The Evening Blues - 4-24-20
Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music features musician Ry Cooder. Enjoy!
Ry Cooder - Crazy 'Bout An Automobile
“Thus did a handful of rapacious citizens come to control all that was worth controlling in America. Thus was the savage and stupid and entirely inappropriate and unnecessary and humorless American class system created. Honest, industrious, peaceful citizens were classed as bloodsuckers, if they asked to be paid a living wage. And they saw that praise was reserved henceforth for those who devised means of getting paid enormously for committing crimes against which no laws had been passed. Thus the American dream turned belly up, turned green, bobbed to the scummy surface of cupidity unlimited, filled with gas, went bang in the noonday sun.”
-- Kurt Vonnegut
News and Opinion
'No Warming, No War': Report Details How US Militarism and Climate Crisis Are Deeply Interwoven
A new report examining the federal budget illuminates the deep connections between the climate emergency and the U.S. military, arguing that the shift to a green economy requires a just transition away from both fossil fuels and endless war.
The report, entitled No Warming, No War: How Militarism Fuels the Climate Crisis—and Vice Versa (pdf), says that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic "has utterly changed life as we know it" and warns against working toward a return to an old normal which was "defined by unfettered capitalism that thrives on the devastation of our planet, the devaluation of human life, and the use of military force to perpetuate both."
"On a local and global scale, humanity and community have been co-opted by profit and violence. This 'normal' has now brought us to the brink of an existential crisis as climate change continues nearly unabated," co-authors Lorah Steichen and Lindsay Koshgarian write in the foreword. "In the face of both COVID-19 and the climate crisis, we urgently need to shift from a culture of war to a culture of care."
The report was published Wednesday, the 50th annual Earth Day, by the National Priorities Project (NPP) at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS). A 2014 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, NPP tracks military spending and promotes a federal budget "that represents Americans' priorities, including funding for people's issues such as inequality, unemployment, education, health, and the need to build a green economy."
Along with a summary on the IPS website and a blog post by Steichen, NPP produced infographics highlighting the report's major findings, including that up to half of all interstate wars since 1973 have been linked to fossil fuel resources, particularly in the oil-rich Middle East. According to NPP, "The U.S. military spends an estimated $81 billion a year to protect the world's oil supplies—even before accounting for the Iraq war."
The U.S. has a well-known history of fighting wars for oil. At least a quarter of all interstate wars since 1973 were linked to oil, & the fossil fuel industry relies on militarization to uphold operations around the globe.#NoWarmingNoWar #EarthDay2020https://t.co/s4cCK3aSRO pic.twitter.com/1XSBIB8JkV
— National Priorities (@natpriorities) April 22, 2020
As NPP's experts explain, the massive U.S. military—with its over two million members and an annual budget exceeding $700 billion—is "among the biggest polluters" on the planet, producing about 59 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, more than countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and Portugal, according to the Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
Steichen and Koshgarian found that transitioning the nation's power grid to 100% renewable energy over the next decade would cost an estimated $4.5 trillion, which not only would generate more jobs than the military but is also less costly—in lives and dollars—than the $6.4 trillion that the U.S. has spent on war since 2001.
Echoing demands of climate campaigners, the report calls for ending all direct and indirect subsidies for coal, oil, and gas, which would save about $649 billion a year. Coupled with redirecting $350 billion of the Pentagon's spending, the total savings could amount to nearly $1 trillion that the country could instead put toward renewable energy.
"Enforcing fair taxes on the wealthy, corporations, and Wall Street could yield $866 billion," the report adds. "When we take back our resources from elites who profit off violent wars, weapons, and walls we can reinvest trillions of dollars back into our communities and begin to repair the harm inflicted on people and the planet by militarization at home and around the world."
The report also takes aim at the corporations—both military contractors and energy giants—that reap massive profits from the devastation of war and fossil fuel extraction. The analysis specifically calls out Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman as well as BP, Shell, Chevron, and ExxonMobil.
Worth a full read.
Diseased System in Shut-Lockdown: Never a Better Time to Fight for Socialism
If growing misery among the masses is what made revolutions, the Lords of Capital would have been deposed from their ruling perches long ago. But human beings do not spend their lives tallying cumulative assaults on their well being and dignity, and ruling classes are expert at blaming despised Others, foreign and domestic, for the ills of society. History shows us that economic crises do not become political crises that seriously threaten the ruling order until a critical mass of people come to the realization that the system itself is rotten, unbearable and incapable of meaningful reform. They must not only hate the rulers, but also hate the rulers’ system of governance more than they despise domestic Others and “threatening” foreigners. Otherwise, the Lords of Capital will simply find another face to represent their interests, defusing popular disconnect. ...
The current health and economic crisis will dramatically accelerate the processes of corporate monopolization, finance capital dictatorship, and working class precarity and immiseration. But that’s the direction the Lords of Capital have been moving the U.S. political economy for at least forty years. It is already broadly understood that the oligarchy has been wildly successful in directing the great bulk of national and planetary wealth to their own pockets. So, what makes this crisis a potentially transformative moment – a chance to upend the dictatorship of capital -- rather than just another temporary disruption in the oligarchic order of things?
The people’s level of consciousness determines whether an economic crisis becomes a political threat to the rule of the rich. As Frederick Douglass said, “The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.” There are tipping points in history, although correctly identifying them is easy only in hindsight. Economic collapse, famines, natural disasters and, especially, wars have most often served to tip the mass consciousness from solemn sufferance to rebellion, at least among the most volatile sectors of the oppressed. ...
The term “austerity” is not in common usage in the U.S. “Race to the Bottom” is more descriptive of actual late stage capitalist policy, a consensus among the ruling class and their duopoly parties that seeks to strip the working class of all social protections and supports so that workers will be compelled to accept any “job” they can get. Ultimately, the goal is to force U.S. workers to compete with super-exploited workers in the formerly colonized world. The Race to the Bottom is deliberate pauperization of those sections of the working class that are still useful to the rulers.
There is no consensus among the oligarchs on what to do with the excess workers and “undesirable” populations, beyond already existing mass incarceration. ...
Enter the coronavirus, societal lockdown and an economic shutdown like none ever before experienced. The U.S. was revealed as having no reserves of personnel, medical gear and equipment to fight, test or track the disease. The Centers for Disease Control is an agency, not a health care system. It can press no buttons to make a non-existent system work. The Orange Menace made things worse, as always, but catastrophe was guaranteed by lack of a public health care system worthy of the name. The people know they have been stripped structurally naked to a killer virus, and they are outraged and afraid. In these long lockdown hours of unrelieved anxiety, many have reached, or will soon come to, a grim epiphany: they are living in a country run by people that care only for money, and millions of those that survive the epidemic will see their jobs disappear. ...
Across the abyss of race and class, the people are staring at the rulers and their shills, and growing a deep hatred of the system – deeper than hatred of Trump, who is too incompetent to cause, or defend against, a double catastrophe of the systemic kind. Bernie Sanders has proven, dramatically and beyond doubt, that there is no balm for such a disaster in the Democratic Party, which is a partner with the Republicans in the austerity regime that set the stage for the double-whammy. When the coronavirus was making an inarguable case for a national health care system, Sanders chose to surrender to the “nothing’s gonna change” man. The Democrats – all of them – are simply rich men’s toys, and of no use whatsoever in a fight.
In this time of incomparable economic and health crisis the real Left, small as it is, must make the case for socialism and the overthrow of rich man’s rule. At the beginning of this article I wrote:” History shows us that economic crises do not become political crises that seriously threaten the ruling order until a critical mass of people come to the realization that the system itself is rotten, unbearable and incapable of meaningful reform.” I believe that such a critical mass exists, right now. Not enough to make a revolution, but more than enough to start the process.
Merchants of death: Multibillion-dollar bailout for arms industry amid rising COVID-19 toll
“I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea,” US President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday in a startling threat that could trigger a catastrophic war throughout the Middle East and beyond. ... Pentagon officials reported Wednesday that they had received no prior notification of Trump’s tweet, much less any orders for a change in the rules of engagement in the Persian Gulf. Nonetheless, the brutal and fascistic rhetoric of Trump reflects a drive to war by US imperialism that has not been tempered, but rather intensified, by the global pandemic.
Even as Trump issued his tweet, US warships were sailing toward a confrontation with China in the South China Sea. At the same time, the Pentagon was announcing a shift in its deployment of long-range, nuclear capable B-52 bombers to make their presence less predictable to Beijing and Moscow and thereby ratchet up tensions. In recent days, the US has sharply escalated its air strikes against the impoverished African nation of Somalia, even as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to ravage its population. Escalating war threats continue against Venezuela, and the Pentagon continues to provide support for the near-genocidal Saudi-led war against the people of Yemen.
Nowhere does this war drive find more naked expression than in the massive government bailout that is being organized for the US arms industry. With tens of millions of workers unemployed, many facing hunger, and a drive by both the Trump administration and state governors to force a premature return to work, billions upon billions of dollars are being lavished upon military contractors to sustain their guaranteed profits and the obscene fortunes generated for their major shareholders.
The Pentagon’s top weapons procurer, Undersecretary of Defense Ellen Lord, told a press conference Monday that some $3 billion has already been funneled to the arms makers in the form of early payments for existing contracts, in addition to billions more approved by Congress in the first CARES Act, which pumped trillions of dollars into the financial markets. She indicated that much more will be doled out once Congress passes another stimulus package. Asked by a reporter how much would be need to insure Washington’s Merchants of Death from any losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, she replied, “We’re talking billions and billions on that one.” Lord added that the first priority for this aid program was the “modernization process of the nuclear triad.”
These industries are hardly the picture of the deserving poor. The fact that massive financial resources that are desperately needed to save lives and rescue millions of workers from poverty are instead being poured into their pockets is a crime.
Warfare before lives | US urges Mexico to keep producing defense supplies
Brazil's star justice minister Sérgio Moro resigns in blow to Jair Bolsonaro
One of the most popular and powerful figures in Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right administration – the celebrity justice minister Sérgio Moro – has resigned, setting up a potentially momentous political conflict just as Brazil struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Moro – a hero for much of the Brazilian right and a hate figure for many on the left – announced his decision on Friday after clashing with the president over Bolsonaro’s sacking of the head of Brazil’s federal police.
“I have to protect my biography and above all the commitment I took on … that we would stand firm against corruption, organized crime and violent crime,” said Moro, a 47-year-old judge who became a household name for leading the “Car Wash” corruption investigation and jailing former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of the 2018 presidential election.
With Lula sidelined, Bolsonaro won a landslide victory by pledging to combat corruption and appointed Moro just days later as a potent symbol of his supposed intentions.
Brian Winter, the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, said Moro’s exit could have huge implications for Brazil’s leader by eating away at his support base of about 30% of voters – which some believe could pave the way for impeachment.
“I think it’s devastating for Bolsonaro,” Winter said.
“I think Moro’s departure will cause a real crisis of conscience for some Bolsonaro voters who will ask themselves: ‘Is this government really the change that I voted for?’” Winter said.
EU warns Israeli government against West Bank annexation
Coronavirus detected on particles of air pollution
Coronavirus has been detected on particles of air pollution by scientists investigating whether this could enable it to be carried over longer distances and increase the number of people infected.
The work is preliminary and it is not yet known if the virus remains viable on pollution particles and in sufficient quantity to cause disease.
The Italian scientists used standard techniques to collect outdoor air pollution samples at one urban and one industrial site in Bergamo province and identified a gene highly specific to Covid-19 in multiple samples. The detection was confirmed by blind testing at an independent laboratory.
Leonardo Setti at the University of Bologna in Italy, who led the work, said it was important to investigate if the virus could be carried more widely by air pollution. ...
Two other research groups have suggested air pollution particles could help coronavirus travel further in the air.
A statistical analysis by Setti’s team suggests higher levels of particle pollution could explain higher rates of infection in parts of northern Italy before a lockdown was imposed, an idea supported by another preliminary analysis. The region is one of the most polluted in Europe.
Krystal and Saagar: Clearest sign yet of economic DOOM to come
Andrew Cuomo Just Called Mitch McConnell ‘Dumb’ and That's the Nicest Thing He Said
Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched a withering attack on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell during his Thursday morning press conference, calling the Kentucky Republican’s ideas “vicious” and “dumb,” and dubbing the man himself a “self-proclaimed grim reaper.”
Over the last few weeks, Cuomo has repeatedly railed against Congress’ stimulus packages for failing to provide state and local governments with enough aid to combat the coronavirus pandemic. A fourth package is expected to pass the House of Representatives Thursday.
McConnell has responded to that type of criticism by suggesting states crushed by COVID-19 can simply apply for bankruptcy. “I would certainly be in favor of allowing states to use the bankruptcy route,” McConnell said in a Wednesday radio interview. “It saves some cities. And there’s no good reason for it not to be available.”
NY Gov. Cuomo says Senator Mitch McConnell’s suggestion that states should declare bankruptcy is "one of the really dumb ideas of all time" https://t.co/QBahnlGuEe pic.twitter.com/Tafg28d3As
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 23, 2020
“That’s how you’re going to bring this national economy back? By states declaring bankruptcy?” Cuomo asked. “You want to see that market fall through the cellar? Let New York state declare bankruptcy. Let Michigan declare bankruptcy. Let Illinois declare bankruptcy. Let California declare bankruptcy. You will see a collapse of this national economy.”
.@NYGovCuomo: "New York puts in more money to the federal pot than it takes out. Your state takes out more than it puts in.
Senator McConnell, who's getting bailed out here? It's your state that is living on the money that we generate." pic.twitter.com/8SZyFzlHza
— Matt Rogers (@Politidope) April 23, 2020
But the governor wasn’t finished. He then took aim at a heading on a McConnell press release circulated by the senator’s office on Wednesday that read, “Stopping Blue State Bailouts.” ...
“New York puts in more money to the federal pot than it takes out,” Cuomo said. “His state takes out more than it puts in. Sen. McConnell, who’s getting bailed out here? It’s your state that is living on the money that we generate. Your state is getting bailed out, not my state.”
Coronavirus Is Revealing Gaping Holes in America’s Drug Supply Chain
Medical experts say the next crisis is just around the corner: drug shortages.
There have already been signs that hospitals are running low on key pharmaceuticals needed to treat the virus: asthma medications, like albuterol, and sedatives, like propofol, which are key for keeping people on ventilators.
