MSM IS NOT Going to Change

However, it may take independent outlets with it along the road to denial.

An article in the Dec. 13 The Atlantic proves that the MSM intend to bury any Bernie Sanders' coverage once again. The piece discuses the passage of the the bill whose key sponsor was Bernie Sanders without once mentioning him. In fact, it goes so far as to misidentify his party:

Congressional worries have only grown since February, when two Democrats and one Republican first introduced the just-passed resolution, which initially went nowhere.

Other MSM followed suit. Even Democracy Now! ignores the role Sanders has played in the passage of this bill (SJ Res. 54--The Yemen War Powers Act) while declaring its historical significance:

I'm Amy Goodman. In an historic vote the US Senate has passed a resolution calling for an end to US military and financial support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen this represents the first time in US history the Senate's voted to withdraw military forces from an unauthorized war using the War Powers Resolution. The measure passed 56 to 41. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut co-sponsored the bill, "I think today is a watershed moment for Congress. We are reasserting our responsibility to be a co-equal branch with the executive in foreign policy making. It's a role that Congress has abdicated for decades and what we showed in this vote today is that Republicans and Democrats are ready to get back in the business of working with a president and sometimes against the President to set the foreign policy of this nation." [emphasis added]

Sanders originally introduced this bill in May, and it went nowhere until the murder of Khashoggi. Sanders' involvement with this bill is well known given the many independent news media (including MintPress) who decried the bill as having a perceived loophole. Not one of those articles from independent media (MSM was pretty silent) discussed the implications of the bill itself: that of curbing the executive branch in pursuing illegal wars and that this bill sets a precedent.

At least NPR gets it right:Senate Votes To End U.S. Support For War In Yemen, Rebuking Trump And Saudi Arabia

The Senate voted with support from lawmakers in both parties Thursday to end U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen. The 56-41 vote marks the first time the Senate utilized powers granted under the 1973 War Powers Act, which gives Congress the power to demand an end to military actions.[emphasis added]
...
"Today we tell the despotic regime in Saudi Arabia that we will not be part of their military adventurism," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a key sponsor of the resolution, said shortly before the final vote.

The denunciation or ignoring of Sanders is now not only happening in the MSM but the independent news media (you know, the ones we have come to rely on for "truth."). Another good example of this is Sanders' push for Amazon to increase its wages to $15. There was some mention in the MSM, once again often not mentioning Sanders. However, the independents went crazy with stories about Bezos' reductions in benefits being the direct result of Sanders' victory. The blame for Bezos' actions were placed on Sanders not where they belonged. Independents didn't even bother to address key questions: Just how many of the employees were effected by Bezos' changes? or How many workers were best served by the raise versus those who lost the extra benefits? or Are bonuses (e.g. stock and other perks) taxed the same as wages, and how does that effect the actual worth of the bonuses versus the raise?

Why is this particularly important? Do you remember the cheer that went up when Alex Jones was removed from Facebook? It was swiftly followed by the removal of many left-wing accounts and pages. If you are not concerned about Sanders being ignored or maligned, will you be when it happens to the candidate you prefer? Will you allow voters to be shepherded once again to the corporate choice for 2020?

"First they came for the trade unionists..."

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SnappleBC's picture

Why would I be?

I take it as an absolute given. Look, the populist wave is rising globally and it's trying to find some sort of structure even here in the belly of the beast. "We the People" are going to fight against the oligarchs better in 2020 than we did in 2018 and than we did in 2016. That means the oligarchs are going to need to pull even more dirty tricks.

My hope for 2020 is not that we get a populist elected. Rather, I just hope to make them show their corrupt, dirty hands more. Anything else is wishful thinking. The plutocrats will nominate one of their chosen, Beto, Hillary, Kamala, etc. etc. We will be fighting not just a mountain of money but also a system which is systemically corrupt. In fact, isn't it that systemic corruption which we are fighting against? If so, then it's imprudent not to expect the corruption to fight back.

I don't know about you, but I frequent a lot of alt-left (and some alt-right) sites. I see Bernie's name come up in positive terms pretty regularly. He's hardly being hidden.

