The Evening Blues - 11-8-17



eb1pt12


The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Ben E. King

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features r&b singer Ben E. King. Enjoy!

Ben E. King - Stand By Me

“I have said it before and I will say it again: Impeachment is off the table.”

-- Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif


News and Opinion

So then, this is what "The Resistance" is all about, strutting around in their pussy hats, screaming real loud, and, ultimately doing absolutely freaking nothing. Keep on mouthing those empty threats, Democrat losers!

Pelosi: Impeaching Trump 'not someplace that I think we should go'

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that even if Democrats were to retake control of the House in the 2018 elections, pushing for impeachment proceedings of President Donald Trump would not be one of their legislative priorities. ...

The California Democrat left the door open to the possibility, however, saying that if ongoing investigations into Russian election meddling were to turn up any sort of concrete criminal evidence, lawmakers might reconsider the matter. "If that's there, perhaps it will come out in these investigations" she said.

"I believe that whatever we do, we have a responsibility to first and foremost to unify the nation," Pelosi said Sunday.

Bwahahahahahaha!!!!! And another load of bullshit is tossed out to the hopeful masses whose hopes (as usual) will be squashed by lesser of two evils congressworms:


The Same Mindset Supporting Russiagate Supported The Iraq Invasion 15 Years Ago

“Resistance” hero and lead Russiagate cheerleader Keith Olbermann was recently featured on The View, wherein he sincerely and unironically stated that John McCain is his favorite politician, that he wants Mike Pence to be president, and that he feels he owes George W Bush an apology for how oppositional he was during his administration. Many American progressives remember Olbermann not as the flag-swaddled screaming nutcase that he has become today, but as a stable voice of sanity that they clung to like a life raft during the frenzied psychosis of the Bush years. In the span of about thirty seconds, Olbermann completely invalidated all of that. ...

Anti-Trumpism has never been about Trump. Anti-Trumpism has been about shoring up neoconservative influence within the Democratic party. Trump is being used on Democrats in exactly the same way 9/11 was used on Republicans. ...

Keith Olbermann’s fellow “Resistance” pundits are currently beating their chests and howling triumphantly over the election results last night. They’re not putting on this show because they’re legitimately orgasmic over a few state and local assembly seats changing hands, they’re putting on this show because there’s been a lot of doubt expressed that the anti-Russia, anti-Trump drum that they’ve been beating for the last year is a worthy strategy. They’re all telling rank-and-file Democrats, “Look! It’s working! Keep doing the Russia thing! Keep doing the Trump thing!”

Meanwhile, the Democratic party’s approval rating has hit a quarter-century low of 37 percent, which is equal to Trump’s. The drum of the new cold war keeps beating, and tensions continue to mount.

Nikki Neocon is barking mad that Iran still exists:

U.S. calls for U.N. action against Iran over Yemen missile

The United States accused Iran on Tuesday of supplying Yemen’s Houthi rebels with a missile that was fired into Saudi Arabia in July and called for the United Nations to hold Tehran accountable for violating two U.N. Security Council resolutions.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said information released by Saudi Arabia showed the missile fired in July was an Iranian Qiam, which she described as “a type of weapon that had not been present in Yemen before the conflict.”

Saudi-led forces, which back the government in neighboring Yemen, have been targeting the Iran-allied Houthis in a more than two-year war. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Tuesday described Iran’s supply of rockets to the Houthis as “direct military aggression” that could be an act of war.

Haley said that by providing weapons to the Houthis, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp‎s had violated two U.N. resolutions on Yemen and Iran. She said a missile shot down over Saudi Arabia on Saturday “may also be of Iranian origin.”

“We encourage the United Nations and international partners to take necessary action to hold the Iranian regime accountable for these violations,” Haley said. It was not immediately clear what action the United States was calling for.

Inside story of Saudi night of long knives - Pepe Escobar on detained royals

Saudis’ bolder moves to confront Iran echo across region

Saudi Arabia is more aggressively confronting its rival Iran on multiple fronts. It’s a policy that risks sharpening several conflicts in the Middle East, even though so far it has failed to score any successes in stemming Tehran’s influence. The bolder steps are largely seen as the work of the son of King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has consolidated his power. Under his leadership, the kingdom has shown a readiness to shake up the region, launching a military campaign in Yemen against rebels its sees as Iranian proxies and sparking a confrontation with Qatar in part over ties with Tehran.

Still, Iran has been able to use wars in Iraq and Syria to build a bridge of alliances stretching from its border to the Mediterranean.

The question is whether the Saudis will push even harder against Iran — and what will happen if they do. So far, the kingdom’s policies appear to have the full support of U.S. President Donald Trump. Though Saudi Arabia said it reserved the right to respond over the Yemeni missile, it is unlikely to take direct military action against Iran. Direct military action would risk huge destabilization in the Gulf and beyond, disrupting oil shipments vital to Saudi Arabia and its allies. The kingdom is unlikely to act without a green light from Washington, where the policy has been to avoid direct confrontation with Iran.

The House leadership is fighting on the side of al-Qaeda. Worth a full read.

