@Big Al
cause with U.S. political actors that treat war as a political side show, an “elective” issue", like Bernie Sanders, Nina Turner, the People's Summit, and the democratic party.
Well, * Shock * all of our -ahem- "wars" are "electives." Sounds like a Berniecrats hit job. Although I consider myself a Berniecrat, I'm not one to "follow" any politician or candidate with ear plugs in and blindfold worn. Hear no negative, see no negative. But, saddling Bernie and his 'crats with the pro-Empire Building label is horse$h!t.

Black Agenda Report is on the C99 blogroll.
The top three articles right now from their top three writers are addressing this.

@OPOL Do I have any idea what to do? Not at all. But I have grown hopelessly tired of just rejecting every possible solution for even a small increment in the correct direction.

Maybe I'll just lie down for a long, long sleep. I've worked for change since the 1950s. Enough already.

something better. But maybe that too is hopelessly naive, the thought that maybe we could advance via Bernie-style reforms to something better and more responsive to the 99%. But yeah, maybe not. So the big question becomes, now what? What is a viable strategy for a resurgence of the American left? How do we get to a real movement for peace, non-interventionism and actual justice for all? How do we overcome the entrenched militarists, etc? I acknowledge these are unfair questions, because nobody knows, but it seems the question to struggle with. We are constrained by so many realities: they have the guns, the money and the power; they spy on all of us; they have many if not most citizens hypnotized. In such an environment, what should we do?

@OPOL We need to get together in person, get to know each other, develop friendships and communities. We need to get ourselves as independent of these corrupt structures as possible, as individuals and as communities. We need to grow independent media and network it and defend it. We need to invent new means to get us and others as independent of these corrupt structures as possible. We need many, many small organizations and communities, networked together.

something better. But maybe that too is hopelessly naive, the thought that maybe we could advance via Bernie-style reforms to something better and more responsive to the 99%. But yeah, maybe not. So the big question becomes, now what? What is a viable strategy for a resurgence of the American left? How do we get to a real movement for peace, non-interventionism and actual justice for all? How do we overcome the entrenched militarists, etc? I acknowledge these are unfair questions, because nobody knows, but it seems the question to struggle with. We are constrained by so many realities: they have the guns, the money and the power; they spy on all of us; they have many if not most citizens hypnotized. In such an environment, what should we do?

@mhagle
and too doctrinaire, to ever gain much traction in America's "heartland". Rather than sticking to the "radical" Green template, I think we would be well advised to heed the advice of the late Joe Bageant, by trying to make common cause with socially conservative, badly dispossessed rural and semi-rural communities. I think what most Americans are hungry for, regardless of Party affiliation, is honest, non-compromised, non-corporatized, non-affiliated candidates who are willing to go against their own Party Establishments for the sake of upholding sincere personal beliefs.

I think we need to stop demonizing Christian conservatives en masse. We should rather agree to disagree with them in matters of sexual morality, immigration, and any number of other divisive social issues, and instead unite on the two most important issues of our time: Firstly, opposition to the nation's gross and criminal income disparity that is rampant and growing. Secondly, opposition to the needless, obviously counter-productive, and horribly expensive wars that are bleeding the nation dry... this, in defense of a crazy philosophy of empire that very few Americans actually believe in any more.

If a tactical coalition could be formed, based only on those two issues, and strictly limited to those two issues, it might conceivably become strong enough to take on the Deep State.

Whatever their faults ... It is the best ticket we have. I don't know why in the hell we are not flocking to them aleady.

What is this bullshit about starting something new when we already have greens??

Currently we are just wasting our time and pissing on ourselves.

@jim p

We all know the answer to that question and this video shows how congress could care less about what we want. (5.30 minutes)

Creating a third party is useless while R/D are still big players in the game; while they still have their alliance with Big Media.

The game is to get the people at each other's throats. That the parties gave us the two most distrusted and disliked people in American public life to choose between is a "tell."

No matter who won we were guaranteed impeachment drives, hyper-partisanism, and -- most relevant to this essay -- more war.

There's polls out there: 2/3, 4/5, saying neither party gives a flying fig beyond their own selfish interests. And we're right.

80% of Dems seem to be unable to connect The Forever War with deprivation, racism, and crumbing at home, you say? So, 25% saying they are Dems gives you 16 people out of one hundred. The Partybots of both parties are a real minority of opinion.

So, I propose a start with "America. One." Because at this very moment -- not two or three elections from now when we can get a third party to play on their field, with their rules -- we are in extreme danger from the two parties and their, frankly, lunatic priorities.

Malfeasance, incompetence, stupidity and/or corruption -- the fact is the most bigoted redneck and the most thought-controlling snowflake and everyone in between is in the position of dire threat from our two parties.

So, first things first. Neither party is legitimate. If either were you'd hear people being enraged that we are aiding and abetting the starvation of hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen. Amongst several other US-and-good-life-crippling things going on.

This fact of illegitmacy is known to all. (Even most Partybots would recognize it if exposed to the idea enough.) The only thing remaining is to have that "The King is Naked" moment forced into the mass media. "Both parties are frauds, and it's time you in media talk about this."

I know some are going to say "too big, can't change, we're helpless in front of big media." I offer that pre-surrendering is suicidal. That such perspectives result from emotions of despair and powerlessness; not from ruthless and sound reasoning in the face of Necessity.

Have a Chris Talkinghead, a Print Journalist see their Twitter and emails and physical mailbox filled with a few hundred thousand "stop pushing division between Americans and expose the games the Grifter Politicians are playing." Every day. They're going to crack and go public, even though they'll try damage control.

America. One. It's really the only route to getting out of our mess.

+++++++ slight edits for sense

@jim p I like most of this, but am not interested in putting all my eggs in corporate media's basket. Which is not to say I wouldn't agree with your tactic of pressuring them, as part of a larger suite of tactics. But we can't rely exclusively, or even primarily, on corporate media.

Creating a third party is useless while R/D are still big players in the game; while they still have their alliance with Big Media.

The game is to get the people at each other's throats. That the parties gave us the two most distrusted and disliked people in American public life to choose between is a "tell."

No matter who won we were guaranteed impeachment drives, hyper-partisanism, and -- most relevant to this essay -- more war.

There's polls out there: 2/3, 4/5, saying neither party gives a flying fig beyond their own selfish interests. And we're right.

80% of Dems seem to be unable to connect The Forever War with deprivation, racism, and crumbing at home, you say? So, 25% saying they are Dems gives you 16 people out of one hundred. The Partybots of both parties are a real minority of opinion.

So, I propose a start with "America. One." Because at this very moment -- not two or three elections from now when we can get a third party to play on their field, with their rules -- we are in extreme danger from the two parties and their, frankly, lunatic priorities.

Malfeasance, incompetence, stupidity and/or corruption -- the fact is the most bigoted redneck and the most thought-controlling snowflake and everyone in between is in the position of dire threat from our two parties.

So, first things first. Neither party is legitimate. If either were you'd hear people being enraged that we are aiding and abetting the starvation of hundreds of thousands of children in Yemen. Amongst several other US-and-good-life-crippling things going on.

This fact of illegitmacy is known to all. (Even most Partybots would recognize it if exposed to the idea enough.) The only thing remaining is to have that "The King is Naked" moment forced into the mass media. "Both parties are frauds, and it's time you in media talk about this."

I know some are going to say "too big, can't change, we're helpless in front of big media." I offer that pre-surrendering is suicidal. That such perspectives result from emotions of despair and powerlessness; not from ruthless and sound reasoning in the face of Necessity.

Have a Chris Talkinghead, a Print Journalist see their Twitter and emails and physical mailbox filled with a few hundred thousand "stop pushing division between Americans and expose the games the Grifter Politicians are playing." Every day. They're going to crack and go public, even though they'll try damage control.

America. One. It's really the only route to getting out of our mess.

+++++++ slight edits for sense

@Wink No. He's a warmonger because he's actively advocating a lie obviously designed to start a war with Russia. If we're lucky, it'll be a Cold War, but that's not really what the rhetoric around Russia suggests, especially when Hillary talks about how our nuclear arsenal needs to be prepared for any threats we might receive--right after she talks about how we should respond militarily to cyber-attacks from Russia and China.

https://twitter.com/cnn/status/818641661270126593?lang=en

go on with or without Bernicrats "ignoring them." It's no secret that the major focus of Bernie and his Berniecrats is income inequality. So, Bernie is a war monger becuz he ignores the wars? Hell, 90% of Americans ignore the wars. You think many of them give a flying fuck if we're figting this war or that war or yet another "new" war? Exactly.

@The Wizard @The Wizard depraved country. Yes indeed. And I think if more people really stopped and thought just a little bit about just how much we spend on wars that kill innocents and breed terrorism that might make a small dent. While we spend half a trillion, or more, every single year people here go without medical care, kids are having school lunches cut for fucks sake, old people going without that one decent meal because we'd rather spend that few million on more war or tax breaks for the already wealthy. And the world hates us for this, and we should by God know that they are correct in doing so.

Love the Black Agenda report. Wish I had found it earlier. They are spot on, in particular about just how our wars affect this entire country and most of our attitudes about it. And about Bernie sheep-dogging for the Democrats. He did and he still is. And if even HE cannot admit our wars are a gigantic criminal waste, and a HUGE part of most of our domestic problems, why then he's on the wrong side of history and one day, even he will see that.

During the Vietnam protests I canvassed local factories and talked to workers. A phenomena that I noticed, and that others I was working with noticed, was "pull to the Left". The more radical our position the further we could pull the average person. This is quite the opposite of common political wisdom today.
I'm wondering if this community should walk the walk and talk the talk about this issue and be persuasive by virtue of being morally consistent.

Here's where I think that we should be:
1) The US is guilty of endless war crime since 1945.
2) The US owes massive reparations throughout the world.
3) Past US leaders are war criminals that should be tried in an international court.
4) The US war budget is a symptom of a morally depraved country, stealing from our kids to kill others around the world.
5) The US should be denied a War budget that is greater than 0.25% of it's GDP for a period of at least 25 years. That's more than enough to defend against real imminent threats.
6) We should erect a monument to the 10s of millions of dead and maimed around the world by our military. It should be as big as the scope of the death and destruction.
7) The policy of the US should be that war is never acceptable.
8) War profiteers should be brought to trial.

@WaterLily
about refusal to pay taxes for illegal war, i.e., a national tax strike, is good, not rhetorical, not demoralizing.

I also think the idea of secession is already being talked about in the sense that some states are talking about disregarding the President's dumping of the Paris Accord and making their own agreement. At some point the states are going to have to take action to prevent the federal government from destroying our country and the world.

But struggle with how to make this happen: how to completely de-legitimize Congress and go around the f-ers.

I would also like to stop paying taxes. Tired of my hard-earned money fueling the war machine. Isn't there some way the 99% could band together and coordinate a massive refusal to pay?

Rhetorical (and demoralizing) question.

@lizzyh7 Excellent comment.

at the end of the day is about keeping the US dollar as the world reserve currency. To that end, I don't see any politician going up against any wars due to that - the are owned by moneyed interests who aren't going to give up on that easily, if ever.

I used to think I could ignore the wars and only worry about domestic politics. The wars are hard to read about, not only the cruelty and stupidity of them, but the confusion of them - Shia, Sunni, Saudi, Iran, how's anyone going to make sense of that? But once I dipped a toe in, so to speak, and starting reading more I realize now those wars are a very integral part of the whole global inequality structure. And just think what those wars add to climate change? Not only are we fighting over the very thing that's killing this planet, but all those bombing sorties release their own massive carbon injections. While people here are told their SUVs are the problem, no one contemplates the massive release of carbon out of those lovely, sexy jets bombing the shit out of other countries, destroying their infrastructure while we whine about ours.

@FreeSociety He won't even USE his people power to make real change, that's the money quote for me right there. He could have used that, and yes, he would be in real danger from the freaks that run the show, but why go all that way if you're not going to finish the job? The only reason I can come up with is the sheep-dog angle, herding millenials back into the fold so they too will just roll over and accept small, tiny, incremental "changes" to tweak the system but not ever really reform it.

We got here thinking incremental change was the way to go, that one day all those little increments would add up to something substantive. God, what a sick and dirty joke on us that was.

The criticisms of Bernie's Foreign/War policies are slightly exaggerated here, but essentially still correct in that he is way too tied into to the sickening Swamp of the DC-Beltway to ever really comprehend or understand how the outside World sees all this non-stop criminal warmongering, insanity, propaganda, brutality, reckless global destablization, and corruption coming from the United States.

He isn't the guy who would ever fight against it.

There are really very few people in all of the history of Congress who could ever detach themselves enough from the homespun propaganda all around them, and really see the corrupt CIA, NSA, Warfare Establishment, and the Think-Tanks (CFR, AIPAC, etc.) and Wall Street (and Global Bankster) interests behind them for what they are and come out and articulately criticize and expose their fraud and bloodshed for what it really is. Former Congressmen Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich were the rare exceptions, along with Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (remember her?).

The larger problem and frustration here with Bernie Sanders is that he won't even use his own people-power and numbers that he created in 2015-2016 in a constructive fashion to build something new and real with it. His total dismissal of any interest whatsoever in 3rd-Parties is very troubling, because there is no way in hell you can ever reform the corrupt Party that threw its own most successful shinning star FDR completely under the bus, and reinvented itself around the same forces of corruption, Fat-Cat Corporatism and sickening Warfarism agenda that the GOP-Neocons occupy.

The Democratic Establishment cannot possibly now be reformed from within unless you first abolish our whole sick current campaign finance system of legalized bribery, and also the corporate (CIA owned) U.S. News Media that protects all the lies, the corruption, and always buries the real truth-tellers. Sanders is not being honest with either his followers or with himself. The Democratic Party is a dead elephant, or a dead arse .... let's call it a dead elephant's arse.

We need to have a true "Reform" party that stands up for World peace, respect for National Sovereignty, disavows corrupt Corporate "Globalism" (by bloodshed), and stands up for United States workers, the 99%, and the ideals and the higher purpose of free College, Medicare-For-All, clean water, clean air, a brand new transparent and auditable Treasury-controlled Monetary system, low and simplified taxation (except for the rich), and the breaking up of the large Cartels and Monopolies that distort the market and evade the laws.

Sanders could have joined forces with Jill Stein and created something much larger than both of them by themselves. They could have also appealed to people like Ralph Nader and Dennis Kucinich and other people of real integrity to really build and grow a huge, huge national movement.

I don't understand what is the purpose of doing all the work that Sanders did, and all that campaigning, and building up a 15-million strong base of support .... only just to throw it all away and run with his tail between his legs for cover into the waiting arms of the status-quo that: 1) he had once opposed, and 2) don't even like him, or want him, or respect him to begin with.

Sanders is really just about selling books here, and enjoying the comfort of his perch in the (Party controlled) Senate committee seat that he holds and fat paycheck. He doesn't want to disrupt that. He has demonstrated that he is not sincere about building a real political movement which would ever represent a true, opposing force.

The Democratic Party (Sanders included) has no relationship whatsoever to our real ideals and our destiny anymore .....

[video:[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RP_8bwhNVw]

Name a single politician who represents this message today?
That message won four consecutive terms as U.S. President.

Yet that same message has been banished into the dustbin of history.

@FreeSociety

that I perceive slightly differently, which stems from watching him on C-Span's 'Newsmakers' and other C-Span programs over many years, is that he doesn't get along with Democrats. He not only gets along with most of them, he gets along very well with many Republican lawmakers. On Newsmakers, he's named at least 3 ultra-conservative Republicans as folks that he likes very much--Jim Inhofe (OK), Mike Enzi (WY), and perhaps the most certifiable one (our former Governor, who walked miles in support of abolishing the federal Dept of Education), Lamar Alexander (TN). Enzi, not so bad, but Inhofe and Alexander would appear under 'piece of work' in most dictionaries, I would think!

Bottom line, my read is that Bernie's a very good person, but basically, he's an incrementalist (today). And, to some extent, he buys into the LOTE approach to politics.

I sincerely don't doubt that what he does, or doesn't do, is very well-intentioned. I just think that he's wrong on his incrementalist approach.

As lizzyh said--'it's what got us where we are.' (paraphrasing)

And, as for the Dem Establishment not wanting Bernie--IMO, their recent actions belie that this is the circumstance. He's just been named as Chair Of Senate Outreach, and is being consulted regarding the reorganization of the DNC. (I've posted these pieces numerous times, so I won't post them again today.) If anything, I believe that the Dem Party PtB value him for his relationship/sway with the Dem Party Grass Root/Activists, and hopes that he can keep many of them in the fold.

Have a good one!

Mollie

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu

"I think dogs are the most amazing creatures--they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive."--Gilda Radner

The criticisms of Bernie's Foreign/War policies are slightly exaggerated here, but essentially still correct in that he is way too tied into to the sickening Swamp of the DC-Beltway to ever really comprehend or understand how the outside World sees all this non-stop criminal warmongering, insanity, propaganda, brutality, reckless global destablization, and corruption coming from the United States.

He isn't the guy who would ever fight against it.

There are really very few people in all of the history of Congress who could ever detach themselves enough from the homespun propaganda all around them, and really see the corrupt CIA, NSA, Warfare Establishment, and the Think-Tanks (CFR, AIPAC, etc.) and Wall Street (and Global Bankster) interests behind them for what they are and come out and articulately criticize and expose their fraud and bloodshed for what it really is. Former Congressmen Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich were the rare exceptions, along with Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (remember her?).

The larger problem and frustration here with Bernie Sanders is that he won't even use his own people-power and numbers that he created in 2015-2016 in a constructive fashion to build something new and real with it. His total dismissal of any interest whatsoever in 3rd-Parties is very troubling, because there is no way in hell you can ever reform the corrupt Party that threw its own most successful shinning star FDR completely under the bus, and reinvented itself around the same forces of corruption, Fat-Cat Corporatism and sickening Warfarism agenda that the GOP-Neocons occupy.

The Democratic Establishment cannot possibly now be reformed from within unless you first abolish our whole sick current campaign finance system of legalized bribery, and also the corporate (CIA owned) U.S. News Media that protects all the lies, the corruption, and always buries the real truth-tellers. Sanders is not being honest with either his followers or with himself. The Democratic Party is a dead elephant, or a dead arse .... let's call it a dead elephant's arse.

We need to have a true "Reform" party that stands up for World peace, respect for National Sovereignty, disavows corrupt Corporate "Globalism" (by bloodshed), and stands up for United States workers, the 99%, and the ideals and the higher purpose of free College, Medicare-For-All, clean water, clean air, a brand new transparent and auditable Treasury-controlled Monetary system, low and simplified taxation (except for the rich), and the breaking up of the large Cartels and Monopolies that distort the market and evade the laws.

Sanders could have joined forces with Jill Stein and created something much larger than both of them by themselves. They could have also appealed to people like Ralph Nader and Dennis Kucinich and other people of real integrity to really build and grow a huge, huge national movement.

I don't understand what is the purpose of doing all the work that Sanders did, and all that campaigning, and building up a 15-million strong base of support .... only just to throw it all away and run with his tail between his legs for cover into the waiting arms of the status-quo that: 1) he had once opposed, and 2) don't even like him, or want him, or respect him to begin with.

Sanders is really just about selling books here, and enjoying the comfort of his perch in the (Party controlled) Senate committee seat that he holds and fat paycheck. He doesn't want to disrupt that. He has demonstrated that he is not sincere about building a real political movement which would ever represent a true, opposing force.

The Democratic Party (Sanders included) has no relationship whatsoever to our real ideals and our destiny anymore .....

[video:[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RP_8bwhNVw]

Name a single politician who represents this message today?
That message won four consecutive terms as U.S. President.

Yet that same message has been banished into the dustbin of history.

@WIProgressive for All Time or something like that, published back in 2015 and talking about Bernie and just what he was really doing, I really regretted I'd not read that before. I still would have supported him, but I probably would not have sent as much money and would have tempered my own hopes for change.

too brutal and it made me angry. But after reading it again I had to it admit it was true, and sometimes the truth hurts.