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

WindDancer13's picture

@SnappleBC

That means the oligarchs are going to need to pull even more dirty tricks.

They just need to refine the ones they are already using. "Remember the Maine" (1898) is the same tactic being used now, "Russia!" (1948-present)

The current news cycles are showing the demonstrations in France. How many of those news stories only show footage when some violent action is being taken? How are the protesters being depicted? How are the many, many stories about France drowning out any kind of resistance here in the US? Where are the stories being sandwiched in during a news hour? (Are they inserted in between other stories that grab more of the average citizen's attention e.g., Trump's legal woes or Trump's latest misspelled tweet? and so easily passed over.)

News placement is very important as are the words used and the images shown. (I learned this while earning a degree in journalism.) The same holds true in "printed" media as it does in broadcast news. MSM is now owned by only six corporations (Thanks, Clinton!) with one objective: profit. However, independent media also has an agenda and survival is a big part of it.

If there is no analysis, is there understanding of the issues? How much of the general population do you think sit down and think things out? Most people already inherently understand that "something" is wrong with the system even if they cannot quite name it. That is why you get so many blaming their problems on the "other."

Alt-left/right does not reach the vast majority of people. And many of those who do read them, still do not pay attention to just how things are actually being portrayed.

I picked Bernie Sanders as an example of how the media of any kind is still abusing us (those looking for facts with which to make decisions). Many people are aware of how the media treated Sanders in 2016, but do not stop to think about how all media treat other subjects with less than honest reporting. His coverage is only a part of the larger picture.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

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If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Wink's picture

@WindDancer13

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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.

Hawkfish's picture

@Wink

Sound is a perception, so it requires a listener!

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

Wink's picture

@Hawkfish @Hawkfish

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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.

snoopydawg's picture

@WindDancer13

and of course people are believing it. You would think that after all the other false flags that people would stop for just a minute and think if they are being played again. But sadly they don't. Russia Gate is sucking so much oxygen from the country that people aren't paying attention to what congress is doing. Or any of the many other issues that are happening below the radar.

DK is so sure that once the democrats retake congress they will pass single payer even though Pelosi and others have said that they don't think it's a good idea at the time. Same thing with Trump being impeached. Pelosi has stated more than once that she is not interested in doing it.

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WindDancer13's picture

@snoopydawg

trying to get us to hide under our desks with our ears covered again. Have they never heard the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf?

I think the majority of regular citizens are mostly confused by several different stories being intertwined to the point of nonsense. I am not so sure that many believe any of it any more or have just tuned it out, and as you say, MSM is making sure that there is nothing else to hear no matter how important. (It is either Russia or Trump's tweets period...minds could starve to death on that diet.)

DK needs their collective head examined. Without the Senate, nothing is going to be passed. Does DK think the Senate will all of a sudden see the Light and sing Hallelujah in praise of MFA?

I too am not interested in impeaching Trump. It would be much more satisfying to vote him out. Impeachment rarely works anyway; it is just the leveling of charges. It does not remove someone from office. Impeaching Trump would give him the opportunity to say, "See what the big bad Democrats did to me" which would just encourage his followers, and probably insure his re-election. Nope. Just tabulate his crimes and let them hang over his head.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

snoopydawg's picture

@WindDancer13

DK needs their collective head examined. Without the Senate, nothing is going to be passed

This seems to be very convenient that even though democrats won the house they still can't get anything done because the GOP has the senate which now can appoint every one of Trump's right wing justices. They knew that a few of them were not qualified to judge a beauty pageant because of their experiences or their racist views but they want this country to be more insane than it is already. This is very devastating for everyone because the justices can override congress.

I just read how Rand Paul's has a block on a bill that gives money to Israel. One person still can bring congress to a halt, but when's the last time democrats used that option? Just one democrat could have stopped voting for the justices, but instead Schumer let McConnell fast track more than 15. Some Resistance, huh?

If Trump is going to be impeached then he should be for the emoluments clause not this Russian BS. His businesses are making tons of money while he's in office. But then so did Hillary when she was SOS. I think that if people who commit blatant crimes get away with it then it should set a president for others in our justice system don't you? Epstein got away with 14 counts of statutory rape. Banks got away with financial fraud and crimes, but people who do less than the bigwigs do go to prison. Oops. A tangent.

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WindDancer13's picture

@snoopydawg

and seating justices The main one is that seating justices is not a bill and, therefore, does not fall under the same set of rules.

Some of those justices were appointed against the recommendation from the American Bar Association. That is a clear indication of how bad they are. They can, however, be removed once cause is established.

The Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee would not have been able to stop the appointments. They don't have the votes to do so. They may have just decided to pick their fights, and passed on one they knew they cannot win.

Blocking a bill: It is a matter of time. If a bill is blocked, hours and hours of debate can ensue along with objections and other time-delaying tactics and a vote of the full Senate/House is required. If there is a possibility of a bill not passing with a full vote, then the hold or block is effective. The Democrats again need to pick their fights; if blocking a vote only delays the inevitable, then choose a different battlefield.

This article explains the many ways a bill can be delayed: Ten Ways to Bring the Senate to Its Knees

Delaying indictments until Trump is out of office is preferable to an impeachment. Kavanaugh was seated for a reason.

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If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

@WindDancer13 With Pence the Pious waiting in the wings, if it looks like Trump can't be elected the r's will dump him themselves. If the d's have any sense, they'll quietly open investigations into everything and not let any info leak, at least until the election.
As for that other place, just think of it like any other three letter biased news outlet, think KOS News.

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WindDancer13's picture

@Snode

You cannot use Democrats and sense in the same sentence. = )

I suspect that Pence was chosen for the exact purpose of making people think 10 times over about impeaching Trump. I also suspect that the Reps are going to try very hard to primary Trump. The problem is who do they have?

It always irritates me when I see any news outlet or any supposedly left-wing source use DK as any kind of authority on anything. I think it is MoveOn that regularly includes them as an example of progressive thought.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

SnappleBC's picture

@WindDancer13

It's just this is the battle we KNEW we were going to fight. "The revolution will not be televised". The challenge before us is to figure out how to fight that censorship. For me:

Minds.com as a facebook replacement.
Brave as a browser replacement.

I'm also careful to curate my own news lists (feedly) and I'm exploring tor and what political sites might be available there... or whether I should host one. In other words, I'm moving myself to a more censorship proof platform and in the process, helping those sites that I frequent by not losing site of them via google or facebook shenanigans.

Insofar as everyone else, I've long since determined that those stuck in the matrix cannot be freed. They have to come to question their reality on their own. Nobody who watches Rachel Maddow is going to be convinced by any argument they read here. But over time, as I did, they might come to notice some fairly large cracks in the wall and start asking questions. We (collectively) just need to be available when that happens.

The internet treats censorship like it does any other damage and flows around it. I don't think they are going to win... not until effective quantum computing makes consumer class cryptography a lost cause.

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

WindDancer13's picture

@SnappleBC

sentient being.

I highly recommend Wordpress.org (not dot com). You can set up a web site for free and they have a lot of pre-defined page designs that let you fairly easily set up pages. You can post things there to make the information redundant (so it doesn't get lost) and have a soapbox of your own that evades the censorship showing up on corporate sites like FB. So while other places are burning books, you will have a repository of those items that others can access.

I am planning on setting up a Minds acct soon and recently switched to Duck Duck Go for my searches based on a recommendation from someone here.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

snoopydawg's picture

that he was running and his boss told him that he was not going to be covering it. Instead he was supposed to show the Empty Podium where Trump would be speaking in an hour or so. The whole damn main stream media was told not to focus on Bernie and most of them did not.

Then of course there was Hillary's pied piper strategy that had them covering the weakest GOP candidates so that she would have a chance to win. This is why Trump got $2 billion of free advertising during the election. Oops. Looks like that backfired just a bit.

Jones was the test case in my opinion. And people stupidly reacted to his banning just like the PTB thought they would. Then the next person or website was banned and then Twitter deleted hundreds of thousands of people and that seemed to have slipped through the cracks.

The Yemen bill has a hole big enough to drive a tank through. All the military has to say is that Al Qaida is threatening some place and that's that. Then there's that fact that none of the countries that the military is in has been approved by congress. Bases are being built in Syria and Africa that we know about, but how many other countries are also seeing the USA building them in their countries? When will this be addressed?

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WindDancer13's picture

@snoopydawg @snoopydawg

in 16 hours. It has already started (along with the not mentioning his name). What disturbs me is independent media following along. Sure he is not perfect, but he DOES have the best chance of beating Trump than any other possible candidate. He has actually accomplished things in the last two years while the rest of the Senate/House sat on their thumbs.

As for the Yemen bill, again, people (mostly in the independent press) are ignoring what it DOES do and focusing on a false flag.

See Click to copyhttps://apnews.com/f38788a561d74ca78c77cb43612d50da RELATED TOPICS Al-Qaida AP Top News Saudi Arabia International News Middle East United States AP Investigation: US allies, al-Qaida battle rebels in Yemen

ATAQ, Yemen (AP) — Again and again over the past two years, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and backed by the United States has claimed it won decisive victories that drove al-Qaida militants from their strongholds across Yemen and shattered their ability to attack the West.

Here’s what the victors did not disclose: many of their conquests came without firing a shot.

That’s because the coalition cut secret deals with al-Qaida fighters, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. Hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself. [emphasis added]

The US politicians and military are very well aware of this fact.

“Elements of the U.S. military are clearly aware that much of what the U.S. is doing in Yemen is aiding AQAP and there is much angst about that,” said Michael Horton, a fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, a U.S. analysis group that tracks terrorism.

“However, supporting the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against what the U.S. views as Iranian expansionism takes priority over battling AQAP and even stabilizing Yemen,” Horton said.

The article printed in August 2018 is very long so maybe the people yelling loophole just skipped it, but this one published in September is much shorter:
17 Years After 9/11, US Counts Al Qaeda Among Allies in Syria, Yemen

Despite the U.S. having launched the war in Afghanistan, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the years-long “War on Terror” as a means of allegedly countering Al Qaeda and its affiliates, the past year has revealed several instances in which Washington has been making “deals” with, protecting, and even (indirectly but knowingly) arming Al Qaeda operatives in countries like Yemen and Syria. The about-face has come as the U.S.’ interest in “counter-terrorism” throughout the Middle East has been superseded by regime-change policies targeting countries like Yemen, Syria and Iran.

Side Note: Does anyone remember that 15 of the 19 terrorists of 9/11 were Saudi citizens?

Now, about that loophole . . .

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If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

snoopydawg's picture

@WindDancer13

Ahh yes the paying terrorists to not fight. Or paying, arming and training them to overthrow whomever we want them to. Kerry admitted that during Obama's tenure they sat back and watched as ISIS got bigger. Hillary's state department worked alongside the CIA and gave them weapons from the Benghazi embassy including chemical weapons.

McCain was photographed with leaders of AQ and ISIS and was in Ukraine during the Maiden square massacre. This is the very definition of treason and yet ... but then no one high up has ever gone to prison for war crimes including torture.

IMG_2909.JPG

Yep. Our allies the house of Saud and Israel and probably the U.K. were all involved with the attacks on the towers. Bush kept that fact that the Saudis helped the terrorists while they were living here by keeping the 28 pages out of the 9/11 report. But then Bush got away with murdering JFK so there's that. And yet people still believe that Saddam had WMDs and met with members of AQ.

Big, big tank right?

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WindDancer13's picture

@snoopydawg

I keep thinking about the ever increasing money to the Pentagon and how it could be perceived as a bribe. We really do not know who is on the chessboard much less their position on it.

Bush also rushed a number of high ranking Saudis out of the country during the aftermath of the buildings collapsing.

Once again, I recommend the book the Captains and the Kings by Taylor Caldwell. Most reviewers miss the point and think of it as a tribute to fortitude. Some reviewers (at Amazon) at least touch on what was the main impact of the book on my thinking of how the US/world is being run now:

Unfortunately, CAK also revolves around the doings of an international conspiracy which the author claims has been running the world for at least 200 years. This conspiracy is not of the anti-Semitic canard variety; indeed Jews are rarely mentioned in this book and then sympathetically, and is leaders here are mainly Protestant Americans, some named.

She wrote this wonderful novel, to show the young people of America (and the world) how the government, political, and business systems run the world. If you step back from the planet and view it all objectively you can see that it's filled with truth's. I highly recommend this novel. (fiction)

She's a great story teller. Her characters are always fully dimensional, never a stereotype. She is a wordsmith par excellence. This book may instill a very healthy cynicism toward politicians and all those who claim to know what's best for the rest of us and can use their power, position or money to bully, intimidate, pander and appease. This is a great read, very long with much detail and descriptive prose. The story never gets off track but it does go into great detail on subjects that many readers will be wholly unfamiliar with and so will be forced to wrestle with moral and spiritual issues that may not be comfortable or comforting. This is not a light romp. However, it's guaranteed to enrich and expand your mind and vocabulary.

I would also recommend another read of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. While many of her premises are wrong and subsequently her conclusions are also, many of the effects are the same as what we are seeing in the US today. The thing that most stuck with me was the crumbling of infrastructure with tunnels and such collapsing. This book CAN be read and UNDERSTOOD without the bleating of those who ignore the many underlying messages that do not fit their (or even Rand's) philosophy.

While I do not agree with everything the author says or implies, he makes some good points regarding the novel.

The book is an extended lesson in what happens when we focus only on what we see.
...
The most interesting moral question occurring to me as I read it concerns the unintended consequences of supposedly good intentions. The idea that we should serve one another and that we should practice love and charity is appealing (as a Christian, I think them obligatory), but these principles are often applied in an almost strictly superficial sense.

I know the reading recommendations seem a bit off the topic of your post, but they are meant to give a better understanding of what we are up against regarding the issues you mention. Understanding the underlying problems will help in resolving the problems we face.

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ggersh's picture

@WindDancer13

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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

WindDancer13's picture

@ggersh

Although it does miss the insidious creep of the same type of thinking emerging in independent media.

I think, in your signature, it should be "The US markets will be closed tomorrow to avoid tanking in honor of GHWB."

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If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

ggersh's picture

@WindDancer13

I think, in your signature, it should be "The US markets will be closed tomorrow to avoid tanking in honor of GHWB."
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I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Dragonkat's picture

One person's false flag is another person's sheepdog.

Or in the spirit of having been to hamilton yesterday, I'm not in a mood to mince words. (then again when am I ever?)

Stop with the apologist bullcrap for a sellout sheepdog that doesn't deserve it.

Why shouldn't we be talking about a "loophole" you can drive a few more bombed out buses of civilians through?

Explain to me what is historically significant about the fact we just passed a bill that says get all troops out, oh except for those troops over here combating the flimsy justification we've been using since day one.

I.E. get the troops fighting terrorists out, oh except for the troops fighting terrorism, we need them to keep fighting "terrorism"

It's the military equivalent of blaming every problem on Russia. Call every ongoing military operation anti terror regardless of what it might actually be without solving the core problems in the rotten system. And getting to keep on doing exactly what you were doing while the left gets to claim a "win"

Total Smoke and mirrors sheepdogging just like the the Amazon deal, which as WSWS rightfully points out. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/10/04/pers-o04.html

Sanders’ role in the confrontation with Amazon was heavily staged from the outset. By first presenting himself as a critic of Amazon, Sanders has served as a political lightning rod, attracting social opposition, harnessing it within the framework of the political establishment, and dissipating it so that it would not impact corporate profits or derail the rising stock market.

Bezos bought the smiles of Sanders and the praise of the entire political establishment on the cheap. The raise will cost him a paltry $1-2 billion in the short term, roughly equal to what he brings home each week. Workers outside the US and UK will not receive pay increases.

Bloomberg Business said the cost represents 0.001 percent of Amazon’s market capitalization. Most of cost of the raise is paid for by the estimated $789 million Amazon received as a result of this year’s tax cuts. Amazon paid $0 in taxes in 2017.

