What amazes me is that even Common Dreams has had few articles (if any) exposing Jill Stein's way out of our neoliberal-neocon quagmire. Bernie was late in coming to the "stop sending Israel bombs" messaging. Nader and Stein have been saying that all along. Common Dreams reports on Bernie who is not in the running and has not endorsed a presidential candidate like Stein who would carry the social democratic torch.
"Jill Stein doesn’t give, as the old saying goes, a flying f*ck about democracy. Instead, she’s all about how famous she can become and how much money she can grift off her repeated presidential campaigns. It’s a damn dangerous game." - Thom Hartmann
Dennis, it's not surprising Stein is being attacked as a "grifter." Democrats are desperate to delegitimize her.
I'm surprised you would take the bait on this. Stein's campaign is tiny compared to the multi-billion dollar campaigns of Trump and Harris. Talk about grift!
Dennis, you may feel it to be 'unarguable' that Stein is a 'grifter'. Such an ad hominem ought to be based at least on facts. So what money has Stein taken illicitly? What swindling has she done?
I note Hartmann uses that framing; but his entire piece is a smear; full of lies and innuendo and nothing factual. I'm rather surprised you'd take his word for anything as he has been for many years now, the ultimate Democratic Party apologist and salesman- consumed by more than the usual TDS.
I have no idea what polls say about Stein's chances (not that it matters much to me, because as Bill and others write, we vote for people because they share our values, interests and vision - not because they have a good chance in a corrupted system of beating a perceived greater of evils. The odds are that one of two very unfit-for-President people will win; and IMO Americans and most of the world will lose once again. We'll get closer to the nuclear precipice, closer to bankruptcy, closer to a state of climate chaos that will shock even the most cynical.
Still, I think we're going to be a bit surprised in this election. From my reading of a fair amount of commentary on the 'net, I suspect Stein is going to greatly improve on past election performance; notwithstanding all the cajoling by many (including you) to choose the supposed lesser of evils. And if it happens, it will be a small sign of hopefulness - something that might just encourage others to subsequently vote for their hopes and not their fears.
As i suggested to Bill, Roger: Don't volunteer to hang by anything important waiting for a response from BV's Resident MAGAt**d. It will dismissed as just another "Gotcha Question."
Dennis, Stein in a retired doctor. Please give evidence from her long life of service that indicates a desire for fame and fortune. Running as a candidate of the Green Party in America is the very last choice a person would make who wants fame and fortune. In addition, Stein appears at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in opposition to Israel. Another excellent choice for one seeking fame and fortune?
Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem for his biggest donor, Sheldon Adelson. Now, he is happy to accept $100 billion from Adelson's wife, Miriam, who wants Israel to annex the West Bank, an Israeli to whom Trump gave the Medal of Freedom!!! Fame and fortune?
You seem to miss the fact that I'm criticizing the duopoly, which includes Trump as well as Harris.
Dennis, if anyone is a cultist, it's you with your strenuous support of Trump. You make so many apologies for him. And you take it personally when I criticize him.
You only include Kamala in your bashing to give the appearance of being fair and balanced. Another psyops trick.
And you have a lot of nerve saying if anyone is a cultist, it's me.
With your over-the-top support in ALL your blogs propping up Jill Stein and the hopeless Green Party. Who have no chance.
It's a dismal failure as a "protest vote" as well ~ for four election cycles now. Nobody cares about a fringe Independant Party ~ let alone scaring the Duopoly in WA DC.
You have made apology after apology for Stein's lacks of effectiveness and years of failures. And you take it personally when I criticize your SAVIOR. (See, two can practice the psyops game! LOL)
And of course, nobody offers any criticism of her in the BV's echo chamber.
What SPECIFIC "Reasons For Voting For Trump" have You actually given, Mr Merwood? Can You cite any specific ones here on BV in Your ~ and His ~ standard BullShit? [Or "bovine excrement," as You folks in the Military Industrial Construction Congressional Complex like to put it].
That he has "A Plan" to Make America Great Again? That he will avoid World War III and make the Planet Safe for a "Great Again America"? Just like it woulda, coulda been if he had been ABLE TO CONTINUE DOING WHAT HE DID FROM 2017-2021?
Just for starters: What's his Plan for dealing with with America's $35.8 Sovereign National Debt? Any different from Harris's: Ie, as Bill noted, "Increasing it" ?
And how's that $1.4 TRILLION National "Security" and "Defense" Budget look under him? Think it might get to $2 TRILLION under him?
And if it doesn't, think he'll live to see Election2026; let alone America's 250th birthday party?
Hartmann's piece does seem like a hit piece. He said both Stein and Johnson had the smell of hustlers. I wonder what smell that is. Pepperoni pizza? Lavender? Raw sewage? His latest Hartmann Report article: America’s Descent into Darkness: Trump’s 2025 Takeover Strategy From internment camps to abolishing free press—how Trump could make his worst threats real…
I would say Hartmann has a bad case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. BTW, catch Mark Halperin on Tucker Carlson. Mark said if Harris loses there will be severe mental breakdowns in tens of million of people. Presumably those with TDS. I'm guessing Hartmann will be among them.
What ACTION did Trump initiate and bring to completion from 20 Jan 17 to 20 Jan 20?
Anything in particular? Like setting the stage for America's Proxy War with Russia in Ukraine?
Like totally blowing America's reaction and response to the COVID-19 Event? [4.3 % 0f the World's Population with 17-18% OF Total Covid-19 Event Hospitalizations and Deaths.]
And how did America's Sovereign, National Debt do under the direction of The Church Of Trump's Savior, Guru, and Hero? Got any numbers on that, oh Engineer and MICCC employee?
I can think of a host of practical reasons why Bernie endorses Kamala. But I can't think of a moral one. Bernie would likely be shot if he tried to put winds in Stein's sails.
Then he should take the hit and actually stand for something other than the hot air balloon he has proven to be. When push comes to shove, he just can't stand not to be in the club of the accepted.
She's got the boat. Her course is set. Her sails are up. All Stein needs is for the millions of Americans like Jeffery Sachs and Bernie whose policies align with hers to provide the wind to fill her sails. I am betting that More Americans are aligned with Stein's policies than Trump or Kamala's. They just don't know it. Because even progressive publications like Common Dreams are crippled by poor attending with assumptions that retard a nation.
“Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place” The only major article on Jill Stein in Common Dreams recently has been Thom Hartman’s Jill Stein's Dangerous Game Could Put Fascist Trump Back in the White House. Its full of nonsense and Hate towards Stein.
I am still looking for Common Dreams to publish a rebuttal. If there is to be one, I can see it coming from Nader who gets pieces published in Common Dreams. Hartman uses the same nonsense against Stein as was used and still used against Nader. Nader and Stein are simply speaking truths and way out of the wreckage and letting the chips fall where they may. They are not playing any sort of game but offering a way out from the sickly game of voting for the best of two evils. Which ensures EVIL. Those that blame George W. on Nader are really too stupid for democracy.
It is amazing how the CON has somehow gotten everyone to think that voting for what they want is a sure way to "lose". Everyone becomes obsessed with "winning" even if that means voting for everything that they hate.
The graphic shows what everyone who rubs two brain cells together knows - there is absolutely no difference between the two corporate parties when it comes to the major concerns of their shared owners. That they 'win' elections by focusing on cultural or identity issues demonstrates they have no need to change or respond to the actual concerns of the voters.
Voting for Jill Stein as a moral choice - or any of the other non corporate candidates, or not voting - is a principled position. But I don't know what it will take to break through to the majority who still think it matters which of two morons is elected.
Sadly, the elites will never listen to the voices of the people until the duopoly is broken, and it will take a lot more people to vote for Jill or another alternative candidate to break through the duopoly's hold on American voters.
I've always taken it as a defeat of democracy that every election neither party is actually crushed by the results. They 'lose' or 'win' by just enough to keep the game going. Even the Presidential elections where the claim is made on side has an overwhelming victory - its electoral college numbers, with the numbers of voters roughly equal.
So with what would You replace the current system for choosing this Nation's elected Leaders, TomR?
But before that: How would You change America's current system of Government and Governance in which Vested Special Interests bid for and gain access to that Government's legal power, administrative authority, and especially, its spending capability and capacity, so as to advance the agendas of those individual, group, organizational, and institutional VSIs?
Ah...make me king and I'll take care of those problems..
Other than that, I think it's just part of the ongoing struggle between the plebes and members of the riding class. No one has figured it out for any period of time, but the fight continues.
i think that some ~ and sometimes, much ~ of the discourse in the Comments section is quite civil, wdt.
But at other times, i agree that it could definitely be more civil. And focused on confirmable Facts, or presented with legitimate Argument to prove one's point.
As I was picketing today, I had on my sign the suggestion to vote for Jill Stein. A man came up and asked me about her. A woman came up, excited to see Stein on my sign and told me that she was a member both of the Green Party and JVP and invited me to a meeting.
On the other hand, a pair of women told me I am supporting HAMAS. I asked them how many died today and they were lost in thought for a moment, the reason being they were thinking only of Israeli soldiers. Incredible.
One would hope that even the die-hards on the Blue Team that paid any attention at all to the "30-day" threat from Team Biden would see it for the obnoxious election ploy it is. The list of pathetic Israeli pandering grows daily.
"Who’s the Party? There’s a party, and we’re not invited to it. We’re paying for the Party, but we’re not invited to it … I’m not into groupthink and parties are essentially an exercise in groupthink. And groupthink is an anathema to freedom. Groupthink is an anathema to the idea of a republic. There has to be a free exchange of ideas."
--Dennis Kucinich in an interview on The Duran yesterday.
When a government gets as out of touch and corrupt as this one has, the country calls up a POPULIST. Guess who that is? Hint, hint... It's certainly not either of the females.
Thank you for your support, Martha. Much appreciated.
Thank you for daring to dip your toe into the pool of piranhas in this comment section. LOL
But remember my dear.....
In 1992 Ross Perot challenged Scrub and Slick Willy on a POPULIST platform of slashing the budget deficit. He got 19.0% of the vote ~ but didn’t receive a plurality of voters in any state, giving him ZERO ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES.
And in Murica the UNPOPULIST candidate who gets LESS votes can and often wins.
You are screwed.
Just hold your breath that its not........ TOO BIG TO RIG IN 2024.
No, Dennis, the Democrats didn't have the same chart in 2020. Do some research.
For example, Joe Biden was against M4A, saying he would veto it if it reached his desk. Biden wasn't for campaign finance reform. Biden never said he'd decrease Pentagon spending. Etc.
What's the difference between "anyone says or expects," Martha, and what Actually happens and has happened? Or is that just to be casually dismissed as "somebody's ~ anybody's ~ details?"
You write: "Palestinians are suffering, starving, and dying and Biden/Harris give Israel another 30 days to continue killing and starving, after which I guarantee you no action will be taken by the Biden/Harris administration whether Harris wins or loses."
From Politico to confirm this (and what we already know who follow you and other good Substackers)
First i asked if there would be an election. Then i asked if there would be an Inauguration,
Then ~ and only then ~ did i ask whether the United States would survive to celebrate its 250th birthday on July 4, 2026; 625 days from today. Regardless of who "wins" or "loses" in November, and. if there is an Inauguration, regardless of who is inaugurated.
If there isn't an election or an inauguration, then the question about the 250th birthday will have been answered.
U.S. Breaks Out B-2 Bombers Against the Houthis w/Chas Freeman
When the world is run by crazies….
The way the weak Biden administration should be handling the aid situation with Israel is to first cut off military assistance, then explain why that is being done.
Then say when word from Gaza comes that aid has been "fully" restored then we will further assist with military operations.
That is how it is done like a boss not like a bunch of unprofessional weaklings.
If Israel doesn't comply, or does it again after restoring aid, the US needs to pack up and go home.
