1. What's the governor's credo?
2. Perry thinks there are no "whiter people than who?
3. What did Trance feel like she was protecting, during her military service?
4. Why didn't it matter that the RFV site went down?
5. What speech always disrupted Vern's composure?
6. Vermont was the first state to do what?
7. What, according to Lincoln, breeds freedom and independence?
8. What happens on the first Tuesday in March?
9. Who pays for long-term municipal bonds?
10. Name a great Vermonter.
11. What did Vermonters reject at town meeting in 1936?
Discussion Questions:
- Hostility in principle to taxation is a familiar conservative/libertarian theme, in the U.S. Is it also an obstacle to a successful response to climate change?
- Do you like Nickelback? Do you categorize your musical taste in racial terms?
- Are big box stores an indication of decadence?
- Is anything intrinsically wrong with "bigness"?
- A Betsy Ross/Emanuel Macron question: what's the difference between patriotism and nationalism?
- Is it ever (or always) wrong to fight for the preservation of a union (national, marital, whatever) which some do not desire?
- COMMENT: "We needed to be big to send a rocket to the moon -- but we've been there, done that."
- Would you participate in an annual town meeting? How small or large a town would be governable by direct democracy?
 | Bill McKibben (@billmckibben) |
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The #CampFire in northern California is now the most destructive in the state's history, breaking a mark set...last year
redding.com/story/news/201… | |
Fascism begins in "bigness"
In the aftermath of the Second World War, an urgent question presented itself: How can we prevent the rise of fascism from happening again? If over the years that question became one of mostly historical interest, it has again become pressing, with the growing success of populist, nationalist and even neofascist movements all around the world.
Common answers to the question stress the importance of a free press, the rule of law, stable government, robust civic institutions and common decency. But as undoubtedly important as these factors are, we too often overlook something else: the threat to democracy posed by monopoly and excessive corporate concentration — what the Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis called the “curse of bigness.” We must not forget the economic origins of fascism, lest we risk repeating the most calamitous error of the 20th century.
Postwar observers like Senator Harley M. Kilgore of West Virginia argued that the German economic structure, which was dominated by monopolies and cartels, was essential to Hitler’s consolidation of power. Germany at the time, Mr. Kilgore explained, “built up a great series of industrial monopolies in steel, rubber, coal and other materials. The monopolies soon got control of Germany, brought Hitler to power and forced virtually the whole world into war.”
To suggest that any one cause accounted for the rise of fascism goes too far, for the Great Depression, anti-Semitism, the fear of communism and weak political institutions were also to blame. But as writers like Diarmuid Jeffreys and Daniel Crane have detailed, extreme economic concentration does create conditions ripe for dictatorship. (continues)
- We know we’ll run out of dead dinosaurs to mine for fuel & have to use sustainable energy eventually, so why not go renewable now & avoid increasing risk of climate catastrophe? Betting that science is wrong & oil companies are right is the dumbest experiment in history by far …
Alternative Quiz Questions:
ReplyDelete1. What did Trance hate to do? (87) Public speaking
2. What is big trouble for a skier? (88) Never having big snows anymore.
3. Who is considered the Betsy Ross of a Free Vermont? (88) Mrs. Addison Barclay
4. Who identified Trance as being a co-conspirator of Vern? (89) Tommy Augustus
5. How many views of the flag were on YouTube? (92) 480,000.
6. How many downloads did Perry tell Vern their podcast had from the last show? (93) 600,000.
7. How did Vern refer to J.W. Booth? (95) As a coward.
8. How many Vermonters did not return from the Battle of the Wilderness? (96) 1,234
9. What did John Deere invent according to RFV? (96) The plow that broke the plains.
10. Why did we need to be big? (97) To fight the Nazi’s
11. What did Lincoln say about land cultivation? (98) Cultivating even the smallest quantity of ground bred freedom and independence.
12. What are the different kings Vern states that Lincoln mentions? (98) Crowned kings, money kings and land kings.
ALTERNATIVE QUIZ QUESTIONS:
ReplyDelete1) What did Governor Bruce agree with in regard to Trump? (83)
2) What did Vern view as Governor Bruce's main sin? (84)
3) What was the name of the building Governor Bruce was giving his speech about? (85)
4) How would the building "Jumpstart the Economy"? (86)
5) Who did Trance suggest perform instead of Nickelback? (88/89)
6) What nickname did Trance give Mrs. Addison Barclay? Why? (89)
7) How many people listened to their last podcase? (93)
8) What question from Dana had Perry been thinking a lot about? (94)
9) Which state had the highest percentage of men fighting in the war?(95/96)
10) _______ will be a lot closer to to what Lincoln had in mind for a healthy country. (98)
I would participate in a town meeting that supports the community at large. I really enjoy the volunteer aspect: recycling, community gardening, voting, ect. I think it would work really well with a population less than a few thousand but a bigger democracy system would still need to be involved in a community that large. I don't really know of a lot of communities that do this, personally. I just see the society get bigger and more isolated from each other.
ReplyDeleteDiscussion Questions:
ReplyDelete1) In the aftermath of Trance’s flag rebellion, the local NRA post announces their support of her actions and that big government wants to take away their rifles and handguns. Do you think this is helpful or hurtful to the RFV cause? Should armed resistance still be a viable option for fighting for what you believe in?
2) The opposition to the “Greenway Parkway” in 1936 is describes in the book as “the most democratic expression of environmental consciousness in American History.” What do you think the impacts of a greenway of this type, such as the Blue Ridge parkway, are?
AT
I don't think there's something inherently wrong with bigness because I see it as inevitable. Societies grow and evolve with newer technologies that usually are for convenience's sake. I more worry the building practices by most corporations are not designed sustainablly. In most cases I see a piece of land that is under development that could have been renovated in a complex that already exists. It's all about location, I get that, just seems like a waste.
ReplyDelete