Open Thread - 5-19-23 - Shout Out

I want to do something that I haven't done for a while. I want to express my appreciation to everyone at c99.

Thank you to all that have contributed donations, both past and present. It is you that keep this boat afloat. Donations are the lifeblood of this site since we accept no corporate advertising, who wants to see that crap? That lack of advertising is the main factor for c99's endurance, we answer to no one but our web host. It's why there has been no censorship pressure put upon us to date. That's why your contributions are so important. It's how we maintain an open discussion board, something that's very rare in today's internet world.

Thank you to all the essayist and open thread writers. I know how difficult it is sometimes to to come up with something to write about, I'm going through it right now, I think my Muse has died. The truth is sometimes the most difficult thing to write about, sometimes it hurts to even think about it let alone type it out for the world to read. It's difficult for a reason, it's an inconvenient convention, tough to swallow by some, a welcome drink of cool water by many, and most of all it's an elixir for the constant barrage of obfuscation and out and out lies being cast about in abundance.

Thank you to all commenters. Those little nuggets of gold that cause one to think, sometimes affirmatively, other times in opposition to normative thinking. That's how we grow and learn. That's how we break out of the echo chamber. Much like a songbird on a limb singing out to the world, "Here I am, I am a bird". It's how we sing out our songs, so the world knows that we are here and we are paying attention.

Thank you to all the readers and lurkers. Heck, you can't have a blog without eyeballs. Despite those that wish us to not communicate our truths with one another. You can slow the truth down but you can stop it.

And lest I forget, a big thank you to my fellow administrator and moderators, my good friends and accomplices.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you.

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20 users have voted.

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I have to rush out the door. Although I'll be busy most of the day, I hope to make it back later and maybe flesh this thing out a bit more. That damn Muse thing again.

Thank you all again.

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11 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

Thanks so much for keeping this blue blog up and running even when the kitty gets low. And thank you for staying true to your values of keeping this blog a free speech zone.

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9 users have voted.

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

enhydra lutris's picture

venue. Be extra safe out there today.

Is a shrunken muse a musette? If so, of the musical or cyclists snack bag variety? Asking for a friend.

be well and have a good one

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10 users have voted.

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 --

@enhydra lutris , or a mini beer. A muselito or a modelito.
Hey, a little bit of a muse is better than none/zero.

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3 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

.
From a comment on naked capitalism:

RFK Jr, in his interview with Russell Brand, said, “At the convention, when the nomination happens, the superdelegates are very, very influentilal and he’ll (Biden) get a hundred percent of those, so…”

But in his interview with Breaking Points, Krystal Ball finished by asking him if he’ll run third party. He said he’s in it to win the Democratic Primary and he has no plan B:

Krystal: “Do you plan to support whoever the Democratic nominee is, and do you have any intention of running third party if your run in the Democratic primary doesn’t..(inaudible because RKK Jr interrupts, but it sounds like she says “pan out?”)

RFK Jr: (Interrupting, and speaking adamantly): “I plan on winning the Democratic primaries and getting the Democratic nomination.”

Krystal: (Interrupting RFK as he’s completing his sentence): “Okay, but, you know, they’re rigging things, they’re not going to allow debates – it’s going to make it very difficult for you. If something happens and you do not succeed, what’s next?”

RFK Jr: (Not quite as adamantly): “I do not have a plan B.”

Krystal: “No plan B?

RFK Jr: “No.”

Krystal: “And do you plan to endorse – if Joe Biden is the nominee, or Marianne Williamson – do you plan to endorse the eventual nominee?”

RFK Jr: “You know, I doubt if I would endorse anybody who is supporting the war. That’s what my, um, you know, I…

Krystal: (Interrupting) “So you could endorse Trump then?”

RFK Jr: “Uh, I, uh, I don’t see that happening.”

Sagaar: “You would never endorse President Trump?”

RFK Jr: I..I don’t…I think we have so many differences in style and approach that, um…that I, uh…I probably would never end up there.”

But if RFK Jr knows that Joe Biden is going to be awarded the superdelegates by the DNC, then he knows he can’t win the Democratic primary.

Sabrina Salvati (“Sabby Sabs”) does a nice job breaking this down. The video is about thirty minutes and includes the clips with Brand and Breaking Points:

Dunno, but I think it’s hard to win the dem nomination when the super delegates will all go to Biden. And it looks like Kennedy will not run 3rd party which Democrats would just sue to get removed from the ballot anyway. And since the dnc will not allow anyone to debate Biden I just don’t see the point of him running in a rigged system. I see lots of people saying that they couldn’t afford to give Bernie as much money as they did only to see him meekly fold after democraps cheated him twice. Besides we don’t have a democracy or a republic because we have long been an oligarchy. I don’t think the robber barons ever went away.

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6 users have voted.

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

snoopydawg's picture

@snoopydawg

The superdelegates exist to ensure democracy doesn’t break out in the Dem party. / Wink

Per wiki, read the ORIGINS subheader info:

Further soul-searching took place among party leaders, who argued that the pendulum had swung too far in the direction of primary elections over insider decision-making, with one May 1981 California white paper declaring that the Democratic Party had “lost its leadership, collective vision and ties with the past,” resulting in the nomination of unelectable candidates.[12] A new 70-member commission headed by Governor of North Carolina Jim Hunt was appointed to further refine the Democratic Party’s nomination process, attempting to balance the wishes of rank-and-file Democrats with the collective wisdom of party leaders and to thereby avoid the nomination of insurgent candidates exemplified by the liberal McGovern or the anti-Washington conservative Carter and lessening the potential influence of single-issue politics in the selection process.[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdelegate

In other words they go into a back room, have a few cigars and choose their candidate. But democrats are insisting that they are trying to save democracy!…?

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8 users have voted.

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

enhydra lutris's picture

@snoopydawg

wishes, dreams, ideas and goals of the plebes and hoi polloi, and in that corner, wearing red, white and blue trunks, and weighing in at a few hundred tons

the collective wisdom of party leaders

, you know, zip shit."

be well and have a good one

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6 users have voted.

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 --

enhydra lutris's picture

@snoopydawg

Jurassic Blueberries, Furthur And The Oregon Country Fair

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5 users have voted.

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 --

snoopydawg's picture

@enhydra lutris

They’re saying that it’s defund the police on steroids. Gotta protect the intelligence agencies at all costs even though they once didn’t trust them.

0A9F3469-90A1-446B-AF61-E686B474A9ED.jpeg

This guy makes a great point for abolishing them.

It’s over folks

We're done because it is now seven years after this injustice occurred, it was not minor, it was not due to "oversight" or "accident" and by the most-charitable read the reason it happened is political bias through the entire organization from the top down leaving nobody to challenge it.

Further, knowing this the Democrat party political campaign of the time (Hillary's) deliberately suborned the acts of the FBI and instead of being told to shove it and being publicly outed for their attempt they got what they wanted including the personal and financial destruction of several people. A huge number of members of Congress then went on to use their speech and debate clause to slander people left, right and center all based on these lies. Current law and the Constitution provide us no means of punishment of said members of Congress due to that speech and debate clause but no such protection exists for the principals nor the FBI personnel involved.

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7 users have voted.

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

enhydra lutris's picture

@snoopydawg

been the greatest threat to our freedom, and there are now more of them than ever. The feebs are an obvious case, extralegal since their inception and out of control for at least my lifetime and I would say for longer than that.

be well and have a good one

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6 users have voted.

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 --

ggersh's picture

everyone has a voice. It's our version of a stairway to heaven

https://www.theautomaticearth.com/2023/05/debt-rattle-may-19-2023/

The celestial entrance known as ‘Heaven’s Gate’ located within the breathtaking Tianmen Mountain in China. Situated approximately 5,000 feet above sea level, Tianmen Cave in China stands as the world’s highest naturally formed arch. Accessing this remarkable landmark involves ascending 999 steps referred to as the “stairway to heaven,” where the number nine holds significant meaning in Chinese numerology, symbolizing good fortune and eternity.

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13 users have voted.

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

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

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

snoopydawg's picture

@ggersh

Dawgs taking the bus to go to dawg school.

6D8606CF-2226-401F-BEBE-9286F32347A9.jpeg

I bet the training was easy….

About 40 years ago I thought I was the first person who thought up a dawg center where people could drop off their dawgs while they worked. Ahh well…

On bad days I turn to this site and watch the puppies play.

Seems like mostly labs and golden retriever pups.

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10 users have voted.

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

ggersh's picture

@snoopydawg I wonder, did our K-9 long lost participant have
anything to do with it? Smile

Spring, summer, when most in nature has the arrival of it's
little ones. What a beautiful time it is.

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6 users have voted.

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

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

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

snoopydawg's picture

@ggersh

walked over to us after seeing Sam and said that he had just gotten 2 lab puppies and wanted to know if they were easy to train. I said the key is using lots of milkbones and lots more praise. He showed me pictures of the 2 and boy were they cute! But I only wanted to fill up half way because gas was so high. CLICK….crap!

Did you check out the puppy cam yet?

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9 users have voted.

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

ggersh's picture

@snoopydawg

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5 users have voted.

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

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

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

at the office. So, no shootouts, no excitement.
Nice blog ya got here, Mister.

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11 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp @on the cusp

be well and have a good one

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7 users have voted.

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 --

@enhydra lutris He told me he always carries around the meth head. At least we were warned, had taken precautions. There will be no reason to come into contact with him, since we at least got his mailing address.

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8 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Lookout's picture

Many thanks to all who make this community what it is...and a special thanks to our hosts and platform provider!

More to say this Sunday...

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10 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

and thanks for all the onions!

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6 users have voted.

the place going JtC.
Your muse may be on vacation but she inspires a whole bunch of other muses to do their thing here so it's all good.

You're right about this place being an antidote to the

constant barrage of obfuscation and out and out lies being cast about in abundance.

It's the constant repetition of those lies in corporate media, even after those lies have been disproven, that gets me.
Consequently, this gives this blog (and many others) its raison d'être and I can't think of a better reason than that.
Many, many, thanks.

edited for spelling; raisins anyone?

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7 users have voted.
JekyllnHyde's picture

I've only lurked in recent years but am thankful you still have this place going strong.

I'll try to visit more often.

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2 users have voted.

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma