The Spirit of it Brings a Miracle

Submitted by mhagle on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 3:23pm

I believe this is a historical phenomenon. It struck me again yesterday as I read "Corbynmania" by gjohnsit, and watched Jimmy Dore compare the differing responses of Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May to the Grenfell Tower fire. He was contrasting Corbyn's compassionate listening to the stories and responding to the needs of the people to May's orchestrated photo-op.

"Oh Jer-e-my Cor-byn" is a miracle. It is an awakening. It is beyond the Labour Party. The people are responding to the spirit of compassion that has been expressed in the public interest for many years.

You can't make that happen. You can't have committees and meetings and organize events to make that happen.

This is how right-wing religions and both political parties have lost their way. They think that if they have enough consultants and enough strategies and enough money and enough programs and take enough polls and work really hard to figure it all out . . . that they will have success.

Nope. They might have a temporary illusion of success. It might look as if they got what they wanted. A good of example of this is the work of Frank I. Luntz and his development of talking points and other messaging for various Republican causes. He advocated use of vocabulary crafted to produce a desired effect; including use of the term death tax instead of estate tax. (Wikipedia) Or that raising taxes on the rich is called a "tax increase." While raising taxes on the lower class is "widening the tax base."

It may look on the surface that they have won. They have gathered votes and won some elections in our current system.

But they have not won. This is only a fancy way to lie.

Somehow the fall of communism was one of these miracles. No committees or meetings or wars or strategists or money made this happen. Some give Ronald Reagan credit for this, but that is a joke. The spirit of hope and the will of the people made it happen.

That year of Bernie Sanders was a miracle. All of those thousands of people coming together at very little notice. My daughter and I went to the Bernie Sanders rally in Grand Prairie, TX. The only way I (or anyone) knew about it was an obscure email the night before. Seven thousand people showed up. The meeting itself was a frickin miracle. When he spoke, you could hear a pin drop. We felt like he was speaking personally to each of us.

The year of Bernie Sanders only stopped being a miracle when it was sucked into the dismal organizing selfishly sucking manipulative workings of the depleted democratic party.

But the spirit is still here and the potential for miracles is still here. We see that happening in the UK and we can have hope.

This doesn't mean that organizing and meetings are completely a waste of time. But you just can't make some shit happen. Fundamentalist religions have lost their way because they think they can just organize it all, have programs and meetings . . . but the original spirit of the thing is gone. Political parties and many movements are doing the same thing. Organize, raise money, buy advertising, hire consultants, take polls . . . but the spirit of working for the people is absent.

I'm sure this is too simplistic for some who will read this. But every heart-felt wish of goodwill, every act of kindness, every moment of empathy for another creature . . . builds courage and hope in the hearts of us all. Eventually it explodes into "Oh Jer-e-my Cor-byn."

Tags:

heart strategy

Vote

Comments

Submitted by IdahoDiane on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 4:16pm

Beautifully Said

The first Oh Jer-e-my Cor-bin chant I heard gave me tears in my eyes.
You are right, you can't organize for that.

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:15am

@IdahoDiane You organize FROM that.

@IdahoDiane You organize FROM that.

If you don't have it, you organize from "Fuck's sakes, this sucks!" if you have to.

—

"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 Lily O Lady on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 5:49pm

What about "Power to the people"?

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

—

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 8:43pm

@Lily O Lady That would be fine as

@Lily O Lady That would be fine as well.

—

"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 randtntx on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 4:29pm

I read it as well;

the gjohnsit piece about Corbyn. It did my spirit some good. Same with me and the Bernie Sanders rally just east of Austin. I too had about a few hours notice from an obscure email. It is interesting the response people have to both politicians. I talked to more people in that long line outside the venue waiting for Bernie than I've ever spoken to any people in any long line. It was very inclusive and enthusiastic conversation among all of us there. I was pretty surprised to be around so many people who knew what was going on.

It is an interesting phenomena, this visceral kind of response to the two men. It feels very real to me. It makes me think people are not as dumb as they would like us to believe.

Submitted by LoneStarMike on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 6:23am

Re: Bernie Sanders rally just east of Austin.

@randtntx

Hey! I was at that rally, too and it was just as you described. I was by myself and snagged one of the few picnic tables to the right of the press stand and met the nicest people.

Standing on top of a picnic table, with a camera that has a zoom lens - you can get some great photos.

I think our rally attracted about 10k and we only got notice of it the day before, too.

Submitted by randtntx on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 6:42am

@LoneStarMike You did get some nice

@LoneStarMike You did get some nice pictures. As I remember, it was a very nice day weather-wise....not too terribly hot. I didn't know we had close to 10k there though, and you are right, that is pretty amazing with such short notice. That shows why we were a danger to TPTB. That's why they had to cheat or worse. I'm glad you were there, that's neat.

Submitted by Mark from Queens on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:00am

IIRC, All of Bernie's rallies were on very short notice.

@randtntx
Reminding us again of yet another aspect of the 2016 Primary that builds the case for proving that the DNC absolutely cheated to steal the nomination from Bernie. There's just no way a candidate who is drawing such phenomenal crowds, consistently and all over the country, loses, especially to a candidate who is so disliked and not trusted. For posterity, I don't think it is a bad idea to occasionally recall and recount these events and different aspects of this.

I believe some of our efforts should be in not allowing this to go down the Memory Hole (especially in light of Corbyn's resonating success). It will be an important factor in finally rupturing the Duopoly stranglehold on democracy, when people realize their votes/voices don't matter - if the Party decides it wants to do something and will unapologetically crush the will of the people, then why vote at all or have fealty to such a fraudulent system? Which I why I think the Corbyn moment is so important. The movement at his back is just about to turn the corner and swing the masses toward strong socialism, and by extension the platforms Bernie brought front and center to the attention of the American people.

Here's the big Bernie rally I rode my bicycle over a couple of bridges to, in the South Bronx (Warning: TOP link. So I'll just cut and paste a bit, though the photos are so colorful and celebratory they're worth checking out, to get a very palpable sense of the kind of enthusiasm there was for him)

Euphoria And A Hero's Welcome for #BernieInThe Bronx, Mostly Passionate Black and Brown Young Folks. It got 533 Rec's on April 1, 2016. If you really want to be transported away to a similar feeling that Marilyn's essay conjures, the Twitter pictorial is worth seeing (wish I could transfer that here, without having to go there).

A park in the South Bronx was the site of one of the single most moving, uplifting, spiritual and inspiring congregations of human beings I’ve ever been in. For a middle-aged white guy I never felt more at home with my species. The overriding sentiment was of good will and joy. There was just unbounded joy everywhere. If you could bottle what was elicited today you’d have global contentment leading to everlasting peace.

There were fly Hip Hop dudes and hip mama’s from the barrio, next to freak flag-flyin’ stalwart hippies and young bearded hipsters. There were Muslim women in headdresses, throngs of excited black school kids, Hispanic women together with their kids all in Bernie buttons, young people of all stripes proudly proclaiming themselves “Socialists.” I saw black women downright giddy at the prospect of seeing Bernie in the flesh. Giddy. I saw Puerto Rican nationalists with their faces painted, and heard kids at the feet of their parents on neighborhood stoops chanting “Let’s Go Bernie!” All mixing it up, toasting each other with all the naturalness of long lost friends, comrades in a joyous struggle. #MakeAmericaLoveAgain.

“Feel The Bern” and “Fuck Trump” t-shirts were selling like wild at sidewalk set-ups all around the perimeter.

It felt like something between Woodstock and a Caribbean carnivale, mixed with Wattstax and Occupy Wall St.

People were clearly there for a reason, there was little doubt. Everybody knew the speech lines, the issues and intimately understood how bad they’ve been fucked over by the status quo of politics as usual beholden to big money/Wall St. Everybody felt like we were going to win. With an unbelievably immense turnout, how could we not? On Twitter, we were finding out that the opponent was caught on film mixing it up with a Greenpeace activist, flaring her anger in the face of a protester who up challenged her fossil fuel donors. Meanwhile, she was also giving a speech, a little upstate at Purchase University in Westchester. About 300 people showed, including 50 protesters.

—

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Submitted by Mark from Queens on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:36am

This has deservedly been making the rounds, and is fitting here

@Mark from Queens
too. It's a great example of citizen journalists taking the reigns to pull something together that tells a story the MSM refuses to acknowledge. This is an area I wish we'd work together more on: crowdsourcing material with the purpose of putting together documentaries for the public to see that they'll never see on cable tv.

Fighting the propaganda is probably one of our biggest challenges.

"Stolen Democracy: How the Democratic Party Lost the Election and Lost its Soul"

From the video description:

A citizen journalism public service documentary film showing the terrible corruption that happens when big money lobbyists hijack a political party.

See how the mafia-like lobbyist firm SKDKnickerbocker has infiltrated and corrupted the Democratic Party and our government and media to make billions with nefarious and deceptive schemes that have all but destroyed the United States of America.

Starring many who spoke truth in the midst of obfuscations:

Cenk Uygur
“The Young Turks”, Mike Figueredo “The Humanist Report”, Debbie Lusignan “Sane Progressive”, Bill Moyers “Moyers and Company”, Amy Goodman "Democracy Now", Thom Hartmann “The Thom Hartmann Show”, Jeff Waldorf "The Young Turks", Nik Zecevic “The Lip TV”, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough "Morning Joe", Julian Assange "Wikileaks", Ben Swann “Reality Check”, Lee Camp
“Redacted Tonight”, Juan Gonzalez “Democracy Now”, Tim Black “The Tim Black Show”, H.A. Goodman, Joseph diGenova - Former U.S. Attorney, Glenn Greenwald "The Intercept", Farron Cousins
“Ring of Fire”, Jimmy Dore “The Jimmy Dore Show”, Steven Spoonamore, "Velvet Underground", Ed Schultz “Ring of Fire”, Sam Seder “The Majority Report”, Jordan Chariton “The Young Turks”, David Pakman “The David Pakman Show”, Mark Leibovich "This Town”, Ana Kasparian “The Young Turks”, John Iadarola “The Young Turks”, Alex Bolton "The Hill", Benjamin Dixon "The Benjamin Dixon Show", Jake Tapper "The Lead", Eric Garland "The Hill"

#2.1.1 Reminding us again of yet another aspect of the 2016 Primary that builds the case for proving that the DNC absolutely cheated to steal the nomination from Bernie. There's just no way a candidate who is drawing such phenomenal crowds, consistently and all over the country, loses, especially to a candidate who is so disliked and not trusted. For posterity, I don't think it is a bad idea to occasionally recall and recount these events and different aspects of this. I believe some of our efforts should be in not allowing this to go down the Memory Hole (especially in light of Corbyn's resonating success). It will be an important factor in finally rupturing the Duopoly stranglehold on democracy, when people realize their votes/voices don't matter - if the Party decides it wants to do something and will unapologetically crush the will of the people, then why vote at all or have fealty to such a fraudulent system? Which I why I think the Corbyn moment is so important. The movement at his back is just about to turn the corner and swing the masses toward strong socialism, and by extension the platforms Bernie brought front and center to the attention of the American people. Here's the big Bernie rally I rode my bicycle over a couple of bridges to, in the South Bronx (Warning: TOP link. So I'll just cut and paste a bit, though the photos are so colorful and celebratory they're worth checking out, to get a very palpable sense of the kind of enthusiasm there was for him) Euphoria And A Hero's Welcome for #BernieInThe Bronx, Mostly Passionate Black and Brown Young Folks. It got 533 Rec's on April 1, 2016. If you really want to be transported away to a similar feeling that Marilyn's essay conjures, the Twitter pictorial is worth seeing (wish I could transfer that here, without having to go there). A park in the South Bronx was the site of one of the single most moving, uplifting, spiritual and inspiring congregations of human beings I’ve ever been in. For a middle-aged white guy I never felt more at home with my species. The overriding sentiment was of good will and joy. There was just unbounded joy everywhere. If you could bottle what was elicited today you’d have global contentment leading to everlasting peace. There were fly Hip Hop dudes and hip mama’s from the barrio, next to freak flag-flyin’ stalwart hippies and young bearded hipsters. There were Muslim women in headdresses, throngs of excited black school kids, Hispanic women together with their kids all in Bernie buttons, young people of all stripes proudly proclaiming themselves “Socialists.” I saw black women downright giddy at the prospect of seeing Bernie in the flesh. Giddy. I saw Puerto Rican nationalists with their faces painted, and heard kids at the feet of their parents on neighborhood stoops chanting “Let’s Go Bernie!” All mixing it up, toasting each other with all the naturalness of long lost friends, comrades in a joyous struggle. #MakeAmericaLoveAgain. “Feel The Bern” and “Fuck Trump” t-shirts were selling like wild at sidewalk set-ups all around the perimeter. It felt like something between Woodstock and a Caribbean carnivale, mixed with Wattstax and Occupy Wall St. People were clearly there for a reason, there was little doubt. Everybody knew the speech lines, the issues and intimately understood how bad they’ve been fucked over by the status quo of politics as usual beholden to big money/Wall St. Everybody felt like we were going to win. With an unbelievably immense turnout, how could we not? On Twitter, we were finding out that the opponent was caught on film mixing it up with a Greenpeace activist, flaring her anger in the face of a protester who up challenged her fossil fuel donors. Meanwhile, she was also giving a speech, a little upstate at Purchase University in Westchester. About 300 people showed, including 50 protesters.

—

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Submitted by travelerxxx on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 3:53pm

Probably deserves more eyes

@Mark from Queens

Mark, this video, Stolen Democracy: How the Democratic Party Lost the Election and Lost its Soul, probably deserves it's own essay. I've watched a little of it - the rest when time permits - but seen enough to know that it needs to be seen by many folks.

#2.1.1.1
too. It's a great example of citizen journalists taking the reigns to pull something together that tells a story the MSM refuses to acknowledge. This is an area I wish we'd work together more on: crowdsourcing material with the purpose of putting together documentaries for the public to see that they'll never see on cable tv.

Fighting the propaganda is probably one of our biggest challenges.

"Stolen Democracy: How the Democratic Party Lost the Election and Lost its Soul"

From the video description:

A citizen journalism public service documentary film showing the terrible corruption that happens when big money lobbyists hijack a political party.

See how the mafia-like lobbyist firm SKDKnickerbocker has infiltrated and corrupted the Democratic Party and our government and media to make billions with nefarious and deceptive schemes that have all but destroyed the United States of America.

Starring many who spoke truth in the midst of obfuscations:

Cenk Uygur
“The Young Turks”, Mike Figueredo “The Humanist Report”, Debbie Lusignan “Sane Progressive”, Bill Moyers “Moyers and Company”, Amy Goodman "Democracy Now", Thom Hartmann “The Thom Hartmann Show”, Jeff Waldorf "The Young Turks", Nik Zecevic “The Lip TV”, Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough "Morning Joe", Julian Assange "Wikileaks", Ben Swann “Reality Check”, Lee Camp
“Redacted Tonight”, Juan Gonzalez “Democracy Now”, Tim Black “The Tim Black Show”, H.A. Goodman, Joseph diGenova - Former U.S. Attorney, Glenn Greenwald "The Intercept", Farron Cousins
“Ring of Fire”, Jimmy Dore “The Jimmy Dore Show”, Steven Spoonamore, "Velvet Underground", Ed Schultz “Ring of Fire”, Sam Seder “The Majority Report”, Jordan Chariton “The Young Turks”, David Pakman “The David Pakman Show”, Mark Leibovich "This Town”, Ana Kasparian “The Young Turks”, John Iadarola “The Young Turks”, Alex Bolton "The Hill", Benjamin Dixon "The Benjamin Dixon Show", Jake Tapper "The Lead", Eric Garland "The Hill"

Submitted by randtntx on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 5:47pm

@Mark from Queens I understand the

@Mark from Queens @Mark from Queens I understand the reservations that several here are expressing about being, shall we say, overly enthusiastic about a particular political figure. There are so many instances of that scenario going wrong. However, I think the politicians who help point out that there are other possibilities than the status quo perform a valuable function.

The act of publicly declaring that there are other, different paths that could be taken to make things better is an essential part of any society. Poets can do this, musicians, artists, spiritual leaders, and some politicians. I don't think that it's inherently a bad thing if people embrace the ideas of these leaders with enthusiasm. In fact I tend to think the opposite, I think it can be good as long as you don't abandon your critical thinking skills.

When Bernie was talking about the income disparity, the class divide, unemployment, wages, and fair-trade in this country, there was no other politician doing that. People responded I don't think with fanaticism, but with appreciation that it was being brought up in the campaign at all. We needed someone to talk about this and to make it a campaign issue. No one was doing that until Bernie brought it up.

I agree with you that we need to remember what happened. If we so easily disregard that whole campaign as a bunch of fanatical people who just want to follow any leader who offers hope then we loose the lessons that campaign taught us.

Thanks for your description of the rally in the Bronx. That's very nice. Now I'm off to watch 'Stolen Democracy'

#2.1.1 Reminding us again of yet another aspect of the 2016 Primary that builds the case for proving that the DNC absolutely cheated to steal the nomination from Bernie. There's just no way a candidate who is drawing such phenomenal crowds, consistently and all over the country, loses, especially to a candidate who is so disliked and not trusted. For posterity, I don't think it is a bad idea to occasionally recall and recount these events and different aspects of this. I believe some of our efforts should be in not allowing this to go down the Memory Hole (especially in light of Corbyn's resonating success). It will be an important factor in finally rupturing the Duopoly stranglehold on democracy, when people realize their votes/voices don't matter - if the Party decides it wants to do something and will unapologetically crush the will of the people, then why vote at all or have fealty to such a fraudulent system? Which I why I think the Corbyn moment is so important. The movement at his back is just about to turn the corner and swing the masses toward strong socialism, and by extension the platforms Bernie brought front and center to the attention of the American people. Here's the big Bernie rally I rode my bicycle over a couple of bridges to, in the South Bronx (Warning: TOP link. So I'll just cut and paste a bit, though the photos are so colorful and celebratory they're worth checking out, to get a very palpable sense of the kind of enthusiasm there was for him) Euphoria And A Hero's Welcome for #BernieInThe Bronx, Mostly Passionate Black and Brown Young Folks. It got 533 Rec's on April 1, 2016. If you really want to be transported away to a similar feeling that Marilyn's essay conjures, the Twitter pictorial is worth seeing (wish I could transfer that here, without having to go there). A park in the South Bronx was the site of one of the single most moving, uplifting, spiritual and inspiring congregations of human beings I’ve ever been in. For a middle-aged white guy I never felt more at home with my species. The overriding sentiment was of good will and joy. There was just unbounded joy everywhere. If you could bottle what was elicited today you’d have global contentment leading to everlasting peace. There were fly Hip Hop dudes and hip mama’s from the barrio, next to freak flag-flyin’ stalwart hippies and young bearded hipsters. There were Muslim women in headdresses, throngs of excited black school kids, Hispanic women together with their kids all in Bernie buttons, young people of all stripes proudly proclaiming themselves “Socialists.” I saw black women downright giddy at the prospect of seeing Bernie in the flesh. Giddy. I saw Puerto Rican nationalists with their faces painted, and heard kids at the feet of their parents on neighborhood stoops chanting “Let’s Go Bernie!” All mixing it up, toasting each other with all the naturalness of long lost friends, comrades in a joyous struggle. #MakeAmericaLoveAgain. “Feel The Bern” and “Fuck Trump” t-shirts were selling like wild at sidewalk set-ups all around the perimeter. It felt like something between Woodstock and a Caribbean carnivale, mixed with Wattstax and Occupy Wall St. People were clearly there for a reason, there was little doubt. Everybody knew the speech lines, the issues and intimately understood how bad they’ve been fucked over by the status quo of politics as usual beholden to big money/Wall St. Everybody felt like we were going to win. With an unbelievably immense turnout, how could we not? On Twitter, we were finding out that the opponent was caught on film mixing it up with a Greenpeace activist, flaring her anger in the face of a protester who up challenged her fossil fuel donors. Meanwhile, she was also giving a speech, a little upstate at Purchase University in Westchester. About 300 people showed, including 50 protesters.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 4:34pm

the spirit of hope and the will of the People

Somehow the fall of communism was one of these miracles. No committees or meetings or wars or strategists or money made this happen. Some give Ronald Reagan credit for this, but that is a joke. The spirit of hope and the will of the people made it happen.

If any single person "made" the fall of Stalinistic Communism happen in Europe, it was this guy:

And he "did it" by carefully nurturing the spirit of hope and the will of the Polish People all his life. Once Karol, Cardinal Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II, the fuse was lit for such things as Solidarnosc in Poland, which in turn brought about the fall of East Germany and finally the Soviet Union itself.

Mandatory atheism is the flaw which broke the Stalinist wall in Poland, just like it did in Mexico seventy years earlier. Say what you will about religion, when times are bad and the people are oppressed religion often provides the shelter for the spirit of hope and the will of the People. Our own black Churches served this cause well during the Civil Rights Movement.

Now if we could just get all our nation's Christians behind the spirit of hope and the will of the People like they were in Poland and Mexico! Many are, yes, but we seem to be infested with some of the most evil Calvinist cults, too; the ones which teach that if one is not rich and powerful, that it's his own fault.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by mhagle on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 5:42pm

I agree with you

@thanatokephaloides

Thank you for bringing up Pope John Paul II and Poland. And I also greatly appreciate the work of Pope Francis. Yes . . . what if the christians of this country got behind the spirit of hope and will of the people? What if they simply followed Jesus?

—

Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 6:51pm

What if they all followed Jesus?

@mhagle

Thank you for bringing up Pope John Paul II and Poland.

You're welcome!

I just don't want ~~Nancy and her astrologer~~ Ronald Reagan to get the credit for the fall of the Iron Curtain when Europeans in general, and that European specifically, deserved that credit far more.

And I also greatly appreciate the work of Pope Francis. Yes . . . what if the christians of this country got behind the spirit of hope and will of the people? What if they simply followed Jesus?

Either we'd have a government to the left of Bernie, or the deep state would do t many of us what the Judaeo-Roman deep state did to Jesus. (Needless to say, I opt for the former!)

note: "Judaeo-Roman" is a reference to Roman controlled Judaea, independent from Rome in name only and the government in power there during the alleged lifetime of Jesus.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by Wink on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 3:36am

I think it was blue

@thanatokephaloides
jeans and rock'n'roll records (western pop culture) that brought down the wall. Once kids got a taste of that there was no way the wall could stand. But, yeah, the Pope likely had a hand in the thing, too.

—

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by lotlizard on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:57pm

Friends in Dresden who were 15 when the Wall came down

@Wink
say that, among all the things that made it over to East Germany from the West, what they cherish most of all from their youth is the music and memory of Michael Jackson.

Parents of two daughters themselves, they are firmly of the opinion that all the child molestation charges against MJ were frame-ups by parental gold-diggers.

Submitted by dfarrah on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 10:16am

IMO, the

@thanatokephaloides current pope is also pushing things along, or helping to nurture what is already there - however you want to look at it.

—

dfarrah

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 10:30am

yeah, even Angela Merkel has had an audience

@dfarrah
with him to "get his approval or blessing" (she is not catholic), but as CB also said in one of his comments, she is on the streets at night working for the crazy pimp Uncle Same. (Won't link to his comment - the comment "got" at me - I know what he meant and I have "forgiven" him... ... see at least I know my "forgive us our sins" thingy) but all in all I think it's not that straight forward with Jesus, the Pope, Religion and hope. We all might need them in our very personal and private moments of prayer, but that's not to say that they are the new messiah or whatever to be promoted at mass rallies. Great music yes or no.

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by ovals49 on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 4:48pm

Exactly! ...the spirit of working for the people....

This is what is missing from both teams of the political duopoly here in the US. It is the heart of what is missing and what makes most politician's promises ring hollow.

When this spirit does appear, the ground begins to tremble as the people embrace the possibility of hope for a real change. This has got to scare the shit out of TPTB, as well it should.

—

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

Submitted by Bollox Ref on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 4:54pm

What with Brexit,

the Brexit 'negotiations', the inane snap election (How to Destroy Your Majority, by T. May (Murdoch Books)) and the tower block fire, May will go down as one of the most incompetent PM's ever, closely followed by David Cameron.

I don't suppose she imagined that when she slithered into the job a year ago.

—

Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 6:56pm

Don't forget.....

@Bollox Ref ..... Tony Blair, who gelded the Labour Party and its associated movements for two generations!

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:16am

@thanatokephaloides Is it wrong that I see

@thanatokephaloides Is it wrong that I see May and Blair as basically working for the same team?

—

"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 thanatokephaloides on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:55am

May and Blair

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

Is it wrong that I see May and Blair as basically working for the same team?

No. Blair's really a Tory, just like Perpetual Goldwater Girl Hillary Clinton is really a Republican.

And Blair's just May in a boy suit.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by lotlizard on Mon, 06/26/2017 - 12:28am

Tony Blair made out very well, just like the Clintons and Obama

@thanatokephaloides

• hired as lecturer at Yale
http://news.yale.edu/2008/09/18/yale-and-tony-blair-launch-faith-and-glo...

• joined investment giant Carlyle Group
https://www.democracynow.org/2005/8/24/headlines/report_tony_blair_to_jo...

• gave 90-minute speeches for $250,000 each
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/3276585/Tony-Blair-earns...

Submitted by Song of the lark on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 5:45pm

There is a trite old phrase but perhaps true.

"When the going gets tough the tough get going." Well I really do think people are good at self organizing in the face of a system that isn't working for them. While some things are working,much of the same ole, same old isn't. I think that's why Trump was able to gather so many votes and Bernie also and Now Corbyn.
People know when things aren't working for them, I'm pretty sure some of them are ready to burn some shit to the ground. And it's clear to me that what ever Trumps draw is, it's not going to ring true, things are not going to get better, in fact I think there is a great chance we are totally fucked. So who, what and where is the catalylist. I'm sure as the diarist points out everyone will recognize it when it comes.

Submitted by lotlizard on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 1:02am

Then there’s the Hunter S. Thompson variant of the saying

@Song of the lark
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”

Submitted by Mark from Queens on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 5:55pm

Thanks Marilyn. Thought similarly today about this.

"Jeremy Corbyn at Glastonbury: Labour leader gives rousing speech before Run The Jewels set

(Reports suggest crowds at the Pyramid Stage were the biggest seen since The Rolling Stones performed in 2013)"

I'm out in the park now so I can't expound as much as I'd like.

But at least wanted to say how much I feel like you do today.

People are awakening, this is evidence manifest. It's easy to write it off as cult of personality. But it's really a shorthand endorsement of the world we'd like to see.

Thanks for your essay today.

—

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Submitted by Mark from Queens on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 6:03pm

btw, his Glastonbury appearance was before Run The Jewels, who

@Mark from Queens
are a rap group that includes Killer Mike, lifelong activist and Bernie proxy.

Wish I could link the MLK Day round table with Mike, Bernie, Nina Turner and Cornel West.

Would like to hear if that spot for Corbyn's speech had anything to do with Mike's openly Left political stances.

—

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Submitted by CS in AZ on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 7:38pm

This one?

@Mark from Queens

[video:https://youtu.be/befhumio-wo]

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 06/24/2017 - 8:24pm

Bernie probably won the primary

In many states he received more votes than Hillary did. The only reason why she got the states was because of the delegates and the superdelegates.

Remember that she lined up the delegates in 2005 before she announced that she was running for president. Like that was a big surprise to anyone.

Plus, she was still giving paid speeches in between lining up the delegates and when she announced. Another campaign no-no. But just like Bill got away with going to 4 voting places in Massachusetts, she got away with giving her speeches. The Clintons don't have to follow the rules.