House Leadership Pulls a Fast One for al Qaeda

House Concurrent Resolution 81 (H.Con.Res.81) is sponsored by Representatives, Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Walter Jones (R-NC), Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and 39 other lawmakers. The resolution commands an end to U.S. participation in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. The sponsors of this resolution contend that such participation, which began in March 2015, was never authorized under the War Powers Act of 1973. Per the War Powers Act, any congressman can pose a legal challenge and is guaranteed a floor vote on the issue. This is known as a privileged resolution.

On November 1st, the night before the vote was scheduled to take place, House leadership swiftly pushed through a Rules Committee vote, denying the resolution’s privileged status. Thus, preventing the guaranteed floor vote. What was their justification? Apparently, the House Rules Committee feels that the war in Yemen has yet to ‘rise to a level’ where the War Powers Act is applicable.

After preventing the vote on H.Con.Res.81, the House Leadership has said it shall permit a ‘compromise’ resolution on the war in Yemen. The debate, scheduled for the week of November 13th, will discuss the legality of U.S. involvement in the war. The vote will be non-binding.

Five peace activist groups, heavily engaged in promoting the resolution, said just after the Rules Committee vote:

“We remind the House leadership that under the War Powers Resolution of 1973,

“‘introduction of United States Armed Forces ’includes the assignment of member of such armed forces to command, coordinate, participate in the movement of, or accompany the regular or irregular military forces of any foreign country or government when such military forces are engaged…’

U.S. refueling of Saudi-UAE planes bombing Houthi targets in Yemen meets that definition.'”

The House leadership is lying to the American people, supporting the continuation of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, violating the War Powers Act, and attempting to prevent Congress from stopping yet another illegal and unconstitutional war.

In Afghanistan, More Air Raids Mean More Civilian Deaths

Since U.S. president Donald Trump announced his new Afghan strategy in the summer of 2017, escalating U.S. air strikes have allegedly claimed several civilian lives in Herat and Logar provinces. The coalition and the Afghan government have acknowledged the Logar and Herat incidents and have launched investigations into both attacks.

The Pentagon reported that its forces expended 751 aerial munitions on Taliban, Islamic State and Khorasan Group targets in September 2017 — a 50-percent increase over August. ...

Air strikes have contributed to steadily rising civilian casualties in 2017. In its third quarter report, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan reiterated its concern over continued increases in civilian casualties from aerial attacks, particularly among women and children.

“During the first nine months of 2017, the mission documented 466 civilian casualties (205 deaths and 261 injured), a 52 percent increase in civilian casualties from air strikes compared to the same period in 2016,” UNAMA reported.

Trump warns North Korea's Kim Jong-un: 'Don't try us'

Donald Trump has delivered a stark personal message to Kim Jong-un, saying North Korea will face disaster unless he gives up his nuclear ambitions.

Speaking in front of lawmakers at South Korea’s national assembly, the US president offered a “brighter path” if Pyongyang abandoned its weapons programme, leaving the door open to diplomacy, but also warned that the US was prepared to use military means if necessary.

“The weapons that you are acquiring are not making you safer, they are putting your regime in grave danger,” he said. “Every step you take down this dark path increases the peril you face.”

Trump has spent two days in South Korea as part of his 12-day tour of east Asia. Addressing Kim directly, he said “despite every crime you have committed against God and man”, the US was prepared to resolve the crisis diplomatically.

“We will offer a path to a much better future,” he said. “It begins with an end to the aggression of your regime, a stop to your development of ballistic missiles, and complete, verifiable and total denuclearisation.” But Trump also issued a warning to the regime, saying: “Do not underestimate us. Do not try us.” He said the US would not tolerate threats to its cities and “would not be intimidated”.

Spain Is Turning the Political Problem of Catalan Independence into a Judicial Issue

Catalan secessionist parties fail to agree on unity ticket for December vote

Catalan secessionist parties on Tuesday failed to agree on a united ticket to contest a December snap regional election, making it more difficult to rule the region after the vote and press ahead with their collective bid to split from Spain. ...

Catalan political parties had until midnight on Tuesday to register coalitions ahead of the Dec. 21 vote, but the two main forces which formed an alliance to rule the region for the last two years did not manage to agree on a new pact in time.

While they could still find an agreement after the vote, political analysts say the lack of a deal on a joint campaign may also trigger a leadership fight at the top of the movement.

This is because center-right PdeCat (Catalan Democratic Party) of sacked Catalan president Carles Puigdemont is expected to be overtaken by leftist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) of former regional vice president Oriol Junqueras. ...

An opinion poll released on Sunday by Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia showed Junqueras’ ERC could garner between 45 and 46 seats in the 135-strong regional assembly while Puigdemont’s PdeCat would win between 14 and 15 seats. In order to reach the 68-seat threshold for a majority, they would then have to form a parliamentary alliance with anti-capitalist CUP, which is expected to get seven or eight seats. Such an alliance previously existed between 2015 and 2017.

Hundreds block Guatemala roads to demand president step down

Hundreds of protesters blocked roads in Guatemala on Tuesday to demand that President Jimmy Morales step down because of accusations of corruption stemming from his 2015 election campaign.

The demonstrators were mostly from rural and indigenous communities. The national roads authority said main roads in the Central American country were blocked at at least seven locations.

A leader of the rural group organizing the protest, Neftali Lopez, said the demonstrators wanted Morales to resign "for corruption" and facilitating organized crime, a purge of Congress, and graft investigations against Guatemala City's mayor and a former president, Alvaro Arzu.

Morales, a 48-year-old former TV comic, took office last year vowing to clean up Guatemala's notoriously shady politics.

Race, Repression and Russiagate: Defending Radical Black Self-Determination

It is absurd and an insult to argue that Russian propaganda efforts “deepen political and racial tensions in the United States,” as proposed by Julia Ioffe in a recent article in the Atlantic. But the linking of the legitimate struggle of African/Black people in the United States against systemic oppression with “foreign” influences has been a recurrent feature of the ideological and military containment strategy of the U.S. state ever since the Soviet Union emerged as an international competitor to the four hundred-year-old colonial/capitalist Pan-European project. ...

Today, the new McCarthyism is being led by centrist and liberal democrats utilizing the almost comical notion that capitalist Russia possesses the power and influence to not only impact elections but also create racial tensions. And once again, Black opposition is being casted as somehow foreign influenced and, therefore, a security threat that justifies special targeted repression. But it is not just the radical “Black identity extremists” who write for Black Agenda Report and other Black radicals that find themselves subject to greater state scrutiny and on the receiving end of smear campaigns by rags like the Washington Post. Even loyal servants like Donna Brazile have now provoked the ire of the Democrat party leaders who question whether or not she has also become a Russia mole. Donna Brazile didn’t even try and run from the Democrat plantation, but she is being treated like a runaway slave for just having the temerity to question Massa Clinton. ...

It is not Russians shooting down our people in the streets; transferring our children from juvenile to adult courts in record numbers; infiltrating our organizations; suppressing our votes; closing down schools and hospitals in our communities, poisoning the water and land in our communities; raising our rents and taxes and displacing us out of the cities; or militarizing the police through the 1033 program. No… these are the results of the policies enacted and implemented by good-old “Americans” in a society where the lives of the Black working class and poor don’t and never have mattered.

Nation That Says It Can't Afford Universal Healthcare Has Spent $5.6 Trillion on War Since 9/11 (With No End in Sight)

A new analysis offers a damning assessment of the United States' so-called global war on terror, and it includes a "staggering" estimated price tag for wars waged since 9/11—over $5.6 trillion.

The Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Center says the figure—which covers the conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan from 2001 through 2018—is the equivalent of more than $23,386 per taxpayer.

The "new report," said Paul Kawika Martin, Peace Action's senior director for policy and political affairs, "once again shows that the true #costofwar represents a colossal burden to taxpayers on top of the tremendous human loss."

The center's figure is far greater than the $1.5 trillion the Pentagon estimated (pdf) in July for the costs of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, as it gives a fuller picture by including "war-related spending by the State Department, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security," writes Neta C. Crawford, a professor of political science at Boston University.

Her report notes that even the $5.6 trillion tally underestimates the true figures, as it doesn't capture "every budgetary expense related to these wars," such as state and local costs to take care of veterans; nor does it take into account the funds used for military equipment "gifts" to countries involved in the conflicts. "In sum," it states, "although this report's accounting is comprehensive, there are still billions of dollars not included in its estimate."

Dead grasshopper discovered in Vincent van Gogh painting

Art conservators dream of finding hidden secrets in the masterpieces they look after. Rarely do they expect to find a dead grasshopper. Curators at the Nelson-Atkins museum of art in Kansas City said they discovered the dead insect in one of its star paintings, Vincent Van Gogh’s Olive Trees, when it was being scanned as part of the research for a catalogue of its French painting collection.

It was spotted by paintings conservator Mary Schafer. She told a local broadcaster that she found it in the work’s lower foreground. “Looking at the painting with the microscope ... I came across the teeny-tiny body of a grasshopper submerged in the paint, so it occurred in the wet paint back in 1889.

“We can connect it to Van Gogh painting outside, so we think of him battling the elements, dealing with the wind, the bugs, and then he’s got this wet canvas that he’s got to traipse back to his studio through the fields.



the horse race



The Supreme Court Case That Let Clinton Hijack Party Fundraising

Donna Brazile inherited the DNC chair position from Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who handed the Clinton campaign keys to the party fundraising apparatus through a joint fundraising group called the Hillary Victory Fund: an agreement between the Clinton campaign, the DNC and 32 state parties to raise campaign funds together. The power of that agreement, which effectively allowed Clinton to avoid campaign limits by funneling donations through state parties, was a direct result of a split 2014 Supreme Court decision in which the court’s Chief Justice John Roberts called worries about such arrangments “hypothetical” and “divorced from reality.”

But campaign finance experts say the scenario, far from being hypothetical, may be the new political reality.

“This situation shows that if anyone is divorced from reality, it was the chief justice in assuming they wouldn’t take advantage of this,” Stephen Spaulding, chief of strategy and external affairs for Common Cause, a non-partisan government watchdog group, told International Business Times.

