Regrets of a fervent Berniecrat
Dear fellow swampers and those who prefer remaining dry,
In 2015, I was politically as ignorant as most Americans. Proving the fact was my joining the Great Kosmic Experience, aka TOP or GOS or... By the Ides of March, I and others of my ilk departed Kos and somehow floundered upon this amazing digital beach wherein now dwell many despondent Berniecrats--of whom I was one. I'm doing great--three months younger than the Bern, thanks. But I haven't slowed down. But Bernie has. Don't think I am talking about incipient senility. I do not contend so (although Nancy Pelosi would make a great armchair neuropsychiatric subject). Bernie is consistent. Same views as 40 years ago. Good on him. Most of klown Kavalcade cannot do so, even from week to week.
When I saw Bernie in person 3 years ago this month, there was palpable, almost visible energy in the crowd, mirroring on a greater scale than the luster that had accrued to Bernie for his humane policies. He was fired up but rational. He spoke clearly at "auditorium" sound levels, quite tolerable. In short Bernie was an inspiring, charismatic, rational leader.
But Time is a true test of character. Bernie succumbed to Power, ie the Evil Queen and her consort. He kissed the ring of Her Heinousness. Then, he campaigned for her--But...but...but...Bernie was campaigning against Trump. True. Yet he was also saying positive things about HRC which not only were undeserved, but untrue. So much for integrity, Bernie.
I haven't looked into a flash car (as they say in the U.K.) or Lake vacation homes or Burlington College issues. I am focusing on Bernie's devolution as a reliable leader. There was no issue in 2016 about Bernie's then domestic policy. His foreign policy was always murky. Plus he loved the F35.
I've seen a few clips of Bernie since January this year. But for me the thrill is gone. In 2016, Bernie was an affable uncle or grandfather. But this year, he is hectoring his listener's, shouting more than speaking. Yesterday's debate presented Bernie as a self-righteous, angry prophet of a God Of Doom And Gloom. Perhaps the energy oozes out from his lingering resentment engendered by HRC's manipulation of his primary debate.
Bernie is now boring. Why is he boring? He has feet of clay. I want a hero who fights to win, not one to accept defeat before the actual physical clash occurs. How can I be inspired by a man who turns his back on reality (e.g., endorsing RussiaGate) and on integrity (e.g., endorsing Hillary Rodham Clinton).
Oh, I almost forgot to mention
Go Tulsi!
Comments
I'm guessing you have changed more than Bernie has.
You are not the same 'gator you were in 2015. You ascended a steep learning curve at rapid speed and discarded much along the way to make room to eat the whole thing. You didn't have time to ride the waves of the political cycles of the democracy machine; you kept your attention glued to one politician's part in a complex system. It's like interpreting the score for Beethoven's 9th by following the part written for the triangle.
To me, your judgement of Bernie seems harsh, like the disappointment of a failed first love. Bernie's financial indulgences are meagre compared to his peers, who are gluttons at the DC trough, and they come very late in life, enabled largely by his wife's inheritance. The criticism was born in Right Wing pettiness because there wasn't much to work with in creating a smear of Bernie Sanders and his life's work. Yet your complaints legitimate and indefensible when isolated from the complex system of our 'show' Democracy. They are based on real expectations and real disappointments. They are somewhat subjective, but deeply felt.
Some have formed an aversion to the way Bernie Sanders looks, the ideals he continues to push, his sweeping arm gestures, his 'street' Brooklyn accent, his disheveled sense of style, and the way his hair looks. These too are legitimate complaints, when the familiar breeds contempt. It's a tough crowd, to say the least.
l love the triangle analogy
But although you are probably correct in describing my current not-feeling-the-Bern attitude to that of a a man whose first love breaks his heart. I was too young and dumb to realize that "you too are mortal". Flesh is weak--I will go no further with that line of thought.
Harsh. Yes. I still support most of what Bernie preaches but like Tim Ryan said and any decibel meter would affirm, Bernie screamed, yes screamed, his righteous indignation (well-deserved as well). Don't call those who fail to remain enchanted by the Bern as right wing please. You didn't but your allusion to right wing talking points did.
I have written here many times of my dismay at Bernie's post-convention (and most likely pre-convention) behavior, colloquial called a "sell out". Vocally shouting (yes, I say it again--and get your decibel meter to disprove this point if you wish) and wildly gesticulating. He makes the same gestures as in 2016 but much more florid and frequently.
