It's worth (regularly) echoing the most important point.
As you say,
" The so-called Deep State isn’t about to allow the election of anyone with fresh perspectives and a truly populist agenda."
...
and Caitlin:
"If you have a problem with genocide, militarism, economic injustice, authoritarianism, or any other crucial building block for the US-centralized power structure, you will never be permitted to have any influence over those things through the official electoral system"
...and
Jeff M.: " The way this system is set up, the only people who will ever become that "new generation of leaders" in Washington are those who welcome being owned and operated,..."
So even as it's obvious that Biden should be declared unfit simply by virtue of his obvious cognitive failings (and Trump, perhaps, too., along with his almost singular lack of psychological development), the fact is that merely replacing the elderly arseholes with younguns is not going to actually improve America, one iota. As each notes, that takes a whole different focus of effort.
Caitlin's closing two paragraphs merit and desperately need the widest-spread possible distribution, reading, acknowledging, accepting, and acting upon:
"That doesn’t mean there’s no way out of this mess, just that there’s no way out of this mess that involves voting. We’re already seeing pro-Palestine activists throwing significant obstacles in the operations of Israeli weapons dealers, and the push to educate and inform the public about what’s happening in Gaza has caused Israel to lose control of the narrative so severely that it’s now resorting to desperate online influence ops. Measures like this can be implemented across the board to bring about the end of the imperial power structure. Once enough people begin turning against the empire, using the power of our numbers to force real change will quickly move from impossible to possible to likely to inevitable.
"But we’ve got to stop hanging all our hopes on the electoral system first. Every four years we see American attention get sucked up into this empty puppet show about which soulless empire manager should be the temporary official figurehead at the front desk of the permanent imperial machine, and if you want to vote by all means go ahead and vote. But don’t let that performative ritual distract you from the real project: to wake up our fellow humans and begin forcing real change."
I don't know what Caitlin is advocating. As I was for a time a community organizer- at first, informal / self-directed and later, as the E.D. of a state-wide community organizing non-profit, I've had some ideas; but never really the means or gravitas to implement them. For example, perhaps 15 years or so ago, i met with the then- Pres. of Sierra Club (Carl Pope), who was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule at a big confab to hear me out. I presented him with a proposal for creation of a "Blue/Green/Brown Alliance" (labor/environmental/people of color, etc.); which I labeled, "the 2% Solution". I proposed that the Club take a lead role in initiating the effort, which would be to persuade the Exec's and Boards of various, target organizations, to commit initially, 1/2 of 1% (and up to 2%) of their annual budgets to this new alliance, whose reason for being would be to help build a broad coalition to take back power, by organizing around common denominator issues such as the common barriers to our individual success. Pledged moneys would be used to build the organizing infrastructure- i.e. hire & train community organizers, cover operational costs, etc. I suggested that a first 'demo' project might be to work together on corrections of the political corruption, for example (i.e. removal of private capital from elections and closing of revolving-door loopholes, etc.. I knew even then that that particular focus might not fly with some, like the factions of Labor who were plenty happy that they could still buy influence with some politicians (however relatively minimal it might be). And I knew that some within Labor were naturally opposed to environmental protections especially if they perceived it might reduce 'jobs'; for I had already had to deal with that dynamic when I ran for office.
Anyway, Mr. Pope said he thought the idea had a lot of merit, but in fact the Club was already participating in a somewhat parallel effort called the Apollo Alliance and he'd be unable to persuade his Board to begin a 2nd effort that might seem to them redundant. (I've no idea what if anything they've accomplished, but it has not apparently involved much real organizing.)
Anyway, I think there's a lack of real, experienced, democratically-oriented leadership in terms of such coalition building, and that's what's most badly needed. Also, as I experienced first hand in my various roles, there is always a big problem of getting progressive-minded folk to even get to a consensus in terms of defining the problems and prioritizing their solution. On top of that, or possibly closely related, just as politics tends to draw a lot of wanna-be, ladder-climbing folk who just want to "be somebody", so too are activist groups often hamstrung by individuals without control over their egoic drives. That 's especially problematic when you're trying to build democratic organizations and institutions, and where close collaboration is needed and dependent on members' ability to put the "we" ahead of "me".
Yet I have no doubt whatsoever that this model - i.e. building very broad-based groups of people recognizing their common threats, problems, needs and goals - is what will be required. Otherwise, what will happen is going to be more explosive. i.e. various segments of the populous will reach breaking points with the establishment, but due to lack of disciplined/ rational leadership, will just want to "Storm the barricades" so to speak. The Occupy movements were IMO hamstrung to an extent by such lack of clear vision, realistic strategy, and clear messaging. They seem to have sprung up organically / spontaneously... reacting to some of the most important systemic failings, but without sound strategy to get what they wanted or to grow their numbers to anything like what it would take.
Admittedly, while I have lots of experience and ideas for this, I'm also pretty burned out. Over the decades, I've initiated and led org's only to encounter the kinds of problems I've alluded to; and I've admittedly grown tired of it and probably no longer have the patience needed to deal with the egos and undemocratic, go-it-alone attitudes of even allies. The resources needed never seem to really be there, either. When I was the E.D. of that statewide group, there were only 2 young people in my first team of organizers. I had to accept a salary that was about 1/3 of that of the job I had just left; and the organizers were paid much less.; certainly not nearly enough. In my 1st budget, I declined the raise the Board was suggesting for me., just so I could pay the organizers a bit more. We had to operate it all on a shoestring budget; and never felt we had any real economic security.
Private capital, meanwhile, operates huge well-funded organizations like the Chamber of Commerce; and Think Tanks and Lobbying groups. They can easily do that as such expenditures are merely factored into costs of operations, and function as 'investments' almost guaranteeing a great R.O.I. As in all things, the common people have no power, because their own resources don't allow them to even maintain an adequate staff or their operations.
Ultimately, I think such a broad-based / coalescing Movement (whatever it looks like) will have to choose to include in its work the goals to 'perturb' the economic system / order, by organizing strategic / well targeted boycotts, sick-outs, walk-outs/ slow-downs and other labor actions, and tax protests, and other strategic actions.
I have no illusions that such work would/ will be easy; in fact, again from experience, it is a struggle even when the establishment isn't targeting you; it will be a Sisyphean task to just build the coalitions and ongoing consensus for collaboration; especially given the scale that is needed To whatever extent such organizations actually are perceived as a threat to the established order, they will fight it with their immense resource advantages plus the almost limitless amounts of capital from any interest that might feel threatened at any particular moment.
Since it involves the willingness and the UNITY of the people it won't happen until the food runs out and/or the violence and disruptions are brought to America.
If Americans boycotted major corporations and bought only essential products it would be a strong start.
If workers walked off the jobs of arms manufacturing companies it would stop arms shipments.
The only other option is to dust off and oil up the 30-06.
No confidence votes should be instituted for all elected officials. The constitution was written to be flexible and adaptable to changing times and conditions. Our selected officials however are not. The internet and communication systems today are such that Americans can be polled for opinions and be in control of the country. There are no excuses for this not happening. Instead the internet is a method of control over the people by diverting attention to meaningless issues made important and disinformation. Politicians are not held accountable for anything unless the status quo doesn't like them. Many times the excuse is that they won't get a "fair trial" because they are public figures and an "impartial " jury can't be selected.So the people are not in control of government in any way shape or form. They are however, in control of their spending. But as long as they can waddle their fat asses into Walmart for their Great Value Cheetos and Cheese Whiz to dip them in they're happy and content.
Americans are zombies. Unthinking and unsympathetic to anyone but themselves.
“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” Hur writes.
Does this seem like a two tiered justice system? I vote guilty on all counts. And unfit for duty as commander in chief.
Sympathetic and well meaning enough to allow a slaughter of innocents in Gaza? Same for Ukraine and now the Middle East in general. How about demented, cruel and vicious? And who would vote for such a person? How about demented, cruel and vicious citizens? Programmed to be good citizens and exercise the "right" to vote.
Going to vote in the primaries alone shows this. Not voting would show dissent and dissatisfaction with the selection of the two candidates by the two parties. Those who do vote are satisfied with the status quo so the status quo continues. Bidens loss of mental capacity applies to Americans in general. Most have the attention span of a fly and just as much foresight. It also shows their ignorance and lack of intelligence. Wealth is now the standard by which intelligence is measured. A$55 billion salary for Musk? For an electric vehicle ? An up and coming environmental disaster strongly supported by Biden?