The case in question is McCutcheon v. FEC, a suit brought by Shaun McCutcheon, a  Republican activist from Alabama. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor, striking down a federal limit on the total amount individuals could give to parties, candidates and committees each election cycle, which at the time was $123,300.

While there are still limits on how much money a donor can give to single candidates and committees, the court said that a cap on the total amount of money a donor could give per election cycle was an unconstitutional violation of donor free speech rights, continuing a string of decisions following Citizens United in 2010 that have dismantled campaign finance rules on First Amendment grounds.

Pa. gerrymandering case can move forward, judges order

A panel of federal judges late Tuesday turned down a request by Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state’s congressional district map. The ruling, hours after the three judges heard oral arguments in Philadelphia, means the case can proceed to trial next month.

The suit, Agre v. Wolf, is one of several claims nationwide that accuse lawmakers of intentionally drawing maps to ensure their party’s victory. The Pennsylvania case seeks to have the map declared unconstitutional under a partisan gerrymandering theory relatively untested in the courts: The Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution allows states to make decisions regarding voting, but not to insert partisanship when they do so.

That clause “does not confer upon the state legislature the authority to pick winners and losers in congressional elections,” Thomas H. Geoghegan, a lawyer for the five Pennsylvania plaintiffs, argued during Tuesday’s hearing. ... Pennsylvania’s current congressional map is considered by experts one of the country’s most gerrymandered. Since its adoption, Republicans have won 13 of 18 congressional seats, even as voters statewide have been nearly split between Republicans and Democrats.

Voters Reject Republican Candidates as New “Autopsy” Report Finds the Democratic Party in Crisis

A Year After Trump, Democrats, Socialists, and Populists Sweep Elections

A civil rights attorney who delights in suing the police is the new district attorney in Philadelphia. A democratic socialist shocked an incumbent Republican in Virginia. A black woman who prosecuted a white cop for shooting a black teenager was re-elected as prosecutor. Three months after Charlottesville, a black lieutenant governor was elected in Virginia. A transgender woman who focused on traffic problems knocked out a longtime culture warrior who focused on bathrooms. A criminal justice reformer flipped the Washington state Senate to Democrats. A wet bag of mulch beat a race-baiting lobbyist in Virginia by a stunning nine points. Maine voters expanded Medicaid. Long-held Republican seats in Georgia flipped in a special election. New Jersey, finished with Gov. Chris Christie, elected a Democrat in a landslide. ...

A year ago, Bernie Sanders ran an insurgent campaign that helped popularize democratic socialism and resurgent populism among American progressives. On Tuesday, populist candidates won in places you may not expect — from Manassas, Virginia to Knoxville, Tennessee. In Virginia, Democratic Socialists of America-backed Lee Carter defeated the GOP whip Jackson Miller in the House of Delegates. Richmond-Times Dispatch reporter Patrick Wilson noted that the state Democratic Party offered little support to Carter. He won anyway. Numerous wings of the broader party united behind Carter, including factions, such as Planned Parenthood, who had backed Hillary Clinton last year.

Across the country, DSA candidates took offices, winning both as Democrats and independents. Socialist Seema Singh Perez won a seat on the Knoxville City Council. In Pittsburgh, a pair of DSA-backed candidates won, including Mik Pappas, an independent candidate who defeated a 24-year incumbent Democrat to become the 31st Magisterial District judge. Pappas ran strong on criminal justice reform, focusing on restorative justice rather than punitive measures.

There were a few low points for populists. In Ohio, a drug price control referendum went down by a huge margin after the industry spent $60 million opposing it, and a slate of Our Revolution-backed candidates went down in local Columbus elections. In Seattle, socialist Jon Grant, despite building a strong public-financed campaign organized by recruiting the homeless, was defeated in his bid for city council; meanwhile, the most business-friendly candidate was elected mayor.

'Zero evidence' for claims Russia hacked DNC – NSA whistleblower



the evening greens


Miami voters just sent their climate-change-denying governor a message

With Hurricane Irma still fresh in their minds, Miami residents on Tuesday voted yes on a big funding measure to protect their city from climate change.

The major port city is set to spend nearly half a billion dollars on projects like storm-drain upgrades, flood pumps, and seawalls, as well as affordable housing and new roads, all measures aimed at bracing for the effects of climate change.

The $400 million approved in the ballot measure in Tuesday’s election comes via a “Miami Forever” general obligation bond, which allows the city government to spend money that it borrows on the municipal bond market, leveraged against property taxes.

It’s a last-minute win for outgoing Mayor Tomás Regalado, a Republican who defied many in his party in championing the effort.

That includes Gov. Rick Scott, a climate change skeptic who said after Irma hit in early September: “Clearly our environment changes all the time, and whether that’s cycles we’re going through or whether that’s man-made, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

'As close as the US gets to Egypt’s pyramids': how Chaco Canyon is endangered by drilling

In Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, it is still possible to wander the maze of rooms of an ancestral Puebloan village erected roughly 1,000 years ago. ... Chaco Culture national historical park, created in 1907, contains a concentration of these ancestral Puebloan structures abandoned around 1200 AD. Unesco recognized it as a world heritage site in 1987 for its “monumental public and ceremonial buildings and its distinctive architecture – it has an ancient urban ceremonial centre that is unlike anything constructed before or since”.

It’s as close as the US gets to Egypt’s pyramids and Peru’s Machu Picchu, but recent years have seen drilling pressing closer to the park’s boundaries, now aided by the Trump administration’s work to accelerate oil and gas development. If not stopped, those developments could spell the end of a myriad of clues archaeologists and anthropologists are still unraveling about Chacoans’ way of life.

Anthropologist Ruth Van Dyke is trying to unveil what visitors would have seen and heard on their way into the canyon and the epicenter of their civilization. But while she made a visit last fall, a dozen oilwell pump jacks interrupted her view of landmarks that still figure in Native American stories. The nearest one, less than a mile away, could be heard working. “It very much feels like an industrial park,” Van Dyke says. “They haven’t put any of these pump jacks on an archaeological site, and yet the overall effect is really horrific.” ...

The San Juan Basin seeped natural gas for decades, a sleepy little play that drew modest interest. Then in 2013, energy companies took new technology to a nearby shale formation, and a previously unyielding layer began to spout oil. The ability to drill wells a mile deep and a mile and a half long and to hydraulically fracture those rock formations spurred development, and has drawn it toward Chaco. The local field office for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), responsible for leasing many of those mineral rights, has conceded the pace of drilling exceeds anything their planning documents foresaw. They’re at work on updates. Meanwhile, lease sales continue.

While the park itself may be protected, it’s only a portion of what remains of ancient Chacoans. Many outlier sites or ceremonial roads may not even yet be identified. “If we destroy our ability to study these outlier communities and we destroy our ability to study these connections, particularly these connections in terms of these roads and visibility, we’re never going to understand Chaco,” says Van Dyke. “We need to take care of all of the pieces of that system and the connections among those pieces, not just the center of it.”


Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

Intercepted Podcast: Say Hello to My Little Hands

The Politics of Sexual Harassment and War

Watch Members of Congress Attempt to Explain Why They Won’t Vote on War in Yemen

Puerto Ricans Fear Schools Will Be Privatized in the Wake of Hurricane Maria

Anger as US national parks plan high-season price hikes


A Little Night Music

Ben E King - Spanish Harlem

Ben E. King - Under The Boardwalk

Ben E. King and The Drifters - There Goes My Baby

Ben E. King - That's when it hurts

Ben E King - Young Boy Blues

Ben E. King and The Drifters - I Count The Tears

Ben E. King - This Magic Moment

Ben E. King - I Can't Break The News To Myself

Ben E. King - Save The Last Dance For Me


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hasn't learned a damn thing since the Bush administration.(which one is up to you.)

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They say that there's a broken light for every heart on Broadway
They say that life's a game and then they take the board away
They give you masks and costumes and an outline of the story
And leave you all to improvise their vicious cabaret-- A. Moore

joe shikspack's picture

@Johnny Q

she's learned that she can go against the best interests and demands of her constituents and still get elected in perpetuity.

damn, i wish somebody would change that.

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detroitmechworks's picture

So, now Saudi Arabia declares that somebody else has declared war on it, and the US backs the play at the UN, looking to start some shit with Iran.

Seriously, we have an unelected fucking KING deciding the US foreign policy, and we think that some state legislator seats are gonna change things?

Of course, this is just going to drag Russia into the conflict, since the Saudi's want their regional dominance...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-JA1ffd5Ms]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

joe shikspack's picture

@detroitmechworks

i sure hope that this war fails to launch, because this could be a bad one.

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divineorder's picture

@detroitmechworks

and STF up! (I know you didn’t say that DMW, but CorpaDems did.)

We can’t let winning at the state level distract us from our narrative that the future is absolutely hopelessly incontrovertibly set in stone, and no action can change it if there is any intersection with the Democratic Party name. Litmus test is that needs be a real revolution, or at least a new third party?

Especially lets not take note of efforts starting at a local level with the end goal to effect global outcomes? End endless war. Climate change. They are too big to fail!

Sure took the abolitionists decades to change things but we don’t have that long. And slavery is back!

Winning at the state or local level is important? That’s hippy talk. Sounds like the ole “Think globally, act locally.”

I mean, when we discovered that GOS was a neoliberal sheepdoging pen then no need to participate in electoral contests anymore until someone invents a functional third party, or carries out a revolution.

What good will it do to participate in anything outside those two choices? The end is near! I mean, what were they thinking?

Yeah yeah yeah, climate change impacts are snowballing and the federal bureaucracy and regulations that protect our liberty, health and welfare are being dismantled at a stunning pace. How can one fight disaster capitalists? Apparently no one can do it quick enough to give any hope of survival so why give them any positive attention?

Now that we know for certain that the Dem Leadership is hopelessly prone to be neo-con and neo liberal, an integral part of the Deep State that does not include us, it’s really best if all just curl up and party like it’s 1999!

Shih, mufuh, shih, I am all up with that! Beats just being frozen, depressed, and sitting around documenting the fail/ scolding anyone who has the gall to try to use the legal shell of the Democratic Party like that traitor Sanders did.

Democratic Socialists, see, it has the word Democratic in it so its probably no different . Or all those folks are being played by gaslighters.

Most of them Dem Socialists are all youngs, anyway, getting involved as socialists in electoral politics, some for the first time. What the hell do they know? Sure, DSA doubled the number holding office but still not anything but a ripple in the ocean, a butterfly flapping its wings in China. What real effect can they have.

Greens, who I voted for in the last two presidential contests aren’t making as much progress, what makes the Democratic Socialists think that they can?

Okay, some think that well at least we can take a break from the doom and gloom which most surely faces us and clap for some folks who are sticking it to the duopoly and showing candidates who run with socialist attached to their campaign can win, even though it is at such low level.

###

Pardon me for being silly, I too am disgusted by the new war actions, I just couldn’t help it, my hopelessly impractical idealistic side took over ! Smile

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

detroitmechworks's picture

@divineorder I admit I am absolutely a complete cynic who isn't offering publicly any way forward.

I ain't a Dem though, so I reserve the right to see them as just as bad, if not worse than the Rethugs. After all, which is worse, the vial of poison marked "Poison", or the vial of poison marked "Totally Not Poison"?

I guess I've just played this game with the MSM one too many times, and I know exactly what the next move is going to be to be. I'd honestly rather be happy than right any day.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKUgqq-xOxw]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Meteor Man's picture

Nice pick up on the Counterpunch article by Abamu Baraka, the Green Party nominee for V.P., re Russiagate and black self determination:

It is not Russians shooting down our people in the streets; transferring our children from juvenile to adult courts in record numbers; infiltrating our organizations; suppressing our votes; closing down schools and hospitals in our communities, poisoning the water and land in our communities; raising our rents and taxes and displacing us out of the cities; or militarizing the police through the 1033 program.

I recall having that exact conversation with you a day or two ago. The American government is a way bigger threat to Americans than Russia.

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

joe shikspack's picture

@Meteor Man

i'm glad that ajamu baraka is reading our comments. Smile

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Meteor Man's picture

@joe shikspack @joe shikspack
For my money c99% is the best site on the internet for news and blues.

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

Azazello's picture

Caitlin Johnstone was a good read, as usual. Did she say Olbermann was a "flag-swaddled screaming nutcase" ?
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAFxPXGDH4E width:400 height:240]
Here's a good piece on the Big Tech Show Trial:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpNaaLGsVLQ width:400 height:240]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

thanatokephaloides's picture

@Azazello

Caitlin Johnstone was a good read, as usual. Did she say Olbermann was a "flag-swaddled screaming nutcase" ?

She sure did! That article can be found here.

The money passage:

Many American progressives remember Olbermann not as the flag-swaddled screaming nutcase that he has become today, but as a stable voice of sanity that they clung to like a life raft during the frenzied psychosis of the Bush years.

As usual, Madame Johnstone smacks it out of the park!

Smile

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

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Azazello's picture

@thanatokephaloides
I knew she said that because I read it above. The vid I posted is an example.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Meteor Man's picture

@thanatokephaloides

"Resistance” hero and lead Russiagate cheerleader Keith Olbermann was recently featured on The View, wherein he sincerely and unironically stated that John McCain is his favorite politician, that he wants Mike Pence to be president, and that he feels he owes George W Bush an apology for how oppositional he was during his administration.

Now that's a straight up sell out. Is he auditioning to get a show on Faux News?

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

shaharazade's picture

@Azazello that I thought KO was such a straight up news guy. Well hell everything is off the table as far as politics go. They all suck. Strange days Moma! Which explains why I have absolutely no interest in politics as it is practiced these days. Holy moly Joe! Been a long time since I posted here but good to see The Evening Blues has not lost it's bite. Thanks for this depressing round up of the news. i heard the Dem. Socialist's did some damage yesterday to the local and state status quo. Hope this is a sign of things to come electorally.

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joe shikspack's picture

@shaharazade

great to see you here!

the transformation of k.o. is just amazing. i mean, in one sense, he is still a frothing commentator, but now what he is frothing about is just ludicrous nonsense.

just like we found out that the partisan support for the antiwar movement was solely based upon partisan goals, we've found that k.o. is a partisan creature who froths for partisan gain, not necessarily to do the right thing.

i was glad to see that some decent candidates managed to get elected at the state and local level. i hope that the trend continues and achieves liftoff before the inevitable pendulum-swing backlash.

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mimi's picture

@joe shikspack @joe shikspack @joe shikspack (edit grammar mistake)
a brainwashed nutcase? Who did what to him and how?

He seems to me to be an example of a person who represents a nationwide mass psychosis induced by something I don't understand. To me a huge part of the US population is reacting like they are under some kind of mental hypnosis. Johnstowne-like.

