TNT versus the Whale

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 1:37am

The title requires some explanation, of course, because it is not immediately "transparent", that term du jour (proudly joining "alternate facts" and other English language butchery).

In a previous essay I likened the chances of reform of the Democratic party from within as similar to Jonah's chances of reforming the Whale without divine intervention. In other words: no, nyet, nada, zero, zilch. I still feel that way.

In the past 3 days or so Kyle Kulinsky of Secular talk and Cenk Uygar have mapped out a plan to do just that [This video is an abbreviated version]. They are planning to blow up the Whale (Corprodems or Coprodems) from the inside with a new organization called Justice Democrats. For other links check out TYT or Secular Talk for details.

My personal feeling is that this will not succeed, yet I do not disparage them from trying. After all who would have expected "a 321 year old Jewish-atheist socialist who doesn't own a comb" to come so close to displacing the Evil Queen from nomination (which technically he did except for her standard modus operandi of LCS [lie, cheat, steal]).

So, I wish all those who wish to join the effort to do so. The Greens, while noble in their aims have been too feeble in their organizing abilities to gain real traction. Perhaps they took training in political organization from DWS.

What do the Just Dems need to blow up the whale? They need TNT. That, gentles is the new and approved acronym for the "cure" of center-right DemocRATS. Stronger than dynamite, it's Tulsi and Turner.

Tulsi not only talks the talk, she walks the walk. She went to Standing Rock. She bolted from the DNC and supported Bernie. She has gone to Syria. She stood up to Trump while yet agreeing to assist him when their views coincided. She knows war, having seen two tours in the Middle East--but is anti-war. The lessons of combat have not been lost on her.

Nina is intellectual, spiritual, and strong. She is not afraid to speak truth to power. She has told black sell-outs, like John Lewis, where they have failed their original aims. She teaches at college. Nina is a powerful speaker and has conducted discourse with many interviewers, successfully overcoming the frequent inane questions and deflections.

There is no substitute than letting each woman speak for herself. She speaks for me. TNT!

Tulsi Gabbard on Tucker Carlson show: link 1.

Tulsi Gabbard on wars of aggression: link 2.

Tulsi Gabbard standing up to Conservadems: link 3.

Clintonistas pulled money from Tulsi's campaign for supporting Bernie: link 4.

Tulsi Gabbard in Congress arguing in favor of water protectors: link 5.

Tulsi Gabbard at Standing Rock: link 6.

Tulsi Gabbard in Syria: link 7.

Nina Turner defending Tulsi from Corprodem smear: link 8.

Nina Turner warning to DemocRATs: link 9.

Nina Turner against identity politics: link 10.

Nina Turner informing Dems they must make real change: link 11.

Nina Turner on balancing police duties and police responsibilities: link 12.

Now if anyone can recommend any better candidates for 2020, let's talk about.

In the meantime, I found some musical selections, which sum up the above videos.

The first one is called "Tulsi Time"--or something similar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Fh6pS8UOs

The second one is for a proud Ms. Turner:
Proud Nina

Tags:

TNT

Tulsi

Turner

Whale

Jonah

Democrats

Vote

Comments

Submitted by GusBecause on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 2:22am

I too applaud the Justice Democrat effort

But am pessimistic. The neoliberals who control all the levers aren't going anywhere. Their new improved plan is for Trump to be so terrible that Americans will sweep Dems back in in 2018 coz "who else they gonna vote for?" That didn't work for the Dems with Bush, but they now have a very effective propaganda machine in place: the MSM, so they like their prospects. I dumped the Dems and will stay on the sidelines for now, working for open primaries in my state.

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 4:43am

Several more fuses are being lit on the TNT

From Ryan Grim yesterday P.M.

The Democratic Base Is Marching Right Past Its Leaders
Newly minted activists want Democrats in Washington to actually fight against Trump — or get out of the way.

This week, when progressive champions Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) voted in a Senate committee to approve the thoroughly unqualified Ben Carson to head the Housing and Urban Development Department, there was little criticism from established liberal organizations in Washington. But the grassroots lit up ― blasting them on Twitter, Facebook, in calls to their offices, and in countless emails to Huffington Post reporters, asking us what on earth their one-time heroes were doing.

In the five days since the marches, there’s been a surge of grassroots mobilization online and tens of thousands of people have signed up to get involved. Hundreds of people have signed up to run for local and state offices. Some have volunteered to help Democratic candidates in swing districts. Others, frustrated by the lack of change that they’d like to see, are starting their own campaigns that make fighting Trump as simple as sending a text or downloading an online postcard to send to your member of Congress on a given issue.

“Senate Dems’ response to millions taking to the streets is beyond disappointing,” said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of the women’s online advocacy group Ultra Violet. “It is outright shameful.”

In the meantime, new grassroots groups are cropping up by the day. There’s the aforementioned Swing Left, which launched the day before Trump’s inauguration and has more than 220,000 signed up to participate. There’s Justice Democrats, which is raising money to fund challenges to so-called “corporate” Democrats. There’s Run for Something, a group of Hillary for America and Obama for America, which is recruiting young Democrats to run for local and state office. They launched Friday and are seeing an average of 100 people sign up every day. The organizers of the Women’s March just started their own effort: 10 actions for the first 100 days, which calls on its broad base of supporters to take action on a specific issue every 10 days.

I will include this following excerpt and ask if anyone knows the following "progressive"?

“Resistance means resisting,” Markos Moulitsas wrote Thursday on the progressive site Daily Kos. “All those people in the streets last Saturday didn’t march for Democrats to make nice with the GOP. They marched to resist—whether it’s Trump, or his acolytes like Carson. And if even progressive champions like Warren can’t figure that out, we really are in trouble.”

Submitted by asterisk on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 5:55am

@Alligator Ed My impression was that

@Alligator Ed My impression was that Markos feels that obstruction for the sake of obstruction is the proper form of resisting. The sabotage-the-government concept is popular at TOP. I am all for trying to stop all the obnoxious things the Rs are throwing up, but if they try to pass something that is good for the country everyone should support it. (Supporting things that are good for actual human beings was met with ridicule in many quarters at TOP.)

I disagree with Warren's vote on Carson, but if Carson is not confirmed Trump could probably find someone worse. If Warren follows through with encouraging and assisting Carson's more desirable decisions I will be OK with her decision on this although not pleased. At TOP there was a loud group that was screeching for a challenge to Warren in the primary. Warren is one of my Senators and I am not interested in seeing her replaced with the sort of conservative, corporate Dem they doubtless have in mind.

There was a whole diary attacking Tulsi Gabbard. 'Traitor' was probably one of the nicer comments, but I decided to log out. If they actually cared about the people of Syria they would be making a lot more effort to stop the war themselves, or at least to welcome some Syrian refugees. Nobody seemed to think that the way to get peace is to find out what the other guy wants and talk about ways to resolve the conflicts. I have a very long fuse, but there is only so much time I can spend pointing out the obvious. Anyway I think I will go have a chat with the nearest brick wall since it is more likely to understand logic and actual, real facts.

From Ryan Grim yesterday P.M. The Democratic Base Is Marching Right Past Its Leaders Newly minted activists want Democrats in Washington to actually fight against Trump — or get out of the way. This week, when progressive champions Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) voted in a Senate committee to approve the thoroughly unqualified Ben Carson to head the Housing and Urban Development Department, there was little criticism from established liberal organizations in Washington. But the grassroots lit up ― blasting them on Twitter, Facebook, in calls to their offices, and in countless emails to Huffington Post reporters, asking us what on earth their one-time heroes were doing. In the five days since the marches, there’s been a surge of grassroots mobilization online and tens of thousands of people have signed up to get involved. Hundreds of people have signed up to run for local and state offices. Some have volunteered to help Democratic candidates in swing districts. Others, frustrated by the lack of change that they’d like to see, are starting their own campaigns that make fighting Trump as simple as sending a text or downloading an online postcard to send to your member of Congress on a given issue. “Senate Dems’ response to millions taking to the streets is beyond disappointing,” said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of the women’s online advocacy group Ultra Violet. “It is outright shameful.” In the meantime, new grassroots groups are cropping up by the day. There’s the aforementioned Swing Left, which launched the day before Trump’s inauguration and has more than 220,000 signed up to participate. There’s Justice Democrats, which is raising money to fund challenges to so-called “corporate” Democrats. There’s Run for Something, a group of Hillary for America and Obama for America, which is recruiting young Democrats to run for local and state office. They launched Friday and are seeing an average of 100 people sign up every day. The organizers of the Women’s March just started their own effort: 10 actions for the first 100 days, which calls on its broad base of supporters to take action on a specific issue every 10 days. I will include this following excerpt and ask if anyone knows the following "progressive"? “Resistance means resisting,” Markos Moulitsas wrote Thursday on the progressive site Daily Kos. “All those people in the streets last Saturday didn’t march for Democrats to make nice with the GOP. They marched to resist—whether it’s Trump, or his acolytes like Carson. And if even progressive champions like Warren can’t figure that out, we really are in trouble.”

Submitted by Steven D on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 9:17am

TOP

@asterisk is simply not a healthy place to visit or spend one's time there reading, commenting etc.

Markos has always been a loose cannon who dreams of becoming an ICBM.

—

"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 11:50am

Steven D, well put, sir!

@Steven D

Markos has always been a loose cannon who dreams of becoming an ICBM.

Submitted by sojourns on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 7:19am

Finally, with this snippet

“Resistance means resisting,” Markos Moulitsas wrote Thursday on the progressive site Daily Kos. “All those people in the streets last Saturday didn’t march for Democrats to make nice with the GOP. They marched to resist—whether it’s Trump, or his acolytes like Carson. And if even progressive champions like Warren can’t figure that out, we really are in trouble.”

Markos has shown that he is far better at following than he is at leading! Day late and a dollar short Markos. You remain irrelevant.

—

"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
John Cage

Submitted by eyo on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 12:55pm

Ten foot pole alert! As in stay far far away

@Alligator Ed thanks. This one should be ended stat! Defund Run for Something.

There’s Run for Something, a group of Hillary for America and Obama for America, which is recruiting young Democrats to run for local and state office. They launched Friday and are seeing an average of 100 people sign up every day.

Divest by all means, all costs, kill the ugly neoliberal wing dead. Rewarding it is insane. Obvious need to be ever vigilant, not with them.

Peace

From Ryan Grim yesterday P.M. The Democratic Base Is Marching Right Past Its Leaders Newly minted activists want Democrats in Washington to actually fight against Trump — or get out of the way. This week, when progressive champions Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) voted in a Senate committee to approve the thoroughly unqualified Ben Carson to head the Housing and Urban Development Department, there was little criticism from established liberal organizations in Washington. But the grassroots lit up ― blasting them on Twitter, Facebook, in calls to their offices, and in countless emails to Huffington Post reporters, asking us what on earth their one-time heroes were doing. In the five days since the marches, there’s been a surge of grassroots mobilization online and tens of thousands of people have signed up to get involved. Hundreds of people have signed up to run for local and state offices. Some have volunteered to help Democratic candidates in swing districts. Others, frustrated by the lack of change that they’d like to see, are starting their own campaigns that make fighting Trump as simple as sending a text or downloading an online postcard to send to your member of Congress on a given issue. “Senate Dems’ response to millions taking to the streets is beyond disappointing,” said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of the women’s online advocacy group Ultra Violet. “It is outright shameful.” In the meantime, new grassroots groups are cropping up by the day. There’s the aforementioned Swing Left, which launched the day before Trump’s inauguration and has more than 220,000 signed up to participate. There’s Justice Democrats, which is raising money to fund challenges to so-called “corporate” Democrats. There’s Run for Something, a group of Hillary for America and Obama for America, which is recruiting young Democrats to run for local and state office. They launched Friday and are seeing an average of 100 people sign up every day. The organizers of the Women’s March just started their own effort: 10 actions for the first 100 days, which calls on its broad base of supporters to take action on a specific issue every 10 days. I will include this following excerpt and ask if anyone knows the following "progressive"? “Resistance means resisting,” Markos Moulitsas wrote Thursday on the progressive site Daily Kos. “All those people in the streets last Saturday didn’t march for Democrats to make nice with the GOP. They marched to resist—whether it’s Trump, or his acolytes like Carson. And if even progressive champions like Warren can’t figure that out, we really are in trouble.”

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 8:24pm

@eyo Get 'em young and

@eyo Get 'em young and convince them you have their best interests at heart. Like, their resumes.

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 8:23pm

@Alligator Ed Oh jeez. Tens of

@Alligator Ed Oh jeez. Tens of thousands of people getting involved?

Those poor things. They'd have done better to go join the indigenous in South Dakota.

