From the Last Week

Healthcare

American Medical Association leaves coalition fighting 'Medicare for All - Probably not really good for "Medicare for all" as this looks like it leads to just another group opposing it.

Fuck-em. Vote Medicare for all!



2020

MSM Smears Sanders For Saying MSM Smears Sanders - Corporate elite don't like those socialist types.

Found here: Tom Toles



Epstein

With Jeffrey Epstein Dead, the Search Is on for Alleged Recruiter Ghislaine Maxwell

“Let me assure you that case will continue on against anyone who was complicit with Epstein,” and that “any co-conspirators should not rest easy,” Attorney General William Barr said Monday.

There might be a couple small fry types go down but I doubt we'll see any of the world elite fall.

Hypocritical  Bastards






US vs Iran

Here Are Five Lies About Iran That We Need to Refute to Stop Another Illegal War - You just can't believe a word they say.

End-o-Week

US and Israel

Buying Politicians: Hoyer and 41 Democrats visit Israel on AIPAC-affiliated junket that violates ‘spirit as well as the letter of the law

The Many Lies That Iran Hawks Tell



Health Care

Health insurance companies are useless. Get rid of them

The truth is that private health insurers have contributed nothing of value to the American healthcare system. Instead, they have raised costs and created an entitled class of administrators and executives who are fighting for their livelihoods, using customers’ premium dollars to do so.

“Health insurers have been successful at two things: Making money and getting the American public to believe they’re essential,”

Mortality and morbidity in the 21st century

Guns

Your NRA donations at work. Document Shows NRA Money Helped Its Chief Search for a Personal Mansion


MAGA My Ass

Saudis and UAE begin quiet talks with Tehran in epic Gulf somersault

The US-led coalition force has indeed been slow to take off because it is either spurned or ignored by most of the governments invited to join.

War - Money

America’s Indefensible Defense Budget

"If the United States faced acute threats, allocating 60 percent of the government’s unrestricted funds to defense might be necessary. We do not, but we still spend more on defense than the next eight largest spenders combined—China, Saudi Arabia, India, France, Russia, Britain, Germany, and Japan—and four of those countries are treaty allies. The disproportion has held for decades."

Liars

White House Considers September Roll-Out of Health Plan, DJ Says - They will probably make some minor changes so they have something to campaign on but candidate Trump said he had a plan ready to go. He's just full of bullshit.



World Economy

The Global Economy Lives in Wonderland Now

Saturday AM

Government Spending

Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress claim that America spends too much on things like food stamps, welfare, and foreign aid. But let’s look at how the government actually spends your federal tax dollars each year. pic.twitter.com/yHPOvPZvRN

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) July 30, 2019

DON’T ABET REPUBLICAN BAD FAITH ON DEFICITS

Democrats gain absolutely nothing from focusing on deficit reduction, since any gains will simply be used by the next Republican government for more upper-class tax cuts. Dems don’t need to be as fiscally irresponsible as Republicans, but the next time they get the chance to govern they need to focus on making their programs as popular and as durable as possible, and if that means not accounting for every dime of spending that’s fine. 

Demographics

Where rich millennials are moving

Also... Where the Jobs are going be    vs.     Where the R and D Voters are.

Media - Establishment Propaganda

CNN doing its best not to mention Sanders - Commentators: Who won the Democratic debate?

BBC - Declares Biden the winner. Shows a picture of Sanders underneath  the "Losers" headline even though the paragraph never mentions him.  - Democratic debate winners and losers from both nights

BBC is worried about one-liners. I'd prefer a longer explanation. Trump is good at one liners.

CNN’s Industry Spin Shows Need for Independent Debates

We desperately need serious, independently run debates, not over-the-top industry-friendly spectacles of the sort put on by CNN—and endorsed and gate-kept by the major parties.

Ian Welsh nails the Media - A Broken Media Is A Broken Society



Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein Hoped to Seed Human Race With His DNA - I see articles like this as plants to make Epstein look like a super bond-villain type who was able to con all those rich folk because, well, he was a super bond villain. He conned us all !  In reality, he had a ton of cash and pretty much just fit in with the rest of our rich and powerful.. until he got caught. Now they need to distance themselves from him.



Line of the Day

WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS - L,G&M on Epstein.

It also illustrates the crying need for far more financial transparency. Where did Epstein get his money and where has it been going? There are many hints here that he’s some sort of grifting shakedown artist at the head of a largely phony financial empire, who also has a taste for blackmail and sexual assault. 

Just imagine if someday things should get decadent enough for someone like Epstein to become president of the United States.

Medicare for All

When Did You Realize American Health Care Was Broken?



Sheldon's Money

Sheldon Adelson is Trump and the R's largest donor and he and his wife really like Nikki Haley. They are not going to like Kellyanne's smart-assed "PENCE2020" reply.  NIKKI HALEY CRITICIZES DONALD TRUMP ON TWITTER.



US and Israel

IS THE ‘TRUMP VIRUS’ ABOUT TO SHATTER JEWISH UNITY IN THE U.S?


Political Economy

Is Politics Getting to the Fed?  - Rs just don't play by the established rules.

The entire point of central-bank independence is to establish a credible monetary policy by insulating the relevant decision-makers from such influence. That is what we learned from the early 1980s, when Fed Chair Paul Volcker hiked the federal funds rate up to the level necessary to choke off inflation. The big difference, of course, is that President Ronald Reagan supported Volcker, whereas Trump is Powell’s chief antagonist. 

Powell’s challenge, then, is to maintain Volckerian discipline and independence in the face of growing political pressure. At the moment, his prospects for success are not great.

Who are you going to believe, me or the evidence of your own eyes?

Misleading statistics result in misguided policies. If governments think the economy is well on the road to recovery because that’s what GDP suggests, they might not take the strong policy measures needed to resuscitate the economy that they would take with metrics that inform on whether most of the population still feels in recession. If they do not have metrics on the extent of people’s economic insecurity, they may not take measures to bolster the safety net and social protection; they might even set about stripping away some social programmes.  

One reason the Great Recession morphed into a social and political crisis is that relying on GDP not only gave a false picture of the overall state of well-being, it contributed to the decline of trust in governments and experts, as people saw that their own situation was not improving despite the claim by the experts, based on certain official figures, that a recovery was underway. If we had had better metrics, including better measures of increases in people’s economic insecurity, we might have realised that the downturn was deeper than the GDP statistics indicated. And if that had been the case, perhaps governments would have responded more strongly to mitigate the negative impacts of the crisis.

Wednesday

The Radical Left Agenda - Still on top. Still important.

Reminder of what people are calling the “radical, extreme-left agenda”:

✅ Medicare for All
✅ A Living Wage & Labor Rights
✅ K-16 schooling, aka Public Colleges
✅ 100% Renewable Energy
✅ Fixing the pipes in Flint
✅ Not Hurting Immigrants
✅ Holding Wall Street Accountable

— Alexandria Asia-Cortez (@AOC) July 18, 2019 

Media

sanders spoke at the @NAACP convention where he got a standing ovation. The @nytimes straight up pretended he didn’t go. @AsteadWesley mentioned every other candidate there. Did Wesley submit it like that? Or did editors cut sanders out? Here’s what happens when you search (1/?) https://t.co/XpGIuFVWjb

— Katie Halper (@kthalps) July 30, 2019

Our Elite 

Dershowitz needs to disappear from US media.



Health Care

I guess if I want to see good public healthcare in my lifetime, I'm going to have to move to another country.  WHY UNIVERSAL PUBLIC INSURANCE WILL BE BRUTALLY DIFFICULT TO ENACT



Life Lesson

Free Credit Advice - found in the comments here

• Place a credit freeze on your accounts with the big three credit agencies. It works. Cost = $30 (total) and $10 for a temporary unfreeze when you need a lender to "see" your credit.
• Get an IRS PIN for your taxes. Free. No one can file a return in your name or get your refund without it.
• Get your credit report at least once per year. Free. Triple check it.
• Do not ignore strange calls or letters about credit or accounts you never set up. Fix them.
• Google your name and social security number every once in a while. Separately, of course. Free.

Israel vs Palestine

Israel dodges UN blacklist despite rise in Palestinian youth killed and injured in 2018



The Economy

Tax Cuts and Trump's 4% Growth. It ain't happening. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to 4%



Politics

The “Existential Battle” Is for Control of the Democratic Party - It's a battle of Establishment Ds vs Populist Ds. The Rs had the same battle a few years ago. The Fox News cult won out and gave us Trump.



War - Playing games.