But the bigger problem is a global supply chain that rife with bottlenecks and dependent on just a small handful of places to produce almost all of America's generic medications — and even fewer still that make the raw materials that go into those drugs.
US House passes $484bn coronavirus relief bill to fund small businesses and hospitals
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a $484bn coronavirus relief bill on Thursday, funding small businesses and hospitals and pushing the total spending response to the crisis to an unprecedented near $3tn.
The measure passed the Democratic-led House by a vote of 388-5, with one member voting present. House members were meeting for the first time in weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic. ...
The House action sent the latest of four relief bills to the White House, where Donald Trump has promised to sign it quickly into law.
The Republican-led Senate had passed the legislation on Tuesday. But threats of opposition by some members of both parties prompted congressional leaders to call the full chamber back to Washington for the House vote despite state stay-at-home orders.
A handful of lawmakers opposed the legislation, including the Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents a severely affected area of New York and believes Congress should do even more – and Republican Thomas Massie, known as “Mr No” for his frequent opposition to spending bills.
AOC rips Republicans but as usual fails to mention the corrupt and complicit Democrat leadership.
.@RepAOC @AOC: "It is a joke when Republicans say that they have urgency around this bill...you are not trying fix this bill for mom & pops. We have to fight to fund hospitals. Fighting to fund testing...It is unconscionable."
Full video here: https://t.co/IBennHJzF3 pic.twitter.com/1rx1e16Unr
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 23, 2020
New $484B Relief Bill Lacks Funds for Food Aid, Rent Relief, US Postal Service, Election Protection
'Lowest of the Low': McConnell and Trump Ripped for Blocking Food Assistance in Covid-19 Package
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump are under fire after blocking a proposed increase in funding for federal nutrition assistance at a time when millions of people across the U.S. are relying on food banks to survive the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump ought to be ashamed," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said in a statement Wednesday after the Senate passed a $480 billion "interim" coronavirus relief bill that did not include the modest increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding that Democrats requested. The interim package is expected to pass the House on Thursday.
McConnell and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin informed Republican senators in a conference call Sunday that the additional SNAP funding would not be included in the final legislation.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that SNAP enrollment has jumped by 40% since last month as millions report being out of work. As Common Dreams reported Thursday, more than 26 million people have filed jobless claims since mid-March.
"A record number of Americans have filed for unemployment," said McGovern. "Food pantry lines in some states stretch miles down the road. We are experiencing a crisis of food insecurity not seen in the United States in decades."
McConnell and Trump "don't have to worry about where their next meal is coming from," said McGovern, "but they don't think other families should be afforded the same right."
Massive Backlog of Unpaid Jobless Benefits Leaves 'A Nightmare' for Millions on Brink of Financial Ruin
An unprecedented avalanche of jobless claims over the past month due to the coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed state governments' antiquated unemployment systems and produced an enormous backlog of unpaid benefits, leaving millions of people on the brink of financial ruin with another rent payment due in just a week.
According to a Washington Post analysis published Thursday, "the economic carnage wrought by the coronavirus has resulted in a national backlog of at least 3 million unpaid jobless claims."
"The figure reflects claims made by April 4," the Post reported. "The true backlog is probably far greater, following the release of new federal data Thursday showing an additional 4 million people who filed for unemployment last week." More than 26 million people in the U.S. have filed jobless claims over the past month, according to the latest Labor Department data.
The backlog of benefits is most severe in Florida, where Republican political leaders have imposed punitive restrictions on unemployment insurance and refused to modernize the state's crumbling technological infrastructure. More than 1.7 million Floridians have filed for unemployment since mid-March, but state data released Thursday showed that just over 108,000 people have received benefits.
"Those who have been paid represent just 6 percent of the total number of filings," the Tampa Bay Times reported.
As of this writing, the Florida unemployment website is down for maintenance and will not be back online until Monday, April 27. New applicants can still file for benefits, but those who have already submitted applications cannot currently check the site for status updates. ...
Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst and researcher with the National Employment Law Project, said in a statement Tuesday that a "perfect storm of unemployment benefit cuts and access restrictions so destabilized the foundation of the unemployment insurance program that we are now witnessing its dysfunction in real time."
"We've reached the point where it's too late to prepare states in advance for the massive tsunami of unemployment that is rocking the economy and state unemployment systems," said Evermore.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Calif.) and more than a dozen other Democratic senators sent a letter to congressional leaders earlier this week demanding that the next Covid-19 stimulus package include additional funding to ensure that states have the resources to accommodate the surge in unemployment claims.
The senators also said federal digital resources should be made readily available to help state and local governments modernize their unemployment systems.
"News reports abound showing hours-long hold times for Americans seeking assistance with unemployment claims, small business loans and grants, and other emergency programs," the letter states. "These federal programs, which are administered by the states, are of the utmost importance to American workers and businesses. They must be able to serve this skyrocketing need, per congressional intent in the CARES Act."
How To Start A Successful Strike During Crisis. w/Jane McAlevey
US unemployment applications reach over 26m as states struggle to keep up
An additional 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment last week adding to a total of over 26 million since the coronavirus pandemic shut down swaths of the US and brought its economy to a standstill.
The latest Department of Labor figures show the pace of layoffs appears to have slowed slightly but a backlog of claims mean millions more are likely to file in the coming weeks. States across the country are encountering problems with the sheer number of people applying for unemployment benefits.
In Florida, bedevilled by the widespread collapse of its already flawed benefits system, just 14.2% of the more than 668,000 claims filed since 15 March have been paid. In Ohio, claimants now have to file on a specific day of the week, depending on the first letter of their last name, to ease congestion. Washington residents are complaining that the state’s website crashes or takes hours to respond.
David Sirota: Did Amazon get caught lying to Congress about monopoly practices?
'Same Ideas, Every Disaster': Right-Wing Heritage Foundation Urges Universal School Voucher Program for Coronavirus Recovery
Progressives and public education advocates on Thursday denounced a proposal from the conservative Heritage Foundation for the United States' recovery from the coronavirus pandemic that includes a recommendation for a universal school voucher program via what one critic called a "particularly brutal" implementation plan.
The group's National Coronavirus Recovery Commission released a report (pdf) this week advising states to "immediately restructure" their education spending to keep taxpayer money from going to public schools.
With children in a number of states already out of school for the rest of the term, and with closures expected in some regions to potentially extend through the fall, the Heritage Foundation said that states should offer "education savings accounts (ESAs) to families, enabling them to access their child's share of state per-pupil funding to pay for online courses, online tutors, curriculum, and textbooks so that their children can continue learning."
Education blogger Peter Greene wrote that the plan amounts to "gutting" public education for the foreseeable future and potentially for the long-term, calling ESAs "super vouchers—a voucher that let parents spend public tax dollars with little oversight or accountability."
"It's a bad policy idea for a variety of reasons, but this implementation would be particularly brutal if what they're seriously proposing is to strip public schools of all funding for the remainder of the year," Greene wrote. "Seriously? Just finish the year with zero dollars because we're just going to hand out the rest of your operating budget as vouchers?"
Public school advocate Diane Ravitch said the plan—a pet cause of conservatives for decades—would "help America sink back at least a century in educating its children, perhaps even two centuries."
