Mid-Week

Media

The NYTimes Reveals More Than It Means - Read the post.






American Corrupitalism

Capitalism's discontents



Today in Fascism

Journalist Glenn Greenwald charged in Brazil for publishing text messages exposing corruption

The Empire’s War On Oppositional Journalism Continues To Escalate



Media - Propaganda

Fox News on Sunday when Impeachment is the headline on every other news site around the world.

Dog whistles to the base.... The brown woman in scary corrupt liberal Baltimore hates the police. Lib' media hates Trump because they cant beat him. California Couple found dead. Be very afraid of that liberal hell-hole.

Medicare for All

VOX: Taiwan’s single-payer success story — and its lessons for America

Saturday AM

Politics

Good article. About the UK and with some slight tweaking would work just as well for the US-Trump.

David Graeber: The Center Blows Itself Up: Care and Spite in the ‘Brexit Election’



Government

Government of business, by business, and for business



Media

False News Spreads Faster than Real News - But I think we knew that. The real issue is removing the false belief. Like woodworking, where sanding once across the grain will leave a scratch that will take 20 strokes in the right direction to remove.

This media failure really could help Trump politically

NPR’s sanitizing of Trump’s Milwaukee rally shows how he’s broken the media

"The irony is that the media is one of Trump’s foremost targets of abuse. He calls the press the “enemy of the people,” yet the very outlets he demeans regularly bend over backward to cover him in the most favorable possible light."

“LIKE, I’LL TUNE IN WHEN THERE’S TWO WEEKS LEFT”: WHY TRUMP HAS A HUGE ADVANTAGE OVER DEMS WITH LOW-INFORMATION VOTERS

".. their pieties usually don’t include the fact that political media culture is a bubble of its own, a cocoon of college-educated and left-leaning professionals who read the same things, watch the same shows, and liked your last tweet about Lizzo."

I wish they'd stop calling them "left-leaning". They are only left leaning when it comes to social issues like race, guns or abortion. The are right-leaning when it comes to taxes, healthcare, war, social spending, etc.

“Flood the zone with shit”: How misinformation overwhelmed our democracy



The Cult

How Trump took over the Fox News, Right-wing media cult - Trump’s Art of the Steal

Reminder: If You Defend Trump, You're Not Just Defending a Criminal. You're Enabling an Idiot.



Media - WTF


There is nothing of value that these two can add to any conversation.

Fox headlines on the eve of the impeachment and a day after Giuliani's Ukrainian goons hit the news.

Media - Fail

What CNN should be reporting is who are the donors? - Trump recounts minute-by-minute details of Soleimani strike to donors at Mar-a-Lago



War, Politics and Religion

ADL lies about me so as to shut down discussion of Israel’s role in Soleimani killing

"While nobody can read Trump’s mind, the president is plainly a transactional egomaniac who himself once said of a report that Adelson was going to give Marco Rubio money that “he feels he can mold him into his perfect little puppet.” The media has a responsibility to examine the extent to which Trump has become Adelson’s tool, and Bernard Marcus’s and Paul Singer’s — the three billionaires who led Trump to trash the Iran deal. The media won’t touch the angle, and that’s a dereliction. Netanyahu was the only foreign leader consulted on the assassination, the Times tells us deep in its coverage. But imagine if this were Russia getting its wish. Or the Koch brothers buying a politician. Jeff Morley was doing fine journalism by showing how Israel had targeted Soleimani. Max Blumenthal was making a fine satirical point when he said that Trump mispelled the Israeli flag when he posted an image of the US flag post-Soleimani."

The Weekend

Libertarians

If Libertarianism Hollowed Out, Why?

Well, maybe people are beginning to see that their lives are being fucked-up, not by big government, but by big business and American capitalism and that all this "tax cutting" and "getting government out of the way" is just making it worse.

I mean,..it's hard to hate the government when private banks, colleges, insurance companies, and Hospitals are bankrupting you, dealing with multinational corporations is more difficult than the local BMV ever was, and every time you get a dime, some "capitalist" finds a way to insert himself into the transaction chain to take it from you.

Contrary to Libertarian thought, government has become the lesser of the evils that working people face on a daily basis.



War

False Flag? UN monitors say Houthis not behind Saudi Aramco attacks: Report

"The panel notes that Abqaiq and Khurais were approached respectively from a north/northwestern and north/northeastern direction, rather than from the south, as one would expect in the case of a launch from Yemeni territory," the report said, according to Reuters.

Media - Headline of the Day

US Isolationist Forces Strike the Middle East



Media - Misinformation

Who wants to be the next Andy McCabe?

"I don't know what to say. Of course the government should look into this. But how in the world is this going to work out in light of the fact that Donald Trump himself is largely responsible for spreading the Russian disinformation?

The mind boggles.

Stay tuned. This is going to get weird."

I wish D's would stop calling it "Russian disinformation".  Anyone, Americans, Russians, Italians, Israelis, anyone on the god damn planet can make the make the misinformation bites that fill up your social media feed.  My guess is that most are made right here at home by fine upstanding 'muricans.

Blaming Russia avoids the real issues.

     1. That it's social media that allows the shit to spread quickly

     2. The social media giants have no good way to deal with it.

     3. Corporate media is terrible at getting the real facts out there.

     4. Americans as a whole are not real sharp and are gullible as hell.

I do agree that it's going to "get weird".

Politics

Pretty good stuff here:  The Progressives Guide to Corporate Democrat Speak

MIKE BLOOMBERG SAYS HE’S IMMUNE TO CORPORATE INFLUENCE. HIS CAMPAIGN IS MANAGED BY LOBBYISTS.

Bloomberg is one of them. He does business with them everyday. He pals around with them. Goes to parties with them. He thinks like them. He is one of them, an oligarch.


Corporate Ds are just in a pickle. They have to look like they're fighting Trump and the Rs while still serving basically the same donors.



American Corrupitalism

The Most Popular Crook in America

"I’ve argued that, in many respects, the presidency of Donald Trump is more “normal” than some people would like to admit. That is, it’s a logical end point of where conservatism has been moving, rather than an inexplicable break from a system that was working as intended."

I would argue that it’s a logical end point of where American capitalism has been moving, rather than an inexplicable break from a system that was working as intended.

Thursday - Updated

Media - Misinformation (update)

Facebook Takes a Step Forward on Deepfakes—And Stumbles

"The good news is that Facebook is finally taking action against deepfakes. The bad news is that the platform’s new policy does not go far enough."

Sure deep fakes are a problem but plain, simple misinformation/propaganda is a huge problem too and Facebook just doesn't have a good way of handling it.

The graphic below has been posted by FB friends of mine out here in Teabaggistan many times.

It is technically true but misleading as hell without context. Sure some people will correct it with a comment but most people never get past the graphic and just assume it's true, leading to the common view around here that Obama wrecked the economy and Trump turned it around.

Facebook doesn't have any way to handle this kind of post.  I can report it but my options aren't good, is it "Fake  News"? Well, it is true so probably not. It's not hate speech. So how do I flag it so FB understands?  Would they take it down?

What is the FB policy on this? Truth presented in a way to misinform and sway opinion?

reality from the BLS

Wednesday

Tech

The 10 best new technologies coming out of CES 2020, including robots and wearable devices

with this gem...

"Ms Trump will speak at the show later today. Her attendance has been controversial because the show has previously been lambasted for under-representing female tech executives with established careers. CTA chief Gary Shapiro has defended the decision, saying her talk will focus on job creation."

What the fuck does she know about job creation?

War

Iran Isn’t Going To Let Itself Be Kicked To Death Without Fighting Back


War - Propaganda

You can't believe anything you see about the situation in the Middle East

Crucial context that ought to be in every single article about Trump and Iran

Trump





The Rude Pundit Nails it. read it all

Donald Trump is a coward. This much we must agree on before moving on. Everything he does, everything he has done, is based on his soul-draining fears. He fears that he will not be perceived as a success, a tough guy, a charmer, a winner of everything. He lashes out at anyone who foments those fears, those who tell him he's wrong, or those who want to hinder him. He is driven by his panic that everyone will find out that he is entirely a fake, entirely a fraud. He is running away from the legacy of the still-beloved Barack Obama and the laughter that accompanies any comparison between him and the last president. Just like the buildings and products and businesses, he is merely a body, a vessel that has the word "Trump" stamped on it, and, goddamnit, that name better mean something or it all crumbles.

Politics

None of the Above

I think this says more about our two-party system's inability to work for the people due to constant favoring of donors over voters than about Americans in general. The system's inability to work for the people leaves us with a why-vote attitude.

For a while that leads to this..

eventually it leads to this..

Politics 2

"Bots" are the new "Lobbyists".

Bots Are Destroying Political Discourse As We Know It

Tuesday

Cool Images

More here : Icy Beauty

Media - Fake News

Who is Fake News?

NY Times

Media - War Propaganda

You just can't trust war news from establishment media.

How To Avoid Swallowing War Propaganda

TV PUNDITS PRAISING SULEIMANI ASSASSINATION NEGLECT TO DISCLOSE TIES TO ARMS INDUSTRY



War - Cyber

The real cyber war damage is done by social media propaganda convincing the people that a rich dufus can run the most powerful country in the world.

Iran can use cyberattacks against the U.S. That’s not nearly as bad as it sounds.




Media - The Cult

Swamp fever




Economy

NY Times

 Scott Galloway: Unremarkables

There has never been a better time to be remarkable, nor a worse time to be unremarkable.

Royalty

Chelsea Clinton made $9M since 2011 from corporate board position: report - In old Europe the royalty's wealth came from holding and inheriting land. In the US they get board seats, congressional seats, media seats, lobbyist jobs, and an easy pass on things like appearing in media and writing books.

Monday 1

Media - Fuck Conservative Propaganda






War

I agree with this: DON'T ASSUME THAT WAR WITH IRAN WILL BE UNPOPULAR.  - I think it's been proven that Americans can be led to any war the propaganda masters want.

Targeted killing of Soleimani a boost for Benjamin Netanyahu - analysis



War - Cyber

Sure they did...Iranian hackers deface US government library website



About That Swamp?

Republican breaks law he voted for and gets away with it.

Former Indiana state lawmaker won't face felony charges related to violating lobbying laws

"The fact that we had a sitting senator who voted on the legislation to enact the one-year cooling off period, and then violated it himself, is not going to be prosecuted on those charges is absolutely terrible," she said. "It sends a horrible message that if you are somebody that makes laws, you can break the laws and there will be no consequences." 

Get your War On

War

Starting a war on the second day of the year. Good job dumb fuck!

The War Propaganda Machine is running at full speed this morning, from Google News. Odd that only the Fox headline is a solid news headline, The rest is just pure propaganda. Fox isn't ant better, the Fox site is filled with war propaganda too.

 

Is Trump Trying To Start A War With Iran?

Trump risks a major war in an election year– why?

No doubt Sheldon Adelson, Trump’s biggest donor at well over $100 million to Republican causes, is also pleased by the strike. Six years ago we broke the news that Adelson had called for Obama to hit Iran with a nuclear strike. Adelson said at Yeshiva University in New York:

What are we going to negotiate about? I would say ‘Listen, you see that desert out there, I want to show you something.’ …You pick up your cell phone and you call somewhere in Nebraska and you say, ‘OK let it go.’ And so there’s an atomic weapon, goes over ballistic missiles, the middle of the desert, that doesn’t hurt a soul. Maybe a couple of rattlesnakes, and scorpions, or whatever. Then you say, ‘See! The next one is in the middle of Tehran. So, we mean business. You want to be wiped out? Go ahead and take a tough position and continue with your nuclear development.

These days Adelson gets to make such arguments right into the president’s ear.

This may have something to do with Trump's War. - 'Devastating blow': Schumer says newly revealed emails show why Senate GOP needs to allow impeachment witnesses


The Terrifying Rise of the Zombie State Narrative

What we are seeing is the terrifying rise of the zombie state narrative in Western culture. It does not matter how definitively we can prove that something is a lie, the full spectrum dominance of the Establishment in media resources is such that the lie is impossible to kill off, and the state manages to implant that lie as the truth in the minds of a sufficient majority of the populace to ride roughshod over objective truth with great success. It follows in the state narrative that anybody who challenges the state’s version of truth is themselves dishonest or mad, and the state manages also to implant that notion into a sufficient majority of the populace. 

These are truly chilling times.

Well, that escalated quickly

It must also be stressed that whatever comes next will be the responsibility of a US president who claims to be anti-war, claims to understand what an incredibly stupid, vindictive thing the Iraq War was, and yet may have just provoked an even more catastrophic conflict. Everything he’s done since taking office has brought the United States closer to war with Iran, to the glee of a Washington foreign policy establishment that’s been after just such a thing for over 40 years now. It is undoubtedly true that, as the parade of “experts” on my TV this evening have been reiterating over and over, not very many people outside of Iran and a select few spots in the Middle East will mourn Soleimani’s passing. But his assassination is not, as Donald Trump will certainly claim in the next few hours, some spectacular feat of American military might. Soleimani wasn’t in hiding like Osama bin Laden or Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Killing him was comparatively easy, but it was also extremely stupid. Soleimani now stands as a martyr to US bullying, and his killing will almost certainly make the Middle East less safe.

Propaganda

Foreign Interference in our Politics - This ain't Russia or the Ukraine

"As reported in the Guardian,  an Israeli-based group uses 21 Facebook pages to post, in a coordinated effort, more than 1,000 fake news posts per week that goes out to something like 1,000,000 followers, and of course, generates a huge amount a digital advertising revenue, (which Facebook absolutely loves).  Tlaib and Omar have been specifically targeted, 1,200 and 1,400 times respectively, in the last two years. Many of these posts amplify far-right parties vilifying Muslim and leftwing politicians"

EOY 2019 - Part 3

Technology - Head Lights for Humans

From this     [found here]

To this

EOY 2019 - Part 2

Corruption

Atrois: A Society Of Corrupt Used Car Salesmen

"Not a very new observation, but a healthy society requires a degree of trust, that every interaction or exchange is not a likely con, to function well and be pleasant. Avoiding be robbed and screwed can't be a full time job, and that's before we get to the fact that our legal system does not exactly empower everyone equally in these disputes."

Propaganda

Olavo de Carvalho sounds a lot like Roger Ailes and Fox News.



Wasting Time

Worth reading if you're going to spend the next few years in corporate America.Why Simple Problems Are Often the Hardest to Solve 




Investing

20 Rules for Markets and Investing - Good things to keep in mind as you throw your money at the financial corporations of the world. I would add one......"No one, not your financial advisor, not your banker, not your boss, no one.. cares as much about you and your financial well-being as you do".



Why They Hate Us

Erik Prince visits Venezuela

ID the "unidentified European businessman with longstanding ties to the oil-rich nation." and you'll probably be able to figure out what's going on.

EOY 2019 - Part 1

Politics

The group around the "Median Party" line, including the US Democratic party, are not really left, but socially liberal Corporate-Capitalists. As you add religion, nationalism, or racism you move to the right. 

Link Here

2020

MISH: Trump Will Easily Be Defeated in 2020, Perhaps a Landslide -

I agree with a lot of this, Trump is a dick and people, including a lot of the Rs, don't really like him.
He did get lucky in 2016. The Ds are more prepared this time. For all the talk about Russia, i think the Comey move is what really pushed him over the top.

I would add that in 2016 the Rs were way ahead of the D's in the social-media misinformation war. Again the Ds are more prepared this time.

So the Ds should do better this time but I think it will be close and Trump should still be considered the favorite.

The Ds have a lot of issues....

It depends on who the D's nominate.

Bernie and Warren are at a disadvantage. The Corporate Ds hate Trump but they also hate the left. I could see a lot of them talking Bernie or Warren but pulling the handle for Trump.The Corporate media hate them too so they will get bad press. "Socialism" or "socialist" will be the bad-guy label of 2020. It will be an uphill battle for either of them

Biden and the oligarchs might beat Trump but how does that help? Fix Social Security and medicare by cutting it? Cut taxes to spur growth? More corporate pro-business policies that haven't worked for years? Spending zillions on the military instead of the people? Keep bombing brown, non-Christians around the world? Fuck that, it just pushes the revolution down the road and allows the Rs to catch their breath.

Actually, Biden is god-awful and could easily lose to Trump. The worst of Obama and HRC combined. An old, rich, out of touch, corporate D with hints of corruption. Yeah, that'll get the progressive to the polls!?

Also, never underestimate the ability of the R's to play dirty and Trump's crew is dirtier than any R group has ever been. We could see anything this cycle. Mass propaganda and misinformation, terrorist attacks, war, riots in the streets.

Fox News, Conservative Radio and Facebook trolls will have their misinformation campaigns turned up to eleven.

2020 will be a wild ride.

David Horsey on 2020 - Horsey is always good but I think 2020 will be worse than just "Trolls, Bots, and Russian Hackers.

Taxes

Mish whining about taxes that mostly affect rich people. - Tax Man Cometh With Hidden Tax Increases for 2020

• Home Ownership: Once, home buyers could deduct the interest on any amount of mortgage debt. In 1987, Congress limited this break to deductions on up to $1 million of debt used to buy up to two homes, unindexed for inflation. If this limit had been adjusted, it would have been more than $2 million by 2017’s tax overhaul.
• In 2017 Instead of adjusting the home ownership limit upward, the overhaul pared it to $750,000, again unindexed for inflation.
• State and Local Tax Writeoffs: Lawmakers capped write-offs for state and local property and income or sales taxes, or SALT, at $10,000 per return, with no inflation adjustment.
• Profit on a Sale of a Home: A popular exemption of up to $500,000 per married couple of profit on the sale of a house ($250,000 for single filers) enacted in 1997 also isn’t adjusted for inflation.
• Social Security: The income thresholds for including Social Security payments in taxable income haven’t changed since they were enacted in the ‘80s and ‘90s. The income thresholds requiring filers to report 85% of payments on their tax return have been $44,000 for married couples and $34,000 for singles since 1994. They would be about $77,000 for couples and $60,000 for singles in 2020.
• Capital Losses: Since 1978, the tax code has allowed investors to deduct only $3,000 of net long-term investment losses against ordinary income like wages. Adjusted for inflation, that deduction would be more than $12,000.
• Marriage Penalty: The $3,000 deduction applies to both single and married filers. To fix that, the threshold should arguably be $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married filers.

Yes, the people who pay these taxes would pay less if they were indexed for inflation but I only see two that affect the working man, Social Security and the marriage penalty. The rest are giveaways to the wealthy and are minor issues in the grand scheme of things.  The rich need to pay more not less. Inequality is a problem.

Saturday

MAGA My Ass

Trump's Russian Gas Sanction Strategy Blows Up Two Ways - So much winning

Making Allies Nervous -  Japan's naval dispatch to Middle East a 'product of compromise' between Iran and U.S., experts say

"Takahashi said the United States should be blamed for the rising tensions, noting that it has broken a 2015 nuclear agreement signed between Iran and major powers.

“So I understand the feelings of other countries that they didn’t want to participate in the U.S.-led coalition,” he said.

Last year, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the multinational deal aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program, re-imposing economic sanctions on the country. In the end, the coalition was formed by only seven countries.

Takahashi described the government’s decision as an “agonizing choice.”

He said Japan had to do something because so many oil tankers operated by Japanese firms pass through the Strait of Hormuz."

On the Economy

Economic Errors: Right Wing edition - Corporate media and our elite leaders realized long ago that Americans as a whole don't really understand much and generally believe what they are told so they just throw out anything to make their current point and then move on.

R's figured it out first and are better at it than the D's but both do it.  Trump has made a career of it.



2020

Is shaping up to be a year for the ages. 3 Ways the 2020 Election Could Go Very Wrong



War - Beating the Drums

US contractor killed, forces reported wounded in Iraq rocket attack

"More than a dozen similar rocket attacks have targeted bases in Iraq, where US forces have been located since May. Most have been blamed on Iranian-backed militias, although ISIS could also be a culprit." 

Trump in a corner after rockets kill US contractor, wound forces

Iran, Russia, China stage joint naval drill in Sea of Oman

I get the feeling we are the red-coats in the Middle East with Trump and Netanyahu as our mad King George.



Terrorism

This, Michael Bloomberg’s Blatant Lies About Terrorism Show That He’s a Mainstream Politician, includes something you rarely hear from US media. Why they hate us.....

In reality, Osama bin Laden had published a “Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holiest Sites” in 1996. In it, he did not decry American freedom of religion or speech. Instead, he spoke of how, due to America and Israel, “the people of Islam had suffered from aggression, iniquity and injustice.” Bin Laden went on, “Muslims’ blood became the cheapest and their wealth and assets looted by the hands of the enemies. Their blood was spilled in Palestine and Iraq. The horrifying pictures of the massacre of Qana, in Lebanon, are still fresh in our memory.”

All signs are that this was indeed what was behind Al Qaeda’s actions. According to the 9/11 Commission report, Khalid Sheik Mohammed originally wanted to pilot one of the planes himself — so that he could land it at a U.S. airport, kill all the male passengers, and “deliver a speech excoriating U.S. support for Israel, the Philippines, and repressive governments in the Arab world.”

Bush’s claims so irritated bin Laden that he specifically responded to them in 2004. “Oh American people,” he said in a taped broadcast on Al Jazeera, “I am speaking to tell you about the ideal way to avoid another Manhattan, about war and its causes and results. … Contrary to Bush’s claims that we hate freedom, let him tell us why we did not attack Sweden, for example.”

The Day After

Medicare for All

People hate shopping for health insurance

Our Current Healthcare System Is a Bad Jobs Guarantee


Impeachment

The Articles of Impeachment Should Have Been These Instead



Trump, Israel, and Evangelicals

Not all Evangelicals love US President Donald Trump - Analysis

It is the Evangelicals – not US Jews – who most strongly pushed the president to move the embassy to Jerusalem and recognize it as Israel’s capital, and it was apparently to please the Evangelical base that the Trump administration declared that it does not view settlements as illegal.

Well, that $100 million from Sheldon Adelson didn't hurt either.

Predicting the Future

You'd think Mr Market would get it right?

The decade that blew up energy predictions

How often are interest rate forecasts accurate? We explore in this week's #chart. https://t.co/QwmtH2v6ga pic.twitter.com/rXVj73Xvhd

— Fidelity Investments (@Fidelity) January 11, 2018

Sunday

Misinformation

These three go together

• Trumps Letter to Pelosi
• Trumps Letter to Pelosi - with some fact checking
• Random Observations on Trump's Completely Bugnuts Insane "Letter" on Impeachment Eve

Less on misinformation but interesting, though when you tie anything to Russia it looks like misinformation.  The Biggest Social Media Operation You’ve Never Heard Of Is Run Out of Cyprus by Russians


Facebook Is a Right-Wing Company, Part One Million - Facebook needs a button to report misinformation, fake news and hate speech ain't getting it done.



Misinformation - Masking the Sources

Pete Buttigieg’s Campaign Says This Wikipedia User Is Not Pete. So Who Is It?

Hundreds of ‘pink slime’ local news outlets are distributing algorithmic stories and conservative talking points



Propaganda

The 12 Strongest Arguments That Douma Was A False Flag - All the Syrian gas attacks have been very suspect since day of Obama's red line when the media hammered on Obama to set some kind of line that if Syria crossed would trigger US attack. Obama mentioned chemical weapons and boom, within a few months we had chemical weapons accusations. Still, they are mostly accepted as fact by US media.



Medicare for All

What if we talked about the fire department the way we talk about healthcare?

Make no mistake: Medicare for All would cut taxes for most Americans

"Supporters of Medicare for All are right. Funding universal health insurance through taxes would lead to a large tax cut for the vast majority of workers. It would abolish the huge poll tax they currently shoulder, and the data show that for most workers, it would lead to the biggest take-home pay raise in a generation."

Class War

A pretty good post on what the people are up against - The Impending Ruling Class Mental Breakdown and Riot

The Democratic Party is firmly in the hands of corporate servants who are dishonor-bound to bring down the self-styled socialist by any means necessary, to blunt the momentum of the super-majority issues he champions: Medicare for All, Green New Deal, living wage, free higher education, and a steep wealth tax.

and 

Corporate Democrats are, therefore, the first line of the oligarch’s defense

Politics

California population growth slowest since 1900 as residents leave, immigration decelerates - It's a liberal plot to spread California's liberal ideology around the country. Nevada, Colorado, and Texas are moving left whether they like it or not.

Media - Pop Culture

How ‘The Simpsons’ lost its edge - The first step of the journey that ended in Trump-land.

"The 1989-1990 television season saw “Roseanne” (1988-1997) narrowly defeat “The Cosby Show” in the ratings. With its working-class, occasionally crass protagonist and bickering family, “Roseanne” — along with “Married With Children,” which was a modest hit — not only countered pristine, cheerful family sitcoms like “The Cosby Show” but also carved out a space for “The Simpsons.”

I'm not blaming The Simpsons here but that moment when the masses decided they liked Roseanne instead of the Cosbys. 

Thursday

Medical Cost Inflation

Those who think Obamacare screwed up our health care system should note that medical cost inflation has been above overall inflation since mid-70s with screaming high levels (relative to CPI) in the Reagan, Bush1 and Bush2 years, and bursts of high levels under all others.

found here: CPI vs Reality: Medical Care Costs Soar Out of Control

Also, Government of the Corporation

Politics

Corbyn’s Defeat has Slain the Left’s Last Illusion

Like the rest of the British media, these outlets are machines, owned by globe-spanning corporations that sell us the illusions – carefully packaged and marketed to our sectoral interest – needed to make sure nothing impedes the corporate world’s ability to make enormous profits at our, and the planet’s, expense.

Take Back Our Party: Restoring the Democratic Legacy - not sure that possible.

America’s Two-Headed One Party System

Media - Propaganda

“Anyone to my left is an antisemite”: Jews as a Weapon: Coming to your election...soon!

Those who tried to trace these wild allegations quickly found out that the supposed antisemitic takeover of Labour under Corbyn was a massive media fabrication. The actual real-life incidents boiled down to some trolls on Twitter and a few racist comments by real-life rando Labour members — a tiny set in a big national party. (If you want to get deep into the lack evidence and the media campaign surrounding it, read this free book by Verso.) And as far as Corbyn’s personal antisemitism? Well, that was really about his leftwing politics on the Palestine-Israel question, which had actually gotten a lot softer after he became leader of the party. It’s that old conflation of anti-semitism with anti-zionism that I’ve been writing about this week.

This weekend I saw several "Bernie has an antisemite problem" tweets. Most were called out as the BS they are but I expect we'll see more. 

Also, there was a NYT hit piece on Cenk Uygur that was also called out and eventually retracted.

Corporate media are not in any way "for the people". 

Trump as Jim Jones? How America drank the Kool-Aid

“Trump’s behavior has become both more disturbing and yet increasingly familiar. He relies on phrases like ‘fake news,’ ‘build the wall,’ and continues to spread the divisive mentality of us-versus-them. He lies constantly, has no conscience, never admits when he is wrong, and projects all his shortcomings onto others. He has become more authoritarian, more outrageous, yet many of his followers remain blindly devoted…. His need to squash alternative information and his insistence on constant ego-stroking are all characteristics of other famous leaders – cult leaders.”

Fox and conservative news built the cult. Trump, the carnival-barker TV star, took over the leadership in the Obama years.

War

The next war in the Middle east may be about natural gas. Turkey forces Israeli Ship to leave research on Cyprus Undersea Gas

Greece has longstanding differences with Turkey over the exact demarcation of the maritime boundaries between the two countries and over overflight rights. On Nov. 27, the two countries had a spat over the signing of a Turkish-Libyan maritime boundary agreement that cuts across a part of the sea claimed by Greece. Egypt and Turkey are at odds over Ankara’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and the Gulf state of Qatar. Egypt also quietly sides with Bashar al-Assad in Syria while Turkey backs Sunni Arab fundamentalist militias.

and  

The Israeli plans also exclude any claims by Palestinians or the Lebanese. Both have sea front on the Mediterranean and therefore a presumptive claim on part of the gas field that stretches along the shore, but Israel is claiming it all for itself.

Israel, Palestine and Seminoles?

The Miseries of Settler Colonialism: Jeff Goldberg thinks Israelis are the Seminoles