From Ryan Grim yesterday P.M. The Democratic Base Is Marching Right Past Its Leaders Newly minted activists want Democrats in Washington to actually fight against Trump — or get out of the way. This week, when progressive champions Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) voted in a Senate committee to approve the thoroughly unqualified Ben Carson to head the Housing and Urban Development Department, there was little criticism from established liberal organizations in Washington. But the grassroots lit up ― blasting them on Twitter, Facebook, in calls to their offices, and in countless emails to Huffington Post reporters, asking us what on earth their one-time heroes were doing. In the five days since the marches, there’s been a surge of grassroots mobilization online and tens of thousands of people have signed up to get involved. Hundreds of people have signed up to run for local and state offices. Some have volunteered to help Democratic candidates in swing districts. Others, frustrated by the lack of change that they’d like to see, are starting their own campaigns that make fighting Trump as simple as sending a text or downloading an online postcard to send to your member of Congress on a given issue. “Senate Dems’ response to millions taking to the streets is beyond disappointing,” said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of the women’s online advocacy group Ultra Violet. “It is outright shameful.” In the meantime, new grassroots groups are cropping up by the day. There’s the aforementioned Swing Left, which launched the day before Trump’s inauguration and has more than 220,000 signed up to participate. There’s Justice Democrats, which is raising money to fund challenges to so-called “corporate” Democrats. There’s Run for Something, a group of Hillary for America and Obama for America, which is recruiting young Democrats to run for local and state office. They launched Friday and are seeing an average of 100 people sign up every day. The organizers of the Women’s March just started their own effort: 10 actions for the first 100 days, which calls on its broad base of supporters to take action on a specific issue every 10 days. I will include this following excerpt and ask if anyone knows the following "progressive"? “Resistance means resisting,” Markos Moulitsas wrote Thursday on the progressive site Daily Kos. “All those people in the streets last Saturday didn’t march for Democrats to make nice with the GOP. They marched to resist—whether it’s Trump, or his acolytes like Carson. And if even progressive champions like Warren can’t figure that out, we really are in trouble.”

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by eyo on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 7:56am

Dead Whale + Dynamite = Bad Idea

But could be funny so whotthehell. toujours gai toujours gai

thanks

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 12:46pm

eyo, congratulations, your pictorial essay is eloquent.

@eyo Your knowledge of cetacean deconstruction is laudable. You have more eloquently got across the underlying premise that the Democrats cannot be reformed. Instead, they will continue rotting on the beach until they no longer exist except in MA, NY, CA. Those coastal enclaves will then be sawed of the main corpus of the U.S. by Herr Drumpf's construction teams and allowed to sink below the sea--of course, the only part of NYC above water level will be Drumpf Tower.

Submitted by eyo on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 1:09pm

More and better metaphors

@Alligator Ed thanks again. Prompted a review of Pinocchio's tale too, Geppetto and The Terrible Dogfish yep I can relate. Feinstein, CA-Dogfish ;-D no real boys needed haha

Pinocchio undergoes transformations during the novel: he promises The Fairy with Turquoise Hair to become a real boy, flees with Candlewick to the Land of Toys, becomes a donkey, joins a circus, and becomes a puppet again. In the last chapter, out of the mouth of The Terrible Dogfish with Geppetto, finally stops being a puppet and becomes a real boy (thanks to the intervention of the Fairy in a dream).

P.S. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia just graduated first class merchants of death.
King Salman inducts high-tech fighter jets into RSAF
Thanks Hill-Obama! Credit where due:
http://www.dsca.mil/major-arms-sales/saudi-arabia-f-15sa-aircraft

peace

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 8:29pm

@Alligator Ed No need for sawing--

@Alligator Ed No need for sawing--

You don't have to float out to sea. In (globally-warmed) Soviet Russia, sea come to you!

—

"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Submitted by Ellen North on Sat, 01/28/2017 - 8:56pm

@Alligator Ed

@Alligator Ed

Also that any component part of the corruption will carry its own stink and spread that corruption wherever it lands...

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by Steven D on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 9:13am

I wish them well

Odds are not in their favor, to paraphrase the Hunger Games.

Having met and heard Nina speak, and having watched Tulsi from afar, I am supportive of both.
The question remains, however, whether the Democratic Party will accept them, or relegate them to the role of token lefties.

—

"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

Submitted by Big Al on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 9:13am

What, is Gabbard the new Bernie now?

More and better democrats?
Ask her why she's a member of the Council on Foreign Relations?

Submitted by Strife Delivery on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 12:54pm

Eh Well

@Big Al I mean with Gabbard...
She stepped down from her role of DNC to support Bernie, instead of all the Clinton people just staying on board.

Against regime change, including our problems in Syria.

Introduced a bill to stop arming various terrorist groups.

So regarding those issues, I don't have a biggest problem against her.

Submitted by Big Al on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 2:27pm

I do,

@Strife Delivery but then, I was the only one on here with a problem with Bernie. To me, the CFR is an evil organization anyone associated with should be barred from government office. She's also a severe islamophobe and big proponent on the fake war OF terror.

Submitted by Citizen Of Earth on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 9:42am

Good luck to Dems on their Fools Errand

I've moved on.

In terrific news, the Inauguration Dinner Commemorative Plates are out. I've smashed my Obama plates against the fireplace. Pres Shithead's plate will be used as a cat litter box.

—

Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 01/27/2017 - 3:51pm

litter box

@Citizen Of Earth

Pres Shithead's plate will be used as a cat litter box.

I can't get away with that with my Rufus and Chocolate. They'd get a look at Hair Drumpf and insist on brand-new litter. And they'd want to know why I've started pooping there, too!