But you have to remember that politicians denitrifying detritus is actually ice cream. Nancy Pelosis freezers full of ice cream are proof positive. And she's being a good friend to the environment by recycling. I wonder what flavor she produced when hiding under the desk on January 6?
Why do you think I refer to them as "Team R" and "Team D", respectively?
Honestly, I see more reasoned, fact-based arguments from sports fans why they support a given team than I hear from most political partisans. Mostly the political partisans don't argue so much as throw around slogans, thought-terminating cliches, and stupid insults.
The fact of the matter is that Team D is the political manifestation of the Professional Managerial Class, with various minority grievance groups as junior partners, while Team R is the party of Local Gentry, with white Evangelicals as their handmaidens.
Your sport's fan comparison is a hoot! I think Noam Chomsky made a similar comment at one point....was involved in an activist group at one time, but Caitlin's essay perfectly captures why I stopped. Every damn time: Pretty quiet when a D was prez - there was some grumbling at times - but all hell broke loose when an R did the same things....as well it SHOULD. The group was, as C notes, full of the professional/managerial class....no clue re what the working class was facing. Personally, worse thing for me now....two dear friends don't want to talk about this similarity....They are buying the Dem line ....on everything. I bring up Gaza. Nope, don't want to go there. Not sure if this is pathetic (it is).....CJ and T's work and the comments section are helping me "to keep on keeping on." Right now....am in empathic agony for the Palestinians. Sadly, now hating (ugly word that hurts only me) Israel and e.g. Jewish people who tried to stop food and medical supplies from arriving in Gaza. My "friends" are now you... commenters in the cyber world, the cloud. Sigh. Take care everyone. Thank you all for "listening."
We're all losing friends. It's sad but then I see it as reality and they were probably not good friends. Don't hate perhaps dislike intensely? A lot of Jewish people are speaking out it really is the Zionists which are the problem they are the ones keeping the food out.
It’s been my experience since 2016 that this is rarely the case. However, some of my lost friendships are now thawing out as they see their choices since then have been “misguided”.
>>"However, some of my lost friendships are now thawing out as they see their choices since then have been misguided".
Lucky you. My friends are way too stubborn to admit that they see the light even if they do - saying "I was wrong" seems to be an incredibly hard thing to do in today's society. I dare not even talk about those "others" that refuse to see the light - they act like they would rather die with their incorrect worldviews than have to accept new information that contradicts their own - sometimes the cognitive dissonance is just too much for some people to handle.
Keep in mind that, like sports rivals, Team R and Team D need each other.
However, unlike sports, politics is a bit different. In sports, without an opponent, there is no game. In politics, without an opponent, there's still only a limited amount of spoils to divvy up, and no excuses why we're not in Utopia, already.
Strangely though, the Democrats have over the last couple cycles become the party of the ultra-rich. The richest neighborhoods used to be Republican, now they're Democrat. So the Dems have some of our corporate Gentry under their skirt too.
This zip code effect is because Team D is de facto the party of financial capital.
Keep in mind, however, that that a specialist electrical contractor living in Bismarck, North Dakota may make money rivaling a Goldman Sachs partner, but his zip code will not reflect this.
For those still stuck. Consider that both parties are part of the same Cartel. They share the same goals; stay in office, stay out of prison, loot everything they can while telling you this is the Greatest country and government in history while they Have more people in prison than Russia and China combined, spend more on militarism and creating terror than the next 12 countries combined. Engage in genocides, looting resources and have occupation forces in more countries than any other .
Cuba is peaceful. Due to US sanctions and covid, prosperity happens less. I don't see Cuban society as the perfect solution by any means, but it is better than what we have here. When I was there, I didn't see people sleeping in doorways despite the intense poverty. I didn't see cops beating people for anything. I saw a documentary about LGBTQ situations, an indication to me that they are working on their discrimination in that area. Maybe we have to aim for better, not perfect. Peace would be really great. With peace we could better work on the prosperity if we didn't have a bully sanctioning us because of their irrational fears of a political system that is not the same as theirs.
Susan T - what you are describing about Cuba may be called a "tourist bias" or a perspective from insufficient data points. I'm pretty sure you would have a different perspective of the country and its issues if you were to have lived there for a certain period of time (like a decade for instance).
I understand what you say is your opinion, and it is incredibly hard to make such comparisons (between country X and country Y, etc.) objectively, but I think part of the problem that arises with people's understanding of the problems of the world and the solutions to them is that - they see what they want to see based on their life experiences - and they often miss many of the things that add nuance.
I say this not to you per se, but to highlight that the "decision makers", the "ruling power elite", the "intelligentsia", the "experts", etc. often think similarly and come to wrong conclusions about cultures and places very different to their own. And because of this "lack of understanding", they evidently often suggest the wrong course of action in resolving conflicts. And instead of solving problems, they land up creating more problems.
One example relevant to Israel & Palestine:
(1) Not understanding Arab culture, Islamic thought and thinking patterns, etc. causes people to not understand the psychology, behavior, and rationality of such cultures. This shortcomming leads to failures in diplomacy, escalation of conflicts, and worse.
I agree with you that peace is always better, but I doubt that their (Western) fears of other political systems are irrational (capitalism vs communism or capitalism vs socialism, etc.). I think the capitalists (the West for the most part) have very good reasons to fear any ideologies that oppose it - and they do everything in their power to thus preserve capitalism and the status quo (WWI, WWII, all other wars, McCarthyism, and almost every event of consequence in the last 200+ years)
I did not go to Cuba and stay on the beach. I went as part of a group to participate for 3 weeks in Cuban life. I have a friend who did live there for quite a while. I don't understand what your problem is with Cuba. Maybe you are afraid of communism or socialism.
That's your opinion. I don't see Cuba as a rosy place at all. What I said that it is not perfect, but it is better than here. It is. People have free university, free health care. I spent a lot of time on my own and talked to lots of people as well as my bad Spanish would allow. People did not brag about what a great country they were living in, but they were not usually opposed to it either. What I didn't see was people sleeping on the streets. There were people asking for spare change, but no more than here. Cuba has different problems than capitalist countries. I met one Cuban who was back visiting his family. He had left because he didn't want to stay so poor. Poverty is the biggest problem for most people.
I do not claim to know the answers. But I think as a foundational start, the system, whatever it is, must be transparent and accountable with zero exceptions.
An "open government" - use to be one of the more important values of American democracy.
Now the US government has become anything but "open". Why they have been so intent on the destruction and perversion of journalism. While the Israelis have murdered in cold-blood 100+ journalists in Gaza. Because, once you no longer have transparency or accountability - you really no longer have anything that can remotely be determined to be a "democracy".
So now we got a bunch of corporate sociopaths who just want to make billions off of the Arms/Defense Industry - and a bunch of power control freaks sponsored by these same billionaires who can operate without accountability with their Deep State rogue/mafia organizations and bottomless printing press of American dollars, spent on wars and covert ops overthrowing governments abroad who fail to bow to their every whim.
Always love the bashing of the uni-party. The "left"-"right" is an engineered dialectic which frames the parameters of acceptable public debate. This ensures whatever product the dialectic manifests it will reflect the goals desired by the power elite. However, both have to use elements of the truth for their social engineering spellcraft to work.
Hello. A few decades ago I thought the American "left" was on the left on the traditional political paradigm, but while that isn't true that is what many Americans believe. America's uni-party is all on the right side of the spectrum. So, the "left" in America is just empty rhetoric, one use is probably to obfuscate real leftist ideas. With that being said, I do not like using any of the "spectrums" because they all steer people into a false paradigm between public vs private power (instead of just power) as it relates to governance. I have yet to see a political paradigm scale that reflects the reality of our global technocratic public-private partnership administrative empire. Perhaps just a picture of a large boot which a question of "where do you prefer it to kick you?" would be more accurate in the modern world.
I wish I knew the magic pill that would reveal to everyone they are being duped. I think the essence of Caitlin's article "Just Keep Bringing Awareness to the depravity of the empire in as many ways as possible" from today captures the method of success. People trust the system too much, and that trust extends to all of the narratives that the system produces, including how it frames its own political paradigm. If people can lose trust in one of the narratives, they may start to question others. That is how it happened with me. One fell. Then another.. then it was dominos and the whole damned thing came down. Wouldn't you know it, there stood OZ, the naked emperor. Now, I just try to be really careful as to what narratives I trust, which are not that many and do my best to convince people to question and consider things more.
The last dying gasps of the real "left" was probably Occupy Wall Street and Bernie's first campaign that spoke to economic justice and holding the elite accountable. But Trump Derangement Syndrome and Plandemic changed all of that. There is no more Anti-war, anti-Globalist left
IMO, Occupy Wall Street had to go more underground ( they are still doing good things) when they declined to endorse Obama. Right after that, the Dems I knew kept wheezing and squealing that OWS had no "leader", which made them unsuitable. In reality, the Dems (and maybe the GOP, never hung around them) love when something they cannot bend to their will has a leader - because then they can attack the leader. The Dems evidently believe that no one in Russia likes Putin.
I was a Bernie Bro, and it took me a long time to see what was actually happening. Now I question whether Bernie was ever sincere, which makes me sad, but can't be helped.
Is this a trick question? All those populating the DC Swamplands are of the same ilk, just dressed in various shades of sheep's clothing. There is not ONE person to trust in either party.
Never going to happen. Was never going to happen. And Bernie is too busy covering for Biden, I guess he thinks he can shepherd progressives again, to even regurgitate his old speeches.
As George Wallace once said "there ain't a dimes worth of difference between the Democrats and Republicans". Both D and Rs are cut from the same corporate cloth and could care less about the general public. They want to perpetuate the MIC full of endless wars, military worship and full spectrum control. The unholy marriage of military and economic might ensures that the rest of the world is held hostage to their depravity. D and Rs are twins from the same monster.
From the jaded middle, the only difference between the Democrats and Republicans is marketing to a different audience. It is seriously the same difference between Coke and Pepsi - regardless of which one you choose you get the exact same product with different colors on the package.
Caitlin, up until even about 15 years ago I would’ve said you were spot on except however, just to be clear, the Dems supported the Iraq invasion just as much as the neocons, given that their darling token black successful Uncle Tom Colin Powell held up a vial of white powder ( corn starch or baking soda or some other bs inert substance) in his plea to the UN. I was there, I fucking watched that in stunned silence. Very few people were against the invasion of Iraq; you just never heard the moral argument, war crimes or anything like that then. However I did.
That white powder might have been a spare line or two of Charlie lying around the White House. Even high flyers need a private in-joke or two at the world's expense delivered on the stage at the UN.
And while people are looking at the flying elephants and donkeys in the sky, the Palestinian history is being told in front of the International Court of Justice.
Apartheid can not and will not be tolerated any longer.
Since the israeli court can not see to the implementation of its given provisional measures given too it by the International Court of Justice, seams like it will have to be forced to comply.
In my opinion the peacekeepers boots on the ground should have been deployed from the start.
Also Palestine should ask for a restrain order against its aggressors, including the US, which’s complicity and bias are obvious and beyond compare.
US must stop arming and protecting genocide, and from now on in the case of Palestine, only pay for the damages it has caused.
Peacekeepers must insure the delivering of aid and extraction of those in critical condition as well as the protection for the civil population.
The apartheid wannabe state can not fire on Peacekeepers, Just like it can not besiege, open fire or attack on hospitals and shelters, the difference is though that while hospitals and shelters have no means to defend them selfs, peacekeepers do.
If they decide to deliberately strike peacekeepers, there is already a list of over one hundred and twenty countries which are ready to strike it back.
The argument you are proposing “they would no allow peacekeepers” is irrelevant.
it should be obvious by now that they have no intention to comply with international law, and that their court is not willing to see to the implementation of the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures, hence, they must be treated accordingly.
The apartheid state is dead, the only way out of this would be through the abolition of their discriminatory laws, the recognition of the Palestinian nation, and reparation for the damages they have caused.
I would only take exception to the left-right dichotomy of Republicans vs Democrats. True leftists do not support militarism, capitalism and oppression and I cringe whenever I see the left being conflated with the Democratic Party. A more accurate statement would have been that Republicans use neoconservative language whereas Democrats use neoliberal language.
The only oppositional power that the U.S. or Israel understand and that stands a chance of altering their behavior is economic power. IF the part of the world that opposes the bogus U.S. “rules-based order” bands together to cut off the U.S. and Israel and de-throne the dollar, and IF the labor movement continues to grow into a real and unified/unifying force to the point where a general strike across all sectors is possible then we may have a chance to move the dial. What we are fighting are the most amoral, arrogant—and fearful, for all their posturing—people on the planet. Yes, they are monsters, but lacking an ethical and moral core they have vulnerabiliies, too. We are just beginning to see that voting in an inherently corrupt and delusional system is futile. The system must be changed at its foundation. So organize, affiliate, speak from the heart, and keep your public interest lawyers well funded.
I'm not optimistic much is going to change in the near future. Trump will become the next POTUS unless the deep state takes him out like they did Kennedy - which is certainly possible. He won't be much different from Biden - which means the very real risk of a nuclear conflagration will hang over the world.
But really, it's going to be all a moot point with climate change. Since its obvious the Billionaires in charge right now aren't planning on doing a damn thing about it, and it's already too late anyway. We're all witnessing the start of the record shattering changes in climate and its only going to get much worse here on out. There is a very distinct possibility the ecological balance that most life on the planet absolutely depends on - will be so radically altered - that most life will perish, and the human race will be fighting over what's left - in a kind of dystopic reality that could have been avoided - but wasn't.
But then you and I and everyone here aren't going to be around to live it - just the next generation and their generation. Where we go - well, yeah, that's anyone's guess - well, except for the Materialists - they have it all figured out already.
Where there is life there is hope. I raised my four sons to be resistors and actually have a great deal of faith in young people to see through the lies and posturing of the political class and to demand equity and justice. Boomers like me, who sold out, will soon be gone, thank God. My generation is one of the biggest disappointments of my life, the most cynical, destructive and soulless by far. Time for new blood!
One hopes they do better than us dying off Boomers. I do though wonder what this was all about? This life we were thrust into, and so suddenly will be thrust out of - more likely without our conscious will. What was it all about? Anything at all?
CJ: The difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Republicans do evil things for evil reasons, whereas Democrats do evil things for noble humanitarian reasons.
=====
I get what CJ is trying to get across here but it must be made abundantly clear that BOTH REPUGS & DEMORATS are Class A war criminals by usa/Nuremberg "standards".
Like having to pick between two varieties of flavoured shit......no shit for me, I'm shit intolerant, thank you very much.
But you have to remember that politicians denitrifying detritus is actually ice cream. Nancy Pelosis freezers full of ice cream are proof positive. And she's being a good friend to the environment by recycling. I wonder what flavor she produced when hiding under the desk on January 6?
Why do you think I refer to them as "Team R" and "Team D", respectively?
Honestly, I see more reasoned, fact-based arguments from sports fans why they support a given team than I hear from most political partisans. Mostly the political partisans don't argue so much as throw around slogans, thought-terminating cliches, and stupid insults.
The fact of the matter is that Team D is the political manifestation of the Professional Managerial Class, with various minority grievance groups as junior partners, while Team R is the party of Local Gentry, with white Evangelicals as their handmaidens.
Your sport's fan comparison is a hoot! I think Noam Chomsky made a similar comment at one point....was involved in an activist group at one time, but Caitlin's essay perfectly captures why I stopped. Every damn time: Pretty quiet when a D was prez - there was some grumbling at times - but all hell broke loose when an R did the same things....as well it SHOULD. The group was, as C notes, full of the professional/managerial class....no clue re what the working class was facing. Personally, worse thing for me now....two dear friends don't want to talk about this similarity....They are buying the Dem line ....on everything. I bring up Gaza. Nope, don't want to go there. Not sure if this is pathetic (it is).....CJ and T's work and the comments section are helping me "to keep on keeping on." Right now....am in empathic agony for the Palestinians. Sadly, now hating (ugly word that hurts only me) Israel and e.g. Jewish people who tried to stop food and medical supplies from arriving in Gaza. My "friends" are now you... commenters in the cyber world, the cloud. Sigh. Take care everyone. Thank you all for "listening."
We're all losing friends. It's sad but then I see it as reality and they were probably not good friends. Don't hate perhaps dislike intensely? A lot of Jewish people are speaking out it really is the Zionists which are the problem they are the ones keeping the food out.
Being here does help.
Be safe.
When your ex-friends cancel you, they are losing a friend as well. Maybe when they realize that, they will change their ways.
I think Ralph said the comment I was going to make.
Ralph(?),
It’s been my experience since 2016 that this is rarely the case. However, some of my lost friendships are now thawing out as they see their choices since then have been “misguided”.
>>"However, some of my lost friendships are now thawing out as they see their choices since then have been misguided".
Lucky you. My friends are way too stubborn to admit that they see the light even if they do - saying "I was wrong" seems to be an incredibly hard thing to do in today's society. I dare not even talk about those "others" that refuse to see the light - they act like they would rather die with their incorrect worldviews than have to accept new information that contradicts their own - sometimes the cognitive dissonance is just too much for some people to handle.
Keep in mind that, like sports rivals, Team R and Team D need each other.
However, unlike sports, politics is a bit different. In sports, without an opponent, there is no game. In politics, without an opponent, there's still only a limited amount of spoils to divvy up, and no excuses why we're not in Utopia, already.
SimCom says Team R is the Washington Generals of the uniparty.
Pretty good summary there.
Strangely though, the Democrats have over the last couple cycles become the party of the ultra-rich. The richest neighborhoods used to be Republican, now they're Democrat. So the Dems have some of our corporate Gentry under their skirt too.
This zip code effect is because Team D is de facto the party of financial capital.
Keep in mind, however, that that a specialist electrical contractor living in Bismarck, North Dakota may make money rivaling a Goldman Sachs partner, but his zip code will not reflect this.
Gavin!
I like the “under their skirts” meme 😁.
I will use it with your permission ?
"Under their skirts" is a common turn of phrase/colloquilalism I believe, no permission needed, use away!
For those still stuck. Consider that both parties are part of the same Cartel. They share the same goals; stay in office, stay out of prison, loot everything they can while telling you this is the Greatest country and government in history while they Have more people in prison than Russia and China combined, spend more on militarism and creating terror than the next 12 countries combined. Engage in genocides, looting resources and have occupation forces in more countries than any other .
And while the Dems and Repubs point fingers at each other the rich and powerful laugh with glee.
Oh!
Michael:
They’re part of The Rich..😁.
😉
Time for a new party. Or a new system altogether
A new system, but which? Know one that has bought peace and prosperity?
Cuba is peaceful. Due to US sanctions and covid, prosperity happens less. I don't see Cuban society as the perfect solution by any means, but it is better than what we have here. When I was there, I didn't see people sleeping in doorways despite the intense poverty. I didn't see cops beating people for anything. I saw a documentary about LGBTQ situations, an indication to me that they are working on their discrimination in that area. Maybe we have to aim for better, not perfect. Peace would be really great. With peace we could better work on the prosperity if we didn't have a bully sanctioning us because of their irrational fears of a political system that is not the same as theirs.
Susan T - what you are describing about Cuba may be called a "tourist bias" or a perspective from insufficient data points. I'm pretty sure you would have a different perspective of the country and its issues if you were to have lived there for a certain period of time (like a decade for instance).
I understand what you say is your opinion, and it is incredibly hard to make such comparisons (between country X and country Y, etc.) objectively, but I think part of the problem that arises with people's understanding of the problems of the world and the solutions to them is that - they see what they want to see based on their life experiences - and they often miss many of the things that add nuance.
I say this not to you per se, but to highlight that the "decision makers", the "ruling power elite", the "intelligentsia", the "experts", etc. often think similarly and come to wrong conclusions about cultures and places very different to their own. And because of this "lack of understanding", they evidently often suggest the wrong course of action in resolving conflicts. And instead of solving problems, they land up creating more problems.
One example relevant to Israel & Palestine:
(1) Not understanding Arab culture, Islamic thought and thinking patterns, etc. causes people to not understand the psychology, behavior, and rationality of such cultures. This shortcomming leads to failures in diplomacy, escalation of conflicts, and worse.
I agree with you that peace is always better, but I doubt that their (Western) fears of other political systems are irrational (capitalism vs communism or capitalism vs socialism, etc.). I think the capitalists (the West for the most part) have very good reasons to fear any ideologies that oppose it - and they do everything in their power to thus preserve capitalism and the status quo (WWI, WWII, all other wars, McCarthyism, and almost every event of consequence in the last 200+ years)
I did not go to Cuba and stay on the beach. I went as part of a group to participate for 3 weeks in Cuban life. I have a friend who did live there for quite a while. I don't understand what your problem is with Cuba. Maybe you are afraid of communism or socialism.
>>"Maybe you are afraid of communism or socialism"
Very much the opposite.
What I'm saying is that your perspective of Cuba is quite rosy and biased. Cuba has as many problems as Capitalist countries, if not more.
That's your opinion. I don't see Cuba as a rosy place at all. What I said that it is not perfect, but it is better than here. It is. People have free university, free health care. I spent a lot of time on my own and talked to lots of people as well as my bad Spanish would allow. People did not brag about what a great country they were living in, but they were not usually opposed to it either. What I didn't see was people sleeping on the streets. There were people asking for spare change, but no more than here. Cuba has different problems than capitalist countries. I met one Cuban who was back visiting his family. He had left because he didn't want to stay so poor. Poverty is the biggest problem for most people.
I do not claim to know the answers. But I think as a foundational start, the system, whatever it is, must be transparent and accountable with zero exceptions.
An "open government" - use to be one of the more important values of American democracy.
Now the US government has become anything but "open". Why they have been so intent on the destruction and perversion of journalism. While the Israelis have murdered in cold-blood 100+ journalists in Gaza. Because, once you no longer have transparency or accountability - you really no longer have anything that can remotely be determined to be a "democracy".
So now we got a bunch of corporate sociopaths who just want to make billions off of the Arms/Defense Industry - and a bunch of power control freaks sponsored by these same billionaires who can operate without accountability with their Deep State rogue/mafia organizations and bottomless printing press of American dollars, spent on wars and covert ops overthrowing governments abroad who fail to bow to their every whim.
Agreed. What did we expect when we permitted the blending of power and secrecy? It enables the worst parts of our humanity.
A transparent government is surely not why they are going after Julian Assange with such a fury. We ca.n only work towards that day
The only thing that is transparent is the hypocrisy, malfeasance and malevolence.
Have you ever found a perfect human being, or a perfect relationship? So does that mean relationships can't work, or being human can't work?
If you're looking for perfection, there is no such thing,
@ Deena Stryker Yes.
China’s.
I’d prefer to live under a benevolent dictator than a brain-dead zombie.
Is that the choice?
Here's a reply I gave to Susan T a few moments ago:
https://open.substack.com/pub/caitlinjohnstone/p/the-difference-between-republicans?r=8hnh2&utm_campaign=comment-list-share-cta&utm_medium=web&comments=true&commentId=50193998
System and re-boot the Constitution.
Indeed Susan,
Point ON
Always love the bashing of the uni-party. The "left"-"right" is an engineered dialectic which frames the parameters of acceptable public debate. This ensures whatever product the dialectic manifests it will reflect the goals desired by the power elite. However, both have to use elements of the truth for their social engineering spellcraft to work.
Hello Hugh
I've never understood this "left" "right" nonsense in the US.
Who the hell is left?
Hello. A few decades ago I thought the American "left" was on the left on the traditional political paradigm, but while that isn't true that is what many Americans believe. America's uni-party is all on the right side of the spectrum. So, the "left" in America is just empty rhetoric, one use is probably to obfuscate real leftist ideas. With that being said, I do not like using any of the "spectrums" because they all steer people into a false paradigm between public vs private power (instead of just power) as it relates to governance. I have yet to see a political paradigm scale that reflects the reality of our global technocratic public-private partnership administrative empire. Perhaps just a picture of a large boot which a question of "where do you prefer it to kick you?" would be more accurate in the modern world.
Certainly is/was. No left at all.
Me neither it would be good to have one just so people know they are being duped? (Paradigm scale).
Ha! Good cartoon I think,
I wish I knew the magic pill that would reveal to everyone they are being duped. I think the essence of Caitlin's article "Just Keep Bringing Awareness to the depravity of the empire in as many ways as possible" from today captures the method of success. People trust the system too much, and that trust extends to all of the narratives that the system produces, including how it frames its own political paradigm. If people can lose trust in one of the narratives, they may start to question others. That is how it happened with me. One fell. Then another.. then it was dominos and the whole damned thing came down. Wouldn't you know it, there stood OZ, the naked emperor. Now, I just try to be really careful as to what narratives I trust, which are not that many and do my best to convince people to question and consider things more.
The last dying gasps of the real "left" was probably Occupy Wall Street and Bernie's first campaign that spoke to economic justice and holding the elite accountable. But Trump Derangement Syndrome and Plandemic changed all of that. There is no more Anti-war, anti-Globalist left
IMO, Occupy Wall Street had to go more underground ( they are still doing good things) when they declined to endorse Obama. Right after that, the Dems I knew kept wheezing and squealing that OWS had no "leader", which made them unsuitable. In reality, the Dems (and maybe the GOP, never hung around them) love when something they cannot bend to their will has a leader - because then they can attack the leader. The Dems evidently believe that no one in Russia likes Putin.
I was a Bernie Bro, and it took me a long time to see what was actually happening. Now I question whether Bernie was ever sincere, which makes me sad, but can't be helped.
It no longer exists, Jenny.
What?
The left.
Oh OK. Thanks
Paul Street....check him out.
Excellent analysis
Is this a trick question? All those populating the DC Swamplands are of the same ilk, just dressed in various shades of sheep's clothing. There is not ONE person to trust in either party.
Maybe Elizabeth Warren?
Nope. But she does write nice shiny brochures for banks, and does send sternly-worded letters.
Can you trust an Indian?
You mean Fauxcahontas, Jamenta? 😉
And Bernie Sanders. I like the idea of Democratic Socialism.
tht can't happen untiil Ameicans get an edcation in elemenary pollitical theory. Socialism has been a dirty word for too many generations!
Never going to happen. Was never going to happen. And Bernie is too busy covering for Biden, I guess he thinks he can shepherd progressives again, to even regurgitate his old speeches.
That's what happens when Democrats decide that a right-wing warmongering carpetbagging Goldwater Girl is who best represents them. Upside down world.
As George Wallace once said "there ain't a dimes worth of difference between the Democrats and Republicans". Both D and Rs are cut from the same corporate cloth and could care less about the general public. They want to perpetuate the MIC full of endless wars, military worship and full spectrum control. The unholy marriage of military and economic might ensures that the rest of the world is held hostage to their depravity. D and Rs are twins from the same monster.
From the jaded middle, the only difference between the Democrats and Republicans is marketing to a different audience. It is seriously the same difference between Coke and Pepsi - regardless of which one you choose you get the exact same product with different colors on the package.
Bang on, my friend! All theatrics...
"Democrats criticized the invasion of Iraq solely because it was waged by George W Bush."
Largely true, but let it be remembered that Joe Biden was an avid supporter of the Iraq war, even though he evidently knew that the WMD thing was BS.
Actually not so much
As Senator Joe Biden held a hearing on the Iraq war. He biased the testimony to be pro-war.
Caitlin, up until even about 15 years ago I would’ve said you were spot on except however, just to be clear, the Dems supported the Iraq invasion just as much as the neocons, given that their darling token black successful Uncle Tom Colin Powell held up a vial of white powder ( corn starch or baking soda or some other bs inert substance) in his plea to the UN. I was there, I fucking watched that in stunned silence. Very few people were against the invasion of Iraq; you just never heard the moral argument, war crimes or anything like that then. However I did.
That white powder might have been a spare line or two of Charlie lying around the White House. Even high flyers need a private in-joke or two at the world's expense delivered on the stage at the UN.
And while people are looking at the flying elephants and donkeys in the sky, the Palestinian history is being told in front of the International Court of Justice.
Here something about Gaza
https://mywisdom.substack.com/p/boots-on-the-ground
Would be great if free countries would consolidate their militaries and threaten invasion of Israel, including the spineless
Arab monarchies. But of course the reigning hegemon would aggressively retaliate against any threat real or imaginary, to protect the cowardly Zionist
abomination , absent US support, would
crumble.
Seams to be no other solution.
Apartheid can not and will not be tolerated any longer.
Since the israeli court can not see to the implementation of its given provisional measures given too it by the International Court of Justice, seams like it will have to be forced to comply.
In my opinion the peacekeepers boots on the ground should have been deployed from the start.
Also Palestine should ask for a restrain order against its aggressors, including the US, which’s complicity and bias are obvious and beyond compare.
US must stop arming and protecting genocide, and from now on in the case of Palestine, only pay for the damages it has caused.
https://mywisdom.substack.com/p/boots-on-the-ground
Live from the ICJ
https://www.icj-cij.org/multimedia-live-original
Sol, problem is, IsraHell won’t ALLOW U.N. peacekeepers, not in Gaza, not in the West Bank.
They don’t want their depravity exposed any more than it already is.
It is a bit too late for that.
Peacekeepers must insure the delivering of aid and extraction of those in critical condition as well as the protection for the civil population.
The apartheid wannabe state can not fire on Peacekeepers, Just like it can not besiege, open fire or attack on hospitals and shelters, the difference is though that while hospitals and shelters have no means to defend them selfs, peacekeepers do.
If they decide to deliberately strike peacekeepers, there is already a list of over one hundred and twenty countries which are ready to strike it back.
The argument you are proposing “they would no allow peacekeepers” is irrelevant.
it should be obvious by now that they have no intention to comply with international law, and that their court is not willing to see to the implementation of the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures, hence, they must be treated accordingly.
The apartheid state is dead, the only way out of this would be through the abolition of their discriminatory laws, the recognition of the Palestinian nation, and reparation for the damages they have caused.
Boots on the ground is the final warning.
Israhell has nukes. don’t think for one goddamn second they wouldn’t use them.
Yes if they feel backed into a corner existentially and absent US support, they will probably launch their full nuclear arsenal throughout the ME.
I would only take exception to the left-right dichotomy of Republicans vs Democrats. True leftists do not support militarism, capitalism and oppression and I cringe whenever I see the left being conflated with the Democratic Party. A more accurate statement would have been that Republicans use neoconservative language whereas Democrats use neoliberal language.
The only oppositional power that the U.S. or Israel understand and that stands a chance of altering their behavior is economic power. IF the part of the world that opposes the bogus U.S. “rules-based order” bands together to cut off the U.S. and Israel and de-throne the dollar, and IF the labor movement continues to grow into a real and unified/unifying force to the point where a general strike across all sectors is possible then we may have a chance to move the dial. What we are fighting are the most amoral, arrogant—and fearful, for all their posturing—people on the planet. Yes, they are monsters, but lacking an ethical and moral core they have vulnerabiliies, too. We are just beginning to see that voting in an inherently corrupt and delusional system is futile. The system must be changed at its foundation. So organize, affiliate, speak from the heart, and keep your public interest lawyers well funded.
I'm not optimistic much is going to change in the near future. Trump will become the next POTUS unless the deep state takes him out like they did Kennedy - which is certainly possible. He won't be much different from Biden - which means the very real risk of a nuclear conflagration will hang over the world.
But really, it's going to be all a moot point with climate change. Since its obvious the Billionaires in charge right now aren't planning on doing a damn thing about it, and it's already too late anyway. We're all witnessing the start of the record shattering changes in climate and its only going to get much worse here on out. There is a very distinct possibility the ecological balance that most life on the planet absolutely depends on - will be so radically altered - that most life will perish, and the human race will be fighting over what's left - in a kind of dystopic reality that could have been avoided - but wasn't.
But then you and I and everyone here aren't going to be around to live it - just the next generation and their generation. Where we go - well, yeah, that's anyone's guess - well, except for the Materialists - they have it all figured out already.
Where there is life there is hope. I raised my four sons to be resistors and actually have a great deal of faith in young people to see through the lies and posturing of the political class and to demand equity and justice. Boomers like me, who sold out, will soon be gone, thank God. My generation is one of the biggest disappointments of my life, the most cynical, destructive and soulless by far. Time for new blood!
One hopes they do better than us dying off Boomers. I do though wonder what this was all about? This life we were thrust into, and so suddenly will be thrust out of - more likely without our conscious will. What was it all about? Anything at all?
I surmise that it will also take a fair bit of violence to dethrone the US (in addition to the other things you mention).
Chang, then we must not be afraid to die for change.
Agree!
CJ: The difference between Republicans and Democrats is that Republicans do evil things for evil reasons, whereas Democrats do evil things for noble humanitarian reasons.
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I get what CJ is trying to get across here but it must be made abundantly clear that BOTH REPUGS & DEMORATS are Class A war criminals by usa/Nuremberg "standards".