I migrated to the USA for graduate education 57 years ago. It didn’t take very long for me to discover that American democracy was a farce. It has only gotten worse since the days of the Vietnam War. Then there was a somewhat free press. That is completely gone. Most of the rest of America’s allies have become emulators of the U.S. political system. Reminds me of the post Caesar Roman political system; the facade of the Republic was retained while the actual power resided in the hands of Rome‘s military industrial complex.
Albert Einstein, 1949 ― “The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society . . . since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature, . . .Why Socialism?, Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, May, 1949 and repeatedly republished in MR..
Step #1 would be to at least be able to challenge the conventional wisdom that the USA is a functioning democracy that is a beacon of hope to everyone around the world. Just raising the question of whether the USA is a democracy or a plutocracy/oligarchy would be considered heresy. Yes, the trappings of democracy exist, such as regular elections, but the system is rigged and totally corrupt. Big money controls all the levers of power. Hence, there is no real democracy at all, especially since the Citizens United decision put the final stake in whatever slim elements of democracy still existed. Nevertheless, the MSM and all politicians just drone on about how the fight against Russia and China is a fight between "democracy and authoritarianism." It's total nonsense. All the while, the plutocrats and oligarchs are laughing all the way to the bank.
“Obstacles to third-party challengers. Republicans and Democrats share a contempt for third-party challengers, erecting obstacles via lawsuits and similar activities.”
Since the 19th Century states, encouraged by the ruling 2 parties, have erected numerous structural obstacles to third or fourth parties. Intentionally, it is almost impossible under current laws to succeed with a third party. Again and again, I see people say, “We need a third party.”. But the first job is to organize opposition to the electoral structures which block that path.
Speaking as someone who has thought for nearly 25 years that the ballot reform of ranked-choice voting is the key to freeing American politics from the Republican vs. Democratic party lock on political power, I’m ready to say it: No Ranked Choice, No Democracy. The politics of the nation is broken without the option to vote for 1) the candidate who would make the best president (in each voters opinion) 2) the candidate who is most able to prevent a victory by the worst viable candidate (in each voters opinion.)
Under the current system, realistically speaking, only the second option is available. Neither the Democrat or the Republican party leaders of our functional duopoly require anything from their nominees other than that they're able to sell themselves as less worse than the opposition party's candidate. To a popular plurality of the voters, in a sufficient number of states to provide 270 electoral votes.
I never thought it would get this bad. But look where the traditional status quo ballot has gotten us, and what it’s given us. A ranked-preference ballot in all 50 states is more important than “getting the money out of politics”-because real campaign funding reform will never happen as long as the Duopoly has a lock on power. Ranking a first and second choice is the simplest and best option, imo.
In the past 50 years, the "traditional American system" of presidential elections has elected candidates with the support of a nationwide popular majority of Americans only twice. Twice, the winning candidate didn't even achieve the support of a nationwide popular plurality of American voters. The 1992 election featured a strong third party candidate, and the newly elected President entered office with the support of only 43% of the voters. It's axiomatic that the most likely effects of "third party" or "challenger" candidates running their campaigns without official ordination by two major party establishments would be to act as spoilers by depriving a candidate who might otherwise have been victorious of votes.
A particularly strong 3rd party candidate might be able to upset historical precedent and be elected--but their base of support would likely be only around 33.4% of the voters, or even a couple of percentage points less. Effectively governing from a base of support that limited would be a real uphill climb. So I think it's best to stop fooling ourselves about the real effect of 3rd party wild card candidacies in the absence of ranked-choice voting. However, WITH ranked-choice voting, it's a whole new game. Particularly in the era of the Internet.
Ranked-choice ballots always lead to someone elected to office with the votes of a majority- what might be termed a "leaning majority", even if many of the votes allowing the candidate to prevail are second-choice votes, the total nonetheless provides a clear picture of who the majority of voters DON'T want in office. That result isn't available from single-choice voting that allows for more than two candidates on the ballot.
Thank You, DC Reade, for one of the simplest and best explanations of and justifications for Ranked-Choice Voting that i have read in a long, long time.
Having said that, permit me to ask: What do You think about the following idea...:
That, in addition to mandating Ranked-Choice Voting on all ballots for all Federal Elections, that the choice “None Of These Candidates” should also be mandated to be on every one of those ballots, as well. And included in the R-CV tallying.
That would certainly give a Very clear picture of who Voters DON’T want in office, wouldn’t it? Even clearer than an R-CV scorecard without NOTC would or could be.
And what would happen if a significant number of people who were even considering a 3rd, 4th, or 5th Party candidate ~ primarily because they Can not and Will not vote for “the lesser of two evils” and thus, “the evil of two lessers” [in, in this case, Biden and Trump] ~ what would happen if those folks could actually, really vote FOR “None Of These Candidates”?
I love that you used the reference to "It's a Wonderful Life"; for I've often thought about it in relation to the disconnect between what I think about as fundamentally, broad human values and the real society that we have.
One question that people should ponder: Just why is that film so broadly loved that 78 years after its release it is still regularly shown- often at Christmas time? For me the answer is obvious: it reflects the values and priorities that most people are probably born with (and hopefully never lose); as contrasted by much of what occurs in a society dominated by a powerful few.
It saddens me to think that this contrast, between humanitarian / egalitarian idealism and rapacious capitalism, seems to be grasped by most who see it; but only perhaps at a subliminal level.
Come to think of it, let's hope that it, too, doesn't fall to the censorship axe of those who fear even subliminal awakening.
Trying to hold both views that the US political system is irrevocably corrupt and that one Presidential candidate (e.g., Donald Trump) is a threat to democracy results in cognitive dissonance. It's unhealthy to one's sanity and needs to be stopped.
There is no solution at the ballot box - and that's without going down the rabbit hole on what actually happened in past elections. It appears to me there only two ways - peacefully with a general strike as European farmers have demonstrated; or storming the Bastille, as horrific as that would be.
Imagery. The "framers" were aware of the "problems" of empowering the "demos", Thucydides' "wars" was probably a training manual.
The US constitution established a republic with two houses, one, the senate, designed to rein in the demos.
Up to 17th amendment senators were "selected" by both houses of state assemblies. Probably some good tales of 'deadlock'.
Senate similar to house of lords was there to make sure the demos did not appropriate anything from property. Pursuit of happiness in the declaration of independence is code for the sanctity of property!
Government to protect property, aka orderly society is not too different than fascism.
In the case of corporate ownership of the "news" you really have something more than just control over what people hear. There has been a concerted effort ever since the New Deal to convince the public that government regulation of business leads to dictatorship, and "freedom" requires that government not intervene in the market (except to bail it out when it crashes). A very good book on the subject is "The Big Myth" by Oreskes and Conway. It goes in depth through the various business organizations and wealthy people behind them that spent billions of dollars and decades brainwashing the public through pamphlets, books, TV shows, Hollywood movies and think tanks like the Chicago School of Economics into "free-market thinking". It has been a highly organized and very well funded endeavor.
No, Bill. “The rich” do not have “Socialism” ~ however conceived and/or defined ~ at all.
What they have in America is autocratic, plutocratic, oligarchic CORPORATIST FASCISM [albeit with “American Characteristics,” as one wag put it].
And the seeds for that CORPORATIST FASCISM were planted over 100 years ago with the creation of the Federal Reserve System, then raised and nurtured by FDR’s so-called New Deal and getting the US into World War II, followed by what has happened over the past 79 years since the end of that War, and the Rise of the American Empire, and all that it has perpetrated and perpetuated on this Planet since.
And nobody else among America’s Non-“rich” [however They are conceived and/or defined] has “capitalism” either. What they have is what is left over after the CORPORATIST FASCISTS take their cut from the proceedings.
And whatever the “Chicago School of Economics” ~ along with the Austrian School, and anybody else espousing and championing “free market thinking” like Free Market Libertarians like Ron Paul, Lew Rockwell, Jacob Hornberger, the Mises Institute, the Foundation for Economic Education, etc ~ whatever all those folks were and are “For,” it had and has absolutely NOTHING to do with the current Political-Economic System of government and governance of the nation’s Economy under which America is held hostage.
And CORPORATIST FASCISM is not just an American phenomenon. It is well entrenched all over the Planet, including in the so-called “Free, Developed World” of Western Europe and Japan; and particularly, in the American Empire’s Arch-Rivals for global, unipolar hegemony, thus “Enemies”: Russia and China. Or “Eurasia” and “East Asia,” as Orwell once put it, eh?
What I meant was that the rich, when convenient for them, will call for government bailouts, subsidies, and other forms of aid, subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer, even as they demand that the working poor must work harder and "pull themselves up by their bootstraps."
The next time AIG fails, or some other huge bank, or corporation, that's allegedly "too big to fail," I'd like the American people to shout: "Work harder! Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps (or loafer tassels). Because you're not getting one dime from us."
i’m very familiar with the saying, Bill, and i just offered You my response to it; which i have offered to others who have similarly cited the saying.
The Point is: The ONLY reason “the rich” can do all those things is because America’s system of government and governance of the economy is set up to operate like that. And, as i pointed out, HAS been operating like that for quite some time now.
The next time some TBTF outfit is being considered for a bailout, the American Peoples need to do much more than merely shout all that. They need to PROVE that no more Dimes will be stolen.
But more important than that, they need to start thinking about what happens next with and to this Country, this Nation-State, this Empire, and, ultimately, this Experiment called The United States of America. And then decide what to do about it.
There's one word that keeps being ignored in politics today. It's not even mentioned in fact.
Accountability.
Politicians are not accountable for any of their actions or policies. They hide behind a corrupt justice system that they themselves have contrived and created. What applies to the public does not apply to them.
Is the Biden administration being held accountable for the continued support of genocide in Gaza?
Are the corporations being held accountable for ecocide?
Are the pharma Corp held accountable for the proliferation of opioids and deaths , is the FDA?
Are the militarized police held accountable for the brutal treatment and deaths of protestors?
The question of insurrection or rebellion in regards to the 14'th amendment is being debated with the excuse that it only applied to the civil war. It makes no mention of that.
The proper procedure for Trump would have been to call for a recount in the election results rather than saying it was "stolen ". Instead he allowed a riot to occur with the intention of interrupting the correct process when it was in his ability to prevent it. His "speedy trial" has been deliberately delayed for 4 years. Try that with a traffic ticket. So now we bring to question that our "democracy" is threatened when in fact the "democracy" is long gone and we have the option for another 4 years of totalitarianism dystopia with the promise of more war and further decline of Americans and the world.
Third party? Maybe we should consider a second party since the democratic and republican party are essentially the same.
1+1+1=2
It's the new math now being taught in schools.
It would have been a wonderful system had we been able to hold onto it.
The country is morally, ethically and now financially bankrupt.
The framers of the constitution did not have the internet. We now have the means of a true democracy by the people taking an active role in governance of the country by means of voting on any and all issues. Poll results could be posted on each elected officials website. It would not even require a change in the structure of the government. But as you and anyone else have found ( with the exception I'm sure of corporate America) you receive a form letter thanking you for your opinion and it's being carefully considered (ignored). I'm sure that the idea and would result in many absurd excuses why it would not work. Like term limits or a vote of no confidence. The system can be adapted and updated save for the reluctance of our so called representatives.
"Are the pharma Corp held accountable for the proliferation of opioids and deaths , is the FDA?"
The Drug companies sell opioids as legitimate and helpful drugs for debilitating medical conditions that no other class of drug can treat. Monitored by the FDA.
That Doctors overprescribe them, and irresponsible patients abuse them, is not the fault of Drug Companies or the FDA.
Are booze, cancer-sticks, and gun Companies held accountable?
That Trump "allowed a riot to occur with the intention of interrupting the correct process" is not true.
President Donald Trump released a video telling supporters overtaking the U.S. Capitol, “Go home. We love you, you’re very special.”
“I know your pain, I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order,”
Trump posted on Twitter. “We don’t want anybody hurt. It’s a very tough period of time. There’s never been a time like this, where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you, you’re very special. We’ve seen what happens, you see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know you how feel. But go home, and go home in peace.”
A pyromaniac dumps gas all around a house. Then he lights it with a match. As it starts to burn he whispers "fire, Fire ,FIRE!" then calls the fire department. When the house is completely engulfed in flames he throws a 5 gallon bucket of water on it and tells the firemen he tried to put it out. All the while rejoicing the flames. According to him, he's not only innocent but a hero because he did his best to put the fire out (with witnesses.)
Then the fireman get suspicious when they see he still has the gas can and matches in his hand. But pyro claims it was actually the match which was faulty and started the blaze. Then of course it was the gasoline which was at fault and it should have known better than to start the house afire. It wasn't his fault at all.
And anyway, he'll just pardon himself if he gets convicted.
Opioids
"Purdue Pharma was later shown to have presented a fraudulent description of the drug as less addictive than other opioids. "
The FDA approved the drug oxycontin without verification of the claim. As a side note the cheaper version of insulin( Basaglar) I was prescribed was rubber stamped by the FDA without even the minimum amount of testing completed by the pharm company.
A friend of mine died from opioid overdose. He was misdiagnosed with a punctured lung for over a year by his doctor who kept increasing the dosage. (Motorcycle accident) The doctor had a GP practice and a psychiatric practice where he specialized in addiction. I was renting from the same doctor when this happened.
So yes the doctors are just as accountable as the others. It's a convenient way to make money though with all those refills and revisits. The medical board cleared him not surprisingly. I'm also currently living with two opioid addicts and know of one other. And I asked my doctor if he had read the FDA approval about the Basaglar FDA approval and he directly lied to me by saying "I read all of them". The medical profession is now the medical industry. And I must have missed Trumps " Beautiful health care plan. Just beautiful."
As far as alcohol and tobacco those are personal choices but the government is sure making bank off the taxes especially thanks to Obama. Guns? I'm a strong supporter of #2. I was brought up with them and as far as I know they still kill less people than cars. How about making cars that only go 40mph max? Never mind.
And my big problem with trump is that everyone is realizing that Corp America is running the show and what's Trump but one of the old boys club. Guess it will remove all doubt at least. But we'll enjoy nice golf courses if we can afford the greens fees.
At 57-years-old a car driver hit me on my Harley. Big time.
I spent several months in hospital with lots of surgery.
And lots of pain. And lots of opioid pain killer.
And I did not get addicted.
As you know, the drugs classed as opiates include Morphine, Codeine, Thebaine, Heroin, Oxycodone (“hillbilly heroin”), Hydrocodone, Hydromorphine, Meperdine, Fentanyl, Cairfentanil, Fentanyl and Pentazocine. The most highly prescribed in the US being Oxycodone. Even your dentist gives you these.
Purdue Pharma testified in front of Congress in 2001 that OxyContin’s addiction rate was less than 1% if the drug was used as prescribed. I know that this was a big fat lie. But I can't find the actual rate on an internet search. 10%? 20%?
I guess the point of my rambling is: the class of opioids, including synthetic opioids like Tramadol, give say 8 out of 10 patients tremendous help without getting addicted. Should we throw the baby out with the bathwater? I dunno.
BTW, at 75-years-old I have chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). With Big Pharma wonder drugs, I am still alive with a normal life expectancy. 10-years ago this was a death sentence. Guess I'm not a Big Pharma basher!
And now retired back to my country of birth, New Zealand, I am experiencing a beautiful health care plan. Universal and Free. (We spend our taxes on healthcare, not bombs). We have a Government Agency, Pharmac, who buys all our drugs in bulk. And negotiates with Drug Companies Worldwide. All prescriptions are NZ$5.00 ( US$3.15).
And also experiencing beautiful gun control laws with a firearm-related death rate of 0.25 per 100,000 Kiwi's. Versus the Yanks 4.25 with 2A ~ that sees millions of people with guns that should not have them!
Much of the research is being done in universities funded by the taxpayers and then mfgd by pharma with huge markups. (Patents are based on delivery methods which covers the drug)
15 minute doctor office visits and now telemedicine? "And today we're going to do a prostate exam. Insert your right index finger...."
Guns
My opinion on gun violence is mainly caused by video games, TV and Hollywood. Video games in particular are pre training for the military especially today with drones. Endless lives, unlimited ammunition and rewards for killing. Same with Hollywood and TV. It desensitizes the children. No concept of what a weapon can do other than rack up points and get extra lives. A solution might be for gun handling in schools. I had a hunter safety course when I was about 12 sponsored by the NRA. Ever seen what a 30-06 does to a melon? Makes a lasting impression. I also wasn't allowed to point even a squirt gun at anyone. The mass shootings are a direct unfortunate result of the propaganda training for the military. A lot has changed in 50 years and most for the worse.
Good questions about Accountability, Toma; and interesting mathematics.
The best example of the lack of Accountability on the part of the leaders and managers of this nation’s government is what happened after 9/11.
Not one single elected politician, entrenched civilian or military bureaucrat, or anointed political appointee was held accountable for and made to pay for his or her failure to protect the Life, Liberty, and Property of American Citizens on that day from “all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
At a very bare minimum, all of those people ~ starting with Cheney and Bush the Lesser, Rumsfeld, Rice, etc, all the way down the failed military and civilian Chains of Command ~ could and should have been charged with Dereliction of Duty.
A Dereliction resulting in the deaths of close to 3,000 People, the physical maiming of over 6,000, and destroyed, damaged, or otherwise lost and insured property valued at over $27 Billion.
Instead, those very people were rewarded with more untaxed money and more unlimited political power and bureaucratic authority than at any time in this nation’s history since at least World War II, with the possible exception of what happened during this nation’s failed reaction and response to The COVID Event of 2020-2022.
But the New Question on this History at this point in The Game is: When those who benefitted the most from the first 9/11 [or Pandemic] figure that they have even more to gain ~ politically, economically, and above all, psychologically ~ from second iterations of those events, Who and/or What is going to stop them?
But the more Pressing Question for today is about what You wrote: “It would have been a wonderful system had we been able to hold onto it.”
Do You think that wonderful system can be recovered and brought back to functionality? Or should it be replaced by a new and different system of government and governance?
I see nothing wrong with the constitution other than the fact that it has not been updated for changing times and technology. The basic tenants are fundamentally sound. The degradation of the US is not a result of the constitution but of the leadership and the institution of laws which rewards and protects the elite and discriminates against the citizens. If we were to completely rewrite a constitution what would it look like? My opinion is much the same as it is now with the exception of a few changes. The electoral college could be eliminated for one, again due to changes in technology i.e. we no longer use the pony express to tally votes. It isn't the constitution that is the problem but the laws invoked which have skewed liberty and justice for all in the direction favoring the elite. That goes from the federal level down to the local level. The bigger issue is that the Patriot Act nullified the constitution. He even condemned Snowden to exile for the act of revealing the surveillance by the government on its own citizens. The wonderful system was not lost but taken away from us. Obama, a constitutional scholar did nothing to reverse the Patriot Act. Politicians now reside above the law. Voting has been called into question by electronic voting machines, mail in voting and the ability to count votes, illegal voting and voter registration. Electronic voting machines have no paper trail or hardcopy which should be mandatory. ATM machines print a receipt for each transaction but voting machines don't? Approved by who?
It just brings about another argument about preservation of democracy. Bush in 2000 was appointed by the supreme Court not the voters.
One small example of laws and regulations are corporations. The income tax was originally to be applied only to corporate profit but then was applied to all citizens. Corporations were also defined as "individuals" but are not treated as individuals and tax laws written to benefit them and punish the lower class. When chemical companies pollute they pay a small fine relative to profits and consider it a cost of doing business rather than facing criminal prosecution and being put out of business. It's the " too big to fail excuse" used with AIG who got bailed out by the government and ultimately the taxpayers. While virtually every credit card, bank account or purchase transaction is tracked AIG somehow lost all the money. Whoops.
You can also add war crimes and purgery charges to Shrub the second to the 9/11 escapade. I've always wondered about the chosen date. Would OBL have thought of that? Something to consider.
And the unfortunate pandemic. Research started in the US and then shipped to China for completion for Gain of Function research by Fauci? My question is was what was released a modified virus or a natural one? What was the Chinese research about? If it was a modified virus it should have been instantly recognizable from a natural one. I don't remember any answers to that. Another whoops. But let's worship Fauci as the hero.
Thank You, Toma. Lots to chew on there. So let me rephrase the Question:
If You were to suddenly become The Dictator of The United States of America, with Full Dictatorial Power ~ over Everything, including the MICC, the Financial Cartel, the MSM, and the Secrecy/Security/Surveillance Panopticon [or SSSP] ~ what would You do? More specifically: What would You order Done and, particularly, Un-Done?
Now its George Bailey's Life of quiet seething & unnecessary desperation... And the George Bailey's of the World are now truly tragic figures by becoming overly passive when they need to fight. George does honorable and decent things throughout his life instead of the difficult..! Like instead of firing his incompetent Uncle Billy and also have those difficult conversations even with his own brother Harry when its supposedly his turn to pursue his Dreams...! Time for no more Mr. Nice Guy! The bile will eventually release itself in the most destructive way if we don't change things -- me thinks...! Time to end compromises. See there is no reason to end all our dreams. I much prefer a Bedford Falls over a Pottersville for America's Hometown USA, and a happier more firm without a nervous breakdown too George Bailey.
I like your comments about George Bailey, Fireman. The movie has always struck me as being essentially very dark, with some redemption coming only at the end. Bailey does the right thing every single time, abandoning all his dreams with no protest, until he's trapped in a cage of his own making. His bitterness is justified. Of course, he loves his wife and kids, and his town, but there's an inherent sadness in his life that will never completely leave him---the knowledge of what might have been.
I concur Denise... My wife and I stopped watching it for these reasons very depressing, and I always tell her how he could have been so much happier. Shutting down the old Building & Loan, really he's too scared to take care of his own needs and desires! Having Billy stay on even though he was resigned to quitting even saying as much. Would you let him handle peoples Accounts in his Condition??? George might have taken an even more equally moral Path in another Line. After that great affirmative Ending George still had to go back to his crummy house, job, stuck in that one horse only Town, that shabby little office...Only if he had become the man he dreamed of becoming, he would have been so less melancholic & resentful. He could've became a much better husband, father, and member of his community.
Really well expressed,, Fireman. I tend to think you're right. The presumption in the movie is obviously that George will now have a whole new outlook on his life, and that might be so. But six months after that warm, fuzzy Christmas, would he go back to regretting what might have been? As you say, nothing about his situation changed.
The starting sentences in my previous comment was intended to lead into another article, but got carried away with more the immediate urgent issue.
' America on autopilot to self-inflicted destruction'
While the US has been busy hunting for spies under every bed, China has been investing in hardware and software developments
At a recent hearing in the US Senate, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas apparently had trouble understanding that a citizen of Singapore can look like a Chinese, talk like a Chinese and yet not be a member of the Communist Party of China. In Cotton’s questioning of Chew Shou Zi, the chief executive of TikTok, even the fact that Chew’s wife and children are American citizens seemed suspicious to him.
This was all serious stuff for Cotton and his fellow senators as they probed in the name of safeguarding America’s national security against the looming threat of China. Apparently, Cotton’s Harvard education did not tell him that Singapore is thousands of kilometers from Beijing and is a sovereign nation independent of China. Or maybe he was just grandstanding to cater to the lowbrow mindset of his constituents.
At around the same time, the South China Morning Post reported that Chinese scientists had developed a “game-changing military surveillance device for electronic warfare.” In effect, the paper said, their breakthrough will enable the People’s Liberation Army to find and pinpoint the quadrants of a military target in real time with no place to hide.
This is the latest of a series of technological advances China has made in military arms that indicate it has either caught up with or surpassed the US in weapons development. Others include hypersonic missiles, stealth fighters and drones, advanced launch system on aircraft carriers, and the capacity to build many more naval vessels than the US.
While the US has been busy hunting for spies from the “whole of China” under every bed, China has been investing in hardware and software developments to neutralize American military superiority.......
I migrated to the USA for graduate education 57 years ago. It didn’t take very long for me to discover that American democracy was a farce. It has only gotten worse since the days of the Vietnam War. Then there was a somewhat free press. That is completely gone. Most of the rest of America’s allies have become emulators of the U.S. political system. Reminds me of the post Caesar Roman political system; the facade of the Republic was retained while the actual power resided in the hands of Rome‘s military industrial complex.
Albert Einstein, 1949 ― “The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society . . . since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature, . . .Why Socialism?, Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, May, 1949 and repeatedly republished in MR..
https://monthlyreview.org/2009/05/01/why-socialism/
Step #1 would be to at least be able to challenge the conventional wisdom that the USA is a functioning democracy that is a beacon of hope to everyone around the world. Just raising the question of whether the USA is a democracy or a plutocracy/oligarchy would be considered heresy. Yes, the trappings of democracy exist, such as regular elections, but the system is rigged and totally corrupt. Big money controls all the levers of power. Hence, there is no real democracy at all, especially since the Citizens United decision put the final stake in whatever slim elements of democracy still existed. Nevertheless, the MSM and all politicians just drone on about how the fight against Russia and China is a fight between "democracy and authoritarianism." It's total nonsense. All the while, the plutocrats and oligarchs are laughing all the way to the bank.
“Obstacles to third-party challengers. Republicans and Democrats share a contempt for third-party challengers, erecting obstacles via lawsuits and similar activities.”
Since the 19th Century states, encouraged by the ruling 2 parties, have erected numerous structural obstacles to third or fourth parties. Intentionally, it is almost impossible under current laws to succeed with a third party. Again and again, I see people say, “We need a third party.”. But the first job is to organize opposition to the electoral structures which block that path.
Speaking as someone who has thought for nearly 25 years that the ballot reform of ranked-choice voting is the key to freeing American politics from the Republican vs. Democratic party lock on political power, I’m ready to say it: No Ranked Choice, No Democracy. The politics of the nation is broken without the option to vote for 1) the candidate who would make the best president (in each voters opinion) 2) the candidate who is most able to prevent a victory by the worst viable candidate (in each voters opinion.)
Under the current system, realistically speaking, only the second option is available. Neither the Democrat or the Republican party leaders of our functional duopoly require anything from their nominees other than that they're able to sell themselves as less worse than the opposition party's candidate. To a popular plurality of the voters, in a sufficient number of states to provide 270 electoral votes.
I never thought it would get this bad. But look where the traditional status quo ballot has gotten us, and what it’s given us. A ranked-preference ballot in all 50 states is more important than “getting the money out of politics”-because real campaign funding reform will never happen as long as the Duopoly has a lock on power. Ranking a first and second choice is the simplest and best option, imo.
In the past 50 years, the "traditional American system" of presidential elections has elected candidates with the support of a nationwide popular majority of Americans only twice. Twice, the winning candidate didn't even achieve the support of a nationwide popular plurality of American voters. The 1992 election featured a strong third party candidate, and the newly elected President entered office with the support of only 43% of the voters. It's axiomatic that the most likely effects of "third party" or "challenger" candidates running their campaigns without official ordination by two major party establishments would be to act as spoilers by depriving a candidate who might otherwise have been victorious of votes.
A particularly strong 3rd party candidate might be able to upset historical precedent and be elected--but their base of support would likely be only around 33.4% of the voters, or even a couple of percentage points less. Effectively governing from a base of support that limited would be a real uphill climb. So I think it's best to stop fooling ourselves about the real effect of 3rd party wild card candidacies in the absence of ranked-choice voting. However, WITH ranked-choice voting, it's a whole new game. Particularly in the era of the Internet.
Ranked-choice ballots always lead to someone elected to office with the votes of a majority- what might be termed a "leaning majority", even if many of the votes allowing the candidate to prevail are second-choice votes, the total nonetheless provides a clear picture of who the majority of voters DON'T want in office. That result isn't available from single-choice voting that allows for more than two candidates on the ballot.
Thank You, DC Reade, for one of the simplest and best explanations of and justifications for Ranked-Choice Voting that i have read in a long, long time.
Having said that, permit me to ask: What do You think about the following idea...:
That, in addition to mandating Ranked-Choice Voting on all ballots for all Federal Elections, that the choice “None Of These Candidates” should also be mandated to be on every one of those ballots, as well. And included in the R-CV tallying.
That would certainly give a Very clear picture of who Voters DON’T want in office, wouldn’t it? Even clearer than an R-CV scorecard without NOTC would or could be.
And what would happen if a significant number of people who were even considering a 3rd, 4th, or 5th Party candidate ~ primarily because they Can not and Will not vote for “the lesser of two evils” and thus, “the evil of two lessers” [in, in this case, Biden and Trump] ~ what would happen if those folks could actually, really vote FOR “None Of These Candidates”?
For details, see https://bracingviews.substack.com/p/reforming-americas-elections-the-notc-way , posted here on BV back in April, 2022. It was about Elections2022 and 24, and is still very relevant today.
I love that you used the reference to "It's a Wonderful Life"; for I've often thought about it in relation to the disconnect between what I think about as fundamentally, broad human values and the real society that we have.
One question that people should ponder: Just why is that film so broadly loved that 78 years after its release it is still regularly shown- often at Christmas time? For me the answer is obvious: it reflects the values and priorities that most people are probably born with (and hopefully never lose); as contrasted by much of what occurs in a society dominated by a powerful few.
It saddens me to think that this contrast, between humanitarian / egalitarian idealism and rapacious capitalism, seems to be grasped by most who see it; but only perhaps at a subliminal level.
Come to think of it, let's hope that it, too, doesn't fall to the censorship axe of those who fear even subliminal awakening.
Thanks, Roger.
Trying to hold both views that the US political system is irrevocably corrupt and that one Presidential candidate (e.g., Donald Trump) is a threat to democracy results in cognitive dissonance. It's unhealthy to one's sanity and needs to be stopped.
There is no solution at the ballot box - and that's without going down the rabbit hole on what actually happened in past elections. It appears to me there only two ways - peacefully with a general strike as European farmers have demonstrated; or storming the Bastille, as horrific as that would be.
Imagery. The "framers" were aware of the "problems" of empowering the "demos", Thucydides' "wars" was probably a training manual.
The US constitution established a republic with two houses, one, the senate, designed to rein in the demos.
Up to 17th amendment senators were "selected" by both houses of state assemblies. Probably some good tales of 'deadlock'.
Senate similar to house of lords was there to make sure the demos did not appropriate anything from property. Pursuit of happiness in the declaration of independence is code for the sanctity of property!
Government to protect property, aka orderly society is not too different than fascism.
In the case of corporate ownership of the "news" you really have something more than just control over what people hear. There has been a concerted effort ever since the New Deal to convince the public that government regulation of business leads to dictatorship, and "freedom" requires that government not intervene in the market (except to bail it out when it crashes). A very good book on the subject is "The Big Myth" by Oreskes and Conway. It goes in depth through the various business organizations and wealthy people behind them that spent billions of dollars and decades brainwashing the public through pamphlets, books, TV shows, Hollywood movies and think tanks like the Chicago School of Economics into "free-market thinking". It has been a highly organized and very well funded endeavor.
Yes. Socialism for the rich. Dog-eat-dog capitalism for everyone else.
No, Bill. “The rich” do not have “Socialism” ~ however conceived and/or defined ~ at all.
What they have in America is autocratic, plutocratic, oligarchic CORPORATIST FASCISM [albeit with “American Characteristics,” as one wag put it].
And the seeds for that CORPORATIST FASCISM were planted over 100 years ago with the creation of the Federal Reserve System, then raised and nurtured by FDR’s so-called New Deal and getting the US into World War II, followed by what has happened over the past 79 years since the end of that War, and the Rise of the American Empire, and all that it has perpetrated and perpetuated on this Planet since.
And nobody else among America’s Non-“rich” [however They are conceived and/or defined] has “capitalism” either. What they have is what is left over after the CORPORATIST FASCISTS take their cut from the proceedings.
And whatever the “Chicago School of Economics” ~ along with the Austrian School, and anybody else espousing and championing “free market thinking” like Free Market Libertarians like Ron Paul, Lew Rockwell, Jacob Hornberger, the Mises Institute, the Foundation for Economic Education, etc ~ whatever all those folks were and are “For,” it had and has absolutely NOTHING to do with the current Political-Economic System of government and governance of the nation’s Economy under which America is held hostage.
And CORPORATIST FASCISM is not just an American phenomenon. It is well entrenched all over the Planet, including in the so-called “Free, Developed World” of Western Europe and Japan; and particularly, in the American Empire’s Arch-Rivals for global, unipolar hegemony, thus “Enemies”: Russia and China. Or “Eurasia” and “East Asia,” as Orwell once put it, eh?
On this, the Eve of the second anniversary of Mr Putin’s SMO into Ukraine, and the launch with Oceania’s War with Eurasia in Eastern Europe, see https://bracingviews.substack.com/p/orwells-1984-holds-many-lessons-for-the-new-cold-war for details.
Jeff, I was citing a fairly common saying. Here's a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism_for_the_rich_and_capitalism_for_the_poor
What I meant was that the rich, when convenient for them, will call for government bailouts, subsidies, and other forms of aid, subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer, even as they demand that the working poor must work harder and "pull themselves up by their bootstraps."
The next time AIG fails, or some other huge bank, or corporation, that's allegedly "too big to fail," I'd like the American people to shout: "Work harder! Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps (or loafer tassels). Because you're not getting one dime from us."
i’m very familiar with the saying, Bill, and i just offered You my response to it; which i have offered to others who have similarly cited the saying.
The Point is: The ONLY reason “the rich” can do all those things is because America’s system of government and governance of the economy is set up to operate like that. And, as i pointed out, HAS been operating like that for quite some time now.
The next time some TBTF outfit is being considered for a bailout, the American Peoples need to do much more than merely shout all that. They need to PROVE that no more Dimes will be stolen.
But more important than that, they need to start thinking about what happens next with and to this Country, this Nation-State, this Empire, and, ultimately, this Experiment called The United States of America. And then decide what to do about it.
ps: Loved “the loafer tassels”… .
Hi John. re "think tanks like the Chicago School of Economics into 'free-market thinking,'" see my Comment above to Bill.
There's one word that keeps being ignored in politics today. It's not even mentioned in fact.
Accountability.
Politicians are not accountable for any of their actions or policies. They hide behind a corrupt justice system that they themselves have contrived and created. What applies to the public does not apply to them.
Is the Biden administration being held accountable for the continued support of genocide in Gaza?
Are the corporations being held accountable for ecocide?
Are the pharma Corp held accountable for the proliferation of opioids and deaths , is the FDA?
Are the militarized police held accountable for the brutal treatment and deaths of protestors?
The question of insurrection or rebellion in regards to the 14'th amendment is being debated with the excuse that it only applied to the civil war. It makes no mention of that.
The proper procedure for Trump would have been to call for a recount in the election results rather than saying it was "stolen ". Instead he allowed a riot to occur with the intention of interrupting the correct process when it was in his ability to prevent it. His "speedy trial" has been deliberately delayed for 4 years. Try that with a traffic ticket. So now we bring to question that our "democracy" is threatened when in fact the "democracy" is long gone and we have the option for another 4 years of totalitarianism dystopia with the promise of more war and further decline of Americans and the world.
Third party? Maybe we should consider a second party since the democratic and republican party are essentially the same.
1+1+1=2
It's the new math now being taught in schools.
It would have been a wonderful system had we been able to hold onto it.
The country is morally, ethically and now financially bankrupt.
Yes, too many people crave authority while refusing to be held accountable, no matter how horrible their decisions or actions.
The framers of the constitution did not have the internet. We now have the means of a true democracy by the people taking an active role in governance of the country by means of voting on any and all issues. Poll results could be posted on each elected officials website. It would not even require a change in the structure of the government. But as you and anyone else have found ( with the exception I'm sure of corporate America) you receive a form letter thanking you for your opinion and it's being carefully considered (ignored). I'm sure that the idea and would result in many absurd excuses why it would not work. Like term limits or a vote of no confidence. The system can be adapted and updated save for the reluctance of our so called representatives.
"Are the pharma Corp held accountable for the proliferation of opioids and deaths , is the FDA?"
The Drug companies sell opioids as legitimate and helpful drugs for debilitating medical conditions that no other class of drug can treat. Monitored by the FDA.
That Doctors overprescribe them, and irresponsible patients abuse them, is not the fault of Drug Companies or the FDA.
Are booze, cancer-sticks, and gun Companies held accountable?
That Trump "allowed a riot to occur with the intention of interrupting the correct process" is not true.
President Donald Trump released a video telling supporters overtaking the U.S. Capitol, “Go home. We love you, you’re very special.”
“I know your pain, I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election and everyone knows it, especially the other side. But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order,”
Trump posted on Twitter. “We don’t want anybody hurt. It’s a very tough period of time. There’s never been a time like this, where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election, but we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace. So go home. We love you, you’re very special. We’ve seen what happens, you see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know you how feel. But go home, and go home in peace.”
Google it!
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/timeline-donald-trumps-election-denial-claims-republican-politicians/story?id=89168408
A pyromaniac dumps gas all around a house. Then he lights it with a match. As it starts to burn he whispers "fire, Fire ,FIRE!" then calls the fire department. When the house is completely engulfed in flames he throws a 5 gallon bucket of water on it and tells the firemen he tried to put it out. All the while rejoicing the flames. According to him, he's not only innocent but a hero because he did his best to put the fire out (with witnesses.)
Then the fireman get suspicious when they see he still has the gas can and matches in his hand. But pyro claims it was actually the match which was faulty and started the blaze. Then of course it was the gasoline which was at fault and it should have known better than to start the house afire. It wasn't his fault at all.
And anyway, he'll just pardon himself if he gets convicted.
Opioids
"Purdue Pharma was later shown to have presented a fraudulent description of the drug as less addictive than other opioids. "
The FDA approved the drug oxycontin without verification of the claim. As a side note the cheaper version of insulin( Basaglar) I was prescribed was rubber stamped by the FDA without even the minimum amount of testing completed by the pharm company.
A friend of mine died from opioid overdose. He was misdiagnosed with a punctured lung for over a year by his doctor who kept increasing the dosage. (Motorcycle accident) The doctor had a GP practice and a psychiatric practice where he specialized in addiction. I was renting from the same doctor when this happened.
So yes the doctors are just as accountable as the others. It's a convenient way to make money though with all those refills and revisits. The medical board cleared him not surprisingly. I'm also currently living with two opioid addicts and know of one other. And I asked my doctor if he had read the FDA approval about the Basaglar FDA approval and he directly lied to me by saying "I read all of them". The medical profession is now the medical industry. And I must have missed Trumps " Beautiful health care plan. Just beautiful."
As far as alcohol and tobacco those are personal choices but the government is sure making bank off the taxes especially thanks to Obama. Guns? I'm a strong supporter of #2. I was brought up with them and as far as I know they still kill less people than cars. How about making cars that only go 40mph max? Never mind.
And my big problem with trump is that everyone is realizing that Corp America is running the show and what's Trump but one of the old boys club. Guess it will remove all doubt at least. But we'll enjoy nice golf courses if we can afford the greens fees.
Great post Toma,
At 57-years-old a car driver hit me on my Harley. Big time.
I spent several months in hospital with lots of surgery.
And lots of pain. And lots of opioid pain killer.
And I did not get addicted.
As you know, the drugs classed as opiates include Morphine, Codeine, Thebaine, Heroin, Oxycodone (“hillbilly heroin”), Hydrocodone, Hydromorphine, Meperdine, Fentanyl, Cairfentanil, Fentanyl and Pentazocine. The most highly prescribed in the US being Oxycodone. Even your dentist gives you these.
Purdue Pharma testified in front of Congress in 2001 that OxyContin’s addiction rate was less than 1% if the drug was used as prescribed. I know that this was a big fat lie. But I can't find the actual rate on an internet search. 10%? 20%?
I guess the point of my rambling is: the class of opioids, including synthetic opioids like Tramadol, give say 8 out of 10 patients tremendous help without getting addicted. Should we throw the baby out with the bathwater? I dunno.
BTW, at 75-years-old I have chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). With Big Pharma wonder drugs, I am still alive with a normal life expectancy. 10-years ago this was a death sentence. Guess I'm not a Big Pharma basher!
And now retired back to my country of birth, New Zealand, I am experiencing a beautiful health care plan. Universal and Free. (We spend our taxes on healthcare, not bombs). We have a Government Agency, Pharmac, who buys all our drugs in bulk. And negotiates with Drug Companies Worldwide. All prescriptions are NZ$5.00 ( US$3.15).
And also experiencing beautiful gun control laws with a firearm-related death rate of 0.25 per 100,000 Kiwi's. Versus the Yanks 4.25 with 2A ~ that sees millions of people with guns that should not have them!
Take care
Thanks Dennis
Just a couple of quick comments.
Pharma
Price gouging for drugs.
Much of the research is being done in universities funded by the taxpayers and then mfgd by pharma with huge markups. (Patents are based on delivery methods which covers the drug)
15 minute doctor office visits and now telemedicine? "And today we're going to do a prostate exam. Insert your right index finger...."
Guns
My opinion on gun violence is mainly caused by video games, TV and Hollywood. Video games in particular are pre training for the military especially today with drones. Endless lives, unlimited ammunition and rewards for killing. Same with Hollywood and TV. It desensitizes the children. No concept of what a weapon can do other than rack up points and get extra lives. A solution might be for gun handling in schools. I had a hunter safety course when I was about 12 sponsored by the NRA. Ever seen what a 30-06 does to a melon? Makes a lasting impression. I also wasn't allowed to point even a squirt gun at anyone. The mass shootings are a direct unfortunate result of the propaganda training for the military. A lot has changed in 50 years and most for the worse.
Naturally, 1+1+1=2, for very small values of one.
And Newton and Leibniz are still arguing over who was first with calculus.
hail, toma!
Good Kitty deserves all the credit. He dictated it , I just typed it.
Good Kitty '24
The only choice!
Good questions about Accountability, Toma; and interesting mathematics.
The best example of the lack of Accountability on the part of the leaders and managers of this nation’s government is what happened after 9/11.
Not one single elected politician, entrenched civilian or military bureaucrat, or anointed political appointee was held accountable for and made to pay for his or her failure to protect the Life, Liberty, and Property of American Citizens on that day from “all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
At a very bare minimum, all of those people ~ starting with Cheney and Bush the Lesser, Rumsfeld, Rice, etc, all the way down the failed military and civilian Chains of Command ~ could and should have been charged with Dereliction of Duty.
A Dereliction resulting in the deaths of close to 3,000 People, the physical maiming of over 6,000, and destroyed, damaged, or otherwise lost and insured property valued at over $27 Billion.
Instead, those very people were rewarded with more untaxed money and more unlimited political power and bureaucratic authority than at any time in this nation’s history since at least World War II, with the possible exception of what happened during this nation’s failed reaction and response to The COVID Event of 2020-2022.
But the New Question on this History at this point in The Game is: When those who benefitted the most from the first 9/11 [or Pandemic] figure that they have even more to gain ~ politically, economically, and above all, psychologically ~ from second iterations of those events, Who and/or What is going to stop them?
But the more Pressing Question for today is about what You wrote: “It would have been a wonderful system had we been able to hold onto it.”
Do You think that wonderful system can be recovered and brought back to functionality? Or should it be replaced by a new and different system of government and governance?
I see nothing wrong with the constitution other than the fact that it has not been updated for changing times and technology. The basic tenants are fundamentally sound. The degradation of the US is not a result of the constitution but of the leadership and the institution of laws which rewards and protects the elite and discriminates against the citizens. If we were to completely rewrite a constitution what would it look like? My opinion is much the same as it is now with the exception of a few changes. The electoral college could be eliminated for one, again due to changes in technology i.e. we no longer use the pony express to tally votes. It isn't the constitution that is the problem but the laws invoked which have skewed liberty and justice for all in the direction favoring the elite. That goes from the federal level down to the local level. The bigger issue is that the Patriot Act nullified the constitution. He even condemned Snowden to exile for the act of revealing the surveillance by the government on its own citizens. The wonderful system was not lost but taken away from us. Obama, a constitutional scholar did nothing to reverse the Patriot Act. Politicians now reside above the law. Voting has been called into question by electronic voting machines, mail in voting and the ability to count votes, illegal voting and voter registration. Electronic voting machines have no paper trail or hardcopy which should be mandatory. ATM machines print a receipt for each transaction but voting machines don't? Approved by who?
It just brings about another argument about preservation of democracy. Bush in 2000 was appointed by the supreme Court not the voters.
One small example of laws and regulations are corporations. The income tax was originally to be applied only to corporate profit but then was applied to all citizens. Corporations were also defined as "individuals" but are not treated as individuals and tax laws written to benefit them and punish the lower class. When chemical companies pollute they pay a small fine relative to profits and consider it a cost of doing business rather than facing criminal prosecution and being put out of business. It's the " too big to fail excuse" used with AIG who got bailed out by the government and ultimately the taxpayers. While virtually every credit card, bank account or purchase transaction is tracked AIG somehow lost all the money. Whoops.
You can also add war crimes and purgery charges to Shrub the second to the 9/11 escapade. I've always wondered about the chosen date. Would OBL have thought of that? Something to consider.
And the unfortunate pandemic. Research started in the US and then shipped to China for completion for Gain of Function research by Fauci? My question is was what was released a modified virus or a natural one? What was the Chinese research about? If it was a modified virus it should have been instantly recognizable from a natural one. I don't remember any answers to that. Another whoops. But let's worship Fauci as the hero.
Thank You, Toma. Lots to chew on there. So let me rephrase the Question:
If You were to suddenly become The Dictator of The United States of America, with Full Dictatorial Power ~ over Everything, including the MICC, the Financial Cartel, the MSM, and the Secrecy/Security/Surveillance Panopticon [or SSSP] ~ what would You do? More specifically: What would You order Done and, particularly, Un-Done?
Now its George Bailey's Life of quiet seething & unnecessary desperation... And the George Bailey's of the World are now truly tragic figures by becoming overly passive when they need to fight. George does honorable and decent things throughout his life instead of the difficult..! Like instead of firing his incompetent Uncle Billy and also have those difficult conversations even with his own brother Harry when its supposedly his turn to pursue his Dreams...! Time for no more Mr. Nice Guy! The bile will eventually release itself in the most destructive way if we don't change things -- me thinks...! Time to end compromises. See there is no reason to end all our dreams. I much prefer a Bedford Falls over a Pottersville for America's Hometown USA, and a happier more firm without a nervous breakdown too George Bailey.
I like your comments about George Bailey, Fireman. The movie has always struck me as being essentially very dark, with some redemption coming only at the end. Bailey does the right thing every single time, abandoning all his dreams with no protest, until he's trapped in a cage of his own making. His bitterness is justified. Of course, he loves his wife and kids, and his town, but there's an inherent sadness in his life that will never completely leave him---the knowledge of what might have been.
I concur Denise... My wife and I stopped watching it for these reasons very depressing, and I always tell her how he could have been so much happier. Shutting down the old Building & Loan, really he's too scared to take care of his own needs and desires! Having Billy stay on even though he was resigned to quitting even saying as much. Would you let him handle peoples Accounts in his Condition??? George might have taken an even more equally moral Path in another Line. After that great affirmative Ending George still had to go back to his crummy house, job, stuck in that one horse only Town, that shabby little office...Only if he had become the man he dreamed of becoming, he would have been so less melancholic & resentful. He could've became a much better husband, father, and member of his community.
Really well expressed,, Fireman. I tend to think you're right. The presumption in the movie is obviously that George will now have a whole new outlook on his life, and that might be so. But six months after that warm, fuzzy Christmas, would he go back to regretting what might have been? As you say, nothing about his situation changed.
And I am talking voting ID laws in our nation
Also, I think a lot of people will agree with me
Well, I disagree
Bill, Counterpunch re-posted this
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/02/21/bombing-muslims-for-peace/
The starting sentences in my previous comment was intended to lead into another article, but got carried away with more the immediate urgent issue.
' America on autopilot to self-inflicted destruction'
While the US has been busy hunting for spies under every bed, China has been investing in hardware and software developments
At a recent hearing in the US Senate, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas apparently had trouble understanding that a citizen of Singapore can look like a Chinese, talk like a Chinese and yet not be a member of the Communist Party of China. In Cotton’s questioning of Chew Shou Zi, the chief executive of TikTok, even the fact that Chew’s wife and children are American citizens seemed suspicious to him.
This was all serious stuff for Cotton and his fellow senators as they probed in the name of safeguarding America’s national security against the looming threat of China. Apparently, Cotton’s Harvard education did not tell him that Singapore is thousands of kilometers from Beijing and is a sovereign nation independent of China. Or maybe he was just grandstanding to cater to the lowbrow mindset of his constituents.
At around the same time, the South China Morning Post reported that Chinese scientists had developed a “game-changing military surveillance device for electronic warfare.” In effect, the paper said, their breakthrough will enable the People’s Liberation Army to find and pinpoint the quadrants of a military target in real time with no place to hide.
This is the latest of a series of technological advances China has made in military arms that indicate it has either caught up with or surpassed the US in weapons development. Others include hypersonic missiles, stealth fighters and drones, advanced launch system on aircraft carriers, and the capacity to build many more naval vessels than the US.
While the US has been busy hunting for spies from the “whole of China” under every bed, China has been investing in hardware and software developments to neutralize American military superiority.......
https://asiatimes.com/2024/02/america-on-autopilot-to-self-inflicted-destruction/