Larry Summers as Joe Biden Advisor Adding to 'Major Trust Gap' Between Dem Nominee and Progressives
Progressives on Friday called on presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to part ways with Larry Summers after it was reported that the economist is advising the former vice president's campaign on how to jumpstart the economic recovery after the coronavirus crisis passes.
"Talking to Larry Summers about economic policy is a declaration of war on everyone who doesn't own a vacation home," tweeted journalist Kelsey D. Atherton.
The Dems are more to the left than ever!!!! Larry Summers is helping them in their new leftism. It's so lefty and inspiring. https://t.co/gc0Xq0vz1R
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 23, 2020
In a joint statement, Justice Democrats and the Sunrise Movement announced they are launching a petition asking Biden to disavow Summers, who the groups noted has a long history of advocating for harmful economic policies and a record of bigoted statements.
"Joe Biden has a major trust gap that he must overcome with progressives and voters under 45 who voted overwhelmingly against him in the primary and who he'll need to defeat Trump," the groups said. "Larry Summers' legacy is advocating for policies that contributed to the skyrocketing inequality and climate crisis we're living with today."
The groups listed a number of problematic statements made and positions taken by Summers over his career, including advocating for the Keystone XL pipeline, his opposition to a wealth tax, and comments dismissing the importance of women and African countries.
As Bloomberg reported, the economist's involvement in the Biden campaign was good news for those who had wondered about Biden's commitment to right-wing economic policies as the former vice president attempts to rhetorically win over supporters of former rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.):
Summers' involvement in Biden's campaign, however, offered some reassurance to Wall Street that Biden is not moving too far to the left from the centrist positions that earned him his establishment support.
But for progressives, the prospect of Summers being involved with the Biden campaign and his prospects in a hypothetical Biden presidency were the strongest indication yet that the former vice president intends to pursue right-wing economic policies if elected president.
"If Summers were to land a top job in the Biden administration it would signal a clear shift to the right," tweeted HuffPost's Zach Carter.
Political comedian James Adomian opined that the move was a direct attack on the left and sends a message that should not be ignored.
"There is no upside to appointing Larry Summers to anything. His record is 100% evil and failure," Adomian said. "Tapping him is exclusively a fuck you gesture with no other purpose."
Saagar Enjeti: Biden doesn't try to hide how he will SCREW American workers
Democrats to watch out for:
Donors to Top Fundraising Democrat in New York Congressional Race Include John Negroponte, George W. Bush’s Intelligence Chief
In the crowded race in New York’s 17th Congressional District, the top Democratic fundraiser — an alum of former President Barack Obama’s Defense Department — is receiving financial support from the defense industry; prominent Republicans, including a controversial diplomat who played a key role in the Iraq War; and lobbyists who have represented foreign dictatorships that are known human rights abusers.
Evelyn Farkas, who served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia under Obama, has received campaign contributions of at least $100,000 from defense contractors and employees of lobbying firms, as well as government affairs professionals, according to her latest Federal Election Commission filings. Donors include executives at Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman; John Negroponte, the former director of national intelligence and ambassador to Iraq under George W. Bush, who helped make the case for the invasion of Iraq while U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; and Ken Duberstein, Ronald Reagan’s former chief of staff. In addition to the defense industry, Farkas has also received contributions from companies and lobbyists representing the pharmaceutical, gun, health insurance, tobacco, and fossil fuel industries — despite her pledge in February to refuse money from fossil fuel lobbyists.
Farkas had raised a total of $924,610 by the end of March, according to FEC disclosures. Her top competitor in the field of at least eight Democrats is Mondaire Jones, another Obama alum from the Department of Justice. Jones, whose campaign is reliant on small-dollar donors and has raised $830,701, has the backing of high-profile progressives like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the Working Families Party. Jones is the least wealthy candidate in the race to replace Rep. Nita Lowey, who announced her retirement in October, and is the only one who had no assets to disclose. ...
The primary in a safe blue district, which covers parts of New York’s Rockland and Westchester counties, is scheduled for June 23. While the coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered how all political candidates are running their campaigns, it presents particular challenges for candidates without deep pockets or industry backers who depend on in-person grassroots organizing to elevate their profiles.
Joe Biden warns that Donald Trump may try to delay November election
Joe Biden said he is concerned Donald Trump will try to delay the November presidential election.
“Mark my words, I think he is going to try to kick back the election somehow, come up with some rationale why it can’t be held,” Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said on Thursday night in remarks at an online fundraiser.
Under the law, no president has the power to postpone the presidential election. To change the date, Congress has to intervene.
Trump has not announced plans to delay the 3 November election, but it is a concern both political parties have raised. The president has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of understanding about the limits on executive power, particularly when it comes to his own self-preservation.
Insect numbers down 25% since 1990, global study finds
The biggest assessment of global insect abundances to date shows a worrying drop of almost 25% in the last 30 years, with accelerating declines in Europe that shocked scientists. The analysis combined 166 long-term surveys from almost 1,700 sites and found that some species were bucking the overall downward trend. In particular, freshwater insects have been increasing by 11% each decade following action to clean up polluted rivers and lakes. However, this group represent only about 10% of insect species and do not pollinate crops.
Researchers said insects remained critically understudied in many regions, with little or no data from South America, south Asia and Africa. Rapid destruction of wild habitats in these places for farming and urbanisation is likely to be significantly reducing insect populations, they said. Insects are by far the most varied and abundant animals, outweighing humanity by 17 times, and are essential to the ecosystems humanity depends upon. They pollinate plants, are food for other creatures and recycle nature’s waste.
The previous largest assessment, based on 73 studies, led scientists to warn of “catastrophic consequences for the survival of mankind” if insect losses were not halted. Its estimated rate of decline was more than double that in the new study. Other experts estimate 50% of insects have been lost in the last 50 years.
Recent analyses from some locations have found collapses in insect abundance, such as 75% in Germany and 98% in Puerto Rico. The new, much broader study found a lower rate of losses. However, Roel van Klink, of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research in Leipzig, who led the research, said: “This 24% is definitely something to be concerned about. It’s a quarter less than when I was a kid. One thing people should always remember is that we really depend on insects for our food.”
The research, published in the journal Science, also examined how the rate of loss was changing over time. “Europe seems to be getting worse now – that is striking and shocking. But why that is, we don’t know,” said van Klink. In North America, the declines are flattening off, but at a low level.
Flooding will affect double the number of people worldwide by 2030
The number of people harmed by floods will double worldwide by 2030, according to a new analysis. The World Resources Institute, a global research group, found that 147 million people will be hit by floods from rivers and coasts annually by the end of the decade, compared with 72 million people just 10 years ago. Damages to urban property will soar from $174bn to $712bn per year.
By 2050, “the numbers will be catastrophic,” according to the report. A total of 221 million people will be at risk, with the toll in cities costing $1.7tn yearly.
When WRI first developed its flood modeling tool in 2014, the predictions felt “like a fantasy”, said Charlie Iceland, director of water initiatives at WRI. “But now we’re actually seeing this increase in magnitude of the damages in real time,” Iceland said. “We’ve never seen these types of floods before.”
Floods are getting worse because of the climate crisis, decisions to populate high-risk areas and land sinkage from the overuse of groundwater.
Also of Interest
Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.
Pandemic is Not Just a Crisis, It’s Also a Gift
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/04/mitch-mcconnell-to-state-pension...
Mike Davis On Pandemics, Super-capitalism and the Struggles of Tomorrow
Coronavirus Pandemic is Paving the Way for an Increase in Superbugs
Ten Things You Can Do Now to Curb Wall Street’s Wealth Transfer System
How Pepsi and Coke make millions bottling tap water, as residents face shutoffs
Krystal Ball: The woke Left tried to cancel me, that's why they keep losing
Krystal and Saagar: Joe Rogan's hysterical takedown of Joe Biden
Krystal and Saagar: New polling shows which VP candidate Bernie supporters may back
NPR reporter exposes how Mike Bloomberg covered up Chinese government corruption
Krystal and Saagar: AOC makes it official, she'll vote blue no matter who
A Little Night Music
Ry Cooder - How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
Randy Newman,Linda Ronstadt & Ry Cooder - Rider In The Rain
Ry Cooder - Teardrops Will Fall
John Lee Hooker & Ry Cooder - Hobo Blues
Ry Cooder - Bill Withers Tribute
Flaco Jimenez & Ry Cooder - The Girls From Texas
Ry Cooder - Get Rythym
Rosanne Cash & Ry Cooder - Long Black Veil
Jagger, Wyman, Watts, Cooder & Hopkins - Jamming With Edward
Ry Cooder & Chicken Skin Music: 1977 Concert
Comments
Really? This Summers...
a page from Tom Franks book Listen, Liberal
Thanks Joe
evening qms...
heh, or maybe this delightful larry summers:
have a great weekend!
My response:
!!!
I am sure his Harvard students learn all kinds of similar good stuff about how to maximize profits while simultaneously causing mass murder.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
evening otc...
heh, i am pretty sure that in some post-graduate seminar, the harvard students learn that mass murder is a form of profit maximization.
Lol!
Wonder what their euphemistic economics term for mass murder might be?
Hand report: Getting some feeling back, but it is still pretty much immobile.
I still think I can start some limp hand wave that catches on with the locals, sort of like Queen Elizabeth's palm twist.
The neurologist didn't call me today, so if he doesn't give a shit, neither do I.
My only remaining life goal is to visit about 10 more untraveled countries.
Oh, and to wear goofy high heels to court one more time.
On my 60th birthday, I made an announcement to the Court that I would be moving about slowly and carefully. I was wearing shoes I had purchased online, and that was my first time to actually wear them. I didn't realize they were crack whore pole dancing shoes.
Applause, Happy Birthday, the bailiff taking my arm to help me around,and so forth.
It's the little things.
There is an actual transcript of that.
It should be read at my funeral.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
heh...
i'm sure that those harvard fellows have come up with something more pleasant than "culling the herd" or some variant on ayn rand's reduction of "useless eaters."
sorry to hear that your hand is not improving by leaps and bounds, good luck with your specialist.
have a great weekend!
You, too, my friend.
I should do some shopping for some 68th b'day shoes.
Can't let those young women attorneys steal the spotlight!
I will settle for unessential economic negatives to describe the 99%.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
From Palast several years ago...
http://www.gregpalast.com/larry-summers-goldman-sacked/
Compensated Spokes Model for Big Poor.
Fantastic read!
Thanks!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Teardrops will Fall...
written by Gerry Granahan who did "No Chemise Please".
Ok, now that that's out of the way, the Oregon primary is coming up (May 19th) and the voter pamphlet has arrived. I want to share some disqualifying remarks in some of these party/candidate statements. "Disqualifying remarks" are those where, once you hit them you go "no, don't think so".
The Constitution Party: "All our nominees are pledged to defend the following three Principles, (1) The Creator God in heaven, made known to us through the Holy Scriptures..." Stop right there! Disqualified!
The Democratic Party: "Oregon Democrats have led the nation on resisting the Trump agenda, refusing to cede to his dark vision.." Next!
The Republican Party: (talking about Governor Kate Brown) "Her style is that of a corrupt dictator..." Good lord, *that* will be effective!
Republican candidate for US Senate, Robert Schwartz: "Some people don't like me, the same ones who call my neighbors white privileged fascists because they enjoy firearms..." Yikes!
Democratic candidate for President, Elizabeth Warren: (telling a story about how her mother got a job answering phones) "That job saved their home, and it saved their family, but now the minimum wage can't support a mama and her baby". You know, I don't believe anything she says or writes. I read that her brother died yesterday from Covid-19. I don't believe it. I'm sure he's dead but it would be nice for her if it were from this virus. I just don't believe it.
Joe Biden: "...he started talking about climate change as a moral issue of our time before it was a mainstream issue". Joe, get in line next to Liz.
All of which brings me to that Rising show. I've been enjoying it for months although shaharazade has told me many times that she doesn't trust those people. Well today I'm beginning to see why. They're very much anti-DNC, anti-Biden. That's fine. But yesterday the nut in charge suggested injected disinfectant to fight the virus. And yet, maybe I missed it, there was nothing on that show about it. Yes, the DNC is our enemy but so is Trump, so is the rightwing. By continuing to blast Biden, or show polls with Biden at lower than expected levels with Latinos, with no mention of Trump's madness it makes me think maybe there is a hidden agenda.
One could say "oh, well, it's known that Trump's evil and nuts, there's no need to say so." But then that's an argument for not talking about what they *do* discuss. We know Biden's a warmongering corporatist. Why bother saying so?
My point here is that, just as pamphlet statements make you go "no, thanks", so too do omissions. Once you break the trust, once something fishy starts creeping in we can't see it the same way as before.
Unfortunately we live
in a world of illusions. It's now very common to think of up as down.
I wish more of humanity would become we. Alas I fear, those times are gone.
Great post.
Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.
evening shahryar...
heh, nobody that is running for office is fit to govern. same as it ever was.
neither rising nor any of the news sources available are fully trustworthy.
my strategy has always been to take in a lot of news, know the biases of the sources as much as possible and sort it all out critically.
when a news/opinion source states its bias as progressive or populist (or for that matter even reality based) and they fail to live up to the standard, it tends to piss me off more than it would if some mainstream news source prints something less than worthy and i add an extra grain of salt to the pile with which i consume their news.
in general, though, i've found that sooner or later, every news source will let you down or piss you off.
I hold Lambert Strether of NC Water Cooler in pretty high regard
He examines the media’s “Trump said to inject disinfectant” claim, fact-checks it against an actual transcript, and finds it wanting and tendentious.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2020/04/water-cooler.html
I can't verify the accuracy of this
One tweet I read was from an ER nurse who said that a patient came in after giving himself a bleach enima. He had burns in his .... but I'm betting he is someone who watches either Trump's press conferences or Fox News. But even Fox said not to do it.
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
Real, well-sourced reporting of the old-school sort is very rare
nowadays. We’re cast adrift on an island amidst an ocean of industrialized, internet-enabled agitprop.
Taking comments totally out of context, especially, by
dropping qualifiers. It happens daily.
We know, because we've probably heard about 95-98% of the CV Press Conferences--and, for the most part, listen from start to finish. Obviously, the important part is the expert opinions/information--not DT's inane meanderings. It would suit me fine if he would bow out of them, from now on. Having said that, the corporatist MSM often quotes his (literal) words, without/out of context.
[Edited - corrected typo - to, not ot.]
The most famous example--the "Russia, if you're listening" line. The correct/factual context: DT was in a very [rhetorically] nasty back and forth with a reporter, when he said that--it was definitely a "smart *ss" or sarcastic remark. Immediately following the Doral Press Conference, it was even written up as a sarcastic statement, including, by so-called lefty reporters. I posted one piece (as an example), not long after the PC.
Also, posted the actual Doral (FL) Press Conference transcript. IIRC, it was from Time magazine, which I can no longer access/find. DT had just told MSDNC's corporatist propagandist, Katy Tur, to quit trying "to save" Hillary. She was the reporter that he was mostly addressing, I'm guessing, since she accused him of being pro-Russia, because he wouldn't criticize Putin, and, because he commended Wikileaks' release of the DNC emails (showing their favoritism toward FSC, and, their scr*wing of Bernie).
Having said that, when DT said the "disinfectant" comment was sarcastic--that was/is a lie.
Gotta start reading Lambert more--got weary of the slow moderation over there, so, only read when someone posts a piece (for the most part). IOW, it's difficult for me to read, if I don't feel that I can readily post a comment.
Thank you for last night's OT, Joe. Hope you and yours are staying well.
Same for you, LL.
Mollie
[In advance, please excuse typos/poor syntax, today. Very stiff fingers, and really pushed.
]
THANK YOU America's Physicians & Nurses, All Medical Personnel, First Responders, To Include Medical (EMT/Paramedics/Ambulance), Pharmacy Personnel, Fire Depts, Police Depts, Retailers/Grocers--Especially, To Marginally-Paid Frontline Retail Cashiers & Clerks.
Last, but not least,
THANKS to America's Truckers/Delivery Persons, Especially, To Over-The-Road/Long Haul Truckers Who Obviously Have The Capacity To Shut Down The Entire Country, If They Were To Choose To Sit Out The Current Public Health Crisis, In Order To Protect Their Own.
You are all truly heroes.
Godspeed.
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
The other Trump saying that the media gets wrong
Is when he said that there are nice people on both sides. But they leave out the rest of what he said which was something like they should stop doing it. Meaning that he didn't call the neo Nazis really nice people. I can't find that one anymore cuz it's been scrubbed from the net. U tube used to have it though.
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
Forgot about that one, SD. I've had that transcript
at one time, but, it would be on the Windows 7 laptop we were forced to 'retire' mid-January.
IIRC, he was not talking about Neo-Nazi protestors 'being nice.' He was (rightfully, or wrongfully) defending people who were protesting the dismantling of some of the statutes. IIRC, those were mostly folks who had 'kin' who fought on the Confederate side. It's not the same thing as supporting a flat-out Neo Nazi movement. IMO.
Truthfully, don't understand why someone in DT's family doesn't advise him to "put a lid on it." He is one of the most imprecise people I've ever heard speak. He's not an attorney. He's not even a real politician (even though, somehow he's President). Add to that, he knows very little about parsing words, or the precise use of language (that I can see). Frankly, we ignore pretty much everything he says, even though we still plan to listen to the CV Press Briefings. Obviously, he's clueless about the topic at hand. We listen only to see if the scientific community has more info, or insight into CV. Heck, we even take their statements/opinions with a major grain of salt (researching what they have to say).
Hope you and Charlie are staying well and safe.
Mollie
THANK YOU America's Physicians & Nurses, All Medical Personnel, First Responders, To Include Medical (EMT/Paramedics/Ambulance), Pharmacy Personnel, Fire Depts, Police Depts, Retailers/Grocers--Especially, To Marginally-Paid Frontline Retail Cashiers & Clerks.
Last, but not least,
THANKS to America's Truckers/Delivery Persons, Especially, To Over-The-Road/Long Haul Truckers Who Obviously Have The Capacity To Shut Down The Entire Country, If They Were To Choose To Sit Out The Current Public Health Crisis, In Order To Protect Their Own.
You are all truly heroes.
Godspeed.
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Are you saying that you think Trump
...suggested that the American public consider injecting Lysol into their bodies? Or, suggested that doctors should do that to their Covid-19 patients?
When the media reported that, did you believe that is what actually took place?
It's funny. I've seen headlines like that. Lots of them over the past four years. But it never occurred to me that any of them were logical or that they might be true. I gave this latest outrage a chuckle and I tried for a moment to imagine what Trump intended to say, that the media distorted in such a silly and preposterous way.
The media distorts so many headlines to twist people's minds into certain political positions.
That's how they pulled off the Russia Hoax — and were able to gaslight the entire nation.
That's how they are pulling off the China Hoax right now. I've actually heard people repeating, "if China hadn't lied about the numbers, we would not have so many deaths in the US. We would have fought the virus harder." Democrats are saying that! They are so dumb, they are swallowing Neocon China-hate propaganda, without realizing they are neutralizing their own condemnation of Trump for being so unprepared:
Democrats: "That's okay, Mr. President. We know it's not your fault. China lied to you."
But Trump injecting Scrubbing Bubbles into the bodies of Americans has the ring of truth to you?
And Rising omitted that important national news from their report? What kind of journalists are they, anyway?
My personal battle for intellectual honesty is doomed to fail. Plus, I already know that!
That makes me the greatest fool of all. Throwing my life away on windmills.
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
There's video
If Biden had said such a thing they'd be all over it.
https://youtu.be/0wcQYA-ol_A
EDIT: Here's my point. For years Rachel Maddow told some big truths about what the Bushies were doing. When Obama got in it became clear why she told those truths and why she stopped. Her agenda was anti-Republican, pro-Dems, pro-DNC. She was *not* anti-policy. If Obama did the same thing, no problem.
I now look at these people, TV or print or internet, thinking about their specific angle. If they focus on only one subgroup then it seems to me like they don't want to talk about the big picture. Why would that be? And I'm thinking they're just partisans of some kind. And I dislike partisans.
I saw the clip in real time
But I thank you for the video you posted. It is a blueprint for twisted media distortion, filled with drama, to make the American people believe that what they just saw was the President telling doctors to inject Covid-19 patients with Clorox. And that narrative is all I've seen and heard for the past 24 hours.
What I saw is a President, who is as clueless about science as his two largest constituencies — Republicans and Evangelicals. This intellectual deficit was a known-known during the 2016 election and it is a fact that is deservedly mocked every 30 days or so on the evening news. The science lobe in Trump's brain is as flat and shiny as a mirror. This is not breaking news. Sadly, a majority of American voters are just as science-dumb as he is.
What I saw was Trump addressing two science experts about things they said would kill the virus. I heard him ask questions, guilelessly, that speculated whether these things could be used in the human body to kill the virus. He was talking specifically about UV light, heat, and disinfectants. He was not pontificating, he was speaking in a quiet voice to the two scientists. He asked questions that a child might ask, which exposed to the world how little he understands about science and medicine. However, I'd guess the majority of Americans could not even understand his questions, let alone answer them.
Thus, a stampede of news propaganda teams rush in to exploit a rare set-up that might make Trump's constituents see him as horridly flawed and a threat to mankind. The team in your video spend a dramatic half hour, looking shocked and grieving and terrified by what the President just said. If you turn down the sound, it looks like a crisis broadcast about the World Trade Center on the morning that it was attacked.
