I'm glad to hear you're keeping a scintilla of hope - is that more or less than a teaspoon? And I agree that people are waking up--Resolution 3 passed, meaning that open primaries and ranked choice voting goes on to the second approval it needs. I, too, think about old Hindenburg a lot. Did you ever read William Shirer's Berlin Diary? Apparently, he revised it considerably before releasing it, but it still provides a you-are-there sense of Europe on the brink of World War II. France, too, was recycling leaders from a previous generation in a desperate attempt to hold off the chaos. It's entirely possible that someone without strong connections to either party could yank us at least partway out of this mess in the coming decade. Not in 2024, though! That's going to be another dank slog, for sure.
At this stage of the game, it is even more probable that America will end up exactly like Weimar Germany.
The hyper-inflation that ultimately set the stage for Hitler is already in its formative phase here and throughout the West; and promises only to get worse. And that is controlled almost completely by the Ruling Political Class and its handmaidens at The Fed and other central banks.
And then there's the looming "tridemic" of a new COVID variant, RSV, and the Flu. And what that promises to bring in terms of collective and individual economic, social, and psychological damage, pain, and suffering. And calls that the government DO Something; like the great job it did handling the first Pandemic.
It could end up like the Weimar, but it doesn't have to. Nothing is set in stone, and history might rhyme, but it doesn't repeat. The crazies got kicked to the curb this election, and while our general intractable problems with the military industrial complex continue unabated, it didn't get worse. I guess spending the past week thinking that lunatic Laxalt was going to be my senator has put me in a more optimistic mood. I recognize the manipulation. If you think you're not going to get fed at all, that bowl of gruel becomes quite delicious.
i agree completely, Aron, that America doesn't HAVE to wind up like Weimar, or that history rhymes but not repeats, and that nothing is set in stone.
The problem is that there are all kinds of people who would have absolutely no problem at all with America becoming another Weimar if that will enable them to ultimately emplace and empower another Hitler. As long as they get to choose who that Hitler is and exactly what he will do.
As GW Bush once put it: “If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier... as long as I'm the dictator.”
A book every American who is concerned about the future of this nation should also read, reflect upon, and discuss among themselves is Cass Sunstein's 2018 work CAN IT HAPPEN HERE?: Authoritarianism in America.
*** And the election of Joe Biden in 2020 changes nothing about Sunstein's conclusion. ***
"With the election of Donald J. Trump, many people on both the left and right feared that America’s 240-year-old grand experiment in democracy was coming to an end, and that Sinclair Lewis’ satirical novel, IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, written during the dark days of the 1930s, could finally be coming true. Is the democratic freedom that the United States symbolizes really secure? Can authoritarianism happen in America?
"Acclaimed legal scholar, Harvard Professor, and New York Times bestselling author Cass R. Sunstein queried a number of the nation’s leading thinkers. In this thought-provoking collection of essays, these distinguished thinkers and theorists explore the lessons of history, how democracies crumble, how propaganda works, and the role of the media, courts, elections, and "fake news" in the modern political landscape—and what the future of the United States may hold."
There was some good news in my part of the world: Fort Collins, CO passed RCV for municipal elections; Colorado passed an initiative funding school lunches for all, and another for decriminalization of psilocybin mushrooms (& certain other plant-derived psychedelics) and authorized their therapeutic uses.
Given that I usually see little to cheer in any election, I focus my reflections on those few good outcomes... perhaps small signals of some greater potential.
Resolution 3 passed in Nevada - I heard about the decriminalization and free school lunches in Colorado. Congratulations! That is just a little cheer, isn't it? Minimum wage was raised here in Nevada, also, to a whopping 12/hour, another small win.
I'm glad to hear it. RCV won't by itself be a complete cure for all that ails American politics (and its a long way to get it passed more broadly) but it might just be a small step towards a (more) democratic society.
In Col., min. wage is currently $12.56 per hour for 2022, and will increase to $13.65 per hour in 2023 . And yes, all such victories, no matter how small, should be celebrated as rays of light amidst dark days / weeks. We must feed our souls as we can, yes?
Also, Biden keeps losing court cases related to student loan debt relief. Shocking!
So, no effort to codify and no relief for student debt. You know he really wants to make this happen -- cross my heart, hope to die -- but he can't quite manage it. Sigh. Blame the voters for not voting enough for Democrats and blame the Republicans and the courts for ruling against debt relief.
All that Biden is doing is what he has done for the 49 years he has been in Swampland: Following instructions.
That’s How and Why he has been there for 49 years and counting.
And that’s How and Why anybody who has been in Swampland for more than one term stays there: Following instructions.
And The Instructions that they all get [and are reminded of constantly] begin as follows: “Follow all subsequent Instructions; or be replaced.”
And despite being a one-termer, Trump is no exception to The Rules of The Game.
His instructions were to lose in 2020 and to then challenge even beyond the bitter end ~ ie, 60+ courtroom losses ~ that loss. Which has accomplished more for his [and Biden’s and Everybody else in DC’s] Bosses' Agenda than his getting re-elected ever possibly could have.
Which party is on the side of Aurora, a woman working two part-time jobs cleaning motel rooms while also cleaning houses on the side for affluent clients? She has no health care (can't afford it, and it doesn't come with her part-time jobs) and she makes barely $30K a year despite working 70+ hours a week while trying to raise two kids.
Which party is fighting for higher pay for her? Which is fighting for single-payer health care for her that's truly affordable? Child-care benefits? Anything at all? Which is truly on her side?
Neither party, of course, because Aurora to them doesn't exist. She doesn't count. She doesn't matter. And that's one big reason why this country is fucked.
Hi Dennis: I ran across this quote today from an article by Chris Hedges about Father Doyle. It says much about this moment in America:
"There is a meanness that has raised its ugly head in the soul of America. Bobby Kennedy, even Lyndon Johnson, spoke about the poor. Now you can’t say the word poor and get elected. Let the poor suffer. They’re not important. Let the train roll over them.”
This is the crux for me. America, we're all told, is incredibly rich and noble and good. Yet we export wars and weapons and treat the most vulnerable among us like trash.
America remains a land of opportunity -- for some. But many, many others are trapped in bad situations, and they need more than Dale Carnegie and talk about working hard and dreaming big.
I think everyone can be helped, but not everyone can be "saved." And I don't mean that in a religious sense. Some people, whether because of addictions, personal flaws, abuse, etc., persist in patterns of destructive behavior. All you can do is offer a helping hand -- realizing that not all can or will accept it.
The mentally ill are a separate category; some need a sanctuary from the world, a world they cannot handle. How we treat the mentally ill says much about our society. In America, too many are in prison, homeless on the streets, and otherwise shoved to the side and allowed to suffer.
'Scott Ritter: America’s Hubris is Stunning and a Threat to World Peace'
The Ukraine war is just one symptom of a bigger disease. The war in Ukraine began with the 2014 US-backed coup d’état in Kiev and the weaponizing by the United States and NATO of an anti-Russian regime over eight years.
“Absurd disconnect” in US foreign policy, “extraordinary provocations” toward Russia, the “scam” of nuclear weapons and US military defense doctrine, and the “stunning hubris” of American national myth-making propaganda invoking a “God-given right to control the world”. This is the scope of US problems that threaten world peace...............................................................................
Time's Up! We have to act to stop the politicians from provoking war with Russia and China. This is not a drill. We must bring them to their senses before it is too late. Dr. King was right:
There is such a thing as being TOO LATE. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: 'Too late.' We must move past indecision to action.
Cesar Chavez recalled that when he planned a direct action, he often heard, "But there are not enough of us." "Wrong," he would say: "There ARE enough of us, but nothing is going to happen without action!" Poet Annie Dillard put it this way: "There is only us; there never has been any other."......................
Like I said to the Pope in the November 2 email, "All these 37 years later, the US-Russian Military-Industrial Complex is holding our current World "hostage" like never before and escalating. THE DAY AFTER will be TOO LATE!"
Bill, this is my simple observation. Without you posting a new article, there was much more interaction on WordPress as evidenced by the last comment by a visitor jg 17 hours ago on this substack.
The comments and interactions stacked higher and faster there than on sub here. Even with the edit function, I prefer your WordPress site for the total appearance.
Like most of the others here, I admire Scott Ritter and Col. Macgregor and consider their tactical and strategic analysis of the War realistic and credible.
Thanks to Global Research I just discovered Brian this am. In the Fog of War he brings clarity in Inventory and Control vs the Propaganda War.
In his graphic descriptions, listening he confirmed my assessment the Ukrainians are only the Sacrificial Lambs in this US WAR with Russia, offered up on the US Altar to the gods of WAR.
The US has the recent experience from their WAR in Iraq VIOLATING the very SAME INTERNATIONAL LAW Russia is DEMONIZED for violating.
The US should have learned from their humiliating defeat in Afghanistan, the equipment they are now supplying Ukraine was not good enough for the safety of American Soldiers in those US WARS so how can it be good for Ukrainians except to use them as fodder in a WAR they can't win, but refuse to negotiate unless Russia accepts their unacceptable demands before talking?
'Russia's De-militarization of Ukraine Continues - US Sending Decades-Old Arms to Kiev'
Now for something completely different. I just received an email this morning from a US Senator using a normal email, sparing me from having to go through their embedded email system in their Official Office Website.
This Senator was not on the list with the 13 other Senators who replied to my October Message sent all 100 US Senators last year, and the April Message sent to all 100 before this WAR started, and using a normal email in their Offices.
No one has replied so far, forwarding to them on November 8, the ALL SOULS DAY-VETERANS DAY Message to the Pope November 2.
THE STAGE IS SET FOR US COMBAT TROOPS IN UKRAINE by Mike Whitney
*** “If anyone from the outside interferes in Ukraine, they should know this: If they create threats for us… we will retaliate immediately. We have all the tools we need to respond, and all the decisions on this (matter), have already been made.”
~ Russian President Vladimir Putin ***
November 13, 2022: Information Clearing House -- -- "Unz Review " - There’s no doubt that the retreat from Kherson was a black-eye for the Russian Army. There’s also no doubt that the general who ordered the evacuation made the right decision. True, the optics are terrible, but optics don’t win wars. Strategy, valor and firepower wins wars. Russian General Sergey Surovikin appears to grasp that fact which is why he made the unpopular decision to retreat.
Krystal Ball, one of the most insightful commenters on politics around, wrote a good essay on the election results. While not claiming Biden is another FDR, she does give his administration credit for accomplishing more than Obama or Trump. Key to her view is this, writing of the success of the Dems...
"Some of their success is no doubt attributable to backlash against the GOP for overturning Roe v. Wade and the slate of election-denying wackos Republicans put up across the country. But no theory of the midterms can really hold up without accounting for why Dems were so unusually strong in the Midwests — in states with large blue-collar populations that seemed at risk of drifting away in the Trump era.
The answer to this puzzle actually seems kind of obvious: After decades of corporatists in both major parties kicking these voters in the face, the Biden administration actually did a few decent things for the region. And it turns out, when you do decent things for people, they tend to vote for you."
Maybe so. A sip of water to someone dying of thirst is better than spitting in their face. Still, it sure would be nice to offer them a shady spot and all the water they needed to get back on their feet and thrive.
And now, even some of those sips are being taken away (student loan debt relief).
U.S. Government Quietly Declassifies Post-9/11 Interview With Bush and Cheney
In a newly declassified interview conducted in 2004, Bush shows not a glimmer of awareness of the destruction and carnage he had unleashed on the world..................................................
Thank You for another candidate for inclusion in "The Best of BV," Bill.
But Election2024 is a long way away.
America is going to have to make it thru the next two years first; starting with this Winter.
With hyper-inflation kicking in along with the looming “Tridemic,” and the Pentagon’s plans for Cold War II’s multi-theatre Hot Wars, i recommend that we see first how America does between now and next Spring before spending too much time pondering an election tentatively scheduled for November 2024.
Yes, I think this is the result Biden and the establishment Democrats wanted. Get more young people to vote for them, then have the courts overturn it. See? They can get results!
I think both parties are do-nothing parties, Dennis, when it comes to helping workers, the marginalized, and the poor.
The Democrats are more irritating because they lie about doing something. The Republicans tell you up front that it's your fault if you're poor or suffering. There's a brutal honesty there.
"Democrats are more irritating". That's how I feel about the differences and have often expressed it similarly. The R's don't hide their anti-social leanings because they think they're correct. It's all about 'bizness'. The D's must hide most of their agenda behind smiling faces, promises they'll never honor and intentionally misleading rhetoric, and culture-war distractions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GXSHRJYxTQ .
I'm glad to hear you're keeping a scintilla of hope - is that more or less than a teaspoon? And I agree that people are waking up--Resolution 3 passed, meaning that open primaries and ranked choice voting goes on to the second approval it needs. I, too, think about old Hindenburg a lot. Did you ever read William Shirer's Berlin Diary? Apparently, he revised it considerably before releasing it, but it still provides a you-are-there sense of Europe on the brink of World War II. France, too, was recycling leaders from a previous generation in a desperate attempt to hold off the chaos. It's entirely possible that someone without strong connections to either party could yank us at least partway out of this mess in the coming decade. Not in 2024, though! That's going to be another dank slog, for sure.
At this stage of the game, it is even more probable that America will end up exactly like Weimar Germany.
The hyper-inflation that ultimately set the stage for Hitler is already in its formative phase here and throughout the West; and promises only to get worse. And that is controlled almost completely by the Ruling Political Class and its handmaidens at The Fed and other central banks.
And then there's the looming "tridemic" of a new COVID variant, RSV, and the Flu. And what that promises to bring in terms of collective and individual economic, social, and psychological damage, pain, and suffering. And calls that the government DO Something; like the great job it did handling the first Pandemic.
[ https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/a-tripledemic-expected-this-winter/2022/11 ]
And then, all that our rulers will need is another Reichstag Fire ~ a second 9/11 ~ and then their fun and games can really begin.
It could end up like the Weimar, but it doesn't have to. Nothing is set in stone, and history might rhyme, but it doesn't repeat. The crazies got kicked to the curb this election, and while our general intractable problems with the military industrial complex continue unabated, it didn't get worse. I guess spending the past week thinking that lunatic Laxalt was going to be my senator has put me in a more optimistic mood. I recognize the manipulation. If you think you're not going to get fed at all, that bowl of gruel becomes quite delicious.
i agree completely, Aron, that America doesn't HAVE to wind up like Weimar, or that history rhymes but not repeats, and that nothing is set in stone.
The problem is that there are all kinds of people who would have absolutely no problem at all with America becoming another Weimar if that will enable them to ultimately emplace and empower another Hitler. As long as they get to choose who that Hitler is and exactly what he will do.
As GW Bush once put it: “If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier... as long as I'm the dictator.”
Yes - it was William H. Gass who said that if the United States ever has a dictator, he will be called "Coach". Puts a chill down my spine.
A book every American who is concerned about the future of this nation should also read, reflect upon, and discuss among themselves is Cass Sunstein's 2018 work CAN IT HAPPEN HERE?: Authoritarianism in America.
*** And the election of Joe Biden in 2020 changes nothing about Sunstein's conclusion. ***
"With the election of Donald J. Trump, many people on both the left and right feared that America’s 240-year-old grand experiment in democracy was coming to an end, and that Sinclair Lewis’ satirical novel, IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, written during the dark days of the 1930s, could finally be coming true. Is the democratic freedom that the United States symbolizes really secure? Can authoritarianism happen in America?
"Acclaimed legal scholar, Harvard Professor, and New York Times bestselling author Cass R. Sunstein queried a number of the nation’s leading thinkers. In this thought-provoking collection of essays, these distinguished thinkers and theorists explore the lessons of history, how democracies crumble, how propaganda works, and the role of the media, courts, elections, and "fake news" in the modern political landscape—and what the future of the United States may hold."
https://www.amazon.com/Can-Happen-Here-Authoritarianism-America/dp/006269619X/
Or as Sinclair Lewis wrote in 1935 : IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, "the Classic Novel That Predicted Trump": https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/books/review/classic-novel-that-predicted-trump-sinclar-lewis-it-cant-happen-here.html .
Who was it that said: "When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the Flag and carrying a Bible."
Or: "When Fascism comes to America, it will be called Anti-Fascism."
Why don't You start by finding out who actually won the election in Nevada, Dennis?
Do You get Reuters in NZ?
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democrats-await-nevada-election-result-that-could-seal-their-us-senate-majority-2022-11-12/
Or Wikipedia? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_Senate_election_in_Nevada
Where was Resolution 3 passed?
There was some good news in my part of the world: Fort Collins, CO passed RCV for municipal elections; Colorado passed an initiative funding school lunches for all, and another for decriminalization of psilocybin mushrooms (& certain other plant-derived psychedelics) and authorized their therapeutic uses.
Given that I usually see little to cheer in any election, I focus my reflections on those few good outcomes... perhaps small signals of some greater potential.
Resolution 3 passed in Nevada - I heard about the decriminalization and free school lunches in Colorado. Congratulations! That is just a little cheer, isn't it? Minimum wage was raised here in Nevada, also, to a whopping 12/hour, another small win.
I'm glad to hear it. RCV won't by itself be a complete cure for all that ails American politics (and its a long way to get it passed more broadly) but it might just be a small step towards a (more) democratic society.
In Col., min. wage is currently $12.56 per hour for 2022, and will increase to $13.65 per hour in 2023 . And yes, all such victories, no matter how small, should be celebrated as rays of light amidst dark days / weeks. We must feed our souls as we can, yes?
Surprise! Biden says there's not enough votes to support an effort to codify Roe v Wade into law:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-says-democrats-will-not-able-pass-abortion-rights-legislation-rcna57038
Also, Biden keeps losing court cases related to student loan debt relief. Shocking!
So, no effort to codify and no relief for student debt. You know he really wants to make this happen -- cross my heart, hope to die -- but he can't quite manage it. Sigh. Blame the voters for not voting enough for Democrats and blame the Republicans and the courts for ruling against debt relief.
But don't blame Joe -- he's trying! Ha Ha Ha.
All that Biden is doing is what he has done for the 49 years he has been in Swampland: Following instructions.
That’s How and Why he has been there for 49 years and counting.
And that’s How and Why anybody who has been in Swampland for more than one term stays there: Following instructions.
And The Instructions that they all get [and are reminded of constantly] begin as follows: “Follow all subsequent Instructions; or be replaced.”
And despite being a one-termer, Trump is no exception to The Rules of The Game.
His instructions were to lose in 2020 and to then challenge even beyond the bitter end ~ ie, 60+ courtroom losses ~ that loss. Which has accomplished more for his [and Biden’s and Everybody else in DC’s] Bosses' Agenda than his getting re-elected ever possibly could have.
Which party is on the side of Aurora, a woman working two part-time jobs cleaning motel rooms while also cleaning houses on the side for affluent clients? She has no health care (can't afford it, and it doesn't come with her part-time jobs) and she makes barely $30K a year despite working 70+ hours a week while trying to raise two kids.
Which party is fighting for higher pay for her? Which is fighting for single-payer health care for her that's truly affordable? Child-care benefits? Anything at all? Which is truly on her side?
Neither party, of course, because Aurora to them doesn't exist. She doesn't count. She doesn't matter. And that's one big reason why this country is fucked.
Hi Dennis: I ran across this quote today from an article by Chris Hedges about Father Doyle. It says much about this moment in America:
"There is a meanness that has raised its ugly head in the soul of America. Bobby Kennedy, even Lyndon Johnson, spoke about the poor. Now you can’t say the word poor and get elected. Let the poor suffer. They’re not important. Let the train roll over them.”
This is the crux for me. America, we're all told, is incredibly rich and noble and good. Yet we export wars and weapons and treat the most vulnerable among us like trash.
America remains a land of opportunity -- for some. But many, many others are trapped in bad situations, and they need more than Dale Carnegie and talk about working hard and dreaming big.
Article at https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-good-priest
I think everyone can be helped, but not everyone can be "saved." And I don't mean that in a religious sense. Some people, whether because of addictions, personal flaws, abuse, etc., persist in patterns of destructive behavior. All you can do is offer a helping hand -- realizing that not all can or will accept it.
The mentally ill are a separate category; some need a sanctuary from the world, a world they cannot handle. How we treat the mentally ill says much about our society. In America, too many are in prison, homeless on the streets, and otherwise shoved to the side and allowed to suffer.
Freudian slip of the century or simple projection?
https://twitter.com/sahouraxo/status/1591467512231006208?
Both. Certainly projection as he accuses others of what he knows he & his government has done.
Neither: That was and is the raw, simple, ugly Truth.
'Scott Ritter: America’s Hubris is Stunning and a Threat to World Peace'
The Ukraine war is just one symptom of a bigger disease. The war in Ukraine began with the 2014 US-backed coup d’état in Kiev and the weaponizing by the United States and NATO of an anti-Russian regime over eight years.
“Absurd disconnect” in US foreign policy, “extraordinary provocations” toward Russia, the “scam” of nuclear weapons and US military defense doctrine, and the “stunning hubris” of American national myth-making propaganda invoking a “God-given right to control the world”. This is the scope of US problems that threaten world peace...............................................................................
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57339.htm
Time to Act
By Ray McGovern
Time's Up! We have to act to stop the politicians from provoking war with Russia and China. This is not a drill. We must bring them to their senses before it is too late. Dr. King was right:
There is such a thing as being TOO LATE. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: 'Too late.' We must move past indecision to action.
Cesar Chavez recalled that when he planned a direct action, he often heard, "But there are not enough of us." "Wrong," he would say: "There ARE enough of us, but nothing is going to happen without action!" Poet Annie Dillard put it this way: "There is only us; there never has been any other."......................
https://www.opednews.com/articles/Time-to-Act-Peace_Questions_Thoreau_Wars-221114-572.html
Like I said to the Pope in the November 2 email, "All these 37 years later, the US-Russian Military-Industrial Complex is holding our current World "hostage" like never before and escalating. THE DAY AFTER will be TOO LATE!"
Bill, this is my simple observation. Without you posting a new article, there was much more interaction on WordPress as evidenced by the last comment by a visitor jg 17 hours ago on this substack.
The comments and interactions stacked higher and faster there than on sub here. Even with the edit function, I prefer your WordPress site for the total appearance.
Like most of the others here, I admire Scott Ritter and Col. Macgregor and consider their tactical and strategic analysis of the War realistic and credible.
Thanks to Global Research I just discovered Brian this am. In the Fog of War he brings clarity in Inventory and Control vs the Propaganda War.
In his graphic descriptions, listening he confirmed my assessment the Ukrainians are only the Sacrificial Lambs in this US WAR with Russia, offered up on the US Altar to the gods of WAR.
The US has the recent experience from their WAR in Iraq VIOLATING the very SAME INTERNATIONAL LAW Russia is DEMONIZED for violating.
The US should have learned from their humiliating defeat in Afghanistan, the equipment they are now supplying Ukraine was not good enough for the safety of American Soldiers in those US WARS so how can it be good for Ukrainians except to use them as fodder in a WAR they can't win, but refuse to negotiate unless Russia accepts their unacceptable demands before talking?
'Russia's De-militarization of Ukraine Continues - US Sending Decades-Old Arms to Kiev'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LTR8aTUPME&t=24s
Now for something completely different. I just received an email this morning from a US Senator using a normal email, sparing me from having to go through their embedded email system in their Official Office Website.
This Senator was not on the list with the 13 other Senators who replied to my October Message sent all 100 US Senators last year, and the April Message sent to all 100 before this WAR started, and using a normal email in their Offices.
No one has replied so far, forwarding to them on November 8, the ALL SOULS DAY-VETERANS DAY Message to the Pope November 2.
So much remains to be seen!
Feel free to use the WordPress site if you prefer it, Ray.
I will if comments can be posted there?
Yes they can. Check out the last few articles there.
I did and I will return to your WordPress Site and spent more time proofreading before submitting a comment.
Whatever happens re Congress, Trump, etc... :
THE STAGE IS SET FOR US COMBAT TROOPS IN UKRAINE by Mike Whitney
*** “If anyone from the outside interferes in Ukraine, they should know this: If they create threats for us… we will retaliate immediately. We have all the tools we need to respond, and all the decisions on this (matter), have already been made.”
~ Russian President Vladimir Putin ***
November 13, 2022: Information Clearing House -- -- "Unz Review " - There’s no doubt that the retreat from Kherson was a black-eye for the Russian Army. There’s also no doubt that the general who ordered the evacuation made the right decision. True, the optics are terrible, but optics don’t win wars. Strategy, valor and firepower wins wars. Russian General Sergey Surovikin appears to grasp that fact which is why he made the unpopular decision to retreat.
Continued at http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57336.htm
Krystal Ball, one of the most insightful commenters on politics around, wrote a good essay on the election results. While not claiming Biden is another FDR, she does give his administration credit for accomplishing more than Obama or Trump. Key to her view is this, writing of the success of the Dems...
"Some of their success is no doubt attributable to backlash against the GOP for overturning Roe v. Wade and the slate of election-denying wackos Republicans put up across the country. But no theory of the midterms can really hold up without accounting for why Dems were so unusually strong in the Midwests — in states with large blue-collar populations that seemed at risk of drifting away in the Trump era.
The answer to this puzzle actually seems kind of obvious: After decades of corporatists in both major parties kicking these voters in the face, the Biden administration actually did a few decent things for the region. And it turns out, when you do decent things for people, they tend to vote for you."
The full essay is at https://www.levernews.com/the-real-reason-for-dems-rust-belt-revival/?ref=Lever+Daily-newsletter
Maybe so. A sip of water to someone dying of thirst is better than spitting in their face. Still, it sure would be nice to offer them a shady spot and all the water they needed to get back on their feet and thrive.
And now, even some of those sips are being taken away (student loan debt relief).
U.S. Government Quietly Declassifies Post-9/11 Interview With Bush and Cheney
In a newly declassified interview conducted in 2004, Bush shows not a glimmer of awareness of the destruction and carnage he had unleashed on the world..................................................
https://theintercept.com/2022/11/10/september-11-bush-cheney-interview/
Thank You for another candidate for inclusion in "The Best of BV," Bill.
But Election2024 is a long way away.
America is going to have to make it thru the next two years first; starting with this Winter.
With hyper-inflation kicking in along with the looming “Tridemic,” and the Pentagon’s plans for Cold War II’s multi-theatre Hot Wars, i recommend that we see first how America does between now and next Spring before spending too much time pondering an election tentatively scheduled for November 2024.
Trump's new VP?
I'm not counting out Trump yet. The man has a cult following and he can be as crafty and sly as a fox.
Yes, I think this is the result Biden and the establishment Democrats wanted. Get more young people to vote for them, then have the courts overturn it. See? They can get results!
One reason why I refuse to vote for Biden or Hillary or Harris or any of these corporate and corrupted liars.
I think both parties are do-nothing parties, Dennis, when it comes to helping workers, the marginalized, and the poor.
The Democrats are more irritating because they lie about doing something. The Republicans tell you up front that it's your fault if you're poor or suffering. There's a brutal honesty there.
"Democrats are more irritating". That's how I feel about the differences and have often expressed it similarly. The R's don't hide their anti-social leanings because they think they're correct. It's all about 'bizness'. The D's must hide most of their agenda behind smiling faces, promises they'll never honor and intentionally misleading rhetoric, and culture-war distractions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GXSHRJYxTQ .
"Can you dig it?" What a great song. Haven't heard it for years. Thanks for sending.
i can dig it.