caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

Pandemics diseases with no known cure can be contained by quarantine. This will only work if everyone in the community cooperates. For hundreds of years people have realized that it is essential to provide for the basic needs of everyone under quarantine. If food, medicine and other necessities are provided to people under quarantine they have less excuse for breaking the quarantine and spreading the disease.

Let's start with the WSWS:

Bernie Sanders threatens delegates with removal if they criticize Biden

Senator Bernie Sanders’ political team has asked some of his delegates to sign an agreement preventing them from criticizing Democratic Party leaders on social media, including the presumptive presidential candidate Joe Biden, or talking to reporters without approval.

COVID Conundrums

This new corona virus, known for only a few months, has thrown the world into disarray. Here in the States, we have been particularly inept... with massive disparity between states and class in both the economic and health response to this challenge. Ever the optimist, I wonder if this doesn't present us with opportunity amidst the tragedy of death and disease. If we can create unlimited amounts of currency to prop up the market, failed fracking industry, and banks bad loans, we can pay for M4A, free college, a debt jubilee, mass green transit, and almost anything else we can dream. The excuse of "we don't have the money" is gone. Additionally, I'm feeling more hopeful about the falling disease progression and simple ways to control it by wearing masks and distancing. There's clever new study on the effectiveness of masks.

Hey, guys.

On or about May 17, 5 Iranian tankers, the Clavel, the Forest, the Petunia, the Faxon, and the Fortune began a voyage from the Persian Gulf Star Refinery near Bandar Abbas, Iran, which makes gasoline. The ships then traveled around the Arabian Peninsula and through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea.  They’ve already passed through the Strait of Gibraltar and are nearing Venezuela. The tankers hold about 175,000 tons of gasoline, or 1.5 to 2 million gallons needed by Venezuela due to the egregious sanctions on the Bolivarian nation preventing them refining oil into gasoline.  The nation needs refinery parts and chemicals to make gasoline from oil that are not obtainable under Western sanctions.

The right-wing is having a fit over Obamagate (as well they should), but almost no one care about a GOP/Billionaire domestic spying public/private partnership that targets their political enemies.
Let's start with Blackwater founder Erik Prince.

Some of you may know Doug Henwood as the individual who had a show that could be found on Pacifica Radio and its affiliates. Well, the "discussion section" for general issues of global politics which accompanied that radio show was on Doug Henwood's Facebook profile, which has been disabled. No reason given, no appeal process, nothing.

The white Queen infamously told Alice "The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday – but never jam to-day."
So here's a Jam from yestidday.

It's as if Bernie has been taken over by the body snatchers.

A Look at China Part Five
I came across this passage yesterday while reading a book on the Southern United States discussing the aftermath of the Yamassee War (1715—1718).

"In the meantime. the British authorities began political steps to prevent the rise of any future tribal confederacies that might threaten their trading empire. In essence the English determined to follow the old rule of divide and conquer. They would forment discord among tribes by pitting Indian against Indian. Inparticular the Carolinians would sustain a Creek-Cherokee feud. "This makes the matter of great weight to us,' explained on colonist, "how to hold both as our friends, and assist them in cutting one another's throats. This is the game we intend to play."
Tribes of the Southern Woodlands

Three great powers of Europe England, France and Spain were carving up North America and the American Indian tribes. Our founding fathers grabbed the prize from the Europeans. The next century Western powers moved onto China.

‘New NYPD press officer co-wrote The Intercept Russiagate story that landed source in prison; The Intercept published a story that landed Reality Winner in prison, burning its third source. That article was co-authored by Richard Esposito, an embedded police reporter who is now the NYPD’s top spokesperson’, Ben Norton, thegrayzone.com, May 20, 2020  (Note: no copyright, no republication guidelines, but a way to contribute, which I've added.)

“A co-author of a controversial report at The Intercept that landed its source in prison now works as the head of the New York Police Department’s press office.

Power Defines Truth and Dissent Is Therefore a Lie