This has been going on at least since Reagan and has gotten progressively worse every year since. Democrats have been complicit as Reaganomics could have been reversed in all its forms of reduced taxes for the wealthy, trickle down economics and privatization of government. COVID put thousands of small businesses out of business and transferred wealth upwards. People lost homes when payments and interest could have been suspended for the duration of the pandemic, but God forbid the banks should have to suffer. And while we're at let's print some more money for bombs which are a good sound investment for Americans. We could cause a global climate catastrophe just by cutting down trees to print the money needed for the US debt. Aren't todays computers wonderful saving all those trees !
The planet is on or has passed the brink of disaster and we're being led by a demented, mentally unstable fool. The rosary beads don't seem to be doing their job. Maybe Joe could convince the Pope to bless them. It's hard to imagine that a mass extinction will occur because of Cheetos but that's how it goes.
And Roger Hoffman superbly laid out the difficulty in doing anything.
Have only seen portions of it. A lot to digest. Putin does have a dry sense of humor, as when he was making fun of Carlson for wanting to join the CIA. As he said, a job's a job.
"Historians of the future, gathered round their campfires poaching armadillo tail-flaps in their own shells, will harken back to the wondrous day in 2024 when they could watch and compare two heads of great nations present themselves to the world for assessment. There was Mr. Putin of the land called Russia, calmly discoursing in fine detail on a thousand years of his country’s history.
And there was Mr. Biden of the USA, facing the White House press pool, angrily refuting a special prosecutor’s glum conclusion that the President was not mentally competent to be tried in court on the finding that he’d indeed mishandled classified documents.
The contrast between the two figures might even alert the mandarins of our Ivy League that something has gone very wrong in this country for a decade or more, and could arouse suspicions among the faculties that they had been gulled into a false view of our recent history......
......That impression was only reinforced by listening to the president of our supposed adversary, Russia, Mr. Putin, in his confab with independent journalist Tucker Carlson. For one thing, Mr. Putin dared to express the likelihood that somebody, or group of somebodies, must be secretly running the executive branch of America’s government behind the mentally vacant figurehead “President Biden,” but Mr. Putin would not venture to guess who that might be." - James Howard Kunstler
Putin is competent and popular with his people whereas Biden is not. I have to wonder how much of Biden's enthusiasm for Project Ukraine stems from this disparity.
“Vladimir Putin: Listen, you have said that the world is breaking into two hemispheres. A human brain is divided into two hemispheres: one is responsible for one type of activities, the other one is more about creativity and so on. But it is still one and the same head. The world should be a single whole, security should be shared, rather than meant for the ”golden billion“. That is the only scenario where the world could be stable, sustainable and predictable. Until then, while the head is split into two parts, it is an illness, a serious adverse condition. It is a period of a severe disease that the world is now going through.
I think Putin is a devout Orthodox Christian, and by those words, he’s paraphrasing Christ Jesus Alpha, speaking this Vision, “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” Matthew 23:9
As for being double-minded, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:6-8
The DOJ says Biden is too old and too addled to be expected to responsibly handle classified documents but by law he is completely fit to have authority over all US classified documents. You can't make this stuff up.
Some research reveals that the "Daisy Girl" ad was a direct response to a Goldwater ad depicting American school children and their Teacher reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and being drowned out by the USSR's Nikita Khrushchev declaring "We will bury you!!!" and "Your children will be Communists!!!" And then Goldwater declaring what he wants for America.
The FBI bugged Goldwater campaign headquarters and his campaign plane. When asked about it, J. Edgar Hoover said that when the President (LBJ) tells you to do something you do it. LBJ later made Hoover FBI director for life. Nixon reportedly was afraid to fire Hoover, who remained FBI director until his death in 1972.
Don't feel too bad, Ray. At four years younger than Biden and the same age as Trump, i do the same thing, but within the confines of a 43-foot long sailboat.
i don't remember it happening at all when i was younger; which includes up to about a year and a half ago.
And yes, the S/V WayFinder is my live-aboard home all year round, and has been since 2006. i live in Sitka, Alaska, and have done so since i brought WayFinder up from San Francisco Bay 12 years ago this coming summer.
20 years before 9/11, In 1981, I hitch hiked both ways from Ottawa to Whitehorse in the Yukon, 6,700 miles round trip, to draw attention to the rider on the WhiteHorse in Revelation 19:11.
It made the Local Whitehorse Star and to my surprise, Canada's National MacLean's Magazine.
I looked for a job at the best Hotel Restaurant and not happening, I was hitch hiking to Alaska when a Hotel employee saw me and told me the Manager wanted to see me.
I was detoured from seeing Alaska, keeping me in Whitehorse for a couple of months.
If the opportunity ever presents itself, Ray, You really should try to get to Alaska and see it. Everybody should.
i have lived in some beautiful and Beauty Full places in my life, but Sitka ~ with its Temperate Rainforest, Snow Capped Mountains, Rivers and the Pacific Ocean, and especially, the Volcano ~ is the most beautiful and Beauty Full place i have ever lived in, and quite frankly, have ever been or seen.
One additional benefit of being in Alaska is that i am just about as far away from the Insanity, Chaos, and Imminent Collapse of what is going on in the Lower 48, and still be ~ for the moment, at least ~ in the United States.
As far as i'm concerned, the best thing that could happen to Alaska and Alaskans is that it secede from the United States, and become a sovereign, independent Nation like its neighbors, Russia and Canada. But a Nation that is politically, economically, diplomatically, and militarily Neutral like the best model for a Nation-State, Switzerland.
If You are interested in The Alaska Sovereignty Project, send me Your email address to asp.sitka@gmail.com, and i will pass on some core documents.
Caitlin Johnstone is absolutely right and the whole world desperately needs a new generation of American leaders... new leaders finally moving their bases,troops and ammunition back home
So Robert Hur is a board certified memory specialist? Has anyone seen the recent interviews and press conference with trump, if Bidens the Democrats choice ill stick with him!
Caitlin Johnstone indeed says it best, Bill; as she very frequently ~ in fact, almost always ~ does.
What needs to happen is complete and publicly released psychological/mental capacity examinations and evaluations of Everybody in positions of leadership in Washington: ~ elected politicians, entrenched civilian and military bureaucrats, and anointed political appointees ~ and anybody and everybody who wants to be one. And not by some so-called "Special Counsel" of the Department of Justice, but by a team of psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals.
Starting with Trump.
And particularly, that "new generation" of would-be, wanna-be national political leaders, whoever they are, and from whichever part of the political spectrum they are attempting to be hatched.
The way this system is set up, the only people who will ever become that "new generation of leaders" in Washington are those who welcome being owned and operated, and thus commanded and controlled by America's Ruling Political Class,. And this is so for the simple reason because they know that that is the ONLY way that they have any hope whatsoever of becoming that "new generation."
What is needed is not a change of the faces in DC, but a change to the whole system of government and governance of this nation whereby Vested Special Interests bid for access to that system's legal power, administrative authority, and above all, its spending ability and capacity, so as to advance the agendas of those highest bidding VSIs, at and to the cost of everybody and everything else.
"We have given You a Republic; if You can keep it," was how Ben Franklin responded to a question about what the Constitutional Convention back in Philadelphia almost 240 years ago had accomplished.
And "We, The People" are very close to losing it. And much, much sooner than anybody can even imagine, let alone confront, acknowledge, and actually begin to react and respond to before it is too late to even try to change anything, let alone actually even challenge and then change it.
What is truly needed are psychological/mental capacity examinations and evaluations of The American Peoples. Especially of those who vote and think that changing anybody in Washington is going to change anything but enable them to get worse..
"The Founding Fathers label that originated in the 19th century as a quasi-religious and nearly reverential designation has become a more controversial term in the 21st. Any assessment of America’s founding generation has become a conversation about the core values embodied in the political institutions of the United States, which are alternatively celebrated as the wellspring of democracy and a triumphant liberal legacy or demonized as the source of American arrogance, racism, and imperialism."
"In much the same way that adolescents view their parents, the Founders are depicted as heroic icons or despicable villains, demigods or devils, the creators of all that is right or all that is wrong with American society."
“Discuss!”, eh? Heh. Is that an order? And if it is, then on whose or what authority is it issued?
If, on the other hand, You would like an actual discussion about the so-called “Founding Fathers” and “The Peculiar Institution” [aka Slavery], here’s what i have to say:
Your point seems to be that many of those Founders were Slave Owners and therefore… . At which point You go no further.
