" reveals that 2,500 years ago Plato knew that if someone escaped the cave (cinema) and came back to report on the glorious possibilities, they would mostly be eliminated.

 

The good news is that more and more people are escaping the cave. No one on this list is still living in the cave.

 

What the next step for humanity is, we don't know...predicting the future is futile.

 

What's not futile is working in the present.

 

I hope everyone will try and make an appearance this weekend at Rethinking Economics and make their contribution to The Great Transition.

 

Very thankful to have this list.

 

Ron

----- Original Message -----

From: Brett Barndt

To: Scott Baker

Cc: anthony persaud ; Allen Smith ; Billy Fitzgerald ; Andy Mazzone ; Char Lemur ; Chuck Mensh ; Guy Serge Komaclo ; Kim Baxter ; Marcello Ritondo ; Sue Peters ; Ron Rubin ; Marty Rowland ; Donal Butterfield ; Marcial Cordon ; Edward Dodson ; Drame Ibrahima ; Common Ground NYC

Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2014 2:24 PM

Subject: Re: disruption FREE screening climate change movie

Just to chime in here about this  consciousness shift. Paul Ray wrote a book The Cultural Creatives published in 1987.

He did say that in his long work of polling US households on values, he did see a shift rising in the population that was exactly what Anthony is talking about.

He said he saw a growing % of adults in the US who had values that were shifting from the "consumerist crypto fascist"* dominant culture present in the US unquestionably until the 1960s.

He said 16M adults in the US were making this shift, and so he coined the term LOHAS (Lifestyles of health and sustainability) to name the new emergent "market segment" to use his own understanding of what he should do as an opinion pollster and market researcher.

He said he also found similar movements in other developed post-fascist* economies where middle classes had begun to accumulate some economic security and independence owing to liberal arts education (EU, Japan, Taiwan, SKorea, etc.).

He said they were the emergent vanguard and signifying the process toward an eventual tipping point. And, it was essentially anti-consumerist.

The spread of alternative culture like yoga, meditation, organic food, holistic health, etc. all reflect this consciousness shift in the population.

These things are mainstream now. So, the shift is happening.

What he also noticed however around that time is that the consumer advertising driven mass media squelched this trend, and allowed it to become seen in sofar as it could frame a new form of consumerism (green gadgets, etc.).

Otherwise, Ray says the members of the psychographic group LOHAS still feel themselves to be isolated and unable to find others who share these values. Most explain that because of their dependence on work in corporate system, they keep these feelings to themselves.

He used the metaphor, they are an audience in a cinema, each viewing an movie on the screen of their own (and collective) mind that they identify with and makes them happy.

But, because they are sitting in a dark theater, and looking straight ahead at the screen, they don't see the other rapt faces, they only feel as if they alone are seeing this movie.

This is what Ray says the corporatized mass media has done to squelch this nascent rising movement in the people.

I can agree with Scott that nascent rising movements have always risen in the past in the people. Each generation has those who are hankering for a better world. I disagree that "it won't work". It is working. It is the reason we are mostly here now reading this email list. It is a rising in our collective unconscious and becoming conscious.  Compare ourselves and our curiousity and drive for all this to our parents or grandparents growing up in the heart of the miltaro-fascist economy, WWI, WWII, Korea, and the cold war?

But, it is the power of big institutions that squelch that in every generation too (willfully) and "trick empathy" to borrow the term from Graeber and I think Polanyi too, that we know too little about.

The conference Marty described could be a way to focus a discussion on that aspect of it. That conference will not be funded by Rockefeller Brothers, Ford Foundation, or the Richard King Mellon Foundation!

And, the minute they start handing out checques, it will be time to close up shop and shapeshift into something else.

* my term not not his

[anthony persaud]

Good point, Ron. Yes Billy and Scott, you are correct -the saga continues ... I was only highlighting that that repressed and glossed over history needs to be brought to the forefront and it needs to be told and factored into the discussion as far as solutions emerge ...

Echoing Ron's so grateful to be part of this wondering string of email discussions and refreshing that there are people like you all out there making a different in your own way .... BRAVO for that ... keep on the good work guys ... and let's  keep the momentum going ...

[anthony persaud]

Ed, that is a very good point and will do away with a lot of the monied interests in politics.

On Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 12:23 PM, Ed <edod...@comcast.net> wrote:

Scott wrote:

 

Billy summed up my feelings after reading all of your comments too.  It IS an ongoing saga, one that people from Plato (Ron's cite) to Henry George, to the present, have railed against.  As for Brett's book cited: "The Cultural Creatives" published in 1987, this just proves my point even more.  It was published in 1987.  And yet, the culture today is certainly more avaricious and psychopathic …

 

Ed Dodson here:

There are many, many people of good will. The challenge has been to marshall their efforts in the right direction. Our problems are political in origin. Marches against the government have resulted in change only after many people are killed when marches turn into riots and the police use deadly force as the means of crowd control.

 

I don’t know how to get it done, but my idea for fundamental change starts with replacement of elections for legislative offices with a selection of representatives by lottery. Anyone interested in “serving” would take a civil service examination to demonstrated they understand the fundamentals of the office and how government functions. Their name would go into the lottery and if picked when a seat becomes available they would serve for one term of four years, or until a majority of eligible voters removes support for that person. The result: people who will serve without being obligated to financial contributors. The amount of financial assets wasted on political campaigns would be dramatically reduced. We would finally have a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

 

 

 

---

This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.

[anthony persaud]

Brett and to add we should NOT stand for this bullshit anymore in the 21st century ... Humanity is awakening and rising up ... BRAVO for that ... this shit has got to go ... 

On Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 1:10 PM, Brett Barndt <barnd...@gmail.com> wrote:

Scott

 It proves your point on insofar as it shows how the elites block the human evolution using institutions. I want to make that clear. Ray was very specific about what was happening. His insights were directed toward institutions and elites, nothing intrinsic about human beings. Just to be clear.

We have our targets for change, when we clearly see them and stop being overly abstract, overly-generalizing, or leaving out operative details in our theories like the actual law codes that create the money system. Private property law codes go back even further and involve many many layers.

This stuff is not arising in people's heads, except for a very few devious ones who know how to use institutions to oppress the mass of humanity. That oppression prevents us from seeing straight.

We have our targets when we truly want to see them!

[anthony persaud]

speaking about all of this, here goes an example of the reaction to fight the system and trying to pave a new one ... surprise surprise ...

http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/03/09/florida-makes-off-grid-living-illegal-mandates-all-homes-must-be-connected-to-an-electricity-grid/

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 8, 2014, at 10:36 AM, anthony persaud wrote:

Brett and to add we should NOT stand for this bullshit anymore in the 21st century ... Humanity is awakening and rising up ... BRAVO for that ... this shit has got to go ... 

When we sold our house for a profit (rent gain) yesterday, none of the people congratulating us (and envying us) were of the elite, just normal friends and neighbors (including Georgists). Land rents gains are something everybody wants, deeply, from the poorest to the richest. The gains make us feel both secure and smart. So give them what they want -- rent shares, called the Citizen's Dividend.

SMITH, Jeffery J.

Outreach/Website, CommonGroundOrWa.org

President, Forum on Geonomics

Editor, www.progress.org

Share Earth's worth to prosper and conserve.

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 8, 2014, at 10:39 AM, anthony persaud wrote:

speaking about all of this, here goes an example of the reaction to fight the system and trying to pave a new one ... surprise surprise ...

Most local governments require you to be connected to the sewer system, to build by code which rules out building straw bale, etc. That's not the elite's work. That's the middle class building contractors constraining the market and credentialed guys squeezing government for bureaucratic rules and the jobs that come with them.

Everybody regards government as a gravy train. The elite just go for the biggest lumps in the gravy.

You want justice? KISS. Complexity is the enemy of equity.

Yours for geo-justice,

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 8, 2014, at 10:52 AM, Scott Baker wrote:

Hmm...  I've met plenty of people who don't want a CD either, even to them.

We do meet plenty like that, sadly. Women who stay with abusive husbands. Workers who oppose unions. Angela Davis told me her granny voted for George Wallace. People who're routinely beat up learn to lack self-esteem. Let's not reinforce that. Let's help people feel deserving.

  Anyway, we know what to fight.

I wish!

  Just don't fight with these guys:

But you better learn how to make common sense to the common "man" ... just like those guys do.

Yours for geo-justice,

[anthony persaud]

here is another example of the FUNDERS who we have to keep an eye on  - we all in this group know too well what is going on:

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/9/8/think_tanks_as_lobbyists_expose_shows

A New York Times exposé reveals more than a dozen prominent Washington research groups have received tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments in recent years while pushing United States government officials. Some scholars funded by the think tanks say they faced pressure to reach conclusions friendly to the government financing their work. The groups named in the report include the Brookings Institution, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Atlantic Council, and most of the money comes from countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including the oil-producing nations of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Norway. Few of them have registered with the Justice Department as "foreign agents" that aim to shape policy, as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act. We are joined by Brooke Williams, a contributing reporter at The New York Times who co-wrote the new article, "Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks."

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 8, 2014, at 12:03 PM, Brett Barndt wrote:

The need for capital gains for our retirement security is an artifact of the current system. It isn't nature. The current system is not nature. It is an arbitrary construction. It grew up around the Roman law of dominium and the creation of debt money via land mortgages using that law idea. Our minds are conditioned on that basis. Of course we need capital gains in order to survive. That is how this system was designed, to make each of us both a slave and reproducer of it.

So there was a conscious designer? I think political people tend to overlook anthropology. Considering their findings, one easily sees desire for security is universal. Psychology shows the Stockholm Syndrome is universal, too. And that strengthening self-esteem is the most powerful thing we can do. Telling people that they must overthrow the most powerful people on the planet is not going to do it. Focusing all one's attention on opponents won't do it (that merely further empowers them). Learning how to resonate with a critical mass is the only strategy I see.

http://www.truth-out.org/three-rules-radicals-era-crisis/1316533158

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 8, 2014, at 12:07 PM, anthony persaud wrote:

here is another example of the FUNDERS who we have to keep an eye on  - we all in this group know too well what is going on:

Might be a waste of good eyes. Everybody knows how the world works: the rich rule. The details might entertain us but our keeping up with the latest won't get the job done. Besides, those think tanks live off oil rents. So instead of trying to butt heads with much bigger heads, try some political jujitsu, and cut them off at the ankles by recovering rents. Not as much fun as railing against our superiors since railing means some of their superiority rubs off on us, but it could be much more effective to focus on the people who you want to win over, listen to them, figure out how to inspire and work with them and more than anything uplift them, I bet.

[Scott Baker]

I read the article.  It makes sense to me (though we may have somewhat different goals for sharing the rent; I would like to see it obviate taxes on production first, like George, before we devote what's left over to a CD.  In practice, that ought to mean the same results economically, but also simplify people's lives, lessen corruption, and make for more productive potential...and yes, there are still millions of things to be done, and always will be). 

Our local Pols are actually making some moves in the right direction, and I sent an email followup to one of them this morning saying that, then gently suggested how they might do even better by collecting the land rent.  On a national level, things look bleaker, and we need that Groundswell of common purpose Jeff speaks of so well.

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 8, 2014, at 12:25 PM, Scott Baker wrote:

I read the article.  It makes sense to me (though we may have somewhat different goals for sharing the rent; I would like to see it obviate taxes on production first, like George, before we devote what's left over to a CD.

If we're right that all taxes come out of rent as Gaffney and we all say, then we can shift taxes immediately without having to detour any rents.

  In practice, that ought to mean the same results economically, but also simplify people's lives, lessen corruption, and make for more productive potential...and yes, there are still millions of things to be done, and always will be).

Paris used to require homeowners to sweep the streets in front of their homes, so you'd see old dowagers out there doing just that. Imagine Rockefeller sweeping the Rockefeller Plaza! That's what I want to see.

Our local Pols are actually making some moves in the right direction, and I sent an email followup to one of them this morning saying that, then gently suggested how they might do even better by collecting the land rent.  On a national level, things look bleaker, and we need that Groundswell of common purpose Jeff speaks of so well.

You're too kind!

[Scott Baker]

Hmm...  I've met plenty of people who don't want a CD either, even to them.  Anyway, we know what to fight.  Just don't fight with these guys:

How "Protect and Serve" Became "Search and Destroy"

				How "Protect and Serve" Became "Search and Destroy"

View on www.youtube.com	Preview by Yahoo

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

[anthony persaud]

an article on the upcoming climate march you guys may want to check if you have not seen it ... it's actually happening simultaneously in various cities around the world ...

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/08/activists-promise-biggest-climate-march-in-history

[anthony persaud]

oh fantastic ...

i should put some in my laundry room ... 

On Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 8:00 PM, Billy Fitzgerald <billyfi...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Our here in Astoria there are posters in the stores announcing the march.

 

[anthony persaud]

who wants to go to these events Friday and Saturday before the march on Sunday?

http://globalclimateconvergence.org/2014/09/friday-night-plenary-speakers-venue-finalized-91914-nyc-climate-convergence/

[Scott Baker]

On Monday, September 8, 2014 9:44 PM, Allen Smith <al...@infostation1.net> wrote:

On Sep 8, 2014, at 2:23 PM, Jeffery J. Smith wrote:

On Sep 8, 2014, at 10:52 AM, Scott Baker wrote:

Hmm...  I've met plenty of people who don't want a CD either, even to them.

We do meet plenty like that, sadly. Women who stay with abusive husbands. Workers who oppose unions. Angela Davis told me her granny voted for George Wallace. People who're routinely beat up learn to lack self-esteem. Let's not reinforce that. Let's help people feel deserving.

As we know (but most don't hear about), land rent is a collective creation.

Probably those who don't want a citizen's dividend are thinking of it as a welfare handout. There are powerful emotions around that.

But it's not a handout if it's simply an equal share of land rent.

====
That's what I tell people too, but the whole "collectivist" thing irks some people, even if they'll come out ahead overall.  This is particularly true if they "own" some property themselves, which they paid a lot of money for, but also if they just inherited some land and haven't done anything with, and are sitting on it, hoping to sell it as a profit someday.

  Anyway, we know what to fight.

I wish!

  Just don't fight with these guys:

But you better learn how to make common sense to the common "man"

We know this right?

We just have to get better at doing it.

====
Well, my link was actually to a Brave New Films video of the militarized police, whom are not the "common man" at all, but I take your point.

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 8, 2014, at 3:03 PM, Brett Barndt wrote:

I can reply later. Have to catch a train. But, the money was designed by very few. The brains in the House of Medici had a lot to do with designing the present system. And, it was reproduced in Amsterdam and England in similar forms by immigrant merchants. There was a conscious designer of this system. Small groups of very powerful people who got into our governmental mechanisms like a worm. The story is well documented about 1787 by Woody Holton or Farley Grubb.

This is fun stuff and not unknown to this list I imagine.

Rating them by influence, how would political factors stack up against technological (e.g., invention of the printing press), ecological (e.g., mini Ice Age), sociological (e.g., influx of immigrants), political (e.g., invasion/war), economic (e.g., free trade), etc.

It's easy to interest people in powerful people but hard to interest people in weak people and weak people are our market.

There are analyses of how society changes, how prevailing paradigms change. That knowledge, if known by us, might aid our mini movement.

Warmly,

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 8, 2014, at 6:44 PM, Allen Smith wrote:

As we know (but most don't hear about), land rent is a collective creation.

Probably those who don't want a citizen's dividend are thinking of it as a welfare handout. There are powerful emotions around that.

But it's not a handout if it's simply an equal share of land rent.

Hear, hear!

We know this right?

We just have to get better at doing it.

And soon. You know how to tell a Georgist? Total indifference to the loss of every major implementation of Georgism (nobody knows why it happened, maybe because nobody is asking, so the teachable moment is lost). Plus, total indifference to the science of social change (you ever meet one who's read even one word on the topic?). We must become as right about shifting paradigms as we are about economics.

Warmly yours f9r geo-justice,

[Scott Baker]

From what I've read, it takes 5-10% of the population to believe and fight for something to effect change (of course, it's easier to change the name of a Post Office than the basis of our economic system - that's why Congress is so good at renaming Post Offices and so terrible at changing the economic system).

How many "weak people" do we have...oh, we are a bit short

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

[anthony persaud]

so this is what you guys mean about the the actions that are needed to bring the changes that need to happen ...

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/9/9/the_climate_change_defense_citing_global

In a surprise move, District Attorney Sam Sutter of Bristol, Massachusetts, has dropped criminal charges against two climate activists who were set to go on trial Monday for blocking a shipment of 40,000 tons of coal. In May 2013, Ken Ward and Jay O’Hara used their lobster boat to prevent a delivery of the coal to the Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Massachusetts. For their trial, Ward and O’Hara had planned to invoke the "necessity defense," arguing that their actions were justified by how the coal industry worsens the climate change that threatens our planet. In an unprecedented announcement, District Attorney Sutter all but adopted their reasoning and dropped the charges. "Climate change is one of the gravest crises our planet has ever faced," Sutter said outside the courthouse, explaining his decision. "In my humble opinion, the political leadership on this issue has been sorely lacking.”

Tune in to Democracy Now! on Wednesday for our interview with the two climate activists, Ken Ward and Jay O’Hara, and District Attorney Sam Sutter.

[Scott Baker]

Perhaps.  But this is still small stuff.

Bernie Sanders has introduced a carbon tax bill that is quite Georgist.  See attached, and then call or write your Senator!

 
Griping on this list will not change a thing.  Only direct action will.

I'm going to check on this bill on govtrack later today, and use their option to contact my Senator, and then see what I can do to promote it on Opednews and beyond.

