Endless and endlessly performative squabbling over matters that the Empire doesn't care about, lockstep unity when it comes to keeping the billionaires happy and the wars stoked.
Tens of billions are lavished upon Ukraine and Sanders votes against any accountability, but the citizens of East Palestine are denied so much as a hotel voucher.
Sanders is my Senator. No longer receive responses from him unless it's an issue he agrees with. Which by the way have been few and far between these past years.
The guy is old and beat up, but he sure moved the needle when he tried. Of course they came after him with a virulence un-matched by anything until that leveled currently at RFKjr. and it took its toll. It threatened to render him useless as a representative of his constituency and his 1st allegiance has to be to his voters, to get for Vermont the things Vermont needs, no matter what. But so many of his followers blamed him for that and turned on him, that the progress he made is lost in the dust of their abandonment of him. I personally love the man. I think it’s his abandoning followers who are the sheep. No offense.
I've spoken to a number of people in his office on issues and sent well researched factually based emails over the last 3 years. For example my concern surrounding the alterations to the International Health Regulations (IHR) through the WHO, mandating experimental procedures, and much more. I formerly identified politically as a progressive democrat. No longer. That party is no longer recognizable. No calls for peace negotiations, no recognition of 'vaccine" injured. All for lockdowns (a prison term). Just fine with biological men competing in women's sports (Title lX) I could go on....
I completely agree with you. And commend you for your efforts. And I maintain that just because you’ve seen no tangible proof that your actions mattered doesn’t mean they don’t. This is a long fight. It took 40 years to move from decent Dems to the current swamp of corporate stooges. The Neo Shitlibs and Neo nastyCons are at the apotheosis of their dreams. And that’s always when they fall. I for one have been very depressed over the last 30 years as I watched the Yuppie generation cheer while the Clinton Machine destroyed FDR’s legacy, but Chris Smalls did A LOT to pull me out of that. I do my political work now in his name—a great young man with a perfect last name!!!!
Yes, they did. But the excusers were the Shitlibs who put him in there. Obama had no allegiance to his constituents. Bernie did and does. And his constituents are Vermonters, not those who came to his speeches and tried to get him to be president. More over, Obama lied and lied and lied, on the trail and off. Bernie never lied. He told the truth over and over, in every speech in every interview. He never betrayed anybody. It was his followers who betrayed him—doing the old Circular Firing Squad of the hapless Left. We don’t need a conspiracy to take us down. We take ourselves down. We shoot our wounded and leave them on the battlefield. It’s shameful.
So you are seriously saying that Sanders owes no allegiance to anyone outside of Vermont, and moreover thst wars and empire are in the interest of the people of Vermont?
Sanders is a lying, lazy grifter shit bag who hold no allegiance to anyone nor would he know the truth if it hit him in the face. The greedy POS is sick in the head. His followers were liberal leftist morons.
"he sure moved the needle when he tried" - looking for the vein, and not necessarily his own.
The fuckhead has been a fraud all his life. One could be mistaken or confused when young. But they get enlightened once grown up. He hadn't. He's a scumbag of the first order.
We can observe the results of your "work". Don't you think it could have been better if you stayed home? At least you would be able to claim having some brains.
He's old but not beat up. The old pervert creep never held a job til he was 40. I lived in Vermont for 30 yrs. TPTB there are all grifters. You have no idea how bad he is unless you've lived there.
Brilliant! We probably have different takes on some things but I love what you say and your analysis. Especially about hero culture and now Calvinistic/Puritan culture.
I am so sorry. He has been truly pounded into the ground. They’ll try to do the same to Kennedy. I still say he is a great man and did a great thing when he took on the duopoly. I get responses from my senators but they are mostly pro forma. It’s ok tho, I see Merkley is sticking his head above the parapet lately with some of his stands. I believe things are beginning to shift and I intend to be there to help push.
Sanders can’t afford to go against AIPAC. Nobody can. And I wouldn’t want my Senator to diminish his effectiveness in bringing much needed taxes back to my state just because you demanded that he follow your program and strive to carry out your wishes. That ain’t how representative democracy works.
So you're saying he's neutered. And you make more excuses, and it’s not as if AIPAC has forbidden any accountability for Ukraine, to give the first example to come to mind.
Sorry. A senior mind—I can’t remember where I read that. But I will look for it and if and when I find it, I’ll tell you. I’m not trying to scam. I just can’t remember the source.
Exactly. And AIPAC has weaponized the Holocaust so successfully that anyone who disagrees with the Zionist/Nazi agenda is slandered, de-platformed and disavowed in the name of being a Holocaust denier and is therefore easy to defeat at the polls. Plus the millions of dollars AIPAC can throw at any election. They are one of the greatest facilitators of Fascist power in the country. Well, maybe Koch is better, but Koch is so well hidden….
I agree with everything you said except that I would change the word Jews to Zionists. I know so many Jews who agree with you and work hard to overcome the savagery of the zionists, but you are right, it’s Israel that has lead this Zionist insanity, and Israel is an American tool supported by billions of our tax dollars and AIPAC politicians. And don’t forget the gypsies and the Queers that died in gas chambers.
The ones who made deals w Satan are Khazarian Mafia who are not Jews just pretending to be. Has nothing to do w being western or not except KM has seriously infiltrated the west. Much of Israel govt is KM.
Great point Caitlin! I also refer to empire privilege, which supersedes white privilege and applies to all of us who assume our ability to consume without producing. That's logically impossible for whole societies without colonized slave populations, yet we never question it.
I don’t think it’s fair to trivialize white privilege ever. Not to mention the fact that slavery still exists in America to this day, on prison farms (former plantations) where black inmates are sentenced to life or death and produce agricultural, license plates and many other goods for no pay.
As a socialist something I really don’t like is how class solidarity is sometimes misrepresented to exclude, diminish or ignore white privilege and the very real struggles BIPOC face, both in the past and the present.
You're not a socialist. You're a neoliberal social capitalist trying to jam your focus-tested partisan pieties where they don't belong and aren't welcome.
You can absolutely be a socialist and still acknowledge that marginalized individuals have it harder historically, statistically and presently than white, straight, christian individuals in America. Anyone who chooses to ignore that isn’t a real socialist. In no way does me acknowledging the very real barriers marginalized people face diminish my disdain for capitalism. You’re not even a socialist. You’re a disgusting troll and that’s why you never contribute anything of value or importance.
Your post is nothing but self-important religious dispensation. Anyone who believes in myth (like that there is a Black intersubjectivity prior to capitalism, or that race is somehow materially different from any other capitalist classification) should shut up and stop thinking with their emotions.
White privilege bs, huh? I guess that’s why slavery still exists in the US. I guess that’s why cops target black people more than any other race. I guess that’s why right wingers bully trans ppl online till they literally kill themselves. But it’s all bs right? FOH. You can stand for class solidarity while refusing to be blind and ignorant. Class solidarity is about equality, equity and fairness. If you don’t understand that there’s something wrong with you.
Edited to add-
The point is you shouldn’t HAVE to pick one. You should still be able to be unapologetically black and gay and respected both as an individual and as a member of the working class.
You don’t know what any of those words even mean, and you’re the worst troll on the planet. No one on here is going to be stupid enough to think I’m a capitalism simp or that I have any positive feelings toward Christianity whatsoever.
It’s pretty disgusting to see obvious right wing trolls calling themselves socialists because of how much Caitlin has downplayed social justice issues. In any event, I’m going to block you because you’ve harassed me more than enough. Genuinely, I hope you die.
Actually it's clearly obvious that you're a neoliberal simp precisely because of your cognitive (trite moralistic) focus and your tendency to insert your feelings and judgments as if they were facts. Underneath your slick "democratic socialist" rhetoric, it's pretty obvious just what you and your party are.
Be aware the term "conspiracy theory" originated with the CIA as a way of discrediting anything other than their official narrative and they have direct influence in both the MSM and movies made in Hollywood.
Everything written and said is from bias, in one form or another.
Protect your precious soul, by multi-sourcing, reading skeptically and globally. Develop trusted sources and cross reference. Ask who benefits?
When the conspiracy originates with and works to the benefit of the Establishment, of People Of Influence And Authority, you can bet that I'll call it a "conspiracy theory".
A friend of mine believes that Putin is a bad guy because the Guardian says he is, and my friend believes the Guardian because they say the kind of liberal left wing stuff my friend agrees with. I tried telling him that the Guardian is functionally no different from the Telegraph or the Sun and he laughed at me. Tough conversation that was
Ugh yes when I tried telling everyone about what's happening in Ukraine last April, a couple of ppl sent me links to an Intercept podcast about "Putin's brutal war on Ukraine"
Yikes! Even Scott Ritter, who I really respect, referred to Zelensky as a tragic hero because NATO was treating him as the bought and paid for puppet that he is. The only up side of this barrage of propaganda is that there’s so MUCH of it, maybe people will start to wonder why so much is needed.
I can't decide what I think about Scott Ritter. He is undoubtedly a hero for putting his neck on the line trying to stop the Iraq war from happening, and he has taken lots of abuse for being outspoken on the Ukraine conflict. On the other hand, his loyalty to the US army seems to make him unable to criticise the US war machine. He's good to listen to for an objective assessment of military developments
Me too. I feel myself cringe sometimes, but he reminds me of Bernie—a man who took a stand against the Madness and Mania of the last Bush-Clinton decades and paid a big price. The price a hero always pays. Look at Joan of Arc. But his continued work on Substack is a great service. No one analyzes military bullshit like he does and more importantly, he allows anyone to contradict him without censoring them. I saw him get into an argument with someone on his site about their opinions of the Marines but he didn’t exclude them. That takes a real man. Consortium News excludes people they don’t agree with. I have almost zero respect for them, even tho they carry good analysts.
I suppose you didn't have time to relate the image of GCHQ destroying flash chips on video cards with an angle grinder days before the Guardian completely changed its tune.
The _Guardian_ used to be a muckraking, speaking-truth-despite-power publication before they became neoliberal PMC lapdogs. The change in character was sharp, right around this time:
Very true, you can trust neither side. Every empire in world history has fallen due to corruption and arrogance. The US empire is well on its way to total destruction as it now exists. According to Martin Armstrong, the US will be in total crumble-lation by the early 2030's. It's inevitable. Simply avoid all mainstream media and seek out alternative sources. It might be a good idea to drown your TV in the bathtub...unplugged of course.
LOL Or a Viking Funeral at the local park. Except, poor park. And I’m so hoping you’re right about 2030. I’ll be 85 then and hopefully still working to alleviate the problems of the poor but I’d like to have a little Schadenfreude over plight of the rich. 🤠 Just sayin’ 🤭
Chris Hedges described the U.S. empire as the ancient Pharaoh of Egypt that's why most propaganda looks nothing like this, when he was talking about the CIA's persecution of Julian. It truly is the most horrific kind of world to live in in the 21st century and why we have the highest mass shootings than anywhere in the world. I'm very fortunate to be making a recovery from mental illness. Tired of hiding my feelings from the public. Actually, when you get older it gets so bad to the point you can't hide it.
Good luck Brooke. Yes, this empire brings people of conscience to their knees. Your work around your illness is very important. Thank you for sharing it.
"In this way we are kept barking and snarling at each other, without ever turning our gaze upon our rulers, and without ever noticing how many more there are of us there are than them."
You are so right, Caitlin. We outnumber the bastards "ruling" over us currently, and they don't have to remain in power forever. It's time we all show some backbone and tell the Empire that we don't want their endless wars for profit and take them out. We need to strike, sit out, lie down, and yell out, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore." And mean it. We owe it to our fellow human beings and our planet.
This is so true! The establishment left vs right dichotomy is completely one dimensional. Pro vs anti imperialist and/or pro establishment vs anti establishment should be added as an extra feature to rank all such media outlets.
The US has one party with two right wings. Gore Vidal, not verbatim. The great Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere was called a ‘tin-pot dictator’ by an old acquaintance, and was resolutely hated by the 60s-70s version of the US blob, for trying to maintain a one party state, as the only way to avoid a slide into tribalism of a country whose borders were drawn without any regard for the ethnicities and histories of the people of that country. At some point, he responded to all of the criticism by saying, as best I can remember, ‘the USA, too, is a one-party state, but, owing to typical American extravagance, it has two of them.’
The term ‘left’ as it has been abused in the US propaganda wars, has no meaning at all. Along with the words communist, fascist, democratic, liberal, conservative and freedom. And even right. When there is no spectrum- when the only game in town is the full-spectrum dominance of the global neo-colonial US Empire- even right loses its meaning. It is a relational term. It’s ok to use the term ‘west’ because it still has some real meaning- the US, Five Eyes, EU, NATO. An ironically useful four-letter substitute for the Empire, the existence of which its proponents deny.
The puerile polemics that plays out daily in the national dialogue is indicative of the sophomoric level of discussion that the powers that be wish the public to engage in. Ignoring substance and focusing on the superficial the ultimate aim is to keep the public ignorant, confused and divided while the special interests keep their plunder high and dry. A zombified public keeps a path open to facilitate the pillage and subjugation of the nation.
I wish these media bias websites would add a "pertinent news" rating. Barbie gross opening amounts, the number of McDonald's drive thru order mistakes in a week and the like rated as 0 and global warming, cost of living and war profit etc rated at 10. It would change the perception of the analysis considerably. Left or right are meaningless if the issues being reported are meaningless. We're being inundated with drivel and distractions to argue over.
"While Caplan-Auerbach is excited about the chance of becoming a Swiftie herself, she is mostly driven by the opportunity to demystify science."
“What I love is to be able to share that this is science” she said, adding that “it doesn’t have to happen in a lab with a white coat. Everyday observations and experiences are science.”
From CNN report on the swifties
Caplan-Auerbach is the geologist that investigated this " earthquake".
Americans gullibility at an all time high!
Hawaii recently had hurricane Calvin run over the state. I've been sailing and commercial fishing for the better part of my lifetime. I've sailed through hurricanes tropical storms and take these things seriously. Calvin dropped from hurricane to tropical storm just as it hit the Big Island with gusts up to.60 mph predicted. I was downloading the sat data from the natl. Hurricane center keeping track of it every day. The governor declared a state of emergency and shutdown the state.
So the storm hits the island and I'm wondering where the wind is. The smoke from my cigar is rising vertical. The sky is clear blue. The Pacific is truly living up to its name, flat calm like glass. 1 to 6" rain predicted and not a drop. The sat data clearly showed a tropical storm over the island at that time.
I got into a discussion about this with my landlord and he asked me to explain it. The only thing I could come up with was computer generated images. Crazy? The ocean stayed calm and no rain or wind for 4 days after the storm passed. I'm not supposed to believe what my own eyes tell me? The governor made the comment that "It was a good dry run for hurricane preparations". "Everyday observations and experiences are science."? Guess not.
Hawaii seems to be a test bed for absurdity. A few years back Civil Defense issued a warning "Incoming ICBM impact in 20 minutes. This is not a drill." over cellphone and TV. It then took 20 minutes to issue a statement that it was a mistake. Oooppps. The excuse was someone pushed the wrong button. Sure.
I think the gullibility factor of Americans is complete. They believe anything the government tells them. Scary in my opinion.
Now I'm heading for Walmart for my heavy duty tinfoil and duck tape for my alien proof hat.
Hope there's not a long line and enough supplies for you to stock up. Maybe there's a "government warning" proof tinfoil kind aisle there somewhere. Worth grabbing as well.
Too true! In America the MSM can assume the fact that Americans (including the University-graduated) just don't know much about the Outside World, so even though US Empire is criminally interventionist, it promotes a dumbed-down "isolationist" mindset at Home. So the average educated American sees an Ecuadorian, say, as a less-than-perfect expression of What an American Is, so "Being American" is always the Measure, which is the Imperial mentality, a projection or delusional view of the World not shared by most non-Americans...
The USA is the ideal and everyone else wants that. They secretly resent their governments holding them back and hope they will be overthrown. How can we not help them on the road to freedom and democracy?
I think this is directly related to the “conspiracy” to de-platform and marginalize RFKJR. I have presented this link twice recently, but I don’t know how many folks are clicking on it. RFKJR is involved in litigation, suing the BBC which created a group called the Trusted News Initiative. This group was begun to render invisible any person or group that challenged the orthodoxy on matters related to Covid-19. It soon grew into a plan to silence anti-imperialist journalists, critics of Israel, and anyone who annoyed the oligarchs who run the MIC.
Every “legacy” news outlet, I.e., print, TV, radio, basically ANY news source that isn’t only online, is a de facto member of the “legacy” umbrella. As it happens, the internet is the ONLY place where RFKJR can be seen or heard. His rise in popularity is owed solely to his online exposure.
So RFKJR’s lawsuit is central to the lockstep dedication of the MSM to ignore real stories and promote fabricated ones. He’s a successful litigator, so maybe he can show how Julian Assange has been conspiratorially disappeared. How embarrassing if a lawyer can force media moguls to report news they don’t like!
I’m not trying to sell him to anybody. He may not be the tool you see him as, because he’s pissing off his party and getting blackballed in the MSM. Also, he wants no part of the proxy war. If he’s a threat to the status quo, I won’t call him names simply because he’s not ideal.
His virtue is irrelevant. It's childish to send anyone through a process of competitive lying and expect not to get a better liar out the other side. People really need to think harder about what their own actions are doing to *themselves* and their own perceptions of the world, and whether putting any faith in heroic institutions causes or preserves more problems than it materially solves.
And once one has looked inward and saw something what does one do? Get out and legitimize the "democratic" processes established by the system to pull the wool over populace, both hippie elders sucking on their bongs and smartphone tethered youngsters? Or mentally issue "fuck you" statement and stay away while not shying away from confronting any zombie preaching the "resistance"?
Receiving new information is a continuous process, and so is that self-monitoring. Whenever you find yourself believing incredible tales, that might be a good time for a self-audit.
One can assume a stance to never believe anything at all, especially any "current information" aka "the news". One can start assessing a situation after a few decades have passed and a sufficient original documentation has been released and reviewed by quite a few credible historians. At that point one can take that into account and form an attitude towards any current events. That is, assume historical events have certain repeating tendencies and trends and therefore can serve as a foundation to reason about current happenings.
It follows that by studying what happened decades ago we can have reasonable attitudes towards what might be happening right now.
Your total dismissal may be appropriate, but I think he will appeal to a lot of alienated voters who have seen enough of Trump and the fake parties. Again, I am not endorsing or promoting him, but I know of no other insider who has contradicted the “unprovoked” narrative or named the neocons who are pushing the proxy war. For that alone I think he has value as a moral voice, in a cesspool of liars and cynics.
He may be delusional about this country and its blood-ridden history, but somebody like him can shed more light on the rigged system for the millions who don’t yet see it. And if he can change the subject from inevitable war to imminent diplomatic talks, that would be pretty big.
I think it was in the Little Red Book everyone read in the 60’s that Mao said you don’t take down an empire from without. You have to be in the belly of the beast to effect change. Kennedy is right in the heart of the belly of the beast. And a very brave man.
I see a self-limiting function in leaning on labels without considering context. Yes, RFKJR is a charlatan whose familial ties give him insider credibility. But he’s been able, through his litagatory talents to hone a reputation for standing up for the victims of corporate power and corruption.
Does this mean he will trigger a soft revolution? Of course not, but if a DP loyalist can call out the neoliberal extremists in his own party, that is a step in the right direction, isn’t it?
One way out of the propaganda/media bias hole is to cut the cable and read different writers. For example—Grayzone has a hair raising exposé on the baby factories of Ukraine. Would that be Left or Right? And who cares? I’m sure that more than a few Sheep who are currently “on the fence” about that war because Zelensky is such a good guy would change their tune if they read that.
Endless and endlessly performative squabbling over matters that the Empire doesn't care about, lockstep unity when it comes to keeping the billionaires happy and the wars stoked.
Tens of billions are lavished upon Ukraine and Sanders votes against any accountability, but the citizens of East Palestine are denied so much as a hotel voucher.
Sanders is my Senator. No longer receive responses from him unless it's an issue he agrees with. Which by the way have been few and far between these past years.
He's pushing hard for WW3. Along with AOC and countless others. EeeeHaaa!
It's left capitalism. It's not supposed to do anything well but propagate.
I used to be a supporter. I now see him as neutered at best, a sheepdog at worst.
The guy is old and beat up, but he sure moved the needle when he tried. Of course they came after him with a virulence un-matched by anything until that leveled currently at RFKjr. and it took its toll. It threatened to render him useless as a representative of his constituency and his 1st allegiance has to be to his voters, to get for Vermont the things Vermont needs, no matter what. But so many of his followers blamed him for that and turned on him, that the progress he made is lost in the dust of their abandonment of him. I personally love the man. I think it’s his abandoning followers who are the sheep. No offense.
I've spoken to a number of people in his office on issues and sent well researched factually based emails over the last 3 years. For example my concern surrounding the alterations to the International Health Regulations (IHR) through the WHO, mandating experimental procedures, and much more. I formerly identified politically as a progressive democrat. No longer. That party is no longer recognizable. No calls for peace negotiations, no recognition of 'vaccine" injured. All for lockdowns (a prison term). Just fine with biological men competing in women's sports (Title lX) I could go on....
PS, are you a Vermonter?
I am...40 years now!
I completely agree with you. And commend you for your efforts. And I maintain that just because you’ve seen no tangible proof that your actions mattered doesn’t mean they don’t. This is a long fight. It took 40 years to move from decent Dems to the current swamp of corporate stooges. The Neo Shitlibs and Neo nastyCons are at the apotheosis of their dreams. And that’s always when they fall. I for one have been very depressed over the last 30 years as I watched the Yuppie generation cheer while the Clinton Machine destroyed FDR’s legacy, but Chris Smalls did A LOT to pull me out of that. I do my political work now in his name—a great young man with a perfect last name!!!!
Lol, people made comparable excuses for Obama, even as he betrayed his supporters, over and over and over.
Yes, they did. But the excusers were the Shitlibs who put him in there. Obama had no allegiance to his constituents. Bernie did and does. And his constituents are Vermonters, not those who came to his speeches and tried to get him to be president. More over, Obama lied and lied and lied, on the trail and off. Bernie never lied. He told the truth over and over, in every speech in every interview. He never betrayed anybody. It was his followers who betrayed him—doing the old Circular Firing Squad of the hapless Left. We don’t need a conspiracy to take us down. We take ourselves down. We shoot our wounded and leave them on the battlefield. It’s shameful.
So you are seriously saying that Sanders owes no allegiance to anyone outside of Vermont, and moreover thst wars and empire are in the interest of the people of Vermont?
Sanders is a lying, lazy grifter shit bag who hold no allegiance to anyone nor would he know the truth if it hit him in the face. The greedy POS is sick in the head. His followers were liberal leftist morons.
"he sure moved the needle when he tried" - looking for the vein, and not necessarily his own.
The fuckhead has been a fraud all his life. One could be mistaken or confused when young. But they get enlightened once grown up. He hadn't. He's a scumbag of the first order.
Speaking of fuckheads—what have you ever done but jump around quacking in outraged self-righteous uselessness. You remind me of a wet Donald Duck.
We can observe the results of your "work". Don't you think it could have been better if you stayed home? At least you would be able to claim having some brains.
WHAT'S WRONG JEANO? CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH??? YOU'RE THE SELF RIGHTEOUS LOSER.
AMEN!👍👍👍 RIGHT ON!
He's old but not beat up. The old pervert creep never held a job til he was 40. I lived in Vermont for 30 yrs. TPTB there are all grifters. You have no idea how bad he is unless you've lived there.
Good. Only mentally ill people want to be a slave and have a "job".
The rest of us just want to make what we and ours need and do as we will.
Your Calvinist economic model is no longer relevant.
Brilliant! We probably have different takes on some things but I love what you say and your analysis. Especially about hero culture and now Calvinistic/Puritan culture.
I am so sorry. He has been truly pounded into the ground. They’ll try to do the same to Kennedy. I still say he is a great man and did a great thing when he took on the duopoly. I get responses from my senators but they are mostly pro forma. It’s ok tho, I see Merkley is sticking his head above the parapet lately with some of his stands. I believe things are beginning to shift and I intend to be there to help push.
"my senator" - did you vote for him? Anyone I didn't vote for is not "mine". The fucks who voted for them - they're theirs.
One good reason to leave very. The rest there aren't any better.
***THANK YOU SS FOR PUTTING MY REPLIES COMPLETELY OUT OF ORDER.👎👎👎
Sanders can’t afford to go against AIPAC. Nobody can. And I wouldn’t want my Senator to diminish his effectiveness in bringing much needed taxes back to my state just because you demanded that he follow your program and strive to carry out your wishes. That ain’t how representative democracy works.
So you're saying he's neutered. And you make more excuses, and it’s not as if AIPAC has forbidden any accountability for Ukraine, to give the first example to come to mind.
Omydear. Of course it has!!!
Evidence, please.
Sorry. A senior mind—I can’t remember where I read that. But I will look for it and if and when I find it, I’ll tell you. I’m not trying to scam. I just can’t remember the source.
Yet plenty of other congressmen did vote to force some accountability on Ukraine.
Exactly. And AIPAC has weaponized the Holocaust so successfully that anyone who disagrees with the Zionist/Nazi agenda is slandered, de-platformed and disavowed in the name of being a Holocaust denier and is therefore easy to defeat at the polls. Plus the millions of dollars AIPAC can throw at any election. They are one of the greatest facilitators of Fascist power in the country. Well, maybe Koch is better, but Koch is so well hidden….
I agree with everything you said except that I would change the word Jews to Zionists. I know so many Jews who agree with you and work hard to overcome the savagery of the zionists, but you are right, it’s Israel that has lead this Zionist insanity, and Israel is an American tool supported by billions of our tax dollars and AIPAC politicians. And don’t forget the gypsies and the Queers that died in gas chambers.
One asshole doesn't speak for the group. They're Khazarian Mafia who are not Jews.
The ones who made deals w Satan are Khazarian Mafia who are not Jews just pretending to be. Has nothing to do w being western or not except KM has seriously infiltrated the west. Much of Israel govt is KM.
He can afford to if he has morals and backbone. . He wants the money.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." William Casey, former CIA Director
Great point Caitlin! I also refer to empire privilege, which supersedes white privilege and applies to all of us who assume our ability to consume without producing. That's logically impossible for whole societies without colonized slave populations, yet we never question it.
I don’t think it’s fair to trivialize white privilege ever. Not to mention the fact that slavery still exists in America to this day, on prison farms (former plantations) where black inmates are sentenced to life or death and produce agricultural, license plates and many other goods for no pay.
As a socialist something I really don’t like is how class solidarity is sometimes misrepresented to exclude, diminish or ignore white privilege and the very real struggles BIPOC face, both in the past and the present.
You're not a socialist. You're a neoliberal social capitalist trying to jam your focus-tested partisan pieties where they don't belong and aren't welcome.
You can absolutely be a socialist and still acknowledge that marginalized individuals have it harder historically, statistically and presently than white, straight, christian individuals in America. Anyone who chooses to ignore that isn’t a real socialist. In no way does me acknowledging the very real barriers marginalized people face diminish my disdain for capitalism. You’re not even a socialist. You’re a disgusting troll and that’s why you never contribute anything of value or importance.
Your post is nothing but self-important religious dispensation. Anyone who believes in myth (like that there is a Black intersubjectivity prior to capitalism, or that race is somehow materially different from any other capitalist classification) should shut up and stop thinking with their emotions.
Slavery is older than capitalism. Nice try.
Define intersubjectivity without googling it, virtue hoarder.
White privilege bs, huh? I guess that’s why slavery still exists in the US. I guess that’s why cops target black people more than any other race. I guess that’s why right wingers bully trans ppl online till they literally kill themselves. But it’s all bs right? FOH. You can stand for class solidarity while refusing to be blind and ignorant. Class solidarity is about equality, equity and fairness. If you don’t understand that there’s something wrong with you.
Edited to add-
The point is you shouldn’t HAVE to pick one. You should still be able to be unapologetically black and gay and respected both as an individual and as a member of the working class.
Respect is aristoccracy. You should actually fuck off with your capitalist religious shit.
You don’t know what any of those words even mean, and you’re the worst troll on the planet. No one on here is going to be stupid enough to think I’m a capitalism simp or that I have any positive feelings toward Christianity whatsoever.
It’s pretty disgusting to see obvious right wing trolls calling themselves socialists because of how much Caitlin has downplayed social justice issues. In any event, I’m going to block you because you’ve harassed me more than enough. Genuinely, I hope you die.
Actually it's clearly obvious that you're a neoliberal simp precisely because of your cognitive (trite moralistic) focus and your tendency to insert your feelings and judgments as if they were facts. Underneath your slick "democratic socialist" rhetoric, it's pretty obvious just what you and your party are.
I’m not even bothering to respond to this because it’s nothing but a bunch of racist, transphobic disgusting garbage. I genuinely hope you die.
"I genuinely hope you die." LOL!
Nobody cares about the mental illnesses you call doctrines and nobody needs to.
Be aware the term "conspiracy theory" originated with the CIA as a way of discrediting anything other than their official narrative and they have direct influence in both the MSM and movies made in Hollywood.
Everything written and said is from bias, in one form or another.
Protect your precious soul, by multi-sourcing, reading skeptically and globally. Develop trusted sources and cross reference. Ask who benefits?
When the conspiracy originates with and works to the benefit of the Establishment, of People Of Influence And Authority, you can bet that I'll call it a "conspiracy theory".
A friend of mine believes that Putin is a bad guy because the Guardian says he is, and my friend believes the Guardian because they say the kind of liberal left wing stuff my friend agrees with. I tried telling him that the Guardian is functionally no different from the Telegraph or the Sun and he laughed at me. Tough conversation that was
Just different idpol.
Have you tried prying anybody away from The Intercept? Almost as bad. And the NYT? Feget abot it!!!
Ugh yes when I tried telling everyone about what's happening in Ukraine last April, a couple of ppl sent me links to an Intercept podcast about "Putin's brutal war on Ukraine"
Yikes! Even Scott Ritter, who I really respect, referred to Zelensky as a tragic hero because NATO was treating him as the bought and paid for puppet that he is. The only up side of this barrage of propaganda is that there’s so MUCH of it, maybe people will start to wonder why so much is needed.
I can't decide what I think about Scott Ritter. He is undoubtedly a hero for putting his neck on the line trying to stop the Iraq war from happening, and he has taken lots of abuse for being outspoken on the Ukraine conflict. On the other hand, his loyalty to the US army seems to make him unable to criticise the US war machine. He's good to listen to for an objective assessment of military developments
Me too. I feel myself cringe sometimes, but he reminds me of Bernie—a man who took a stand against the Madness and Mania of the last Bush-Clinton decades and paid a big price. The price a hero always pays. Look at Joan of Arc. But his continued work on Substack is a great service. No one analyzes military bullshit like he does and more importantly, he allows anyone to contradict him without censoring them. I saw him get into an argument with someone on his site about their opinions of the Marines but he didn’t exclude them. That takes a real man. Consortium News excludes people they don’t agree with. I have almost zero respect for them, even tho they carry good analysts.
I suppose you didn't have time to relate the image of GCHQ destroying flash chips on video cards with an angle grinder days before the Guardian completely changed its tune.
I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by that. Changed their tune on what?
The _Guardian_ used to be a muckraking, speaking-truth-despite-power publication before they became neoliberal PMC lapdogs. The change in character was sharp, right around this time:
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/guardian-reveals-how-it-destroyed-nsa-gchq-files-1.1500208
Be careful Caitlin, you will be branded and cancelled as a supporter of "CET" - Critical Empire Theory.
And wear that brand with pride!
Very true, you can trust neither side. Every empire in world history has fallen due to corruption and arrogance. The US empire is well on its way to total destruction as it now exists. According to Martin Armstrong, the US will be in total crumble-lation by the early 2030's. It's inevitable. Simply avoid all mainstream media and seek out alternative sources. It might be a good idea to drown your TV in the bathtub...unplugged of course.
LOL Or a Viking Funeral at the local park. Except, poor park. And I’m so hoping you’re right about 2030. I’ll be 85 then and hopefully still working to alleviate the problems of the poor but I’d like to have a little Schadenfreude over plight of the rich. 🤠 Just sayin’ 🤭
Chris Hedges described the U.S. empire as the ancient Pharaoh of Egypt that's why most propaganda looks nothing like this, when he was talking about the CIA's persecution of Julian. It truly is the most horrific kind of world to live in in the 21st century and why we have the highest mass shootings than anywhere in the world. I'm very fortunate to be making a recovery from mental illness. Tired of hiding my feelings from the public. Actually, when you get older it gets so bad to the point you can't hide it.
Good luck Brooke. Yes, this empire brings people of conscience to their knees. Your work around your illness is very important. Thank you for sharing it.
"In this way we are kept barking and snarling at each other, without ever turning our gaze upon our rulers, and without ever noticing how many more there are of us there are than them."
You are so right, Caitlin. We outnumber the bastards "ruling" over us currently, and they don't have to remain in power forever. It's time we all show some backbone and tell the Empire that we don't want their endless wars for profit and take them out. We need to strike, sit out, lie down, and yell out, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore." And mean it. We owe it to our fellow human beings and our planet.
This is so true! The establishment left vs right dichotomy is completely one dimensional. Pro vs anti imperialist and/or pro establishment vs anti establishment should be added as an extra feature to rank all such media outlets.
The US has one party with two right wings. Gore Vidal, not verbatim. The great Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere was called a ‘tin-pot dictator’ by an old acquaintance, and was resolutely hated by the 60s-70s version of the US blob, for trying to maintain a one party state, as the only way to avoid a slide into tribalism of a country whose borders were drawn without any regard for the ethnicities and histories of the people of that country. At some point, he responded to all of the criticism by saying, as best I can remember, ‘the USA, too, is a one-party state, but, owing to typical American extravagance, it has two of them.’
The term ‘left’ as it has been abused in the US propaganda wars, has no meaning at all. Along with the words communist, fascist, democratic, liberal, conservative and freedom. And even right. When there is no spectrum- when the only game in town is the full-spectrum dominance of the global neo-colonial US Empire- even right loses its meaning. It is a relational term. It’s ok to use the term ‘west’ because it still has some real meaning- the US, Five Eyes, EU, NATO. An ironically useful four-letter substitute for the Empire, the existence of which its proponents deny.
Wonderful job, as usual, Caitlin.👍
The puerile polemics that plays out daily in the national dialogue is indicative of the sophomoric level of discussion that the powers that be wish the public to engage in. Ignoring substance and focusing on the superficial the ultimate aim is to keep the public ignorant, confused and divided while the special interests keep their plunder high and dry. A zombified public keeps a path open to facilitate the pillage and subjugation of the nation.
I wish these media bias websites would add a "pertinent news" rating. Barbie gross opening amounts, the number of McDonald's drive thru order mistakes in a week and the like rated as 0 and global warming, cost of living and war profit etc rated at 10. It would change the perception of the analysis considerably. Left or right are meaningless if the issues being reported are meaningless. We're being inundated with drivel and distractions to argue over.
Yeah, but how about the Taylor Swift seismic event in Seattle? Isn't it awesome? Isn't she awesome? Are the Swifties awesome?
Moral: want seismic activities? Get Taylor Swift. Along with the provincial Seattle crowd.
Wouldn't it be cheaper to pay all Chinese people to jump off a chair simultaneously?
That's their DOOMSDAYS DEVICE. It's why their frantic about a dwindling population.
Only capitalist fertility cults compete on the basis of population. Ah, well.
They're not as sexy by American standards. Seismicity requires Taylor and a few fat Seattle bitches. Of the indeterminate "gender".
Taylor who?
Does Swift mean she has a brain?
Mebbe I should look her/him/it up to edicate meself. Went through one of dem siezmic eevents here in Hawaii don't want anudder.
https://weather.com/news/trending/video/taylor-swift-concert-causes-seismic-activity-in-seattle
Greta Thunberg should issue a statement.
I've got to respond to this.
Greta was probably there.
"While Caplan-Auerbach is excited about the chance of becoming a Swiftie herself, she is mostly driven by the opportunity to demystify science."
“What I love is to be able to share that this is science” she said, adding that “it doesn’t have to happen in a lab with a white coat. Everyday observations and experiences are science.”
From CNN report on the swifties
Caplan-Auerbach is the geologist that investigated this " earthquake".
Americans gullibility at an all time high!
Hawaii recently had hurricane Calvin run over the state. I've been sailing and commercial fishing for the better part of my lifetime. I've sailed through hurricanes tropical storms and take these things seriously. Calvin dropped from hurricane to tropical storm just as it hit the Big Island with gusts up to.60 mph predicted. I was downloading the sat data from the natl. Hurricane center keeping track of it every day. The governor declared a state of emergency and shutdown the state.
So the storm hits the island and I'm wondering where the wind is. The smoke from my cigar is rising vertical. The sky is clear blue. The Pacific is truly living up to its name, flat calm like glass. 1 to 6" rain predicted and not a drop. The sat data clearly showed a tropical storm over the island at that time.
I got into a discussion about this with my landlord and he asked me to explain it. The only thing I could come up with was computer generated images. Crazy? The ocean stayed calm and no rain or wind for 4 days after the storm passed. I'm not supposed to believe what my own eyes tell me? The governor made the comment that "It was a good dry run for hurricane preparations". "Everyday observations and experiences are science."? Guess not.
Hawaii seems to be a test bed for absurdity. A few years back Civil Defense issued a warning "Incoming ICBM impact in 20 minutes. This is not a drill." over cellphone and TV. It then took 20 minutes to issue a statement that it was a mistake. Oooppps. The excuse was someone pushed the wrong button. Sure.
I think the gullibility factor of Americans is complete. They believe anything the government tells them. Scary in my opinion.
Now I'm heading for Walmart for my heavy duty tinfoil and duck tape for my alien proof hat.
Hope there's not a long line and enough supplies for you to stock up. Maybe there's a "government warning" proof tinfoil kind aisle there somewhere. Worth grabbing as well.
Want me to pick you up some?
Wd40 with the new metal spout makes an awesome portable flame thrower for evil aliens. Works great for rats too.
Too true! In America the MSM can assume the fact that Americans (including the University-graduated) just don't know much about the Outside World, so even though US Empire is criminally interventionist, it promotes a dumbed-down "isolationist" mindset at Home. So the average educated American sees an Ecuadorian, say, as a less-than-perfect expression of What an American Is, so "Being American" is always the Measure, which is the Imperial mentality, a projection or delusional view of the World not shared by most non-Americans...
The USA is the ideal and everyone else wants that. They secretly resent their governments holding them back and hope they will be overthrown. How can we not help them on the road to freedom and democracy?
I think this is directly related to the “conspiracy” to de-platform and marginalize RFKJR. I have presented this link twice recently, but I don’t know how many folks are clicking on it. RFKJR is involved in litigation, suing the BBC which created a group called the Trusted News Initiative. This group was begun to render invisible any person or group that challenged the orthodoxy on matters related to Covid-19. It soon grew into a plan to silence anti-imperialist journalists, critics of Israel, and anyone who annoyed the oligarchs who run the MIC.
Every “legacy” news outlet, I.e., print, TV, radio, basically ANY news source that isn’t only online, is a de facto member of the “legacy” umbrella. As it happens, the internet is the ONLY place where RFKJR can be seen or heard. His rise in popularity is owed solely to his online exposure.
So RFKJR’s lawsuit is central to the lockstep dedication of the MSM to ignore real stories and promote fabricated ones. He’s a successful litigator, so maybe he can show how Julian Assange has been conspiratorially disappeared. How embarrassing if a lawyer can force media moguls to report news they don’t like!
Here’s the link:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7_gHzPvOpIo&pp=ygVFRXhwb3NpbmcgdGhlIFJlYWwgUmVhc29uIExlZ2FjeSBNZWRpYSBGZWFycyBNZSBsIFJvYmVydCBGLiBLZW5uZWR5IEpy
RFK Jr is a charlatan. Just another oligarch and tool of empire. He supports American exceptionalism and Israeli imperialism.
I’m not trying to sell him to anybody. He may not be the tool you see him as, because he’s pissing off his party and getting blackballed in the MSM. Also, he wants no part of the proxy war. If he’s a threat to the status quo, I won’t call him names simply because he’s not ideal.
His virtue is irrelevant. It's childish to send anyone through a process of competitive lying and expect not to get a better liar out the other side. People really need to think harder about what their own actions are doing to *themselves* and their own perceptions of the world, and whether putting any faith in heroic institutions causes or preserves more problems than it materially solves.
And once one has looked inward and saw something what does one do? Get out and legitimize the "democratic" processes established by the system to pull the wool over populace, both hippie elders sucking on their bongs and smartphone tethered youngsters? Or mentally issue "fuck you" statement and stay away while not shying away from confronting any zombie preaching the "resistance"?
Receiving new information is a continuous process, and so is that self-monitoring. Whenever you find yourself believing incredible tales, that might be a good time for a self-audit.
One can assume a stance to never believe anything at all, especially any "current information" aka "the news". One can start assessing a situation after a few decades have passed and a sufficient original documentation has been released and reviewed by quite a few credible historians. At that point one can take that into account and form an attitude towards any current events. That is, assume historical events have certain repeating tendencies and trends and therefore can serve as a foundation to reason about current happenings.
It follows that by studying what happened decades ago we can have reasonable attitudes towards what might be happening right now.
Well said. Thank you.
What are you talking about?
The only reason Mr Kennedy is on the political scene is that he is a part of the Kennedy oligarchs. He IS the status quo.
So much for that load of red herring!
Your total dismissal may be appropriate, but I think he will appeal to a lot of alienated voters who have seen enough of Trump and the fake parties. Again, I am not endorsing or promoting him, but I know of no other insider who has contradicted the “unprovoked” narrative or named the neocons who are pushing the proxy war. For that alone I think he has value as a moral voice, in a cesspool of liars and cynics.
He may be delusional about this country and its blood-ridden history, but somebody like him can shed more light on the rigged system for the millions who don’t yet see it. And if he can change the subject from inevitable war to imminent diplomatic talks, that would be pretty big.
I think it was in the Little Red Book everyone read in the 60’s that Mao said you don’t take down an empire from without. You have to be in the belly of the beast to effect change. Kennedy is right in the heart of the belly of the beast. And a very brave man.
Don’t talk about me personally. Talk about the subject.
RFK is an oligarch and a charlatan. A promoter of empire and imperialism. He’s not shedding light. He’s throwing clouds and diversion.
Charlatan.
I see a self-limiting function in leaning on labels without considering context. Yes, RFKJR is a charlatan whose familial ties give him insider credibility. But he’s been able, through his litagatory talents to hone a reputation for standing up for the victims of corporate power and corruption.
Does this mean he will trigger a soft revolution? Of course not, but if a DP loyalist can call out the neoliberal extremists in his own party, that is a step in the right direction, isn’t it?
One way out of the propaganda/media bias hole is to cut the cable and read different writers. For example—Grayzone has a hair raising exposé on the baby factories of Ukraine. Would that be Left or Right? And who cares? I’m sure that more than a few Sheep who are currently “on the fence” about that war because Zelensky is such a good guy would change their tune if they read that.