Democrats and Republicans are pleased because the move will also save the government money by reducing workers’ reliance on social services. This was the explicit purpose of Bernie Sanders’ “Stop BEZOS Act,” which would have taxed Amazon for the cost of public services used by the company’s employees.

But studies show that when wages are raised from the $10–13 range to $15 per hour, workers end up with incomes that are too high to qualify for social programs.

Curtis Skinner of the National Center for Children in Poverty estimates that a raise to $15 an hour could end up costing a parent over $10,000 a year. According to the Center for Community Solutions, an Ohio worker who receives a raise from $11.50 to $15 actually makes $29 less each month as a result of losing eligibility for food stamps, housing subsidies and Medicaid. Such is the absurdity of American capitalism.

Amazon’s action is above all a political exposure of the role of Sanders and the many pseudo-left organizations and trade unions that operate in and around the Democratic Party. Bezos has realized their central economic demand, “Fight for $15.” The fact that the world’s richest man has done so as part of a calculated business strategy that will do nothing to alleviate the poverty-level conditions of Amazon workers says all that needs to be said about the real content of this supposed major reform.

For perspective. It's estimated that Jeff Bezos makes $4,474,885 an hour. Calculated by his net worth growth 2017-2018, divided by hours in a year?

It would take 298,325 amazon employees at $15 an hour to equal that amount.

This bill is a total smoke and mirrors fraud, same as the $15 scam. But if you'd like to ask how people are affected, why not get it right from them?

https://www.facebook.com/wsws.org/videos/544444469336698/

But yes, lets be glad Senator Sheepdog and Sheepdog 2.0 in the form of AOC licking Nancy "most progessive" Pelosi's boots are "fighting" for us (when they aren't busy cribbing the Green party positions) And telling us we put an end to war YAY!

Except for terrorists and "other associated forces" to quote the direct text.

So yes a loophole by any other name is still a god damn loophole.

To quote Teodrose Fikre from Ghion Journal talking about AOC though it equally applies here.
https://ghionjournal.com/sheepdog-of-the-establishment

At what point will we stop falling for this ongoing hoodwink? Personalities keep being foisted upon us in order to distract us from the systemic rot of our governance. Alas, we are so addicted to the cult of personality that we have become that we keep latching on to the freshest faces while disregarding the bigger picture. In all honesty, we are medicating ourselves with politics while outsourcing the solutions to what ails our society to people who are benefiting from the sickness. The only way we can make a fundamental difference in this world is if we change our perspective of success and believe in collective wellness as much as we honor individual achievements. Until then, we will keep getting charlatans who pretend to know our plight while they use our struggle to attain for themselves.

Tribalism enriches the chiefs and impoverishes the tribe::

Replace personalities above with this flimsy anti war bill that does nothing to stop the military campaigns and you have the exact same question. How many times do we put faith in the system when the system is the problem? Which is the part the above comments do get right. We should be talking about our funding of terrorists groups, but let's walk and chew gum at the same time and stop being dishonest about our sides involvement in it! And let's rightfully call out our side without trying to dismiss it because it's someone we like.

So what did Hamilton think about being fired?
John Adams you MOTHER*$#&@*!&@

Couldn't resist that one sorry. Probably the best line of the whole production right there.

Either way I for one have had enough of this duplicity from our so called saviors. Long as they are part of either corrupt party they remain part of the problem.

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See, their morals, their code... it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be.

-The Joker-

WindDancer13's picture

@Dragonkat

please extrapolate on what you or those you support would have done different and how the results would be better.

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Dragonkat's picture

@WindDancer13

Like yours? I could buy my own Democrat.

The funny part is you're not the first person to blow past the entire argument, the facts calling out the person they want to defend, the entire premise clearly laid out, and try to go what's your plan?

In fact you're about the 5th or 6th I've seen do so when posting my opinion of Bernie and the dems elsewhere, it's getting rather tiresome.

So no, I'm not playing this game and making another argument for you to ignore, I'm going to suggest you go read OPOL's newest piece on this, and I'm going to restate the premise for you since it seems to be needed. And my motivation.

If you are a Democrat, you are my enemy.