This alarming narrative is being created for Trump's most mindless supporters. The gaslighting is directed specifically at them because capturing their votes will supposedly change everything. If the Democrats and the TDS crowd are utterly thrilled by what they see — nobody cares. They are already compromised beyond reason and will readily support all manner of depravity that they once abhorred. It's okay to appreciate this excellent primer on how to gaslight very low info celebrity fans. But it is not okay to be continuously fooled by preposterous propaganda — as if it were a real thing.
Now that I've said that, let me say that I am not focused on this event and I don't really care how anyone reacts to it. I am focused on preventing people from getting sucked into the deep state war effort against China that is taking place right now. This same gaslighting and these same lies and propaganda tactics are being broadcast by the media in order to convince the American people that China has deliberately attacked the US with a virus and killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians. Unlike the Russia Hoax, no one seems to be able to resist this brainwashing. No one even asks for evidence. There is wealth of verifiable evidence, but all of it points to the US, not China. This is a very dangerous circumstance.
IMAGINE if you woke up the day after a US Presidential Election and headlines around the the world blared, "The Majority of Americans Refused to Vote in US Presidential Election! What Does this Mean?"
This is interesting huh?
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
Good evening ...
Here's some more Ry, from Safe as Milk.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayUqmladJuo width:400 height:240]
And one of my favorites.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2FrFBceLuY width:400 height:240]
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
evening azazello...
great stuff, thanks!
this is one of my favorites, it's got a little bit of that good time feel that the olympics big boy pete does:
Great ideas on how to do strikes
I don't know how this country escapes massive strikes of some type. Kicking many more millions out of their homes and apartments is not going to happen this time without a lot of pushback. People are already moving into empty homes across the country so let's do that on a larger scale.
Did this cross your attention on naked capitalism? Boy what a great name for what's happening now.
Hudson: Debt jubilee
Let's do this. Stop paying your credit card until they lower the interest rate to what banks are paying. Why do they get low rates while we're paying up to 37%? I know, but still.
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
evening snoopy...
they avoid massive strikes with precarity and cultural mass hypnosis.
thanks for the link, yves put that up after the last time i checked nc before posting. i'll check out the podcast tomorrow when i've got some time.
have a great weekend!
Breaking bombshell
Apparently Tara Reade's mom called into Larry King in 1993 and told him that her daughter had been sexually assaulted by a senator. The internet sleuths dug this up.
the Intercept has an article on this.
Yup.. this is going to leave a mark.
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
Tara has confirmed it's her mom's voice
Your move democrats. Let's put Bernie back in and get Trump out of office. You know that he can beat him and that ByeDone will lose. If you don't you will have shown the world how much of a farce elections are in the USA. Like they didn't already know that, but...
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
yep...
it's yet another piece of evidence, but the democrats won't believe it unless there is video evidence and even then they would probably call it fraudulent at the top of their lungs.
On Tara's twit thread
A few people are calling her a Russian asset or a Putin lover just because she said something nice about him. Any witty comebacks? I'm at a loss for how to deal with this level of stupidity and I don't like it to hang there without some type of pushback.
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
heh...
you could ask them how much david brock is paying this cycle.
Oh yeah the Brock one
Thanks. I have used it before, but I forgot my witty comment. Thanks for the reminder. I got lots of likes on the first time I used it.
One guy I follow is an old buddy from DK. He said something to Pelosi in response to the video word salad I posted in gjohnsit essay. I told him that she is just keeping her powder dry. lol..
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
Did Tara's Mom
love Putin in 1993?
Inquiring minds...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
This is the sort of real time documentation
that rarely exists in much delayed public reports of a sexual assault by a public figure. It adds considerable weight to everything Reade has said and is completely consistent with all aspects of her story.
Democrats should have rejected Biden for his horrible public policy record, but they are delusional if they think this people will give about as much weight to Reade's claims as they've given to Trump's consensual sex with Daniels and/or that team Trump won't make maximum use of this.
Aaand, now CNN has made that episode (August 11) unavailable …
https://www.reddit.com/r/WayOfTheBern/comments/g84c25/cnn_removed_the_au...
It’s like in Harry Potter, where all we Muggles see is that 12 Grimmauld Place is mysteriously missing from an otherwise consecutive row of addresses (≈ episode dates) …
Giggling
12 Grimmauld Place . This is a great analogy for what CNN did. I lived in California at the time that the two CNN anchors that had been with CNN from the beginning blew it off. They tried to hide their disgust of what it had become, but I saw it. Dave Walker and Lois Hart were married and went on to anchor a news channel in Sacramento. They seemed happier. But look at how much further it has fallen since the 90's.
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
last week, science mag
published an article going into considerable depth on what clinicians are seeing in covid-19 patients.
suffice to say, the flu it ain't
The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.
evening ur...
thanks for the link. that was interesting and a bit frightening, too. the flu it is definitely not.
have a great weekend!
Good evening Joe, thanks for Ryland, and most
especially for jamming with Edward, a really great album, IMHO. The news, such as it is, meh, mostly, ennyhoo.
Larry fuckin' Summers, that's a door slammer, don't even give sleepy Joe the chance to appoint him to anything, he is among the greatest of evils, nothing lesser about him.
be well and have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
evening el...
i wonder how summers has managed to evade crowds of people with pitchforks and torches so far. maybe hiding out with jeffrey epstein was a good move for him.
have a great weekend!
I would like to see People start joining together
to insist that we get some of the things Bernie supporters and other groups have been trying to get for those of us who are not filthy rich.
As the new reality is beginning to soak in people are still shell-shocked and not organized to fight the kleptocracy. The unionizing video was interesting and useful, but a lot of people don't have a job any more. Her comment that getting a broad spectrum of support should apply to any movement though.
My feeling is that the easiest issue to get everyone to rally around is health care. People who have social security or still have good health care through their employers have just realized that letting other people go without health care is a threat to everyone.
I am not sure which single-payer plan would be the easiest to get almost everyone to support, but progressives need to pick one and push together. Bernie's plan should appeal to a lot of people, but I don't know all the details of the other plans. We need to have something that is easy to explain.
People with economics backgrounds need to help the rest of us with talking points about cost for those of us who are not good at that aspect of it.
There are a lot of important issues and needs, but forming a broad-based effort is probably our only chance to get some of the things we want.
evening science teacher...
a worthy goal, i would like to see that, too.
one of the current organizing handicaps is that traditional protests cannot happen (unless you are some whacko pazzuti pandemic denier) as they have in the past.
lots of people are trying to figure out ways to get around this problem, but so far, i haven't heard a better answer than wildcat strikes.
you note that a lot of people don't have jobs, but i don't think that is an obstacle to effective action.
the people who do have jobs are absolutely essential to the functioning of both society and the economy. if they strike, there is no way for the powers that be to ignore them. especially now, when their, let's call it "goodwill chips" are stacked very high in the public mind.
regular people will support nurses, hospital workers, teachers, first responders - even the delivery people who bring their groceries if they make demands now.
the general strike is a powerful tool in the hands of a public whose government refuses to come to heel because it has been captured by greedy elites.
the great thing about it is that it makes elections irrelevant. it is an order from the people. you don't have to wait for a series of elections to slowly, maybe get enough people in places where maybe they can get you half a loaf.
anyway, that said. if you are intent on working within the system, i would suggest that the best way to get the people who want you to elect them to pay attention to their demands is to organize a serious campaign of people who are willing to refuse to vote for anyone who does not meet your demands.
you could arrange something like a postcard writing campaign, getting as many people as possible to send the democratic nominee a postcard with a short series of demands and a simple statement that their vote depends upon their demands being met.
those postcards should also go to democratic leadership, perhaps with the notation that they appear to be an obstacle to progress and if they don't start acting in your behalf (see demands) there will be no votes for democrats.
if enough people would do that, it might put the fear of
godthe people into them enough to get them to do somethingm though it might take a couple of election cycles of losses, wailing and gnashing of teeth.well, there's my $.02
Your $0.02 is right on the money.
