Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre shut.

Israel taxing christian church property? America's Christians sure wouldn't like that but I guess they'll never hear about it since acknowledging the bad things Israel does is forbidden in the US.

Jerusalem's Holy Sepulchre shut in protest against Israeli policy | News | Al Jazeera:

The statement, signed by Roman Catholic, Armenian and Greek Orthodox church leaders, also condemned plans by the Israeli government to begin imposing taxes on church properties.

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Liberal Media vs Fox News

Here in Eastern-Indiana Teabagistan when I call out Fox News as a propaganda outlet the response is usually that CNN and MSNBC are just as bad but on the liberal side or that Fox has to be that way because the rest of the media is liberal. While this may sound good, I just don't think it's true. It probably appears to be true if you watch Fox or listen to Trump but Fox is in a world of its own maybe not in "FAKE NEWS" but in delivering propaganda.

Don't get me wrong... MSNBC leans left on Trump and social issues. CNN may lean a little left on some social issues but both follow the US capitalist-war-party line most of the time. Both are just bad news sources overall.

But Fox is in a world of its own.

Today's front pages are a pretty good example of this. 

All shots below are from Saturday 2/24/2018 about 8am. I tried to get as much of the main panel as possible but really wanted to show what each source thought was important enough to put at the top of the page. 

I've included Al-Jazeera and the BBC in this comparison.  

Al-Jazeera leans more world and middle east focused with only three US stories, "firms cutting ties with the gun lobby", The Jerusalem embassy, "North Korea", and the "West Virginia teachers strike". 

BBC again has more world news with the main US stories being about guns (4 links) and Manafort

CNN is all over the Mueller story and Guns with just a little Trump bashing. Very little world news. I don't see any hammering-on or any dog-whistles about conservatives or conservative values.

MSNBC, again is all over the Mueller story with only two gun headlines. Definitely some anti-Trump going on. A few dog-whistles about Trump but no anti-conservative or conservative values stories/dog-whistles. (unless you consider even mentioning guns anti-conservative)

Fox. Well.....

• Their number one story with five headlines/links is devoted to convince their viewers that CNN is fake news and media bias exists. 
• The next two hammer on liberals with Obama for wasting taxpayer dollars and letting Ted Cruz hammer Democrats. 
• They let Tucker Carlson blame "the government" for the school shooting and hammer the education system and students with the Purdue headline. 
• A side-headline throws in a story about Iran spying on your cell phone.

Nothing about Manafort or even a gun story, just hammering on the media and liberals with headlines and dog-whistles designed to enrage conservatives and Trump voters.

All three US networks are crappy about keeping Americans informed, especially about world events, and MSNBC definitely shows some anti-Trump bias but Fox, again, they are on another planet. Fox seems to think it's main purpose is to convince their viewers that everyone is lying to them and any liberal thought is dangerous.

Fox is a cult.

tnb

Why Workers Are Losing to Capitalists

Why Workers Are Losing to Capitalists - Bloomberg:

the summary is....

"In other words, the two most conventional explanations for rising inequality and falling wages might both be correct. A perfect storm of robots and free trade -- and some monopoly power to boot -- could be shifting power from the proletariat to the capitalists. With all these factors at work, maybe the real puzzle is why workers aren’t doing even worse than they are"

... not a word about the decline of union membership in the US.

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The Capitalist Crisis

On crumbling capitalism.

Stumbling and Mumbling: Enlightenment & the capitalist crisis:

"We must remember that capitalism was a force for progress in the 20th century in large part because it embraced anti-capitalist elements – a welfare state, mixed economy and progressive taxation – and began to stagnate as these elements were whittled away by neoliberalism."

I agree. The current US version of capitalism is basically to let business mine the people for dollars, taking all they can without give much back. We're reaching the point where there just isn't much left to take. 


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Good Guy with a Gun

Only in the movies

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was surrounded by cowering "good guys with guns" / Boing Boing:

While a shooter rampaged through Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, the school's armed cop (who was a Broward County Sheriff's Deputy) and three of his deputy colleagues were hiding behind a police car outside the school. 

Earlier reports mentioned that the school cop, Scot Peterson, had resigned when word got out that he'd done nothing to stop the shooter; but it turns out that it wasn't just him -- literally every "good guy with a gun" at the school hid quietly while the shooter murdered 17 people and injured 15 others.

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The Con Men

who rule us....

Stonekettle Station: Caveat Emptor:

and the lies they tell

Damned Lies



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American Corupitalism

How a urine test after back surgery triggered a $17,800 bill | Minnesota Public Radio News:

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House GOP to take aim at entitlements

Citing deficits, House GOP to take aim at entitlements | TheHill:

     “But if you look at the fiscal glide path of this country, it is not a sustainable formula.”

Well, it could be sustainable. We could just raise taxes on the rich folk but it's always more fun for these bastards to cut spending on the poor folks.

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Cops and Kids

Cops and kids doing a lot of killing these day.

Killed By Police - 2018:

Florida School Shooting

Gun control might cut down on kids killing kids but even if guns were outlawed, cops will still have them.

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Broadband Competition

If corporate America had been in charge of developing our electrical system, most of rural America would still be dark.

Why Broadband Competition at Faster Speeds is Virtually Nonexistent - Motherboard:


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Tax Cuts

Tax and Spend: Trump Proposes 25-Cent Gas Tax, My Alternative Plan - Mish Talk:

The typical R tax cut swindle (well since Reagan anyway)

• Cut taxes on the wealthy by promising cuts for everyone.
• Then cut services for the poor and middle class to pay for some of it.
• Pay for the rest of it by raising a few less-visible taxes, like gas, state sales, and sin taxes which are proportionally harder on the poor and middle class.

presto..... the poor and middle class sink while the wealthy's bank accounts grow.
 

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Corupitalism

Musical Tribute to Bribes in the US, Israel, Nigeria, Everywhere - Mish Talk:

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Paving the Way for Trump

E.J. Dionne writes about the Nunes memo but misses the point.

This ..

The autocratic leader lies and then falsely charges his opponents with lying. He politicizes institutions that are supposed to be free of politics by falsely accusing his foes of politicizing them. He victimizes others by falsely claiming they are victimizing him.

The autocrat also counts on spineless politicians to cave in to his demands. And as they destroy governmental institutions at his bidding, they insist they are defending them.

.. is not specific to Trump. It has been the MO of the R's since the Clinton Years.

and this..

 “Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow.”

.. is what made Rush Limbaugh rich and allowed Fox News to replace news with focused propaganda.

We need people like Dionne and the D establishment to stop the whining about Russia and focus on what really delivered Trump, crazy authoritarian R's and Right-wing propaganda, especially that propaganda that masquerades as news.

Nunes paves Trump’s road to autocracy - The Washington Post:



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Remington

Felix Salmon on Remington

Nota bene: Gun bust:

 It ended up turning into a classic private-equity play: buy cheap, lever up, strip out all the profits you can, invest as little as possible, convert all the debt into a special dividend, and then walk away, leaving the creditors to pick up whatever’s left over.

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Misc Trump

I remember when Trump was for the common man. He sure isn't acting like that any more.

Trump's infrastructure plan: no money, no action, no surprise:

Trump’s budget is all guns, no butter.:

The Populist Realignment That Never Came | New Republic:



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Trump

Trump Loves the Market. He Just Doesn't Understand It - Bloomberg:

He's just not very smart and not interested in learning anything.

He sees the world though Fox News and thinks he knows it all.

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Fake News.

Propaganda designed to slant opinions is fake news.

In propaganda coup for Israel, NYT ascribes Gaza's misery to Palestinian infighting:

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The Debt

Ed Nails it.

NEW DISCOVERIES | Gin and Tacos:

"The deficit and debt are and have always been nothing but a stalking horse for eliminating things Republicans don't like from the budget. The budget and deficit grow every year like clockwork, even (and perhaps especially, given the cost of the 00s wars) under GOP control. If any meaningful difference between the parties exists on that point, it is that they prefer to spend money on slightly different things. One wants to spend a lot on the military and the other wants to spend a shit-lot on the military. Differences like that."

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Medicare for all

73 D don't support Medicare for all? Vote them out in the primaries.

Rob on Twitter: "73 of the 193 House Democrats aren't cosponsoring H.R. 676, (#MedicareForAll).… ":

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Misc

Don't vote R. Andrew Tobias | Money and Other Subjects: I wish I had choice most establishment D's suck too. PERSISTENT FAITH IN THE EMPTY GESTURE. Still Don't vote R.

Medicare for all would fix this. "California's insurance commissioner has launched an investigation into Aetna after learning a former medical director for the insurer admitted under oath he never looked at patients' records when deciding whether to approve or deny care".

Pence is just a dick. Peace: The One Thing the US Warmongers Do Not Want

Headlines like this will hurt Trump more than the Russian investigation. Trump: “I’m Not Sure Israel Is Looking to Make Peace” With Palestinians



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About That Swamp - Kushner

Kushner Companies Decides to Fight Tenants in State Court — ProPublica:

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