Style and substance are not separable in one person. Different people have differing styles but in any one person, except actors and sociopaths, the two are melded together: i.e., style and substance make the political package which we political consumers are required to purchase when casting our vote for one individual. What you see is what you get.
I dislike being moralized at by preachers, even preachers of the gospel to which I largely adhere. If I want moralization, then I will hitch my proverbial wagon to the Evil Queen, knowing full well, that I will get nothing of which she promises--and, yes, she will be "saving the Dem party" soon by graciously placing her own corpus on the fire of the 2020 campaign.
I really hate to say it.
But Tulsi has feet of clay as well.
She seems fresh and different, just like Bernie did in 3015. But she’s not. She’s a Dem.
Reluctantly, I might agree with you
But not yet. Tulsi has been battle tested in armed conflict. Now we'll see how well her knowledge of tactics, strategy and doctrine work out. Bernie surrendered before the armistice was even written.
3015 - LOL
I was in the opthalmologist's waiting room with dilated eyes while typing on my phone. Not a good combo.
moralization
.... at which point you won't get moralization, but rather monetization!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Shill
Knew where this was going wjen I saw the author.
Why do the corporate shills latch onto the yelling?
Hypocrisy of it all is next you'll be saying he is old and tired.
For the corporatocracy shills, Bernie is damned no matter what.
The whole "I was a Bernie supporter until" spiel is what is really old and tired.
Poor Form. I Feel the Same as AE, Here. Am I a Shill?
Or do I become one when I voice my opinion?
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Bernie shilling for Russia Gate
Here is Bernie giving Hillary a pass for losing the election after she stole the primary from him and blaming it on Russia. Not sure if you have seen the essays here debunking it and the horrible side effects that have come from it or not, but Bernie sold everyone out when he didn't fight the stolen election, said that Her won fair and square and is now on the Russia Gate Train.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Bernie shilling--no, lying outright
How can this man of alleged integrity repeat the baseless horsecrap he spouted in this video? Everything he says has been disproven about Trump-Russia. Bernie, what about your glass house? You know, the one paid for by Burlington College in a manner of speaking.
Well, at least Bernie wasn't screaming. He is now. The vexations of spirit inevitably surface. And they have.
This is an awful truth.
Yet, he climbs back on the stage and rallies the crowd for his life-long belief in fairness, justice, and human rights. His stated solutions are specific and immediate, and will not suffer compromise — His solutions are the exact opposite of what the Right Wing Democrats who control the Party want to see happen in America, Land of Social Austerity and Privatized Profits.
If Bernie had not climbed back on that stage, none of the other candidates would be pushing his original proposals — and they would all be greatly relieved to have that risky burden lifted from their campaigns. They could all have skated down the middle with the status quo if it were not for Bernie, with his flapping arms. As it stands, not one of them expects to deliver on the promise. It will be bait and switch all the way, even so with Elizabeth Warren. But with Bernie on the stage, they have to mouth the horrid promise of guaranteed health care, without blinking, over and over and over again.
Bernie made certain he had a clear pathway to climb back on that stage in 2020, at great personal cost. Across the continent, people believe that Bernie is the authentic one who is committed to deliver the human rights that have been withheld from them. At the end of the day, they know in their hearts that the other candidates are just faking it. Where is their history of consistent fighting for the right to health care? Where have they been hiding their outrage on this life or death issue during their prior years in public politics? Why did they never mention the world-class solution to national health care until Bernie's presence forced them to address it?
Where would the people be today if Bernie had died on his sword and Naderized himself in 2016? Where would they be if Bernie had died in a freak "accident" after the Primaries? Where would they be if Bernie had simply walked away in disgust after 2016 and not played along and maintain his launchpad in the Democratic Party? Where would they be if Bernie had bucked the Intelligence Community and become a "pro-Russian kook" who could only get on Fox News, and even then only if he was willing to defend Trump against this psyop brainwashing preparing the American people for a world war for Empire status?
.
There's a difference between tactics and strategy. Tactics are flashy and obvious, with obvious goals. It's a win or lose gambit with great appeal to the crowds. The Temples of Tactics can be found all over America in the form of sports bars.
Strategy requires great inner strength in the face of adversity. The strategy isn't touted or explained; there's no drumbeat or advertised goal. It's quiet and determinded, and doggedly persistent — even in the face of derision and mocking. All that matters to the strategist is achieving the ultimate goal, regardless of the cost and personal sacrifice.
Today's world with its doomsday weaponry is all about tactics. The US is a tactically-oriented nation, even though the corporate military call their murderous policies "strategic." People pay lip-service to Sun Tzu, but they understand little about strategy and generally cannot recognize it when it is unfolding right in front of them. If they do catch a glimpse of a strategy underway, they give it other names like "surrender monkey" and "traitor."
In myriad ways, this is good for the strategist. Those he may face on the battlefield are blinded by tactics. But the way of a strategic warrior is not the way of the comic-con hero.
Oh.
Sooo, demonizing a foreign ethnicity, nation, and people is O.K. as long as it’s part of a “Noble Lie” strategy so as to be in a position to do something good, implement certain vital benefits, for the domestic citizenry later . . . ?
It's not okay to me.
I'm on the other side of the Russian shitshow. I'm a single-issue political hanger-on, and that issue is war. I can only vote if there is a vehemently anti-war candidate on the ballot. Otherwise elections are merely reality shows to me.
That doesn't made me unaware of what is at stake (in reality) for Americans whose lives hang in the balance because they cannot afford to go to the doctor or buy their medication. I got caught up in the fake drama over health care, but that means absolutely nothing when war is the issue.
Bernie is a nobody in foreign affairs. But he is a powerhouse in domestic affairs. He's the only hope for Americans on this issue. But when you think about it, do they even deserve health care? They've been voting straight-ticket asshole for as long as I can remember — and voting against their own survival at my expense.
That casts Bernie in a different light. Although I recognize his strategy and his "greater goal" — his goal is nothing compared to halting the evil the US has unleashed upon the world. Bernie Sanders would never survive a win, in any case. He'd have a VP who represents the Council, like Tulsi or Harris (also a member), and that would be that. Mission accomplished. The American people will get exactly what they deserve, as usual, for being too lazy or too ignorant to reel in their international golem.
Take heart,
dialogue, at last, at least, deeper than TV advertisements of decades.
I do wonder what MS. Kitty would do ... save the earth, i imagine.
Guilt by association?
Being on the Council of Foreign Releations automatically makes one a war-monger? Does watching conservative YouTube programs make me a conservative?
Win at all fucking costs
it's a lot harder than moralizing from your Ivory Tower eh?
How is lying to people considered a
winning strategy? Bernie really should know that Russia had nothing to do with Hillary losing to Trump and if he read the Wikileaks report he knows that she just made it up to deflect attention from the fact that she rigged the primary against him.
Moralizing and Ivory tower? Can we stop with the insults here?
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
@snoopydawg I don't think
I don't think he can tell us how he really feels. It's called "politics" and why I'm not very good at it. I'm reading his latest (I think) book, Where We Go from Here,and I think he mentions that he doesn't necessarily believe that Russia interfered the way we've been told. He mentions the "rigging" of the primaries, but is still polite when mentioning it. Actually asked for Hillary to join him in fighting the superdelegate bullshit, thereby giving her an out of not accepting any responsibility for it, but admitting that she got benefit from it.
I still have faith in him. He is a fighter, but as he keeps telling us, he cannot do it alone. It's going to take millions of us backing him and fighting for our own selves, and his policies. That's my take on it, anyway.
In life, as in dance, grace glides on blistered feet. ~Alice Abrams
Bernie's Pyrrhic Victory
Pluto, you are absolutely correct that Bernie has pulled the rest of the Dems reluctantly leftward. But in so doing, pledging obeisance to his Mistress HRC, he wounded himself deeply. Does he still have the inner strength to walk the walk as well as continuing to talk the talk?
I don't know, ed.
And frankly, it doesn't really matter who drives this bus.
Keep your guard up and water your garden of cynicism. Remember, if politicians can still disappoint you, you're doin' it wrong.
Yup
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snaEEYQCRdw]
He only wounded himself to the extent that the centrists shills
keep trying to use it against him.
@Pluto's Republic Bernie is a man of
Bernie is a man of his word, even when we and he, himself doesn't like it. He told us he would support her if she was the nominee.
I don't believe he had enough support to push through 2016. He would have been seen as a poor loser, an angry old man, and so divisive, and he didn't have the numbers behind him as he does this go-round.I don't think he'd do the same.
Reading some interesting stuff lately about Epstein (and past Epstein) and others that played his role as blackmailers. Frankly, I'm surprised that there haven't been attempts on Bernie's life. He knows what he's up against, and it ain't pretty. Power doesn't give away their power easily. There's way too much money involved.
Everyone beat him up over any complaint he (and we) had, and called us conspiracy theorists and whiners, dividing the democratic party, called us russian bots and Bernie bros, and on and on. How far do you think we would have really gotten in 2016 if we had pushed? Well, he's fighting this time and will not go down easily. 2020 is very different but it's not going to be pretty.
In life, as in dance, grace glides on blistered feet. ~Alice Abrams
Be careful about falling in love, Alligator Ed
Especially with a politician.
They invariably will break your heart in one way or another.
She'll endorse the party's candidate at the convention. I like her a lot but she won't be winning the nomination. It's also bothered me that she's been defending Biden. "We were all lied to." She didn't go after Biden when a golden opportunity presented itself. Hell, Tapper specifically chose to toss her a softball after he called out Biden on Iraq. Biden incredibly was thus able to squirm out by saying he initially support the war because he was lied to about the WMDs but after he realized there were no WMDs, he strongly opposed the war. Bullshit. Tulsi could and should have called him on that -- and she didn't. Earlier in the week, she went after Harris for attacking Biden.
But then maybe forgiveness can be a part of love, too? I ain't just referencing love towards Tulsi.
Nice comment--see one which I wrote to Pluto
That comment admits to the broken-hearted lover syndrome if one wishes too call it such. And that metaphor is appropriate in my case. But when "Mr. Independent for 40 Years" abjectly pronates himself, groveling in the dust at the feet of the Evil Queen, tell me I'm incorrect. Did you condone such a weak, servile act?
Bernie bent the knee to Cersei Lannister, in GoT parlance. n/t
I forgave him . . .
. . . for endorsing and supporting HerHeinous. I then voted Green.
Hey man. I think you're gonna lose yer bet.
President Michelle? No?
How 'bout VP Michelle as in vote Biden, get Michelle?
And hey, what's up with Tulsi doubling down and defending warmonger Biden?
Forgiveness is a blessing.
You are humane and generous in propounding such an attitude but the acts of cowardice and disingenuousness are too blatant to be ignored. I can't. In the million to one shot Bernie gets the nomination, you can come to my swamp and collect $9999.99 dollar check for perspicacity and blind luck. Do come, y'all, when the Bernmeister wins. Otherwise, I'll blow my money on the grand birthday fest when my HRC wager comes true. The Bitch is running again. It just hasn't been formally announced.
Coming soon: Regrets of a verdant Tulsicrat
Oops I meant to write fervent but wrote verdant instead. lol freud slip. skin envy
Anyway, regret something, resolve something, that is one way of acting kind of buddha ish. I do it all the time. heh Politics is a dirty game, I am still shocked that Bernie got in bed with the Clintons, like a terrorist cell popping up "out of nowhere", he took my money and support and gave it to HerHeinous, the Secretary of State with bloodier hands then John Kerry. ouchy that still hurts And then there is his 501c4, why have a dark money operation? Who are they hiding behind, who are the bigly donors? feh Nobody.
Sorry you got nailed by a sniper spraying shill shot over your essay. Maybe putting down the social media addiction for a few days could help citizens chill their burning rage, I don't know. I didn't log in for a week now back I'm reading the same things over and over, nothing has changed in the duopoly fight. same same
my eyes my eyes
even that looks blew
oh well
PEACE
Yep alas still the SOS:
Greens not even being able to muster so much as
10%2% of the vote (even when I vote Green which has been often).Greens actually got a great deal more of the vote than 1%
but ES&S stole their votes.
If She Endorses a PR Department for the Dem Nomination
I will have the same regrets about her.
You can't base your public persona on a principle and then toss that principle away when you lose the championship fight. Bernie did that, IMO. He shattered my trust in his principles because he endorsed AND worked for the very opposite - He worked for the people who make his principles out to be magical unicorns and ponies.
If Tulsi does the same, I will have the same problems with her as I do Bernie. It might cost her a vote in a future general election, like it might cost Bernie.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Bernie always said
. . . he would endorse and support the Democratic Party's nominee. Sorry you were surprised when he did.
You think Tulsi hasn't said the same thing? It's not a matter of if she will endorse the party's candidate.
Perhaps you think she will abandon the Democratic Party, too?
Yea, But I Didn't Expect Him to Take Cheating Lying Down.
He wasn't beaten, he was cheated.
Now if he had said,"Even if they cheat us in the primary, I will back the nominee," then you'd have a stellar point.
Bernie was a fighter; he may still be, but I got trust problems. He may or may not get my vote. He certainly was on point in his health CARE policy in the debate. I like that Bernie, but I don't know if he's going to stand up when the time comes, and if he actually wins, that time will come quickly.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
He was cheated . . .
. . . and Hillary pretty much bought the south, so even without the superdelegate nonsense and all the other hijinx, she had the delegate count, and the total votes by a considerable margin.
Bernie did what he had to do to fight another day. I don't think he could have won if he ran as a Green or another party. He is not lying down.
"Bernie did what he did to fight another day" ??
I guess that is why he jumped on the Hillary Russia Gate saga that she uses as an excuse for losing to Trump.
No one is holding a gun to his that I know of that is making sign on to the biggest pysop propaganda crap in history.
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Realpolitik?
Not a big fan of all the Russia stuff here. But I think to get the moderates/centrists/corporatists in the party to vote for him, he's gotta at least sing their mantra now and then while he critiques military spending, economic blackmail, and interventions. Maybe he's just shvitzing them with the Russia refrains? Or am I just being as forgiving as Tulsi is towards Biden?
Bernie shvitzing in Rahhhhhhhhhshaaaaaah!
You are tired of all the Russia stuff here?
And yet it's Bernie who was pushing it. The Russia stuff is not going away because both parties are pushing it because they want permission to go to war with them. This is one reason. Another is censorship which Bernie is helping to spread by saying crap like that.
Posting the picture of Bernie in Russia is straight out of what they do on DK. No one here has ever given him crap for honeymooning in Russia. Before now...
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
No no no - ur completely misinterpretating me
Here as in this here guy, me.
I am growing weary of having to tiptoe around without worrying about pushing this or that person's buttons, though.
I like the picture of Bernie after his shvitz. It was meant to be funny in a celebratory way, not as a TOP-like criticism. I earlier substituted "shvitzing" for shitting (to denote Bernie may have been just going through the motions -- or verbal bowel movements as the case may be) as a play on words.
I think Russia-Russia-Russia is largely an excuse devised by the Hillarhoids for their losing the election. We no doubt disagree on some details but we went through that once before and I really don't want to revisit it coz we agree on more especially in terms of what's important than we disagree. AT least I'd like to think so.
The picture posted does not have a political affirmation
It is simply an interesting photo of a man enjoying a honeymoon after a nice sweat bath. The attribution of posting the picture, bland as it is, should not be used as an excuse, in my opinion, to accuse any poster of being of a certain political opinion unless so stated expressly by the poster. Any other interpretation is solely that of the reader. Some readers are inclined to cubbyhole anything into neat political/social/cultural cubicles rendering further consideration unlikely.
I like Ike
do you remember Sister Cities? I thought they were invented here in Sonoma County, I think I remember the Sebastopol/Sevastopol ceremony ~shakes fist at sky~
What I didn't know was it's from Eisenhower because of course:
https://sebastopolwf.org/who-we-are/history-of-swf/
maybe ike regretted bombing the world to death, so resolved some sisterhood instead. right on
I'm pretty pretty sure Wally's photo was taken in 1988 in Burlington's Sister City, Yaroslav. cheers
https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/Mayor/Yaroslavl-Russia
PEACE
annnnnnd yet he's winning
he's moved the window to the left and dragged the centrists kicking and screaming along with it. Doesn't matter if YOU don't like his tactics, all that matters is America is changing for the better because THEY WORKED.
He didn't fight back against the cheating, and in a sense he
participated in the cover up.
(Not saying that I have given up on him. Just that he has shown poor judgement by not outing Hillary and the DNC as cheating low-lifes unworthy of anyone's trust)
Will you please do some research
jhfc man, you have no idea who you are talking to. If you did you would not be blathering the same lame talking points over and over and over, expecting what in return? Someone is going to post that bunkbed vid of the big brother walloping the little brother who can't stop yammering constant nonsense.
"Vote Bernie or we're DOOMED!" lol not Larry Sanders? Give it a rest.
k9disc was there, you can web search the dailykos site and find my original comments about why Bernie ran starting in 2015. It is ancient history now, an old moldy post saying exactly what you think you are now telling us to think. I already thought those thoughts and have now moved on to better thoughts, tempus fugit.
fool me once, shame on you
fool me twice, shame on me
that's progress
PEACE
So sorry I don't know who I'm talking to . . .
I've never been big on bowing before "authority."
So sorry.
Yea, go with the video again, Big Brother.
Despair is not an option, ya didn't get the memo
lol ya got me! pew pew pew! feel better now? lol
tag team
If you dig watching tube so much...
https://documentaryheaven.com/kogi-heart-world-elder-brothers-warning/
You are like that little brother in my view, not listening, just selfishly burning the world to death with your naive political phrases out of the death cult matrix. blind faith
Bob Marley - Slogans
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o0FWb62MVE width:420]
bow down to the AlphaGoog
BOHICA
edited to reduce troll size
Can you update me on the situation of the Kogi?
Last I heard: https://rense.com/general67/kogi.htm
Hey, I really am interested in your reasoning. Honestly. I want to learn from you.
So I ask you:
You have posted, "Vote Green." I've noted that I've often done that.
You also seem to be supportive of Tulsi (I had sent her a few bucks to get her on the debate stage). You're upset with Bernie because he kept his word about endorsing and supporting the party's nominee. Yet, Tulsi had to make the same pledge to get on the debate stage. And I don't imagine you feel too good about her opposition to BDS. Or her doubling down today in defending Biden re his purported stance re. the Iraq War:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLkprbcG1Qk]
I mean jeez, not only did she not attack Biden for his warmongering but she doubled down to defend him! What's up with that?
So please enlighten me.
Two possible
reasons for TG not going after Biden on his Iraq vote: 1) according to her, Joe has apologized publicly for it, and Tulsi gives great weight to notions of accepting responsibility and forgiveness, and 2) TG herself hasn't had a perfect record as a public servant, most notably her previous position on LGBTs.
Contrast Joe's apology on Iraq with Kamala's weaseling and evasiveness re her record on crime and justice as CA AG.
I've looked for Joe's apology . . .
. . . but haven't found it.
Joe's still a warmonger.
How's Michelle sound as a VP?
Vote for Joe, Get Michelle?
How does Michelle sound as VP?
Not good, not good at all.
Here's my take on ma ma michelle
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtutsPP82YE]
It Is a Bit Hard Having to Rearticulate the Same Thing Over and
over for decades on end, ain't it, .
Wally, I don't think it was an appeal to authority as you put it, but an appeal to reason. That might sound strange, especially given the language used, but I believe it to be true. And, no I don't expect you to go back through hundreds of diaries and scores of thousands of comments, and I don't think eyo does either.
Some of us have argued this, over and over, since 2004. And it's the same framework. You seem to me a moderate, and that's cool. Moderate activists tend to focus on moderating the excesses of the Left.
I think moderates should focus on moderating the blood thirsty maniacs and the public private partnership that has turned government into revenue streams for Big Corporate & the Oligarchs. If moderates applied their sense and sensibilities towards them - warning them about alienating people like me and eyo - I think they would have much more impact than trying to get me to fall in line with what I consider to be a direct attack on my interests and freedom.
Working to moderate - moderate in the sense of asking us to come to center - the likes of us is going to do nothing that hasn't been done for decades. It ain't working any more.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Now I'm a moderate?
Well, this "moderate" is gonna call out Tulsi for today doubling down on defending Biden and not calling him out for his warmongering:
Edited out video link here because it was duplicate of the above in reponse to eyo
Not to go on about Tulsi's opposition to BDS . . . .
When I read that
both Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein are both opposed to the BDS movement, and that this latest vote was just on a non-binding res, not a substantive bill enacted into law with enforcement capacity with implications for free speech, then it put things in better perspective for me and I've slept better at night and returned to my oddball, contrarian ways that so many find lovable.
Yea, it gets tricky
--- https://dissidentvoice.org/2015/02/noam-chomsky-and-bds/
For more specifics on Finkelstein's position, see this.
Thanks for making me look up stuff to get more informed. I gotta think about it some more. I'm also going to look more closely at Tulsi's other positions on Israel. I hope other folks' gung ho re her candidacy do the same. I'm specifically wondering if she agrees with Chomsky above.
Something else to put in your Cuisinart
Tulsi was launched by the Council on Foreign Relations. So was Marianne Faithful, for that matter.
As a matter of fact, half the candidates on the debate stage fall into that category. It matters little what they say.
Tulsi was launched by the Council for Foreign Relations?
Is that necessarily a bad thing? If so, why? I'm drowning. Help.
Done Pluto. Not sure why. But I've honored your request.
That photo offends me.
Remove it. kthx.
I can't tell you because I would have to repeat something and eyo might be offended.
Lol, Wally
You want Tulsi to call out ByeDone for his warmongering when she joined the military to take part in that very warmongering. Do you know how hypocritical she would be if she did that?
I don't know why you have to keep harping on the same thing over and over here and in other essays. Do you think that we might have missed it the first 4 or 5 times you posted it?
Was Humpty Dumpty pushed?
Very good point re Tulsi's military history, Snoop
Maybe she should apologize, too?
When I'm engaging here in dialogue with different folks, I'm apt to repeat myself over time.
Of course, I've seen other folks' here doing the same thing but hey . . .
Re Tulsi's opposition to BDS . . .
never ask a politician to slit her own throat. And for what? The vote passed by a bit more than a margin of one.
In praise of moderation
I strongly endorse your comment
And that goes for Tulsi and anybody else. Eyes no longer wide shut.
My question is:
Why do we keep doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting a different result?
This is why we are where we are.
The writing is on the wall with Tulsi. It's already on the wall with AOC. But somehow, the Dem establishment still successfully convinces enough people that "this time, it will be different -- we promise!" And while we dither over who the best candidate is, the planet marches ever closer to extinction. Anyone been following the water crisis in Chennai? I mean, in eyo's words, jhfc man.
The writing is on the Wall
What is written is yet to be deciphered, like early Minoan script.
The Writing on the Wall
The Chaldean wise men are unable to read the writing on the wall, let alone interpret it, but Daniel does so by supplying vowels in two different ways, first so the words are read as nouns, then as verbs.[5] The nouns are monetary weights: a mənê, equivalent to a Jewish mina or sixty shekels (several ancient versions have only one mənê instead of two), a təqêl, equivalent to a shekel, and p̄arsîn, meaning "half-pieces".[6] The last involves a word-play on the name of the Persians (pārās in Hebrew), suggesting not only that they are to inherit Belshazzar's kingdom, but that they are two peoples, Medes and Persians.[6] Daniel then interprets the words as verbs, based on their roots: mənê is interpreted as meaning "numbered", təqêl, from a root meaning to weigh, as meaning "weighed" (and found wanting), and pərês (פְּרַס), the singular form of p̄arsîn, from a root meaning "to divide", denoting that the kingdom is to be "divided" and given to the Medes and Persians.[7] If the "half-pieces" means two half-shekels, then the various weights—a mənê or sixty shekels, another shekel, and two half-shekels—add up to 62, which the tale gives as the age of Darius the Mede, indicating that God's will is being worked out.[8
מנא מנא תקל ופרסין
And whom has begged God's forgiveness? Not a single one of them except Tulsi who admitted past improper beliefs directly without mealy-mouthed Bidenisms or Kambalaisms.
I wrote to Bernie re his support of hrc
I got a real response. When running in the dem primary you have to agree to support the eventual winner. I got the feeling from his staff's response that supporting her was onerous, one of the most unpleasant things that he has ever had to do. I don't see how he could have run this time in the Party if he had not taken this bitter medicine.
For me it was revolting to hear him support fem mephistopheles. But, I guess I should forgive him as he has guts to talk about Democratic Socialism. The only candidate to really hang it out on economics. Oh my G-d a socialist!
My number one choice is still Tulsi, but I'll also support Bernie.
Capitalism has always been the rule of the people by the oligarchs. You only have two choices, eliminate them or restrict their power.
If He Pushed on the Primary and Didn't Buy Into the Russian
Dodge, we might not be sitting in this position with Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schemer, the DCCC, and MSNBCNN STILL running the Democratic Party and stacking the debate with purpose driven shills like Delaney and Co.
Seriously, it would be a completely different political planet had Bernie stood up to Hillary and the Cheating DNC. He would have won easily; as easily as Warren smashed Delaney in that debate.
And he didn't have to do it before the election either. He could have stood up, shortly thereafter and demanded justice for their cheating. Heads could have rolled. Russiagate could have deflated immediately.
And all of those are woulds and coulds and ifs - and if ifs were fifths we'd all be drunk... heh
My point is, him simply being himself - a tireless fighter for justice - could have put us well on the way to getting a public hand back on the wheel of state. He didn't do that. And now we've got a clown car + Shills as weapons in a fake "debate" and Joe "Sniff the Future/Got No Empathy" Biden as the anointed one.
It's laughable, and while Bernie is a breath of fresh air, he's doing it in a VERY stuffy room with a bunch of disingenuous bloviators - part II.
Oh, and the stakes couldn't get much higher... still.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Amen and hallelujia.
You got a better answer than I.
I still get text messages from his campaign. And I still reply, when I feel like it and have the time to be a thorn in their side.
All I get is redirection and talking points. "Bernie's platform is still the most progressive out there." Whatever. Don't address my very real concerns? You're showing your true colors as a pawn in the game that none of us here has a chance of winning.
I actually thought Biden sounded like a bit of dementia is
nibbling at his edges.
Bernie is doing fine. At least he understands our constitutional protection of freedom of speech and opinion. Tulsi is the one who blew that by voting for that damn anti-BDS legislation.
In my view, anyone who voted for that needs to go back to school on the Constitution and Bill of Rights. And I won't vote for anyone who supports backing Israel over our Constitution.
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
You can always trust a soldier, TulsiNow
How Do You Ask a Man to Be the Last Man to Die for a Mistake?
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4588279/man-man-die-mistake
Tulsi new and improved version of omg wtf, illegal wars with torture on top. She will be some D's S.o.S. for sure. for sure
I do not want an active duty (actively brainwashed) soldier "leading" the u.s. government anywhere tyvm. Wherever the peace wing of the D party went, it is not to Iraq, mkay? aloha
seriously orwell
war is
PEACE
edit: broken cspan video link
Mahalo.
So what fucked up John Kerry's alleged concern for his fellow soldiers? No qualms about sending another generation of people, now also including women to die in useless wars of asset stripping? He is now nothing but an MIC whore--when did this worm turn--and why?
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKP1Qq9KdqI]
cui bono regrets
it must be the water in DC, okay for alligators but PU politicians? Even Bernie is all like "I'll just return to my regular $174k salary" when asked about spending all his book incomes, after becoming not popular and so not wealthy. ~median shrug~ Perhaps his carbon footprint will shrink too. HOPE
Blowing totally off topic, I think amerika's coming attraction will be militarized firefighters. After meeting the battalion chief driving his truck along the bike path looking for arsonists, all I can say is wow big fish little pond. UniParty making surveillance economy great! The guy has been 'earning' $94k annual plus OT plus bennies for so long he thinks landless transients are criminals because of course. Chamber of Commerce cleanse.
transparent california
kill the poor
sieg heil usa
Cyndi Lauper, “Money Changes Everything”
Class and caste privilege? If you’re Skull and Bones like John Kerry is, I bet that really does make a difference. Membership is reserved in that Big Club that George Carlin talked about. Vistas and possibilities are open to you that are unavailable to the average 99 percenter, like marrying into wealth in the form of a Heinz ketchup heiress . . .
I always am reminded of Jane Fonda, one year she was going to Hanoi as a peace activist, a few years later she’s marrying Ted Turner, the founder of CNN . . . You may identify with these liberal, left, progressive, whatever you want to call ’em, figures — you may sincerely, deeply believe and feel they’re really, really on your side — but they always have the option of turning on a dime, jumping ship when the winds change — you wake up one day and find they’ve switched sides, oh, it’s fine for them, watch and they always come up smelling like a rose, financially and socially. The decades roll by, your hair’s turned gray and now you’re down and out and they’re still A-listers and V.I.P.s . . .
On that note
Donald Trump is a natural in the White House.
Bernie Sanders would never be permitted entry under any circumstances.
George McGovern flew . . .
heavy bombers over Germany. Against all odds he survived. Do you think he'd have taken this country to war on a whim?
Don't ask me
thanks for revealing my biased opinion, can't really say a lot of nice things about McGovern 'cause he was opposition when my brother ran Clean Gene's D campaigns in California.
GoldenGate Ferry 1972
RIP Richmond Young
RIP Eugene McCarthy
PEACE
You know McGovern's D party is not today's D party, right? They are bigly different institutions now, if you ask me. It has been all downhill since the Clintons got their hooks in, and they are still digging. I hope they end their lives in prison, justice served.
1992 Rampant D-Corruption Begins
11 Inaugural Balls. Eleven! Rampant
omg wtf
RIP Democratic Party
dead jack-ass walking
All politicians have feet of clay and all of them make
compromises to survive.
The exception that occurs to me is Nader, but, IMO, even when he ran for POTUS, he was crusading, not running.
Henry, you have revealed yourself to not be PC
PC = Politically Correct. Else why did you use that inherently anti-Muslim term "crusade". Das ist verboten.
But Dwight Eisenhower was not demeaned after writing a book called "Crusade in Europe"
The times they are a changin'.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHU4qQRlJFU]
Bernie didn't leave Berniecrats
Berniecrats left Bernie.
No matter. He's gained whatever he lost over the last three years.
Message intact.
As popular, or more popular than ever.
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.