Tag Archives: Thomas Frank

Performative Virtue Signaling

Posted on January 21, 2022 by camelotkidd

Why has the the modern Democratic Party become incapable of governing? Perhaps it’s because the Democratic Party has become defined by a contradiction: it simultaneously promises policies that benefit its corporate donors while also solving problems created by those same … Continue reading →

Posted in feral elite, neoliberalism, propaganda | Tagged Adolf Reed Jr., identity politics, Joe Biden, Modern Democratic Party, Thomas Frank | Leave a comment

Neither New nor Liberal

Posted on September 11, 2020 by camelotkidd

Thomas Frank’s The People, No, is an amazing guide to our political milieu, tracing the history of populism from the 1890’s to the era of Trump. Frank examines not only the history of populism but that of anti-populism, especially as … Continue reading →

Posted in feral elite, neoliberalism | Tagged neoliberalism, The People No, Thomas Frank | Leave a comment

Year of the Comet

Posted on August 28, 2020 by camelotkidd

2020 has been a real bitch, and we still have an election that promises to be the most divisive in history to look forward to. Speaking of which, in my travels I saw exactly one Biden sign but hundreds of … Continue reading →

Posted in feral elite, propaganda | Tagged 2020 election, Donald Trump, Kayfabe, propaganda, The People No, Thomas Frank | Leave a comment

Better policies, please

Posted on June 6, 2019 by camelotkidd

Why is right-wing populism surging while left-wing populism lies moribund? Historically, we know how right-wing populism advances. Economic malaise coupled with liberal paralysis. When the economy sucks, workers are ripe for appeals against scapegoats. Immigrants, minorities, woman and queers … Continue reading →

Posted in neoliberals | Tagged Democratic Party, DNC, Listen Liberal, neoliberal economic policies, Republican Party, right-wing populism, Thomas Frank | Leave a comment

The Dream Candidate

Posted on April 24, 2019 by camelotkidd

I’ve come to realize that Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is the perfect Listen Liberal, dream candidate. If you read the book you totally know what I’m talking about and if you didn’t, I’ll explain. Buttigieg, … Continue reading →

Posted in neoliberals | Tagged Barak Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Listen Liberal, Pete Buttigieg, Thomas Frank | Leave a comment

Surveillance is the business model

Posted on March 8, 2018 by camelotkidd

In Surveillance Valley, Yasha Levine, challenges conventional wisdom and says that the Internet was actually founded by the US government as part of their counterinsurgency program in Vietnam. The US government wanted to build a connected computer system that … Continue reading →

Posted in neofeudalism, neoliberals | Tagged Cold War, control, corporate censorship is government censorship, counterinsurgency, cryptography, fake news, gig economy, Gil-Scott Herron, Internet, One Market Under God, precariat, privacy apps, propaganda, Signal, Silicon Valley, social media, surveillance, Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet, The Phoenix Program, The Revolution Will not be Televised, Thomas Frank, Tor, Vietnam, Yasha Levine | Leave a comment

Concentrated

Posted on June 26, 2017 by camelotkidd

Amazon’s takeover of Whole Foods has raised alarms about economic concentration. No corporation epitomizes monopoly better than Amazon, who’s business model is predicated on losing money with their super-low prices in order to capture market share. Their dominant position then … Continue reading →

Posted in neofeudalism, neoliberals | Tagged 1984, Amazon, Barak Obama, Bill Clinton, corporate media, corporate propaganda, corporations, Democratic Party, Democrats, Donald Trump, economic concentration, George Orwell, high-tech, Jeff Bezos, libertarians, Listen Liberal, Matt Stoller, monopolies, neofeudal, neoliberal, new economy, political/economy, rent seeking, Silicon Valley, Thomas Frank, washington post, Whole Foods | Leave a comment

Domesticated

Posted on April 11, 2017 by camelotkidd

Trump ran for office vowing to change US foreign policy and put America first. That didn’t last long. Trump’s cruise missile attack on Syria in response to the Syrian military’s so-called chemical weapon attack, marks the culmination of a … Continue reading →

Posted in neoconservatives | Tagged Al-Qaeda, chemical weapons, corporate media, Council on Foreign Relations, cruise missiles, deep state, Donald Trump, foreign policy, H.R. 608--Stop Arming Terrorists, Israel, liberal media, Listen Liberal, neoconservative foreign policies, neoconservatives, Nikki Haley, Rex Tillerson, Robert Parry, Russia, Syria, Thomas Frank, US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard | Leave a comment

The Washington Generals

Posted on March 2, 2017 by camelotkidd

The Democratic Party has transformed from a political party that represented working-class interests to a party that serves affluent professionals. In the process they’ve become a faux opponent very much like the Washington Generals who pretended to oppose the Harlem Globetrotters. … Continue reading →

Posted in neoconservatives, neoliberals | Tagged Barack Obama, basketball, book deal, Democratic Party, Democrats, DNC, Donald Trump, faux, Harlem Globetrotters, Kayfabe, Keith Ellison, kick the left, Listen Liberal, Michelle Obama, Penguin Random House, pro wrestling, Republican Party, Republicans, Thomas Frank, Tom Perez, Washington Generals | Leave a comment

Abhorrent to the vested interests

Posted on February 28, 2017 by camelotkidd

Economist, Michael Hudson, is an iconoclast who writes and speaks against neoliberal economic orthodoxy. His latest lecture connects early Christianity with economic history, and argues that the reason Jesus was crucified was because he advocated a jubilee, or debt forgiveness. … Continue reading →

Posted in neoliberals | Tagged abhorrent to the vested interests, Brothers Karamazov, Charles Dickens, debt, debt forgiveness, debt serfdom, Democratic Party, Democrats, Dostoevsky, economics, Grand Inquisitor, Jesus Christ, Jesus was a radical, jubilee, Listen Liberal, Michael Hudson, MMT, Nancy Pelosi, prosperity-gospel, Roman empire, technocratic liberalism, Thomas Frank | Leave a comment