Warehouse workers, delivery workers, store clerks, food preparers and similar workers can have a work stoppage to get the attention of the 10% and get them to join with the rest of us. They do need to use nonviolent protest as the Mahatma Ghandi did.
Medical staff cannot have a walk-out. Fortunately they do not have the mindset to allow it and letting people die would lose public support even if it were ethical. They do have moral power and can have influence without striking. The image of a young nurse in scrubs silently standing up to the teabaggers who want their "freedom" to infect others reminded me of the young man standing up to tanks in Tiananman Square. She was more powerful than she probably realized.
Teachers have been sent home, but we can write. I am not sure the Congress Critters care what we think, but our fellow citizens are ready to listen to ideas about how to clean up this mess. Everyone with any sense realizes the Government is not going to help us if they can avoid it.
This site is one of the few places where it is possible to have a civil discussion about ways to get things restarted. (Once upon several elections ago I participated DK before it became a politically correct echo chamber.) There is a lot of expertise here in a range of fields. Ideas can be floated and then refereed by anyone who has a useful comment.
I do not tweet and long ago quit Facebook over privacy issues, but can log into other sites once I know what I want to say. Others can use these if that is what they prefer. We can spread ideas that are carefully thought out. People desperately want to hear a coherent message that does not involve drinking Lysol.
During the last government shutdown
All it took for them to end it was the air traffic controllers to threaten to walk off their jobs. This interfered with congress getting to fly out of DC and lots of other rich people too. This would be a great place to start the strikes.
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
great tunes JS!
Great tunes JS! Always liked Ry, a player's player. Jamming with Edward I always thought was a neat if a bit eclectic accidental work. Ry and Nicky with a decent rhythm section for a backup band, just jamming. Both are great on it.
The news just plain hurts.
Thanks for the music! have a great weekend!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
evening dystopian...
heh, glad that the music makes the ouch less bad.
have a great weekend!
Had to drop this somewhere
[video:
]
I was at the edge of a creek, an 8 foot drop into water. My horse, Skipper, balked and freaked out.
Cows had swam across, had to be herded back.
Dad cracked his bull whip on my horse's butt, and off we sailed.
Skipper had Secretariat's bloodlines before Secretariat was all that.
I was probably 12. He was an enormous Big Red. Mounting block was required.
Don't know why I am looking back, other than looking ahead is so awful
* edit: I am was not a good swimmer, nor did I know how to ride a swimming horse. Dad barked instructions about kicking out of the stirrups, and giving Skipper head. (Loosen the reins, let the horse go without my guidance.) While we were in the water.
I rounded up the cattle, turned them back, swam my horse back across the creek, and found a place Skipper could climb back up.
Dad always treated me as his fellow soldier on a mission!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Wish I could have met someone like him,
although he had some faithfulness to spouse flaws.
Good goddamn he was incredible.
He initially joined/was assigned to the horse cavalry.
He taught me the rudiments of dressage, jumping, and how to protect myself.
That man!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I promised myself not to comment anymore just to break
my promise, as usual.
Just wanted to thank Jimmy Dore and with it Joe Shikspack to post the video with Jane McAlevey. It was the most uplifting message to hear from her and I will try to read her books.
Organize Unions. The best thing to do NOW.
If the shitty Europeans just would be able and willing to help American workers.
Stay safe as much as you can, let us know how any individual of us could help.
Thank You, Joe and JtC.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Folks at Way of the Bern (Reddit) are also seeking a way forward
Two users there, cloudy_skies547 and martini-meow, have been especially valiant voices in urging people not to give up (= allow themselves be cowed, coerced, or cajoled into backing Biden).
https://www.reddit.com/user/martini-meow/?sort=hot
https://www.reddit.com/user/cloudy_skies547/?sort=hot
Ending fuel subsidies translates to massive homelessness in US c
As much as 50% or more of the housing in US cities, including most of the housing occupied by communities of color, reliable Democratic voting blocks, is dependent on natural gas which would be bought by other countries were it not for gas subsidies that prevented its being exported until the Trump Administration ended them. Replacing these (thousands of old buildings will likely fuel a building boom in US cities and the loss of all this housing may mean much higher rents as the cost of housing catches up with the free market as rent controlled apartments are lost to redevelopment. Although it will improve energy efficiency the cost of housing may rise tremendouly for millions of America's most stressed families. . Millions of people will likely find themselves struggling to find for apartments they can afford or leaving cities as natural gas prices rise to meet the demand in overseas markets for US natural gas products which previously were only available in domestic markets.
The moratorium on gas export started in the 1970s. Most Americans grew up under these subsidies so Americans are largely unaware of how much less US energy costs have been due to them. The export moratorium enabled many families who otherwise could not afford heat to heat their homes. However this subsidy is ending, and one has to wonder, as energy costs and energy poverty is like the student loan crisis of Europe. Its a payment comparable to a mortgage payment or rent payment which Americans are being asked to pay now at this sensitive time. Thanks to trade agreements its irreversible. Many European families never get caught up on energy bills. Also, the loss of rent stabilized apartments that may e torn down because of the rise in natural gas prices may be very disruptive in the large eastern cities, because the increase in prices will lead to large scale redevelopment and the loss of a great deal of allegedly "obsolete" older housing. Which is often rent-stabilized. The loss of rent stabilized housing will mean rents to stay in large cities may double or more for many families. Also, unless they have perfect credit they wont be able to rent a new home to replace the lost rent stabilized housing. Thanks to GATS, building of new "public" housing is prohibited because of the bars on creation of new public services in GATS if such services are commercial even if any of a s ector is commercial, it cannot be public. This is a huge sea change since 1995 that many are still unaware of. What services can be public? Almost none.
At the center of these concerns are questions about the extent to which GATS rules may affect the
supply of „public services“. The answer to these questions depends on the coverage of „public
services“ by the GATS (are public services covered, and if so, to what extent?), and on the content
of current and possible future GATS disciplines (for those public services that are covered, what
does the GATS require?). A clear understanding of the scope if the GATS is therefore important
for governments currently negotiating and for civil society groups monitoring these negotiations.
To understand the problems communities face we must realize that a barrier has been created that prevents governments fixing problems like housing like they did before 1995. We must focus on GATS Article I:3, the provision that causes all these problems.
Article 1.3 c determines whether "services" can be public and which „public services“ are covered by the agreement, we must discard logic and understand the situation from a legal
perspective, only suggesting some policy considerations we can be fairly certain will fail, in the rigid ideological atmosphere that characterizes neoliberalism.