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joe shikspack's picture

@mimi

heh, i think that k.o. has always been a frothing nutcase, it's just that we didn't realize it at first because when we were first exposed to him, he was frothing about something that was indeed awful (bush's many war criminal acts) - we just didn't realize that his anger was based on the party of the person he was frothing about rather than the actions. now we know better.

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joe shikspack's picture

@Azazello

heh, yep, i think that it's a totally fair description of the creature that keith olbermann has devolved into.

heh, say, did yasha levine call the congressional big tech hearings a "soviet show trial?" Smile

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Azazello's picture

@joe shikspack
although the ghosts of Kamenev and Zinoviev might think he overstated it.
Still, he's got a point.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

enhydra lutris's picture

heard that before, from the same exact source. It goes hand-in-hand with "we have to look forward and not back". What it means is that the high and mighty shall be immune from punishment, and pre-emptively so, so that they need not worry, but can go about their business as usual as usual. No CIA operative will be punished if they can allege, with an almost straight face, that they thought they were following orders - that's another one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

thanatokephaloides's picture

@enhydra lutris

Impeachment is off the table. We've all heard that before, from the same exact source. It goes hand-in-hand with "we have to look forward and not back". What it means is that the high and mighty shall be immune from punishment, and pre-emptively so, so that they need not worry, but can go about their business as usual as usual.

It appears Tom Steyer would disagree:

[video:https://youtu.be/0q-TDcfpwKo]

I've actually seen this commercial on TV, so he's already making ad buys for it.

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

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Meteor Man's picture

@thanatokephaloides
Not sure what to think about Steyer yet. On impeachment, would President Pence be an improvement? Or if Pence gets sucked up in the Russiagate vortex, how about President Ryan?

I dunno. Not really excited about impeachment, but if Pelosi is against it, I'm for it.

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

joe shikspack's picture

@thanatokephaloides

that ad campaign is going over like a fart in church with the usual (elected) suspects.

Pelosi played it off, but privately she was peeved. She told lawmakers at a Democratic leadership meeting soon after that she had reached out to the Democratic megadonor to tell him that his $10 million ad campaign is a distraction. (A source close to Steyer said he hasn’t spoken with Pelosi since the ad launched.) ...

Meanwhile, even as the Russia probe heats up, Democratic leaders have been working behind the scenes to quell any chatter about impeachment. ... Democratic leaders pressured Rep. Al Green to relent on forcing a vote on impeaching Trump after the Texas Democrat reignited the issue on the House floor recently. Hoyer was seen having a long, intense chat with Green just off the House floor during the debate.

And then there’s Steyer’s ad, and many House Democrats agree with Pelosi on that.

“I certainly don’t think that that’s a helpful effort,” Khanna said of the ad.

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Meteor Man's picture

@joe shikspack
He can spend $10 million more by giving $200k to 50 progressive internet sites. Is there any progressive site that doesn't have to ask for donations to stay open?

Or for a little more dough, he could buy out a Media Company and create a genuine left wing news site.

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

joe shikspack's picture

@enhydra lutris

yep, that nancy pelosi is still doing the 1%'s work. i guess it's not terribly surprising, given what we've seen about the corrupt way that the democrats operate that pelosi continues to fend off primary challenges and get elected in an allegedly "very liberal" district.

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divineorder's picture

RE: the new constitutional crises over War Powers Act, and the bombing of civilians in Afghanistan.

Year after year, R or D, US killing civilians in the ME is something I keep having thoughts that I should be doing more to stop , but I am either too chicken or clueless about what can be done.

Heh.

....

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

joe shikspack's picture

@divineorder

yeah, i know what you mean about not knowing what to do. i've tried a lot of things (many of them repeatedly) as have many many other people and i keep getting the feeling that we have to try something else.

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Thanks as usual for all the news. Wear my “Keep the Frack out of Chaco” t-shirt all the time to get a conversation started on what is happening there. Working with WildEarth Guardians on trying to preserve this special place.

Have entered a comment to the National Park Service about raising the fee in the National Parks. There is a bipartisan bill to set up a dedicated maintainance fund for repairs needed in the park. Spent six days in Zion in October and it was crowded but did manage to get a dry campsite in the park and then walked,rode the shuttle and biked around Zion while we were there. Something will have to give but not sure what solution will be best but do know the town of Springdale is not happy about all of the parking in their town by people going into the park but not spending any money in their town. Would hate to see a reservation system for the hikes etc. On our trips to Kruger National Park in South Africa you now have to have a reservation for a campsite or lodging or you must leave the park by closing time of 5:30 or 6:00 pm depending on the time of year.

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Life is what you make it, so make it something worthwhile.

This ain't no dress rehearsal!

joe shikspack's picture

@jakkalbessie

thanks for all you do to preserve chaco canyon from the forces of corporate capitalism that can't keep its hands off of anything that can be converted into profits.

There is a bipartisan bill to set up a dedicated maintainance fund for repairs needed in the park.

i haven't been keeping up with the legislation, but iirc trump is trying to take a bigger chunk out of the nps budget than the rise in fees would cover. also, i think i read that some major part of the deferred maintenance is to hotels and concession properties which might more appropriately be charged to the contractor/vendors that make money off of these things.

the town of Springdale is not happy about all of the parking in their town by people going into the park but not spending any money in their town.

heh, my impression of the town of springdale was that it was an enormous tourist trap and that the prices that businesses were charging were far beyond a premium due to costs of shipping stuff to a remote location.

