Of course. Since Trump has shown that he can be relied upon to keep the wars and empire going, liberals and democrats are free to do what they love to do and what they do best - performative and entirely symbolic fake resistance.
We need to get rid of the entire system and replace it with one that works for the climate and for the people. The present system works very well for the rich.
Well, a few months ago, we were assured that it was a moral necessity to vote for Willie Brown's former mistress, anointed by the DNC, because "Democracy Is On The Ballot(R)".
??? This very day, Democrats, unanimously, blocked the trillion dollar Defense Budget bill, stopped it. Calling a vote that defeated the Defense Bill silence? _-There is no louder political protest than a united vote to block funding for war.
I shall never forget her joyfully leading D convention cheers in praise of "the most lethal fighting force in the world!" None of that wimpy "self-defense" stuff.
I will ignore your sexist slur on Harris, and ask: are you working for AIPAC? 1. Today, the majority of Democrats voted to stop arming Israel, and a few days ago, without exception, all Dems voted to block the "Defense Bill" I now you have this thing were you say it is performative...but that is your bullshit of alternative facts. These votes, on which these Dems will run, result in real consquences: they cause "tangible legislative gridlock. unprecedented splits in party leadership, and direct pressure from the voter base. Far from being empty gestures, these votes have actively stalled major legislation and forced historic realignments within Congress.
the Senate Democratic Caucus voted 50–46 to completely block debate on the $1.15 trillion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This stopped a mandatory, must-pass bill from advancing.Withheld key procedural votes: Lawmakers did not just register a protest; they successfully denied the 60 votes required to move the Pentagon budget forward.Unprecedented Fractures in Top LeadershipHigh-ranking splits: If these votes were coordinated political theater, party leadership would stand united. Instead, they are deeply divided.Breaking party lines: While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposed an amendment to eliminate $3.3 billion in Israeli military aid, the No. 2 House Democrat, Katherine Clark, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi broke ranks to vote in favor of the cut.Historic scale: Over 100 House Democrats voted to cut off the aid, turning a once-unanimous position into an active party schism.
: Lawmakers are responding to real electoral jeopardy. A wave of progressive challengers have successfully unseated established incumbents in primary elections specifically over their foreign policy stances.Shifting public opinion: Recent polling demonstrates that a significant majority of Democratic voters support reducing or entirely eliminating military aid to Israel. Lawmakers are voting to satisfy their core constituencies to protect their seats, making it a matter of survival rather than performance."
The good people of the rogue US regime are going to have to come to terms with the fact that they cannot vote themselves out of the mess they find themselves in – only by organizing a violent revolution will they see change.
Zionism is the project, the current government of Israel is merely an artifact.
The first of what we would today call Christian Zionists to land on the continent some call North America are celebrated each year during US Thanksgiving.
Please don't let yourself be misdirected by the rebranding done in the 1890's so that the Anglo Protestant Zionists could claim that this was ever a Jewish project (launched by, or to protect the interests of, Jewish people).
“Two groups conflate Zionism and Judaism. Zionists, who want to legitimize Zionism by pretending it is Judaism; and antisemites, who want to de-legitimize Judaism by pretending it is Zionism.” - Yaakov Shapiro, an anti-Zionist Orthodox rabbi.
As in, Mike Johnson, as a devout Southern Baptist, always tries to conflate Zionism and Judaism?
Not an accident -- do you believe that individual is aware of what they are doing, or blindly following?
I grew up a Christian under a Christian government (Canada), and it was only later in life with very deliberate reading that I noticed the discrepancies with what the institutions of Canada were training me to believe.
Even when Democrats 100% vote down approval of Trillion dollar defense bill, you cal it fake. It's as tho you want it to be fake because you would rather be right than actually change US policy. There is a battle raging in America, with 77% of Democrats finding Israel guilty of genocide and supporting blocking weapons and aid. (Quinnipiac University poll). To ignore the battle or claim it is just fake is to miss the way most Democrats , the base, and the left within the Congress, feel. The inability to see the radical change in mood and ideology is a blindness that benefits the status quo. You might as well be an AIPAC stooge, helping to tear down the left battling to gain power to effect change.
On measures that they know won't pass. When the measure hangs in the balance, they aren't so resolute.
And since when did the DNC care what voters or democrat voters think or like or want?
EDIT: "You might as well be an AIPAC stooge, helping to tear down the left battling to gain power to effect change."
Do I need to show you that photo of Harris hugging Netanyahu again? What political party nominated Harris for president, do remind me? And what did she say about Israel at the convention, I maybe should look it up....
"t's as tho you want it to be fake because you would rather be right than actually change US policy."
So you're saying that I am right and Team D is fake. Thank you for confirming what we already know.
“Do Congressional Votes Matter when they don't Change Policy? Another Sheepdogging to Rebrand the Democrats as not Genocidal?…
It would be foolish to think that Ivey and Pelosi and so many of these 100 wouldn’t make their votes available for imperial Israel when they are needed.”
I think you're forgetting how the Democrats perpetrated genocide in Gaza for the guts of two years. The cheek of you accusing people of being aipac stooges for criticising the aipac genocide party
We will never forget asshole and war criminal genocide Joe and his democrat bootlickers and lickspittles. Except for very few, D's are the same genocide apologists and supporters crowd. Demoncrats just don't have guts to admit it.
Days after 104 members of Congress voted in favor of a measure that sought to end U.S. aid to Israel, AIPAC will no longer allow donations through its political action committee to 18 lawmakers it endorsed who voted in favor of the legislation. Losing AIPAC funding is not performative for it gave 23 million in the 24 election; it is an act (voting to ban arms to Israel) that has a heavy cost, and not only does AIPAC stop funding those voting to ban arms but it spends millons to defeat them, funding opponents and buying negative advertising.
"On Wednesday, more than 100 House Democrats voted for an amendment to a State Department funding bill that would have cut U.S. aid to Israel, marking a massive break in the party’s once unshakable support for the Jewish state. ) 103 voted to ban arms; 97 to continue. Most had not received AIPAC funds or refuseed them, but 7 have no lost AIPAC funding. To claim losing money and facing AIPAC funding of millions to defeat you is not an "act" but a moral choice with a cost.
IN 2024, AIPAC spent millions in primary to defeat anti-genocide progressives: "The United Democracy Project invested over $14 million to unseat Bowman, making it one of the most expensive House primaries in U.S. history.Cori Bush: AIPAC's super PAC directed between $8.4 and $9 million into the district to help defeat Bush in her August 2024 primary.The total outside spending in both races dwarfed previous political action committee investments, fueled largely by massive donations to AIPAC's super PAC. F"
Had you read the link I provided elsewhere, you would see how Team D candidates that promise not to take AIPAC money structure contributions as to take that money indirectly.
Anyway, Dale, I gotta question forya. Quit ducking it already.
This is what I suspected the election theft in 2020 was about. This is where my gut was leading me. Not at the time, it was a horrible terrifying feeling. But that’s when I thought DT was anti establishment. As CJ said he never was. What he was, was an embarrassment and they wanted him OUT.
But after the Russia and Israel situation didn’t go as smoothly as planned they thought it would be a good idea to resurrect his candidacy. The reason is because he could gin up far better military recruits than anyone else. I’m sure they made him deals of get rich quick schemes and offers of impunity. This in exchange for him prosecuting their dirty deeds like Iran.
They never did have much respect for MAGA people. As far as the holdouts are concerned neither do I. However I do think they are surprised by the number of us that peeled away from him (maybe).
A lot of it is knee-jerk conditioning, Jenny. Like my neighbor 3 houses away. Nice guy, but the moment an election looms, the yard sign for the favored shit-lib Dem goes up like clockwork. A liberal, "reformed" ex-military, a centrist Dem's the best he can do. Latest is Deb Haaland for NM governor (my former rep & Obama's Interior sec.) Their hard-wiring is just so difficult to alter.
A lot of it is just humans cheering for a chosen political team. I hear more reasoned and informed opinions from sportsball fans why they support a given (non-home town) team than I do from most political junkies.
That's interesting... and actually a really important point you make.
A long time ago, Noam Chomsky, in replying to someone who said that the average US citizen is too stupid to understand political issues and international events, once replied, and I know I don't have the exact wording (not even close) but... it was something along the lines of this... "The average US citizen is not stupid, and all you have to do is listen to some of the most detailed discussions about sporting events, some of the most complex strategizing, and depth of information, etc.''
But I also have this reply, below, from my Gemini query...
Gemini's response to my prompt (between the double quotation marks):
""In this quote from Understanding Power, Chomsky observes that, while driving, he often hears ordinary people engaging in highly analytical, detailed discussions on sports radio. He contrasts this by stating, "These are ordinary people, not professionals, who are applying their intelligence and analytic skills in these areas and accumulating quite a lot of knowledge and, for all I know, understanding." He contrasts this high level of engagement with what he describes as a profound, "superficial" understanding of complex political or social issues among the public.
Chomsky argues this difference arises not from a lack of capability, but because the social system directs intellectual energy toward non-threatening areas.""
People have a war instinct. It's so basic that even ants have it. All that matters is that your side wins. There has been brain wave research that confirms the observation of Dr. Chomsky. Heck, when I was a kid all the boys played war with plastic machine guns. "I got you!" "No you didn't!" If you need any further evidence note what a big deal computer war games are today. Some men spend thousands of dollars a year on Eve Online. It's a full time job. Why?
Vin, your last sentence says it all , except for “Their” . A sorcerer named Don Juan once said that the hardest task in life is to throw away the baggage of beliefs we are fed from the moment we are born. You said it.. “hard-wiring is just so difficult to alter”.
On my way to total pariah. My wife introduces me by saying I can clear a crowded room at a party in less than five minutes. Gaza make me quit caring about my pariah status.
They expect things because they got them once from FDR, and, to a lesser extent LBJ. Granted, both were flawed, but they delivered partial policy fixes for capitalist mendacity. My grandmother loved the Democratic Party because it brought electricity to her rural NC county. The Dems betrayed that history when the Clintonistas bent over for the corporate donors.
It is time for the AIPAC group to come out and form their own party, thereby eliminating any misconceptions as to their long term objectives to turn the USA into a totally controlled Israeli State.
May I offer a bit of advice from downunder, affectionately know as the USA's grovelling little bag carrier. A.k.a the vassal state.
In todays climate the success of the AIPAC Party it would be "a lay down mesire".
Now that means that something is a certainty to happen and is common in Australia / New Zealand slang.
For example..... the next election would be a"lay-down mesire" for the AIPAC Party.
Its origins are in the card game 500. In normal play the idea is to win a number of tricks bid (or more). But if a player has a very poor hand, such as the USA, they can opt to bid to lose every trick in the hand ( a "mesire" bid)..... and further if they lay their cards on the table, it is an "open mesire" or "lay down mesire", and often carries enough points that the game can be won in a single hand.
The USA has now reached that stage. A small example is the State of South Carolina who voted in Lindsey Graham for 23 years. Other sickening examples are Biden, Trump, McCain and on it goes, ad nauseam.
Downunder the Netanyahu Nasties call themselves AIJAC. Same horse, different rider.
Heaven knows why and so do I. It's because you seem to have no clue what these words mean. By the way, they are not called "Repubs", it's Repugs because they are r epugnant.
The two party rigged electoral system has become a scam. By participating in the scam, you are allowing it to remain legitimate when it no longer is legitimate. It became illegitimate when both parties were corporatized and the League of Woman Voters were forcibly removed from managing the debates, and you got the Citizens United v. FEC ruling in 2010. Even voting for a third party means you are participating in a political scam. The American people are being presented with false choices, and third parties are forcibly marginalized and barely allowed into the electoral scam - to give the electoral process a semblance of legitimacy when there is none left.
I have voted for Ross Perott, Mickey Mouse, Banksy, Aaron Bushnell and others. Vote often for D or R's (they must pay you or you are a retard and should be deported to Palestine (Tel Aviv). Boom Boom. Have a nice day.) 1 State Palestine.
I know it will feel minor, but https://fairvote.org/ is a toe in the door towards breaking up the 1.0001 party system the USA currently has.
The US presidency should really be a ranked ballot where the top vote becomes president, and the runner-up becomes the vice president. The party ticket system needs to be abolished, and in my mind is worse than the electoral college system which also needs to be abolished.
There were a few good ideas in the design of the US system, but even the good ideas were quickly neutered to protect US institutions from any potential outbreak of Democracy.
Something needs to change - and I think that's why you see the ICE funding exploding with billions of dollars invested already. The Elites are getting ready to put Americans in concentration camps if they have to - ICE won't just be for the immigrants.
When I was born, the Ontario and Canadian governments granted me citizenship and I've lived in what some call "Ontario" my entire life.
Part of why I participate in forums dominated by US citizens is to act as a reminder that this isn't a US specific problem, and that there is a longer timeline than recent election cycles (or even human lifespans).
Put the "First They Came" poem in your mind before reading these articles.
"The US presidency should really be a ranked ballot where the top vote becomes president, and the runner-up becomes the vice president. " That was the original system way back in 1796. Epic fail. It guaranteed that the Prez and VP were archrivals antagonizing one another. It didn't last long.
It depends on what you consider the "failure" to be.
The party system means that the 3 co-equal branches of government no longer function correctly, if any Congress people or judges consider the President to be "their leader".
The idea that a single corporate entity should be able to control the President, Vice President, Congress and the Supreme Court is obviously the failure, not that the President and Vide President aren't on the executive of the same corporation.
The President and VP should be antagonizing each other -- administrative simplicity should never be thought of as the goal of an entity striving to one day become democratic.
I was following Glenn Greenwald's coverage of Brazil politics when President Dilma Rousseff was ousted. I remember their government structure is based on the U.S., but she had voluntarily selected an opposition leader for her vice president. I think this created motive for the opposition to oust her, knowing their guy would become president.
Your idea still beats the shit show the US has now.
The only thing I'd add is that range voting is an improvement over simple ranking.
Party systems, no matter how many parties, creates a system of warring factions rather than citizens assemblies (which should be the goal). It isn't feasible to jump from one way of thinking to another without intermediary steps to change the culture around democratic institutions.
Neither the President or the Vice President should be part of a "warring faction". They should be representative of the entire country.
-------
Yes to the range voting, but we need to get people past the single-X before we can collect even more accurate information from voters to build better representative bodies.
I also believe that on any ballot, an "X" should be treated as a "1", and thus if someone wants to turn their ballot into an approval ballot they can do so.
The trick is always having a DETERMANISTIC and third-party verifiable algorithm for determining the outcome. Some systems end up adding in non-deterministic features, or where alphabetic sorting of names ends up preferring one candidate or another.
At the moment there are ballot-less voting machines used in the USA, which are essentially proxy votes handed to the technology vendors. I've noticed how few people think about and flag these radical changes. Voter verifyable ballots are needed, even if machine generated and machine counted.
Trust is core to an electoral system, and -- well -- we need to be honest that trust in STEM isn't high in the current political climate.
I live in a state with mail in ballots, and a county with ranked voting. I remember hearing about the black box voting machines, especially in Ohio in the 2004 US election. I read Mark Crispin Miller's book "Fooled Again" that had more details. (Also RFK Jr's long article that covered the same points.) I'm still mad about the 2000 election too.
When I read about range voting, it made me want to tell everyone to be sure to offer a zero option, that would clearly indicate a candidate is not acceptable, and can't be counted as a last, or any choice. I'd boycott an election before I'd use a ballot that didn't allow "none of the above" or blank.
"Capital must protect itself in every possible way, both by combination and legislation. Debts must be collected, mortgages foreclosed as rapidly as possible.
"When, through process of law, the common people lose their homes, they will become more docile and more easily governed through the strong arm of the government applied by a central power of wealth under leading financiers.
"These truths are well known among our principal men, who are now engaged in forming an imperialism to govern the world.
By dividing the voter through the political party system, we can get them to expend their energies in fighting for questions of no importance.
"It is thus, by discrete action, we can secure for ourselves that which has been so well planned and so successfully accomplished."
-Montagu Norman, Governor of The Bank Of England, (1920-1944) addressing the United States Bankers’ Association, October 1924.
"We find two great gangs of political speculators, who alternately take possession of the state power and exploit it by the most corrupt ends - the nation is powerless against these two great cartels of politicians who are ostensibly its servants, but in reality dominate and plunder it."
The Democrats and the Republicans are two wings of the same bird of prey: Wall Street. The 40 year class war being waged on the ameriKKKan working class has done little to awaken the sleeping giant. At this point it is obvious they will accept the totalitarian agenda the capitalists have in store for them. The Democrats are the metaphorical Judas Goat.
Americans are condemned to become serfs in the AI dominated predatory capitalist system they have allowed to run roughshod over them. Apathy disengagement and a"who cares" attitude will do it every time. For a nation to mature it is imperative to have an engaged public who is not averse to discussing socio/political reform. The American political scene is as barren as the Sahara desert and the only forms of life are D and R rattlesnakes.
Peace be upon you by Gaza and Jerusalem - Honour and victory are the allies of the axis of resistance and its allies, and humiliation and shame are for the axis oPf evil, Epstein Class (USA, Britain, France, Turkey, Qatar, UAE, NATO Governments, New Nazi, Masonic, Zionist and Israel) and its allies.
My long held view on why the various water carriers for Empire had a problem with Trump 1 was because he attempted to redirect all of the cash that washed over Washington through Trump Towers - recall how he would deal with the representatives of both companies and countries in his own private gold-plated building, and in the process he would deny the various politicians, intelligence operatives, lobbyists, etc. of their taste.
Essentially Trump 1 saw the best way to make money as manipulating the flow of cash away from the usual suspects in Washington. Draining the swamp – of it’s blood money, and other rewards. For the elites this demonstrated an unacceptable lack of good taste and imagination – consequently he had to go.
This time around Trump 2 has learned that he can make mountains of money for himself and his extended crime family in ways that do not result in a long line of impoverished and indignant war profiteers, and so on. Trump 2 has realized that he can bet on world events, manipulate said events, and then profit from the bets previously placed. And the bottom feeding war profiteers are happy now because they get their taste.
With respect to the Trump - it is, and always was, about money. Money money money money...
It's coincidental this article was written today. Just yesterday, I sent out an email to my email group of friends/family/acquaintances/etc sardonically noting how I'm sure we'll all be hearing real soon from the No_Kings/Hands_off bullshit "protest" organizers about the renewed war/aggression on Iran (who have been completely quiet and absent for ages now... just not a convenient time to be "active", for them, I guess)
I’ve noticed that as well. The No Kings protests were nothing more than a reactionary critique of Trump’s admittedly repulsive personality. Now that another illegal war of aggression has been launched and billions of dollars are, once again, being poured into terror and destruction, the lack of any resistance to the war machine is laid bare for all to see. It’s a fucking joke.
There were "Canadians", many who are loyal to a literal Constitutional Monarchy that has a King as a figurehead for the institutions, participating in "No Kings" protests -- on soil that the Canadian Crowns (institutions, not a person) claims title over.
I don't read propaganda media so I had no idea this is so. It is true that during the 2024 the Ds attacked Mr. T for not being warlike enough. They were horrified by the threat of peace. I find all this very weird.
At the start of this latest war on Iran, the public statements from my two Senators (both Democrats) each began with harsh critiques of Iran, then went on to say it was wrong for Trump to begin the war without a Congressional vote; basically they were fine with the war- they just wanted to be asked before the destruction and murder began.
But the mid terms....
We'll soon hear about the necessity of putting Democrats in charge so they can 'impeach' Trump after January 2027. Then like January 2007, it will then be said it's important to look beyond Trump and focus on 2028. And hooray, Kamala will come back stronger and more determined this time...right.
In the months before the 2006 midterms, the Democrats campaigned on the need to take back Congress so they could start investigations and impeachment of the G W Bush regime. They did take both the House and Senate. Then in early 2007, Pelosi, who then became Speaker, stopped any work on impeachment and said it was more important to focus on the 2008 elections.
I thought the futile impeachments were a major waste of energy. I further believe that this is a deliberate strategy to divert efforts into futile hopeless causes instead of things that have a chance of success. This inculcates the public with a highly desirable learned helplessness which today is all too evident.
It is true that the Rs started it with the equally bogus Clinton impeachment. It was to get votes but this is widely seen as a failure.
That's a good observation - promise (or threat) of impeachment is just another sheep dog tactic to bring in more votes.
And on the Clinton impeachment, read, but can't cite a reference, that the impeachment died because the Senate Democrats had dirt on about six Republicans in a banking scandal - so they made a deal.
I have WAY more disdain for the so-called "liberal" (term that no longer even has a meaning) Democrats because, as Noam Chomsky so perfectly pointed out a long time ago, they set the boundary for how far true progressivism, and positive change, can really go. And the "boundary line" they've set up actually won't let progressive/positive change move even one inch forward. And this is saying a lot because the awful repukelicans sicken me so deeply.
So true Patrick! The spelling of the word "liberalism" remains the same, but just the definition has changed… and most people buy it (I guess?)… which is exactly what's happened with the word "democracy" too... a total definition change... but people love to just say the word "democracy" as a sort of security blanket to suck their thumbs with... doesn't really matter what the word itself is actually used by our power structure to mean anymore... all that matters is just the way it rolls off of our tongues when the word is uttered, and then in doing so, the feeling it elicits from the utterer.
The fix was in this time before he ever took office. AIPAC and billionaire friends had him paid up, Vance was a former Peter Thiel employee so Silicon Valley had nothing to worry about, and all his cabinet members were and are tireless war maniacs. What’s not to love?
He’s delivered on everything, creates lots of diversions on his truth social rants and does as he’s told. He’s no more in charge of the federal government than Biden was.
Interesting. I agree that the Russia hoax was hugely important in the demonization of Russia for the American left, laying the groundwork for their shrill support of Ukraine v Russia. It seems clear to me now, however, that the demonization of Russia was more pointedly an objective served by the Russia hoax rather than created by the Russia hoax. The state department/CIA activities in Ukraine in the years preceding the Russia hoax were already working towards manufacturing the conditions for inevitable military reaction by Russia. Perhaps the intent was merely to bog Russia down in a stupid costly conflict, but at this point in time, given all that we know about redevelopment plans/who the war has been eliminating/statements by Zelensky, does it not appear probable that it has been serving the objectives of the Greater Israel Project and therefore the true underlying motive all along? Do readers here think I am nuts to fit the puzzle pieces together this way? The new world order objectives require a lot of demolition.
Ukraine was never anything more than a: "Tel Aviv North" and a "Japan/Korea/Taiwan/Phillippines" in northeastern Europe. The civil war is global and has been for awhile now. But, by your political musings, I think you are on the right side. The Arabs, Persians, Russians, Chinese and us have become the new confederacy, whether we chose it or not.
Of course. Since Trump has shown that he can be relied upon to keep the wars and empire going, liberals and democrats are free to do what they love to do and what they do best - performative and entirely symbolic fake resistance.
We need to get rid of the entire system and replace it with one that works for the climate and for the people. The present system works very well for the rich.
Well, a few months ago, we were assured that it was a moral necessity to vote for Willie Brown's former mistress, anointed by the DNC, because "Democracy Is On The Ballot(R)".
Strangely, Team D seems silent now.
Yes, you’re right, Team D is silent, but the Money is talking.
??? This very day, Democrats, unanimously, blocked the trillion dollar Defense Budget bill, stopped it. Calling a vote that defeated the Defense Bill silence? _-There is no louder political protest than a united vote to block funding for war.
Ms. " Iran is our greatest enemy" is prepping for 2028 you know she is.
And you are helping the man bombing Iran today.
By: Matt Sledge; The Intercept
Despite their defeat by Senate Republicans, bills seeking to block arms sales to Israel found widespread Democratic support.
Democratic senators overwhelmingly voted to block bomb and bulldozer sales to Israel on Wednesday,
As I said, performative putrage.
Votes of both parties directly track to congressional AIPAC funding.
I shall never forget her joyfully leading D convention cheers in praise of "the most lethal fighting force in the world!" None of that wimpy "self-defense" stuff.
I will ignore your sexist slur on Harris, and ask: are you working for AIPAC? 1. Today, the majority of Democrats voted to stop arming Israel, and a few days ago, without exception, all Dems voted to block the "Defense Bill" I now you have this thing were you say it is performative...but that is your bullshit of alternative facts. These votes, on which these Dems will run, result in real consquences: they cause "tangible legislative gridlock. unprecedented splits in party leadership, and direct pressure from the voter base. Far from being empty gestures, these votes have actively stalled major legislation and forced historic realignments within Congress.
the Senate Democratic Caucus voted 50–46 to completely block debate on the $1.15 trillion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This stopped a mandatory, must-pass bill from advancing.Withheld key procedural votes: Lawmakers did not just register a protest; they successfully denied the 60 votes required to move the Pentagon budget forward.Unprecedented Fractures in Top LeadershipHigh-ranking splits: If these votes were coordinated political theater, party leadership would stand united. Instead, they are deeply divided.Breaking party lines: While House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposed an amendment to eliminate $3.3 billion in Israeli military aid, the No. 2 House Democrat, Katherine Clark, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi broke ranks to vote in favor of the cut.Historic scale: Over 100 House Democrats voted to cut off the aid, turning a once-unanimous position into an active party schism.
: Lawmakers are responding to real electoral jeopardy. A wave of progressive challengers have successfully unseated established incumbents in primary elections specifically over their foreign policy stances.Shifting public opinion: Recent polling demonstrates that a significant majority of Democratic voters support reducing or entirely eliminating military aid to Israel. Lawmakers are voting to satisfy their core constituencies to protect their seats, making it a matter of survival rather than performance."
Harris herself admits to being Willie Brown's side piece, FYI.
Your copy-paste was addressed elsewhere.
The good people of the rogue US regime are going to have to come to terms with the fact that they cannot vote themselves out of the mess they find themselves in – only by organizing a violent revolution will they see change.
Susan,
Unfortunately, We are the system.
We may not be the designers but we are definitely participants, knowingly or not.
Time to work towards evacuation
It works TOO well for the rich. #EatTheRich
But but but, what about idiot parties morons supporting lesser evils when voting? Deport them. I approve of this message. Fucking cancel Israel.
Zionism is the project, the current government of Israel is merely an artifact.
The first of what we would today call Christian Zionists to land on the continent some call North America are celebrated each year during US Thanksgiving.
Please don't let yourself be misdirected by the rebranding done in the 1890's so that the Anglo Protestant Zionists could claim that this was ever a Jewish project (launched by, or to protect the interests of, Jewish people).
“Two groups conflate Zionism and Judaism. Zionists, who want to legitimize Zionism by pretending it is Judaism; and antisemites, who want to de-legitimize Judaism by pretending it is Zionism.” - Yaakov Shapiro, an anti-Zionist Orthodox rabbi.
https://r.flora.ca/p/zionism
everything Mike Johnson says/does/hears is in this direction. Not an accident
As in, Mike Johnson, as a devout Southern Baptist, always tries to conflate Zionism and Judaism?
Not an accident -- do you believe that individual is aware of what they are doing, or blindly following?
I grew up a Christian under a Christian government (Canada), and it was only later in life with very deliberate reading that I noticed the discrepancies with what the institutions of Canada were training me to believe.
Even when Democrats 100% vote down approval of Trillion dollar defense bill, you cal it fake. It's as tho you want it to be fake because you would rather be right than actually change US policy. There is a battle raging in America, with 77% of Democrats finding Israel guilty of genocide and supporting blocking weapons and aid. (Quinnipiac University poll). To ignore the battle or claim it is just fake is to miss the way most Democrats , the base, and the left within the Congress, feel. The inability to see the radical change in mood and ideology is a blindness that benefits the status quo. You might as well be an AIPAC stooge, helping to tear down the left battling to gain power to effect change.
On measures that they know won't pass. When the measure hangs in the balance, they aren't so resolute.
And since when did the DNC care what voters or democrat voters think or like or want?
EDIT: "You might as well be an AIPAC stooge, helping to tear down the left battling to gain power to effect change."
Do I need to show you that photo of Harris hugging Netanyahu again? What political party nominated Harris for president, do remind me? And what did she say about Israel at the convention, I maybe should look it up....
"t's as tho you want it to be fake because you would rather be right than actually change US policy."
So you're saying that I am right and Team D is fake. Thank you for confirming what we already know.
https://husseini.substack.com/p/performative-voting-voting-against
~~~
“Do Congressional Votes Matter when they don't Change Policy? Another Sheepdogging to Rebrand the Democrats as not Genocidal?…
It would be foolish to think that Ivey and Pelosi and so many of these 100 wouldn’t make their votes available for imperial Israel when they are needed.”
I think you're forgetting how the Democrats perpetrated genocide in Gaza for the guts of two years. The cheek of you accusing people of being aipac stooges for criticising the aipac genocide party
We will never forget asshole and war criminal genocide Joe and his democrat bootlickers and lickspittles. Except for very few, D's are the same genocide apologists and supporters crowd. Demoncrats just don't have guts to admit it.
Yeah, that was a sleazy move, even by Dale standards, even by Team D standards.
What liberals do best is "below the waist politics..."
Pronouns, humans...PRONOUNS!
Note that none of these performances change the way the economic pie is sliced, nor do they in any way affect the empire or its wars.
Days after 104 members of Congress voted in favor of a measure that sought to end U.S. aid to Israel, AIPAC will no longer allow donations through its political action committee to 18 lawmakers it endorsed who voted in favor of the legislation. Losing AIPAC funding is not performative for it gave 23 million in the 24 election; it is an act (voting to ban arms to Israel) that has a heavy cost, and not only does AIPAC stop funding those voting to ban arms but it spends millons to defeat them, funding opponents and buying negative advertising.
"On Wednesday, more than 100 House Democrats voted for an amendment to a State Department funding bill that would have cut U.S. aid to Israel, marking a massive break in the party’s once unshakable support for the Jewish state. ) 103 voted to ban arms; 97 to continue. Most had not received AIPAC funds or refuseed them, but 7 have no lost AIPAC funding. To claim losing money and facing AIPAC funding of millions to defeat you is not an "act" but a moral choice with a cost.
IN 2024, AIPAC spent millions in primary to defeat anti-genocide progressives: "The United Democracy Project invested over $14 million to unseat Bowman, making it one of the most expensive House primaries in U.S. history.Cori Bush: AIPAC's super PAC directed between $8.4 and $9 million into the district to help defeat Bush in her August 2024 primary.The total outside spending in both races dwarfed previous political action committee investments, fueled largely by massive donations to AIPAC's super PAC. F"
This is not perforamative; this is hard ball.
Had you read the link I provided elsewhere, you would see how Team D candidates that promise not to take AIPAC money structure contributions as to take that money indirectly.
Anyway, Dale, I gotta question forya. Quit ducking it already.
This is what I suspected the election theft in 2020 was about. This is where my gut was leading me. Not at the time, it was a horrible terrifying feeling. But that’s when I thought DT was anti establishment. As CJ said he never was. What he was, was an embarrassment and they wanted him OUT.
But after the Russia and Israel situation didn’t go as smoothly as planned they thought it would be a good idea to resurrect his candidacy. The reason is because he could gin up far better military recruits than anyone else. I’m sure they made him deals of get rich quick schemes and offers of impunity. This in exchange for him prosecuting their dirty deeds like Iran.
They never did have much respect for MAGA people. As far as the holdouts are concerned neither do I. However I do think they are surprised by the number of us that peeled away from him (maybe).
In many ways the Dems. are worse than the Repubs. People expect things from the Dems. (heaven knows why).
A pox on both.
A lot of it is knee-jerk conditioning, Jenny. Like my neighbor 3 houses away. Nice guy, but the moment an election looms, the yard sign for the favored shit-lib Dem goes up like clockwork. A liberal, "reformed" ex-military, a centrist Dem's the best he can do. Latest is Deb Haaland for NM governor (my former rep & Obama's Interior sec.) Their hard-wiring is just so difficult to alter.
A lot of it is just humans cheering for a chosen political team. I hear more reasoned and informed opinions from sportsball fans why they support a given (non-home town) team than I do from most political junkies.
That's interesting... and actually a really important point you make.
A long time ago, Noam Chomsky, in replying to someone who said that the average US citizen is too stupid to understand political issues and international events, once replied, and I know I don't have the exact wording (not even close) but... it was something along the lines of this... "The average US citizen is not stupid, and all you have to do is listen to some of the most detailed discussions about sporting events, some of the most complex strategizing, and depth of information, etc.''
But I also have this reply, below, from my Gemini query...
______________________________________________________________
Gemini's response to my prompt (between the double quotation marks):
""In this quote from Understanding Power, Chomsky observes that, while driving, he often hears ordinary people engaging in highly analytical, detailed discussions on sports radio. He contrasts this by stating, "These are ordinary people, not professionals, who are applying their intelligence and analytic skills in these areas and accumulating quite a lot of knowledge and, for all I know, understanding." He contrasts this high level of engagement with what he describes as a profound, "superficial" understanding of complex political or social issues among the public.
Chomsky argues this difference arises not from a lack of capability, but because the social system directs intellectual energy toward non-threatening areas.""
I remember that.
People have a war instinct. It's so basic that even ants have it. All that matters is that your side wins. There has been brain wave research that confirms the observation of Dr. Chomsky. Heck, when I was a kid all the boys played war with plastic machine guns. "I got you!" "No you didn't!" If you need any further evidence note what a big deal computer war games are today. Some men spend thousands of dollars a year on Eve Online. It's a full time job. Why?
Green Bay Packers -- a triumph of socialism! The NFL has forbidden any further efforts in this vein. Capitalism only. They felt threatened.
Vin, your last sentence says it all , except for “Their” . A sorcerer named Don Juan once said that the hardest task in life is to throw away the baggage of beliefs we are fed from the moment we are born. You said it.. “hard-wiring is just so difficult to alter”.
Wow, John. Raising the specter of Don Juan. Haven't pondered in that direction for a while. Thanks— what a wake-up call!
I would be hard-pressed not to demolish the sign!
I have the same thought every time I pass his house on the way to mine. But ya know . . . gotta live in the neighborhood; can't be a total pariah.
On my way to total pariah. My wife introduces me by saying I can clear a crowded room at a party in less than five minutes. Gaza make me quit caring about my pariah status.
They expect things because they got them once from FDR, and, to a lesser extent LBJ. Granted, both were flawed, but they delivered partial policy fixes for capitalist mendacity. My grandmother loved the Democratic Party because it brought electricity to her rural NC county. The Dems betrayed that history when the Clintonistas bent over for the corporate donors.
But yes, a pox on both their imperialist houses.
Tom, like ‘Toys r Us’ we are “Them”. We all follow the money don’t we?
‘Make me a sergeant, gimme the booze!’
I beat you to it!
Jenny
It is time for the AIPAC group to come out and form their own party, thereby eliminating any misconceptions as to their long term objectives to turn the USA into a totally controlled Israeli State.
May I offer a bit of advice from downunder, affectionately know as the USA's grovelling little bag carrier. A.k.a the vassal state.
In todays climate the success of the AIPAC Party it would be "a lay down mesire".
Now that means that something is a certainty to happen and is common in Australia / New Zealand slang.
For example..... the next election would be a"lay-down mesire" for the AIPAC Party.
Its origins are in the card game 500. In normal play the idea is to win a number of tricks bid (or more). But if a player has a very poor hand, such as the USA, they can opt to bid to lose every trick in the hand ( a "mesire" bid)..... and further if they lay their cards on the table, it is an "open mesire" or "lay down mesire", and often carries enough points that the game can be won in a single hand.
The USA has now reached that stage. A small example is the State of South Carolina who voted in Lindsey Graham for 23 years. Other sickening examples are Biden, Trump, McCain and on it goes, ad nauseam.
Downunder the Netanyahu Nasties call themselves AIJAC. Same horse, different rider.
Exactly. And what I've noted to others quite often.
Heaven knows why and so do I. It's because you seem to have no clue what these words mean. By the way, they are not called "Repubs", it's Repugs because they are r epugnant.
The two party rigged electoral system has become a scam. By participating in the scam, you are allowing it to remain legitimate when it no longer is legitimate. It became illegitimate when both parties were corporatized and the League of Woman Voters were forcibly removed from managing the debates, and you got the Citizens United v. FEC ruling in 2010. Even voting for a third party means you are participating in a political scam. The American people are being presented with false choices, and third parties are forcibly marginalized and barely allowed into the electoral scam - to give the electoral process a semblance of legitimacy when there is none left.
I have voted for Ross Perott, Mickey Mouse, Banksy, Aaron Bushnell and others. Vote often for D or R's (they must pay you or you are a retard and should be deported to Palestine (Tel Aviv). Boom Boom. Have a nice day.) 1 State Palestine.
I know it will feel minor, but https://fairvote.org/ is a toe in the door towards breaking up the 1.0001 party system the USA currently has.
The US presidency should really be a ranked ballot where the top vote becomes president, and the runner-up becomes the vice president. The party ticket system needs to be abolished, and in my mind is worse than the electoral college system which also needs to be abolished.
There were a few good ideas in the design of the US system, but even the good ideas were quickly neutered to protect US institutions from any potential outbreak of Democracy.
Something needs to change - and I think that's why you see the ICE funding exploding with billions of dollars invested already. The Elites are getting ready to put Americans in concentration camps if they have to - ICE won't just be for the immigrants.
Yes, jamenta. It will be a case of...
" First they came for the Communists and I did not speak out..... "
When I was born, the Ontario and Canadian governments granted me citizenship and I've lived in what some call "Ontario" my entire life.
Part of why I participate in forums dominated by US citizens is to act as a reminder that this isn't a US specific problem, and that there is a longer timeline than recent election cycles (or even human lifespans).
Put the "First They Came" poem in your mind before reading these articles.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_They_Came
----
An Association Fallacy, and the need to move past settler-colonial thinking
Rethink NATO, WEOG, and the eastern expansion of the Western European Union
https://r.flora.ca/p/nato-weog
Wait, what?!? Being honest about the greatest threat to Jewish peoples.
Note the plural for "peoples", and don't fall for Christian Zionist antisemitic tropes.
https://r.flora.ca/p/greatest-threats-to-jewish-peoples
"The US presidency should really be a ranked ballot where the top vote becomes president, and the runner-up becomes the vice president. " That was the original system way back in 1796. Epic fail. It guaranteed that the Prez and VP were archrivals antagonizing one another. It didn't last long.
It depends on what you consider the "failure" to be.
The party system means that the 3 co-equal branches of government no longer function correctly, if any Congress people or judges consider the President to be "their leader".
The idea that a single corporate entity should be able to control the President, Vice President, Congress and the Supreme Court is obviously the failure, not that the President and Vide President aren't on the executive of the same corporation.
The President and VP should be antagonizing each other -- administrative simplicity should never be thought of as the goal of an entity striving to one day become democratic.
Trump as Prez and Harris as VP? That would be heaven.
I was following Glenn Greenwald's coverage of Brazil politics when President Dilma Rousseff was ousted. I remember their government structure is based on the U.S., but she had voluntarily selected an opposition leader for her vice president. I think this created motive for the opposition to oust her, knowing their guy would become president.
Your idea still beats the shit show the US has now.
The only thing I'd add is that range voting is an improvement over simple ranking.
Party systems, no matter how many parties, creates a system of warring factions rather than citizens assemblies (which should be the goal). It isn't feasible to jump from one way of thinking to another without intermediary steps to change the culture around democratic institutions.
Neither the President or the Vice President should be part of a "warring faction". They should be representative of the entire country.
-------
Yes to the range voting, but we need to get people past the single-X before we can collect even more accurate information from voters to build better representative bodies.
I also believe that on any ballot, an "X" should be treated as a "1", and thus if someone wants to turn their ballot into an approval ballot they can do so.
The trick is always having a DETERMANISTIC and third-party verifiable algorithm for determining the outcome. Some systems end up adding in non-deterministic features, or where alphabetic sorting of names ends up preferring one candidate or another.
At the moment there are ballot-less voting machines used in the USA, which are essentially proxy votes handed to the technology vendors. I've noticed how few people think about and flag these radical changes. Voter verifyable ballots are needed, even if machine generated and machine counted.
Trust is core to an electoral system, and -- well -- we need to be honest that trust in STEM isn't high in the current political climate.
I live in a state with mail in ballots, and a county with ranked voting. I remember hearing about the black box voting machines, especially in Ohio in the 2004 US election. I read Mark Crispin Miller's book "Fooled Again" that had more details. (Also RFK Jr's long article that covered the same points.) I'm still mad about the 2000 election too.
When I read about range voting, it made me want to tell everyone to be sure to offer a zero option, that would clearly indicate a candidate is not acceptable, and can't be counted as a last, or any choice. I'd boycott an election before I'd use a ballot that didn't allow "none of the above" or blank.
Yes, but in the end, the only party that counts is indeed the party that can count, as in ‘count the Money ‘ party.
"Capital must protect itself in every possible way, both by combination and legislation. Debts must be collected, mortgages foreclosed as rapidly as possible.
"When, through process of law, the common people lose their homes, they will become more docile and more easily governed through the strong arm of the government applied by a central power of wealth under leading financiers.
"These truths are well known among our principal men, who are now engaged in forming an imperialism to govern the world.
By dividing the voter through the political party system, we can get them to expend their energies in fighting for questions of no importance.
"It is thus, by discrete action, we can secure for ourselves that which has been so well planned and so successfully accomplished."
-Montagu Norman, Governor of The Bank Of England, (1920-1944) addressing the United States Bankers’ Association, October 1924.
"We find two great gangs of political speculators, who alternately take possession of the state power and exploit it by the most corrupt ends - the nation is powerless against these two great cartels of politicians who are ostensibly its servants, but in reality dominate and plunder it."
-Friedrich Engels
The Democrats and the Republicans are two wings of the same bird of prey: Wall Street. The 40 year class war being waged on the ameriKKKan working class has done little to awaken the sleeping giant. At this point it is obvious they will accept the totalitarian agenda the capitalists have in store for them. The Democrats are the metaphorical Judas Goat.
Americans are condemned to become serfs in the AI dominated predatory capitalist system they have allowed to run roughshod over them. Apathy disengagement and a"who cares" attitude will do it every time. For a nation to mature it is imperative to have an engaged public who is not averse to discussing socio/political reform. The American political scene is as barren as the Sahara desert and the only forms of life are D and R rattlesnakes.
David, your description of the system is pretty well international. It just happens that the U.S. has been doing its thing for a longer time.
Worldwide, no. Western, yes.
One State Palestine in the ashes of the D & R Zionist bought Parties. Vote Fuck Israel.
Peace be upon you by Gaza and Jerusalem - Honour and victory are the allies of the axis of resistance and its allies, and humiliation and shame are for the axis oPf evil, Epstein Class (USA, Britain, France, Turkey, Qatar, UAE, NATO Governments, New Nazi, Masonic, Zionist and Israel) and its allies.
Hassan, the needle on the record playing seems to be stuck?
My long held view on why the various water carriers for Empire had a problem with Trump 1 was because he attempted to redirect all of the cash that washed over Washington through Trump Towers - recall how he would deal with the representatives of both companies and countries in his own private gold-plated building, and in the process he would deny the various politicians, intelligence operatives, lobbyists, etc. of their taste.
Essentially Trump 1 saw the best way to make money as manipulating the flow of cash away from the usual suspects in Washington. Draining the swamp – of it’s blood money, and other rewards. For the elites this demonstrated an unacceptable lack of good taste and imagination – consequently he had to go.
This time around Trump 2 has learned that he can make mountains of money for himself and his extended crime family in ways that do not result in a long line of impoverished and indignant war profiteers, and so on. Trump 2 has realized that he can bet on world events, manipulate said events, and then profit from the bets previously placed. And the bottom feeding war profiteers are happy now because they get their taste.
With respect to the Trump - it is, and always was, about money. Money money money money...
G4……
Your last sentence…… Bingo! Bingo! Bingo!
It's coincidental this article was written today. Just yesterday, I sent out an email to my email group of friends/family/acquaintances/etc sardonically noting how I'm sure we'll all be hearing real soon from the No_Kings/Hands_off bullshit "protest" organizers about the renewed war/aggression on Iran (who have been completely quiet and absent for ages now... just not a convenient time to be "active", for them, I guess)
I’ve noticed that as well. The No Kings protests were nothing more than a reactionary critique of Trump’s admittedly repulsive personality. Now that another illegal war of aggression has been launched and billions of dollars are, once again, being poured into terror and destruction, the lack of any resistance to the war machine is laid bare for all to see. It’s a fucking joke.
So true Jim.
I live under the institutions of Canada.
There were "Canadians", many who are loyal to a literal Constitutional Monarchy that has a King as a figurehead for the institutions, participating in "No Kings" protests -- on soil that the Canadian Crowns (institutions, not a person) claims title over.
I don't read propaganda media so I had no idea this is so. It is true that during the 2024 the Ds attacked Mr. T for not being warlike enough. They were horrified by the threat of peace. I find all this very weird.
Yeah, ain't it funny that we haven't been hearing about the resurrection of Russiagate?
Because whatever fears the Deep State may have had, Trump is housebroken now.
At the start of this latest war on Iran, the public statements from my two Senators (both Democrats) each began with harsh critiques of Iran, then went on to say it was wrong for Trump to begin the war without a Congressional vote; basically they were fine with the war- they just wanted to be asked before the destruction and murder began.
But the mid terms....
We'll soon hear about the necessity of putting Democrats in charge so they can 'impeach' Trump after January 2027. Then like January 2007, it will then be said it's important to look beyond Trump and focus on 2028. And hooray, Kamala will come back stronger and more determined this time...right.
You mean January 2009?
Hi Patrick, no.
In the months before the 2006 midterms, the Democrats campaigned on the need to take back Congress so they could start investigations and impeachment of the G W Bush regime. They did take both the House and Senate. Then in early 2007, Pelosi, who then became Speaker, stopped any work on impeachment and said it was more important to focus on the 2008 elections.
Aha, thanks for the explanation.
I thought the futile impeachments were a major waste of energy. I further believe that this is a deliberate strategy to divert efforts into futile hopeless causes instead of things that have a chance of success. This inculcates the public with a highly desirable learned helplessness which today is all too evident.
It is true that the Rs started it with the equally bogus Clinton impeachment. It was to get votes but this is widely seen as a failure.
That's a good observation - promise (or threat) of impeachment is just another sheep dog tactic to bring in more votes.
And on the Clinton impeachment, read, but can't cite a reference, that the impeachment died because the Senate Democrats had dirt on about six Republicans in a banking scandal - so they made a deal.
I have WAY more disdain for the so-called "liberal" (term that no longer even has a meaning) Democrats because, as Noam Chomsky so perfectly pointed out a long time ago, they set the boundary for how far true progressivism, and positive change, can really go. And the "boundary line" they've set up actually won't let progressive/positive change move even one inch forward. And this is saying a lot because the awful repukelicans sicken me so deeply.
Nowadays endless war, genocide, and serving the rich at the expense of the general public is liberalism.
So true Patrick! The spelling of the word "liberalism" remains the same, but just the definition has changed… and most people buy it (I guess?)… which is exactly what's happened with the word "democracy" too... a total definition change... but people love to just say the word "democracy" as a sort of security blanket to suck their thumbs with... doesn't really matter what the word itself is actually used by our power structure to mean anymore... all that matters is just the way it rolls off of our tongues when the word is uttered, and then in doing so, the feeling it elicits from the utterer.
I call it the "Orwellization" of words.
Love it! I’m gonna steal that from you…
And they won't be disappointed. Once the murderers in Israel take over our military, they will draft our young men to fight even more wars.
The fix was in this time before he ever took office. AIPAC and billionaire friends had him paid up, Vance was a former Peter Thiel employee so Silicon Valley had nothing to worry about, and all his cabinet members were and are tireless war maniacs. What’s not to love?
He’s delivered on everything, creates lots of diversions on his truth social rants and does as he’s told. He’s no more in charge of the federal government than Biden was.
What an astute observation. It's so true! If ever there was evidence of a class war in the western world, this is it.
Interesting. I agree that the Russia hoax was hugely important in the demonization of Russia for the American left, laying the groundwork for their shrill support of Ukraine v Russia. It seems clear to me now, however, that the demonization of Russia was more pointedly an objective served by the Russia hoax rather than created by the Russia hoax. The state department/CIA activities in Ukraine in the years preceding the Russia hoax were already working towards manufacturing the conditions for inevitable military reaction by Russia. Perhaps the intent was merely to bog Russia down in a stupid costly conflict, but at this point in time, given all that we know about redevelopment plans/who the war has been eliminating/statements by Zelensky, does it not appear probable that it has been serving the objectives of the Greater Israel Project and therefore the true underlying motive all along? Do readers here think I am nuts to fit the puzzle pieces together this way? The new world order objectives require a lot of demolition.
Ukraine was never anything more than a: "Tel Aviv North" and a "Japan/Korea/Taiwan/Phillippines" in northeastern Europe. The civil war is global and has been for awhile now. But, by your political musings, I think you are on the right side. The Arabs, Persians, Russians, Chinese and us have become the new confederacy, whether we chose it or not.
“liberals”…. There isn’t anything liberal about any of these people.
The term "liberal" has so many conflicting meanings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism