I'll give Sarandon high marks for sticking to her principles--rare these days. And she certainly seems better informed on context and world affairs than Trump ever was or will be. Of course, the DNC can't tolerate anyone with a thinking mind so she and RFK Jr are certainly non starters.
For proof of that assertion: What difference did it make when Biden took over from Trump? Or when Trump took over from Obama? Or when Obama took over from Cheney/Bush II? Or when Cheney/Bush II took over from Clinton who took over from Bush I and Reagan?
Do You care to explain that difference to this Blind Man? In Your own words without referencing a video?
And are You ever going to answer Bill's question ~ that he's asked three times now ~ about whether You support Trump and his position on Genocide in GAZA?
In other words, You support Trump's position on Gaza Genocide whatever it is, eh?
And if he doesn't make public his position on that obscenity, how will he be able to claim that he has a "mandate" to do anything about it if he is elected?
It reminds me of what got Nixon elected in 1972: His "Secret Plan to End the War in Vietnam." Which turned out to be to start a New War in Cambodia.
i didn't say You support genocide, Dennis. i said You support Trump's position ~ whatever it is ~ on the Israel-Hamas War, which has generally been accepted all over the Planet as "genocide."
And You keep saying that You don't support ALL of Trump's positions? Can You specify which positions You don't support?
Or is that another one of Your "Gotcha Questions"?
Run with Bernie...he'll bring back all those lost youth votes and make us rogressives very happy as well. He has so much more stage persona than Trumpist speach nonsense. BERNIE! but if not vote Jill Stein of the Green party. People planet peace. the war machine is strong can Jill weakin it? Maybe.
My Top 10 Candidates: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson great name, "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen-- just because!!!, He'll help regain our status around the world...Jon Stewart all around good guy I'm prejudiced here too . He loves Firefighter's... Rob Reiner not just another "Meathead" lol Bobby DeNiro another sparring good in Debates "Raging Bull" Robert Redford, JT James Taylor-- He's seen "Fire & Rain" Neil Young, doesn't like Trump useing his Songs! , Ben Affleck local Massachusetts Boy. "Oh my" George Takei "Mr. Sulu" who I met & shook hands with at a Trek Convention when I said he needed to be Captain of the USS Excelsior, then he got the part... Long time Activist. Lastly, Willie Nelson because we need a Prez "Willie"!
Well, we've had actors before and they fared pretty well- even if I couldn't stand them. But Rob Reiner? Though a social-identity liberal, he's under the spell of the neocons... warmongering against Russia, for example, and saying that Israel shouldn't negotiate with Hamas, but destroy them. (no word from him, that I know of, on his view on the genocide that is done under that pretext). This from his wikipedia entry:
"Reiner serves on the advisory board of the Committee to Investigate Russia.[17][18] He and David Frum launched the site in September 2017 with Morgan Freeman warning people that 'We are at war' and that Russia has attacked the United States.[18] Others on the committee's advisory board at the time of launch included James Clapper, Max Boot, Charles Sykes, and Norman Ornstein.[18][19] Additionally, in early November 2020, the advisory board included Evelyn Farkas, Michael Hayden, Michael Morrell, Leon Panetta, and Clint Watts."
Though your comment was largely "tongue in cheek", I'd just say, be careful what you wish for (or say out loud).
Roger: Thx for the Feedback These people are "totally" tongue in cheek. Personally, I couldn't give a care about what anyone in Hollywood thinks, and I believe they need to stick to their own fields of expertise. Politically up till now I've been a Lifelong Dem., but when it comes to the Prez. Elections I Vote the best suited in my opin., and who best represents my values & beliefs. At this crucial point in History I believe no one is truly deserving of my vote due to the will of the people is never recognized anyway, and that's why I am apolitical and apathetic about politics!
Fire: I'm very much the same. Lifelong Dem (until 2016), hold-my-nose & pull the lever kind of guy... now decidedly as you... Life is too short & precious to squander it so I'll give those who share my values & Interests my attention.
Yes, Toma Jesse "The Body" Ventura we could use a real Former Seal Member. I once was on a Call with a unruly former "Seal Team" Member, or so he claimed we kept our distance as I rem. until Police were on scene. He was just posturing as we were unimpressed! Later asking his Wife if he really was a Fmr. Seal? She said hells no! I said what then? She said he was a Navy Cook when in lol true story. He must've watched too many Steven Seagal movies...!
Jesse would be an actual viable candidate. He's been a governor ( and was a good one), an actor, and in the military. Unfortunately I doubt he'd run because of what he encountered with the political system as governor. That pretty much says it all about our political system. He wouldn't be allowed to do anything positive.
It's why I laugh over who to vote for arguments.
Oh, the power of Hollywood!
Dwayne would be an acceptable choice as well. He's actually brilliant as well as a Samoan chief. There are plenty of people out there who are capable of the job, but far too many under them to prevent anything being accomplished. That's the crux of the problem. We need to start from scratch. MOST of the problems facing society are not hard to solve. They are just made hard to solve by those in power.
Amen.., Toma ever see the Firefighter Commercial on "You Tube" "If Firefighter's ruled the World!? Check it out if you haven't. Its priceless-- how we don't Fuck around and simply solve every problem pragmatically..!
I wired and set up the electronics on the fire and rescue boat for the Hampton NH fire department and worked as a volunteer for the red x in Lynn Massachusetts in the 80s when it was burning down down. Firefighters are the only government employees that I have respect for. And it's immense. Firefighters are like commercial fisherman. They put their lives on the line every time they go out. That's the difference between them and the rest. Police on the other hand I have pure utter contempt and loathing for as did the boys in Hampton. Right next to Seabrook nuclear. Trust me, I kept them safe. Best people I ever worked with and the feeling was mutual.
Good stuff Toma I concur. Regarding "Cops" as well and I was an MP in the AF "SkyCop", bu t I never saw such thievery, petty jealousy, corruption, and utter lack of compassion in any other Field. I'm glad I never became a Civi. City Cop! To show I'm not such a hard hearted guy though there are a few good ones, but never turn your back mostly. Firefighters on the other hand are my true Brothers, and the best brotherhood there is in this world. From the Womb to the Tomb we say..!
"Alternatively, why not Dolly Parton? Or someone like her? Sadly, Dolly’s husband is suffering from Alzheimer’s ..."
I'm going with Dolly. Her husband is a bonus. We should always have someone with Alzheimer's disease on the premises of the White House. Cognitive dysfunction is so AMERICAN! Look at the way voters regularly put the worst people in power.
Did you know that Dolly wrote the Whitney Houston hit "I Will Always Love You"? Great song! Can't think of a better reason than that to have her take over the reins from Sleepy Joe and run the world.
U.S. PLAN TO “EXPAND THE WAR BEYOND UKRAINE”: NATO Buildup in Finland Puts Hostile Anti-Russia Army on Putin’s Doorstep by Mike Whitney / Global Research 10 Jul 24
The Biden administration has settled on a plan to expand the war beyond Ukraine by deploying combat troops and lethal weaponry to 15 military bases in Finland. Whether the deployment will include nuclear-armed ballistic missiles is not yet known, but the threat to Russia’s security is serious all the same. One can imagine what Washington would do if Moscow chose to build 15 fully equipped and operational military bases on the US-Mexico border. The US would swiftly eradicate the threat through force-of-arms. No one doubts this. The question is whether Putin will pursue the same course of action as the US or dillydally until the threat becomes too menacing to ignore. This is from an article at The Defense Post:
“The Finnish Parliament on Monday unanimously approved a defense pact with the United States, which will allow enhanced US military presence and storage of defense material in Finland…. Aimed to strengthen Finland’s security and defense capabilities, the agreement comes after the Nordic country joined NATO in April 2023….
“Finland’s relations with neighboring Russia, with whom it shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border, have become increasingly tense after Finland joined the alliance last year.
“The deal gives the United States access to 15 military bases in Finland and enables the presence and training of US forces, and prepositioning of defense material in Finnish territory. It also strengthens cooperation between the two countries in crisis situations. Russia says it will respond to Finland giving U.S. access to bases. ~ The Defense Post
Washington’s so-called “enhanced US military presence” in Finland does not serve any national interest or provide any material benefit for the American people. It is a clear provocation designed to intimidate Russia and expand the war beyond Ukraine. Not surprisingly, it replicates the same conditions that triggered the conflict in February 2022, that is, it installs NATO’s military infrastructure in locations that pose an existential threat to Russia’s survival. Russia cannot be expected to live with hostile military bases and missiles on its doorstep any more than an ordinary man can live with a gun pointed to his head. Putin must respond in order to defend his country’s national security. On Wednesday, a spokesman for Russia’s foreign ministry issued the following statement:
“I can only confirm that Russia will not leave unanswered the NATO military build-up on our border, which threatens the security of the Russian Federation,” Deputy Spokesman Andrei Nastasin said.
“We will also take the necessary measures, including of a military-technical nature, to counter aggressive decisions by Finland, as well as its NATO allies,” he added.
Clearly, the Biden administration has no interest in Finland other than using it as a forward-operating base in the West’s war on Russia. In effect, Finland’s leaders have put their country in a position where it could face the same catastrophic destruction as their neighbor Ukraine, if Moscow feels sufficiently threatened by the proposed military build-up. Here’s Putin:
“There were no problems, but now there will be, because we will now create the Leningrad military district there and definitely concentrate military units there,” Putin added in the interview …
“They (the West) took Finland and dragged it into NATO! Why, did we have any disputes with Finland? All disputes, including those of a territorial nature in the middle of the 20th Century, have all been resolved long ago,” Putin said in an interview published on Sunday.
Stupid me not keeping up with the news about Finland. The last thing I read about Finland was a world survey about "happiness" and the Fins ranked #1 in the world. That's going to change soon.
I also thought when the USSR collapsed that Russia became an oligarchy? The same as the US. They did after all allow McDonald's in to poison the people just like here in the good ol' Us Of A. So where is the commie threat to us?
Note: The Answer to the question “Who is running the government” is the same for Biden as it was for Trump as it was for Obama as it was for Cheney/Bush II as it was... all the way back to Wilson... :
BIDEN IS NOT RUNNING THE GOVERNMENT. SO, WHO IS? by Connor O'Keeffe /Mises Institute 10 Jul 24
After a disastrous debate performance two weeks ago and a weak damage-control interview last Friday, it’s finally become clear to almost everyone that President Joe Biden is not running the federal government.
Every four years, we’re supposed to pretend that a single individual, who we collectively choose at the ballot box, takes charge of the federal government and acts as we would to address the problems we face at home and abroad.
Biden’s inability to get through a debate and a sit-down interview without issues shatters the illusion that he is the one running things in Washington and across America’s globe-spanning sphere of influence.
So, if Biden is not actually running the government, who is?
There are, of course, the people around Biden. Some of his family members—like his wife, Jill Biden, and son, Hunter Biden—have been especially close by these last weeks as the president weathers the debate fallout. There’s also Biden’s closest advisors and political confidants like Mike Donilon, Ron Klain, Anita Dunn, and Ted Kaufman, who have been at the president’s side since he decided to run in 2020. Finally, there’s the White House staff who does much, if not all, of the day-to-day work.
But this group makes up only a small part of the broader power structure in Washington. To understand where federal power truly lies, we have to zoom out.
THE POLITICAL CLASS IN AMERICA IS MADE UP OF COUNTLESS ORGANIZATIONS, DEPARTMENTS, AND FACTIONS. HOWEVER, FOUR UNIQUE GROUPS CAN BE DEFINED.
FIRST ARE THE POLITICIANS and all those who are appointed by politicians. Think of presidents, senators, and representatives, but also cabinet members, ambassadors, and federal judges. These are many of the most-visible members of the political class. They’re who people picture when they think of American politics.
SECOND, THERE ARE ALL THE UNELECTED BUREAUCRATS who make up the permanent, administrative components of the federal government. Most of them can be found in the dozens of executive agencies located in and around Washington, DC. Where the first group is made up of a couple thousand people, the second group accounts for close to three million. It’s the bulk of the federal government.
THE THIRD GROUP IS WHAT WE CAN CALL THE OFFICIAL OR “COURT” INTELLECTUALS. These are the “experts” in academia and at think tanks, as well as the “journalists” at the most prominent media organizations, who excuse and justify the actions and ambitions of the rest of the political class.
As Murray Rothbard explained in the third chapter of Anatomy of the State, political authorities have always relied on intellectuals to affirm the state’s legitimacy in the minds of the broader population. Intellectuals, who are often frustrated with how little people are willing to pay for their intellectual services, are easily lured into serving the state’s interest in exchange for official recognition, access, and tax dollars.
THE FOURTH AND FINAL GROUP ARE THE PLUTOCRATS. They are the people and firms who owe their profits and wealth to the actions of the federal government and who lobby and pay to use government power to line their pockets. Think of the heads of the big banks or the weapons companies that supply Washington’s war machine.
These four groups form the coalition that makes up the political class. The “establishment” simply refers to the established, or current, political class. And, together, this coalition works to empower and enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else.
Court intellectuals use their establishment-sanctioned “expertise” to argue that society’s problems must be solved with government interventions. Politicians offer to enact these interventions in exchange for votes and donations. Plutocrats work to warp the interventions to their own benefit and then lobby and pay politicians to legislate even more lucrative interventions. After they are enacted, the easily predicted bad consequences of the interventions are used by court intellectuals and politicians to justify even more interventions.
Meanwhile, the bureaucratic group gains jobs, money, and power that it works with court intellectuals to protect and expand. The ever-growing interventions build up more government power that is then offered up to interested plutocratic buyers. All the while, politicians put on their sham fights with each other over minor policy differences along with their electoral and legislative rituals to obscure the scam and to keep us all believing that we live in a representative democratic republic.
That is the cycle churning in Washington, DC. The fact that the president is cognitively impaired is essentially irrelevant.
That is unless it begins to wake the American public up to the fact that the government does not work for us like we were all taught it does in elementary school. But until then, the churn continues.
Excellent political satire. I will suggest getting hold of Jeremy Bentham the father of “UTILITARIANISM.” He is available and waiting to be imported. He would be perfect for the job. He is well preserved, he will not open his mouth incoherently and represents a practical approach to America’s most urgent problems. With the help of AI he could even make speeches on utilitarianism’s value for treating the ills of our society.
Anyone who wants the job should be immediately disqualified.
I'll give Sarandon high marks for sticking to her principles--rare these days. And she certainly seems better informed on context and world affairs than Trump ever was or will be. Of course, the DNC can't tolerate anyone with a thinking mind so she and RFK Jr are certainly non starters.
Bill, I’ve said it before and I will say it again: you’re at your best when you unleash your sarcasm.
And in these times of high lunacy, the unreal is the most realistic. All your ideas are good. All your dreams are ideal.
Does it matter who is President?
The short answer is "No."
And the long answer is also "No."
For proof of that assertion: What difference did it make when Biden took over from Trump? Or when Trump took over from Obama? Or when Obama took over from Cheney/Bush II? Or when Cheney/Bush II took over from Clinton who took over from Bush I and Reagan?
Any?
Things kept getting worse . And worse and worse,. right according to plan.
And You still haven't explained to this Blind Man how things are any different since Biden took over from Trump.
Do You care to explain that difference to this Blind Man? In Your own words without referencing a video?
And are You ever going to answer Bill's question ~ that he's asked three times now ~ about whether You support Trump and his position on Genocide in GAZA?
And on what basis do You claim that stopping the War in Ukraine will be less difficult than stopping the Zionists' War on Gaza?
WHO ELSE?
NONE OF THESE CANDIDATES, that's Who Else.
In other words, You support Trump's position on Gaza Genocide whatever it is, eh?
And if he doesn't make public his position on that obscenity, how will he be able to claim that he has a "mandate" to do anything about it if he is elected?
It reminds me of what got Nixon elected in 1972: His "Secret Plan to End the War in Vietnam." Which turned out to be to start a New War in Cambodia.
i didn't say You support genocide, Dennis. i said You support Trump's position ~ whatever it is ~ on the Israel-Hamas War, which has generally been accepted all over the Planet as "genocide."
And You keep saying that You don't support ALL of Trump's positions? Can You specify which positions You don't support?
Or is that another one of Your "Gotcha Questions"?
I'm guessing if Biden drops out the Dems will run Zelensky.
Beating Trump is the weakest excuse to push Biden, tool of the blob on the U.S.
What say you, readers?
Run with Bernie...he'll bring back all those lost youth votes and make us rogressives very happy as well. He has so much more stage persona than Trumpist speach nonsense. BERNIE! but if not vote Jill Stein of the Green party. People planet peace. the war machine is strong can Jill weakin it? Maybe.
I'd put a buck on that wager with those odds. I'd like to see Bernie at the DNC win taking the reigns if Biden excepts reality and bows out.
BTW I caught Matthew Hoh on Daniel Davies' Deep Dive. Well worth a listen. Davies is a new source to me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_vQ6XtLn9U
My Top 10 Candidates: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson great name, "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen-- just because!!!, He'll help regain our status around the world...Jon Stewart all around good guy I'm prejudiced here too . He loves Firefighter's... Rob Reiner not just another "Meathead" lol Bobby DeNiro another sparring good in Debates "Raging Bull" Robert Redford, JT James Taylor-- He's seen "Fire & Rain" Neil Young, doesn't like Trump useing his Songs! , Ben Affleck local Massachusetts Boy. "Oh my" George Takei "Mr. Sulu" who I met & shook hands with at a Trek Convention when I said he needed to be Captain of the USS Excelsior, then he got the part... Long time Activist. Lastly, Willie Nelson because we need a Prez "Willie"!
Well, we've had actors before and they fared pretty well- even if I couldn't stand them. But Rob Reiner? Though a social-identity liberal, he's under the spell of the neocons... warmongering against Russia, for example, and saying that Israel shouldn't negotiate with Hamas, but destroy them. (no word from him, that I know of, on his view on the genocide that is done under that pretext). This from his wikipedia entry:
"Reiner serves on the advisory board of the Committee to Investigate Russia.[17][18] He and David Frum launched the site in September 2017 with Morgan Freeman warning people that 'We are at war' and that Russia has attacked the United States.[18] Others on the committee's advisory board at the time of launch included James Clapper, Max Boot, Charles Sykes, and Norman Ornstein.[18][19] Additionally, in early November 2020, the advisory board included Evelyn Farkas, Michael Hayden, Michael Morrell, Leon Panetta, and Clint Watts."
Though your comment was largely "tongue in cheek", I'd just say, be careful what you wish for (or say out loud).
Roger: Thx for the Feedback These people are "totally" tongue in cheek. Personally, I couldn't give a care about what anyone in Hollywood thinks, and I believe they need to stick to their own fields of expertise. Politically up till now I've been a Lifelong Dem., but when it comes to the Prez. Elections I Vote the best suited in my opin., and who best represents my values & beliefs. At this crucial point in History I believe no one is truly deserving of my vote due to the will of the people is never recognized anyway, and that's why I am apolitical and apathetic about politics!
Fire: I'm very much the same. Lifelong Dem (until 2016), hold-my-nose & pull the lever kind of guy... now decidedly as you... Life is too short & precious to squander it so I'll give those who share my values & Interests my attention.
I'd add Jesse Ventura to the list as 1st choice with Dwayne Johnson as VP. Maybe other way around.
Yes, Toma Jesse "The Body" Ventura we could use a real Former Seal Member. I once was on a Call with a unruly former "Seal Team" Member, or so he claimed we kept our distance as I rem. until Police were on scene. He was just posturing as we were unimpressed! Later asking his Wife if he really was a Fmr. Seal? She said hells no! I said what then? She said he was a Navy Cook when in lol true story. He must've watched too many Steven Seagal movies...!
Jesse would be an actual viable candidate. He's been a governor ( and was a good one), an actor, and in the military. Unfortunately I doubt he'd run because of what he encountered with the political system as governor. That pretty much says it all about our political system. He wouldn't be allowed to do anything positive.
It's why I laugh over who to vote for arguments.
Oh, the power of Hollywood!
Dwayne would be an acceptable choice as well. He's actually brilliant as well as a Samoan chief. There are plenty of people out there who are capable of the job, but far too many under them to prevent anything being accomplished. That's the crux of the problem. We need to start from scratch. MOST of the problems facing society are not hard to solve. They are just made hard to solve by those in power.
Amen.., Toma ever see the Firefighter Commercial on "You Tube" "If Firefighter's ruled the World!? Check it out if you haven't. Its priceless-- how we don't Fuck around and simply solve every problem pragmatically..!
I wired and set up the electronics on the fire and rescue boat for the Hampton NH fire department and worked as a volunteer for the red x in Lynn Massachusetts in the 80s when it was burning down down. Firefighters are the only government employees that I have respect for. And it's immense. Firefighters are like commercial fisherman. They put their lives on the line every time they go out. That's the difference between them and the rest. Police on the other hand I have pure utter contempt and loathing for as did the boys in Hampton. Right next to Seabrook nuclear. Trust me, I kept them safe. Best people I ever worked with and the feeling was mutual.
Good stuff Toma I concur. Regarding "Cops" as well and I was an MP in the AF "SkyCop", bu t I never saw such thievery, petty jealousy, corruption, and utter lack of compassion in any other Field. I'm glad I never became a Civi. City Cop! To show I'm not such a hard hearted guy though there are a few good ones, but never turn your back mostly. Firefighters on the other hand are my true Brothers, and the best brotherhood there is in this world. From the Womb to the Tomb we say..!
Your choice of Bibi in N.G. He is ALREADY running this country.
Why not Agent Smith? "Never send a human to do a machine's job."
Sadly, Hugo Weaving is British and also can't run. Would love to see his character of "V" from Vendetta run!
Yes, but if he runs "in character" ... surely accommodations could be made. Well, it was just a thought.
"Alternatively, why not Dolly Parton? Or someone like her? Sadly, Dolly’s husband is suffering from Alzheimer’s ..."
I'm going with Dolly. Her husband is a bonus. We should always have someone with Alzheimer's disease on the premises of the White House. Cognitive dysfunction is so AMERICAN! Look at the way voters regularly put the worst people in power.
Did you know that Dolly wrote the Whitney Houston hit "I Will Always Love You"? Great song! Can't think of a better reason than that to have her take over the reins from Sleepy Joe and run the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU
Maybe this why Congress is so hot to trot to institute Automatic Draft Registration [see https://www.antiwar.com/blog/2024/07/09/senate-joins-house-in-proposal-for-automatic-draft-registration/ for details] ... :
U.S. PLAN TO “EXPAND THE WAR BEYOND UKRAINE”: NATO Buildup in Finland Puts Hostile Anti-Russia Army on Putin’s Doorstep by Mike Whitney / Global Research 10 Jul 24
The Biden administration has settled on a plan to expand the war beyond Ukraine by deploying combat troops and lethal weaponry to 15 military bases in Finland. Whether the deployment will include nuclear-armed ballistic missiles is not yet known, but the threat to Russia’s security is serious all the same. One can imagine what Washington would do if Moscow chose to build 15 fully equipped and operational military bases on the US-Mexico border. The US would swiftly eradicate the threat through force-of-arms. No one doubts this. The question is whether Putin will pursue the same course of action as the US or dillydally until the threat becomes too menacing to ignore. This is from an article at The Defense Post:
“The Finnish Parliament on Monday unanimously approved a defense pact with the United States, which will allow enhanced US military presence and storage of defense material in Finland…. Aimed to strengthen Finland’s security and defense capabilities, the agreement comes after the Nordic country joined NATO in April 2023….
“Finland’s relations with neighboring Russia, with whom it shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border, have become increasingly tense after Finland joined the alliance last year.
“The deal gives the United States access to 15 military bases in Finland and enables the presence and training of US forces, and prepositioning of defense material in Finnish territory. It also strengthens cooperation between the two countries in crisis situations. Russia says it will respond to Finland giving U.S. access to bases. ~ The Defense Post
Washington’s so-called “enhanced US military presence” in Finland does not serve any national interest or provide any material benefit for the American people. It is a clear provocation designed to intimidate Russia and expand the war beyond Ukraine. Not surprisingly, it replicates the same conditions that triggered the conflict in February 2022, that is, it installs NATO’s military infrastructure in locations that pose an existential threat to Russia’s survival. Russia cannot be expected to live with hostile military bases and missiles on its doorstep any more than an ordinary man can live with a gun pointed to his head. Putin must respond in order to defend his country’s national security. On Wednesday, a spokesman for Russia’s foreign ministry issued the following statement:
“I can only confirm that Russia will not leave unanswered the NATO military build-up on our border, which threatens the security of the Russian Federation,” Deputy Spokesman Andrei Nastasin said.
“We will also take the necessary measures, including of a military-technical nature, to counter aggressive decisions by Finland, as well as its NATO allies,” he added.
Clearly, the Biden administration has no interest in Finland other than using it as a forward-operating base in the West’s war on Russia. In effect, Finland’s leaders have put their country in a position where it could face the same catastrophic destruction as their neighbor Ukraine, if Moscow feels sufficiently threatened by the proposed military build-up. Here’s Putin:
“There were no problems, but now there will be, because we will now create the Leningrad military district there and definitely concentrate military units there,” Putin added in the interview …
“They (the West) took Finland and dragged it into NATO! Why, did we have any disputes with Finland? All disputes, including those of a territorial nature in the middle of the 20th Century, have all been resolved long ago,” Putin said in an interview published on Sunday.
Continued at https://www.globalresearch.ca/nato-buildup-finland-putin-doorstep/5862093 .
Stupid me not keeping up with the news about Finland. The last thing I read about Finland was a world survey about "happiness" and the Fins ranked #1 in the world. That's going to change soon.
I also thought when the USSR collapsed that Russia became an oligarchy? The same as the US. They did after all allow McDonald's in to poison the people just like here in the good ol' Us Of A. So where is the commie threat to us?
Note: The Answer to the question “Who is running the government” is the same for Biden as it was for Trump as it was for Obama as it was for Cheney/Bush II as it was... all the way back to Wilson... :
BIDEN IS NOT RUNNING THE GOVERNMENT. SO, WHO IS? by Connor O'Keeffe /Mises Institute 10 Jul 24
After a disastrous debate performance two weeks ago and a weak damage-control interview last Friday, it’s finally become clear to almost everyone that President Joe Biden is not running the federal government.
Every four years, we’re supposed to pretend that a single individual, who we collectively choose at the ballot box, takes charge of the federal government and acts as we would to address the problems we face at home and abroad.
Biden’s inability to get through a debate and a sit-down interview without issues shatters the illusion that he is the one running things in Washington and across America’s globe-spanning sphere of influence.
So, if Biden is not actually running the government, who is?
There are, of course, the people around Biden. Some of his family members—like his wife, Jill Biden, and son, Hunter Biden—have been especially close by these last weeks as the president weathers the debate fallout. There’s also Biden’s closest advisors and political confidants like Mike Donilon, Ron Klain, Anita Dunn, and Ted Kaufman, who have been at the president’s side since he decided to run in 2020. Finally, there’s the White House staff who does much, if not all, of the day-to-day work.
But this group makes up only a small part of the broader power structure in Washington. To understand where federal power truly lies, we have to zoom out.
THE POLITICAL CLASS IN AMERICA IS MADE UP OF COUNTLESS ORGANIZATIONS, DEPARTMENTS, AND FACTIONS. HOWEVER, FOUR UNIQUE GROUPS CAN BE DEFINED.
FIRST ARE THE POLITICIANS and all those who are appointed by politicians. Think of presidents, senators, and representatives, but also cabinet members, ambassadors, and federal judges. These are many of the most-visible members of the political class. They’re who people picture when they think of American politics.
SECOND, THERE ARE ALL THE UNELECTED BUREAUCRATS who make up the permanent, administrative components of the federal government. Most of them can be found in the dozens of executive agencies located in and around Washington, DC. Where the first group is made up of a couple thousand people, the second group accounts for close to three million. It’s the bulk of the federal government.
THE THIRD GROUP IS WHAT WE CAN CALL THE OFFICIAL OR “COURT” INTELLECTUALS. These are the “experts” in academia and at think tanks, as well as the “journalists” at the most prominent media organizations, who excuse and justify the actions and ambitions of the rest of the political class.
As Murray Rothbard explained in the third chapter of Anatomy of the State, political authorities have always relied on intellectuals to affirm the state’s legitimacy in the minds of the broader population. Intellectuals, who are often frustrated with how little people are willing to pay for their intellectual services, are easily lured into serving the state’s interest in exchange for official recognition, access, and tax dollars.
THE FOURTH AND FINAL GROUP ARE THE PLUTOCRATS. They are the people and firms who owe their profits and wealth to the actions of the federal government and who lobby and pay to use government power to line their pockets. Think of the heads of the big banks or the weapons companies that supply Washington’s war machine.
These four groups form the coalition that makes up the political class. The “establishment” simply refers to the established, or current, political class. And, together, this coalition works to empower and enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else.
Court intellectuals use their establishment-sanctioned “expertise” to argue that society’s problems must be solved with government interventions. Politicians offer to enact these interventions in exchange for votes and donations. Plutocrats work to warp the interventions to their own benefit and then lobby and pay politicians to legislate even more lucrative interventions. After they are enacted, the easily predicted bad consequences of the interventions are used by court intellectuals and politicians to justify even more interventions.
Meanwhile, the bureaucratic group gains jobs, money, and power that it works with court intellectuals to protect and expand. The ever-growing interventions build up more government power that is then offered up to interested plutocratic buyers. All the while, politicians put on their sham fights with each other over minor policy differences along with their electoral and legislative rituals to obscure the scam and to keep us all believing that we live in a representative democratic republic.
That is the cycle churning in Washington, DC. The fact that the president is cognitively impaired is essentially irrelevant.
That is unless it begins to wake the American public up to the fact that the government does not work for us like we were all taught it does in elementary school. But until then, the churn continues.
Source: https://mises.org/mises-wire/biden-not-running-government-so-who ; EMPHASES added.
Excellent political satire. I will suggest getting hold of Jeremy Bentham the father of “UTILITARIANISM.” He is available and waiting to be imported. He would be perfect for the job. He is well preserved, he will not open his mouth incoherently and represents a practical approach to America’s most urgent problems. With the help of AI he could even make speeches on utilitarianism’s value for treating the ills of our society.
Sarandon is the only celeb I can think of who is right on Palestine and on Ukraine. I’d vote for her in a heartbeat.