Tanker Seizures and the Threat to the Global Economy from Resurgent Imperialism

"The British seizure of the Iranian tanker off Gibraltar was illegal. There is no doubt of that whatsoever. The Iranian response to the seizure of its tanker in the Strait of Gibraltar, by the seizure of a British Tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, was also illegal, though more understandable as a reaction. The implications for the global economy of the collapse of the crucial international law on passage through straits would be devastating."

About That Swamp?

TRUMP, INC:  Trump Adviser Tom Barrack Pushed for Saudi Nuclear Deal — and Planned to Profit From It

Over The Weekend

The Radical Left Agenda - Still on top. Still important.

Reminder of what people are calling the “radical, extreme-left agenda”:

✅ Medicare for All
✅ A Living Wage & Labor Rights
✅ K-16 schooling, aka Public Colleges
✅ 100% Renewable Energy
✅ Fixing the pipes in Flint
✅ Not Hurting Immigrants
✅ Holding Wall Street Accountable

— Alexandria Asia-Cortez (@AOC) July 18, 2019 

tnb ... I'd add Support Unionization, Legalize Pot, and Back Off on Guns. Focus on things that give people more, not on things that take away.

Propaganda - Fox

Fox is always on. This front page headline (7.27.2019), about an R being charged with a felony, reads like the winger-hated-D, Ilhan Omar has been charged with the felony. I wonder how many wingers will misunderstand it?

Fox guiding Trump. An hour after a hit-job Fox segment Trump tweets about it.



Trump

Should the leader of the most powerful nation on the planet ever speak in "Hyperbole"?

Propaganda - The Liberal Media Isn't

TODAY IN NPR - NPR, liberal on social issues (to a point) but always to the right on US foreign policy or Israeli antics


538 joining the corporate media.  Medicare For All Isn’t That Popular — Even Among Democrats. I get the feeling something changed over at 538. In the last 6 months or so headlines seemed to have moved more toward the establishment D side of issues.


The Ds really are working against Sanders. MSNBC’s Anti-Sanders Bias Makes It Forget How to Do Math


On our elite,  INSUFFICIENT ADMIRATION FOR GEORGETOWN COCKTAIL PARTIES IS WHY TRUMP WON 



Trump and Israel

Christians are the issue.

Jobs and China

It's not just China killing those Jobs.

"This original analysis reveals that in the last 10 years, a staggering 597,000 people working at retail companies owned by private equity firms and hedge funds have lost their jobs. An estimated additional 728,000 indirect jobs have been lost at suppliers and local businesses, meaning Wall Street’s gamble on retail has led to more than 1.3 million job losses in total."

From the Last Few Days

The Radical Left Agenda - Still on top. Still important.

Reminder of what people are calling the “radical, extreme-left agenda”:

✅ Medicare for All
✅ A Living Wage & Labor Rights
✅ K-16 schooling, aka Public Colleges
✅ 100% Renewable Energy
✅ Fixing the pipes in Flint
✅ Not Hurting Immigrants
✅ Holding Wall Street Accountable

— Alexandria Asia-Cortez (@AOC) July 18, 2019 

tnb ... I'd add Support Unionization, Legalize Pot, and Back Off on Guns. Focus on things that give people more, not on things that take away.

Trump and the Tea Party

The day the tea party died - So much bullshit here.

• The Tea Party didn't die. They became Trump supporters.
• The Tea Party didn't care about deficits. They cared about a black president's deficits.
• I'll bet you can't find five Tea Party members who voted for HRC over Trump.
• Complete BS from "liberal" media, just trying to keep the "deficit" fear out there for when the progressives want to spend a little money on the poor folk.

More on this from Political Irony: Trump kills the Tea Party

 The Tea Party was furious when Obama raised government spending by 3% during his first term in order to fix our cratering economy. But now, Trump is on track to raise government spending by 4%. Why is Trump raising spending when the economy (thanks Obama!) is doing just fine? And after Trump’s big tax cut for corporations and rich people?

During his campaign, Trump promised to pay off the national debt in eight years. He has already raised the national debt by $2 trillion, and he isn’t even done with his first (and hopefully only) term yet.

Middle East

Israel creating "facts on the ground" in the Occupied Territories - Israel destroys Palestinian homes in biggest demolition push since 1967



Wars for Energy - Natural Gas Version

Washington hosts US-Israel-Cyprus-Greece economic conference

"US Asst. Secy of State for Economic and Business Manisha Singh on Thursday discussed US-backed regional cooperation at a meeting in Washington with Cyprus Ambassador Marios Lysiotis, Greek Charge d’Affaires Theodoros Bizakis and Deputy Head of Israel’s Mission to the United States, Benjamin Krasna. The meeting focused on “ economic tools to address shared economic and economic-related national security issues,” the US State Department said. This meeting was the second for the group dubbed 3+1 which first met on March 30 to discuss common Mediterranean energy projects and a pipeline to Europe."

Related to these from a couple weeks ago.

• June 5th - Cyprus $9 billion gas production deal includes Israel’s Delek
• July 10th - US urges Turkey to stop energy drilling off Cyprus coast

Freedom of Speech

Except on Israel..... The one thing the US Congress can agree on.

US House approves motion opposing anti-Israel boycotts.  more here: U.S. House Passes anti-BDS Resolution in Bipartisan Vote

You can boycott the setting US president's businesses but you can't boycott an oppressive regime.

House overwhelmingly passes bill opposing BDS, but the Israel boycott fight is just beginning



War

Will War Return? Have a nice day. The post sees war as cyclical but I think this from the comments makes more sense.

What do you think of the (in my opinion null) hypothesis: war exists when there is a conflict for power. Right now we are in the Pax Americana because no one can challenge the US, but it seems like the US hold on power is weakening. Similarly, the Pax Brittanica was in place prior to WWI, but as Britain was no longer clearly the strongest nation others began to resist, which ultimately turned into war.

Trump and Netanyahu are doing their best to piss-off the rest of the world.

Anti-Government

Most are just anti-government when it helps others.

David Horsey on The myth, and reality, of Western self-reliance

American Corrupitalism

Privatize the profits. Build a big pile-o-private-cash. Use some of that cash to purchase the right politicians. Purchased politicians vote to socialize the losses of private businesses. Keep the big pile-o-cash made initially. Rinse and repeat. the rich get richer.

OHIO REPUBLICANS BALKED AT A NUCLEAR BAILOUT, SO THE INDUSTRY ELECTED NEW REPUBLICANS — AND WALKED AWAY WITH $1.1 BILLION

Sunday PM

The Radical Left Agenda

Reminder of what people are calling the “radical, extreme-left agenda”:

✅ Medicare for All
✅ A Living Wage & Labor Rights
✅ K-16 schooling, aka Public Colleges
✅ 100% Renewable Energy
✅ Fixing the pipes in Flint
✅ Not Hurting Immigrants
✅ Holding Wall Street Accountable

— Alexandria Asia-Cortez (@AOC) July 18, 2019

Snark

Good Stuff from Jeffrey St. Clair

+ A Vietnam War draft-dodger being embraced by the hard right for saying “Love It or Leave It” is a spectacle that’s almost impossible to imagine happening 50 years ago. You’ve come a long way America.

tnb here... Ah yes. I remember in the 60s, my grandfather had a "Love it or leave it" American flag bumper sticker on his Ford stationwagon and my dad was playing John Prine's "Your flag decal won't get you into heaven any more" and smoking weed. We come a long way.....

+ Ilhan Omar has been a US citizen six years longer than Melania Trump, who worked illegally in the US for 5 years before obtaining her “Einstein Visa” for modeling.

This is the kind of quick headline that would shut down a lot of Fox News right-wing shit if our crappy media would just put it out there. 

+ One could argue that Trump’s lasting contribution to history is his revelation that there is no dignity to the office of the presidency, that many of the things presidents do are “degenerate” & that racism & narcissism are normal characteristics for the occupant of the office

+ Paul claims that he is not “blocking the bill” merely stalling it until the Senate agrees to vote on his amendment to “offset the costs.” Where was this kind of fortitude in the face of humanity when it came to Trump’s tax cuts?

+ What AOC & Co. are up against: the Dems are an aging party that values loyalty to leadership and seniority more than , ideas, vigor & innovation. In the House, there are 20 standing committees, only 4 are chaired by people younger than the ave retirement age in the US (62). Three are chaired by people 80 or older. Is it any wonder their policies are so immune to any kind of change?

The rise of corporate nations

Multinational corporations are increasingly encroaching on the functions of sovereign states.

Medicare for All

The 5 Biggest Lies Joe Biden Is Telling About Medicare for All




Media

The pro-Trump cable news channel used a fake identity for a pseudonymous meme-maker.

And so the interview was, in a way, a signal moment for the new pro-Trump media, which has sought to challenge traditional journalism while refusing to play by its rules, or to put any particular premium on truth.

Politics

The Blob Fought the Squad, and the Squad Won

What their establishment colleagues have yet to come to terms with is that neoliberalism has left a plurality of Americans living in a ‘shithole country.’

Working the from the shadows - THE NETWORK BEHIND STATE BILLS ‘COUNTERING’ SHARIA LAW AND TERRORISM

Friday

Politics

The Radical Left Agenda

Reminder of what people are calling the “radical, extreme-left agenda”:

✅ Medicare for All
✅ A Living Wage & Labor Rights
✅ K-16 schooling, aka Public Colleges
✅ 100% Renewable Energy
✅ Fixing the pipes in Flint
✅ Not Hurting Immigrants
✅ Holding Wall Street Accountable

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 18, 2019

Economics

COSTS OF RECESSION  - A good post here with a common sense outline for for handling recessions. Basically, we can't predict recessions so let's make the economy more resilient and then have a plan ready when a random recession hits.



Media - Google and Conservatives

Hey Google, nothing Mike Huckabee says about anything is "Headline News" (7/19/2019)

About That Swamp?

Trump taps Scalia's son as Labor secretary pick



Epstein and the Elite

Alan Dershowitz playing the "Israel" card.

Trump to Barak: Inside Epstein’s little black book - Limited detail but a good summary to this point,



Trump

Esquire: This Was a Fascist Rally Down to Its Bones

The president* is proud of the monster he has created. He glories in the destruction and the almighty rage.

I'd argue that Fox and wingnut radio created the monster. Trump just took over the leadership.

I think SteveM at No More Mister Nice is exactly right on this.

"Trump won't even have to say anything critical about about Omar at his next rally -- the minute he mentions her name, the crowd will begin to chant, "Send her back!" The only way he can prevent that is not to name her at all. We'll know he got a good talking-to if he refrains from mentioning her altogether.   

I can't see that happening. I imagine he'll say Omar's name, the chant will start, and with a mock-concerned look on his face and a barely concealed grin he'll tell the crowd, "No, no, no, we're not allowed to say that. We have to be politically correct." Everyone in attendance will know that what he really means is My handlers have fed me some P.C. bullshit about this, so I have to ask you to stop, but we all know that terror-loving bitch deserves it.

Or maybe he'll say, "There's a certain person (dramatic pause) whose name I'm not supposed to mention..." -- and soon the crowd will get the reference and start the chant, as Trump mock-protests.

I can't believe he'll give it up altogether. If he does, we'll know just how scared the Republicans are."

Mid-Week

The Capitalist Paradise

MAGA My Ass - US vs Spain



Broadband

Will Broadband Go Wireless?

US mobile speeds are super slow. Here’s what we can do about it.: How to make US mobile speeds better than Turkey’s.



Hypocrites

Rand Paul blocks Senate from approving 9/11 victim compensation fund

"But Paul objected, pointing to the country's growing debt and arguing that any new spending should be offset by cuts to other spending."

Now they're concerned about the deficit, a year after they blew it up with tax cuts for rich people. bastards......

2020

Ian Welsh: Scenarios For America’s Political Future - A pretty good summary of the possibilities.

Which Democratic Presidential Candidate Was Mentioned Most In The News Last Week?

After a crappy first debate, it looks like corporate media and the D establishment is still pushing Biden.

Trump

All Bullshit All the Time - The Wingers will never know it though, Fox just continues to fuel the fear and rage.

Media

Your so called liberal media  - CNN hosted panel of Trump’s “female supporters” to discuss his racist tweets without revealing their history of Republican activism



War

US deploys 500 troops plus Patriots at Saudi airbase facing Iraq border  Also from the article

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was recently reported to be considering shuttering the US embassy in Baghdad and evacuating American diplomats from the country. 

A little more here:  U.S. TO SEND 500 TROOPS TO SAUDI ARABIA AS IRAN TENSIONS HEAT UP

and here CNN: US preparing to send hundreds of troops to Saudi Arabia amid Iran tensions

Trump administration diverts Central America aid to U.S.-backed opposition in Venezuela

I beginning to think maybe we're not a force of good in the world?

Sunday Morning

Economics

Are people who make $200k middle-class?  Articles like this just don't work. Out here in Teabagistan, 200k a year makes you a 1%-er. On the coasts you're probably middle class.

DISASTER CAPITALISM: SOME DOUBTS

But no matter. Healthy capitalism requires a biggish state not only to provide subsidies to banks, corporate welfare, infrastructure and automatic stabilizers, but also to provide good enough public services to diminish discontent. Shrinking the state and supporting capitalism are two different things.

Government

What is Congress Doing?

"Official Washington, and particularly the U.S. Senate, seems strikingly nonplused.  Last month, the House passed ten of the twelve appropriations bills required for the government to operate.  Left behind were the relatively inconsequential Legislative Branch appropriations bill and the bitterly contentious Homeland Security appropriations legislation.  House leaders apparently see little point in forcing their Members to take difficult and divisive votes on immigration-related questions when having a House-passed bill likely will be irrelevant to the final outcome:  these issues will be negotiated with the Senate and the White House and could well trigger another government shutdown. 

     In the Senate, appropriations legislation is going nowhere.  Not one single bill has been considered even at the subcommittee level, and no committee or floor action is on the horizon.  Understanding why provides important insights into our nation’s politics."

The Turn of the Pelosi Screw

That Pelosi is more attuned to the Republican side of the Duopoly, and that she despises progressive Democrats with every fiber of her being is also becoming more painfully obvious by the day. In fact, she is beginning to sound a lot like the authoritarian Trump himself, with her strident demands to her caucus for loyalty to party over loyalty to constituents and country.

Pelosi needs to go.

Life lessons

Good Advice on Taking advice - Whose advice should you take?

What makes a good manager?



2020

A Midsummer Overview Of The Democratic Field - Silver and 538 seem to be working for the D establishment more than ever. I haven't seen a 538 post in awhile that didn't downplay Bernie.

This post puts him in the same range as Buttigieg behind Biden, Harris, and Warren while almost every poll shows him above or equal to Harris/Warren and always ahead of Buttigieg.

Silver may be downplaying Sanders since the D establishment is working so hard against him and he knows his chances aren't good but Bernie is still popular even with negative corporate media coverage and the D establishment working against him at every step.

Imagine how popular he'd be with some support.

Still, I do agree with this - THE ABSURDITY OF AN EIGHTYSOMETHING PRESIDENT - We need some young blood.

Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden Condemn Israeli Occupation, as Young American Jews Urge Democrats to Press Israel - If true, I'd expect these two to drop in the next few pols.



Trump's Tweets

Trump Slams Bitcoin in Tweet Storm: What Does It Mean? Anything? - There's no way in hell Trump wrote these. I mean,.... "Similarly, Facebook Libra’s “virtual currency” will have little standing or dependability." That is not Trump.



Coke

New Coke Didn’t Fail. It Was Murdered. - A good article showing how a stubborn minority can force change.



Police state

Scary privacy stuff (if true) - This Is Palantir’s Top-Secret User Manual for Cops



Free Press?

Leaked cables quote Britain's US envoy as saying that US president ditched agreement because it was Obama's deal.

"London's Metropolitan Police sparked widespread condemnation on Saturday after warning journalists that publishing leaked documents could be a criminal matter." 

Glenn Greenwald becomes focus of Brazil press freedom debate

Thursday

Wars - for Energy - Gas Version

These have to be related.

• June 5th - Cyprus $9 billion gas production deal includes Israel’s Delek
• July 10th - US urges Turkey to stop energy drilling off Cyprus coast

Media

Analyzing Efforts to Rein in Misinformation on Social Media - but what happens when Major News Sites are Fake News sites?


The Ds

Pelosi needs to go.

Nancy Pelosi Has Chosen Her War, and it’s With Her Own Party’s Future

Well, really, Establishment Ds need to go.

Can Democrats grow a spine before American democracy collapses in a limp, lifeless heap? | Will Bunch

"In the Trump era, unreasoning and unjustified terror has a name, and it’s the Democratic Party." 

It's not just been "in the Trump era"

The Rude Pundit nails it. No One Is Going to Save Us... (Part 1) - the short version.... Rs fight to win. The D's, well, they don't.

We are seeing the result of decades of conservative planning to get the public to the moment where they no longer believe in anyone but the right's own media, where plain facts don't matter, where images of strength are far, far more important than actual strength. And, as Ryan Grim demonstrated in a great piece, we are dealing with a Democratic leadership group that has never gotten over its post-Reagan stress disorder. Democrats never learned to fight Republicans. We thought winning elections would be enough. We thought that the factual reality of more people having access to health care would be enough. We thought that things that polled well, like abortion rights, like stricter gun laws, like action on climate change, would be enough. We thought that Trump being a damned embarrassment every time he opens his mouth would be enough. We thought that going high when they went low would be enough.

It's not. It never was.

Republican learned back when Reagan was calling the news the "liberal media" on a regular basis, when they impeached Bill Clinton because it made the evangelicals and Clinton haters happy, when they hammered every minor thing, like a flag-burning case, into a national crisis, that the fight is all there is. They relish the fight, they live for the fight, and they can't wait for the next chance to fight, even if they have to manufacture it. They don't care about rules, they don't care about pissing off their opponents, and that's why Trump will end up appointing nearly a third of all federal judges by the end of his first term. That's why Republicans will end up contorting our voting rights until only white conservative men get a say.

And while a whole lot of us on the left, many of us who call ourselves "Democrats," have fought like hell, and while Democratic leaders may want to fight on issues, they hate it when the fight becomes personal. Sure, some Democrats will call out particular Republicans on their awfulness, but the goal is to try to shame a shameless person like Mitch McConnell. When Republicans go after someone, the goal is to destroy them and create a new identity for the person. Look at what they did with the Clintons. Look at what they're doing with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Republicans do this because it works. Democrats won't. They flinch and shy away, as if it's just too unseemly.

What do I mean by that? President Obama should have had Democrats go on the warpath over McConnell's refusal to consider the Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland. McConnell should have been turned into an enemy of the nation. Instead, it was treated with the political equivalent of an eyeroll. Would it have worked? We'll never know.

MAGA My Ass

Trump Tariffs Help Sink US Steel: Investigating a Trump "Big Win"


Iran and Nukes

From Haaretz a few days ago:

No. The "biggest breach" was the US pulling out of the deal a few months ago. There is no deal now.

Sunday

US and Israel vs The World

Israel frustrated with Lebanon over border dispute: minister

Israel's energy minister voiced frustration Friday with what he claimed was Lebanon's failure to agree to U.S.-mediated talks on setting the maritime border between the two countries, suggesting that Hezbollah was applying pressure on Beirut.

Why would any country agree to US-mediated talks if Israel is on one side? We've proven over and over that we side with Israel in almost every case.

Media - Our liberal media isn't

NYT reporter hides corporate ties of Sanders critics she highlights  - A socialist, even a Democratic one, isn't going to get any breaks from our corporate media.

Politico also ignores Sanders - Harris, Warren tie for third place in new 2020 Dem poll, but Biden still leads



2020

Biden vows to bring back Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty for not having insurance - Bring back the one piece everyone hated and give the wingers something to unify around!? Hillary was tone-deaf but Biden is worse.




Medicare for All

Majority Backs ‘Medicare for All’ Replacing Private Plans, if Preferred Providers Stay

Reduced support for single-payer overcome by assurance that Americans would not lose their doctor and hospital




Law and Order

Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on Saturday and will appear in New York court on Monday to be charged with sex trafficking, according to multiple law enforcement sources. - We'll see how far this goes. My gut tells me there are far too many well-known, rich, powerful people involved for the details to become too public.


Trumps 4th of July

The complaining about this seems ridiculous. Still, Trump and most in the US like military plane fly-overs. Maybe they should make a trip to Yemen where US built planes fly over a lot.

The 4th

Music

A good cover. Here because the original Dylan version can't be found.





Media - Russia, Trump, and the Ds

Russian Twitter Propaganda Predicted 2016 US Election Polls - Maybe, but 20 years of Fox Propaganda probably outweighed a few weeks of Russian Twitterbots.

How to Properly Criticize RussiaGate - A little out there but the basic points are correct.


Police State

Outcry after reports Brazil plans to investigate Glenn Greenwald - I think everyone knew something like this was coming.


Big Business

These Three Firms Own Corporate America


Media - Propaganda

My Customers Don’t Pay Trump’s Tariffs: We negotiated lower prices from Chinese factories instead
This smells like a story planted by the right-wing to change the narrative. In a few days, I'll bet this will be the talking-point for the tariffs on all right wing sites. It could be true, but I don't trust it.

How Greg Gutfeld’s Success Exposes The Media’s Cultural Blindspots - Greg Gutfeld wouldn't be a success if he didn't have the Propaganda Channel.


Propaganda by Omission

The Border Patrol Office of Inspector General released its report on the migrant prisons

"Or it would be in a normal world. Fox isn't talking about it so for about 40% of the country is didn't happen."

I have to agree. I look at several major news sources every day and Fox is almost always on their own planet. The Fox world never hears anything that might make a far-right R look bad and rarely hears anything good about Ds, Progressives, Hollywood, the education system, unions, brown people or government in general.

....

Monday

Music





2020

Trump Is the Worst Kind of Socialist

Good FT Article on Radical West Virginia

Why we can't have Medicare for All - Because there's too much money on the other side.



War - US Arms Sales

American Missiles Found in Libyan Rebel Compound - Imagine that!?



Propaganda and Misinformation

Information Apocalypse - You really can't believe anything at first glance.

SEEING ISN’T BELIEVING: The Fact Checker’s guide to manipulated video

How Israeli spies are flooding Facebook and Twitter

Act.IL also has close ties to the Israeli American Council – a right-wing lobby group funded by Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire casino magnate who was the top donor to Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign.

We should be looking into how this foreign group influenced the last (or next) election.

The New York Times: A Propaganda Machine for Trump



Police State

Face-Reading AI Will Tell Police When Suspects Are Hiding Truth - Can we use it on cops?



Israel vs Palestine - The US role

About those illegal settlements?

Giving the Ds some cover - Demanding End to 'AIPAC-Created Status Quo,' Progressive Jewish - Group Pressures 2020 Democrats to Take Stand Against Israel's Brutal Occupation




MAGA - My Ass

Europe, Defying Trump, Implements New Currency Exchange with Iran

I'm an American who's lived in Europe for 10 years — and I don't miss these 5 aspects of American culture at all

Friday

Sounds





Health Care vs Corporate Media

MSDNC, Single Payer, and the Serenity Prayer - If corporations were really a "person", a person that required medical care, we would already have medicare for all. This is a struggle about whether this is a country "Of The People...." or  "Of the Business..."


WaPo Doesn’t Want Voters to Know Medicare for All Will Cut Their Health Costs



Healthcare 101 for the D Candidates

For the D candidates who don't seem to know how to answer the "abolish private insurance" question, the correct answer is......

"I'm not going to abolish private insurance, you're just not going to need it. We going to cover you!"  

you could add.. "Fuck the insurance companies"

Media 

Ian Welsh: The Problem With Public Expertise  - Old media's "experts" aren't aren't any better than new media's experts.


When NPR Is  More Dangerous Than Fox News - Worth the read. one good line....

"If MSNBC wants to make people with that kind of track record go-to experts, that’s its business. But would everyone please quit calling MSNBC “liberal” and “progressive”—because when it comes to foreign policy, it is emphatically not left of center."

DOES ELIZABETH WARREN HAVE A PLAN FOR TAKING ON THE "LIBERAL MEDIA"?

'The press is highly critical of Donald Trump, but the right-wing caricature of mainstream journalism as radically left-wing is preposterous. The press wants the next president to be a centrist -- culturally tolerant, maybe, but hardly a boat-rocker in any other area. The "liberal media" doesn't want someone like Elizabeth Warren to win." 

Drugs

Officer traveling with Brazilian president Bolsonaro caught with 39 kilos of cocaine - Bolsonaro was planning to be the life of the G20 party.



War - Rogue Nation

 US Defense Secretary warns Iran, is spurned by NATO allies

"New US acting defense chief Mark Esper warned Iran that no further incidents would be tolerated. He was addressing a closed-door session of NATO defense ministers on Thursday in Brussels when he explicitly cautioned Tehran against further attacks on US interests and its Middle East allies. Esper failed in his mission to draw NATO into backing US military action in the Persian Gulf. France, Germany and other European ministers appealed to Washington to return to the nuclear accord with Iran."

European nations prepare to launch delayed Iran payments channel - Germany, the UK, France, Russia, China, and Iran working to build a currency they can use to get around Trump's stupid foreign policy. MAGA my ass!