What do You think would happen, Dennis, if it became impossible to access the Suez Canal? Or wouldn't that affect folks living down in KiwiLand? Think it would affect Your Daughters here in "Murica"?
In any event: Here is Google AI's response to the question: "Can the Houthis stop traffic thru the Suez Canal":
Yes, Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea have significantly reduced traffic through the Suez Canal:
Shipping diversions: Companies have rerouted ships around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea and Suez Canal, which adds time and cost to journeys.
Reduced traffic: In September 2024, Maersk reported a 66% drop in Suez Canal traffic due to Houthi attacks. In January 2024, UNCTAD reported a 45% drop in freight through the Suez Canal in two months.
Increased insurance costs: War-cover insurance rates for ships traveling through the Red Sea are nearly 1,000% higher than before the conflict.
Delayed humanitarian aid: Delays in transit times have also delayed humanitarian aid to countries like Yemen.
The Suez Canal is a vital choke point for the world's oil trade and is also susceptible to blockages and pirate attacks. The Red Sea and Suez Canal are increasingly important for shipping goods between Asia and Europe, as well as for oil and liquefied natural gas.
The U.S. and other nations have created a new force to protect ships in the Red Sea, including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain.
Israel is doing exactly what it has been instructed to do by America's Deep State and Ruling Political Caste.
That why Israel was created in the first place, and why it has been sustained and maintained by the U.S. and its Underlings since its creation in 1948.
Israel has been a Forward Operational Base ~ for American DS and RPC concerns, interests, goals, and objectives in the Middle East with all its Oil and other Resources ~ from its very conception to inception to execution.
I was a Trump hater — until I learned the truth of the media’s ‘very fine’ lies
"The truth shall set us free from the bondage that lies oppress upon us.
I became a free man once I understood the truth of what our mainstream media is, rather than the front it hides behind. NY Post contributor Adam B. Coleman shares this story.
Journalistic professionalism has been superseded by unabashed bias as outlets propagandize for one particular political party, to the detriment of truth.
And if they’re not lying about their adversary to sway public perception, they’re conspiring to glorify their friends in DC as sinless political deities.
Kamala Harris is the media’s deity of the moment — constantly praised for not being either Joe Biden or Donald Trump and receiving 66% more coverage than Trump from major media outlets. An incredible 84% of that coverage has been positive.
Meanwhile, our supposedly “fair” media lambasts Trump with negative coverage 89% of the time, the Washington Examiner reports and continues to perpetuate long-debunked falsehoods about him alongside the Democratic Party."
Never truer words spoken.
These same memes are flooding the internet as I type. The game is up! The MSMs goose is cooked.
Do you really believe that, Dennis? Why did he say he would deport student protesters of genocide? Is that "love"?
Can any one person love all of America and all its people? Does Trump love Kamala Harris and Joe Biden?
These are not "gotcha" questions. I ask them as a way of pointing out your unquestioning faith in Trump. He is almost a saint to you. A saint who "loves" the people and the country.
Your words, not mine. They say God is love but I guess Trump is love.
What You need to remember, realize, acknowledge, and accept, Bill ~, before wasting Your time asking Dennis questions like that ~ is that he is a totally convinced, confirmed, and committed ~ at least for the moment and as long as it doesn't cost him anything ~ member of The Church Of Trump, and a fervrent Believer in its Gospel, as it is put out from On High.
I think it's educational to have confirmed Trump believers at this site. It reminds us of how Trump's movement, at its core, consists of people devoted to him irrespective of facts. This is why Trump said he could shoot someone on the streets of NYC in broad daylight and be exonerated. His followers embrace him no matter what.
This is true, of course, of the Blue Team as well. Voting Blue no matter who is pure tribalism. But the Trumpers seem even more devoted to their man; dare I say they have an almost religious faith in him?
i know its very educational for me, if only because of what i learn when i do some research into what Trump and/or his Believers are passing off as information about the Real World.
Actually Trump probably loves Trump and then his sons, daughters, wives, G.F., and mostly his earthly possessions I would surmise, and no doubt not in any order... Its a shame that unless one is actually experiencing most earthly problems be they physical, mental, or spiritual, or even monetary unless they're very compassionate, merciful, or to a lesser extent have empathy most will just look the other way in my experience I've seen in this life. You'd think that as we're all going to perish one day from this Earth we'd be better to one another, more tolerant etc. while on the glide path to the day we're no more...
With the sole exception of Every Human Being who is alive at this very moment, Fireman1110, Every Human Being that has ever lived is now dead.
Humans have had the chance to "be better to one another, more tolerant, etc" ever since they emerged as a separate Species with the distinct capability to survive; but only if they used and developed and increased that capability and their ability to observe, explore, and come to understand ~ and be able to use ~ how Reality actually, really works..
And my guess is that what Trump probably "loves" [as You listed them] isn't that different from what most Humans ~ even those in DC ~ love and seek: select Persons and Possessions.
And some like Power ~ the ability to tell Other Humans what they can and can not do. And some like Wealth ~ the ability to buy and sell Power at a profit.
Especially those in DC, and ~ even more so ~ those who want to get there [or get back there], and those who want to stay there. Like Trump and/or Harris, respectively.
Dennis: On what basis do You assume that Anybody here on BV gives a Fat Flying {Expletive Deleted} about what the MSM says about Trump? Or Harris? Or just about Anything or Body?
With all Your cheerleading, are You actually trying to get BVers to vote for Trump? And what other blogspots do You hang out at doing the same thing? Or is BV the only place graced by Your presence?
Hope You're feeling better being at Home after the Hospital stay.
Dennis, I suppose if you want to keep challenging Ray on his religious assertions, that is your prerogative.
Faith-based claims are what they are. They are not factual. So it just becomes a tiresome exercise where Ray says he's a believer who experienced Christ and you deny that experience and attack him for his references to Christian scripture.
And it's always the same, again and again.
Why keep doing this? Both of you? What's the point?
Because FAITH is not a reliable path to the truth.
Faith-based claims are not factual as you say...and dangerous
One can believe ANYTHING based on FAITH.
EG. Netanyahu has faith that genocide is OK. Remember the Amalekites.
QED
It's up to all of us, not only the brave Caitlin Johnstone's, to do all we can to resist the horrendous things resulting from Faith based claims.
That why I keep doing it.
Ask Ray what is the difference between a Religion and a Cult?
Cult: gullible folks believing a charlatan* who is alive today.
Religion: gullible folks living today believing in a charlatan* who has long since died.
*A charlatan: a person practicing confidence tricks in order to obtain money, power and fame, or other advantages, always through deception. EG Pastor John Hagee who follows the same Christian God - whether you and Ray like it or not!
Well, remember "alternative facts"? "Truth" is often defined by those with the most power. Thus the "truth" that Israel has a right to defend itself. Thus the "truth" (based on "facts") that it's all Hamas' fault.
You are prejudiced against religion, Dennis, which is fine with me. It's just repetitive and tiresome for you to attack Ray's faith-based claims over and over again.
Do you really think in attacking Ray that you're doing the equivalent of Caitlin Johnstone, who attacks the most powerful people in the world, including Donald Trump? How brave you are here, Dennis!
And you allow Ray to continuously post unsupported claims on BV's.
And NEVER challenge him, like you do me!
You are always OK with him posting ancient nonsense in your comment sections. You give him a free pass that you would never give to any other poster. How brave you are Bill!
And allow him to preach his sermons on a secular blog.
For me, Bill, the bottom line is always Truth.
The question must always be, Is it True?
Use what definition suits you best. But by any definition ~ unsupported claims can never be determined to be either true or false.
Even the most inoffensive religious belief systems have way too many UNSUPPORTED CLAIMS that take us away from the path of Truth. Robbing us of the ability to make the best decisions in our lives. Even more so when they are not to be questioned or challenged.
The advice you gave me a longtime ago that I am too thick to take..
Dennis, I try to be tolerant of everyone's views. Including yours. I don't directly challenge many of Ray's since they are faith-based and therefore unchallengeable on a factual basis.
I think this debate, I hope this debate, is useful to you as you fight a tough disease. I wish you well.
Bill lets Ray do all those terrible things, Dennis, for the same reason that he let's You get away with posting all Your Bullshit ~ sorry, "bovine excrement" in MerwoodSpeak ~ that he lets You belch, fart, and vomit.
Can You figure that out? Or do You need to ask the RNC for guidance as to how to properly and appropriately respond?
I don't believe in a God, but I don't like the antagonism that's produced by these ques. But there is no evidence of a Creator so I believe like the late great Richard Fenyman said we don't really know!? We don't even know if we even the Universe had a beginning in Time. Lets not overstep the mark. The Key to Science is we don't know....!
So sad
So true
PS
I'm voting the Jill/Ware ticket. I'm voting my conscience and the direction we should be going in.
What amazes me is that even Common Dreams has had few articles (if any) exposing Jill Stein's way out of our neoliberal-neocon quagmire. Bernie was late in coming to the "stop sending Israel bombs" messaging. Nader and Stein have been saying that all along. Common Dreams reports on Bernie who is not in the running and has not endorsed a presidential candidate like Stein who would carry the social democratic torch.
Bernie has been a huge disappoint to us lefties as has been the BS "progressive with in the party. Far right they all be.
But Stein: she has progressive intelligent rational positions on many important issues.
But no press or MSM endorses or puts her thoughts our there.
So sad
Do wrong
https://newrepublic.com/article/187038/jill-stein-green-party-grifter-hand-trump-white-house
"Jill Stein doesn’t give, as the old saying goes, a flying f*ck about democracy. Instead, she’s all about how famous she can become and how much money she can grift off her repeated presidential campaigns. It’s a damn dangerous game." - Thom Hartmann
Dennis, it's not surprising Stein is being attacked as a "grifter." Democrats are desperate to delegitimize her.
I'm surprised you would take the bait on this. Stein's campaign is tiny compared to the multi-billion dollar campaigns of Trump and Harris. Talk about grift!
Regardless of the reason, the woman is still unarguably a grifter.
Her third shot at this.
Maybe she will get >1.07% of the vote this time....ppppfffft!
So she's a "grifter" because she ran more than once and because she lost and because her vote percentage was low?
That's your proof? How about some facts, Dennis? Or do you only have "faith" that she's a grifter?
You never read Hartmann's article in the NewPepublic then? eh Bill?
Sometimes I wonder why if I am wasting my time just casting pearls before swine.
And I'm wise to your psyops now ..."Or do you only have faith?"
It's not a question. It's intended as a smear.
Dennis, you may feel it to be 'unarguable' that Stein is a 'grifter'. Such an ad hominem ought to be based at least on facts. So what money has Stein taken illicitly? What swindling has she done?
I note Hartmann uses that framing; but his entire piece is a smear; full of lies and innuendo and nothing factual. I'm rather surprised you'd take his word for anything as he has been for many years now, the ultimate Democratic Party apologist and salesman- consumed by more than the usual TDS.
I have no idea what polls say about Stein's chances (not that it matters much to me, because as Bill and others write, we vote for people because they share our values, interests and vision - not because they have a good chance in a corrupted system of beating a perceived greater of evils. The odds are that one of two very unfit-for-President people will win; and IMO Americans and most of the world will lose once again. We'll get closer to the nuclear precipice, closer to bankruptcy, closer to a state of climate chaos that will shock even the most cynical.
Still, I think we're going to be a bit surprised in this election. From my reading of a fair amount of commentary on the 'net, I suspect Stein is going to greatly improve on past election performance; notwithstanding all the cajoling by many (including you) to choose the supposed lesser of evils. And if it happens, it will be a small sign of hopefulness - something that might just encourage others to subsequently vote for their hopes and not their fears.
As i suggested to Bill, Roger: Don't volunteer to hang by anything important waiting for a response from BV's Resident MAGAt**d. It will dismissed as just another "Gotcha Question."