ETA: this article explains why Hillary lost got less votes, but still won the primary.

Hillary Clinton keeps losing. So how come she's winning?

Hillary Clinton is not winning because of a conspiracy or wrinkle in the time-space continuum. Rather, she benefits from the rules Democrats play by.

—

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Submitted by eyo on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 6:33am

"The spirit of hope and the will of the people made it happen."

Clearly you have not seen HyperNormalisation. It proposes (and documents) quite dramatically the opposite I thought, more like the Soviet people stopped believing their fake media and went in to complete despair over the reality in front of their faces every day. Sound familiar? It did to me, but not until yesterday did I start to imagine The United States of America falling apart in the same manner. Especially here on the west coast, all the way north to Canada and South to Mexico. It's already a gun war in California, total chaos in Mexico as far as Law Enforcement goes. Oh Canada! Good luck.

toxic
lol

Submitted by mhagle on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 7:47am

That's there too, but I would call it

@eyo

. . . the dark side of the Force.

—

Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 9:56am

I feel uncomfortable reading

some of this diary. Don't like really to answer. I would sound very impolite.

Oh Jer-e-my Cor-byn" is a miracle. It is an awakening. It is beyond the Labour Party. The people are responding to the spirit of compassion that has been expressed in the public interest for many years.

I mean ... really?

The Pope bringing down communism ... I see.

If we all followed the spirit of Jesus ? ... we were dead by now, of course we would go to heaven for those sacrifices. But here on earth we would be nicely tortured.

Some folks here were ready to say Bernie Sanders is a sell-out, ready to throw him under the bus. Weren't his rallies pretty miraculous? No compassion for an old man, who does what he can to do what he thinks is right?

Of course people respond to the spirit of compassion. So, just get some capable people to arouse that spirit ... and there you go, the next herd of people will follow their leader enthusiastically.

As lotlizard quoted to well Hunter S. Thompson:

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”

If I were better educated, may be I could answer with examples politely, why I think this is bogus, and I don't like to turn a pro either....

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 10:21am

You might get this wrong

@mimi
Of course I like the message of Corbyn, as I like Bernie's message, but just because you are part of witnessing a compassionate response from a crowd during a music festival to both their speeches, I can't forget that in previous times the music may have sounded weird to our ears, the language too, but the compassionate response on mass rallies is not an indicator for what the "beloved inspiring, miraculous political speaker" will lead you into.

I have a default inner mechanism to question myself, if I feel I am drawn into a mass rally that just pushes on the right buttons to arouse a passionate response from the audience.

Sorry, just saying.

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by eyo on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:01am

This is why I am not comfortable with fanatical crowds

@mimi @mhagle

I did attend the rally here in Cloverdale for Bernie, it was awful the way TSA kettled us so the TV shots would be of bucolic hillside rather than ugly working airport hangar. Three people had a medical emergency (heat stroke), one after the other. I mean it was Idiocracy writ large to me. Congressman Raul Grijalva did step on my foot as he passed by to the stage, said "excuse me" without looking. I thought "what is he doing here on 'my' side"? lol I was right against the barrier separating the "People" from the "Security". It was stupid and chaotic. But Bernie! The twelve year old kid next to me cheered his ass off for legal cannabis, wtf? Okay this is Sonoma County, our kids grow up like that Nobody cares much for peace anymore though, I don't know why. Well, Edward Bernays maybe he explained it already.

YouTube is full of rallies from the 30s all over Europe, the people look ecstatic for their leader.

peace

Edited to remove "Just sayin' 'cause mimi already said it.

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:10am

thx. for your last sentence, for saying it for

@eyo
me, what I didn't want to point to too explicitly. I think it's difficult to follow me on this, because the music and language used in that time in Germany was so different. Nevertheless I heard sometimes my father falling in one of the typical songs and my mother immediately would shoot him an evil eye and he did shut up. What you hear as a kid stays like an ear worm sometimes. Heh, I sing sometime the Internationale, though I don't believe a word of it. -)

And then don't forget that at the same time in the US you had the most "spiritual" blues coming from the tortured souls without the intention to "arouse" the compassion for a specific political purpose. That's why I love the EB and the many musical talents here who post their favorite musical memories.

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:27am

also, one should distinguish a enthusiastic crowd

@eyo
from a fanatical one. I doubt that any of the crowds Bernie or Corbyn pulled were fanatical.

It's just always a lingering danger, that, when crowds like these are "managed" by political "pro"s they can end up making out of enthusiastic crowds fanatical ones.

That's why I have this uncomfortable feeling when I see people "lose their minds to enthusiasm".

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by dfarrah on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 10:23am

I don't understand

@mimi what you are saying.

You seem to object to the spiritual side of the diary and comments(?) Some of us believe in miracles, and some of us don't. Some of us look to spiritual leaders, such as Jesus, as an ideal template for our own behavior, and some of us don't believe in the FSM.

—

dfarrah

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 10:43am

of course, I don't object to that at all,

@dfarrah I just say it's a personal, private and hopefully not a politically based inspiration and belief. I object to people telling other people what to believe in and to follow Jesus (or Allah) for matters that concern their political view points.

I like to keep my personal beliefs private and not been worn on the sleeves or promoted through musical festivals' boom boxes with some cool songs. I know I am harsh for your ears. But I think as a German, I can say that. How many people had fallen enthusiastically for some cool songs back in the days... Ok, if that upsets you too much, I redact my comment.

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by mhagle on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:27am

This wasn't meant to be a religious essay

@mimi @mimi

And I am pretty sure I understand your discomfort. I have formerly been involved in all sorts of right wing religion - over 25 years ago now. It's maybe taken that long to be free of it.

"The spirit of hope and the will of the people" has nothing to do with religion. Nor does "But every heart-felt wish of goodwill, every act of kindness, every moment of empathy for another creature . . . builds courage and hope in the hearts of us all."

There can be religious figures or even religious groups who participate in these things. But don't confuse the every heart-felt wish of goodwill, every act of kindness, every moment of empathy for another creature to be exclusively religious acts.

My greater emphasis that these acts build courage and hope in the hearts of us all . . . all by themselves.

I know that the Bernie rally I attended was not a fanatical crowd. Like others here have described, it was thousands of people who knew what was going on and what we need, or they were searching for those answers. They respectfully listened and considered. And they only found out about the rally hours before.

That's why I called it a miracle.

—

Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Submitted by Mark from Queens on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 12:03pm

These moments, events, a t-shirt/bumpersticker are simply

@mhagle
ways of transmuting our internal dialogue to an external, public dialogue.

The zeitgeist of people singing "Oh Jeremy Corbyn" is a manifestation of all those people, living with these thoughts solitarily or online, having the joyous release of recognizing one another in public. And from there that is how movements are built.

It's letting each other know, "hey, you're not alone. I feel the same way." The MSM is built to not allow that to happen, to crush a public spirit that through this, acknowledges that all this divide and conquer stuff people are reading all day is really bullshit. Because at the end of the day we're all the same, and want just a few basic necessities to be the rights of everyone.

This is why I wear a political t-shirt, practically every day. Because it starts conversations. It just happened to me this morning again. A guy who described himself as a "former hippie who just cut his hair" wanted to talk about how the financialization of all our lives has made us less human and erected a facade of ownership that is a lie, upon seeing my Occupy Wall St shirt. We had a conversation like the ones we have all day here, seeing right through the MSM propaganda, exchanged contact info, and I told him about C99. He said now that he has more time and about to retire he wants to get more involved with things. Each of our days are way better now for having had that interaction. I'm going to email him soon about us, before I have to leave for the day.

Anyway folks, I think the developments in the UK portend to something big on the horizon. Grenfell is not going away, no matter how much the MSM will attempt to make it into the typical horse care about the personalities. It's not about that, neither Corbyn or May. People have woken up to the charade. They see in Corbyn themselves, and are riffing off go his stances, because they are their own too. Finally, people are starting to feel a connectedness that is the building block of fundamental socialism.

—

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Submitted by mhagle on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 4:03pm

I like the idea of wearing political t-shirts

@Mark from Queens

I printed some out in the fall of 2015, but never wore them in public. I have to think about what would appropriately speak to local Texas folk in some beautiful way. Then I will print more.

#10.2.1.1 ways of transmuting our internal dialogue to an external, public dialogue. The zeitgeist of people singing "Oh Jeremy Corbyn" is a manifestation of all those people, living with these thoughts solitarily or online, having the joyous release of recognizing one another in public. And from there that is how movements are built. It's letting each other know, "hey, you're not alone. I feel the same way." The MSM is built to not allow that to happen, to crush a public spirit that through this, acknowledges that all this divide and conquer stuff people are reading all day is really bullshit. Because at the end of the day we're all the same, and want just a few basic necessities to be the rights of everyone. This is why I wear a political t-shirt, practically every day. Because it starts conversations. It just happened to me this morning again. A guy who described himself as a "former hippie who just cut his hair" wanted to talk about how the financialization of all our lives has made us less human and erected a facade of ownership that is a lie, upon seeing my Occupy Wall St shirt. We had a conversation like the ones we have all day here, seeing right through the MSM propaganda, exchanged contact info, and I told him about C99. He said now that he has more time and about to retire he wants to get more involved with things. Each of our days are way better now for having had that interaction. I'm going to email him soon about us, before I have to leave for the day. Anyway folks, I think the developments in the UK portend to something big on the horizon. Grenfell is not going away, no matter how much the MSM will attempt to make it into the typical horse care about the personalities. It's not about that, neither Corbyn or May. People have woken up to the charade. They see in Corbyn themselves, and are riffing off go his stances, because they are their own too. Finally, people are starting to feel a connectedness that is the building block of fundamental socialism.

—

Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 2:51pm

yes, I am sorry, mhagle, I was overly

@mhagle
sensitive towards some wording and apologize that my comment sounded somewhat unfair with regards to your intentions with your diary.

I have my own little story to turn out that sensitive. Sometimes my own rough spots act up a little when triggered. I was not involved in any sort of (right-wing) religion or any other religion aside from a more formal German Lutheran Protestantism two year educatiom as a young child. I kinda not believe in miracles... so I have had a childish reaction to your wording. Sorry for that.

My greater emphasis that these acts build courage and hope in the hearts of us all . . . all by themselves.

and Mark from Queens quote:

Finally, people are starting to feel a connectedness that is the building block of fundamental socialism.

both resound much clearer to me. I hope both quotes will turn out to be what they say. I simply pray that I will not lose hope. Sometimes I do.

Peace.

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by eyo on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 11:27am

So maybe you will understand me

@mimi I always felt a connection with Bernie because he knew people who survived the death camps, the ones that got tattooed. My partner's dad had one of those f*cking tattoos, he escaped Dachau a few months before it was "liberated". I'll just never forget him and that tattoo, and how his kids grew up. Always with a go bag, always ready to escape in the night. Never ever ever totally trusting the police.

I was married to that way of thinking for ten years, it changed me forever how could it not. My partner never talked about it much. One year she was consulted for the Sonoma State Holocaust Series, a Survivors panel or similar. I met a lot of survivors, sons and daughters of survivors. I look at Israel now and weep, they have become the monsters they were trying to escape, that's how it looks to me. The motto was "Never Again" assholes! Fuck. Someone needs to stop it.

peace

Submitted by mimi on Sun, 06/25/2017 - 2:22pm

I think I do understand a little, even though

@eyo
I am so much less knowledgeable as so many here. One of the reasons I respect Sanders is the fact that I never heard him using his "Jewishness" in his political discourse as a tool. That alone is enough for me to respect him. He also didn't use the subject of race and gender in a way that would profile him as being explicitly anti-racial or anti-feminist. His ideology yet is very much so. The race issues were thrown at him to discredit him. I didn't like that.

I met the first Jewish person only here in the US at age 36, an elderly Auschwitz survivor who had her KZ number tatooed in her arm. At her side was either a friend or family member of the next generation, she did the talking and basically let out what was intended to arouse some feelings of shame in me, when she realized I was German. On blogs online I observe many younger persons of the third generation struggling with the fate their grandparents went through. It's like a trauma one hadn't experienced oneself, but it seemed to haunt the younger ones in similar ways, it's hard to ask oneself: Why my grandparents and why not me? May be it's the feeling of being so uncomfortable that oneself didn't suffer and knowing that others did.

It's somewhat hard to live with one's history and the role parents, grandparents or ancestors played in them and not knowing how to "make up for it". One can't make up for it.
May be the only thing one can do is watching oneself and not falling for bigotry or another hypocrisy.

I don't know if I understand you or others. I try.
Peace.

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by lotlizard on Mon, 06/26/2017 - 1:14am

I was shocked one evening to hear the Horst Wessel Song on radio

@mimi
It turned out to be part of an extended dance number and sound collage made from historical recordings, German History by DJ Happy Vibes.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmqfXH-5y9s]

Alternate link for the case that the above is blocked:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8VuRald7v0

Sequel that takes up where the original left off, covering events from 2012 on:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NNawOfHxnc]

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 06/26/2017 - 5:05am

excellent post, lotlizard, especially the second

@lotlizard @lotlizard
video I was very much in need of seeing. It's tough for me to understand what exactly was said by various German politicians the last four to five years. Very well done video. Actually I am quite enlightened and happy about it.

Is there a critical view of the left-wing in Germany as well? Just asking. I just got so completely confused by the "toilette-gate" affair from Max Blumenthal and David Sheen against Gysi.

Tired of everything. I close my eyes. Thanks. So glad you watch out here.

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 06/26/2017 - 8:14am

oh, lol, in the first video at TC 10:48 they show

@mimi
original footage from the soccer world cup 1954. That brought back with a big smile memories of my father and his three brothers and some uncles in our living room, who all gathered in front of our first TV and went as crazy as the people in the video about the "Tooohr" !!!.

I was just six years old and thought that the men in my family went nuts and I was pretty confused about that fact.

Now in the second video, Angela Merkel at TC 18:19 went nuts too at the soccer worldcup 2014. At least we are equal opportunity nuts when it comes to soccer.

Lovely. Glad to have seen those videos.

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 06/26/2017 - 8:33am

And isn't that blowing you away that a

@mimi
Wessi German Expat in the US for over 37 years has to discover a formerly Ossi great musical talent as presented by DJ Happy Vibes in the person of Andreas Hofmann (originating out of Dresden) ON the US based caucus99percent website?

Ah, my life, only in Dresden and America. What can I say, I find that sooo hilarious.

—

https://www.euronews.com/

Submitted by Cant Stop the M... on Mon, 06/26/2017 - 12:16pm

@mimi I have plenty of

@mimi I have plenty of compassion for Bernie. He's a good guy who wanted to do a small, good thing for the future, and his doing so brought him into a politically mortal conflict with the Clinton political machine. Apparently surprised that he found himself in that position, he did what any sane person would do, and backed off, probably after being threatened (that's my best guess, given that Robby Mook told John Podesta they had "leverage" over Bernie.)

Of course I feel sorry for a guy like that. I even wish him well. But the price for not getting smashed like a bug by the Clinton political machine was taking a job as their sheepdog, and that's what he's been doing since mid-June. Telling the truth about that does not constitute a lack of compassion.

Further, I will call him out when he lies just like I call anybody else out. "Russia hacked our elections and put Donald Trump in office" is a baseless lie with a terrifying agenda. Apparently some of our leaders--our actual leaders--are fine with the idea of World War III, and apparently either Bernie is fine with it too, or--more likely--he's been told that his current job requires saying over and over again that Russia is responsible for last year's election result.

—

"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 mimi on Mon, 06/26/2017 - 2:07pm

@ Can't stop the Macedonian Signal - criticize away -

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal @Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal
I have just started to go over to TOP and looked up Joe Shikspack's first diary over there and also some of gjohnsit's, because, ok, I either didn't read them religiously back then or I have forgotten so much. And I was curious when both started out and what they wrote. OMG, kudos to their work in hindsight. I feel like a worm among giants.

Ha. Look at my new avatar picture, which I stole from one of gjohnsit's diary. It says it all, no?

"To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize. - Voltaire"

And Joe's first diary title over there from 2007 says it too, no?
Shut the fuck up, so we can get elected".

So, what's compassion anyway? Ah, actually ...
quite a lot.

I know just one thing for sure, I don't rule over you, everything else I am always not sure about. So criticize at your pleasure - out loud ! No problem with me ! I look these days from a distance, so everything over there at your side of the pond seems so far away.

Yesterday, all my troubles seem so far away

PS. I saw Ray Charles live in Berlin in 1967 in the Berliner Sporthalle. I got some compassion for his voice and songs back then...still have. That compassion thingy ... difficult to get a hang on it.

PS2. And now I got away with not relating to your comment...Forgive me, I don't know what made me do so...

—

https://www.euronews.com/