"How To Survive This Election"
Just read this article at Counterpunch by Peter Cohen, an anthropology professor at Columbia University. It elucidated for me almost word for word exactly how I feel about the situation. Although I must also admit that I've been gathering more and more steam for an active commitment to volunteer for Bernie, though I felt just as the author has that the bald-faced, lies and cheating of 2016 led to a rejection of feeling compelled to follow coverage of the never-ending quadrennial presidential election that was increasingly like watching ESPN.
It reminded me again of the one aspect that angered me above all else. I recalled having an intense phone conversation outside a venue at which I was scheduled to play with an old friend who was trying to convince me that no matter what I thought about how the 2016 primary was conducted we all had to come together to elect Hillary. I was having none of it. I told him how fucking demonstrably evil it was that the coalition of collusion between the DNC and Hillary's camp and their courtiers in the media had just for all intents and purposes crushed the most essential civic spirit of support for a candidate that drove the kind of passion and commitment that literally is the force behind any real substantive change. Having been at the rallies (apologies for link to the Pestilent Neoliberal Cesspool), watched the Twitter coverage bypassing a colluding media, there was inarguable evidence, I told him, that Bernie's campaign was the winning one and would have crushed Trump. I said that I would never again have fealty to a party or its candidates that would do such a thing. There was no way I was voting for Her. And we weren't alone in this regard. Many chose not to vote for her, including lots of two-time Obama voters.
So it is humbling to see just how extensive, passionate and committed the following Bernie has yet again engendered, against the backdrop of all of this and to do it all over again. My cynicism for the process and deep loathing of the mainstream media and their role to protect the Duopoly charade hasn't allowed me to to muster up any real drive to get involved until now. Last night I chucked Bernard a few bucks. Damnit, the guy is a wrecking ball, a force of nature, a fearless warrior, the humblest of servants, a mensch of the highest order, an unflappable fighter, a reservoir of righteous indignation. His message is almost 100% Occupy. It's not him, it's Us.
To me this piece pretty much summarizes the zeitgeist of C99 since its inception.
Having closely followed the 2016 Election, from the clear signs of manipulation and potential fraud in the earliest Primaries to the finger-pointing and hysteria over alleged Russian “election hacking” after one of the most unpopular US Presidential candidates in History beat another of the most unpopular of the US Presidential candidates in History, I resolved to stop following the media circus that passes for “politics” in our country. I thus managed to steer clear of what promised to be a remake of the 2016 Election – until last week when the CNN attack on Sanders finally drew me in.
Moved by a morbid curiosity, I soon found myself rubbernecking in this slow-motion train wreck, as the ensuing onslaught by Warren, Clinton, Biden and the usual DNC corporate media suspects rolled out, including the NYT’s wink-and-nod endorsement of Warren and Klobuchar (lucky for them there were still three women in the race so that they could ignore Gabbard).
But lending one’s neurons to the cynical machinations of our faux politics is highly corrosive for the soul: it’s difficult not to be tainted by the sheer insincerity, hypocrisy, mendacity and negativity of the spectacle, even as one seeks to deconstruct and expose it.
The current lamentable state of US electoral politics is not an aberration that can be blamed on anyone individual or political party. While Trump is both its product and poster child, he is not its cause but merely an example of the sort of person who naturally who thrives on it. Our electoral and legislative system runs on money the way our economy runs on debt, our industry runs on oil and our campaigns run on petty personal drama and distraction. The reality TV that Trump mastered before entering politics was the perfect preparation for the meaningless spectacle of US party politics and we will not beat him – or stop the emergence of something even worse – until we root out the deeper culture from which he emerged; a culture that, whether by chance or design, prevents us from seeing the true roots of our problems.
The division of our population into “Liberals” and “Conservatives” and the near-total erasure of the rest of the political spectrum; the ever-mounting mutual demonization of these two groups via identity politics, emotionally-charged buzz issues (Gun Control, Abortion, Gay Marriage…), and an obsessive focus on personalities rather than policies all mask the deep structural similarities between the two “sides”: support for Endless Imperial War, the unchecked expansion of corporate power, the dismantling of our civil liberties, the transfer of wealth to the economic elite and rising social inequity, the deepening of the Surveillance State, the War on Whistleblowers and increasingly, journalists, to name a few.
Rather than simply expressing opinions, however, it can be helpful to make predictions that can be verified based on one’s observations and assumptions, so here are a few predictions:
1) The attacks against Sanders will get increasingly ugly and transparent as his popularity rises;
2) We can expect more cheating of the kind we saw in 2016, but this time there are likely to be quicker responses, including possible lawsuits;
3)The attacks are likely to have the effect of bringing more media attention to Sanders and thereby ironically increasing his support;
4) If the DNC are forced to deploy Super Delegates to shut down a Sanders win, it will trigger a crisis not see in the Democratic Party since 1968;
5) If Biden gets the Nomination, he will name Warren as his Running Mate;
6) A Biden-Warren ticket (or a Biden-Anyone ticket for that matter) will result in a second Trump Term in November;
7) A Sanders Nomination will mean a Trump defeat in the General.
