Final Nite 4 of the Dem Nat’l Tent Revival


(joe and jill nite 4; they put on their masks when joined by kopmala)

Patrick Martin watched so we wouldn’t have to, and reported what he saw on August 21, 2020, bless his pea-pickin’ heart.  (w/ the site’s permission)  He likens it to a cliché-driven religious revival featuring ‘the Moral Superiority of Biden compared to Trump’, Biden’s ‘deep empathy for children and the downtrodden’ (add identity ___ at will).  Hell, Bill Clinton was the master of fake empathy: biting one thumb with ‘sorrow’ in his eyes, and intoning: “I feel your pain.”

“The sheer contempt for the intelligence of the population and the viewing audience was summed up in Biden’s acceptance speech. His speechwriters appeared to have been trying to cram every possible trite phrase into a single 20-minute address.

He ran through a laundry list of promises, from climate change to racism to student debt, none of which the Democratic Party has the slightest intention of actually carrying out. Only two phrases had real meaning.

Biden reassured Wall Street and the billionaires, “I’m not looking to punish anyone.” This sent a message to the financial aristocracy that, while the candidate was compelled to make demagogic attacks on the wealthy for electoral purposes, these would have no lasting consequences. “Nothing will change” for the super-rich, he told a Wall Street fundraiser last year, and that pledge he will keep.

And the former vice president denounced Trump for being too soft on Russia, threatening to hold Vladimir Putin accountable for allegedly paying bounties to Taliban fighters who attacked American troops in Afghanistan. This phony story is just the latest fabrication by the New York Times in its four-year-long campaign to provoke a US war with Russia.

The tone for the convention’s final day was set by the report Thursday afternoon that a group of 73 former national security officials from four Republican administrations were endorsing Biden and denouncing Trump in an open letter to be published in the Wall Street Journal. The list includes an array of militarists and police-state operatives who are responsible for the death of millions of people in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Among the most prominent and most deserving of prosecution for war crimes endorsing Biden are:

  • John Negroponte, with a bloody record from the contra terrorist war against Nicaragua to the occupation of Iraq in the 2000s;
  • Colin Powell, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and secretary of state during the 2003 Iraq War, in which he played a central role in justifying a war based on lies;
  • Michael Hayden, former director of the National Security Agency and later CIA director, who oversaw CIA torture programs and domestic spying;
  • Robert Blackwill, deputy director of the National Security Council with responsibility for Iraq war policy in 2003–2004;
  • Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center under the younger Bush; and
  • William Webster, director of the FBI under Reagan and of the CIA under the elder Bush.

The support of these former leaders of the military-intelligence apparatus only underscores the real character of the conflict between the Democratic and Republican parties, the twin political instruments of the American ruling elite.

The Democrats oppose Trump, not because of his tax cuts for billionaires or his attacks on democratic rights and the rights of immigrants and refugees, but rather because of differences over foreign policy related to the Middle East and particularly Russia. An incoming Biden administration would immediately adopt an even more provocative and aggressive anti-Russian policy.

This was underscored in one segment after another of the final day’s program leading up to Biden’s acceptance speech, with military veterans and Republicans brought forward to speak in video segments. The most strident pro-war message came from Senator Tammy Duckworth, who denounced Trump as the “coward in chief” for his alleged capitulation to Putin over the bounties.

As for domestic policy, Biden’s closest political associate, his Senate chief-of-staff Ted Kaufman, who heads the transition team preparing for a future Biden administration, told the Wall Street Journal Wednesday that the rising federal budget deficit would make ambitious spending programs impossible. “When we get in, the pantry is going to be bare,” Kaufman said. “When you see what Trump’s done to the deficit… forget about COVID-19, all the deficits that he built with the incredible tax cuts. So we’re going to be limited.”

The reference to what “Trump’s done” is a fraud, since the both the Democrats and Republicans endorsed, on a nearly unanimous basis, the multi-trillion dollar bailout of Wall Street in March. The coronavirus pandemic—which, as a result of the policies of the ruling class, has produced a social and economic catastrophe for the American population—has been utilized by the ruling elite as an opportunity to loot the public treasury. And it is the working class that will be forced to pay.

Despite claims by Bernie Sanders that Biden could become the most progressive president since Franklin Roosevelt, the real policy orientation of a future Biden administration was signaled by the appearance of billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who gave the last speech before Biden himself was introduced, pouring scorn on Trump as a poor businessman and incompetent manager. It is the billionaires and the military-intelligence apparatus, not political charlatans like Sanders, who will call the shots if the Democrats win the White House.”

I did locate the letter from the Republican Nat Sec agencies, and it’s a real mind-blowing lollapalooza.   Of course many of the signatories will be drafted into Biden’s administration, should he and Kopmala win.

A Statement by Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden

We are profoundly concerned about our nation’s security and standing in the world under the leadership of Donald Trump. The President has demonstrated that he is dangerously unfit to serve another term.”

Gotta love the accidentally satirical branding of this ad hoc group: ‘defending democracytogether.com, because as we all know, what this nation does best is ‘Export Democracy ™’.

Of their 10 bullet points I’ll feature a few headings:

  1. Donald Trump has solicited foreign influence and undermined confidence in our presidential elections
  2.  Donald Trump has aligned himself with dictators and failed to stand up for American values.
  3.  Donald Trump has imperiled America’s security by mismanaging his national security team

Part of their closing arguments cum job applications:

‘In contrast, we believe Joe Biden has the character, experience, and temperament to lead this nation. We believe he will restore the dignity of the presidency, bring Americans together, reassert America’s role as a global leader, and inspire our nation to live up to its ideals.’

Andre Damon has a wrap-up of the 8-hour infomercial he’s published today: ‘The Biden campaign and the attempt to “rescue” American hegemony’.  Had I read any of their coverage past Nite1, I wouldn’t have felt so sucker-punched by these bombastic hegemonic quotes and threats:

“These conflicts were partially revealed on Tuesday night, when the convention aired a pre-recorded segment featuring a group of seven military, intelligence and diplomatic officials who claimed that the Trump administration was not fighting the US wars in the Middle East and pursuing its conflicts with Russia and China aggressively enough.

Commenting on Trump’s Middle East policy, Brett McGurk, in charge of the US operations in the Middle East under Obama, said, “Our military had a policy to maintain our presence in Syria,” which Trump went on to “abandon.” He concluded, “It’s shameful.”

Rose Gottemoeller, former Deputy Secretary General of NATO, concluded that Trump “hasn’t been standing up” to Russia and China “at all.” Another State Department official added, “Thanks to Donald Trump, our adversaries are stronger, and bolder.

Following the segment, General Colin Powell added that Biden “will make it his job to know when anyone dares to threaten us, he will stand up to our adversaries with strength and experience. They will know he means business.” The “business” for which Powell is best known is the destruction of Iraq and the death of one million of its inhabitants, based on false claims about “weapons of mass destruction.” [long snip]

“American imperialism confronts intractable problems, and first among them is the growth of social opposition within the United States itself. Among the considerations motivating support for the Biden campaign within the ruling class is the hope that it can somehow establish a broader base for imperialist aggression abroad. The promotion of identity politics is aimed at further integrating privileged sections of the upper middle class behind the project of global domination. This is what Kamala Harris represents.

A Biden/Harris administration will not inaugurate a new dawn of American hegemony. Rather, the attempt to assert this hegemony will be through unprecedented violence. If it is brought to power—with the support of the assemblage of reactionaries responsible for the worst crimes of the 21st century—it will be committed to a vast expansion of war. Trump and Pompeo are barreling headlong toward a conflict with China. Biden’s critique of this disastrous course is that the United States needs to get “tough,” whether against Russia, China, Afghanistan, Syria, or everywhere in between.”

Iran?  Biden swings back and forth on Iran, but his good friend was John McCain?


anthony freda’s ‘War Machine’

(cross-posted from Café Babylon)

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I haven’t watched everything but the one thing that was really apparent was the only time I felt there was any “life” to the proceedings was when someone was talking about the military or war. It seemed like that was the only topic anyone had more than boilerplate lip service. It seemed like many of the speakers only talked about the military vs. the speakers talking about anything else.

Over all, it just felt like they were trying to scare people into voting for Biden. So much of this was just plain old military industrial propaganda. I imagine it took some restraint to not predict another 911 on Trump’s watch, but they said everything but. As someone tired of all the war we’ve waged, it damn near makes me want to vote Trump knowing all these fucks are against him.

But ultimately what struck me was even pushing aside the presence of so many Republicans on the podium, strictly on content, this could have been a Republican convention from when I was growing up. (Think Regan/Bush I era.) It really breaks my heart that so many people I see would wouldn’t vote for that are steeling themselves to do so because “Trump bad” or they think Biden is going to be pushed left, even though they’ve explicitly said that won’t happen and are continuing to move further right since the rules and platform nonsense.

I don’t know the answer but voting for Biden isn’t it.

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

wendy davis's picture

@Dr. John Carpenter

i never watched any of it, but these few exposés and the nbc (?) live blog i'd brought, told me that in their eyes, the military reigns supreme, and now we discover so do the Nat Sec Republicans.

from bidenn's twit account: his their shoulders must be out of joint from patting themselves on the back. even andrew yang? he said on twitter that he'd been disappointed not to have been asked to speak, but i reckon they decided to include yellows in their ID politics. all binaries: light v dark, best v worst.

and yes, it may have been the live blog that caused me to say i almost want to vote for Boss Tweet now. i won't, but i said it again this a.m. after read the '37's open letter'. ted kaufman's ploy? because: Trump, the cupboard is bare. OMG.

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@wendy davis

Tulsi pissed them off so much that she was not invited to the show.

heretofore those winning a delegate in the primary season got an invite to speak.

but not this time.

she is up north trying to help some indigenous people.

just f*** the dem party.

hard.

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wendy davis's picture

@irishking

and i keep hoping that more will sincerely #DemExit forevermore. but: hope springs infernal, as some say. ; )

that was the whole reason aoc spoke and nominated bernie sanders as i understand it: so that his delegates would at least have some juice crating their platform or something.

but clearly, aoc is one of the Imperialist 'progressives', so she can kiss my grits as well.

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WoodsDweller's picture

@wendy davis
AOC's speaking slot was the most Sanders could do. Even with 1000 delegates, he's going to have even less input than he did 4 years ago. Without Sanders requesting AOC to nominate him, there is no way they would have given her any time at all. A little boost to her career in return for her endorsement and campaigning back when that was still possible. Ain't much to show, though, is it?

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"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

@irishking and he made it clear he wanted to speak and was rejected when he asked. I’m sure they didn’t want anyone talking about a UBI right about now.

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

wendy davis's picture

@wendy davis

i'd been in such a tear to do RL chores i hadn't even noticed that his tweet hadn't embedded.

now what i believe we're seeing is that beyond his now innate penchants for war and empire, the Nat Sec republicans see biden as in such extreme dementia that he'll be easily...bendable/moldable by his advisors. kopmala might be similar, but i'm far less familiar with her sort of 'law and order'.

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Lily O Lady's picture

@Dr. John Carpenter

like a good hate session to get the Outer Party in the right mood.

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"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Cassiodorus's picture

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

wendy davis's picture

@Cassiodorus

DT on different days, yes? but remember it was the Obomba/biden admin who'd declared 'the maduro regime a direct threat to US security', then the Trumpeter took it up, deepened the sanctions against any nation doing bidness with VZ or Iran, NATO added colombia just for good measure.

but of course their irony is lost on themselves: it's reversing the pink tide they care about, as well as; in VZ Rexon's oil, in once Evo's boliviaa: elon musk's lithium.

what this nation needs is a good 5 cent cigar a million wobblies!

thanks, cass.

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

We'll see how the rest of this trainwreck proceeds, but I'll don my trusty Israeli military-grade gas mask and some lead-lined gauntlets and vote for him if I have to.

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

wendy davis's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

for him a the LOTE: Greens hawkins/walker are already on many state bllots, and pitching them a few bucks to collect signatures for more (even in the pandemic?) would help. lemme see if i can find that link again. they know they won't win, as i do, but if they get some votes, it will be spittin' in the Dems (who make it hard as hell to get on the ballots in the first place) eyes.

and yes, i wish they weren't running on his ecosocialist new deal, as if it ain't over already, but...so it goes. and angela walker's on fire!

ballot access.
from the issues tab: platform summary, all with drop-down menus.

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Cassiodorus's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat We don't really know, and anyway, as I've pointed out time and time again, it's out of our hands. A referendum on Trump, which is what the November election is, depends oh-so-heavily upon what Trump is going to do.

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

Thank you for making it abundantly clear that Biden must be defeated, even if Trump is the cost.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

wendy davis's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

previews i'd posted, and nite one from the wsws (horrific ID politics and more) i wouldn't have known any of this.

as to DT being the peace candidate, he and pompeo the thug may have some military tricks ahead. was it a piece at stragtegic culture i'd posted about another 'iranian october surprise'? but the R convention will be similarly disgusting.

but at least now we can see these candidates and supporters for what they are. as well as: 'don't expect any covid stim checks, increased social safety nets, etc. i'm still not positive that what the Trumpeter did in his EO wasn't helpful (if unconstitutional) as far as UI extensions and eviction extnsions, but the Truth on that may never be known.

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wendy davis's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

a second reply as to Trump as the Peace candidate, but i was exhausted from a long day of chores, andd may have pressed Preview rather than save.

but DT and Pomepeo have been making many wars by other means, as well. hideous levels of sanctions on VZ, iran, cuba, russia, syria, even china. in both iran and russia, trying to foment internal rebellions to overthrow the 'current regimes'. remember pompeo's Tweets amounting to: 'send us evidence of your oppression', etc.?

and of course drone-assassinating iranian general Qassem Suleimani and friend at the airport in bagdhad. the spy who'd kept tabs on him and reported to both mossad and the cia...was executed, but tehran said: 'we will not forget, we will not forgive'. the US lost its bid at the UN SC to continue the arms embargo on iran, but are still trying to pretend that after withdrawing from the JCPOA, they have any standing to demand 'snapback' protocols.

guess we'll just have to 'stay tuned' as they say. but it's long been said that dying empires are at their most dangerous, as loose cannon notions reign supreme to restore dwindling global hegemony. and there's not much we can do about it save for..blog about it?

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snoopydawg's picture

is to be all bipartisan with the GOP to make deals that are against our interests. What other take is there to be taken from all the repubs they had in their convention. And bring Powell on to speak gives an idea that war is on the horizon. Will Biden finish the job in Syria or will he move on to Russia with NATO"s help? Dems let the GOP water down the ACA under the ruse that they wanted to make it bipartisan for the good of the country. And since it went through reconciliation they could have taken all that junk out since not one republican voted for it. There is a chance dems can take the senate this year and they are talking about nuking the filibuster. Obama, Schumer, and Biden apparently all agree to do it. Even if they do does anyone think that Biden will roll back any of the Trump abuses and especially the tax cut? Me neither and it is going to be fun to see how centrists pretzel them minds into accepting what excuses dems offer. Just like they did with Obama/Biden previously.

Hope people will read this article on where both parties are moving the country full speed.

America is descending into fascism because this serves the interests of the capitalist class

“The Holocaust has, after all, always been one of two major necrofuturist endpoints of necrocapitalist modernity, the other being the silence after nuclear holocaust.” Indeed, the Holocaust can be understood as an extreme example of necro-capitalism, the dynamic where the capitalist ruling class kills off or enslaves the portions of the population which they deem to be expendable.

This stands out doesn't it?

necro-capitalism, the dynamic where the capitalist ruling class kills off or enslaves the portions of the population which they deem to be expendable.

Haven't we been seeing the results of necro-capitalism in nursing homes and prisons? Washinton first warned the country of the vulnerabilty of the elderly in nursing homes in January and yet for months we watched as COVID picked off one person after another including the staff that worked at them because of lack of PPE supplies. In Utah 9/10 of our deaths are still people in nursing homes or care centers. Imagine knowing that nothing was being done to keep you alive. How utterly heinous.

But the same thing is being done with prisons all over the country. No PPE for prisoners and in many cases the guards and prison staff didn't receive them either. One CA prison in in direct line of the fire and they aren't being evacuated. Cuomo signed an incredible order giving nursing home CEOs immunity for the mass culling. In fact in was so good the republicans are using it to give corporations immunity for their mass culling. Hey how many workers in the slaughter factories have gotten sick or died after being pressed back into work.

And if nothing shows our callousness for the most vulnerable among us read this headline and article.

Climate Change, Wildfires And COVID-19 Are Creating A Hellish Combo For California Prisons

People incarcerated in California are already fighting for their lives against a devastating pandemic. Now they are surrounded by flames, too.

“What does it say about a civilized society, that they leave people to die of COVID in prisons — and then regret that decision that they left them to die in prisons because now it’s fire season and we need them to die for us on the fire line,” Kate Chatfield, a senior adviser at the Justice Collaborative said in an interview. “It’s really quite barbaric. And this was entirely foreseeable. We have fire season every year.”

Incarcerated firefighter crews are the “backbone” of the state’s wildland firefighting operations, a high-ranking firefighter told HuffPost in 2018. Those who are accepted onto crews earn $2 to $5 a day, and they get an extra dollar an hour when actively fighting a fire. They receive time off their sentence in exchange for the high-risk, low-wage work. But because of the state’s restrictions on individuals with felony convictions, many people who serve as firefighters while incarcerated are unable to get a job with a fire department after they are released.

I am listening to Gone with the Wind and Scarlett hired prison convicts to work in her sawmill. Jim Crow has never gone away in this country and here's California using it to get prisoners to fight their fire. How many people even knew that we do that to our prisoners? What is happening at others? Angola for example. Many of them let prisoners works for low wages to make clothing for corporations. More Jim Crow.

I love how Jimmy destroyed Obama's 'no one is above the law' spiel. F you Obama into eternity. Hope Karma visits you soon.

Sorry this is so wordy. I am pissed at what is happening and so very sad about the number of elderly who have died and the rest of the bad news has worn me down. Not just that. Dealing with some big life shit too so it's just piled up. Wish I knew how to help.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Dawn's Meta's picture

@snoopydawg So sorry Snoop. We hug our ever boyant doggie, a tree or two and gaze at the stars at night.

Love and be careful out there.

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A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

@snoopydawg room in those prisons for what is to come. Cull the herd indeed. The depression will provide lots of poor people to either work for slave wages or fill the prisons. Either way, our owners win. The American public has become a liability to the PTB but the American people refuse to see it. The theater is obvious and infuriating to those of us who see it, but that too is part of their game. As for blaming it all on Trump that really was a given, he makes THE perfect cartoon villain for one side, the perfect hero for the other.

And as for the "moralists" who tell us it is our moral duty to vote Trump out, they know good and damned well where they can shove that. They'll go on with their feel good vote for good old Joe, while the country goes right down the shitter. Either way, we are fucked. The cupboard is bare after what Trump did, the perfect new excuse for the sold out Corporate class of psychopaths who are merely puppets for our owners, who are busy consolidating their holdings and wealth while Americans argue over who to vote for. It still stuns me sometimes, old habits I guess.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

wendy davis's picture

@snoopydawg

piece brought in kamala as well. houses burning: well, i many cases the toffs will love to build in wildfire habitat, and even with shake roofs. so, pacéon that, but sure soaring temps are even worse, although iirc, PSEG's ancient and unrepaired infrastructure has caused a lotta electrical fires.

but i sure hear you on the weirdness. here the smoke comes not only from the CA fires, but from a few out of control ones north of here, one of which had such a strati-cumulous smoke plume that a freakish high wind vortex from northeastern utah had caused it to collapse, and send particulates roaring south and east. red sun rises, red sunsets, red light in the house.

here's the INCIWEB interactive wildfires map. look at the number! click one to find the fire's name, location, acres burned, containment percentage, etc.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

I am listening to Gone with the Wind and Scarlett hired prison convicts to work in her sawmill. Jim Crow has never gone away in this country and here's California using it to get prisoners to fight their fire. How many people even knew that we do that to our prisoners? What is happening at others?

All convicts are slaves in the United States. Legally. Many US corporations profit from this slavery.

Both Parties are fine with human slavery. Neither Party cares to amend this bitch of a Constitution to reverse the 13th Amendment. Both are owned by the Monied Elite.

There is really only one fight in this world, fought at every level. Who shall control the bounty of this planet? Who shall benefit? The People or the global Monied Elite?

Any country whose government attempts to share the profits of the bounty with the people is a communist enemy of the United States.

Any country whose government engages in business and shares the profits with the people or uses them for public works is a communist enemy of the United States.

Such countries must be stripped of their resources and destroyed completely. Their evil influence must be annihilated

Change will never come from inside the United States. The Slave-Owners Constitution will see to that.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
wendy davis's picture

@Pluto's Republic

but you've reminded me that inmates in portland (iirc) were tasked with breaking up homeless camps, tossing all their worldly goods into dustbins. when it was discovered the response fron the PTB was 'we did not know! we'll find out who's responsible and put aan end to it!!!'

haven't all post-modern wars (if i'm using the correct term) been resource wars and wars against socialist 'regimes'? that's why Africom exists, for instance, even if those wars aren't 'kinetic wars'? i've long forgotten which strategic mineral was the reason that bubba clinton had been hell-bent on 'Saving Somalia'. that sure went well...for the MIC.

but you've reminded me again of lewis lapham's 'the Rule of Law...where it never really was', or close to that.

your de Toqueville sig quote has me considering a bit though. wasn't it in ancient greece (the birthplace of democracy) that plato, socrates, and aristotle advised the 'rule by benevolent philosopher kings'?

wonder how that would look in the 21st century? in terms of class divisions, especially, of course.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@wendy davis

Plato did write of this, but it was his contemporaries in China, Confucius and Lao Tzu, who put the idea into doctrine and built an entire philosophy and civil system around it. The Enlightened Leader is the holy grail in China. When you teach the People from childhood what an Enlightened Leader looks like and how he governs, you have a better chance of your civilization surviving 10,000 years and longer.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
wendy davis's picture

@Pluto's Republic

thanks. but from where i sit in the Cynics Seats, i'd think that Enlightened Men (and Women) would shun running for office, especially at the presidential level.

as a side note: i'd recently asked a few Tulsi Gabbard fans (i'm not one) who'd hoped dementia joe would pick her as his VP: 'would she want to be his VP'? the only two who'd answered said of course she would, he won't live long. that answer didn't satisfy me, as by then his cabinet, Nat Sec agencies, ambassdors, and tra la la..would likely be in full swing.

Reporter to Mahatama Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?

Gandhi: I think it would be a very good idea.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@wendy davis

...that the structure of the Federal government — as it has mutated into its current, twisted, and decietful form — is not a legitimate place where an Enlightened Leader can do any good as a President. It is a tightly rigged system — and has been from very early on. The Slave-Owners Constitution, unrevised, defined the nation's ultimate destiny. No president can close Guantanamo. No President can declare peace. A President can only wage war. The CIA have been running for every available Democratic seat in Congress — and winning. The US was always a lost cause with no political Left and a fake binary Party that keeps the people divided and delusional.

Those who are young or able, have a precious bit of time to exit the US and return to their country of origin on a residence visa with intention to naturalize. Many countries are quietly opening immigration for returning Americans. Help someone get out, if you can.

Those who remain here should be recording their own impression of events and bequeathing those notes to a university that is collecting them. This is a treasure trove for future historians.

Change will not come to the US from within. Only the world, acting in unison, can suppress its madness. But I now accept that other countries have no intention of acting or putting themselves at risk, so there will be no rescue for the American People. The fossil fuels will burn on, and the profits will not be used to mitigate the damage, but will be hoarded by the criminally insane, inbred elite. Those who can get to the Pacific Northwest or New England will fare best. The collapse will come all at once.

The near-term prognosis is no good.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
travelerxxx's picture

@Pluto's Republic

... Those who remain here should be recording their own impression of events and bequeathing those notes to a university that is collecting them.

I'd add that the university should probably not be anywhere in North America.

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wendy davis's picture

@Pluto's Republic

enlightened leaders seeking office, save for 'maybe Enlightened' in one or two areas, although the closest to the E word i can imagine at the moment was black, ran for office, lost...and keeps on working to tell what he sees as the Truth.

there was at one time a true left, but most of them were black panthers, killed, imprisoned, fled amerika and are still in hiding. and the IWW (wobblies, joe hill, utah phillips, et.al.), of course, we'd been talking about on another thread.

but we cant have that, can 'we'? radicals must be silenced by any means necessary.

and many of the elites are rating bolt-holes in NZ, including gates, thiel, tra la la, and now Microsoft itself. we won't leave, nor can we, but try to help here in Bumfuck County a bit as we're able. no food banks here, nor open thrift stores, so...i hate that.

#ShitHoleNation, indeed, brought to you by: The Uniparty Sell-out Compradors

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WoodsDweller's picture

is that Biden's administration will be competent. Our protection for the last four years has been a stupid man insisting on hiring people more stupid than himself. Things are about to go into high gear.

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"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

travelerxxx's picture

@WoodsDweller

Our protection for the last four years has been a stupid man insisting on hiring people more stupid than himself.

Yes. Should the DNC win, we will likely have far more competent forces working against us rather than buffoons. A dangerous situation; perhaps much worse than was the case with Obama.

At this point, I still have huge doubts that Biden can win. To tell the truth, I don't think Biden actually exists. He's computer-generated, his words programmed by a committee or something... Besides, it isn't about electing Biden anyway. It's about electing Obama's puppet, Harris.

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11 users have voted.
Pluto's Republic's picture

@travelerxxx

He even looks like Max Headroom. Biden's eyes are empty, now. I wonder how they wired him up to deliver that teleprompter speech. He must have been practicing for months. It looks like his speech writers may have plagiarized again. Oh well.

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5 users have voted.

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
travelerxxx's picture

@Pluto's Republic

He must have been practicing for months.

[A disclaimer first – I haven't watched even one second of The Other Republican's® convention variety show, nor do I intend to do so. Having said that, it could happen by accident or providence, but I'm not going out searching for it.]

So, not having watched Biden's speech, I have to say that my expectations were that it would be produced in segments over time. That is, cameras running, 15 seconds of Biden speaking without an error or losing his place, then – CUT! Start again from the last screw up. CUT! Re-start. Bring in the makeup crew; compare to the last shot ...get that wisp of planted-hair exactly the same. Easy for a Hollywood-grade crew to manage. Re-start. CUT! CUT! "No, Joe! Not dog pony soldiers again...!" Restart.

Over and over and over. I figure it must have taken them most of one day to film it. Poor Biden was probably in bed by 8 PM that day.

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Pluto's Republic's picture

@travelerxxx

If, in fact, they did not go full CGI. And, as we know, that technology is good enough to fool anyone.

I have not seen the speech, myself. There would be no reason for cuts or cutaways. Did that happen? How amusing.

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2 users have voted.

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
travelerxxx's picture

@Pluto's Republic

I have not seen the speech, myself.

Nor have I.

There would be no reason for cuts or cutaways. Did that happen?

Oh, I don't have any idea. It's just that considering Biden's mental condition, I suppose they pretty much had to piece it together. Whether it was done by CGI (as you mention, "...that technology is good enough to fool anyone") or standard Hollywood film editing procedures, I have serious doubts that Biden sat (did he sit?) in front of a camera for the duration of his speech without major gaffes.

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wendy davis's picture

@WoodsDweller

as long as you're indicating that dementia joe's handlers and advisors are more 'competent' in terms of secrecy and stability. at least Boss Tweet's misogyny, racism, bigotry, and Power Madness were out in the open, if erratic and opposite from one day to the next.

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5 users have voted.
WoodsDweller's picture

The Republican carnival convention rather than the Democratic one.

Speaker Lineup for the First Night

President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, first lady Melania Trump, senior White House advisor Ivanka Trump, her brothers Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump from her father’s first marriage and half-sister Tiffany Trump from her father’s second marriage.

Also included are House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Ambassador Nikki Haley.

White House social media director Dan Scavino, trade advisor Larry Kudlow and senior advisor Kellyanne Conway will speak.

Trump defense attorney Rudy Giuliani will also reportedly speak.

Ummm ... who else does he have to speak? Is it going to be the same lineup every night?

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6 users have voted.

"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

@WoodsDweller so who else do they have but the Trump family, the MyPillow guy, Kid Rock and the St. Louis couple who waved firearms at protestors?

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10 users have voted.

Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

Pluto's Republic's picture

@Dr. John Carpenter

Brings back memories of the acutely embarrassing Republican Primary Debates.

I actually missed the comedy relief they provided. this time around.

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2 users have voted.

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

@WoodsDweller There are 26 GOP governors and only one is in the Monday line-up. 51 more GOP Senators. Scads of GOP House Reps. Barr and Mnuchin. Conservative rich dudes and dames. And if they get really hard up, there's always Boris, Farage, and Bibi.

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7 users have voted.
wendy davis's picture

@Marie

And if they get really hard up, there's always Boris, Farage, and Bibi.

but...but..you've forgotten bin Salman!

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6 users have voted.

@wendy davis Considered and then rejected because those Saudi dudes don't pick sides between Republicans and Democrats. They work with whichever side is in power.

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4 users have voted.
wendy davis's picture

@Marie

not feelin' teh funny today? i'm not sure you're correct, but it would be longer discussion, esp. given your vast knowledge and memory. but of course 'working with' is different than 'allying with', and the greatest divide in the Western Imperium is Sunni v/ Shia, as with bahrain, iran, yemen, and so on. Sunni: good; Shia: bad.

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2 users have voted.

@wendy davis and forecasts for more thunderstorms tonight to feel amused at much of anything,

Where KSA differs from the UK and Israel is that its power in the US is limited to DC and Wall St. powers and the former changes with some regularity. Ordinary conservatives in the US (both Republican and Democratic) have an affinity with UK and Israel conservatives and therefore, with their respective conservative leaders.

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2 users have voted.
wendy davis's picture

@Marie

that i tend to find solace in humor. i've forgotten where you are? you can use the interactive INCIWEB map i'd put up to check for updates on sizes, names, containment percentages, etc.

i'd been about to wade into KSA's nuclear ambitions (Tehran via the tasnim times), and who might have given them the plans, technology, and hardware, but that's a subject best not entertained here today.

and that the US navy's 5th fleet is anchored in bahrain, 85% shia rules by 15% sunni, now UAE and bibi.

anyway, best to you in the smoke and ny other hells. today's a bit better here in that we can actually see the la plata range just north of us. and mr. wd just brought me 9 jars of flowers to arrange. 6 fawns are playing bucking broncos out the window.

but this nation's on fire six ways from sunday:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxu0H42-hek]

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1 user has voted.
travelerxxx's picture

@WoodsDweller

Say what?!! No Democrats speaking? You'd think they'd be equitable ...but, no.

I guess that was the other Republican dog-and-pony-show convention.

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5 users have voted.
usefewersyllables's picture

the republicrat masturbationfest is to repeat the phrase my dear, long departed mammy taught me, and say

Gag a maggot on a shitwagon.

That is all.

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9 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

wendy davis's picture

@usefewersyllables

D team's tent revival, i'll agree with your mammy's expletive. ; )

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4 users have voted.
travelerxxx's picture

Sometimes a picture really is better....

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5 users have voted.
wendy davis's picture

@travelerxxx

i'd been thinking of a new D motto/flag in the vein of: Rule Brittania!

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4 users have voted.
travelerxxx's picture

@wendy davis

That would be most fitting, wd.

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3 users have voted.
wendy davis's picture

@travelerxxx

thinking that without these thousand words in the OP, i wouldn't have known what her image conveyed.

and i'm hearing boots riley and the coup's Fat Cats and Bigga Fish:

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pios2RY2G_Q]

clickin' into youtube: 'pelosi and schumer: fighting for the amerikan worker'.

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1 user has voted.
travelerxxx's picture

@wendy davis

Yeah, I guess that's understandable. She didn't just have the picture, of course. There's an essay with it. Didn't link it as I didn't want to derail the discussion and I know you don't always agree with Caity.

You're probably right about needing the thousand in the OP. That blue MAGA hat makes a lot of sense once you have read them, though.

LOVE the Boots!

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0 users have voted.
lotlizard's picture

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1 user has voted.
wendy davis's picture

@lotlizard

lol. 'over 270 speakers', and

When did we actually have an L.A. studio with the moderators [Eva Longoria, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kerry Washington and Julia Louis-Dreyfus]? Was it August 10th or something?

nice catch, miz lizard. kinda like finding out after the fact which madison ave. agency had crafted the 'saddam stole babbies out of incubators', and other ads for the first iraqi war. was it norman schwarzkopf's 'desert storm'?

tell it JT!!!!

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcXlXrr0xBI]

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2 users have voted.