165 Comments
User's avatar
Feral Finster's avatar

All this is soft power. The empire has it, or at worst, millions believe that if Trump were gone somehow, everything would be ice cream.

jamenta's avatar

It is sickening the way Clinton and Obama have come out of the woodwork recently, using the ICE debacle to opportunistically gain more political points on the backs of the mass suffering of the nation - and knowing that these two corrupt bozos couldn't give one fuck about the lives of ordinary American people. One a Lolita Express pedophile that eviscerated America's cheap ass poverty net - what was left of it at the time, and then helped the Big Corporations ship American manufacturing jobs overseas at an accelerated rate with NAFTA. The other - tortured some folks, murdered Americans abroad, dropped so many bombs in Syria USAAF Air Marshals told him we were running out of bombs - did whatever he could to squash the Occupy Wallstreet Movement, and when Wallstreet crashed - bailed out Bankers instead of Ordinary Americans.

Feral Finster's avatar

They are democrats and liberals, opportunists to the core.

jamenta's avatar

They are the scumbag servants of the Elite class. That as Caitlin so effectively points out, a class that depends on its power by building a society founded on lies, lies and more lies.

Helga Fellay's avatar

Are you REALLY trying to say that republicans and right-wingers are NOT OPPORTUNISTS TO THE CORE?????

Feral Finster's avatar

Perhaps you could point to where I said that?

Aamir Razak's avatar

well said. red or blue, Republican or Democrat, just two sides of the same bloodstained, imperialist coin. The latter would just try to convince us that they are the lesser of two evils and that they support diversity and such, meanwhile their actions further disenfranchised the American people and lead to death and destruction abroad.

Carolyn L Zaremba's avatar

U.S. citizens have been brainwashed into believing that there is such a thing as "the lesser of two evils". Anyone who still believes that is not worth arguing with. Their minds have been taken over completely by this piece of brainwashing. I know to o many people who are still stuck on that broken record.

Aamir Razak's avatar

Well said Ms. Zaremba, great point. Two sides of the same coin, and thinking one is the lesser of two evils is exactly what people have been conditioned to believe, when the reality is the opposite. Explains why no independent candidate has had a significant portion of the votes in the presidential elections since Ralph Nader I believe over 20 years ago, and I can't remember if an independent candidate has ever won the presidency. The dysfunctional, two party only system is by design, no doubt.

Feral Finster's avatar

Malcolm X said something about foxes and wolves. He preferred the openly racist "wolves" to the slick and smiling "foxes".

MLK also had some choice words about liberals.

Aamir Razak's avatar

great point Feral, I think Malcolm was spot on. I think the openly racist "wolves" would be preferable to the smirking, insincere, two-faced "foxes". At least the wolves would be honest and open in their hatred, while the "foxes" would be the ones to smile in your face in public while claiming to be "allies" and speak poorly of you in private and show their true feelings. Their "support" would be conditional and not extend to all, only those select few they deem "worthy" of their advocacy and support.

Cornelia HEMMELDER's avatar

Trump is not alone.

N'était is not alone

Davina's avatar

And now we're to believe the poor IOF soldiers are suffering PTSD and need help, poor things, not enough babies for them to kill and those terrible Hamas soldiers keep killing a few IOF and it makes the rest feel unsafe. Aaaaaaw. Pull the other one.

Occam's avatar

100% ff.

Apparently, half the country believes that if Trump was gone, we'd be better off with unchecked immigration, unimaginable fraud and publicly funded trans surgeries.

Clown world, indeed.

jamenta's avatar

You know what's really sickening - is how so many Americans have been brainwashed that immigrants - even illegal immigrants are really "bad" for the country. Hell, personally I welcome illegal immigrants. Let them come in. Let them find jobs here. Most immigrants legal or illegal rarely commit crimes, and they pay into and contribute to American society like any working stiff does here. Most of them, if given an opportunity - would want to become Americans given the chance, and many do.

You want to talk about LIES. How about the LIE that has been drilled into the American people with corporate FOX news Networks and the Rush Limbaughs of the world - that Immigrants are a real problem in the US. You know what it really is: it's just more white racism under the guise of economic fear mongering - the white racism America supposedly fought a very bloody war over to get rid of. The economic woes of this country have little if ANYTHING to do with Immigrants - it has to do with obscene amounts of concentrated wealth, with wealthy Elites who have corrupted American Institutions - from the Free Press - to the halls of congress and the White House. And this is what all the propaganda against Immigrants is all fucking about - to get Americans to SCAPEGOAT a set of non-white human beings - while idolizing the so-called Job Creators - who have been screwing ordinary working Americans royal now for the last 5 decades. What is sickening is how Americans continue to bend over for Wallstreet and pedophile Billionaires like Trump, while vilifying the poor schmuck who is mowing their lawns for peanuts.

JennyStokes's avatar

Well said Jamenta....I saw this coming years ago. We have the same mindless shit in Europe.

Why are these immigrants coming......hmm?

Use your brains people. You take over a country, milk it dry, add sanctions and you are still wondering why you have immigrants.

We have hundreds of American immigrants here in Europe predominantly rich/middle class/white.

Cosmo T Kat's avatar

Why is white a bad thing?

JennyStokes's avatar

YOU tell me Cosmo.

Learn some History before you ask this question........I have no idea how old you are or where you have travelled.

Who are the Colonialists in this world?

Do you see Russia and China taking over other countries?

Basic questions for you to get started on.

Helga Fellay's avatar

it's not the white color that's bad. It's the superiority complex, and the demand to have rights to money power and priviledge that seems to come along with it that's bad. White people who respect all other ethnicities are not bad at all.

Cornelia HEMMELDER's avatar

White and black are cultural inventions. In reality, nobody is white nor black. "White means former Europeans, colonising every where, America, Australia, New Zealand, India, etc. Submitting or killing natives, stealing their land and products, building rich countries and believing in their so called superiority = white supremacism or imperialism.

Helga Fellay's avatar

My dear, white and black are colors, not cultural inventions. They are responses to different climates to help humans survive different climates. One of countless great ways God helps us survive both different climates and also climate changes. Animals don't need colors of skin as they are protected by fur. Humans, migrating from Africa to Europe, where the sun doesn't always shine, need to have lighter skin so the sun can provide them with the vital vitamins only the sun can give you. If Europeans migrate to Africa they need to get darker skin to protect them against that hot sun which might kill them without the protection of the darker skin.

Indu Abeysekara's avatar

jamenta, I am beginning to like you a lot. You are right on the mark.

Ages ago while visiting New York, we saw people waiting on street corners to be picked up by trucks. We were told the lucky ones who are picked up gets a job for the day - apparently " to move their lawns for peanuts".

Carolyn L Zaremba's avatar

This is common in other cities besides New York. Common here in California.

Indu Abeysekara's avatar

Sorry, I meant 'mowing"!

jamenta's avatar

Thanks Indu. It's just so pathetic that so many Americans have been brainwashed to treat the rich like Gods to be worshipped along with their super yachts, and at the same time, scapegoat the most vulnerable amongst us - with two lies the obscenely rich insist we believe: 1) our country can't integrate immigrants - and immigrants are a major reason why our economy is failing (a lie), 2) it is better that we show no empathy for the poor, it's their own fault they are struggling - because we live in a meritocracy - society is better off if we all struggle alone with little to no collaboration or equity in the distribution of wealth (the 2nd lie).

Kathleen McCroskey's avatar

Treating the rich like gods underlies the "American Dream" that anyone could become a millionaire (now billionaire).

Occam's avatar

Nice.

Suicidal empathy.

Emotion over logic and/or evaluation of downstream consequences.

jamenta's avatar

Actually - seeing the bullshit propaganda for what it is, and not being a white national racist. Knowing when you're being gaslit by a know-it-all shithead.

Cosmo T Kat's avatar

Are you a black nationalist racist?

Cornelia HEMMELDER's avatar

Still speaking about human beings in white and black. Ever seen white or black people ????

Mary's avatar

Since when has any country, anywhere in the world, had 'unchecked immigration'? Let me know if one (excluding the US) that I can move to, to escape my shitty country without risking my life on a leaking boat

Occam's avatar

??

You don't count the one where the US govt flew in illegal immigrants to the US, provided them cell phones and credit cards, allowed them to vote and allowed them to loot public assistance?

Is critical thinking dead?

Mary's avatar

No I didn't hear of that one! Where were they from??

I guess you're talking about people being 'imported' by an insane government rather than asylum seekers then

JennyStokes's avatar

Are you talking about WHITE S. Africans? IF so say it.

Carolyn L Zaremba's avatar

Before World War One, people didn't need passports to travel to other countries and live there if they wanted to. Do some historical research. The growth of nationalism, protectionism, and the closing of borders was a result of the imperialist wars.

Helga Fellay's avatar

Immigration has existed since the beginning of time, since Adam and Eve. Otherwise we all would still be living in the famous Garden of Eden. The more people procreated and rapidly increased in numbers, they had no choice but migrate.

Martin O’Neill's avatar

The whole of America was built on unchecked immigration.

Carolyn L Zaremba's avatar

So you are anti-immigrant, and also a transphobe? Why should anyone listen to you?

Occam's avatar

Look, another one.

"screeeeee!!!"

Helga Fellay's avatar

Dear Odumb - so you seem happy under the total command of Narcissistic Emperor Trump's regime? Perhaps if you flatter him some more, he'll reward you with a present of a golden toilet much like his own. I am just being silly.

Occam's avatar

more ad hominem from the left. y'all are embarrassing yourselves (if you actually had a sense of shame, that is).

Makes sense tho, when there's no logic to your position, just emotion

jamenta's avatar

You know what's embarrassing? Spending decades reciting the holiness of the 2nd Amendment, and then when an American who is practicing his 1st Amendment rights, and legally, per the 2nd Amendment carries a gun in a holster, then gets executed by masked government men hollering "he has a gun" - you then have right wingnuts like Occam here failing to see how much a governmental bootlicker he and the other wingnuts are, and he doesn't even fucking realize it. Now that's embarrassing!

Occam's avatar

gibber gabber.......something unintelligible.....gibber gabber

screeeeeee!!!!!!

Carolyn L Zaremba's avatar

Oh, very witty. NOT. Is that the best you have to offer? JFC

jamenta's avatar

lol wingnut troll!

Helga Fellay's avatar

I wouldn't call Trump's power "SOFT". It's not a coincidence that he is referred to publicly as "KING" OR "EMPEROR." If Trump were gone, everything would not "be ice cream," But everything would be less vicious, less unjust, less insane, less dangerous, hurting and killing fewer innocent people, alienating fewer nations and thus making us all safer and happier. I feel sure if we had Gavin Newsom as our leader, America would be safer, Americans would be happier and far better off, and America would not be hated and feared and despised by other nations as it is now.

Feral Finster's avatar

And lots of people, like yourself, think that if only Trump were replaced with a nice Team D president, everything would be so much better.

That's soft power in a nutshell.

I mean, sure, the genocide would continue, but those Palestinian children at least wouldn't have to face the horror of misgendering, the poor dears.

Roland's avatar

Everything would taste better than ice cream. It would be that born-again feeling of a new chance at life that has been experienced, for example, by a builder who had a wall collapse and bury him but managing to survive by breathing the air left under his hard-hat, before being dug out five minutes later. Until, presumably, he realised that nothing was different except that the walls were more likely to collapse at any moment than he had believed.

Helga Fellay's avatar

If Trump were gone it wouldn't be ice cream. But if he were replaced by an intelligent, good, well meaning, sane person such as, for example Gavin Newsom, we would become a functioning society living in peace and prosperity and wouldn't have to live in fear and terror of ICE and instability and insecurity.

Feral Finster's avatar

I would hardly call Newsom well meaning. Start with his slavish support of Israel.

Occam's avatar

I frankly don't know how you do it posting here. I'm looking at responses to my comments, and the lack of critical thinking is astounding.

And I'm a reasonable conservative

jamenta's avatar

"reasonable conservative" Oh that explains why you're such a shitbag.

jamenta's avatar

Screeee goes the wingnut!

User's avatar
Comment deleted
Jan 28Edited
Comment deleted
Occam's avatar

man, don't waste any time. Just go right for the ad hominem.

guess that's bc you people don't have a logical leg to stand on.

Just a reminder, your next response should be to call me a racist.

User's avatar
Comment deleted
Jan 28Edited
Comment deleted
Carolyn L Zaremba's avatar

Yes, that too. I don't need anyone who doesn't live in San Francisco telling me about Gavin Newsome. You're right, of course.

Feral Finster's avatar

I don't live in or near SF, but I can read Newsom's own words and I can recall Malcom X's comment about foxes and wolves or MLK on liberals.

Occam's avatar

lol, is this parody?

Did you get that entire sentence out with a straight face?

jamenta's avatar

Gavin Newsom? Newsom recently came out and refused to support a small tax on Billionaire wealth. The guy is about as slimy a politician as you can imagine. I remember during the Covid lockdown in California, Newsom went to a birthday party at the French Laundry despite his own social distancing COVID-19 edicts.

The French Laundry is an $830 a plate, 3-Michelin-starred restaurant.

Guest's avatar

Newsome just got punked by Ben Shapiro. Newsome is a treacherous snake who abides genocide and wouldn’t know a civil right if it slapped him in his slappable face.

Guest's avatar

Yes. Of course. Newsome got punked by a punk who is also a treacherous snake. My bringing up the incident is simply one illustration of who Newsome is.

Carolyn L Zaremba's avatar

Gavin Newsome is just another capitalist. I live in San Francisco, where Newsome used to be the Mayor. He now opposes a tax on billionaires in California. Totally supports the oligarchs. So dream on about "Governor Handsome".

David Korabell's avatar

Capitalism is a disease we're infected with from birth. Some recover better than others and some never do.

jamenta's avatar

Well said David. American society particularly is ruled by the pursuit of Money to the point now where all other human values are relentlessly pushed aside - just so a relatively few can have unimaginable wealth.

TriTorch's avatar

Alas, It is demoralization… the lies are supposed to be in your face blatant, the messaging is supposed to be mindbendingly eratic, and ludicrously untruthful, and get more and more absurd in lockstep with the escalation of crazier and increasingly violent events.

Eventually everyone will either throw up their hands, lose all confidence in the system and give up, or pull out their pitchforks and take their frustrations out on one another.

Globalist NWO / One World Gov: 1

Freedom, Security, & Sanity: 0

EileenMc's avatar

Or decide to becoma a luigi with one decapitating strike after another. Not pitchforking your neighbors blindly left and right. Guillotine the head of the snake who relentlessly causes harm.

jamenta's avatar

I imagine many people in their rage have just such ideations. I'm surprised in fact, there hasn't been more Luigis - as everything seems to be getting worse every year. A desperate act of self-sacrifice and justified rage.

Cosmo T Kat's avatar

Do you aspire to be a black nationalist racist Luigi?

Indu Abeysekara's avatar

The biggest liar on the face of the earth says the 'truth' for once, in his parody of a colonial grab, the so called 'Board of peace'.

"I’m a real estate person at heart. And it’s all about location. And I said, “Look at this location on the sea. Look at this beautiful piece of property, what it could be for so many people. It’ll be so, so great".

Whole empires are built on a web of lies.

Cornelia HEMMELDER's avatar

Even Turkey is on this bord of landgrab

Feral Finster's avatar

Doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

JennyStokes's avatar

Turkey is just that............a Turkey.

grahamlyons's avatar

You can say that again, Caitlin. Even I am getting fed up with having to pose this question:

How do you tell if a Zionist is lying?

Answer: His lips are moving.

pepe panayotti's avatar

Reading the list of “lies” was almost comical!

How do honest people truly believe all this nonsense and BS!

So difficult to find like minded people these days, perhaps they’re afraid to acknowledge the truth hidden inside of them!

What truly are Christian Evangicals? Do they not follow the Ten Commandments? Thou shalt not kill…

Feral Finster's avatar

Humans are masters of rationalization.

Moebius Infinity's avatar

Pinocchio was a Zionist

Cosmo T Kat's avatar

He did have a puppet master. so there's that...............

jamenta's avatar

Yes, an eye for an eye. Not an eye for 10,000 eyes. Never read that in the old testament.

Cosmo T Kat's avatar

You mean the book of fiction and myths?

Douglas Carlson's avatar

Last year Scott Ritter said Mr Yahu was "THE most dangerous public figure of the past century" ... and last week they debanked him ... we all know who is ultimately behind ICE's tactics and it ain't DJT ... only a prolonged general strike can save us - maybe!

jamenta's avatar

The debanking shit really needs to be pushed back on. It is such an abuse of political power.

Cosmo T Kat's avatar

Yes, it is. Who uses debanking, a lot, jamenta? Those who block others because they cannot tolerate the truth.

Joy in HK fiFP's avatar

More important than ever! The work that the Hind Rajab Foundation is doing to track down and bring Israeli criminals to justice is one that is vital in the effort to hold Israel accountable.  Let us hope they will also turn their sights on the criminal leaders of the countries of the west who are co-perpetrators of these crimes.

Find out what they’re doing here:

https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org

The least we can do is donate to help them:

Support the Hind Rajab Foundation

https://donate.stripe.com/cN228hbY5g7jaM84gg

EileenMc's avatar

Esprcially since ICJ and ICC are procrastinating reflections of western corruption at the core.

Jim S's avatar

Thank You Caitlin

Niemoller's Ghost's avatar

More comedy: Politics must stay within economic rationalism guardrails, or everything collapses;

Public servants challenging the economic rationalism of LabLibs will destabilize Australia;

The Public Service Act 1999 does not censor the most knowledgeable and passionate critics;

The US protects Australia (from reds under the bed);

Israel has the most moral Occupation Forces & settlers in the world (just ask surviving Palestinians).

Rod Dawson's avatar

The western system of government - ensuring sufficient people are sufficiently comfortable to encourage apathy - is finally shooting itself in the foot. Despite all the mind-numbing distractions we have at our disposal, the governments themselves are increasingly the cause of discomfort. By condoning racism. Supporting genocide. Kowtowing to bullies. Stealing land. Applauding warmongers. Carte blanche-ing war criminals. Using the supposed forces of law and order against their own, innocent citizens. Abandoning international law. Undermining the UN. Promoting propaganda. Pandering to billionaires. Revealing themselves to be the willing playthings of hideous scumbags. Bringing shame on their people. Disgusting them. Sickening them. The biggest lie we have believed, is that our governments were competent. A safe pair of hands. Good managers. But good managers read signs. Plan for disasters. Unlike the helpless, useless, clueless clowns now floundering like turds in a cesspool. Utterly unable to cope with a crisis. Very discomforting.

Landru's avatar

Thank you Caitlin. I can forgive people especially older people who's knowledge was attained before access to alternative media. It takes a special effort to learn the truth in the face of constant lies on every event in every country. That is why israel knows they have lost control even with buying TicToc, CBS, etc. You are a hero to those with access and the people they contact. Each of us has a duty to pass the truth as it was when lessons were learned around the community campfire : ) I still think we need the Nation of Caitlin.

Sera's avatar

What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine?

I learned that policemen are my friends

I learned that justice never ends

I learned that murderers die for their crimes

Even if we make a mistake sometimes

And that's what I learned in school today

That's what I learned in school. -Tom Paxton, 1964

Indu Abeysekara's avatar

Sera, More like " What did you get brainwashed in school today.... " .

Sera's avatar

That was the point of the song. Check out the full lyric. Paxton is a master wordsmith and songwriter, and I think you’ll appreciate it.

Indu Abeysekara's avatar

Thank you Sera, I was agreeing and knowing what the song meant - I loved it from ages ago.

Sera's avatar

Got it, I’m glad. I make a point of keeping alive the legacy of these Greenwich Village Geniuses, Paxton, Van Ronk, Pat Sky, and of course, Phil Ochs. Cheers!

sue mather's avatar

Thank you Caitlin. You nailed it yet again. 🎯

Occam's avatar

Caitlin, I'd add that any questionable claim made by Israel is always accompanied by flashcards written in English.

Funny how that works.

SamAsIAm's avatar

They know no other paradigm and the masses show no signs of rational counter measures. And a number procede to the contrary, lapping up the lies. Now it's AI empowered lies unto the end. Mechanized humanity only survived thus far because its means of destruction, both direct and incidental to its avarice, were limited and it endlessly moved on to new exploitations of geography and peoples. The direct means of various nature from explosives to biologicals are no longer limited and the environnent is rebelling. The people in other realms are also capable of apocolyptic defensive reactions. And so it obviously will go. No one reading this can b come up with a likely rational alternative to the fatal course we're on, led by violent psychopaths and their minions of morons.