With these predictions on record, I will now return to my former strategy of ignoring the corporate media electoral noise. Still, there is one positive thing in this Election that we can focus on: the Sanders campaign and its potential as the launchpad for a truly transformative popular movement of national renewal....
Reports from the ground in Iowa testify to the emergence of an extraordinary spirit and momentum there not seen since Occupy. It is this sort of movement and community building, and not the election of any one individual to the White House, that we should look to at this moment as our greatest hope for meaningful change. For those who see defeating Trump as the main goal of this election, the latest polls are also showing Sanders topping his rivals in General Election matchups (just as they did in 2016, when they also showed Hillary in a dead heat with Trump). There is thus absolutely no reason that we have to choose between desperately needed policy change and beating Trump.
What we really need in this country – if there is still any chance left of saving it – are three things: (1) the birth of a broad popular movement for structural change; (2) the development of a serious program for Election Reform to take our democracy back from the banks and corporations that both major parties currently serve; and (3) a mass popular rejection of Corporate Media with its management of the political debate and manufacturing of consent. The Sanders campaign is the best vehicle we have for achieving these things. Not only can we have a positive politics in 2020 but, a from the looks of what’s happening right now in Iowa, we already do.
They're gonna try to steal it again, folks, we know that. It's been all over Left media these past few days. But all the shenanigans and corruption this time will have a boomerang effect. We've already seen it in the polls.
I'm seeing this more and more as an existential moment of now or never. In which the nobility of this enduring fight between empathy and selfishness is touching the hearts of many, and will possibly probably be enough to steer this big, fucked up ship away from social and political (and hopefully ecological) oblivion. At least for a while.
Which is why I'm very close to accepting an invitation from another Dad in my neighborhood who belongs to the Queens DSA to hop a ride with him to go canvass in New Hampshire this weekend.
We better strap ourselves in, and then be prepared to fight when necessary. It's way past time for the collective dander to be up.
"I don't tolerate bullshit terribly well" - @BernieSanders #TheWeeklyNYT pic.twitter.com/SKN48EkAPv
— People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) January 20, 2020
Comments
Greetings, folks. My conscience is demanding something is done
I’ve also realized over this past year, to my dismay, that there were a good many friends who in 2016 were big Bernie supporters but who have had over the course of last year become inexplicably lukewarm on him this time around. I don’t know if they were soured by the same viciously stupid and insidious MSM who propagated non-stop RussiaGate nonsense for three years, with the attendant lies that Bernie hurt Hillary/didn’t campaign for her/Bernie Bros/Jill Stein, etc, or whatever machinations of the full throttle propaganda machine were to denigrate and/or blackout Bernie.
It was frustrating to notice an inexplicable and marked drop-off in excitement and/or commitment to him this time around. He hadn't changed at all; in fact he was of anything more progressive and outspoken, all aspects that appealed to friends who had supported him. Yet one seemed more interested in Warren, and another for Kamala,(?!), and another seemed interested in Buttegieg (just as nauseating). I even overheard some younger people at a table next to us for lunch at a Thai place a few months ago talking favorably about Mayo Pete. The dangerous and pernicious propaganda machine of the MSM had led all these folks to think of voting as if they were just shopping around, and identifying with their personal attributes rather than the polices for which they were advocating.
Similarly I recently had a text exchange with a pretty radical mom I know from the Balkans who said this:
What’s obvious to me is the degree to which people are filled with fear and burn out from Trump Derangement Syndrome. At the same time they've been showered in fear with negatives about Bernie from an MSM who have gotten into high gear to stop him.
Which means they’ll vote for anyone.
Which means Bernie has to win the primary.
Which means he’ll draw in disaffected Republicans and tons of Independents, and win the general election in a fucking landslide.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
People are full of fear
and burn out not from TDS but from Trump, full stop --a perfectly normal reaction by fairly well-adjusted adults to a president showing clear signs of being a bit unhinged with tendencies toward a wannabe brutal dictator scheming to destroy what's left of the Good in this country.
It's the fear and loathing of this game show not-so-funny clown turned president which will drive anti-Trump voters to the polls probably in record numbers. All the Dem candidate needs to do is embrace this feeling and highlight it in the GE
Meanwhile my major fear remains that Trump when defeated will declare the election was rigged and refuse to step down. I don't think this is hyperbole but rather something entirely in keeping with his erratic personality and low self-esteem.
I couldn't care less
if Trump "refuses to step down". It's not like he has a choice. Send two security guards to the Oval Office, put the cuffs on him, and march him out. What's he going to do? Pull out his battle axe and hew down legions of his enemies? His orders would have no effect. The new President gets sworn in and starts issuing executive orders to undo everything Trump did (other than the judges he's appointed). I'm concerned about a lot of things, but a temper tantrum by a senile fallen tinpot dictator isn't one of them.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
I used to think that
Trump and the republicans have been laying the ground for election fraud from day 1. If he loses, he calls the election invalid and refuses to cede power. The republicans fall in line behind him. Conservative media goes rabid and whips up the base. Think Broward County all over the US with election officials under siege. It goes to Trumps justice dept, then to the courts with many newly minted Trump appointed judges, and finally to the supreme court, home of Bush v Gore. The republicans are so close to taking over I don't think they'll back down.
This is not an
unreasonable scenario, and the way the Rs have acted in pod-person like loyal unity so far is not a good omen. And didn't Trump openly and on numerous occasions during the 2016 campaign utter his suspicions that the election was going to be rigged? Laying the ground work from Day One for a contested election, a refusal to accept an adverse outcome. And even after he'd prevailed in the EC, he disputed the PV results, claiming the 3m votes for Hillary were from illegal immigrant voters.
This guy is perfectly capable of throwing the country into civil war over the election, for his own selfish purposes. It is always all about Him, and what he thinks is his rightful due.
It wouldn't be quite
as simple as you state. Trump would have 2.5 months to organize a fortress defense. Many of his backers across the land would be encouraged, via national tv appeal, to come to D.C., locked and loaded, to defend their Don, ringing the WH in the thousands with their tent encampments. Perhaps some senior military officers loyal to Donald would cast their lot with him and provide significant trained military support. Question too of whether some/most of the Secret Service would also be loyal.
We would definitely be in uncharted waters. But it's not at all a far-fetched scenario. Especially since his former counsel thought it important enough to mention during testimony before Congress.
Btw, such a scenario was also brought up during Nixon and Watergate prior to the resignation. But Nixon had already shown signs of abiding by the usual norms of our political/legal process. Donald is a wild card in this sense, who has shown more signs of being a crude Mafia Don who doesn't think the norms and the laws apply to him. He's Special after all, that Stable Genius.
It would be exactly that simple.
Zero military units are going to break their oath. Besides, I doubt the modern military would be effective that way. It takes the whole system behind them to work, otherwise they're just a few guys with rifles and no supply chain.
It won't get to the Supreme Court because it won't even get to appellate courts. If the Democrats nominate Biden, Trump wins fair and square. If they nominate Sanders, Trump will be lucky to get 100 electoral votes. Either way, the election isn't going to be close enough to steal.
There might be a few hundred armed protesters, but if they pull their weapons they'll be gunned down by the jack booted thugs. Nobody gets to massacre the plebes but them.
Don't whip yourself into some frenzy over this. People were worried Bush Jr. wouldn't step down, but he did. Ignoring an election simply isn't an option.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
Bernie might beat
Trump by a larger margin than other available Ds, but it won't be a huge margin, and there will not be any slide of land.
Recall that the Trump Cult Party is 92% or so united behind the Donald. There won't be many defectors in Nov. That means he starts with at least his 42% + a few more pct. They won't be no shows come election day. Ds will be highly motivated to get him out so will have high turnout, matching or probably exceeding Rs GOTV. If they nominate Bernie and not Biden, it will be a historic turnout.
But no huge margin of victory. Not in this era of highly polarized politics. Those days are over for a while.
A Landslide
in a Presidential election is 60/40. That means you win practically every state.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
How in any sane world does that happen?
Don't forget Trump won 83.4% of the counties in 2016. Obama did not carry that many more. He might have won 21% of the counties. Do you really think Sanders is going to carry 25% of the counties? Because that is what it would take to have a landslide victory in the EC.
Bernie would probably
beat Donald square and fare, call it a clear, solid victory. But the Don would get much more than 100 EVs.
I will repeat my questions
Do you really think Sanders will win more than 25% of the counties in the US? Where are his huge pick ups going to be? Here is a map of Iowa from 2016. Which additional counties will Trump lose to Bernie to win the state? Then maybe we can go through the rest of the states as they come up this spring.
"Trump Cult Party"
Are you speaking of Republicans? Remember that as of late 2017, only 24% or so Americans identify as Republican. 31% are Democrats. The rest, 42%, are independent.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
Also recall that previous resident,
during last month of his presidency, signed into law regulations putting the Department of Homeland Security in charge of every aspect of presidential elections. From premises, staff, machines, to record books, ballots, and ballot counts.
Can someone comment on what this could mean for 2020?
Wasn't aware
of the DHS role, but it sounds like the Obama admin just intended an assistance role, mostly in the area of cyber security, to state/local govts in administering elections, not a complete take over as you suggest.
I don't know if the Trump admin has stretched the order beyond its intended purpose. Bears watching, but I don't think the feds will be running the elections. If so, I think it would have made much more of a news splash.
Would like to know more.
My initial information came from Sane Progressive, who I feel is a solid source.
And of course the pre-holiday timing offered great cover.
Yes of course
I was referring to the R Party. Not sure though I understand the point you are trying to make.
My point
was that you're over-estimating the vote that Trump will presumably go into the general election with.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
Are you sure Pence would do that?
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I'm not following your question.
If Bernie (or any other Dem) beats Trump, Pence won't have anything to say about it.
If Trump refuses to participate in the usual transition process between Election Day and Inauguration Day, the new administration-to-be can prepare around him and without him. The current transition process has only been the usual process since the 1950s anyway. Nothing in the US Constitution requires any particular process in order to transfer power.
On January 20, 2021, the new POTUS takes the oath of office. Under the Constitution, that's all that's required for the new POTUS to take power.
If at that point Trump decides to hole up in the White House with an assault rifle and a month's supply of Big Macs, the new POTUS can order law enforcement to remove Trump.
"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi
"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone
No need for forced removal
There's an easier way to get him outta there. Simply inform him that his Twitter account and Internet service is suspended until he vacates the premises. He'll be out of there before the Big Macs have a chance to cool...
If Trump is not re-elected, or is impeached, I think Pence will
be the next POTUS. Not Biden, not Bloomberg, not Bernie.
As you can see by my sig, I support Bernie, but I think his time was 2016 and he was cheated. The general public is not afraid of Trump. It has been four years and the world hasn't ended. The comic opera impeachment is a black eye for Democrats. Even Reagan was re-elected.
I went to look at my Democratic Primary ballot. Tulsi is on the ballot but there are no committed delegates running. She is in the beauty contest only. Bernie has delegates but they are way downballot. The first delegate listed is my state Rep. I thought he was an okay guy but he is committed to Biden! Biden has the endorsement of both Senators and my Congressman. It will take a miracle for Bernie to win Illinois. Now blend in the "glitches" in the automatic registration system and you have the perfect storm for Biden. Add in that the biggest Democratic voting group in Illinois is African-Americans who overwhelmingly love Biden and it will take a miracle to elect "The Jew" as I have heard AA's refer to him.
EDIT: Title should say re-nominated, not re-elected. I misspoke.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Yay for lesser evil voting
that will not change the direction this country is going. Trump's election was the result of Obama's
crime spreepresidency and because the primary was rigged for the worst candidate in history. Would Hillary being doing the same things as Trump is doing? Not in plain site, but as we have seen so many times Trump is continuing the disaster things that Obama did. And Bush did before him. And Clinton.BTW it has been democratic presidents that have committed the biggest assaults to the safety net. Clinton's welfare reform took billions out of welfare. Biden was the author of the crime bill, the bankruptcy bill, and the f'cking patriot act that stripped us of our liberties. Obama then passed the NDAA that removed habeous corpus. Stipped $8 billion from food stamps. Committed 3 coups. Destroyed Libya and Syria. Put the troops back in Iraq. Refused to close Gitmo.... ect the list is long.
So again lesser evil voting is why we have Trump. Bernie is offering a chance to change, bt again the DNC and its goons are doing everything to keep him from office.,
This trope was all the rage during Bush the Lesser's presidency. Guess what? HE stepped down. Trump will too.
The military swears an oath to protect the constitution not the president. As do the secret service and I doubt this scenario would fly. It's just baseless fearmongering. IMO>
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Let me stretch my memory a little
Let’s see...I remember hearing how Clinton was going to run or install himself for a third term, that W Bush wouldn’t leave office and his supporters would riot over Obama, and that Obama himself was going to stay in office somehow. None of those things happened. This is typical modern partisan scaremongering and we’ve heard it all before. Only the names have changed.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
Trump and his supporters have more than hinted
at the illegitimacy of elections. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/03/donald-trump-2020-....
I don't think the armed forces (maybe the national guard) would get involved, but we have a militarized police force that seems barely contained now. If Trump survives the impeachment he will seek as much revenge as he can get away with. The republicans are full on board with Trump, and they don't need to be. Pence would just step in and they would still get what they wanted.
I could be wrong, but I don't remember
Clinton, Bush or Obama ever making public statements that they might stay in office beyond their expiration date. But Trump has. When the haters say it, I'm not too concerned. When the president says it, then I start to get concerned.
I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.
Trump's exact words please
Here's one source.
https://www.elitedaily.com/p/3-times-donald-trump-joked-about-not-leavin...
I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.
donald trump joked ...
And Ronald Reagan joked on a live mike about nuking Russia.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Joke -- the label
a headline writer put on it. Trump doesn't joke, he's more about revealing his inner thoughts and wishes through remarks casually tossed off.
So we have Donald openly talking about not stepping down, rigged elections (the seed he wanted planted in the mind of his backers in 2016 in case he lost), and his former lawyer testifying before Congress that Trump would not step aside easily if he loses.
Plenty of evidence right there this is no wild speculation. Do you need a sworn affidavit from Trump certifying same?
No, just real evidence
I put zero credence on anything that comes out of Trump's mouth. It's all verbal diarrhea.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
I'm not too worried about it. The Goon's whole m.o. is bluster
first, so he appears tough to his zombie dupe supporters, and then backtracks when nobod'y paying attention or he's scolded by people around him, who have been pressured by other heavyweights to fall in line.
These dead-enders are probably at most 15-20% of the population. If Bernie wins big, as it appears now, that'll mean a good 30-40% of the population, plus the rest of those who would have deemed him the rightful winner and will side with him. That's 4 out of 5 people the way I see it.
There's gonna be no civil war. These douchebags are all paper tigers. Like overgrown children playing with their
gunstoys. They'll sooner shoot themselves, their wives or cousins in a drunken card game."If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Agree Snoop
I occasionally allow myself a bout of intellectual Onanism in which I try to decide which are more dangerous, Trump and the proto-fascists that surround him (i.e. the Red Team Fascists) or the blue-team fascists such as Brennan, Clapper, Comey, Nuland, Hayden, etc. My current thinking is that the blue-team fascists are more dangerous because they are a bit less obvious and are being embraced by the Democratic Party and the liberal media. The Red team is a little too clumsy, although Hitler and Mussolini remind us that gaping a**holes can rise to power.
Exactly this
The anti war movement died during Obomber's tenure big time. Destroy Libya? Yay for Obama bring freedumbs and no democracy there. Gaddaffi was a rapist right so he had to go. Hillary spread that rumor of him giving his troops boxes of Viagra, but then the empty dry boxes were found on tanks after it had been raining.
Honduras is a mess because Hillary backed the coup. Ukraine? Ugh there are so many things about Obama's brutal coup there that are affecting us now. The proxy war with Russia and then we had Hillary make up Russia stole the DNC emails which started Russia Gate and everything that has flowed from that.
Yes the dems are much more dangerous because of people's blindness to it and tribalism.
I forgot to add that Biden helped get NAFTA passed after Bush 1 failed to get it done and then Clinton signed it into law. This begat the hollowing out of the country. Then the dems helped Trump get NAFTA 2.0 passed and they re-upped the patriot act themselves.
Oh yes dems are much more dangerous and damaging because people still see them as the party that protects workers and unions. We know that they are the fake opposition party and there is only one party in DC. The donor/elite one.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Glass half full
From day one I felt Trump saying the quiet parts out loud and being such a borish lout about it was going to be so much better than HER and business as usual. Though there’s still way too much of people acting like Trump is an exception and long standing policies began when he took office, people are starting to wake up to the shitty things our government does. That I even hear some of this stuff discussed in the mainstream is a positive to me.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
Wasn't making
a LOTE argument above. But on that subject, under the dire circumstances, the upcoming 2020 election will not be your father's usual dismal LOTE election, even if Ds make the mistake of nominating Biden.
I have a free hand here in CA, as it will go D no matter what. But were I living in a close state, I wouldn't hesitate to give the D my vote, even as I would have to hold my nose were it Biden or Bloomberg. This is Democracy at stake, not just another set of unpleasant RW policies and fed judges to endure.
Others here obviously disagree and take a remarkably sanguine attitude towards the Donald admin. I would call that being dangerously naive.
If there is such a threat from right wing judges
Then why has Schumer helped McConnell get more of them appointed? Why have democrats been voting with republicans to get them seated? DiFI, Manchin of course and other dems have not done everything in their power to keep them off the court.
Naive ehh? Again if Trump is so dangerous to the country then why have democrats helped to get his legislation passed? The list has been listed numerous times, but the most recent was Nancy's dereliction of duty to try to put stops on what Trump does when she got the increased military budget passed. And if he is so dangerous then why did democrats only get the patriot act repassed when it should have sunseted? This isn't the first time dems have given him more power to spy on us. You know, the most dangerous president ever.,
War? Democrats have become the new Cold War party and they have been on board with everyone of his military adventures and were upset when he did not do what they wanted him to regarding war. If this is being naive then the shoe fits.
I'd love for dems to throw his butt out of office, but only if it would change what is and has been happening here for decades. It won't and it's obvious to me from what they are impeaching him for and especially for what they are not. Kids in cages? Nancy doesn't seem to be bothered about that anymore. Detention longer than what the Flores agreement says? She doesn't seem concerned about that either as well as many other issues.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Wait until you see President Pence
the guy who tried to get an Indiana law to require women to report every missed period to the police for possible abortion prosecution.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
It's Now or Nehvah (and it's NOT 2016 anymore)
Edit/add:
VENCEREMOS!
Wider Margins Help Prevent Superdelegate Coups
Bernie can't win by one point
It's 30 points or they steal it.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
I'll be mighty happy with 15 pts in Iowa and NH
But 30 pts will make me twice as happy.
Senator Sanders, please do not get on board any small planes
or helicopters, either.
Also, urge everyone on your staff to use hand sanitizer, and think about hiring a food taster.
https://www.rt.com/usa/332206-bernie-secret-service-codename/
“Intrepid.” Indeed.
When Lee Camp was talking about Roman politics
I thought he was referring to the frequent assassination in the late republic of figures like the brothers Gracchi and Marcus Junius Brutus. That’s the real “nuclear option” I fear. We still don’t have anyone who can take over from Bernie quite yet, so I hope he can hang in there for a little longer.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Well there was always the Roman politics --
of the later Empire.... what comes to mind is this fellow Flavius Stilicho, who was the magister militum (head of the army) for the emperor Honorius, who ruled in the west part of the Empire from 395 to 423. Stilicho stripped the Roman border guard along the Rhine in 402 to fight the Visigothic king Alaric I. Well, here's the Wikipedia version of what happened:
And that was the end of the Roman Empire in the west.
“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser
So Bernie is Alaric
The DNC is Stilcho and we are the barbarian horde?
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
As it turns out --
Honorius has Stilicho executed, and a vendetta is conducted against Stilicho's associates in the army. Much of the army responds by joining Alaric's forces. Alaric sacks Rome in 410. This act prompts Augustine to write De Civitate Dei.
I would argue that Bernie Sanders will be the Stilicho of our times if he isn't careful. If we're lucky Bernie is one of the usurpers and we get someone better than Honorius in charge. Honorius sucked.
“The loyal Left cannot act decisively. Their devotion to the system is a built-in kill switch limiting dissent.” - Richard Moser
RFK
We don't have to go back that far.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Does Bernie have an SS detail yet?
If memory serves, he got one right after the Iowa caucuses last time, but I couldn’t find anything current.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
"Intrepid"...heh.
Dig that!
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Thanks for this, Mark.
You are spot on - the article expressed every thought in my brain on this. I have taken a step back, this go-round, but I'm still in Bernie's camp. I've just been waiting to see if any one else rose to the top. He's the only person that represents the 99%. Period.
In New Mexico, as an independent, I cannot vote in the primary, so unless I see my vote for Bernie is needed, I will not register as a dimwit and wait for the GE. I believe they are going to do EVERYTHING they have to knock Bernie off the top. However, I agree - this time, the people will not stand for it and I don't think they realize it.
I'm going to be in NY right after the dimwit convention, so if Bernie is nominated, I'm going to be thrilled and I'm going to try and get together with you (again) THIS time! I'll be sure and ensure my schedule is not as tight as last time. My friend (the same one I visited last time) is having a big birthday bash and she is a Bernie supporter, too. She is currently active in Brooklyn working on the campaign (along with her teaching gig at Columbia). Maybe the three of us can chat about the election and strategies. Pie in the sky? Why not!?!
Keep 'em coming, Mark!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Sounds good, RA!
Don't quite see the same fervor here in the streets and spraypainted on the walls, etc as we did last time (though the bumperstickers are stating to trickle in more; just put mine on too). But that could all change overnight when we wake on Tuesday.
Kind of makes my angry, because the DNC's rancid collusion just sucked the life out of so many genuinely engaged and committed folks, especially young. We see that evidence right here, even in myself with electoral cynicism. But that they did it to whole swath of young people getting their first taste of politics burns me the most. Somehow, someway there seems to be another crop of believers that are taking this thing to fruition this time. My hat's really off to them.
Yeah, look me up when you come. If that's the case maybe we can extend that to make it an official C99 get together.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
My thoughts on
the notion of How They Are Going to Destroy Bernie: They are probably not as organized and unified in fierce opposition as many here suspect, although no doubt there are some (Neera Brock) who are. Likely many anti-Bernie types will conclude that a) he would probably make for a less obviously doddering and drooling Dem candidate than Biden, and b) a Sanders presidency won't be so bad as his radical proposals would have to be put through the brutal congressional filter of cleanse, rinse, repeat.
In any case, a tough nasty slog to win the nom should put Bernie and his campaign to the test, which if he does well should make him a stronger candidate in the GE and battle-tested to go up against the Trump machine which will be a hundred times more vicious. The Dem primary should not be a contest over who will emerge victorious from a gentle backyard game of croquet.
I would think they're even more organized
They blame Sanders for Clintons loss. They also saw the takedown of all the top republicans, humiliated and defeated one by one by Trump. The know it can happen and they're going to try and sandbag Bernie real soon. I think they've been prepping since 2016. If dems are vowing fairness it's just a show for us rubes.
Have you seen Perez's list for the DNC?
They are very organized and unified to defeat Bernie any way possible.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Quite aware of
Tony Perez' corporatist picks for the convention. It's already a controversy. It will be doubly so, and a major black eye for the party, if it should happen that Bernie comes into the convention with either the most votes by a fair margin or already has a majority while Perez has stacked the platform etc committees with moderate status quo types. Something will have to give. Imagine Bernie accepting the nom with a platform that doesn't call for M4A, but rather mild tweaks to ACA, and an energy plank that pulls out the usual platitudes about a diversified energy portfolio instead of a GND.
This should be where either common sense and self-survival as a party, or the people rising up in anger, will determine whether the corporatist forces are overcome. If things turn out as I suspect they will, Bernie will have the leverage to compel a more progressive platform.
In the meantime, if someone has Tony's personal cell number, I'd be happy to give him a piece of my mind. I prefer talking to the responsible party directly.
Eye opening piece here
will the election even count?
https://www.mintpressnews.com/media-israel-intelligence-2020-elections-c...
EDIT : to add this section
While looking over there it will be from within and Israel that the real theft of the election will happen......BWTFDIK
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
This is important
Add in homeland security to overseeing the election as well as how easy it is to hack the voting machines to the above mix and the question is will the election be above board. Glad to see this posted here. And again we have Israel being the biggest culprit of election interference. Notice how no one from the media will touch that? Easy to see why after what happened to Omar for just mentioning $$$$ Benjamins.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
The rational behind this fear mongering is
to put the US on a war footing for the upcoming battle. Russia, China and Iran pose an existential risk to America. Unless the US can stop the BRI's steady advancement towards Europe and Africa by the mid 2020's, they WILL lose their exalted position as global hegemon.
In order to match China's rapidly expanding naval power in the Pacific and Indian Oceans plus Russia's increasingly advanced air superiority, the US will have to increase it's basic defense budget from the current $738 billion to at least $1 trillion immediately to match their competitors. It will be very hard because both China and Russia get 3-4 times more bang-for-the-buck.
(There are a lot of important points in the following document that are not done justice with this short descriptor.)
We will be seeing an acceleration of the waning of US global power in the coming decade. The question remains: will the US go gently into the night or will American "exceptionalism" cause it to bring down the rest of the world with it. As long as the MIC controlled Deep State is at the helm, I don't have much faith in the former.
How true
Russia and China don't have to pay the defense companies CEOs huge bonuses nor do they have to pay $1,000 for a hammer because their governments are in charge of defense., ours are privately owned and they build lots of weapons then they go searching for wars to use them in. Trump has dropped an enormous number of bombs everywhere we're warring and profits are soaring. Plus they don't have Wall Street driving for more and more profits. Look at what happened to Boeing.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
In the 1970's I read an internal Navy report
about Russian Navy radars. In the Soviet system, competing design bureaus produced prototypes that were evaluated by the fleet. The winning design was produced by all the production facilities.
In the American system, the competing corporate designs were bought in various numbers. If a design met minimum standards (and sometimes when they didn't!) it was bought in some quantity to satisfy "free market competition" causing a logistic nightmare in the fleet.
I was one of those boys with a finger in a dike trying to fight that nightmare.
I see the Borg won. It seems the whole Bureau that I worked in is now staffed by contractors. Foxes watching the hen house.
I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.
Good Morning Mark
It's good to see you. Thanks for the article. Two things stood out for me. The first was this:
This is the main reason I stay off Twitter. I take things to heart. And to watch humanity behave in the ugliest way possible is so upsetting for me, it begins to affect other areas of my life. No can do.
I agree 100%. If the DNC is not successful in cheating Bernie out of a win in Iowa and New Hampshire, I will canvass for him here in California and do everything possible to inform independent voters about crossover ballots. Let us know how your election journey goes.
P.S love the Bernie meme at the end.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
You just made my day
. . . and then some!
Hey zoe.
As I began reading that piece it was clear to me that he was a kindred spirit of ours here. Really laid out the whole context so well.
Bernie's been a lonely man in his cause. One of my favorite Geore Carlin aligns with this thinking:
There's a weird calm right now, on this Thursday before the primaries. Not unlike that feeling when the air changes and the sky darkens before a storm. We'll see...
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
"I thought Bernie's Iowa numbers seemed unrealistically high...
Then I saw his rallies"
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Wow..
Just fucking wow..
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
I think it was more like 130k
The original goal was 500k by the caucus date, but after they hit that two weeks early the decided to double it. Then in the last day or two (reported in the guardian iirc) they changed tack and started moving resources on to the next fights.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
I caucased for Bernie
in Washington state in 2016. He won 73% of the delegates in the statewide caucases.
But in the primary he lost to Her.
It bothers me that of all the people who went to the trouble of showing up at night in the cold to support Bernie, would be dealt a loss in the primary by people who sat on their asses (vote by mail) at the kitchen table.
I'm still pissed.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
The primary was not binding
So a lot of people didn’t bother. There may even have been a concerted effort to discredit the caucuses by having the Clintonites mail in ballots. I did just to be heard but I might have been an outlier.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Was it Virginia where Bernie won
44-32 but Hillary got the win because she had more delegates? How many states did she win from a coin toss? And remember she had lined up delegates before she declared she was running. And then she gave speeches to the banks after she did that. This probably counts as election fraud since she was basically running when she did them. As was using Correct the Record and of course laundering money through her victory fund. Anyone know what happened to this lawsuit?
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
I live in downtown Bellingham Wa. and the Caucus site
was just a few blocks away at the library and Bernie won all but a few votes which was good because there were supporters older than me (69) that physically couldn't attend due to health issues.
At least during the actual election the ballots come in the mail so those friends weren't shut out from the process like they were with the Caucus.
So that's my only complaint about Caucuses, and why I think the polls aren't a good barometer guessing vote totals for someone like Joe. It's easy to answer a poll but how many of the Biden supporters will actually engage with that beehive of activity? Waiting in lines , dealing with crowds,and listening to the spokespersons for varying candidates as people haggle over where their votes will go if their candidate doesn't pass the threshold.
It's not a short day. Yet come election time if you haven't already mailed in your vote there voting boxes outside the Courthouse across the street, including one drive thru, and it clearly demonstrates the difference between the two voting styles sand why a lot of people don't like the Caucus method is easy to understand.
I feel you, my man.
This nook of Queens was crackling with electricity for Bernie in 2016. So many vivid memories; it wasn't unlike the feeling Obama engendered (which those psychotic dupes at DK just couldn't get their heads around they were so demented in Her). But it really was.
I had my four month old son in a harness knocking on doors: delivering signs to friends: going all over the rest of the city getting storeowners to put up Bernie signs up: stayed up almost all night putting yard signs up and down the Grand Central Parkway so that early morning commuters would see a sea of Bernie support on their way to work on election day.
We won in our district, which is amazing considering they stole the rest of the thing. Guess they couldn't fuck with the overt support here (which also went 75% for AOC, and Caban).
Still enrages me because they did douse the hopes of a whole slew of new political participants, potentially for good. I'm so glad to see a whole next wave sprout up to push this campaign right back where it was then.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
The greatest single obstacle
“pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” moment.
Awe but we did start paying attention to the man behind the curtain when we found out how Bernie was cheated out of winning the primary. For many of us our eyes were opened and we can not not see what is in front of us.
concerns defined for them
Bingo. Those who only get their Russia news from Rachel are just having their beliefs confirmed and have closed their minds to any information that puts her views in dispute. Take impeachment. Most people who detest Trump because they believe he worked with Vlad to keep Hillary from becoming president will not acknowledge that he had a reason to look into Ukraine's corruption with how Biden and son were involved in that. One article I read said Biden's lobbying firm received $900,000 in tax payer money meant to go to the Ukraine people. And Biden wasn't the only democrats drinking from the trough. Pelosi, Schiff and others.
I posted this in Mimi's essay and feel it fits in here as well
Side note: Krystal and Saagar's book is beating Mustache Bolton's book sales. Hahahahahah.
Nuther side note:
Sen. Manchin: I think Hunter Biden is a relevant witness.
lol.... this will make a few heads explode.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
Out of Touch
Oh look here's Russia interfering with the election again...
According to Ryan Grim on the program Rising (The Hill) Hillary and Bills buddy Paul Begala sits on the board of this group. Hillary strikes again.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.
~Hannah Arendt
45-64yrs Iowan support for Biden collapses, 17% shift to Bernie
From the Intercept, Amid Social Security Fight, Joe Biden Is Losing Ground Among Middle-Aged and Older Voters
Really bad for Biden to be losing that much from older voters.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
"Joe Biden can't admit he was wrong about anything. And that
is a big problem for someone who has been wrong about EVERYTHING." LOL.
Democratic Majority for Israel
It's got Israel in it so I'm calling it.
Foreign interference in our national elections!
Arrests need to be made! Sanctions! Asset confistications!
Deportations! Media censuring! Shadow banning!
s/
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Hi Mark
Great piece. Thanks for putting it up.
They will find a way to steal it, whether that ends with Biden as nominee or someone else the Supers want (Bloomberg,or even Hillary).
This is my pessimistic side speaking, but I generally find it's best not to set expectations too high, and we all know past performance by the DNC and Dem establishment is a very good predictor of what they will do this election.
That said, I am hoping for a miracle.
Send me a message sometime. With my novel coming out in late August, I hope I will be able to set up a book signing event in NYC. I have no idea where, but if I can swing it, it would be wonderful to see you again.
Take care,
Steve
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Good to see you, Steven.
Stay in touch.
Before you come down let me know. I have a friend who works in book publishing.
This year a C99 NYC get together must/will happen.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Holy shit. Peter Cohen is picking up on the lifeboat imagery.
did you see the picture of the life preserver in his article?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
538 Forcast right now
Biden 1 in 2 chance of winning the nomination.
Sanders 3 in 10 chance of winning the nomination.
Sanders considerably behind.
3 weeks ago the betting odds favored Biden by 12pts. Not now...
As of tonight the betting odds favor Bernie by 3.
That's a massive swing.
Real Clear Politics Betting Odds - Democratic Presidential Nomination
Still, this:
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Hi, and thanks Mark.
I sure hope that those willing to lay down their money on a winner are more of an indication of the outcome than most polls are.
[video:https://youtu.be/x194HbAI-og]