And my counter-point is “Yeah? So what?” Let me explain.
As to how many signers of the U.S. Constitution were Enslavers, according to Britannica:
“There does not appear to be a consensus on the number of men who signed the U.S. Constitution—or, more broadly, were delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787—and who were also enslavers.
“According to the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History, ‘about 25’ delegates enslaved people, of the 55 who attended the convention’s proceedings in Philadelphia. The Constitutional Rights Foundation asserts that 17 of the 55 delegates were enslavers and together held about 1,400 enslaved people. In addition to identifying James Madison as an enslaver, Signers of the Constitution, published in 1976 by the National Park Service, notes that 11 other signers “owned or managed slave-operated plantations or large farms,” and then it names them: Richard Bassett, John Blair, William Blount, Pierce Butler, Daniel Carroll, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Rutledge, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and George Washington. It is also known that Benjamin Franklin enslaved people.”
Like I said earlier: Your point seems to be that many of those Founders were Slave Owners and therefore… . At which point You go no further.
So, Dennis, what IS Your point? That Slaves were not included when it was declared that “All Men are created Equal”?
Given that all this happened just under 250 years ago, was there anybody else anyplace else on the Planet who had ever declared or was declaring, at least, that ALL Human Beings of the Male Sex [at least of a certain Race and Occupations] ~ and not just Kings, Nobles, Aristocrats, Lords, and their Courts ~ are created Equal? Even if it did not include Slaves in the soon-to-be former British Colonies south of Canada.
Had anybody anyplace ever declared anything even close to that? If somebody had, the difference here was that these same folks who made that declaration then set out to make it a Declaration of Independence, and then to make that Independence actually happen in the Real World.
And let us not forget that WOMEN were also not included as equally-created “Men,” either in the American Colonies’ Declaration, or anyplace else in the world. And not for a long, Long time.
i have said it a couple of times here on Bracing Views, and will say it again: One of the seeds of the ultimate Decline and Fall of the United States and the failure of The American Experiment was exactly that: That Slavery was built into this Nation from the very beginning with the so-called “3/5 Rule” and a de facto and de jure Fugitive Slave Law built into the Constitution.
However, if those two things had not been included in the proposed Constitution, it would have never been ratified and The United States of America would not have been born; at least not at that time.
And another seed was the failure to recognize and treat Women as created just as Equally as any Man. Which is the ultimate source and root cause of many of the problems America is having today with Gender Issues of Inequality in matters both personal and private, and in controversies that are public.
So again: If Your point is that those Founding Fathers who were Enslavers were, are, and ever will be World-Class Hypocrites, my point is “Yeah? So what?” They launched what ultimately has become the wealthiest, most powerful Nation-State and Empire in human history.
And on this Planet, that is and has been throughout that history a very common aspiration since the beginning of formal, organized Government: the increase of Power [the ability to force another to do something, even if they don’t want to do it], and the increase of Wealth [the ability to buy and sell Power at a profit].
And more importantly, those Founding Fathers also launched the Experiment of democratically-elected representative government in the form of a federated Republic under a Rule Of Law in which all those Men who were now philosophically “Equal” ~ ie, not Slaves ~ were at least theoretically legally “Equal” before that Rule of Law.
And they made Human Rights a critical element of both that Rule Of Law and in the purpose and function of the Government they were trying to put together. Another complete and total innovation from anything that had ever existed ~ or even ever been tried ~ on the Planet before.
One can only wonder what would have happened if enough Americans had objected to and openly opposed the inclusion of Slavery in the proposed and up-for-ratification Constitution, and thus, that the United States of America never came into existence as the next generation of the original 13 Colonies, in the first place, eh?
Your point seems to be that many of those Founding Founders were Slave Owners, and that the Founders who weren’t Slave Owners went along with Slavery being part of America just to get the United States of America launched. And that therefore America’s revered Founding Fathers were a bunch of World Class Hypocrites.
And my counter-point is “Yeah? So what?” And then i explain exactly Why I feel and think that way.
And yes, it getting warmer up here indeed. Particularly after a storm blew thru with Hurricane Force Winds, followed two days later with a bunch of Snow that then got Icy.
Like they say about Southeast Alaska: "If You don't like the weather, stick around. Because it WILL change,
Hey Man you need to show some respect to us-- "Elder Statemen." Whippersnapper. I may have a bit of a Hoarding problem, but its too damn busy now man in the White House Rest Home to find time off to clean out my Garage... Besides I'm waiting for the Leaves to return in my Tree!!! :/ :o) I'm Fit for Duty.
Another American whose expertise I find credible is Scott Ritter, and his analysis of where the US WAR with Russia over Ukraine in NATO is just telling it like it is:
The Lunar New Year of the Dragon starts February 10, TODAY!
For all the snippets of the Revelation I cited here for years, it's a natural wonder for me to question if Spiritually, the Eastern Culture Dragon has any relationship to the Western Culture Dragon in Revelation 16:13, "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet."
The Beast is a Nation getting it's POWER from the Dragon. The transition from false prophet to fake News is almost completed these Days!
At the very beginning of COVID when essentially all manufacturing Globally shut down, the images I saw on TV of almost a miraculous regeneration of the Earth have been indelibly embedded in my mind restoring hope that all things are possible.
So before any reader adopts a negative implication comparing the Western and Eastern Dragons, many Positives are possible in this Year of the Dragon.
Among the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, only the Dragon is mythical. It is an imaginary creature that combines the features of some other animals. There are many legends about this animal, and it is also regarded as the most auspicious sign. Chinese people believe they are the descendants of the Dragon.
People with Chinese zodiac Dragon are born with superb leadership. Because of their knowledge, power and capability, people are willing to take orders from them. They are also ambitious, and have a strong drive to realize their dreams. They are adventurous. Once goals are settled, they will try their best to fight for success. Their eloquence and passion make their speech authoritative. They seem to have endless energy, and seldom feel exhausted. They have another gift - their innate luck, which will help them achieve their goals. They are people of charm and glamour, so they can always win another's heart easily.
Let's hope many People with that drive rise up and speak up in both East and West this year and use their talents in the service to Humankind forging a better World.
In the West, the END TIMES Prophet Daniel was considered to be Smart and a DIS-SOLVER OF DOUBTS. I can only hope many People having that talent rise up and speak up this Year.
As for having talents, this is the record:
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes.
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.....After a long time the lord of those servants comes, and reckons with them..............
Thanks for bringing that up, Ray. It is, indeed, The Year of The Green Wood Dragon,
Your comment "Let's hope many People with that drive rise up and speak up in both East and West this year and use their talents in the service to Humankind forging a better World" is spot on and well said.
Jeff, you reckon that the Tucker/Putin interview gives credence to the claim that it's only the WEST who has to work harder to use their talents in the service to Humankind forging a better World?
I think Putin's spot on!
And lets hope Trump will continue his first term aspirations to have the US be friendly towards Russia and drop out of NATO. And this time tell the Deep State, the Generals and Pentagon to take a hike!
i think that China and Russia have to work just as hard as "the West" [ie, the US and NATO] to make a better world possible for Everybody: West, East, South, North, and all points in between.
And Trump will do exactly as and whatever he is told to do; just like he did during his first term. If he didn't then, he would not have survived his full term. And if elected this time and he doesn't do as told, he won't survive this full term.
Nobody ~ not even Corporal Bonespurs ~ tells the Deep State, the Generals and the Pentagon [and the NSA, CIA, etc] to take a hike and gets away with it.
The only folks who could do that and get away with it are the American Peoples; but only if and when they ever decide that they are fed up with all The Bullshit.
And if Trump gets less than 50% of the Popular Vote but wins the Electoral College Vote and becomes President again, what kind of "mandate" will he have, and from who?
Ray: I don't believe in Astrology I'm a Scorpio, and we're skeptical...:/ :o) And.., seriously every American should learn enough Astronomy to ask themselves How can Stars that are Quadrillions of miles away know that I should avoid emotional entanglements tomorrow?!You think how Society decides on these ridiculous issues-- Zodiac Signs, Dragons, Astrology, Demons, Pseudo Science, Religious Dogma in the next several decades will have a tremendous impact on future generations...! It is imperative that "Scientific Literacy"trumps this nonsense, and that the world we leave our descendants of the far- future era begins with us, here, today...! OK I've said my piece.
In addition to Scientific Literacy, there is also a need for Economic Literacy, which explains how the results of Science and technology are best put to use so as to maximize the Well-Being of the maximum number of People, without violating the Human Rights of anybody.
Ditto Dennis! My two Tech. Professional Daughters as well... We wanted that kind of misinformation out-- only "reality." Unfortunately our world will at least in our lifetimes what's left anyway always have these strange ideas. For example without naming names those of "The World will end Tuesday" variety-- and for the most part the public dismisses them. But let them start dressing up their "Chatter" with selectively chosen bits of science, and they begin leading members of the public astray...!
"It is the responsibility of scientists never to suppress knowledge, no matter how awkward that knowledge is, no matter how it may bother those in power, we are not smart enough to decide which piece of knowledge are permissable, and which are not."--Carl Sagan
Putin alluded to Biden's Age related forgetfulness in Tucker's Interview.
There's so much to think about in this rapidly changing world like;
'The Supreme Court and the Risks of January 6, 2025'
The Justices seem to want to avoid a major decision about whether Trump can serve as President—but if they do so they may set off a national crisis.
February 8, 2024
The Free portion of The New Yorker
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Thursday about Donald Trump’s possible disqualification from the Presidency as an insurrectionist, based on his conduct around January 6, 2021. Any such arguments must invoke the Civil War, because Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, from which his disqualification would arise, was designed to keep former Confederate rebels from returning to power.
An amicus brief from several election-law experts in the case, Trump v. Anderson, compared then and now in dire terms, warning the Supreme Court that it has the unique ability and responsibility to prevent the extraordinary conflict that might unfold this year: “Not since the Civil War has the United States confronted such a risk of destabilizing political unrest, and perhaps never has this Court been in such a clear position to head it off.”
At oral arguments on Thursday, the courtroom seemed to vibrate with the historical significance of the moment. The Justices seemed to accept that responsibility, certainly enough to resolve the issue of the former President’s disqualification, but perhaps not quite enough to head off the feared danger. After oral arguments, there is little reason to doubt that the Court will decide in Trump’s favor. The suspense is over the grounds of the decision, which will carry enormous consequences for how the next year unfolds in this country.
And this free article from Foreign Affairs Magazine;
'Israel’s Self-Destruction'
Netanyahu, the Palestinians, and the Price of Neglect
One bright day in April 1956, Moshe Dayan, the one-eyed chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), drove south to Nahal Oz, a recently established kibbutz near the border of the Gaza Strip. Dayan came to attend the funeral of 21-year-old Roi Rotberg, who had been murdered the previous morning by Palestinians while he was patrolling the fields on horseback. The killers dragged Rotberg’s body to the other side of the border, where it was found mutilated, its eyes poked out. The result was nationwide shock and agony.
If Dayan had been speaking in modern-day Israel, he would have used his eulogy largely to blast the horrible cruelty of Rotberg’s killers. But as framed in the 1950s, his speech was remarkably sympathetic toward the perpetrators. “Let us not cast blame on the murderers,’’ Dayan said. “For eight years, they have been sitting in the refugee camps in Gaza, and before their eyes we have been transforming the lands and the villages where they and their fathers dwelt into our estate.” Dayan was alluding to the nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe,” when the majority of Palestinian Arabs were driven into exile by Israel’s victory in the 1948 war of independence. Many were forcibly relocated to Gaza, including residents of communities that eventually became Jewish towns and villages along the border.
Dayan was hardly a supporter of the Palestinian cause. In 1950, after the hostilities had ended, he organized the displacement of the remaining Palestinian community in the border town of Al-Majdal, now the Israeli city of Ashkelon. Still, Dayan realized what many Jewish Israelis refuse to accept: Palestinians would never forget the nakba or stop dreaming of returning to their homes. “Let us not be deterred from seeing the loathing that is inflaming and filling the lives of hundreds of thousands of Arabs living around us,’’ Dayan declared in his eulogy. “This is our life’s choice—to be prepared and armed, strong and determined, lest the sword be stricken from our fist and our lives cut down.’’
On October 7, 2023, Dayan’s age-old warning materialized in the bloodiest way possible. Following a plan masterminded by Yahya Sinwar, a Hamas leader born to a family forced out of Al-Majdal, Palestinian militants invaded Israel at nearly 30 points along the Gazan border. Achieving total surprise, they overran Israel’s thin defenses and proceeded to attack a music festival, small towns, and more than 20 kibbutzim. They killed around 1,200 civilians and soldiers and kidnapped well over 200 hostages. They raped, looted, burned, and pillaged. The descendants of Dayan’s refugee camp dwellers—fueled by the same hatred and loathing that he described but now better armed, trained, and organized—had come back for revenge..........................................................
And just think, Trump is the leading candidate to replace Biden. What does this tell You about the future of mental health in the White House? Or the future of this nation?.....
James Bovard February 8 piece BIDEN IS NOT FIT FOR PRESIDENT IF HE’S NOT FIT TO PROSECUTE begins as follows:
“President Biden is not guilty because he is hopelessly clueless about his own life and career.
“So how the hell is he able to be president?
“Special counsel Robert Hur, who concluded Biden ‘willfully retained and disclosed’ classified information, which ‘risked serious damage to America’s national security.’
“If anyone else did this, they would be federal crimes.
“But Biden cannot be convicted of a ‘felony that requires a mental state of willfulness,’ the special counsel decided — apparently because Biden’s mind is gone.
“Uncle Joe is little more than ‘an elderly man with a poor memory,’ according to the report.”
And concludes as follows:
“Does Biden not even realize he has just been certified mentally incompetent for office?
“Nixon was famous for asserting, ‘I am not a crook.’
"Will Biden achieve equal notoriety for proclaiming, ‘I am not mentally incompetent’?
"Or perhaps this proclamation from Thursday night will be his epitaph: ‘I know what the hell I’m doing.’"
It's worth (regularly) echoing the most important point.
As you say,
" The so-called Deep State isn’t about to allow the election of anyone with fresh perspectives and a truly populist agenda."
...
and Caitlin:
"If you have a problem with genocide, militarism, economic injustice, authoritarianism, or any other crucial building block for the US-centralized power structure, you will never be permitted to have any influence over those things through the official electoral system"
...and
Jeff M.: " The way this system is set up, the only people who will ever become that "new generation of leaders" in Washington are those who welcome being owned and operated,..."
So even as it's obvious that Biden should be declared unfit simply by virtue of his obvious cognitive failings (and Trump, perhaps, too., along with his almost singular lack of psychological development), the fact is that merely replacing the elderly arseholes with younguns is not going to actually improve America, one iota. As each notes, that takes a whole different focus of effort.
Caitlin's closing two paragraphs merit and desperately need the widest-spread possible distribution, reading, acknowledging, accepting, and acting upon:
"That doesn’t mean there’s no way out of this mess, just that there’s no way out of this mess that involves voting. We’re already seeing pro-Palestine activists throwing significant obstacles in the operations of Israeli weapons dealers, and the push to educate and inform the public about what’s happening in Gaza has caused Israel to lose control of the narrative so severely that it’s now resorting to desperate online influence ops. Measures like this can be implemented across the board to bring about the end of the imperial power structure. Once enough people begin turning against the empire, using the power of our numbers to force real change will quickly move from impossible to possible to likely to inevitable.
"But we’ve got to stop hanging all our hopes on the electoral system first. Every four years we see American attention get sucked up into this empty puppet show about which soulless empire manager should be the temporary official figurehead at the front desk of the permanent imperial machine, and if you want to vote by all means go ahead and vote. But don’t let that performative ritual distract you from the real project: to wake up our fellow humans and begin forcing real change."
"wake(ing) up our fellow US humans and begin forcing real change."
Great place to start ~ watch the Tucker/Putin interview. The whole 2-hours.
But 80% of Americans will see it as commie propaganda!
She and I see things in much the same way. It is comforting, is it not, to know that we're not alone in our thoughts and perceptions?
Very comforting. And more importantly, also very Challenging.
So the question then becomes: When to begin Caitlin's "real project," and How to go about actually DOING it?
I don't know what Caitlin is advocating. As I was for a time a community organizer- at first, informal / self-directed and later, as the E.D. of a state-wide community organizing non-profit, I've had some ideas; but never really the means or gravitas to implement them. For example, perhaps 15 years or so ago, i met with the then- Pres. of Sierra Club (Carl Pope), who was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule at a big confab to hear me out. I presented him with a proposal for creation of a "Blue/Green/Brown Alliance" (labor/environmental/people of color, etc.); which I labeled, "the 2% Solution". I proposed that the Club take a lead role in initiating the effort, which would be to persuade the Exec's and Boards of various, target organizations, to commit initially, 1/2 of 1% (and up to 2%) of their annual budgets to this new alliance, whose reason for being would be to help build a broad coalition to take back power, by organizing around common denominator issues such as the common barriers to our individual success. Pledged moneys would be used to build the organizing infrastructure- i.e. hire & train community organizers, cover operational costs, etc. I suggested that a first 'demo' project might be to work together on corrections of the political corruption, for example (i.e. removal of private capital from elections and closing of revolving-door loopholes, etc.. I knew even then that that particular focus might not fly with some, like the factions of Labor who were plenty happy that they could still buy influence with some politicians (however relatively minimal it might be). And I knew that some within Labor were naturally opposed to environmental protections especially if they perceived it might reduce 'jobs'; for I had already had to deal with that dynamic when I ran for office.
Anyway, Mr. Pope said he thought the idea had a lot of merit, but in fact the Club was already participating in a somewhat parallel effort called the Apollo Alliance and he'd be unable to persuade his Board to begin a 2nd effort that might seem to them redundant. (I've no idea what if anything they've accomplished, but it has not apparently involved much real organizing.)
Anyway, I think there's a lack of real, experienced, democratically-oriented leadership in terms of such coalition building, and that's what's most badly needed. Also, as I experienced first hand in my various roles, there is always a big problem of getting progressive-minded folk to even get to a consensus in terms of defining the problems and prioritizing their solution. On top of that, or possibly closely related, just as politics tends to draw a lot of wanna-be, ladder-climbing folk who just want to "be somebody", so too are activist groups often hamstrung by individuals without control over their egoic drives. That 's especially problematic when you're trying to build democratic organizations and institutions, and where close collaboration is needed and dependent on members' ability to put the "we" ahead of "me".
Yet I have no doubt whatsoever that this model - i.e. building very broad-based groups of people recognizing their common threats, problems, needs and goals - is what will be required. Otherwise, what will happen is going to be more explosive. i.e. various segments of the populous will reach breaking points with the establishment, but due to lack of disciplined/ rational leadership, will just want to "Storm the barricades" so to speak. The Occupy movements were IMO hamstrung to an extent by such lack of clear vision, realistic strategy, and clear messaging. They seem to have sprung up organically / spontaneously... reacting to some of the most important systemic failings, but without sound strategy to get what they wanted or to grow their numbers to anything like what it would take.
Admittedly, while I have lots of experience and ideas for this, I'm also pretty burned out. Over the decades, I've initiated and led org's only to encounter the kinds of problems I've alluded to; and I've admittedly grown tired of it and probably no longer have the patience needed to deal with the egos and undemocratic, go-it-alone attitudes of even allies. The resources needed never seem to really be there, either. When I was the E.D. of that statewide group, there were only 2 young people in my first team of organizers. I had to accept a salary that was about 1/3 of that of the job I had just left; and the organizers were paid much less.; certainly not nearly enough. In my 1st budget, I declined the raise the Board was suggesting for me., just so I could pay the organizers a bit more. We had to operate it all on a shoestring budget; and never felt we had any real economic security.
Private capital, meanwhile, operates huge well-funded organizations like the Chamber of Commerce; and Think Tanks and Lobbying groups. They can easily do that as such expenditures are merely factored into costs of operations, and function as 'investments' almost guaranteeing a great R.O.I. As in all things, the common people have no power, because their own resources don't allow them to even maintain an adequate staff or their operations.
Ultimately, I think such a broad-based / coalescing Movement (whatever it looks like) will have to choose to include in its work the goals to 'perturb' the economic system / order, by organizing strategic / well targeted boycotts, sick-outs, walk-outs/ slow-downs and other labor actions, and tax protests, and other strategic actions.
I have no illusions that such work would/ will be easy; in fact, again from experience, it is a struggle even when the establishment isn't targeting you; it will be a Sisyphean task to just build the coalitions and ongoing consensus for collaboration; especially given the scale that is needed To whatever extent such organizations actually are perceived as a threat to the established order, they will fight it with their immense resource advantages plus the almost limitless amounts of capital from any interest that might feel threatened at any particular moment.
Yes. Very well put.
Since it involves the willingness and the UNITY of the people it won't happen until the food runs out and/or the violence and disruptions are brought to America.
If Americans boycotted major corporations and bought only essential products it would be a strong start.
If workers walked off the jobs of arms manufacturing companies it would stop arms shipments.
The only other option is to dust off and oil up the 30-06.
No confidence votes should be instituted for all elected officials. The constitution was written to be flexible and adaptable to changing times and conditions. Our selected officials however are not. The internet and communication systems today are such that Americans can be polled for opinions and be in control of the country. There are no excuses for this not happening. Instead the internet is a method of control over the people by diverting attention to meaningless issues made important and disinformation. Politicians are not held accountable for anything unless the status quo doesn't like them. Many times the excuse is that they won't get a "fair trial" because they are public figures and an "impartial " jury can't be selected.So the people are not in control of government in any way shape or form. They are however, in control of their spending. But as long as they can waddle their fat asses into Walmart for their Great Value Cheetos and Cheese Whiz to dip them in they're happy and content.
Americans are zombies. Unthinking and unsympathetic to anyone but themselves.
“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” Hur writes.
Does this seem like a two tiered justice system? I vote guilty on all counts. And unfit for duty as commander in chief.
Sympathetic and well meaning enough to allow a slaughter of innocents in Gaza? Same for Ukraine and now the Middle East in general. How about demented, cruel and vicious? And who would vote for such a person? How about demented, cruel and vicious citizens? Programmed to be good citizens and exercise the "right" to vote.
Going to vote in the primaries alone shows this. Not voting would show dissent and dissatisfaction with the selection of the two candidates by the two parties. Those who do vote are satisfied with the status quo so the status quo continues. Bidens loss of mental capacity applies to Americans in general. Most have the attention span of a fly and just as much foresight. It also shows their ignorance and lack of intelligence. Wealth is now the standard by which intelligence is measured. A$55 billion salary for Musk? For an electric vehicle ? An up and coming environmental disaster strongly supported by Biden?
This has been going on at least since Reagan and has gotten progressively worse every year since. Democrats have been complicit as Reaganomics could have been reversed in all its forms of reduced taxes for the wealthy, trickle down economics and privatization of government. COVID put thousands of small businesses out of business and transferred wealth upwards. People lost homes when payments and interest could have been suspended for the duration of the pandemic, but God forbid the banks should have to suffer. And while we're at let's print some more money for bombs which are a good sound investment for Americans. We could cause a global climate catastrophe just by cutting down trees to print the money needed for the US debt. Aren't todays computers wonderful saving all those trees !
The planet is on or has passed the brink of disaster and we're being led by a demented, mentally unstable fool. The rosary beads don't seem to be doing their job. Maybe Joe could convince the Pope to bless them. It's hard to imagine that a mass extinction will occur because of Cheetos but that's how it goes.
And Roger Hoffman superbly laid out the difficulty in doing anything.
No thoughts on the Tucker/Putin interview, Lt. Col?
Interested in your thoughts Bill!
Have only seen portions of it. A lot to digest. Putin does have a dry sense of humor, as when he was making fun of Carlson for wanting to join the CIA. As he said, a job's a job.
"Historians of the future, gathered round their campfires poaching armadillo tail-flaps in their own shells, will harken back to the wondrous day in 2024 when they could watch and compare two heads of great nations present themselves to the world for assessment. There was Mr. Putin of the land called Russia, calmly discoursing in fine detail on a thousand years of his country’s history.
And there was Mr. Biden of the USA, facing the White House press pool, angrily refuting a special prosecutor’s glum conclusion that the President was not mentally competent to be tried in court on the finding that he’d indeed mishandled classified documents.
The contrast between the two figures might even alert the mandarins of our Ivy League that something has gone very wrong in this country for a decade or more, and could arouse suspicions among the faculties that they had been gulled into a false view of our recent history......
......That impression was only reinforced by listening to the president of our supposed adversary, Russia, Mr. Putin, in his confab with independent journalist Tucker Carlson. For one thing, Mr. Putin dared to express the likelihood that somebody, or group of somebodies, must be secretly running the executive branch of America’s government behind the mentally vacant figurehead “President Biden,” but Mr. Putin would not venture to guess who that might be." - James Howard Kunstler
https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/eventful-events/
Putin is competent and popular with his people whereas Biden is not. I have to wonder how much of Biden's enthusiasm for Project Ukraine stems from this disparity.
I liked this from the Interview,
“Vladimir Putin: Listen, you have said that the world is breaking into two hemispheres. A human brain is divided into two hemispheres: one is responsible for one type of activities, the other one is more about creativity and so on. But it is still one and the same head. The world should be a single whole, security should be shared, rather than meant for the ”golden billion“. That is the only scenario where the world could be stable, sustainable and predictable. Until then, while the head is split into two parts, it is an illness, a serious adverse condition. It is a period of a severe disease that the world is now going through.
I think Putin is a devout Orthodox Christian, and by those words, he’s paraphrasing Christ Jesus Alpha, speaking this Vision, “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” Matthew 23:9
As for being double-minded, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:6-8
FLASH!!! Latest News Headlines… :
Kamala Harris Found Mentally Unfit To Replace Biden
Biden Calls For The President To Step Down
Man Ruled Too Senile To Stand Trial Still Fine To Run Country
And in Other News…..
Journalists Confused By Journalist Doing Journalism
Senators Say They're Not Super Worried About Running Up National Debt As Most Of Them Will Die Of Natural Causes In The Next Year Or So
For details, go to https://babylonbee.com/news . “Fake News You Can Trust”
ps: With Special Thanks to Alex here on BV for introducing me to The B-Bee.
The Babylon Bee - Fake News you can trust!
The DOJ says Biden is too old and too addled to be expected to responsibly handle classified documents but by law he is completely fit to have authority over all US classified documents. You can't make this stuff up.
And has access to "The Button." The one that, if pushed, signals the end of the World, at least as we know it.
"Who do you trust with the button?" LBJ's anti-Goldwater commercial. I remember it well.
Some research reveals that the "Daisy Girl" ad was a direct response to a Goldwater ad depicting American school children and their Teacher reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and being drowned out by the USSR's Nikita Khrushchev declaring "We will bury you!!!" and "Your children will be Communists!!!" And then Goldwater declaring what he wants for America.
Available at http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1964/we-will-bury-you .
Heh. i remember it very well. And it seems to have worked very well, as well.
For those who don't: See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4QVXcPDgjI and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_(advertisement) .
The FBI bugged Goldwater campaign headquarters and his campaign plane. When asked about it, J. Edgar Hoover said that when the President (LBJ) tells you to do something you do it. LBJ later made Hoover FBI director for life. Nixon reportedly was afraid to fire Hoover, who remained FBI director until his death in 1972.
1964 was a busy year for Hoover and his FBI.
In addition to his and its work for LBJ against AuH2O, that was the year the "Suicide Letter and Package" was sent to Martin Luther King, Jr.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI%E2%80%93King_suicide_letter for details.
1 Year younger than Biden, but sometimes I come into the kitchen from another room and forgot what I came for? I really have to think about it!
This picture was taken last July: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3629398900636585&set=a.1388216181421546
Don't feel too bad, Ray. At four years younger than Biden and the same age as Trump, i do the same thing, but within the confines of a 43-foot long sailboat.
I don't remember stuff like that happening so often when I was younger. :-(
That's not to say there were never Times in my younger life when I was careless and unthinking.
Do you live on that sailboat as your primary residence? And if so, where are you now in this World?
i don't remember it happening at all when i was younger; which includes up to about a year and a half ago.
And yes, the S/V WayFinder is my live-aboard home all year round, and has been since 2006. i live in Sitka, Alaska, and have done so since i brought WayFinder up from San Francisco Bay 12 years ago this coming summer.
20 years before 9/11, In 1981, I hitch hiked both ways from Ottawa to Whitehorse in the Yukon, 6,700 miles round trip, to draw attention to the rider on the WhiteHorse in Revelation 19:11.
It made the Local Whitehorse Star and to my surprise, Canada's National MacLean's Magazine.
I looked for a job at the best Hotel Restaurant and not happening, I was hitch hiking to Alaska when a Hotel employee saw me and told me the Manager wanted to see me.
I was detoured from seeing Alaska, keeping me in Whitehorse for a couple of months.
https://rayjc.com/2011/08/28/the-revelation-of-jesus-christ-from-1911-to-911/
If the opportunity ever presents itself, Ray, You really should try to get to Alaska and see it. Everybody should.
i have lived in some beautiful and Beauty Full places in my life, but Sitka ~ with its Temperate Rainforest, Snow Capped Mountains, Rivers and the Pacific Ocean, and especially, the Volcano ~ is the most beautiful and Beauty Full place i have ever lived in, and quite frankly, have ever been or seen.
One additional benefit of being in Alaska is that i am just about as far away from the Insanity, Chaos, and Imminent Collapse of what is going on in the Lower 48, and still be ~ for the moment, at least ~ in the United States.
As far as i'm concerned, the best thing that could happen to Alaska and Alaskans is that it secede from the United States, and become a sovereign, independent Nation like its neighbors, Russia and Canada. But a Nation that is politically, economically, diplomatically, and militarily Neutral like the best model for a Nation-State, Switzerland.
If You are interested in The Alaska Sovereignty Project, send me Your email address to asp.sitka@gmail.com, and i will pass on some core documents.
Have a Great day. ~ jeff
Caitlin Johnstone is absolutely right and the whole world desperately needs a new generation of American leaders... new leaders finally moving their bases,troops and ammunition back home
I would say that the world needs American leaders to tend to their own business and keep their troops and munitions at home.
Absolutely... I thought it was implcit but I corrected myself
Biden is clearly dead from the neck up, which explains his ability to speak with dead people!
A key voter constituency
And some other of those "Phantom Voters."
And Happy Chinese New Year to everybody here at BV.... The Year of The Green Wood Dragon.
So Robert Hur is a board certified memory specialist? Has anyone seen the recent interviews and press conference with trump, if Bidens the Democrats choice ill stick with him!
Caitlin Johnstone indeed says it best, Bill; as she very frequently ~ in fact, almost always ~ does.
What needs to happen is complete and publicly released psychological/mental capacity examinations and evaluations of Everybody in positions of leadership in Washington: ~ elected politicians, entrenched civilian and military bureaucrats, and anointed political appointees ~ and anybody and everybody who wants to be one. And not by some so-called "Special Counsel" of the Department of Justice, but by a team of psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals.
Starting with Trump.
And particularly, that "new generation" of would-be, wanna-be national political leaders, whoever they are, and from whichever part of the political spectrum they are attempting to be hatched.
The way this system is set up, the only people who will ever become that "new generation of leaders" in Washington are those who welcome being owned and operated, and thus commanded and controlled by America's Ruling Political Class,. And this is so for the simple reason because they know that that is the ONLY way that they have any hope whatsoever of becoming that "new generation."
What is needed is not a change of the faces in DC, but a change to the whole system of government and governance of this nation whereby Vested Special Interests bid for access to that system's legal power, administrative authority, and above all, its spending ability and capacity, so as to advance the agendas of those highest bidding VSIs, at and to the cost of everybody and everything else.
"We have given You a Republic; if You can keep it," was how Ben Franklin responded to a question about what the Constitutional Convention back in Philadelphia almost 240 years ago had accomplished.
And "We, The People" are very close to losing it. And much, much sooner than anybody can even imagine, let alone confront, acknowledge, and actually begin to react and respond to before it is too late to even try to change anything, let alone actually even challenge and then change it.
What is truly needed are psychological/mental capacity examinations and evaluations of The American Peoples. Especially of those who vote and think that changing anybody in Washington is going to change anything but enable them to get worse..
"We the People. The slave owners in this room." LMAO
What "slave owners" in which "room"?
The Founding fathers!
"We the people, in this room, was the collective agreed upon concept for which this nation was founded."
https://slavedwellingproject.org/good-slave-owners/
"The Founding Fathers label that originated in the 19th century as a quasi-religious and nearly reverential designation has become a more controversial term in the 21st. Any assessment of America’s founding generation has become a conversation about the core values embodied in the political institutions of the United States, which are alternatively celebrated as the wellspring of democracy and a triumphant liberal legacy or demonized as the source of American arrogance, racism, and imperialism."
"In much the same way that adolescents view their parents, the Founders are depicted as heroic icons or despicable villains, demigods or devils, the creators of all that is right or all that is wrong with American society."
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Founding-Fathers
Discuss!
And Happy Chinese New Year..... The Year of The Green Wood Dragon.
“Discuss!”, eh? Heh. Is that an order? And if it is, then on whose or what authority is it issued?
If, on the other hand, You would like an actual discussion about the so-called “Founding Fathers” and “The Peculiar Institution” [aka Slavery], here’s what i have to say:
Your point seems to be that many of those Founders were Slave Owners and therefore… . At which point You go no further.
And my counter-point is “Yeah? So what?” Let me explain.
Since You cite Britannica as Your source on this, if You are seriously interested, i recommend You read its “The Founding Fathers and Slavery” at https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Founding-Fathers-and-Slavery-1269536 . And i also recommend You read “The Peculiar Institution” for another perspective at https://www.ushistory.org/us/27.asp .
In the meantime, a quick search of the Web will reveal some facts about how many of those FFers owned Slaves.
According to one study the majority of the signers of the Declaration of Independence ~ 41 of 56 ~ were Slaveowners/holders, or “Enslavers,” in the current preferred parlance. Including the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson himself. [ https://247wallst.com/special-report/2019/06/28/the-56-people-who-signed-the-declaration-of-independence/ with reference to the www.history.org article, cited above].
As to how many signers of the U.S. Constitution were Enslavers, according to Britannica:
“There does not appear to be a consensus on the number of men who signed the U.S. Constitution—or, more broadly, were delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787—and who were also enslavers.
“According to the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History, ‘about 25’ delegates enslaved people, of the 55 who attended the convention’s proceedings in Philadelphia. The Constitutional Rights Foundation asserts that 17 of the 55 delegates were enslavers and together held about 1,400 enslaved people. In addition to identifying James Madison as an enslaver, Signers of the Constitution, published in 1976 by the National Park Service, notes that 11 other signers “owned or managed slave-operated plantations or large farms,” and then it names them: Richard Bassett, John Blair, William Blount, Pierce Butler, Daniel Carroll, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Rutledge, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and George Washington. It is also known that Benjamin Franklin enslaved people.”
[ https://www.britannica.com/story/how-many-of-the-signers-of-the-us-constitution-were-enslavers ]
Like I said earlier: Your point seems to be that many of those Founders were Slave Owners and therefore… . At which point You go no further.
So, Dennis, what IS Your point? That Slaves were not included when it was declared that “All Men are created Equal”?
Given that all this happened just under 250 years ago, was there anybody else anyplace else on the Planet who had ever declared or was declaring, at least, that ALL Human Beings of the Male Sex [at least of a certain Race and Occupations] ~ and not just Kings, Nobles, Aristocrats, Lords, and their Courts ~ are created Equal? Even if it did not include Slaves in the soon-to-be former British Colonies south of Canada.
Had anybody anyplace ever declared anything even close to that? If somebody had, the difference here was that these same folks who made that declaration then set out to make it a Declaration of Independence, and then to make that Independence actually happen in the Real World.
And let us not forget that WOMEN were also not included as equally-created “Men,” either in the American Colonies’ Declaration, or anyplace else in the world. And not for a long, Long time.
i have said it a couple of times here on Bracing Views, and will say it again: One of the seeds of the ultimate Decline and Fall of the United States and the failure of The American Experiment was exactly that: That Slavery was built into this Nation from the very beginning with the so-called “3/5 Rule” and a de facto and de jure Fugitive Slave Law built into the Constitution.
However, if those two things had not been included in the proposed Constitution, it would have never been ratified and The United States of America would not have been born; at least not at that time.
And another seed was the failure to recognize and treat Women as created just as Equally as any Man. Which is the ultimate source and root cause of many of the problems America is having today with Gender Issues of Inequality in matters both personal and private, and in controversies that are public.
So again: If Your point is that those Founding Fathers who were Enslavers were, are, and ever will be World-Class Hypocrites, my point is “Yeah? So what?” They launched what ultimately has become the wealthiest, most powerful Nation-State and Empire in human history.
And on this Planet, that is and has been throughout that history a very common aspiration since the beginning of formal, organized Government: the increase of Power [the ability to force another to do something, even if they don’t want to do it], and the increase of Wealth [the ability to buy and sell Power at a profit].
And more importantly, those Founding Fathers also launched the Experiment of democratically-elected representative government in the form of a federated Republic under a Rule Of Law in which all those Men who were now philosophically “Equal” ~ ie, not Slaves ~ were at least theoretically legally “Equal” before that Rule of Law.
And they made Human Rights a critical element of both that Rule Of Law and in the purpose and function of the Government they were trying to put together. Another complete and total innovation from anything that had ever existed ~ or even ever been tried ~ on the Planet before.
One can only wonder what would have happened if enough Americans had objected to and openly opposed the inclusion of Slavery in the proposed and up-for-ratification Constitution, and thus, that the United States of America never came into existence as the next generation of the original 13 Colonies, in the first place, eh?
Wow Jeff.... too long my friend!
I got Happy Chinese New Year e-cards from my old Chinese work mates
Take care. Getting warmer in Sitka now!
Let me give You a quick synopsis, Dennis:
Your point seems to be that many of those Founding Founders were Slave Owners, and that the Founders who weren’t Slave Owners went along with Slavery being part of America just to get the United States of America launched. And that therefore America’s revered Founding Fathers were a bunch of World Class Hypocrites.
And my counter-point is “Yeah? So what?” And then i explain exactly Why I feel and think that way.
And yes, it getting warmer up here indeed. Particularly after a storm blew thru with Hurricane Force Winds, followed two days later with a bunch of Snow that then got Icy.
Like they say about Southeast Alaska: "If You don't like the weather, stick around. Because it WILL change,
Hey Man you need to show some respect to us-- "Elder Statemen." Whippersnapper. I may have a bit of a Hoarding problem, but its too damn busy now man in the White House Rest Home to find time off to clean out my Garage... Besides I'm waiting for the Leaves to return in my Tree!!! :/ :o) I'm Fit for Duty.
Another American whose expertise I find credible is Scott Ritter, and his analysis of where the US WAR with Russia over Ukraine in NATO is just telling it like it is:
https://rumble.com/v4ca4lk-ukraines-army-is-about-to-collapse-and-zelensky-is-finished-fmr.-marine-sco.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=2
The Lunar New Year of the Dragon starts February 10, TODAY!
For all the snippets of the Revelation I cited here for years, it's a natural wonder for me to question if Spiritually, the Eastern Culture Dragon has any relationship to the Western Culture Dragon in Revelation 16:13, "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet."
The Beast is a Nation getting it's POWER from the Dragon. The transition from false prophet to fake News is almost completed these Days!
At the very beginning of COVID when essentially all manufacturing Globally shut down, the images I saw on TV of almost a miraculous regeneration of the Earth have been indelibly embedded in my mind restoring hope that all things are possible.
So before any reader adopts a negative implication comparing the Western and Eastern Dragons, many Positives are possible in this Year of the Dragon.
Among the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, only the Dragon is mythical. It is an imaginary creature that combines the features of some other animals. There are many legends about this animal, and it is also regarded as the most auspicious sign. Chinese people believe they are the descendants of the Dragon.
People with Chinese zodiac Dragon are born with superb leadership. Because of their knowledge, power and capability, people are willing to take orders from them. They are also ambitious, and have a strong drive to realize their dreams. They are adventurous. Once goals are settled, they will try their best to fight for success. Their eloquence and passion make their speech authoritative. They seem to have endless energy, and seldom feel exhausted. They have another gift - their innate luck, which will help them achieve their goals. They are people of charm and glamour, so they can always win another's heart easily.
Let's hope many People with that drive rise up and speak up in both East and West this year and use their talents in the service to Humankind forging a better World.
In the West, the END TIMES Prophet Daniel was considered to be Smart and a DIS-SOLVER OF DOUBTS. I can only hope many People having that talent rise up and speak up this Year.
As for having talents, this is the record:
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes.
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.....After a long time the lord of those servants comes, and reckons with them..............
Matthew 25:19-30
Thanks for bringing that up, Ray. It is, indeed, The Year of The Green Wood Dragon,
Your comment "Let's hope many People with that drive rise up and speak up in both East and West this year and use their talents in the service to Humankind forging a better World" is spot on and well said.
Jeff, you reckon that the Tucker/Putin interview gives credence to the claim that it's only the WEST who has to work harder to use their talents in the service to Humankind forging a better World?
I think Putin's spot on!
And lets hope Trump will continue his first term aspirations to have the US be friendly towards Russia and drop out of NATO. And this time tell the Deep State, the Generals and Pentagon to take a hike!