If you work with the Democrats you are my enemy. Collaborators deserve the same fate as the corporate masters they support, no free passes. (AOC)

If you claim to be fighting for the people but then pass a deal that does nothing for those people because the mega millionaire is barely impacted by it if at all, and loopholes his way out by screwing employees then you haven't done shit to help anyone.

If you pass a resolution that says we have to pull out troops from a conflict except for the troops there fighting for the conflicts original reason, with a poorly worded addition of "associated forces" giving you carte blanche to keep on taking military action against anyone we deem a "terrorist" then you have done shit to stop the bombing.

I don't want the Democrats reformed, I don't want to work with them, I want to see them burn. I want them undermined, sabotaged, and destroyed at every turn, and that applies to anyone who works with them. Because I have zero faith they work for us anymore, and we have 12 years before we as a species are fucked. So we don't have time to play these games and try to do so, much less try to justify the actions of those who work with them regardless of their past.

So original question stands. How does this do anything to stop us from bombing the hell out of Yemen? Senator Vreenak, your opinion?

Look don't get me wrong, unlike what you think or the words you wish to put in my mouth about Bernie you wouldn't have found a more vocal defender of him during the primaries. As I (foolishly) believed that he would be the one to finally set the dems straight, he could return them to the party of the people, he could bring in the disaffected and keep them involved for generations to come.

Yeah remind me again how that went? Here's the problem, talk is cheap. Bernie talked a good game, and Bernie over his career may have tried to do good. BUT when push came to shove, when it came down to actually fighting for the cause. When it came to having the courage to back his convictions he caved.

Him standing beside Hillary, him backing the bullshit of Russiagate, him passing fauxgressive crap like this and calling it a win. It's a betrayal that i can not and more to the point WILL. NOT. forgive ever. He's made his bed and showed where his real allegiance lies.

And he showed me that either keeping his position of power was more important than risking it against the powers that be, or he was never truly interested in fighting for us and it was all a sham from the start. And I have zero patience or sympathy for cowards or traitors. Or a new breed of pretty faces who tell me they are fighting for me but backing Nancy we're all capitalists Pelosi. That dog don't hunt.

So if I was going to play this game with you here's my answer. Bernie Sanders.

The Bernie that would have said he would not stand for wide spread well documented election fraud.

The Bernie that would have left the party in protest and run as a true independent regardless of the spoiler whining that happened anyway. Or allied himself with the greens to form a real party for the people.

The Bernie that even if he lost could have kept the debate going instead of playing it safe and leaving a vacuum that none have filled since.

The Bernie that would have been front and center with Jared Beck.

The Bernie backing real left wing candidates instead of leaving us stuck with DNC funded ex spooks.

The Bernie who would have kept on calling out corporate corruption in our political system and showed us what a scam BOTH parties are.

The Bernie who could have led the charge for med for all instead of now being rendered impotent as part of a party fighting against it.

The Bernie who could have kept railing against income inequality instead of allying himself with the people who spent eight years elevating it.

I could go on but I think you get the point. Pity that Bernie never seemed to have existed, because oh the things we could "extrapolate."

And yes I'm still angry about it. We all should be.

Let the party burn and if it takes him with it, then so be it.

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See, their morals, their code... it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be.

-The Joker-

WindDancer13's picture

@Dragonkat

the essay was NOT about Bernie Sanders. He was used an example of how MSM treats topics and how independent media is beginning to bleat the same story lines. The bottom line is that even independent outlets can no longer be completely trusted on politicians or issues. Therefore, I do not intend to get into a pissing match over other people's perceptions of Sanders.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

Dragonkat's picture

@WindDancer13

That my original comment had to do specifically with you referring to those independent media sources rightly calling out a loophole for a loophole as a false flag. And trying to whitewash Bernie's involvement in said bill being a complete fraud.

A question and a premise I note you still aren't answering as you're now trying to deflect this as a "pissing match about Sanders."

No it was an answer to your question, it's not my problem if you don't like the answer and can't defend your position.

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See, their morals, their code... it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be.

-The Joker-

WindDancer13's picture

@Dragonkat

that has you so upset: https://caucus99percent.com/comment/386355#comment-386355

My position on MSM and independent media stands as written.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass