The establishment goal is to crush the left and stop its momentum

Submitted by The Hindsight Times on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 4:35pm

Greetings fellow 99%ers....

There appears to be a dearth if essays here today. Must be a beautiful day out there and no one cares to write, I can relate as it is very nice here. Impeachment, meh... that is how I feel about the whole mess... of course it is more nuanced than that and here is an article at Counter Punch that adds new info while summing up my thinking.

The establishment goal is to crush the left and stop its momentum. Impeachment is the tool of convenience toward this end.

impeachment-brought-to-you-by-the-cia

I really have nothing more to add.

Tags:

#impeach #Trump #Pelosi #Biden #primaries

Vote

Comments

Submitted by The Hindsight Times on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 4:39pm

Hey, thanks for this site

I don't write much but I do lurk and read almost everything. Thought the Counter Punch article was interesting and in need of wider distribution.

Peace

Submitted by entrepreneur on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 8:36pm

This excerpt is a bit tangential to the article, but juicy.

"Speaking of torture, Nancy Pelosi, who announced the impeachment investigation against Mr. Trump, was explicitly told of the CIA’s illegal torture regime in 2002. As a Senior Member of the House Intelligence Committee, Ms. Pelosi was herself legally culpable when she announced that impeachment of George W. Bush was ‘off the table.’ Had that impeachment proceeded, she could have been prosecuted and sent to prison."

No way! Nancy Pelosi screwing over the other 300 million people in the country just to cover her own ass? I can't believe it. {snark}

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 5:17pm

So many gems to pick from

- Despite occasional warm gas passed in a leftish direction, establishment Democrats never had any intention of allowing a left political program to move forward.

- Nancy Pelosi, who saw how easily the ‘reality based community’ was rolled with Russiagate, apparently believes that she can thread the needle to simultaneously 1) end the momentum of left political ascendance, 2) bring the Democrats’ donor base back into the fold, 3) raise Joe Biden to the top of the 2020 heap, and 4) end talk of a Green New Deal, Medicare for All and a Job Guarantee. Early reports suggest the bourgeois left is on board with her program.

- But rather than put up a political program to entice voters, establishment Democrats have spent the last three years being not-Trump. By keeping the contest in the realm of political marketing— blue versus red, Democrats hope to win the election while keeping their donor base happy. God help everyone else.

- Without impeachment, the primary process proceeds apace, and voters have a real choice for President for the first time in five decades. With it, the marketing divisions of blue v. red drive unaffiliated voters away while solidifying the lines of division along Party lines. The establishment goal is to crush the left and stop its momentum. Impeachment is the tool of convenience toward this end.

That people can't see this for what is truly boggles my mind. Those who are going to vote for the status quo candidates like ByeDone, Warbama and Kambama are the ones who have fully bought into Russia Gate.

Thanks for posting this.

—

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

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 5:39pm

I second the "thanks"

The article does contain some gems.
My take away is that the donor base and CIA control everything. If we made our elections publicly funded, that would help.
If we disbanded the CIA, it would help a whole lot.

—

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

Submitted by The Voice In th... on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 7:50pm

Everyone needs spies.

@on the cusp
The CIA needs CONTROL by the executive branch and Congress. They have become a fourth branch of the government that has veto power over the others.

—

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

Submitted by ovals49 on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 5:55am

JFK was the last executive to seriously try to rein in the CIA.

@The Voice In the Wilderness
The last things the CIA will tolerate are executive oversight and transparency. They run the show, our elections, our Representatives and our public opinions and aim to keep it that way. Get in their way and bad things begin to happen to you, even if you are the President of the United States. I can not see a path forward on remedying that situation.

—

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

Submitted by ThomM on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 5:46pm

I read this

over at CP this morning and could not agree more. Now, how do we convince the folks who get their political news from MSNBC, CNN, NPR, WaPost, NY Times, etc.?

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 6:00pm

My apologies, but I must go OT

@ThomM ThomM,your picture of The Dude holding a White Russian is great.
I have several travel pals that have created a travel tradition: We pick out a good bar, order White Russians, salute The Dude.
Ok. Back to the topic.

—

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

Submitted by WaterLily on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 7:21pm

The Dude abides.

@on the cusp N/T

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 7:27pm

I can't stop myself, apparently...

@WaterLily It is actually interesting to see how different countries make the drink and how they present it. So far, the one in Portugal was the best, with Argentina running a close second.
Ok. I will try to stop.

—

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

Submitted by WaterLily on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 7:44pm

Why stop? :-)

@on the cusp

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 7:52pm

I might stop going OT

@WaterLily but have no intention of neglecting my fine White Russian tradition, and paying homage to The Dude.
Ok. I am stopping now.
Back to the topic.

—

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

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 5:53pm

Well

No wonder we can't have nice things here. The $5 billion that Nuland paid for the Ukraine coup was over half of what Obama took out of the food stamps program. Then there were all the Ukrainian government people who fattened their wallets with our money. $10 billion went to Ecuador so we could put its people on an austerity diet and get Assange as a bonus. USAID is funded with our money and given to corrupt puppets of the oligarchy while millions in this country suffer because our government is basically sanctioning us to do whatever the hell they want across the pond. wish we could do something about that. Any ideas?

—

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

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 6:06pm

I guess the CIA

@snoopydawg cares as little about the several hundreds of thousands of little kids being kicked off free school lunches as Trump does.
If the establishment Dems railed about hungry school children, I just didn't hear them.
Glad I got out of Ecuador before shit hit the fan down there.

—

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

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 8:03pm

impeachment-brought-to-you-by-the-cia

...is not tangential to me.

It's the topic of the observation I posted here just a few minutes ago in an old essay:

Democracy is the problem — and now that governments like ours can so successfully brainwash the population using the media and modern technology, there's little wonder why Democracy continues to betray us. The key for the government controllers was to produce a population of misinformed, poorly educated, mentally unfit voters who know nothing of the world.

As Issac Asimov put it:

“There is a Cult of Ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

.
The corrupt psychopaths who run this country have nurtured the Cult of Ignorance for many years. They own and operate both the "vote" and the "choices." Our out-of-date Constitution made this really easy for them. And, the Russia Hoax phenomonon should have made that clear to everyone.

If you watched Elizabeth Warren at the Democratic Convention in 2016, you might have been shocked at how easily she was sucked in by the Russian Hoax — a total pushover. Warren gave a speech that could only have been delivered by the biggest sucker and poorest critical thinker on the stage. Either that, or Elizabeth Warren is a CIA asset. Or a Stepford Wife with a breathy voice.

But it doesn't matter now.

If the first priority of any nation is NOT to build healthy, educated, well informed, secure, and well adjusted citizens — then Democracy is merely a false front. Democracy in a mediocre, low-info society is a Front for state control by the ideologically obsessed and the power-mad — who use their media monopolies to brainwash voters. People insist upon voting which secures the government's legitimacy.

The next administration will be CIA operated. They've stopped fooling around.

—

____________________

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

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 8:02pm

Great stuff, Pluto

@Pluto's Republic Teach to the test, curtailment of arts from the curriculum, and little hungry kids in the classroom ready to work at a fast food restaurant because, well, "food".
Whereas the CIA got their pet government covertly back in the day, they are openly doing it now.
Just ask Chuck Schumer. He did tell the truth once, iirc.

...is not tangential to me. It's the topic of the observation I posted here just a few minutes ago in an old essay: . Democracy is the problem — and now that governments like ours can so successfully brainwash the population using the media and modern technology, there's little wonder why Democracy continues to betray us. The key for the government controllers was to produce a population of misinformed, poorly educated, mentally unfit voters who know nothing of the world. As Issac Asimov put it: “There is a Cult of Ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” . The corrupt psychopaths who run this country have nurtured the Cult of Ignorance for many years. They own and operate both the "vote" and the "choices." Our out-of-date Constitution made this really easy for them. And, the Russia Hoax phenomonon should have made that clear to everyone. If you watched Elizabeth Warren at the Democratic Convention in 2016, you might have been shocked at how easily she was sucked in by the Russian Hoax — a total pushover. Warren gave a speech that could only have been delivered by the biggest sucker and poorest critical thinker on the stage. Either that, or Elizabeth Warren is a CIA asset. Or a Stepford Wife with a breathy voice. But it doesn't matter now. If the first priority of any nation is NOT to build healthy, educated, well informed, secure, and well adjusted citizens — then Democracy is merely a false front. Democracy in a mediocre, low-info society is a Front for state control by the ideologically obsessed and the power-mad — who use their media monopolies to brainwash voters. People insist upon voting which secures the government's legitimacy. The next administration will be CIA operated. They've stopped fooling around.

—

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

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 8:19pm

They are working very much in the open.

@on the cusp

Flocks of former CIA ran for Congress in 2018 and won. (They keep their security clearance.) They are the prized guests on the monopoly News channels, and some host, as well. (Still with the security clearances.) Quite a few have moved into high-paying University positions. And who better to CEO for Big tech and DARPA start-ups. (Those security clearances are the gift that keeps on giving.) They can penetrate any industry. And, now, in the course of their official work, they can even call themselves whistleblowers! They walk amongst us.

They make the KGB and the Stasi look like Cub Scouts.

—

____________________

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

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 8:29pm

Yes, they walk and snoop and spy and propagandize

@Pluto's Republic among us.
But, hey! Democracy!
When they become school teachers, kindergarten to high school, that should finish off the job of controlling us.

—

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

Submitted by lotlizard on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 1:58am

This is what I try to tell folks here in former East Germany

@Pluto's Republic
The U.S.-centered system they are now a part of, is something to be wary of, just as much as was the “Socialist Unity Party”-led system they peacefully overthrew. It’s just as manipulative and ruthless, with a totalitarian streak in its elites’ instincts and ideology. Its propaganda techniques are just more refined (advertising, marketing, PR).

(“Socialist Unity Party” was the official name of the communist party of the GDR, or “German Democratic Republic.”)

I encourage them to enjoy freedoms they won, like tourism abroad or owning their own car, while they can, before the elites take it all away again in the name of either neoliberal economic austerity or green climate-oriented eco-austerity.

People here complain that “political correctness” and the “cancel culture” have already taken away the freedom they had won to voice opinions without fear of reprisal, and having actually lived here for a few years now, I see what they mean and now have to agree.

Submitted by randtntx on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 9:38pm

That's a great

concise summary by Rob Urie of what's been happening these last several years. Thanks for the heads up...I would have missed it.

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 9:43pm

I subscribe, get newsletters from Counter Punch

@randtntx a couple of times a week.
I read this article with my morning coffee. It was quite a way to start the day.

—

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

Submitted by randtntx on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 10:07pm

It's tough

@on the cusp for me to keep up with the news, but I really appreciate the sources people cite here. The blog roll on the left of our home page is my go-to source. But the other links that people cite save me tons of time and trouble not to mention a good many links I would otherwise never find. So I'm always happy when someone brings a good article to our attention (especially when it's over coffee).

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 10:18pm

Counter Punch, Truthdig, Caitlin Johnstone, Consortium News,

@randtntx The Jimmy Dore Show, RT, and Democracy Now! all send me their emails routinely.
I do not always have time to dig into the far depths of the web. These subscriptions make it easy, and, of course, coffee time reading is always interesting.

—

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

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 9:57pm

feculent blob of malfeasance

Then there is the alleged “Whistleblower.” The identity of this shadowy figure can’t be concealed indefinitely. The Whistleblower may not even exist, and if he or she does, the classification of whistleblower may not apply to the actions taken by him/her and his/her managers. He/she has been officially described as a CIA agent detailed for some time in the White House during the Obama years, who may have been rotated back into the Trump White House on the pretext of some special expertise, say Ukrainian affairs. That suggests his/her origin as a John Brennan tool. That is, the former CIA chief now nervously awaiting the legal disposition of his intrigues in the RussiaGate matter. WhistleGate may be Mr. Brennan’s last desperate ploy to ward off prosecution, a gate too far.

What for? How about using the CIA to spy domestically on American citizens on US soil, which it is expressly forbidden to do by law, and pretty bad news if authorized by the guy who ran the whole shop, not just some schwantz section leader at a rogue operations desk. The FBI can do it with proper warrants, but not the CIA. Perhaps more troubling is who may have authorized Mr. Brennan to do that. Does the name Barack Obama ring a bell?

By the way, what if it turns out that there actually is no Whistleblower, that the figure was just a fiction, a CGI figment cooked up by Adam Schiff, his lawyers, and sundry other players on the Deep State bench? Sounds outlandish perhaps, but I wouldn’t put it past the congressman from Hollywood. We’ll find out soon enough. Meanwhile, it appears that the purported Whistleblower and his chief handler, Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) Michael Atkinson failed to observe the proper procedures in reporting the complaint through channels, not to mention the legerdemain of sketchy paperwork that attested to the complaint. Remember who Michael Atkinson is: the former legal counsel to John P. Carlin, who was Assistant Attorney General for National Security during the origin months of the RussiaGate operation in the summer of 2016, and before that chief of staff to… wait for it… Robert Mueller, when he was FBI Director. Do you begin to detect a claque of senior bureaucrats scrambling to cover each other’s ass?

Well looky there. Robert Mueller is once again in the middle of everything. Anyone surprised?

Brennan lied to congress about spying on them without a warrant during his testimony on torture. What happened to him for doing that? Nothing because 'no one is above the law' according to Pelosi. Barr and Durham are looking into the origins of how Russia Gate came into being. Lots of shady and illegal things happened during this time. If Trump gets kicked out of office all that goes away. And Pelosi is bending the rules for how impeachment is supposed to be done. Why? If she isn't doing a real impeachment inquiry then why would the WH play along?

Adam 'Russia Gate' Schiff read false information into the congressional record, but then said that he was just paraphrasing what Trump told Zelensky. The GOP were not amused nor should any American. If impeachment is to be taken seriously the why would Schiff do something as childish as that?

"If we lose then we are all going to hang!" - Hillary or some other sycophant that was involved with Russia Gate. Funny how things keep coming back to Obama's time...

—

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

Submitted by OzoneTom on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 10:24pm

If the deep state is prepared to do all of this ...

@snoopydawg
...against a truly malleable and useful idiot like Trump, it is frightening to contemplate what they might concoct against someone who might try to actually undermine their powers.

Their routine displays of ineptitude fail to reassure me.

Then there is the alleged “Whistleblower.” The identity of this shadowy figure can’t be concealed indefinitely. The Whistleblower may not even exist, and if he or she does, the classification of whistleblower may not apply to the actions taken by him/her and his/her managers. He/she has been officially described as a CIA agent detailed for some time in the White House during the Obama years, who may have been rotated back into the Trump White House on the pretext of some special expertise, say Ukrainian affairs. That suggests his/her origin as a John Brennan tool. That is, the former CIA chief now nervously awaiting the legal disposition of his intrigues in the RussiaGate matter. WhistleGate may be Mr. Brennan’s last desperate ploy to ward off prosecution, a gate too far.

What for? How about using the CIA to spy domestically on American citizens on US soil, which it is expressly forbidden to do by law, and pretty bad news if authorized by the guy who ran the whole shop, not just some schwantz section leader at a rogue operations desk. The FBI can do it with proper warrants, but not the CIA. Perhaps more troubling is who may have authorized Mr. Brennan to do that. Does the name Barack Obama ring a bell?

By the way, what if it turns out that there actually is no Whistleblower, that the figure was just a fiction, a CGI figment cooked up by Adam Schiff, his lawyers, and sundry other players on the Deep State bench? Sounds outlandish perhaps, but I wouldn’t put it past the congressman from Hollywood. We’ll find out soon enough. Meanwhile, it appears that the purported Whistleblower and his chief handler, Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) Michael Atkinson failed to observe the proper procedures in reporting the complaint through channels, not to mention the legerdemain of sketchy paperwork that attested to the complaint. Remember who Michael Atkinson is: the former legal counsel to John P. Carlin, who was Assistant Attorney General for National Security during the origin months of the RussiaGate operation in the summer of 2016, and before that chief of staff to… wait for it… Robert Mueller, when he was FBI Director. Do you begin to detect a claque of senior bureaucrats scrambling to cover each other’s ass?

Well looky there. Robert Mueller is once again in the middle of everything. Anyone surprised?

Brennan lied to congress about spying on them without a warrant during his testimony on torture. What happened to him for doing that? Nothing because 'no one is above the law' according to Pelosi. Barr and Durham are looking into the origins of how Russia Gate came into being. Lots of shady and illegal things happened during this time. If Trump gets kicked out of office all that goes away. And Pelosi is bending the rules for how impeachment is supposed to be done. Why? If she isn't doing a real impeachment inquiry then why would the WH play along?

Adam 'Russia Gate' Schiff read false information into the congressional record, but then said that he was just paraphrasing what Trump told Zelensky. The GOP were not amused nor should any American. If impeachment is to be taken seriously the why would Schiff do something as childish as that?

"If we lose then we are all going to hang!" - Hillary or some other sycophant that was involved with Russia Gate. Funny how things keep coming back to Obama's time...

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 10:35pm

Agreed

@OzoneTom

Trump is doing 99% of the elite's bidding, but his going after ByeDone is a big no no. Not long after he became president I noticed that every time he pulled back on war something like this came up. So exactly what is he balking at? Is it going after ByeDone the next president? Not committing to support Ukraine and sending them weapons? Not allowing a full fledged war on Iran. His trade war?

Congress certainly isn't against what he's doing at the border or his war on the environment or us..that's for sure.

—

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

Submitted by lizzyh7 on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 1:12pm

Excellent comment

@OzoneTom and it gets right to the real point here which those who are hell bent on getting rid of the Orange Beast simply refuse to see. TDS at its finest really. And then of course there is Mike Pence and his truly lunatic right wing backers, which no one takes into account at all from what I see. It is as if they really think Pence goes along with Trump and then hey, Nancy Pelosi will step in and fix everything, right?

Oh, but wait a minute, "no one is above the law" Nancy is going to reverse all those evil things the Trump monster did on day One apparently... And all this, brought to you by the CIA. And no one sees a problem in that when it is the Orange One. What if that had been done to their hero Obama? What if it is done to Liz Warren or God forbid, Hildebeast herself? Just ignore that, after all, it is time to just Impeach The Motherfucker Already!

—

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

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 10:44pm

I just thought of something.

There is no punishment for a whistleblower being wrong or somewhat inaccurate.
The shit show is going on right about the time economists predict another recession, here comes the "bail in", and that will be reported on the back pages of the news.
Meanwhile, more and more cuts to social programs, more privatization of Medicare, and on the horizon, cuts to Social Security...again...
Squirrels! Look!

—

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

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 10:51pm

Has the media covered Trump's assault on Medicare?

@on the cusp

Have any of the candidates besides Bernie said anything about it? I'm betting no. There are plenty of issues that he is doing that the media could be talking about, but aren't.

Like I said he's doing most of the things that the elites want done and of course there is no way Hillary would have been able to get away with doing them. Squirrel indeed.

—

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

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 10:54pm

Blast from ByeDone's past

Tom Brokaw calling out Joe-Hunter Biden’s corruption in 2008:

“Wasn’t it inappropriate for someone like you in the middle of all this to have your son collecting money from this big credit card company while you were on the floor protecting its interests?” pic.twitter.com/CORqFD6w1a

— Ibrahim (@ibrahimpols) October 5, 2019

In other words Joe you were always in the pocket of the banks and big corporations so why shouldn't people believe you when you said that if you become president nothing will change? Look at the smug look on his face. Ugh!

This was from a time when we had real journalists that asked the right questions.

—

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

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 11:17pm

Brokaw would not be allowed to ask that question now.

@snoopydawg Good damn grief.
Well, you can say what you want about Biden, but he is the Daddy of Hunter's dreams.

—

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

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 12:09am

This article is from 2008

@snoopydawg

MBNA Paid Biden's Son As Biden Backed Bill

A son of Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden was paid an undisclosed amount of money as a consultant by MBNA, the largest employer in Delaware, during the years the senator supported legislation that was promoted by the credit card industry and opposed by consumer groups.

Barack Obama's presidential campaign said Biden helped forge a bipartisan compromise on the measure, which is now law and makes it harder for consumers to obtain bankruptcy protection in the courts.

MBNA's consulting payments to Hunter Biden, first reported by The New York Times, followed his departure in 2001 from the company, where he had been an executive.

Obama opposed the bankruptcy law, enacted in 2005, while Biden supported it.

David Wade, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, said that "after working in the Clinton administration in the Department of Commerce on Internet privacy and online commerce issues, Hunter consulted for five years as an expert on these very same issues at a time of enormous expansion in online banking."

At the time Hunter Biden was receiving consulting payments from MBNA, he also was a Washington lobbyist at a firm he had co-founded.

"He was not a lobbyist for MBNA, and his work had absolutely nothing to do with the bankruptcy bill. Zero. Nothing," said Wade.

On the bankruptcy bill, the senator "took plenty of knocks from the largest employer in his state because he demanded changes," said Wade, the Obama campaign spokesman. "Sen. Biden improved the bill for low-income workers, women, and children. There were times when he believed amendments on both sides would have blown up a bipartisan compromise backed by three quarters of the Senate. At those moments, Sen. Biden had to make the tough calls and he voted to pass a bill."

In a separate matter in which Hunter Biden's lobbying activities were referenced, he and Biden's brother Jim have been sued for allegedly defrauding an ex-business partner.

Sure, Joe. Hunter just wanted to come home and work somewhere close. No conflict of interest there at all right? I'm guessing you said this same thing when you brother was also accused of abusing his position as your brother. Hey..how many times did your brother get accused of doing that? Lots!

—

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

Submitted by on the cusp on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 12:21am

Both Hunter and Bush the Son of Bush Senior, the "feeler",

@snoopydawg will tell you, quality cocaine is expensive!

#11 MBNA Paid Biden's Son As Biden Backed Bill A son of Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden was paid an undisclosed amount of money as a consultant by MBNA, the largest employer in Delaware, during the years the senator supported legislation that was promoted by the credit card industry and opposed by consumer groups. Barack Obama's presidential campaign said Biden helped forge a bipartisan compromise on the measure, which is now law and makes it harder for consumers to obtain bankruptcy protection in the courts. MBNA's consulting payments to Hunter Biden, first reported by The New York Times, followed his departure in 2001 from the company, where he had been an executive. Obama opposed the bankruptcy law, enacted in 2005, while Biden supported it. David Wade, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, said that "after working in the Clinton administration in the Department of Commerce on Internet privacy and online commerce issues, Hunter consulted for five years as an expert on these very same issues at a time of enormous expansion in online banking." At the time Hunter Biden was receiving consulting payments from MBNA, he also was a Washington lobbyist at a firm he had co-founded. "He was not a lobbyist for MBNA, and his work had absolutely nothing to do with the bankruptcy bill. Zero. Nothing," said Wade. On the bankruptcy bill, the senator "took plenty of knocks from the largest employer in his state because he demanded changes," said Wade, the Obama campaign spokesman. "Sen. Biden improved the bill for low-income workers, women, and children. There were times when he believed amendments on both sides would have blown up a bipartisan compromise backed by three quarters of the Senate. At those moments, Sen. Biden had to make the tough calls and he voted to pass a bill." In a separate matter in which Hunter Biden's lobbying activities were referenced, he and Biden's brother Jim have been sued for allegedly defrauding an ex-business partner. Sure, Joe. Hunter just wanted to come home and work somewhere close. No conflict of interest there at all right? I'm guessing you said this same thing when you brother was also accused of abusing his position as your brother. Hey..how many times did your brother get accused of doing that? Lots!

—

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

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 11:17pm

Truman's essay after JFK was murdered

Truman’s True Warning on the CIA

Fifty years ago, exactly one month after John Kennedy was killed, the Washington Post published an op-ed titled “Limit CIA Role to Intelligence.” The first sentence of that op-ed on Dec. 22, 1963, read, “I think it has become necessary to take another look at the purpose and operations of our Central Intelligence Agency.”

Sadly, those concerns that Truman expressed in that op-ed — that he had inadvertently helped create a Frankenstein monster — are as valid today as they were 50 years ago, if not more so.
charged with the collection of all intelligence reports from every available source, and to have those reports reach me as President without Department ‘treatment’ or interpretations.”
Truman then moved quickly to one of the main things bothering him. He wrote “the most important thing was to guard against the chance of intelligence being used to influence or to lead the President into unwise decisions.”/blockquote>

—

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

Submitted by on the cusp on Sat, 10/05/2019 - 11:21pm

Truman warned.

People didn't heed.

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

Submitted by doh1304 on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 12:38am

I think we're overthinking

America is a collapsing kleptocratic oligarchy. In a situation like that there are no monolithic power centers, there are nothing but individuals or small groups engaged in loose alliances with short term and usually conflicting selfish plots. Do not even assume that even the CIA is disciplined.
For example let's say that Pelosi (a faction of the Democratic Party big donors) planned to let the Russiagate idiocy drone on until the election, combined with blatantly cheating Bernie, insuring a Trump second term. But a faction within the CIA (which is probably but not necessarily the largest or most powerful faction in the CIA) wants Pence, and believes that the only way to get Pence before 2024 is to impeach Trump or force him to resign or refuse to run for reelection - hence the "whistleblower". Schiff grabs for his own share of whatever loot he sees and Pelosi finds herself blindsided. The best she can think of is to sabotage the preempting plot and make it look like her hands were tied.

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On to Biden since 1973

Submitted by Centaurea on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 7:06am

I think your onto something

@doh1304

In my opinion, this is where We the People have a window of opportunity. TPTB/MIC/corporate oligarchy, or whatever you want to call it, is losing cohesion. If enough of us regular folks can free our minds, we could get to the critical mass needed to take advantage of that weakness and create change.

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"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi

"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone

Submitted by Not Henry Kissinger on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 11:02am

Exactly

@doh1304

America is a collapsing kleptocratic oligarchy. In a situation like that there are no monolithic power centers, there are nothing but individuals or small groups engaged in loose alliances with short term and usually conflicting selfish plots. Do not even assume that even the CIA is disciplined.

That factions within the deep state have to resort to such a blatant power grab is a sign of weakness, not strength.

Personally, I think this latest impeachment stunt has about as much chance of removing Trump as Guaido's coup had of removing Maduro in Venezuela, or before that Erdogan in Turkey.

The regime changers are losing their touch. Let's not attribute more power to them than they actually have.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Submitted by lizzyh7 on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 1:25pm

I've read before

@doh1304 that there is a Team A and a Team B so to speak within the deep state that owns us. And I think you're pointing it out very well here - the hard right Family faction wants their corrupt guy, the globalization Wall Street crowd wants another, and what we are witnessing is the fight between the two, although that more than likely is not the true division but seems to be a good quick and dirty description of what we are seeing. And of course both "sides" of that are against anyone who would upset that delicate balance of ownership by doing anything for the people of this country. Hell, the people of this country are the common enemy of both A and B from what I see, so once again, even this fight between the two won't change the trajectory of this country, but it makes good distraction, it always has.

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

Submitted by MrWebster on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 5:47pm

Power centers rather than one power center.

@doh1304 There was a book written several years ago, which of course I cannot find, that argued that there were seven "gangs/interests" controlling the United States. From what I remember one of the power centers were people and companies around the oil/gas/energy sector.

Yah, sometimes American oligarchs will fight each other in what happened between the Walton family/retails against the financial oligarchs over fees for credit card transactions. Looked like Congress was siding with the Waltons and something happened where I think the Obama administration came in and turned the tide for the banksters.

But it does seem there is a National Security/MIC power center as for two years, the leaks coming out about Russiagate by intel agencies and collaborators was very controlled and managed. It was apparent to me they were also watching public reaction and adjusting messages based on those reactions. The CIA seems to be the primary mover of this power center.

Submitted by on the cusp on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 12:50am

Kleptocratic oligarchy is a good descrption of the US.

No matter how we might be overthinking, and no matter if the CIA is factioned, we can agree the CIA way is the only way.

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

Submitted by Wally on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 6:49am

Raise Joe Biden to the top of the 2020 heap ???

3) raise Joe Biden to the top of the 2020 heap

What? Why? So that Trump can beat Biden like a drum?

More likely Pelosi knifed Biden in the back using impeachment, allowing Trump to do her dirty work.

Seems to me impeachment helps Warren as far as the Dem nomination goes.

My guess, too, is that Trump prefers Warren because she's probably even easier pickings than Biden.

I wonder if Biden is going to go after Warren at the next debate. Seems like he'll have to given his polling numbers are dropping.

Submitted by MrWebster on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 6:02pm

Article had me asking. Was Bernie's heart attack induced?

When one realizes the tectonic shifts that would happen if Bernie were elected just the money involved staggers the proverbial imagination. What if he appointed a very aggressive Attorney General. Banksters will go to jail and their institutions closed down. There would be no medicare for all as the democratic establishment to see to that. But he could achieve major shifts just by weilding the power of the Oval Office. The establishment powers could lose trillions of dollars.

Who is left among major contenders? Warren is Obama 2.0. Biden is Bush 2.0.

But just asking.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 7:27pm

Happy to hear that I'm not alone in thinking this

@MrWebster

Either to get him to drop out and it was a warning shot, or a real attempt on his life. As I've said I hate being this cynical. I have typed it so often my iPad auto fills the words.
But there is too much money at stake for lots of people to ever let Bernie's policies to take hold. And too many powerful people don't want it to happen. No Mr Nice Guy Obama standing in the way of prosecution.

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

Submitted by MrWebster on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 8:09pm

With age come awareness of these things

@snoopydawg I guess as I get older, just read about too many of these types of events and actions not to discount them. Political assisinations happen all the time. I understand that sometimes people out of nowhere get heart attacks, but more likely the person experiences some types of symptoms before hand. And this does not seem the case with Bernie.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sun, 10/06/2019 - 9:20pm

Oh yeah the CIA is a very bad organization

@MrWebster

This wasn't what Truman had in mind when he created it. He thought it would just be a central hub for the other intelligence agencies to put their information on events. I posted a link to his op ed that he wrote after JFK was killed. The numbers of murders and other really bad things that they have done will never be known. The people who do those things would be called sociopaths if they weren't in the agency. Pluto posted a link to a fun website that tells about lots of coverups in the bank essay if you're interested.

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