He will have a mandate to do that eh?
i think that China and Russia have to work just as hard as "the West" [ie, the US and NATO] to make a better world possible for Everybody: West, East, South, North, and all points in between.
And Trump will do exactly as and whatever he is told to do; just like he did during his first term. If he didn't then, he would not have survived his full term. And if elected this time and he doesn't do as told, he won't survive this full term.
Nobody ~ not even Corporal Bonespurs ~ tells the Deep State, the Generals and the Pentagon [and the NSA, CIA, etc] to take a hike and gets away with it.
The only folks who could do that and get away with it are the American Peoples; but only if and when they ever decide that they are fed up with all The Bullshit.
And if Trump gets less than 50% of the Popular Vote but wins the Electoral College Vote and becomes President again, what kind of "mandate" will he have, and from who?
Yep!
"Yep!" ???
Yep! what? Will he or won't he have a "mandate" with less than 50% of the vote?
Ray: I don't believe in Astrology I'm a Scorpio, and we're skeptical...:/ :o) And.., seriously every American should learn enough Astronomy to ask themselves How can Stars that are Quadrillions of miles away know that I should avoid emotional entanglements tomorrow?!You think how Society decides on these ridiculous issues-- Zodiac Signs, Dragons, Astrology, Demons, Pseudo Science, Religious Dogma in the next several decades will have a tremendous impact on future generations...! It is imperative that "Scientific Literacy"trumps this nonsense, and that the world we leave our descendants of the far- future era begins with us, here, today...! OK I've said my piece.
Well said, Fireman1110.
In addition to Scientific Literacy, there is also a need for Economic Literacy, which explains how the results of Science and technology are best put to use so as to maximize the Well-Being of the maximum number of People, without violating the Human Rights of anybody.
Thanks Fireman. I agree 100%. As do my two Doctor daughters.
We never taught, or preached, religion to our kids.
We let them make up their own mind.
When they were ready for it. And they both became atheists.
Zodiac Signs, Dragons, Astrology, Demons, Pseudo Science, Religious Dogma are never going to cure cancer! Or stop wars. Start many wars though!
Science has no use for the supernatural. All fake news.
Spirits, Souls and Sins........pppppppfffffft!
"Thats why they call it faith. It's not knowledge." - Christopher Hitchens
Take care my friend.
Ditto Dennis! My two Tech. Professional Daughters as well... We wanted that kind of misinformation out-- only "reality." Unfortunately our world will at least in our lifetimes what's left anyway always have these strange ideas. For example without naming names those of "The World will end Tuesday" variety-- and for the most part the public dismisses them. But let them start dressing up their "Chatter" with selectively chosen bits of science, and they begin leading members of the public astray...!
Ironic eh Fireman, when religious apologists insist that science has limited ability to explain everything.
And then when science proves something they believe to be true- they run with it with both hands! Milk it for all its worth! LMAO
"It is the responsibility of scientists never to suppress knowledge, no matter how awkward that knowledge is, no matter how it may bother those in power, we are not smart enough to decide which piece of knowledge are permissable, and which are not."--Carl Sagan
Putin alluded to Biden's Age related forgetfulness in Tucker's Interview.
There's so much to think about in this rapidly changing world like;
'The Supreme Court and the Risks of January 6, 2025'
The Justices seem to want to avoid a major decision about whether Trump can serve as President—but if they do so they may set off a national crisis.
February 8, 2024
The Free portion of The New Yorker
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Thursday about Donald Trump’s possible disqualification from the Presidency as an insurrectionist, based on his conduct around January 6, 2021. Any such arguments must invoke the Civil War, because Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, from which his disqualification would arise, was designed to keep former Confederate rebels from returning to power.
An amicus brief from several election-law experts in the case, Trump v. Anderson, compared then and now in dire terms, warning the Supreme Court that it has the unique ability and responsibility to prevent the extraordinary conflict that might unfold this year: “Not since the Civil War has the United States confronted such a risk of destabilizing political unrest, and perhaps never has this Court been in such a clear position to head it off.”
At oral arguments on Thursday, the courtroom seemed to vibrate with the historical significance of the moment. The Justices seemed to accept that responsibility, certainly enough to resolve the issue of the former President’s disqualification, but perhaps not quite enough to head off the feared danger. After oral arguments, there is little reason to doubt that the Court will decide in Trump’s favor. The suspense is over the grounds of the decision, which will carry enormous consequences for how the next year unfolds in this country.
And this free article from Foreign Affairs Magazine;
'Israel’s Self-Destruction'
Netanyahu, the Palestinians, and the Price of Neglect
One bright day in April 1956, Moshe Dayan, the one-eyed chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), drove south to Nahal Oz, a recently established kibbutz near the border of the Gaza Strip. Dayan came to attend the funeral of 21-year-old Roi Rotberg, who had been murdered the previous morning by Palestinians while he was patrolling the fields on horseback. The killers dragged Rotberg’s body to the other side of the border, where it was found mutilated, its eyes poked out. The result was nationwide shock and agony.
If Dayan had been speaking in modern-day Israel, he would have used his eulogy largely to blast the horrible cruelty of Rotberg’s killers. But as framed in the 1950s, his speech was remarkably sympathetic toward the perpetrators. “Let us not cast blame on the murderers,’’ Dayan said. “For eight years, they have been sitting in the refugee camps in Gaza, and before their eyes we have been transforming the lands and the villages where they and their fathers dwelt into our estate.” Dayan was alluding to the nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe,” when the majority of Palestinian Arabs were driven into exile by Israel’s victory in the 1948 war of independence. Many were forcibly relocated to Gaza, including residents of communities that eventually became Jewish towns and villages along the border.
Dayan was hardly a supporter of the Palestinian cause. In 1950, after the hostilities had ended, he organized the displacement of the remaining Palestinian community in the border town of Al-Majdal, now the Israeli city of Ashkelon. Still, Dayan realized what many Jewish Israelis refuse to accept: Palestinians would never forget the nakba or stop dreaming of returning to their homes. “Let us not be deterred from seeing the loathing that is inflaming and filling the lives of hundreds of thousands of Arabs living around us,’’ Dayan declared in his eulogy. “This is our life’s choice—to be prepared and armed, strong and determined, lest the sword be stricken from our fist and our lives cut down.’’
On October 7, 2023, Dayan’s age-old warning materialized in the bloodiest way possible. Following a plan masterminded by Yahya Sinwar, a Hamas leader born to a family forced out of Al-Majdal, Palestinian militants invaded Israel at nearly 30 points along the Gazan border. Achieving total surprise, they overran Israel’s thin defenses and proceeded to attack a music festival, small towns, and more than 20 kibbutzim. They killed around 1,200 civilians and soldiers and kidnapped well over 200 hostages. They raped, looted, burned, and pillaged. The descendants of Dayan’s refugee camp dwellers—fueled by the same hatred and loathing that he described but now better armed, trained, and organized—had come back for revenge..........................................................
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/israels-netanyahu-self-destruction
And just think, Trump is the leading candidate to replace Biden. What does this tell You about the future of mental health in the White House? Or the future of this nation?.....
James Bovard February 8 piece BIDEN IS NOT FIT FOR PRESIDENT IF HE’S NOT FIT TO PROSECUTE begins as follows:
“President Biden is not guilty because he is hopelessly clueless about his own life and career.
“So how the hell is he able to be president?
“Special counsel Robert Hur, who concluded Biden ‘willfully retained and disclosed’ classified information, which ‘risked serious damage to America’s national security.’
“If anyone else did this, they would be federal crimes.
“But Biden cannot be convicted of a ‘felony that requires a mental state of willfulness,’ the special counsel decided — apparently because Biden’s mind is gone.
“Uncle Joe is little more than ‘an elderly man with a poor memory,’ according to the report.”
And concludes as follows:
“Does Biden not even realize he has just been certified mentally incompetent for office?
“Nixon was famous for asserting, ‘I am not a crook.’
"Will Biden achieve equal notoriety for proclaiming, ‘I am not mentally incompetent’?
"Or perhaps this proclamation from Thursday night will be his epitaph: ‘I know what the hell I’m doing.’"
Full article at https://nypost.com/2024/02/08/opinion/biden-is-not-fit-for-president-if-hes-not-fit-to-prosecute/
"What does this tell You about the future of mental health in the White House?"
The IQ doubles.
Heh. Yeah, Right.
And that would take it all the way up to 72: "Well below average" on the Alternate Wechsler IQ Classifications (after Groth-Marnat 2009).
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_classification