P.S. For those who haven't heard already, my 1hour, 15minute interview on Georgism, CAFRs, Public Banking and Sovereign Money and other things, is here: http://newthinking.blogspot.com/
Jim Hogue is a great host, Vermont patriot, (and great Ethan Allen impersonator) and has had me on his radio show 3X now.

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

Video Appearances & Slideshows here:
http://newthinking.blogspot.com/

Petitions:
-- Commemorate President Lincoln's Assassination with 1 Billion Debt-Free Lincoln $5 Bills
-- Replace Property Tax with Ground Rent in New York State
-- Assess NYC buildings using comparative properties
-- California Dreaming: Set up a State Bank with abundant CAFR funds
-- Complete the East Side Manhattan Greenway from 38-61 Streets and save bikers, help the environment, and clear up traffic
-- Tax Vacant & Unused Land to Return its value to the Community
-- Close New York State's budget Gap with money from its own agencies by setting up a State Bank
-- Defend the Clean Air Act
-- Produce debt-free United States Notes
-- Reclassify the FED's account, from private to public

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 9, 2014, at 10:13 AM, RON RUBIN wrote:

 

            "There are analyses of how society changes, how prevailing paradigms change. That knowledge, if known by us, might aid our mini movement."

 

What do you recommend for starters?

Ron, you're a man after my own heart! Finally, a geoist to ask! To seek an answer! Someone to talk to! OK ... your question takes me back over three decades, but I recall Gene Sharp at Harvard was succinct and readable. There were a couple others whose names elude me now, but if this dialog endures I'll come up with them. Happy reading!

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 9, 2014, at 10:35 AM, Brett Barndt wrote:

Thomas Kuhn. He wrote about scientific revolutions. There is somebody else. I have to look for it on my bookcases.

I can recommend a reading by my academic advisor about power. I will have to find it, too.

It is more important for us to learn about this aspect of it rather than debate the actual terms of the solutions right now. There are a lot of ideas out there about solutions. There is precious little out there about how to overcome the institutional barriers to change that have been carefully setup. And, they have been carefully setup for a very long time.

Kuhn wrote about academia which could be relevant to society at large. The takeaway is:  the old die, the young adopt more sensible ideas. Hence target youth. Not all youth, of course, since not all care about ideas or a better world. But target those who do. As true in sales in general, don't say what you want to say but what your target wants to hear. Of course, you say what you want to say but you must package it. Just like you'd translate to a foreign language if your target does not know English. So, how do you appeal to the young? I've had about 50 youthful volunteers this year. I imagine NYC had many more. How? What works? What doesn't?

Another is Scott Peck's Different Drum. He wrote about how to run meetings. The main take away is you should alternate business meetings with pleasure meetings. It works. It's one reason for a while I had the most successful Green Party chapter in the country. Of California's dozen member elected to office (only local offices those days), six were from San Diego, the branch I founded; LA and the Bay area had only three a piece. They concentrated on the politics while we added the parties to the party. Which is how you can involve the young Kuhn talked about.

As for power, Bill Domhoff of UC Sta Cruz wrote Who Owns America and puts out a newsletter. But all those details about America's aristocracy, while entertaining, are irrelevant. They have an Achilles heel -- youth. So it seems to me.

Best,

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 9, 2014, at 8:05 PM, Brett Barndt wrote:

Here is one article about this kind of thing.

http://www.academia.edu/2630295/Relational_theory_and_the_discourses_of_power

Entertaining stuff. It does not go back as far as anthropologists do, so it leaves out of human nature, which is what we're dealing with. Despite society's hierarchy and the elite's shenanigan's, there's still been progress. How? How did women get the right to vote? How did the green movement come about so that you must obey a Clean Air Act? Why now can you not ridicule gays while not many years ago you could? (not that any of us would want to, or want to pollute, or deny voting rights, it goes without saying) Those answers should tell us how to make sharing Earth's worth unstoppable.

Yours for geo-justice,

[Scott Baker]

Hmmm,

I've been saying we need more young people for a long time, since I started in this, actually.  I thought the comic Tax and the City would help, but not really, though we sold over 50.  We had meetings with food and movies for the first year, but still got mostly greyheads from the HGS. 

Common Ground-NYC (that is, me) has been co-sponsoring a bike ride around Manhattan for 4 years now, and there's a related plan to close the bike esplanade too, but all I ever attracted out of that was one 65 year old who attended a few classes at the school and came to a couple of meetings.  Perhaps biking and showing how the land rent can pay for new Greenways don't mix?

