Exactly! Your last sentence says it all in a nutshell. I keep asking how come we keep electing idiots to congress as well as the presidency - and you have described the problem. Rather than vote for a candidate that you actually like, the vast number of voting citizens vote for "the lesser of two evils" over and over and over. My family tells me I'm "wasting my vote" to vote for a candidate that isn't one of the two main parties. But as you have just said, nothing will change unless we start voting for the person who will make the change. Many of us thought Obama would do that, and we were conned; then we hoped (I certainly didn't actually believe) that Biden would do what he promised regarding the environment etc., but he lied to us over and over. If there is a candidate who will actually try to do what he/she promises we should vote for that one. If there is no candidate that fits the description then we need to write in the name of who we want; that, at least, is better than "wasting your vote" on a liar you know will not do anything you are for and will drag the country down even further.
First, I think a stronger case can be made both morally and practically for not voting at all, but that takes us far afield. I certainly share your desire to end the imperial wars the US has been waging for far too long, and I think the three candidates you mentioned are serious and sincere in their desire to do so.
The problem is twofold; one, they are all three economic illiterates, well-intentioned illiterates, but illiterates nonetheless, that want a large and powerful state to provide all manner of goods and services that theory and history establish would be better provided by a cooperative marketplace. The second problem is that because of their desire for a strong state, there is no way that state will be confined only to doing “good stuff”. There is simply no way to remove politics form political “solutions”. You cannot remove the mendacity, the base impulse, nor the violence from state centered action. You have a better chance of developing an addictive free heroin. It’s a reduction of the state and the rancid politics surrounding it that is necessary for a genuine shot at peace.
The other point I would make is your continual statistic that defense spending is a large majority of discretionary spending. That is true enough, but discretionary spending is only 30% of total federal spending. This puts defense expenditures around 20% of total spending and less than 5% of US GDP. This is a great reduction from the early 1960s, which is what the neocons are quick to point out. The point to make is that defense spending is absolutely too high and far beyond anything related to legitimate US defense needs. This insulates the peace seekers from the neocon retort. This would also go far to underline the 70% of spending that is domestic in nature and is the largest driver of US fiscal insolvency.
As always, differences that we may have will not prevent us from jointly calling out the war machine for what it is. Peace.
Good critique. I don't want a larger federal government that's "on my side," whatever that would mean. I want a smaller one, and a logical place to start is the MICC, which is wasteful but, even worse, actually degrading U.S. national security because of its needless wars and endless exaggeration of threats.
Let's not forget that there are other pieces of the total budget (i.e. both mandatory & discretionary) that while not included in the 'military' or 'defense' segment do reflect costs of our imperialism and war-making. These include (from 2021 spending): Veterans Benefits, (3.6%), "International Affairs" (~1%), and Interest Payments on the National Debt (4.3%). I don't know exactly how much of the debt is attributable to military and related spending but suspect it's a significant %.
And in actual fact, according to the Peter G Peterson Foundation on 24apr23:
"Defense spending accounts for 12 percent of all federal spending and nearly half of discretionary spending. Total discretionary spending — for both defense and nondefense purposes — is typically only about one-third of the annual federal budget. It is currently below its historical average as a share of GDP and is projected to decline further."
Thank you, I appreciate your comments. I am not sure of what all the Peterson Foundation is including in their total. I tend to take an expansive view of military spending (let's call it imperial expenditure). This would include the front line pentagon budget, as well as "emergency" appropriations for unscheduled wars, VA spending (costs of prior wars), the state department, and the parts of the energy department that oversees the nuclear arsenal. This would put imperial expenditures closer to $1.5 trillion. However we define it, it is too much. Peace.
The Peterson Foundation Center on Healthcare claims its mission is to transform U.S. healthcare into a high-performance system by finding proven solutions that improve quality and lower costs. They claim to collaborate with stakeholders across the healthcare industry. (Only in the US is healthcare an "industry", like making automobiles!)
I wonder if those stakeholders are Insurance Companies, big Pharma, and For-Profit hospitals? I wonder what they think about MEDICAREFORALL?
And why does the USA have to " find solutions that improve quality and lower costs" when >50-countries, including Cuba, have less expensive Universal systems that work perfectly with better medical outcomes - staring the US in the face? A case of not-invented-here eh!
And as regards Your dismissal of the three candidates Bill mentioned as “well intentioned [but] economic illiterates”:
What percentage of Americans are similarly economically [and historically] illiterate as regards how economic goods and services are most efficiently and effectively produced and provided? And honestly and sincerely believe that those goods and services are best provided by a large, powerful, and strong State?
Versus how many believe in the superiority of a cooperative [and competitive] marketplace to accomplish the same task of meeting Human Needs and satisfying Human Wants while protecting Human Rights and facilitating the fulfilment of Human Responsibilities? Which a large, powerful, and strong State has never done and can and will never do.
Your concluding statement nailed it precisely: “It’s a reduction of the state and the rancid politics surrounding it that is necessary for a genuine shot at peace.” And that is Peace here in America itself, and not merely with the rest of the Planet.
And the only way to eliminate the rancidity of the politics of the State is to eliminate the source of that rancidity: The tyranny of Vested Special Interests vying and bidding for access to the State’s legal power, administrative authority, and ~ above all else ~ its spending capability to advance the interests and agendas of those Vested Special Interests.
That is the disease with which America [and the entire Planet] is infected and afflicted. And until that System of government and governing is rejected by a critical mass of the American People, ain’t nuthin gonna change but to get worse.
An excellent Indicator as to exactly how many people on this Planet live in nations with entrenched, operational, and effective Vested Special Interests and Ruling Political Classes is this: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/economic-freedom-map-2023/ .
It doesn't eh? What percentage of the world's total population lives in a nation with a government and system of governance that is NOT owned, operated, commanded, and controlled by Vested Special Interests and a Ruling Political Class?
Heh. Well then, let's start with New Zealand, shall we?
Is its government and system of governance owned, operated, commanded, and controlled by Vested Special Interests and a Ruling Political Class?
How about the governments of nations in Europe or Latin America or Asia, Africa, or the rest of Oceania to Your north? Do they each not have their own fully operative mutations of VSIs and RPCs?
Jeff you are really pushing this 75-year-old Kiwi retiree to remember his high school civics lessons. I'll give it a shot to give you a laugh eh! I can't speak for the governments of nations in Europe or Latin America or Asia, Africa, or the rest of Oceania to our north.
NZ uses a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system which makes it unlikely that any one political party (eg National, Labour, Greens) will win a majority of the seats in the House. The party with the most votes almost always needs to form a coalition or agreement with another party or parties.
NZ also uses the system of ‘responsible government’. This means government can only be made up of Ministers who are first elected members of the House of Representatives. The government can only stay in power while it has a majority of members in the House of Representatives. This is known as having the confidence of the House. And acts as a form of term limits.
"It is central to the democratic idea that the purpose of elected public office is to serve the public, not to enrich the office-holder or his or her personal connections. It is important for members to ensure that they do not use their position to influence the legislative process for their own advantage or that of someone with whom they are connected. The Standing Orders provide guidance about behaviour that is regarded as unacceptable in this respect. The House may treat the receipt or solicitation of a bribe to influence a member’s conduct as a contempt. A member accepting fees for professional services he or she has rendered in respect of parliamentary proceedings may also have committed a contempt. Thus a member who received payment for work he had done drafting two local bills was held to have committed a contempt, even though he had done the work before taking his seat in Parliament. Members must keep their official and business dealings quite separate so that no misunderstanding results. While members may solicit funds for policies or programmes in return for their votes (“pork-barrel politics”), they may not seek a benefit for themselves or for other persons in return for their votes." From: https://www.parliament.nz/en/visit-and-learn/how-parliament-works/parliamentary-practice-in-new-zealand/chapter-4-members-conditions-of-service/
Unlike in the US, no NZ politician leaves office richer than when he/she went in. Obama for instance, the community organizer who after 8-years in office with a salary of $400,000 per year, now owns a $15-million waterfront mansion on Martha’s Vineyard. Pelosi -don't get me started!
The NZ system has proven to essentially eliminate governance owned, operated, commanded, and controlled by Vested Special Interests and a Ruling Political Class.
Well said, WJA. I have a group of high school buddies that I converse with on email at least weekly. When Cornel West announced his candidacy, I said I was elated because I would have someone to vote for FOR in 2024. One of my buddies replied that he was going to wait and see who the Dems would come up with.
I wrote back that unless Biden dies, the Dems will do everything possible to prevent Marianne and RFK Jr. and anyone else calling themselves a Dem from getting exposure to the public starting with no Dem debates. His decision to wait and see is an excuse for inaction. I asked if there were a candidate with whom he agreed on all major issues, as I do with West, would he dump that candidate and vote for Biden instead? Bernie had considerable support, but the DP had the final say and he capitulated placing DP loyalty ahead of all his supporters.
I pointed out, like you have, that on the major issues - Medicare for All, lobby power, nuclear weapons, US posture in the world, endlessly increasing military spending with no auditing and no apology for that, no limits on private financing of campaign spending, and more, there is no difference between the two parties.
He did not respond except to use the old excuse that West cannot win. Another buddy only expressed his frustration at the capture of the process by the two parties and the other 4 of my buddies did what most people do on significant issues when talking with friends, remain silent.
I voted FOR Jill Stein and I did not thereby elect Trump. I will vote FOR Cornel West and by doing so will not be electing a Republican or a Democrat. Some may refuse to vote, but that is not a for FOR anything. I ask everyone to look at West's positions to see if he doesn't stand for the things so many of us have been supporting for years. But above all, make 2024 the year you vote FOR a candidate and not another year where you hold your nose either as you vote or as you sit at home.
Denise and Clif, I worked in heavy construction with average working-class Americans all over America for 30-years. Mainly in the West, Mid-west and South, I admit. Although I did consult on the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota for a year.
Interacting with redneck ironworkers with American flag decals on their hard hats, crude language with local slang you could not understand, going to the tittie bar for some headwork every night after work, drinking "branch water" in FL, chewing tobacco between their teeth and gums, and packing heat; cute office gals flirting with the guys - and getting them fired; in Alaska a three-way love deal ending with a guy who came onto our jobsite and shot dead his competitor; "pee-test" fakers and drug dealers; racists; time sheet cheats; unwarranted overtime hounds; Tug boat captain fooling around with the Hawaii native ladies - one Monday never showing up again -fed to sharks they say; tool thief's - hourly and salaried - need a new outboard motor or chainsaw; too many attorneys in their Cadillacs,
Too many government bureaucrats who did not want their gravy train tipped over; corrupt Union bosses on the take, who could always get his brother-in-law to the top of the hiring list at the hall; fake doctors letters; suppliers and subs who thought they could make the easy big bucks ripping off the State and Feds with phony invoices; $250/hr consultants with their PowerPoints; concrete, rebar and welding "expert's" who could baffle you with bullshit; and overzealous safety, diversity and environmental extremists. But worst of all, opinionated diploma'd Design Engineers who had never opened a sociology textbook, or held a hammer in their life, but 'knew" everything! And on a Navy job - add all that saluting, whistle tweeting, back-stabbing rank climbers, reams of paperwork and red tape, and indecision!
I learned a little about Americans.
My experience of all these true-blue Americans is that they will feel intense distaste and aversion to West. If only because he has held professorships at Harvard University, Yale University, Union Theological Seminary, Princeton University, Dartmouth College, Pepperdine University, and the University of Paris.
To them he is a loudmouth, over-educated, uppity, ivory tower, useless course teaching, Marxist socialist (the biggest disqualifier of all as Bernie found out) who never had a "real" job, never got his hands dirty, too big for his britches, never managed anything, showers BEFORE work; commie peacenik; gun grabber; Black Panther Party apologist muck raker! (They would use stronger phrases!)
Despite his frequent conversations with his friend Robert George, a prominent conservative intellectual, Wests ideals are anathema to a lot of Americans. His outspoken voice in left-wing politics is not going to attract many cross-over Trump voters I would guess. A divider, not a uniter? Agree?
I don't think West is doomed by "deplorable" workers. He's doomed by a corrupt oligarchy that will do everything in its considerable power to undercut and block him.
I think you are on the mark, Dennis, but that is no deterrent for me. Presidential elections in America are mostly irrational, with people voting with emotion rather than reason (you mentioned the characterization of West by hardhats). West is a dedicated follower of MLK Jr. who I think is the outstanding American intellectual of the 20th century and no contenders in the 21st. MLK had courage that matched his intelligence, acting in accord with his words while knowing he was a target. He was hated, "Martin Luther Coon" to quite a number of people, and would never have stood a chance running for President, though, as does West, he referred to "my white brothers" (including the hard hats) right up until one of them killed him.
We all know the old question: "What did you do in the war, Daddy?"
I was in no way responsible for my action regarding the war for which I was qualified to serve, Vietnam, spared by chance with a high draft lottery number. With a low number I would have gone automatically without thinking, not an action I, Daddy, would be proud of had I survived.
But I want to be known for the way I'm voting because on the state of my country I am by no means ignorant and take my responsibility as a citizen very seriously. Let others vote as they will, but I'll do what I can for a candidate I admire with a long standing and solid vision I fully support. To each of my high school buddies (class of '68) I say: go West, old man!
I don't disagree, Dennis. But then, we've seen how many U.S. citizens vote against their own interests, which West would surely represent.
However, it matters not to me what the general run of people think in terms of candidates. I'll be eager to vote for someone I can believe in. After all, I voted for Kucinich in both of his runs.
P.S. Bernie is a Democratic Socialist, not necessarily a Marxist. I realize that distinction doesn't matter to the DNC, though.
I was being sarcastic Denise. Its a BS pejorative term used by these morons because it sounds good!
Wikipedia says this: West has described himself as a "non-Marxist socialist" (partly because he does not view Marxism and Christianity as reconcilable)[89] and previously served as honorary chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America, which he has described as "the first multiracial, socialist organization close enough to my politics that I could join."[16] He also described himself as a "radical democrat, suspicious of all forms of authority" in the Matrix-themed documentary The Burly Man Chronicles.[90]"
Way above this Engineers pay grade..
Did you watch any of George Galloways debate's on the YouTube video links I gave you? I could, and have, watched him all day. His oratory skills and knowledge of history blows me away. This one, a debate at Oxford "Little Tyrants and Big Tyrants and Imperialism", discussing G W Bush's and Blairs lies to get us into Iraq. He is brilliant. You must watch it. Its only 9:35 long. As topical today as it was 9-years ago.
Unlike JFK Jr., I can't find one thing that I disagree with George on. But who are we, a Limey and a Kiwi to speak about American culture and dysfunctional politics and government. Especially since the British government is quite frankly even more disgusting than the US's as we speak. What with being the US's little lap dog. Rishi Sunak sending depleted uranium ammo to Zelenskyy, and sadly looking like they are going to extradite poor Julian Assange to the US for his rigged unwinnable Kangaroo Court Trial, and 150-year sentence in a US maximum security prison. Now there is something I could protest in the streets about - not that it would do any good.
BTW, I saw Dennis Kucinich speak at a 2007 movie showing in Seattle of Micheal Moore's movie about the disastrous US healthcare system, "Sicko". Dennis was great. What do you think of Michael Moore? I am ambivalent. On a $9-million budget "Sicko" grossed $25-million in North America. But made no difference and made Moore one of America's 1%! And he still dresses like a slob!
I see Dennis is now RFK Jr's Campaign manager. BTW, I was thinking that RFK Jr. is a lot like Ralph Nader whom I admire. Great ideas - but pissing in the wind. I see Ralph is 89-years-old now. Time flies eh!
Voting against your own interest - another huge discussion, eh?
Take care my dear. Looking forward to the next Ponderments. No worries.
I can't imagine the UK's government as worse than the U.S'., Dennis. I mean, I keep up with the news there, to some extent, and saw that Johnson resigned as MP, but.... Right or wrong, my impression has always been that they're more civilized. At least, Johnson was forced out as PM, and went without bleating about all kinds of conspiracies to oust him. I was disturbed about the DU ammo going to Ukraine; in that instance, yes, the policy is as bad as the U.S. using it in Iraq, although, for a long time, it was denied that DU was used.
I haven't yet gotten a chance to watch Mr. Galloway, but it is on my to-do list.
As for Kucinich and RFK, Jr., it's a case of returning a favor. When Dennis made his short-lived run at the governorship of Ohio awhile back, Bobby Jr. backed him and appeared with Dennis at a rally or two. I was there for the campaign kick-off. Dennis is not only beloved in most of Ohio, he has street cred on the West Coast as well. His lack of corporate ties makes him trustworthy, and he has Bernie's gift of being able to talk to anyone and explain complex ideas simply---the "common touch." And he's the perfect foil for aristocratic Kennedy, having come from nothing.
As for Michael Moore, as the years have gone by, I've become more ambivalent about him. I'm a fan of his movies, but he tends to go a little overboard in his rants, to be just a touch too hysterical. And I still haven't forgiven him for telling all the Bernie supporters to shut up and vote for Hillary in 2016. He did warn before anyone else, however, that TFG was going to win. As for his slovenliness....yeah, I've gotta admit that it puts me off. Looks as if he just crawled out of bed, after having slept in the same clothes for a week. He could at least trim his hair and shave regularly. Maybe he calculates his appearance so as to be underestimated, but I can't warm to it.
Whether people want to admit it or not, much of our dysfunction in our role as voters boils down to everyone having been immersed in "team thinking" our entire lives. Everything is a game with two teams, ours and theirs. Everything is about team loyalty... Team Red, and Team Blue. Voters have been trained to think this way all their lives, through sports, through war, through politics. You aren't allowed to think any other way. It is no wonder that so many Team Blue voters feel they have no choice but to vote for the war-mongering and senile Biden. He is the leader of Team Blue! How can you not vote for the leader!? The mess we are in will continue as long as people are convinced that voting outside their team box is not viable. In fact, it is the only option they have to break out of the mental straightjackets that the RNC and DNC have put them in. I will be voting for Dr. Cornel West. I am voting outside the Team Box.
Agreed. We're brainwashed to be tribal. Red or blue tribe. For example, I'm a Red Sox fan. I "hate" the NY Yankees. I want "my" team to win. But I know it's just sports. It's just a game.
Our political system is not sports. It's not a game. And I'm not rooting for team blue or team red. I want leaders with integrity and vision. That's not Trump and Biden. to state the obvious.
Plus which, West's candidacy is intrinsically valuable in the sense that he represents a "third team," one that will bring up critical issues that the DNC and RNC would like to bury.
I'm with you, Bill. I'm beyond tired of being told that a vote for anyone but Biden will be a vote for TFG. And being scolded for voting for someone "who can never win." Voting one's conscience has evidently become a sin.
I am in full, 100% agreement with you, Bill. Voting for the lesser evil really hasn't gotten us anywhere, except maybe "less bad." And after all l these years of voting for "less bad," we are facing out-of-control climate change, gargantuan military budgets, endless wars and the threat of nuclear annihilation. Clearly, a different approach is required.
I do believe JFK Jr is correct in saying (as he did in the Peterson interview) that this next election cycle can and should be disrupted by candidates using pod casts as their primary means of reaching voters. And I've seen enough glimpses of this by hardened "red" and "blue" people giving an ear to his long interviews finally rejecting MSM sound bites for actual discourse. It is enough to give one hope. Of course, be it JFK JR, West or Williams, if they can't muster a huge contingent of persons to run in congressional races in direct support of their "team" then we are left with the entrenched corruption that rules the day. I think the best hope this regard is a flock of "Kennedy Democrats" as this notion does seem to appeal to old school liberals and young voters. We'll see....
Bill you are screwed. The DNC and RNC pick the candidates, not the people. The Primaries are rigged.
And until the US gets rid of bought-and-paid-for politicians, (Citizens United) and adopts a truly democratic election system (dare I say without the anachronistic Electoral College and its superdelegates) - nothing will change. And now we find out it's the FBI, CIA and DOJ who interfere with the elections, not those pesky Russians who blew up their own dam.
And I don't see this changing in our lifetimes and the USA remaining a Democracy in name only. Sorry.
I remember 60-years ago sitting in a New Zealand high school civics class and our teacher showing us on the blackboard how in the USA, the US President could be elected with <20% of the popular votes. Was he right? And has anything changed in 60-years?
How true. Yes, I'm screwed, but the larger point is that the country is screwed. Maybe the world if the U.S. goes off the rails and starts firing nuclear weapons around.
The only country that might be safe is NZ. That's why the billionaires are building shelters there. :-)
... agreed... progressive ideology is what's needed in this world to effect 'meaningful-change' ... a reality we must contend-knowing few-understand-believe
We can all be consoled that no matter how we decide to vote the chance of us deciding an election is infinitesimal. So to me the only solution is for the government to have less power. That way my vote still doesn't decide the election but it doesn't matter so much. So I vote for the candidate who will work for the government to have less power. If there are any.
Alex, in 1992 in Wa state we voted for Patty Murray, the "the mom in tennis shoes" who promised us that the only solution was for the government to have less power.
When party leaders needed someone to oversee the Senate's fundraising arm, Patty said “yes” twice, for both the 2002 and 2012 election cycles.
Now serving as president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2023. She is the senior United States Senator from Washington, a seat she has held since 1993. 30-years (!) Term limits anybody?
The “mom in tennis shoes” became part of Harry Reid's inner leadership circle, with Reid giving her increasingly more responsibility.
Now as chairwoman of the powerful Senate Budget Committee, she reached a long-term budget deal with her counterpart on the House budget panel, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. The two-year, $2 trillion compromise, which did not address the nation's debt and spending issues, marked a truce in the partisan battles that have paralyzed Congress. Yeah right!
Good job Patty! The Senator for Boeing. Who will undoubtedly die in office unless Boeing goes bankrupt first! USA USA USA
I've never seen a Democrat politician who really wants the government to have less power. The Republicans who do (like Rand Paul) are few and far between.
Women getting the right to vote can hardly be compared to getting the right to have a gimmick voting "scheme". That no state has adopted except Nevada. Right?
Pushing for Ranked-choice voting (RCV), also called “instant-runoff voting, would be a much more worthwhile endeavor. In the recent Democratic primary for New York City mayor, the US’s biggest city became the largest jurisdiction to use RCV voting.
If one candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, that person wins, and no subsequent rounds are needed. If no one wins a majority of first-preference votes, the last-place candidate is dropped and their votes are reallocated to those voters’ second choices. If there’s still no majority winner, the process repeats with the new last-place candidate being eliminated – and so forth until someone has a majority.
According to a recent Pew Research Center analysis, RCV systems have been adopted in at least 50 cities, one school board (Albany, California), one county (Benton County, Oregon). And one state (Maine) has adopted RCV or its multi-member cousin, the single transferable vote.
NOTC voting schemes have been adopted by nobody except Nevada. And I understand that Nevadans have voted in support of ranked-choice voting. If voters approve the measure again in 2024, Nevada lawmakers would have to pass legislation implementing the change in order for it to take effect. Does that mean Nevada will dump NOTC voting? I don't know.
How is having NOTC as an option in every election any more of a gimmicky "scheme" than RCV?
And i have no problem with RCV, Dennis. As long as NOTC is included in the first and all subsequent run-offs as an option for those who would not otherwise vote for the simple reason that they have no one they can honestly and sincerely vote FOR [even if it is just to vote AGAINST everybody else].
And voting NOTC is certainly a better way than staying home and not voting to express one's outrage at the American $ 1 = 1 Vote system of putting those wholly-owned, -operated, - commanded, and -controlled by those VSIs and the RPC politicians in office, and then keeping them there.
And it will be interesting to see if ~ upon formally adopting RCV ~ Nevada eliminates NOTC as an option. It certainly would not need to be.
My positions as a lifelong Dem. are when it comes to Presidential years I Vote the man, or woman not the Party... Now lets be real here there are no perfect Candidates so yea. I will choose the lesser of two evils if it looks in the big picture to help my Candidate Win. So many of these so called self anointed "Presidential Candidates" have gone off the Rails that you mention that I have no doubt I ((if I even Register to Vote-- this time) will have a problem making my Decision right up to when I'm writing in my choice in the Booth...!
In Biden's case, I truly worry about his health. He's now squinting when he reads, slurring his words, tripping and falling on stage, and if reelected he will serve until the age of 86. Is he truly fit for office?
Being president is (or should be) tough on a 40- or 50-year old person. Imagine being president in your 80s. And his VP, Kamala Harris, is a huge question mark.
I personally have little question about Harris. She doesn't reflect my values, interests or hopes, and it is all but a certainty that she'd just be a figurehead, rather like Biden, with all foreign policy being actually directed by the neocons in State Dep't as well as in the letter agencies. It is shameful that the Presidency has degraded to this level, and it will take someone of far better ability and character to change that.
The president’s authority in foreign affairs, is in Article II of the Constitution. The charter grants the officeholder the powers to make treaties and appoint ambassadors with the advice and consent of the Senate. Treaties require approval of two-thirds of senators present. Appointments require consent of a simple majority.
Presidents also rely on other clauses to support their foreign policy actions, particularly those that bestow “executive power” and the role of “commander in chief of the army and navy” on the office. The Constitution also makes two of the president’s foreign affairs powers—making treaties and appointing diplomats—dependent on Senate approval.
Article I of the Constitution enumerates Congress’s foreign affairs powers, including those to “regulate commerce with foreign nations,” “declare war,” “raise and support armies,” “provide and maintain a navy" Furthermore, Congress has the power to create, eliminate, or restructure executive branch agencies.
Roger, so how is it that Victoria Nuland of the State Department has the duty to decide to stage a CIA coup in Ukraine? Because the President and the Congress shirk their duty eh? Could Trump have fired Nuland and her warmongering cronies in the State Department? Will he have learned his lesson if reelected in 2024 and immediately fire her ass! I know our esteemed fellow poster Jeff Moebus will say he won't. Discuss. Do I have this all wrong?
Dennis, I don't think any of that is incorrect. Yes, it appears to me that a string of Presidents have effectively given foreign policy formation to the Staff. Oh, the President (or in the case of the Ukraine coup and some other matters, the VP) may indeed sign off on the implementation- the specific actions such as Nuland et al put in play. And, as you point out, certain acts- such as approval of formal treaties, cabinet appointments, formal declaration of war, etc. do require Congressional approval. But as we've seen with AUMF and any number of secret and not-so-secret wars, Congress has also abdicated its responsibilities w/r/t foreign policy.
Not that it would matter- given the uniparty's buy-in to imperialism and all forms of warfare.
The most important problem is that, as oft happens in bureaucracies, the State Dep't Staff have developed their own agenda, (or, in the case of the neocons affiliated with the Project for A New American Century and its successor, brought it with them. The war on Iraq (and other Mid-East wars) were directly in line with the hegemonic 'vision' and objectives stated in that white paper. Such objectives have underlain probably every conflict. The State Dep't, which might be expected to focus on diplomacy, seems to have morphed into a body that would use diplomacy ONLY as a tool used in fulfillment of the neocon vision of global domination.- not as a way towards peaceful co-existence and solution of global problems.
And they seem to work very closely with CIA in terms of meeting the overall objective.
Just like the CIA, then, even though the titular head may be a temporary political appointee, they typically don't get to that role unless they are already deeply immersed in that system.
That the neocons eventually assumed a control over State that has extended from (at least) Reagan onward probably reflects the tightening control over both electoral and policy politics gained by the plutocracy. In other words, I think it was probably inevitable that the State Dep't (as well as letter agencies and Pentagon) would ultimately reflect neocon foreign policy vision of global financial, military, and political hegemony.
Just another part of the supplanting of democracy as all governance was captured by private capital.
Yes, Denise, isn't it rather strange? I don't know how this awful faction has so long escaped public notice, given the very many alumni of PNAC and their particularly heinous history in American governance and warmongering. Oh, I suppose I do know: they've escaped notice precisely because they wanted to, and made sure their 'partners' in MSM never mentioned them or their connections.
I'm trying to convince my two doctor daughters born in Seattle to get out and move to New Zealand.
Deluding myself that, having a Kiwi father, they could easily immigrate - even though they are American citizens.
But you know, they are both very happy, and very busy with their professional live's and raising their kids - my grandkids. Making an excellent living. And don't see what we think we see. Doom and gloom. My emails I'm sure, have them worried that their father, like Joe Biden, has lost it. They are huge lefties and have Trump Derangement Syndrome. Asking them who they are going to vote for to be their next President is met with - oh Dad, get off the internet!
My old company, and my colleagues, in Seattle are thriving building container shipping Terminals to import Chinese goods to sell to blue-collar US workers whose jobs were off-shored by American capitalists to make a few more dollars. (I attended a conference put on by the Port of Long Beach. In which they revealed for every 100-containers full of Chinese imports, they load out 10-containers of scrap materials bound for China. Newspaper. Scrap iron etc. No manufactured goods.)
And of course, building more Naval docks in San Diego.
All with great Health Insurance provided by the company. They are not hurting in the least. Yes, they think politics suck - but who cares - they don't see themselves being hurt in the slightest. Just getting back from their trips to Europe. Oh dear!
Have we old boomers lost it you think? This site is the only place I have peers that I can discuss this with. And why don't I just follow the Rugby? Why am I caring about the Ukraine war? And making myself ill?
Material comfort and blindness go together, Dennis. They are proportional. For evidence I give you Jamie Dimon who is very proud of JP Morgan Chase, has never had a problem with Too Big Too Fail, benefitting by it. There are those calling for him to run for president and he says he hasn't really thought about it because he is doing so much good at JPM. I'm a Cornel West supporter because he speaks for the people, using facts to support his positions.
Dennis, You're only experiencing what many, perhaps most well-informed, critically thinking, and caring people are also experiencing. If one has both a historical perspective, and an awareness of this moment, i.e. of the cultural, political, economic, ecologic realities, it is rather natural, I think, to react with degrees of revulsion, anger, discouragement, skepticism and cynicism, fear, frustration, worry and grief. We ,may experience many pf these at the same time or switch between them. This has been my experience even when one is otherwise 'happy', able to feel love and joy.
I feel that I've been aware, politically and socially, for a long time. At least I've been paying attention to what's going on. And it's my current conclusion that I've never seen so much dysfunction in our society at least, in so many areas at once. Together, I'm sure we could write a very long litany of grievances and concerns. I'm fairly confident that it is not because we've lost our minds; though it's certainly true that one can be pulled off one's 'center' and become unbalanced by non-stop thinking and worrying about the 'outside' world.
In my view, TDS is a serious affliction and is responsible for a lot of cognitive dissonance and enabling of some of the dangerous problems we have now. I don't recall there ever before being something similar; at least I can't think of a parallel. But TDS works in two directions. One, of course, is that it created a large group of people who were persuaded that he could and would 'fix' America- make it into a nation that worked for them and made them proud to be American. His fans seemed to be taken in like those who happily plunked down their buck or their 2-bits for the fabulous elixirs that oily men promised would cure all their ills. Pure self-serving hucksterism. His track record, his lack of emotional maturity, his lack of experience: none of those mattered.
On the other side, TDS was, IMO, perhaps even worse in terms of leading the opposing others to also suspend critical thinking and lose any potential for nuance. If Trump said it, it HAD to be wrong. If someone opposed Trump, they were automatically sainted. If someone else holds a view that Trump may have articulated (such as developing better relations with Russia, then they are automatically maligned as 'Trumpists'. Putin, having in their view (sown tightly by one of the more successful establishment propaganda campaigns) been responsible for electing Trump, is, of course, similarly the source of all evil, just like Trump, just like his followers.
An old friend came over to look at my roof with me, and as we often used to do, began eventually talking about politics. Though a guy who took to heart Eisenhower's warning about the MIC, and a guy who was a Bernie delegate in '16 who knows damn well that the nomination was rigged and that there is a plutocracy running the show - could not stop ranting about Trump and the Repubs, assigning all blame thereto, and stating complete belief in Trump-Putin collusion - even though official docs should have made it clear that Russiagate was a "Psy-Op" conducted for partisan purposes.
So your daughters are only reacting as probably a majority of Americans are these days. And why wouldn't they? Most people have never really bothered looking much beyond the headlines and claims emanating from their favorite side of the media. And Americans have been now conditioned over a long period to see Russia as the enemy that Washington wants them to perceive. While government and other institutions are indeed becoming more Orwellian with each passing day, most of the people think nothing of it.... and even cheer if it appears at the moment to be targeting those they hate ... i.e. the other side.
Lastly, in re. to your rhetorical q. about why care about the Ukraine war: You care because you know that many people, very many innocent of any ill will, are being killed or having lives nearly devastated by a war that was both completely unnecessary and preventable, and begun for no better reason than to eliminate some competition to American hegemony. It is the reason for very many if not most wars, I think, since the end of WWII and the Breton Woods agreement. It's kind of like the Mafia wars where the ambitious take out their rivals to eliminate any competition or challenge to dominance; except in these wars, it isn't just a few gang members and their families who suffer, it's the entirety of nations- thousands and millions of people; as well as the future of the survivors.
So keep caring. But do take enough breaks- take care of your own body & mind to stay strong,, remember love and the importance of relationships, etc.
when the great majority of information media are under the control of very few,
Exactly! Your last sentence says it all in a nutshell. I keep asking how come we keep electing idiots to congress as well as the presidency - and you have described the problem. Rather than vote for a candidate that you actually like, the vast number of voting citizens vote for "the lesser of two evils" over and over and over. My family tells me I'm "wasting my vote" to vote for a candidate that isn't one of the two main parties. But as you have just said, nothing will change unless we start voting for the person who will make the change. Many of us thought Obama would do that, and we were conned; then we hoped (I certainly didn't actually believe) that Biden would do what he promised regarding the environment etc., but he lied to us over and over. If there is a candidate who will actually try to do what he/she promises we should vote for that one. If there is no candidate that fits the description then we need to write in the name of who we want; that, at least, is better than "wasting your vote" on a liar you know will not do anything you are for and will drag the country down even further.
Exactly, ranney! Agree completely.
First, I think a stronger case can be made both morally and practically for not voting at all, but that takes us far afield. I certainly share your desire to end the imperial wars the US has been waging for far too long, and I think the three candidates you mentioned are serious and sincere in their desire to do so.
The problem is twofold; one, they are all three economic illiterates, well-intentioned illiterates, but illiterates nonetheless, that want a large and powerful state to provide all manner of goods and services that theory and history establish would be better provided by a cooperative marketplace. The second problem is that because of their desire for a strong state, there is no way that state will be confined only to doing “good stuff”. There is simply no way to remove politics form political “solutions”. You cannot remove the mendacity, the base impulse, nor the violence from state centered action. You have a better chance of developing an addictive free heroin. It’s a reduction of the state and the rancid politics surrounding it that is necessary for a genuine shot at peace.
The other point I would make is your continual statistic that defense spending is a large majority of discretionary spending. That is true enough, but discretionary spending is only 30% of total federal spending. This puts defense expenditures around 20% of total spending and less than 5% of US GDP. This is a great reduction from the early 1960s, which is what the neocons are quick to point out. The point to make is that defense spending is absolutely too high and far beyond anything related to legitimate US defense needs. This insulates the peace seekers from the neocon retort. This would also go far to underline the 70% of spending that is domestic in nature and is the largest driver of US fiscal insolvency.
As always, differences that we may have will not prevent us from jointly calling out the war machine for what it is. Peace.
Good critique. I don't want a larger federal government that's "on my side," whatever that would mean. I want a smaller one, and a logical place to start is the MICC, which is wasteful but, even worse, actually degrading U.S. national security because of its needless wars and endless exaggeration of threats.
Let's not forget that there are other pieces of the total budget (i.e. both mandatory & discretionary) that while not included in the 'military' or 'defense' segment do reflect costs of our imperialism and war-making. These include (from 2021 spending): Veterans Benefits, (3.6%), "International Affairs" (~1%), and Interest Payments on the National Debt (4.3%). I don't know exactly how much of the debt is attributable to military and related spending but suspect it's a significant %.
Excellent analysis, Believe and Obey.
And in actual fact, according to the Peter G Peterson Foundation on 24apr23:
"Defense spending accounts for 12 percent of all federal spending and nearly half of discretionary spending. Total discretionary spending — for both defense and nondefense purposes — is typically only about one-third of the annual federal budget. It is currently below its historical average as a share of GDP and is projected to decline further."
[ https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison#:~:text=Defense%20spending%20accounts%20for%2012,of%20the%20annual%20federal%20budget. ]
Also, i earlier posted a link to a previous BV article that offers an even more moral and practical action than not voting at all. Here it is again: https://bracingviews.substack.com/p/reforming-americas-elections-the-notc-way .
Thank you, I appreciate your comments. I am not sure of what all the Peterson Foundation is including in their total. I tend to take an expansive view of military spending (let's call it imperial expenditure). This would include the front line pentagon budget, as well as "emergency" appropriations for unscheduled wars, VA spending (costs of prior wars), the state department, and the parts of the energy department that oversees the nuclear arsenal. This would put imperial expenditures closer to $1.5 trillion. However we define it, it is too much. Peace.
The Peterson Foundation Center on Healthcare claims its mission is to transform U.S. healthcare into a high-performance system by finding proven solutions that improve quality and lower costs. They claim to collaborate with stakeholders across the healthcare industry. (Only in the US is healthcare an "industry", like making automobiles!)
I wonder if those stakeholders are Insurance Companies, big Pharma, and For-Profit hospitals? I wonder what they think about MEDICAREFORALL?
And why does the USA have to " find solutions that improve quality and lower costs" when >50-countries, including Cuba, have less expensive Universal systems that work perfectly with better medical outcomes - staring the US in the face? A case of not-invented-here eh!
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-universal-healthcare
And don't forget the Secrecy-Security-Surveillance Panopticon, the NSA, CIA, et al.
And as regards Your dismissal of the three candidates Bill mentioned as “well intentioned [but] economic illiterates”:
What percentage of Americans are similarly economically [and historically] illiterate as regards how economic goods and services are most efficiently and effectively produced and provided? And honestly and sincerely believe that those goods and services are best provided by a large, powerful, and strong State?
Versus how many believe in the superiority of a cooperative [and competitive] marketplace to accomplish the same task of meeting Human Needs and satisfying Human Wants while protecting Human Rights and facilitating the fulfilment of Human Responsibilities? Which a large, powerful, and strong State has never done and can and will never do.
Your concluding statement nailed it precisely: “It’s a reduction of the state and the rancid politics surrounding it that is necessary for a genuine shot at peace.” And that is Peace here in America itself, and not merely with the rest of the Planet.
And the only way to eliminate the rancidity of the politics of the State is to eliminate the source of that rancidity: The tyranny of Vested Special Interests vying and bidding for access to the State’s legal power, administrative authority, and ~ above all else ~ its spending capability to advance the interests and agendas of those Vested Special Interests.
That is the disease with which America [and the entire Planet] is infected and afflicted. And until that System of government and governing is rejected by a critical mass of the American People, ain’t nuthin gonna change but to get worse.
Nope Jeff - this disease does not affect the entire planet.
That's a "claim" not a fact eh?
Unless you have a source for that.
Take care. No worries as we say in Aotearoa. (I'm learning Māori!)
An excellent Indicator as to exactly how many people on this Planet live in nations with entrenched, operational, and effective Vested Special Interests and Ruling Political Classes is this: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/economic-freedom-map-2023/ .
Other Indicators are these: https://freedomhouse.org/explore-the-map?type=fiw&year=2023 , https://rsf.org/en/map-2023-world-press-freedom-index , and https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-with-freedom-of-speech .
Wow Jeff..... that rsf.org site is sure educational and chilling.
Going to share with my daughters in WI and NY.
BTW, my wife and I rode our BMW motorcycles in Africa in 2007.
From South Africa to Dar es Salaam -(1) month.
We were shocked at what we saw illustrated by these website maps.
Hope you are well.
It doesn't eh? What percentage of the world's total population lives in a nation with a government and system of governance that is NOT owned, operated, commanded, and controlled by Vested Special Interests and a Ruling Political Class?
Besides Aotearoa, no doubt.
I dunno Jeff - you made the claim.
Heh. Well then, let's start with New Zealand, shall we?
Is its government and system of governance owned, operated, commanded, and controlled by Vested Special Interests and a Ruling Political Class?
How about the governments of nations in Europe or Latin America or Asia, Africa, or the rest of Oceania to Your north? Do they each not have their own fully operative mutations of VSIs and RPCs?
Jeff you are really pushing this 75-year-old Kiwi retiree to remember his high school civics lessons. I'll give it a shot to give you a laugh eh! I can't speak for the governments of nations in Europe or Latin America or Asia, Africa, or the rest of Oceania to our north.
NZ uses a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system which makes it unlikely that any one political party (eg National, Labour, Greens) will win a majority of the seats in the House. The party with the most votes almost always needs to form a coalition or agreement with another party or parties.
NZ also uses the system of ‘responsible government’. This means government can only be made up of Ministers who are first elected members of the House of Representatives. The government can only stay in power while it has a majority of members in the House of Representatives. This is known as having the confidence of the House. And acts as a form of term limits.
"It is central to the democratic idea that the purpose of elected public office is to serve the public, not to enrich the office-holder or his or her personal connections. It is important for members to ensure that they do not use their position to influence the legislative process for their own advantage or that of someone with whom they are connected. The Standing Orders provide guidance about behaviour that is regarded as unacceptable in this respect. The House may treat the receipt or solicitation of a bribe to influence a member’s conduct as a contempt. A member accepting fees for professional services he or she has rendered in respect of parliamentary proceedings may also have committed a contempt. Thus a member who received payment for work he had done drafting two local bills was held to have committed a contempt, even though he had done the work before taking his seat in Parliament. Members must keep their official and business dealings quite separate so that no misunderstanding results. While members may solicit funds for policies or programmes in return for their votes (“pork-barrel politics”), they may not seek a benefit for themselves or for other persons in return for their votes." From: https://www.parliament.nz/en/visit-and-learn/how-parliament-works/parliamentary-practice-in-new-zealand/chapter-4-members-conditions-of-service/
Unlike in the US, no NZ politician leaves office richer than when he/she went in. Obama for instance, the community organizer who after 8-years in office with a salary of $400,000 per year, now owns a $15-million waterfront mansion on Martha’s Vineyard. Pelosi -don't get me started!
The NZ system has proven to essentially eliminate governance owned, operated, commanded, and controlled by Vested Special Interests and a Ruling Political Class.
How did I do? LOL
Well said, WJA. I have a group of high school buddies that I converse with on email at least weekly. When Cornel West announced his candidacy, I said I was elated because I would have someone to vote for FOR in 2024. One of my buddies replied that he was going to wait and see who the Dems would come up with.
I wrote back that unless Biden dies, the Dems will do everything possible to prevent Marianne and RFK Jr. and anyone else calling themselves a Dem from getting exposure to the public starting with no Dem debates. His decision to wait and see is an excuse for inaction. I asked if there were a candidate with whom he agreed on all major issues, as I do with West, would he dump that candidate and vote for Biden instead? Bernie had considerable support, but the DP had the final say and he capitulated placing DP loyalty ahead of all his supporters.
I pointed out, like you have, that on the major issues - Medicare for All, lobby power, nuclear weapons, US posture in the world, endlessly increasing military spending with no auditing and no apology for that, no limits on private financing of campaign spending, and more, there is no difference between the two parties.
He did not respond except to use the old excuse that West cannot win. Another buddy only expressed his frustration at the capture of the process by the two parties and the other 4 of my buddies did what most people do on significant issues when talking with friends, remain silent.
I voted FOR Jill Stein and I did not thereby elect Trump. I will vote FOR Cornel West and by doing so will not be electing a Republican or a Democrat. Some may refuse to vote, but that is not a for FOR anything. I ask everyone to look at West's positions to see if he doesn't stand for the things so many of us have been supporting for years. But above all, make 2024 the year you vote FOR a candidate and not another year where you hold your nose either as you vote or as you sit at home.
I, too, voted FOR Jill Stein, and I'd be happy to vote FOR Cornel West.
Denise and Clif, I worked in heavy construction with average working-class Americans all over America for 30-years. Mainly in the West, Mid-west and South, I admit. Although I did consult on the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota for a year.
Interacting with redneck ironworkers with American flag decals on their hard hats, crude language with local slang you could not understand, going to the tittie bar for some headwork every night after work, drinking "branch water" in FL, chewing tobacco between their teeth and gums, and packing heat; cute office gals flirting with the guys - and getting them fired; in Alaska a three-way love deal ending with a guy who came onto our jobsite and shot dead his competitor; "pee-test" fakers and drug dealers; racists; time sheet cheats; unwarranted overtime hounds; Tug boat captain fooling around with the Hawaii native ladies - one Monday never showing up again -fed to sharks they say; tool thief's - hourly and salaried - need a new outboard motor or chainsaw; too many attorneys in their Cadillacs,
Too many government bureaucrats who did not want their gravy train tipped over; corrupt Union bosses on the take, who could always get his brother-in-law to the top of the hiring list at the hall; fake doctors letters; suppliers and subs who thought they could make the easy big bucks ripping off the State and Feds with phony invoices; $250/hr consultants with their PowerPoints; concrete, rebar and welding "expert's" who could baffle you with bullshit; and overzealous safety, diversity and environmental extremists. But worst of all, opinionated diploma'd Design Engineers who had never opened a sociology textbook, or held a hammer in their life, but 'knew" everything! And on a Navy job - add all that saluting, whistle tweeting, back-stabbing rank climbers, reams of paperwork and red tape, and indecision!
I learned a little about Americans.
My experience of all these true-blue Americans is that they will feel intense distaste and aversion to West. If only because he has held professorships at Harvard University, Yale University, Union Theological Seminary, Princeton University, Dartmouth College, Pepperdine University, and the University of Paris.
To them he is a loudmouth, over-educated, uppity, ivory tower, useless course teaching, Marxist socialist (the biggest disqualifier of all as Bernie found out) who never had a "real" job, never got his hands dirty, too big for his britches, never managed anything, showers BEFORE work; commie peacenik; gun grabber; Black Panther Party apologist muck raker! (They would use stronger phrases!)
Despite his frequent conversations with his friend Robert George, a prominent conservative intellectual, Wests ideals are anathema to a lot of Americans. His outspoken voice in left-wing politics is not going to attract many cross-over Trump voters I would guess. A divider, not a uniter? Agree?
I am willing to be proven wrong.
America! Isn't it grand?
I don't think West is doomed by "deplorable" workers. He's doomed by a corrupt oligarchy that will do everything in its considerable power to undercut and block him.
I think you are on the mark, Dennis, but that is no deterrent for me. Presidential elections in America are mostly irrational, with people voting with emotion rather than reason (you mentioned the characterization of West by hardhats). West is a dedicated follower of MLK Jr. who I think is the outstanding American intellectual of the 20th century and no contenders in the 21st. MLK had courage that matched his intelligence, acting in accord with his words while knowing he was a target. He was hated, "Martin Luther Coon" to quite a number of people, and would never have stood a chance running for President, though, as does West, he referred to "my white brothers" (including the hard hats) right up until one of them killed him.
We all know the old question: "What did you do in the war, Daddy?"
I was in no way responsible for my action regarding the war for which I was qualified to serve, Vietnam, spared by chance with a high draft lottery number. With a low number I would have gone automatically without thinking, not an action I, Daddy, would be proud of had I survived.
But I want to be known for the way I'm voting because on the state of my country I am by no means ignorant and take my responsibility as a citizen very seriously. Let others vote as they will, but I'll do what I can for a candidate I admire with a long standing and solid vision I fully support. To each of my high school buddies (class of '68) I say: go West, old man!
Cardinal Carlin "Voting Is Meaningless"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHS5btaLlGY
LOL
I don't disagree, Dennis. But then, we've seen how many U.S. citizens vote against their own interests, which West would surely represent.
However, it matters not to me what the general run of people think in terms of candidates. I'll be eager to vote for someone I can believe in. After all, I voted for Kucinich in both of his runs.
P.S. Bernie is a Democratic Socialist, not necessarily a Marxist. I realize that distinction doesn't matter to the DNC, though.
I was being sarcastic Denise. Its a BS pejorative term used by these morons because it sounds good!
Wikipedia says this: West has described himself as a "non-Marxist socialist" (partly because he does not view Marxism and Christianity as reconcilable)[89] and previously served as honorary chairman of the Democratic Socialists of America, which he has described as "the first multiracial, socialist organization close enough to my politics that I could join."[16] He also described himself as a "radical democrat, suspicious of all forms of authority" in the Matrix-themed documentary The Burly Man Chronicles.[90]"
Way above this Engineers pay grade..
Did you watch any of George Galloways debate's on the YouTube video links I gave you? I could, and have, watched him all day. His oratory skills and knowledge of history blows me away. This one, a debate at Oxford "Little Tyrants and Big Tyrants and Imperialism", discussing G W Bush's and Blairs lies to get us into Iraq. He is brilliant. You must watch it. Its only 9:35 long. As topical today as it was 9-years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Cb60r8TOI
Unlike JFK Jr., I can't find one thing that I disagree with George on. But who are we, a Limey and a Kiwi to speak about American culture and dysfunctional politics and government. Especially since the British government is quite frankly even more disgusting than the US's as we speak. What with being the US's little lap dog. Rishi Sunak sending depleted uranium ammo to Zelenskyy, and sadly looking like they are going to extradite poor Julian Assange to the US for his rigged unwinnable Kangaroo Court Trial, and 150-year sentence in a US maximum security prison. Now there is something I could protest in the streets about - not that it would do any good.
BTW, I saw Dennis Kucinich speak at a 2007 movie showing in Seattle of Micheal Moore's movie about the disastrous US healthcare system, "Sicko". Dennis was great. What do you think of Michael Moore? I am ambivalent. On a $9-million budget "Sicko" grossed $25-million in North America. But made no difference and made Moore one of America's 1%! And he still dresses like a slob!
I see Dennis is now RFK Jr's Campaign manager. BTW, I was thinking that RFK Jr. is a lot like Ralph Nader whom I admire. Great ideas - but pissing in the wind. I see Ralph is 89-years-old now. Time flies eh!
Voting against your own interest - another huge discussion, eh?
Take care my dear. Looking forward to the next Ponderments. No worries.
"Dressing like a slob" is his uniform, Dennis. His image, I suppose. He's obviously got plenty of money to dress "smart."
I can't imagine the UK's government as worse than the U.S'., Dennis. I mean, I keep up with the news there, to some extent, and saw that Johnson resigned as MP, but.... Right or wrong, my impression has always been that they're more civilized. At least, Johnson was forced out as PM, and went without bleating about all kinds of conspiracies to oust him. I was disturbed about the DU ammo going to Ukraine; in that instance, yes, the policy is as bad as the U.S. using it in Iraq, although, for a long time, it was denied that DU was used.
I haven't yet gotten a chance to watch Mr. Galloway, but it is on my to-do list.
As for Kucinich and RFK, Jr., it's a case of returning a favor. When Dennis made his short-lived run at the governorship of Ohio awhile back, Bobby Jr. backed him and appeared with Dennis at a rally or two. I was there for the campaign kick-off. Dennis is not only beloved in most of Ohio, he has street cred on the West Coast as well. His lack of corporate ties makes him trustworthy, and he has Bernie's gift of being able to talk to anyone and explain complex ideas simply---the "common touch." And he's the perfect foil for aristocratic Kennedy, having come from nothing.
As for Michael Moore, as the years have gone by, I've become more ambivalent about him. I'm a fan of his movies, but he tends to go a little overboard in his rants, to be just a touch too hysterical. And I still haven't forgiven him for telling all the Bernie supporters to shut up and vote for Hillary in 2016. He did warn before anyone else, however, that TFG was going to win. As for his slovenliness....yeah, I've gotta admit that it puts me off. Looks as if he just crawled out of bed, after having slept in the same clothes for a week. He could at least trim his hair and shave regularly. Maybe he calculates his appearance so as to be underestimated, but I can't warm to it.
You caught my drift, Denise! : )
Whether people want to admit it or not, much of our dysfunction in our role as voters boils down to everyone having been immersed in "team thinking" our entire lives. Everything is a game with two teams, ours and theirs. Everything is about team loyalty... Team Red, and Team Blue. Voters have been trained to think this way all their lives, through sports, through war, through politics. You aren't allowed to think any other way. It is no wonder that so many Team Blue voters feel they have no choice but to vote for the war-mongering and senile Biden. He is the leader of Team Blue! How can you not vote for the leader!? The mess we are in will continue as long as people are convinced that voting outside their team box is not viable. In fact, it is the only option they have to break out of the mental straightjackets that the RNC and DNC have put them in. I will be voting for Dr. Cornel West. I am voting outside the Team Box.
Agreed. We're brainwashed to be tribal. Red or blue tribe. For example, I'm a Red Sox fan. I "hate" the NY Yankees. I want "my" team to win. But I know it's just sports. It's just a game.
Our political system is not sports. It's not a game. And I'm not rooting for team blue or team red. I want leaders with integrity and vision. That's not Trump and Biden. to state the obvious.
Plus which, West's candidacy is intrinsically valuable in the sense that he represents a "third team," one that will bring up critical issues that the DNC and RNC would like to bury.
I'm with you, Bill. I'm beyond tired of being told that a vote for anyone but Biden will be a vote for TFG. And being scolded for voting for someone "who can never win." Voting one's conscience has evidently become a sin.
I am in full, 100% agreement with you, Bill. Voting for the lesser evil really hasn't gotten us anywhere, except maybe "less bad." And after all l these years of voting for "less bad," we are facing out-of-control climate change, gargantuan military budgets, endless wars and the threat of nuclear annihilation. Clearly, a different approach is required.
I do believe JFK Jr is correct in saying (as he did in the Peterson interview) that this next election cycle can and should be disrupted by candidates using pod casts as their primary means of reaching voters. And I've seen enough glimpses of this by hardened "red" and "blue" people giving an ear to his long interviews finally rejecting MSM sound bites for actual discourse. It is enough to give one hope. Of course, be it JFK JR, West or Williams, if they can't muster a huge contingent of persons to run in congressional races in direct support of their "team" then we are left with the entrenched corruption that rules the day. I think the best hope this regard is a flock of "Kennedy Democrats" as this notion does seem to appeal to old school liberals and young voters. We'll see....
Bill you are screwed. The DNC and RNC pick the candidates, not the people. The Primaries are rigged.
And until the US gets rid of bought-and-paid-for politicians, (Citizens United) and adopts a truly democratic election system (dare I say without the anachronistic Electoral College and its superdelegates) - nothing will change. And now we find out it's the FBI, CIA and DOJ who interfere with the elections, not those pesky Russians who blew up their own dam.
And I don't see this changing in our lifetimes and the USA remaining a Democracy in name only. Sorry.
I remember 60-years ago sitting in a New Zealand high school civics class and our teacher showing us on the blackboard how in the USA, the US President could be elected with <20% of the popular votes. Was he right? And has anything changed in 60-years?
How true. Yes, I'm screwed, but the larger point is that the country is screwed. Maybe the world if the U.S. goes off the rails and starts firing nuclear weapons around.
The only country that might be safe is NZ. That's why the billionaires are building shelters there. :-)
... agreed... progressive ideology is what's needed in this world to effect 'meaningful-change' ... a reality we must contend-knowing few-understand-believe
We can all be consoled that no matter how we decide to vote the chance of us deciding an election is infinitesimal. So to me the only solution is for the government to have less power. That way my vote still doesn't decide the election but it doesn't matter so much. So I vote for the candidate who will work for the government to have less power. If there are any.
Alex, in 1992 in Wa state we voted for Patty Murray, the "the mom in tennis shoes" who promised us that the only solution was for the government to have less power.
When party leaders needed someone to oversee the Senate's fundraising arm, Patty said “yes” twice, for both the 2002 and 2012 election cycles.
Now serving as president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2023. She is the senior United States Senator from Washington, a seat she has held since 1993. 30-years (!) Term limits anybody?
The “mom in tennis shoes” became part of Harry Reid's inner leadership circle, with Reid giving her increasingly more responsibility.
Now as chairwoman of the powerful Senate Budget Committee, she reached a long-term budget deal with her counterpart on the House budget panel, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. The two-year, $2 trillion compromise, which did not address the nation's debt and spending issues, marked a truce in the partisan battles that have paralyzed Congress. Yeah right!
Good job Patty! The Senator for Boeing. Who will undoubtedly die in office unless Boeing goes bankrupt first! USA USA USA
I've never seen a Democrat politician who really wants the government to have less power. The Republicans who do (like Rand Paul) are few and far between.
Here is another approach to the problem, posted to Bracing Views on 10apr22:
Reforming America's Elections the NOTC Way
https://bracingviews.substack.com/p/reforming-americas-elections-the-notc-way
Still flogging that old dead horse eh Jeff?
How are we doing with that - outside Nevada?
Hope you are having a great day.
Heh. How long did it take for American women to get the Right to Vote, Dennis? And how long were those Ladies beating a dead horse of their own?
And how long did the women of New Zealand have to flog their dead horse before New Zealand became the first self-governing nation in the world where women had won the right to vote in 1893? [ https://www.archives.govt.nz/discover-our-stories/womens-suffrage-petition#: ]
Women getting the right to vote can hardly be compared to getting the right to have a gimmick voting "scheme". That no state has adopted except Nevada. Right?
Pushing for Ranked-choice voting (RCV), also called “instant-runoff voting, would be a much more worthwhile endeavor. In the recent Democratic primary for New York City mayor, the US’s biggest city became the largest jurisdiction to use RCV voting.
If one candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, that person wins, and no subsequent rounds are needed. If no one wins a majority of first-preference votes, the last-place candidate is dropped and their votes are reallocated to those voters’ second choices. If there’s still no majority winner, the process repeats with the new last-place candidate being eliminated – and so forth until someone has a majority.
According to a recent Pew Research Center analysis, RCV systems have been adopted in at least 50 cities, one school board (Albany, California), one county (Benton County, Oregon). And one state (Maine) has adopted RCV or its multi-member cousin, the single transferable vote.
NOTC voting schemes have been adopted by nobody except Nevada. And I understand that Nevadans have voted in support of ranked-choice voting. If voters approve the measure again in 2024, Nevada lawmakers would have to pass legislation implementing the change in order for it to take effect. Does that mean Nevada will dump NOTC voting? I don't know.
Do I have this right Jeff?
And until Women actually did get the Right to Vote, there were all manner of folks who were accusing them of beating a dead horse.
How is having NOTC as an option in every election any more of a gimmicky "scheme" than RCV?
And i have no problem with RCV, Dennis. As long as NOTC is included in the first and all subsequent run-offs as an option for those who would not otherwise vote for the simple reason that they have no one they can honestly and sincerely vote FOR [even if it is just to vote AGAINST everybody else].
And voting NOTC is certainly a better way than staying home and not voting to express one's outrage at the American $ 1 = 1 Vote system of putting those wholly-owned, -operated, - commanded, and -controlled by those VSIs and the RPC politicians in office, and then keeping them there.
And it will be interesting to see if ~ upon formally adopting RCV ~ Nevada eliminates NOTC as an option. It certainly would not need to be.
My positions as a lifelong Dem. are when it comes to Presidential years I Vote the man, or woman not the Party... Now lets be real here there are no perfect Candidates so yea. I will choose the lesser of two evils if it looks in the big picture to help my Candidate Win. So many of these so called self anointed "Presidential Candidates" have gone off the Rails that you mention that I have no doubt I ((if I even Register to Vote-- this time) will have a problem making my Decision right up to when I'm writing in my choice in the Booth...!
In Biden's case, I truly worry about his health. He's now squinting when he reads, slurring his words, tripping and falling on stage, and if reelected he will serve until the age of 86. Is he truly fit for office?
Being president is (or should be) tough on a 40- or 50-year old person. Imagine being president in your 80s. And his VP, Kamala Harris, is a huge question mark.
I personally have little question about Harris. She doesn't reflect my values, interests or hopes, and it is all but a certainty that she'd just be a figurehead, rather like Biden, with all foreign policy being actually directed by the neocons in State Dep't as well as in the letter agencies. It is shameful that the Presidency has degraded to this level, and it will take someone of far better ability and character to change that.
Roger, is this correct?
The president’s authority in foreign affairs, is in Article II of the Constitution. The charter grants the officeholder the powers to make treaties and appoint ambassadors with the advice and consent of the Senate. Treaties require approval of two-thirds of senators present. Appointments require consent of a simple majority.
Presidents also rely on other clauses to support their foreign policy actions, particularly those that bestow “executive power” and the role of “commander in chief of the army and navy” on the office. The Constitution also makes two of the president’s foreign affairs powers—making treaties and appointing diplomats—dependent on Senate approval.
Article I of the Constitution enumerates Congress’s foreign affairs powers, including those to “regulate commerce with foreign nations,” “declare war,” “raise and support armies,” “provide and maintain a navy" Furthermore, Congress has the power to create, eliminate, or restructure executive branch agencies.
Roger, so how is it that Victoria Nuland of the State Department has the duty to decide to stage a CIA coup in Ukraine? Because the President and the Congress shirk their duty eh? Could Trump have fired Nuland and her warmongering cronies in the State Department? Will he have learned his lesson if reelected in 2024 and immediately fire her ass! I know our esteemed fellow poster Jeff Moebus will say he won't. Discuss. Do I have this all wrong?
Dennis, I don't think any of that is incorrect. Yes, it appears to me that a string of Presidents have effectively given foreign policy formation to the Staff. Oh, the President (or in the case of the Ukraine coup and some other matters, the VP) may indeed sign off on the implementation- the specific actions such as Nuland et al put in play. And, as you point out, certain acts- such as approval of formal treaties, cabinet appointments, formal declaration of war, etc. do require Congressional approval. But as we've seen with AUMF and any number of secret and not-so-secret wars, Congress has also abdicated its responsibilities w/r/t foreign policy.
Not that it would matter- given the uniparty's buy-in to imperialism and all forms of warfare.
The most important problem is that, as oft happens in bureaucracies, the State Dep't Staff have developed their own agenda, (or, in the case of the neocons affiliated with the Project for A New American Century and its successor, brought it with them. The war on Iraq (and other Mid-East wars) were directly in line with the hegemonic 'vision' and objectives stated in that white paper. Such objectives have underlain probably every conflict. The State Dep't, which might be expected to focus on diplomacy, seems to have morphed into a body that would use diplomacy ONLY as a tool used in fulfillment of the neocon vision of global domination.- not as a way towards peaceful co-existence and solution of global problems.
And they seem to work very closely with CIA in terms of meeting the overall objective.
Just like the CIA, then, even though the titular head may be a temporary political appointee, they typically don't get to that role unless they are already deeply immersed in that system.
That the neocons eventually assumed a control over State that has extended from (at least) Reagan onward probably reflects the tightening control over both electoral and policy politics gained by the plutocracy. In other words, I think it was probably inevitable that the State Dep't (as well as letter agencies and Pentagon) would ultimately reflect neocon foreign policy vision of global financial, military, and political hegemony.
Just another part of the supplanting of democracy as all governance was captured by private capital.
Kudos for the PNAC mention, Roger. Their agenda and power are often overlooked.
Yes, Denise, isn't it rather strange? I don't know how this awful faction has so long escaped public notice, given the very many alumni of PNAC and their particularly heinous history in American governance and warmongering. Oh, I suppose I do know: they've escaped notice precisely because they wanted to, and made sure their 'partners' in MSM never mentioned them or their connections.
Depressing Roger! Thanks.
I'm trying to convince my two doctor daughters born in Seattle to get out and move to New Zealand.
Deluding myself that, having a Kiwi father, they could easily immigrate - even though they are American citizens.
But you know, they are both very happy, and very busy with their professional live's and raising their kids - my grandkids. Making an excellent living. And don't see what we think we see. Doom and gloom. My emails I'm sure, have them worried that their father, like Joe Biden, has lost it. They are huge lefties and have Trump Derangement Syndrome. Asking them who they are going to vote for to be their next President is met with - oh Dad, get off the internet!
My old company, and my colleagues, in Seattle are thriving building container shipping Terminals to import Chinese goods to sell to blue-collar US workers whose jobs were off-shored by American capitalists to make a few more dollars. (I attended a conference put on by the Port of Long Beach. In which they revealed for every 100-containers full of Chinese imports, they load out 10-containers of scrap materials bound for China. Newspaper. Scrap iron etc. No manufactured goods.)
And of course, building more Naval docks in San Diego.
All with great Health Insurance provided by the company. They are not hurting in the least. Yes, they think politics suck - but who cares - they don't see themselves being hurt in the slightest. Just getting back from their trips to Europe. Oh dear!
Have we old boomers lost it you think? This site is the only place I have peers that I can discuss this with. And why don't I just follow the Rugby? Why am I caring about the Ukraine war? And making myself ill?
Take care my friend
Material comfort and blindness go together, Dennis. They are proportional. For evidence I give you Jamie Dimon who is very proud of JP Morgan Chase, has never had a problem with Too Big Too Fail, benefitting by it. There are those calling for him to run for president and he says he hasn't really thought about it because he is doing so much good at JPM. I'm a Cornel West supporter because he speaks for the people, using facts to support his positions.
Dennis, You're only experiencing what many, perhaps most well-informed, critically thinking, and caring people are also experiencing. If one has both a historical perspective, and an awareness of this moment, i.e. of the cultural, political, economic, ecologic realities, it is rather natural, I think, to react with degrees of revulsion, anger, discouragement, skepticism and cynicism, fear, frustration, worry and grief. We ,may experience many pf these at the same time or switch between them. This has been my experience even when one is otherwise 'happy', able to feel love and joy.
I feel that I've been aware, politically and socially, for a long time. At least I've been paying attention to what's going on. And it's my current conclusion that I've never seen so much dysfunction in our society at least, in so many areas at once. Together, I'm sure we could write a very long litany of grievances and concerns. I'm fairly confident that it is not because we've lost our minds; though it's certainly true that one can be pulled off one's 'center' and become unbalanced by non-stop thinking and worrying about the 'outside' world.
In my view, TDS is a serious affliction and is responsible for a lot of cognitive dissonance and enabling of some of the dangerous problems we have now. I don't recall there ever before being something similar; at least I can't think of a parallel. But TDS works in two directions. One, of course, is that it created a large group of people who were persuaded that he could and would 'fix' America- make it into a nation that worked for them and made them proud to be American. His fans seemed to be taken in like those who happily plunked down their buck or their 2-bits for the fabulous elixirs that oily men promised would cure all their ills. Pure self-serving hucksterism. His track record, his lack of emotional maturity, his lack of experience: none of those mattered.
On the other side, TDS was, IMO, perhaps even worse in terms of leading the opposing others to also suspend critical thinking and lose any potential for nuance. If Trump said it, it HAD to be wrong. If someone opposed Trump, they were automatically sainted. If someone else holds a view that Trump may have articulated (such as developing better relations with Russia, then they are automatically maligned as 'Trumpists'. Putin, having in their view (sown tightly by one of the more successful establishment propaganda campaigns) been responsible for electing Trump, is, of course, similarly the source of all evil, just like Trump, just like his followers.
An old friend came over to look at my roof with me, and as we often used to do, began eventually talking about politics. Though a guy who took to heart Eisenhower's warning about the MIC, and a guy who was a Bernie delegate in '16 who knows damn well that the nomination was rigged and that there is a plutocracy running the show - could not stop ranting about Trump and the Repubs, assigning all blame thereto, and stating complete belief in Trump-Putin collusion - even though official docs should have made it clear that Russiagate was a "Psy-Op" conducted for partisan purposes.
So your daughters are only reacting as probably a majority of Americans are these days. And why wouldn't they? Most people have never really bothered looking much beyond the headlines and claims emanating from their favorite side of the media. And Americans have been now conditioned over a long period to see Russia as the enemy that Washington wants them to perceive. While government and other institutions are indeed becoming more Orwellian with each passing day, most of the people think nothing of it.... and even cheer if it appears at the moment to be targeting those they hate ... i.e. the other side.
Lastly, in re. to your rhetorical q. about why care about the Ukraine war: You care because you know that many people, very many innocent of any ill will, are being killed or having lives nearly devastated by a war that was both completely unnecessary and preventable, and begun for no better reason than to eliminate some competition to American hegemony. It is the reason for very many if not most wars, I think, since the end of WWII and the Breton Woods agreement. It's kind of like the Mafia wars where the ambitious take out their rivals to eliminate any competition or challenge to dominance; except in these wars, it isn't just a few gang members and their families who suffer, it's the entirety of nations- thousands and millions of people; as well as the future of the survivors.
So keep caring. But do take enough breaks- take care of your own body & mind to stay strong,, remember love and the importance of relationships, etc.
when the great majority of information media are under the control of very few,