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I'm glad to hear Brown University found out what happened to my money. So they say I spent it on "conflicts". Hmm, I'm not one for too much "conflict". It's not something I want to spend money on. I guess everybody else spent their money on the same thing though. That's a chunk of change. Several trillion or so. Wow, just think what we could buy with that money instead of "conflict".

If Caitlin Johnstone said that "Trump is being used on Democrats exactly the way 9/11 was used on Republicans", then she just summarized the entire eleven months of "news" from the corporate media. Every single day for eleven months that has been the message.

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joe shikspack's picture

@randtntx

yeah, sometimes when the rethugs go off about how government spends your tax dollars like a drunken sailor, they aren't wrong, it's just that they (and the democrats, too) don't seem to understand where the waste, fraud and abuse is.

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@joe shikspack I suppose it's a relative thing. What is waste, fraud, and abuse for some, is income for others.
I do think though that this analysis by Brown clearly shows where the waste and abuse is.

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

I found that my first impression from some of the reporting was incorrect, in that DSA is not a political party. It's a nonprofit organization with ties to the Democratic Party. (Just in case others, like me, didn't realize this.)

Which is not to say that many, or all, of the DSA candidates won't be a positive addition to their respective offices. I'd much rather see folks like them elected, than a bunch of Ralph Northams!

Wink

From Wikipedia,

The DSA does not run its own candidates in elections, but instead "fights for reforms... that will weaken the power of corporations and increase the power of working people". These reforms include decreasing the influence of money in politics, empowering ordinary people in workplaces and within the economy, and restructuring gender and cultural relationships to be more equitable.[22] The organization has at times endorsed electoral candidates, notably including Walter Mondale, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Nader (informally), John Kerry, Bernie Sanders, and Barack Obama.

and,

The DSA's leadership believes working within the Democratic Party is necessary because of the nature of the American political system, which rarely gives third parties a chance politically.

and,

Democratic Socialists of America is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization.

Again, here's a handful of 'numbers' statistics from my nifty little desk calendar.

What is the number of different ways there are to make change for a dollar?

Answer: 293

and,

What's the approximate number of phone calls the average person makes each year?

Answer: 1,140

Seems awful low to me! Wink

and,

If one's been struck by lightening, what are the chances of being struck a second time?

Answer: 100,000 time more likely

and,

What's the 'percentage' of typing that a person does with their left hand?

Answer: 56 percent

and,

What number of Mothers and Daughters have been nominated for Oscars in the same year?

Answer: 1
Diane Ladd and her daughter, Laura Dern, for Rambling Rose
(1991)

Hey, Everyone have a nice evening!

Bye

Mollie


“I believe in the redemptive powers of a dog’s love. It is in recognition of each dog’s potential to lift the human spirit, and therefore, to change society for the better, that I fight to make sure every street dog has its day.”
--Stasha Wong, Secretary, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)

SOSD - A volunteer-run organisation dedicated to the welfare of Singapore’s street dogs. We rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome strays to give them a second chance.

SOSD Rescue 'Barabas The Brave'

Barabas The Brave -- Photo 1.png

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

joe shikspack's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

yep, it's probably time for the dsa to grow up and form its own party given the manifest corruption of the democratic party at the upper levels.

wow, over 1000 calls a year? it'd be a banner year if i made 200 calls.

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Unabashed Liberal's picture

@joe shikspack

could probably say the same. (Business calls, aside.) He'd rather take a beating, than talk on the phone.

Guess there's several mitigating factors for me--much of our family is at a distance from us, so I often contact them via phone. Still involved in Probate proceedings. And, Mr M delegates most routine business matters to me. Which I suppose is fair, since I'm fully retired, and he's not!

Wink

OTOH, I much prefer texting friends to arrange a get-together, rather than gabbing with them on the phone.

Mollie


“I believe in the redemptive powers of a dog’s love. It is in recognition of each dog’s potential to lift the human spirit, and therefore, to change society for the better, that I fight to make sure every street dog has its day.”
--Stasha Wong, Secretary, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Meteor Man's picture

Hat tip to Naked Capitalism links section:

Facebook asks users for nude photos in project to combat revenge porn

Not the Onion:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/07/facebook-revenge-porn...

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

detroitmechworks's picture

@Meteor Man The Metadata/Personal Tracking issues that this potentially represents... or the fact that somebody got this idea through marketing AFTER the Equifax hack.

I am suddenly incredibly glad that I don't do Facebook.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Meteor Man's picture

@detroitmechworks
Somebody actually gets paid for coming up with ideas like this.

I tried Facebook for a month or two. Now I mark their notifications as spam. Never have twittered and never will. I learned my lesson.

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

mimi's picture

I lose hope, if it doesn't happen. I have already given up and I hate it. Hope dies last and I don't want to die.


We can do it -il_fullxfull.1180210118_85qs.jpg
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