I suggested a Georgist video contest with a prize of a partial scholarship, but those with the money at the time - RSF and the HGS - didn't want to put it up for that.  This was before Jacob Schwartz Lucus came out with his wonderful little videos (he still owes us one...).  Double hmmm...  I am adding Jacob to this thread for his (young) ideas.

Jacob?

You know, when the HGS started, and before, it was mostly college kids who gravitated towards it.  We need to reach them again, and high school too.  Let's face it; as we get older, we get more settled, less able and likely to change, and more tired and cynical.  The young have the idealism and energy to make things happen.  Us oldsters can mainly provide guidance.

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

[Scott Baker]

Hmmm,

I've been saying we need more young people for a long time, since I started in this, actually.  I thought the comic Tax and the City would help, but not really.  We had meetings with food and movies for the first year, but still got mostly greyheads from the HGS. 

Common Ground-NYC (that is, me) has been co-sponsoring a bike ride around Manhattan for 4 years now, and there's a related plan to close the bike esplanade too, but all I ever attracted out of that was one 65 year old who attended a few classes at the school and came to a couple of meetings.  Perhaps biking and showing how the land rent can pay for new Greenways don't mix?

I suggested a Georgist video contest with a prize of a partial scholarship, but those with the money at the time - RSF and the HGS - didn't want to put it up for that.  This was before Jacob Schwartz Lucus came out with his wonderful little videos (he still owes us one...).  Double hmmm...  I am adding Jacob to this thread for his (young) ideas.

Jacob?

You know, when the HGS started, and before, it was mostly college kids who gravitated towards it.  We need to reach them again.  Let's face it; as we get older, we get more settled, less able and likely to change, and more tired and cynical.  The young have the idealism and energy to make things happen.  Us oldsters can mainly provide guidance.

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 10, 2014, at 2:23 PM, Billy Fitzgerald wrote:

 

We have tried to increase the quality and diversity of our offerings. This will drive some people out and bring new people in. We must have people.

 

Peer-to-peer works better than the old hierarchical approach and I think we have been quite successful with this tactic.

 

And as always, any suggestions very welcome.

Well, since you asked ...

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Jeffery J. Smith" <j...@geonomics.org>

Date: September 10, 2014 11:25:49 AM PDT

To: Karl Widerquist <ka...@widerquist.com>

Cc: Allen Smith <al...@infostation1.net>, Scott Baker <ssbak...@yahoo.com>, Andy Mazzone <Andr...@aol.com>, Mark Sullivan <msul...@schalkenbach.org>, Cay Hehner <karry...@gmail.com>

Subject: Re: NABIG Congress

On Sep 9, 2014, at 1:56 PM, Karl Widerquist wrote:

Dear Allen, Scott, Andy, and Mark,

Jeff (cc) put us in touch because I'm organizing the USBIG Congress at the Eastern Economic Association Conference in New York in February 2015. I've attached a flier. 

I want to ask you all two things about it. First, I would like to invite Georgists, Geonomists, and left-libertarians to participate in the event. It would be great to have sessions on the relationship (if any) between Georgism and basic income.

Also, we would love to have public event in conjunction with the conference, but we have no space. I would if we could ask you to host anything at the Henry George School?

Thanks so much,

Thanks for ccing me, Karl. Let me know how it goes. Cuddly Georgists sometimes tend to huddle in corners rather than engage the world on the world's terms. But what you're offering is excitement, fun, and movement progress. So one of my old cohorts will jump on either offering space or a speaker or both, I'm sure of it, and soon. Let me know how it goes. Warmly,

[anthony persaud]

the news is out -its official ...

Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy

http://theantimedia.org/major-study-finds-the-us-is-an-oligarchy/

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 10, 2014, at 5:33 PM, anthony persaud wrote:

the news is out -its official ...

Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy

http://theantimedia.org/major-study-finds-the-us-is-an-oligarchy/

Could've read it at our geoist news site back in May:  http://www.progress.org/news/politics/a-democracy-an-oligarchy-whats-the-us-scientists-say/

[anthony persaud]

the president has spoken - the beginning of WW3 has begun ...

http://rt.com/usa/186840-obama-islamic-state-address/

On Wed, Sep 10, 2014 at 8:49 PM, Brett Barndt <barnd...@gmail.com> wrote:

Some people needed a study. OK. Now they have it.

I have been watching this for years. Since at least the mid-90s.

During the go go Clinton years, I knew what was happening in the Ohio Valley and places like that. I saw the wealth and income and credit card charts every day at work.

Oh well.

[anthony persaud]

woohoo ... the people have been BOUGHT and SOLD OUT .. the elites are in CONTROL of EVERYTHING ... 

On Wed, Sep 10, 2014 at 11:08 PM, Brett Barndt <barnd...@gmail.com> wrote:

It is basically the implementation of PNAC. Project for a New American Century. It is amazing and a good lesson for us about how a plan like this gets "branded" in the media. Hopefully, future generations will have learned this lesson and we are the last generation to be so snookered.

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 10, 2014, at 8:10 PM, anthony persaud wrote:

woohoo ... the people have been BOUGHT and SOLD OUT .. the elites are in CONTROL of EVERYTHING ... 

In the words of Welsh novelist Raymond Williams: “to be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing”. In the words of American polymath Buckminster Fuller, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

http://www.progress.org/views/good-press/postmag-may-the-new-scotland-share-its-land-rents/

[Scott Baker]

Thanks for the Redirection towards Progress, Jeff.  Mason has made a similar point, as have I, about riding the Despair Train to Nowhere.  I call it Disaster Porn too.  It gets us nowhere and saps our energy to do real things.

I do note, however, that Paul Krugman is probably right about Scotland winding up worse than before if it doesn't create its own currency after Independence: Scots, What the Heck?

				Scots, What the Heck? The very bad economics of independence.

View on www.nytimes.com	Preview by Yahoo

  Scotland will be like Greece or Spain without its own currency, says Krugman.  Political Sovereignty without Monetary Sovereignty is a fool's victory.  They also need to discourage absentee land-hoarding with substantial LVT, and also redistribute their untapped oil revenues to the people (at least until they can go to some cleaner source of power). 

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

[Scott Baker]

As bad as the ISIL/ISIS region is, especially for those living there, it is not an existential threat the way the Ukraine situation is.  ISIS is not a nuclear power, it is not even a viable state, though it is a very rich and autonomous terrorist group.  In contrast, with Ukraine, we are poking at Russia just next door, a nuclear power like us.  One Cuban Missile crisis was enough in my lifetime, I don't need the Ukraine equivalent, with NATO playing the role of Moscow this time.

And there are some very real questions about who shot down MH17:

OpEdNews Article: Article: Conservative Reporter Bill Still says it was NOT the Russians who shot down MH17, it was the Ukrainians

				OpEdNews Article: Article: Conservative Reporter Bill St... In this detailed video, Monetary Reformer, one-time Libertarian Presidential candidate, and heavily pro-American (as he explains in the first minute) Bill Still adm...
				View on www.opednews.com	Preview by Yahoo

  and OpEdNews Article: Article: Malaysian press charges Ukraine government shot down MH 17

				OpEdNews Article: Article: Malaysian press charges Ukrai... The accusation that Kiev shot down MH17 has the imprimatur of the Malaysian state. The US and European media have buried this remarkable report, which refutes th...
				View on www.opednews.com	Preview by Yahoo

  and OpEdNews Article: Article: Making the news fit the politics: NY Times Finds Conclusions Where None Exist in Dutch Flight 17 Downing Report

				OpEdNews Article: Article: Making the news fit the polit... The NY Times continues its anti-Russian, pro-Kiev propaganda campaign, misrepresenting the results of a Dutch investigation into the Malaysian Flight 17 downing, wr...
				View on www.opednews.com	Preview by Yahoo

  The high powered Naval base in Crimea is better off in Russian hands than in bankrupt and unstable Ukraine's, IMO.  And we would no more tolerate Russian presence in Puerto Rico than Russia will tolerate NATO presence in Ukraine.  This is a very dangerous game Obama is playing.

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

[Scott Baker]

Thanks Jacob (below).  I signed up for your newsletter.  90,000 visitors/year is impressive, as is the site.  I'm not sure what we are getting on our CGNYC site these days, though people do write me through there sometimes. Lindy would know.  Perhaps we could link to each other's sites too?  Lindy is the webmaster for the CGNYC site, so he would have to add a link on the links page, which he's done before (adding him to this list now).

The CGNYC site tends to focus on specific and local practical instances of outrageous Land Rent/Tax injustice.

NYC has 3X the amount of housing it would take to house all the homeless, according to the Picture the Homeless/Hunter College study, but who's counting?

I look forward to the new video, and to seeing my young friend in it

When/where will your next conference be held?  Are there videos of the last one?  I can help with publicity on the Events page of Opednews, where we get 350,000-850,000 view/month.  I'll think about how I or CGNYC can contribute in other ways too.

On Wednesday, September 10, 2014 7:38 PM, Jacob Shwartz-Lucas <jacobshw...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Scott et al,

We're nearing the completion of the video about LVT's effect on sprawl.  I'm excited about it! We're hoping to drive people to earthsharing.org (nearly 90,000 visitors a year already) to sign up for our newsletter and get more involved. We're hoping to quadruple that in the next year. If anybody is interested in helping out, please let me know.

Also, the Community Gone Viral (un)Conference was a big success, attracting over 100 people, mostly non-Georgists in their 20s. I'd love help on the next one if anybody is interested.

 

Scott Baker - President: Common Ground - NYC; NY State Coordinator, Public Banking Institute; Opednews Blogger/Senior Editor; Huffington Post Blogger; Author

On Wednesday, September 10, 2014 5:29 PM, Billy Fitzgerald <billyfi...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Further to Scott's comment on new people.

 

Some of you have made quality efforts to bring in new people into the Georgist fold.

 

As you know this is my number 1 priority. I do not want to see the HGS become extinct. We have to change.

 

Andy is doing a series of interviews with known names, and the view count mounts steadily. They will attract a different audience.

 

We have tried to increase the quality and diversity of our offerings. This will drive some people out and bring new people in. We must have people.

 

Peer-to-peer works better than the old hierarchical approach and I think we have been quite successful with this tactic.

 

Following from the above, we have to work with others. Again, some success, - Lincoln, NYU, Fordham, Pratt, some not-for-profits, and later in the month NYC Community Land Initiative. The plan is to be able to send instructors "into the field". These things are slow to evolve due to trust and control issues.

 

And as always, any suggestions very welcome.

 

B 

Editor, http://www.progress.org/

[Godfrey Dunkley]

 

Greetings All,

 

A small request;

 

When changing the subject matter in an outgoing Email, kindly have the curtesy to also change it in the 'Subject' heading. This will simplify future search.

 

Cheers,

 

Godfrey

 

----- Original Message -----

From: 'Scott Baker' via Common Ground NYC

To: Jeffery J. Smith ; Brett Barndt

Cc: common-g...@googlegroups.com ; Billy Fitzgerald ; RON RUBIN ; Allen Smith ; Andy Mazzone ; Char Lemur ; Chuck Mensh ; Guy Serge Komaclo ; Kim Baxter ; Marcello Ritondo ; Sue Peters ; Marty Rowland ; Donal Butterfield ; Marcial Cordon ; Edward Dodson ; Drame Ibrahima

Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2014 3:25 AM

Subject: Re: [common-ground-nyc] Re: disruption FREE screening climate change movie

I read the article.  It makes sense to me (though we may have somewhat different goals for sharing the rent; I would like to see it obviate taxes on production first, like George, before we devote what's left over to a CD.  In practice, that ought to mean the same results economically, but also simplify people's lives, lessen corruption, and make for more productive potential...and yes, there are still millions of things to be done, and always will be). 

Our local Pols are actually making some moves in the right direction, and I sent an email followup to one of them this morning saying that, then gently suggested how they might do even better by collecting the land rent.  On a national level, things look bleaker, and we need that Groundswell of common purpose Jeff speaks of so well.

---

This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.

[Godfrey Dunkley]

Greetings All,

 

Looking through previous Emails, there are at least 50 with no discernable subject matter other than 'Common Ground'. This complicates matters for the Reader.  

Add to that the fact that many are sent to 'Common Ground'

 

Would it not be a courtesy to readers who wish to follow a particular topic if incoming mail showed realistic subject matter? This would also upgrade your own contributions.

 

Cheers,

 

Godfrey Dunkley

----- Original Message -----

From: 'Scott Baker' via Common Ground NYC

To: Jeffery J. Smith ; Brett Barndt

Cc: common-g...@googlegroups.com ; Billy Fitzgerald ; RON RUBIN ; Allen Smith ; Andy Mazzone ; Char Lemur ; Chuck Mensh ; Guy Serge Komaclo ; Kim Baxter ; Marcello Ritondo ; Sue Peters ; Marty Rowland ; Donal Butterfield ; Marcial Cordon ; Edward Dodson ; Drame Ibrahima

Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2014 12:19 AM

 

Subject: Re: [common-ground-nyc]

 

[Jeffery J. Smith]

On Sep 25, 2014, at 9:01 PM, Godfrey Dunkley wrote:

 

Would it not be a courtesy to readers who wish to follow a particular topic if incoming mail showed realistic subject matter? This would also upgrade your own contributions.

You're right, Godfrey. Sorry. I'll try to be more careful.