Excellent comment, Roger, and I await Dennis' answer.
🤡
Heh. Well, this is also Trump's third shot at being POTUS Maxximmuss.
So who's the "Grifter" here?
Dennis, Stein in a retired doctor. Please give evidence from her long life of service that indicates a desire for fame and fortune. Running as a candidate of the Green Party in America is the very last choice a person would make who wants fame and fortune. In addition, Stein appears at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in opposition to Israel. Another excellent choice for one seeking fame and fortune?
Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem for his biggest donor, Sheldon Adelson. Now, he is happy to accept $100 billion from Adelson's wife, Miriam, who wants Israel to annex the West Bank, an Israeli to whom Trump gave the Medal of Freedom!!! Fame and fortune?
What i wonder is what Musk plans to get out of all this.
And that's $100 Million from Adelson's Wife. i doubt Any politician is worth $100 Billion. But maybe not over the long haul, eh?
Think Dennis will respond to Your Question based on the Facts You cited, Clif? Please don't hold Your Breath waiting for that to happen..
Dennis, you sound like Trump. All you do is criticize others, but contribute nothing.
And now, I sound like you, but at least I am ashamed of that.
Actually, isn't this our scribes third blog criticizing Trump?
Contributing nothing but the chimera that Jill Stein will become the 47th POTUS.
And the majority of BV posters haranguing Trump, contributing nothing.
And I have given many reasons for voting for Trump. As have many others
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDpBh-Qi5dE&t=1104s
You just skip over them. Never read them: TRUMP = EVIL= FASCIST
You seem to miss the fact that I'm criticizing the duopoly, which includes Trump as well as Harris.
Dennis, if anyone is a cultist, it's you with your strenuous support of Trump. You make so many apologies for him. And you take it personally when I criticize him.
You only include Kamala in your bashing to give the appearance of being fair and balanced. Another psyops trick.
And you have a lot of nerve saying if anyone is a cultist, it's me.
With your over-the-top support in ALL your blogs propping up Jill Stein and the hopeless Green Party. Who have no chance.
It's a dismal failure as a "protest vote" as well ~ for four election cycles now. Nobody cares about a fringe Independant Party ~ let alone scaring the Duopoly in WA DC.
You have made apology after apology for Stein's lacks of effectiveness and years of failures. And you take it personally when I criticize your SAVIOR. (See, two can practice the psyops game! LOL)
And of course, nobody offers any criticism of her in the BV's echo chamber.
What SPECIFIC "Reasons For Voting For Trump" have You actually given, Mr Merwood? Can You cite any specific ones here on BV in Your ~ and His ~ standard BullShit? [Or "bovine excrement," as You folks in the Military Industrial Construction Congressional Complex like to put it].
That he has "A Plan" to Make America Great Again? That he will avoid World War III and make the Planet Safe for a "Great Again America"? Just like it woulda, coulda been if he had been ABLE TO CONTINUE DOING WHAT HE DID FROM 2017-2021?
Just for starters: What's his Plan for dealing with with America's $35.8 Sovereign National Debt? Any different from Harris's: Ie, as Bill noted, "Increasing it" ?
And how's that $1.4 TRILLION National "Security" and "Defense" Budget look under him? Think it might get to $2 TRILLION under him?
And if it doesn't, think he'll live to see Election2026; let alone America's 250th birthday party?
If there is one.
Ooooops. Sorry.
Just another bunch of "Gotcha Questions," eh, Old [pick Your Expletive]?
Hartmann's piece does seem like a hit piece. He said both Stein and Johnson had the smell of hustlers. I wonder what smell that is. Pepperoni pizza? Lavender? Raw sewage? His latest Hartmann Report article: America’s Descent into Darkness: Trump’s 2025 Takeover Strategy From internment camps to abolishing free press—how Trump could make his worst threats real…
I would say Hartmann has a bad case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. BTW, catch Mark Halperin on Tucker Carlson. Mark said if Harris loses there will be severe mental breakdowns in tens of million of people. Presumably those with TDS. I'm guessing Hartmann will be among them.
I quit Thom a long time ago.
Please don't feed the DNC troll. At least wait until it moves up the blatancy ladder FCS.
Troll = a poster who contributes nothing.
Except bashing another posters point of view.
Exactly!
So where is your contribution, Gene?
We are waiting with bated breath.
Bernie Sanders was a total cave in!
Lots of words - NO ACTION.
What ACTION did Trump initiate and bring to completion from 20 Jan 17 to 20 Jan 20?
Anything in particular? Like setting the stage for America's Proxy War with Russia in Ukraine?
Like totally blowing America's reaction and response to the COVID-19 Event? [4.3 % 0f the World's Population with 17-18% OF Total Covid-19 Event Hospitalizations and Deaths.]
And how did America's Sovereign, National Debt do under the direction of The Church Of Trump's Savior, Guru, and Hero? Got any numbers on that, oh Engineer and MICCC employee?
I can think of a host of practical reasons why Bernie endorses Kamala. But I can't think of a moral one. Bernie would likely be shot if he tried to put winds in Stein's sails.
Then he should take the hit and actually stand for something other than the hot air balloon he has proven to be. When push comes to shove, he just can't stand not to be in the club of the accepted.
She's got the boat. Her course is set. Her sails are up. All Stein needs is for the millions of Americans like Jeffery Sachs and Bernie whose policies align with hers to provide the wind to fill her sails. I am betting that More Americans are aligned with Stein's policies than Trump or Kamala's. They just don't know it. Because even progressive publications like Common Dreams are crippled by poor attending with assumptions that retard a nation.
“Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place” The only major article on Jill Stein in Common Dreams recently has been Thom Hartman’s Jill Stein's Dangerous Game Could Put Fascist Trump Back in the White House. Its full of nonsense and Hate towards Stein.
Sad to see.
I am still looking for Common Dreams to publish a rebuttal. If there is to be one, I can see it coming from Nader who gets pieces published in Common Dreams. Hartman uses the same nonsense against Stein as was used and still used against Nader. Nader and Stein are simply speaking truths and way out of the wreckage and letting the chips fall where they may. They are not playing any sort of game but offering a way out from the sickly game of voting for the best of two evils. Which ensures EVIL. Those that blame George W. on Nader are really too stupid for democracy.
Agreed. The Democrats would certainly go that far.
It is amazing how the CON has somehow gotten everyone to think that voting for what they want is a sure way to "lose". Everyone becomes obsessed with "winning" even if that means voting for everything that they hate.
The graphic shows what everyone who rubs two brain cells together knows - there is absolutely no difference between the two corporate parties when it comes to the major concerns of their shared owners. That they 'win' elections by focusing on cultural or identity issues demonstrates they have no need to change or respond to the actual concerns of the voters.
Voting for Jill Stein as a moral choice - or any of the other non corporate candidates, or not voting - is a principled position. But I don't know what it will take to break through to the majority who still think it matters which of two morons is elected.
Sadly, the elites will never listen to the voices of the people until the duopoly is broken, and it will take a lot more people to vote for Jill or another alternative candidate to break through the duopoly's hold on American voters.
I've always taken it as a defeat of democracy that every election neither party is actually crushed by the results. They 'lose' or 'win' by just enough to keep the game going. Even the Presidential elections where the claim is made on side has an overwhelming victory - its electoral college numbers, with the numbers of voters roughly equal.
As you said, they have no reason to change.
So with what would You replace the current system for choosing this Nation's elected Leaders, TomR?
But before that: How would You change America's current system of Government and Governance in which Vested Special Interests bid for and gain access to that Government's legal power, administrative authority, and especially, its spending capability and capacity, so as to advance the agendas of those individual, group, organizational, and institutional VSIs?
Ah...make me king and I'll take care of those problems..
Other than that, I think it's just part of the ongoing struggle between the plebes and members of the riding class. No one has figured it out for any period of time, but the fight continues.
Does anyone else remember Bracing Views as a forum for civil discourse, or was it a dream that brought here once upon a time?
i think that some ~ and sometimes, much ~ of the discourse in the Comments section is quite civil, wdt.
But at other times, i agree that it could definitely be more civil. And focused on confirmable Facts, or presented with legitimate Argument to prove one's point.
As I was picketing today, I had on my sign the suggestion to vote for Jill Stein. A man came up and asked me about her. A woman came up, excited to see Stein on my sign and told me that she was a member both of the Green Party and JVP and invited me to a meeting.
On the other hand, a pair of women told me I am supporting HAMAS. I asked them how many died today and they were lost in thought for a moment, the reason being they were thinking only of Israeli soldiers. Incredible.
One would hope that even the die-hards on the Blue Team that paid any attention at all to the "30-day" threat from Team Biden would see it for the obnoxious election ploy it is. The list of pathetic Israeli pandering grows daily.
"Who’s the Party? There’s a party, and we’re not invited to it. We’re paying for the Party, but we’re not invited to it … I’m not into groupthink and parties are essentially an exercise in groupthink. And groupthink is an anathema to freedom. Groupthink is an anathema to the idea of a republic. There has to be a free exchange of ideas."
--Dennis Kucinich in an interview on The Duran yesterday.
When a government gets as out of touch and corrupt as this one has, the country calls up a POPULIST. Guess who that is? Hint, hint... It's certainly not either of the females.
On what basis are You calling Trump a "Populist," Martha?
Got any specifics?
First of all: Can You define Your term of "Populist"? And who have been "Populists" in America's History?
Ie: In whose footsteps is Trump following? And second of all, on whose shoulders is he standing?
Thank you for your support, Martha. Much appreciated.
Thank you for daring to dip your toe into the pool of piranhas in this comment section. LOL
But remember my dear.....
In 1992 Ross Perot challenged Scrub and Slick Willy on a POPULIST platform of slashing the budget deficit. He got 19.0% of the vote ~ but didn’t receive a plurality of voters in any state, giving him ZERO ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES.
And in Murica the UNPOPULIST candidate who gets LESS votes can and often wins.
You are screwed.
Just hold your breath that its not........ TOO BIG TO RIG IN 2024.
i'm sure You appreciate all the "support" You can get, Mr Merwood.
Especially the kind of support that is totally meaningless and useless.
What a cruel joke of a Chart Bill! LOL
Didn't the Demorats have an identical Chart to Steins with Sleepy Joe in 2020?
And failed to achieve any of their goals for their gullible voters. Right!
And isn't this Stein's same chart for the third time now, and Nadar's before her.
How many of their goals have the Green's actually ever achieved?
They are dreaming, just like all the dreamers who will vote for her. Wasting their vote!
No, Dennis, the Democrats didn't have the same chart in 2020. Do some research.
For example, Joe Biden was against M4A, saying he would veto it if it reached his desk. Biden wasn't for campaign finance reform. Biden never said he'd decrease Pentagon spending. Etc.
You're getting lost in details which never happen in the way anyone says or expects.
Details matter, don't you think?
That depends entirely upon who is defining what a "detail" is, doesn't it, Bill?
A detail or two of an inch in the wrong direction would have blown the right side of Trump's face off, instead of just "nicking" his ear.
What's the difference between "anyone says or expects," Martha, and what Actually happens and has happened? Or is that just to be casually dismissed as "somebody's ~ anybody's ~ details?"
🤡
You write: "Palestinians are suffering, starving, and dying and Biden/Harris give Israel another 30 days to continue killing and starving, after which I guarantee you no action will be taken by the Biden/Harris administration whether Harris wins or loses."
From Politico to confirm this (and what we already know who follow you and other good Substackers)
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/16/biden-israel-arms-aid-00184028.
🤬🤬
U.S. Breaks Out B-2 Bombers Against the Houthis w/Chas Freeman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdd7GcHwpnQ
Murican flyboys in internet comments sections are all gun-ho macho about their B-2's over Yemen.
Hi-fives flying all over the place.
B-2's become an extension of the Israeli Air Force!
Hasn't the US been here before?
Was a US war with Yemen debated and approved by the Congress as required by the Constitution?
As Jeff Moebus says ~ will the US even survive until Trumps Inauguration?
Will Biden/Kamala start WW3 before they are thrown out of power?
When was the last War that was debated, approved, and ~ what is actually required by the Constitution ~ DECLARED by any Congress?
Does World War II ring a bell?
Wrong again, Merwood.
First i asked if there would be an election. Then i asked if there would be an Inauguration,
Then ~ and only then ~ did i ask whether the United States would survive to celebrate its 250th birthday on July 4, 2026; 625 days from today. Regardless of who "wins" or "loses" in November, and. if there is an Inauguration, regardless of who is inaugurated.
If there isn't an election or an inauguration, then the question about the 250th birthday will have been answered.
A glimpse of a very frightening future with Kamala Harris as POTUS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdd7GcHwpnQ
U.S. Breaks Out B-2 Bombers Against the Houthis w/Chas Freeman
When the world is run by crazies….
The way the weak Biden administration should be handling the aid situation with Israel is to first cut off military assistance, then explain why that is being done.
Then say when word from Gaza comes that aid has been "fully" restored then we will further assist with military operations.
That is how it is done like a boss not like a bunch of unprofessional weaklings.
If Israel doesn't comply, or does it again after restoring aid, the US needs to pack up and go home.
Dennis, Biden is a self-avowed Zionist surrounded by other Zionists.
They believe in Israel and support the genocide. Everything else is BS.
What's Trump's position on Israel either letting full Aid Flow into Gaza [and the West Bank and Lebanon], or else the spigot is turned off?
What has he actually said about that? Got any idea?
And has he ever spelled out exactly how he is going to end the Wars in Ukraine, Palestine, and Lebanon? Or is that a secret even from him?
What do You think would happen, Dennis, if it became impossible to access the Suez Canal? Or wouldn't that affect folks living down in KiwiLand? Think it would affect Your Daughters here in "Murica"?
In any event: Here is Google AI's response to the question: "Can the Houthis stop traffic thru the Suez Canal":
Yes, Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea have significantly reduced traffic through the Suez Canal:
Shipping diversions: Companies have rerouted ships around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the Red Sea and Suez Canal, which adds time and cost to journeys.
Reduced traffic: In September 2024, Maersk reported a 66% drop in Suez Canal traffic due to Houthi attacks. In January 2024, UNCTAD reported a 45% drop in freight through the Suez Canal in two months.
Increased insurance costs: War-cover insurance rates for ships traveling through the Red Sea are nearly 1,000% higher than before the conflict.
Delayed humanitarian aid: Delays in transit times have also delayed humanitarian aid to countries like Yemen.
The Suez Canal is a vital choke point for the world's oil trade and is also susceptible to blockages and pirate attacks. The Red Sea and Suez Canal are increasingly important for shipping goods between Asia and Europe, as well as for oil and liquefied natural gas.
The U.S. and other nations have created a new force to protect ships in the Red Sea, including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles, and Spain.
Israel is doing exactly what it has been instructed to do by America's Deep State and Ruling Political Caste.
That why Israel was created in the first place, and why it has been sustained and maintained by the U.S. and its Underlings since its creation in 1948.
Israel has been a Forward Operational Base ~ for American DS and RPC concerns, interests, goals, and objectives in the Middle East with all its Oil and other Resources ~ from its very conception to inception to execution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8znTbtHNQ8
I was a Trump hater — until I learned the truth of the media’s ‘very fine’ lies
"The truth shall set us free from the bondage that lies oppress upon us.
I became a free man once I understood the truth of what our mainstream media is, rather than the front it hides behind. NY Post contributor Adam B. Coleman shares this story.
Journalistic professionalism has been superseded by unabashed bias as outlets propagandize for one particular political party, to the detriment of truth.
And if they’re not lying about their adversary to sway public perception, they’re conspiring to glorify their friends in DC as sinless political deities.
Kamala Harris is the media’s deity of the moment — constantly praised for not being either Joe Biden or Donald Trump and receiving 66% more coverage than Trump from major media outlets. An incredible 84% of that coverage has been positive.
Meanwhile, our supposedly “fair” media lambasts Trump with negative coverage 89% of the time, the Washington Examiner reports and continues to perpetuate long-debunked falsehoods about him alongside the Democratic Party."
Never truer words spoken.
These same memes are flooding the internet as I type. The game is up! The MSMs goose is cooked.
TRUMP/VANCE 2024 by a landslide
MUST SEE: Man in Crowd YELLS at Trump and his Response is OUT OF THIS WORLD!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mF9HJDoZ6s&t=242s
Nobody will ever know what President Donald Trump has done for private citizens and others.
He does not seek fame. And he does not need fortune. What you see is what you get.
If he had given a poor family a million dollars.
And the MSM found out about it ~ "This the Worst Thing you can do for poor people. You are just enabling their poor behavior"
I swear!
Trump loves America and the American people! Vote Trump 2024.
He is not the villain the corrupt MSM wants you to believe!
They just hate his guts for calling out their lies.
Obama, Biden, the phony Kamala Harris and the corrupt DNC are the real liars and villains.
Jill Stein is just a sideshow.
"Trump loves America and the American people!"
Do you really believe that, Dennis? Why did he say he would deport student protesters of genocide? Is that "love"?
Can any one person love all of America and all its people? Does Trump love Kamala Harris and Joe Biden?
These are not "gotcha" questions. I ask them as a way of pointing out your unquestioning faith in Trump. He is almost a saint to you. A saint who "loves" the people and the country.
Your words, not mine. They say God is love but I guess Trump is love.
What You need to remember, realize, acknowledge, and accept, Bill ~, before wasting Your time asking Dennis questions like that ~ is that he is a totally convinced, confirmed, and committed ~ at least for the moment and as long as it doesn't cost him anything ~ member of The Church Of Trump, and a fervrent Believer in its Gospel, as it is put out from On High.
Yes, I realize this, Jeff.
I think it's educational to have confirmed Trump believers at this site. It reminds us of how Trump's movement, at its core, consists of people devoted to him irrespective of facts. This is why Trump said he could shoot someone on the streets of NYC in broad daylight and be exonerated. His followers embrace him no matter what.
This is true, of course, of the Blue Team as well. Voting Blue no matter who is pure tribalism. But the Trumpers seem even more devoted to their man; dare I say they have an almost religious faith in him?
Roger that, Bill. All of that.
i know its very educational for me, if only because of what i learn when i do some research into what Trump and/or his Believers are passing off as information about the Real World.
Actually Trump probably loves Trump and then his sons, daughters, wives, G.F., and mostly his earthly possessions I would surmise, and no doubt not in any order... Its a shame that unless one is actually experiencing most earthly problems be they physical, mental, or spiritual, or even monetary unless they're very compassionate, merciful, or to a lesser extent have empathy most will just look the other way in my experience I've seen in this life. You'd think that as we're all going to perish one day from this Earth we'd be better to one another, more tolerant etc. while on the glide path to the day we're no more...
With the sole exception of Every Human Being who is alive at this very moment, Fireman1110, Every Human Being that has ever lived is now dead.
Humans have had the chance to "be better to one another, more tolerant, etc" ever since they emerged as a separate Species with the distinct capability to survive; but only if they used and developed and increased that capability and their ability to observe, explore, and come to understand ~ and be able to use ~ how Reality actually, really works..
And my guess is that what Trump probably "loves" [as You listed them] isn't that different from what most Humans ~ even those in DC ~ love and seek: select Persons and Possessions.
And some like Power ~ the ability to tell Other Humans what they can and can not do. And some like Wealth ~ the ability to buy and sell Power at a profit.
Especially those in DC, and ~ even more so ~ those who want to get there [or get back there], and those who want to stay there. Like Trump and/or Harris, respectively.
Dennis: On what basis do You assume that Anybody here on BV gives a Fat Flying {Expletive Deleted} about what the MSM says about Trump? Or Harris? Or just about Anything or Body?
With all Your cheerleading, are You actually trying to get BVers to vote for Trump? And what other blogspots do You hang out at doing the same thing? Or is BV the only place graced by Your presence?
Hope You're feeling better being at Home after the Hospital stay.
Trump DOES NOT HAVE THE HUMILITY OF CHRIST
Is this the same CHRIST, Ray, who is standing by with folded arms doing NOTHING in Gaza?
It's a mystery to me why your Cult has so much blind faith in a God who does nothing!
Apologists in a nutshell: "God is incomprehensible, now listen very carefully while I tell you all about him."
If what God does is above us, then why do we have all these believers speaking for God, and always failing to explain why he never does anything?
Dennis, I suppose if you want to keep challenging Ray on his religious assertions, that is your prerogative.
Faith-based claims are what they are. They are not factual. So it just becomes a tiresome exercise where Ray says he's a believer who experienced Christ and you deny that experience and attack him for his references to Christian scripture.
And it's always the same, again and again.
Why keep doing this? Both of you? What's the point?
Because FAITH is not a reliable path to the truth.
Faith-based claims are not factual as you say...and dangerous
One can believe ANYTHING based on FAITH.
EG. Netanyahu has faith that genocide is OK. Remember the Amalekites.
QED
It's up to all of us, not only the brave Caitlin Johnstone's, to do all we can to resist the horrendous things resulting from Faith based claims.
That why I keep doing it.
Ask Ray what is the difference between a Religion and a Cult?
Cult: gullible folks believing a charlatan* who is alive today.
Religion: gullible folks living today believing in a charlatan* who has long since died.
*A charlatan: a person practicing confidence tricks in order to obtain money, power and fame, or other advantages, always through deception. EG Pastor John Hagee who follows the same Christian God - whether you and Ray like it or not!
Well, remember "alternative facts"? "Truth" is often defined by those with the most power. Thus the "truth" that Israel has a right to defend itself. Thus the "truth" (based on "facts") that it's all Hamas' fault.
You are prejudiced against religion, Dennis, which is fine with me. It's just repetitive and tiresome for you to attack Ray's faith-based claims over and over again.
Do you really think in attacking Ray that you're doing the equivalent of Caitlin Johnstone, who attacks the most powerful people in the world, including Donald Trump? How brave you are here, Dennis!
And you allow Ray to continuously post unsupported claims on BV's.
And NEVER challenge him, like you do me!
You are always OK with him posting ancient nonsense in your comment sections. You give him a free pass that you would never give to any other poster. How brave you are Bill!
And allow him to preach his sermons on a secular blog.
For me, Bill, the bottom line is always Truth.
The question must always be, Is it True?
Use what definition suits you best. But by any definition ~ unsupported claims can never be determined to be either true or false.
Even the most inoffensive religious belief systems have way too many UNSUPPORTED CLAIMS that take us away from the path of Truth. Robbing us of the ability to make the best decisions in our lives. Even more so when they are not to be questioned or challenged.
The advice you gave me a longtime ago that I am too thick to take..
.."my advice Dennis is to not read his comments"
Dennis, I try to be tolerant of everyone's views. Including yours. I don't directly challenge many of Ray's since they are faith-based and therefore unchallengeable on a factual basis.
I think this debate, I hope this debate, is useful to you as you fight a tough disease. I wish you well.
Bill lets Ray do all those terrible things, Dennis, for the same reason that he let's You get away with posting all Your Bullshit ~ sorry, "bovine excrement" in MerwoodSpeak ~ that he lets You belch, fart, and vomit.
Can You figure that out? Or do You need to ask the RNC for guidance as to how to properly and appropriately respond?
Never mind. Just another GQ.
I don't believe in a God, but I don't like the antagonism that's produced by these ques. But there is no evidence of a Creator so I believe like the late great Richard Fenyman said we don't really know!? We don't even know if we even the Universe had a beginning in Time. Lets not overstep the mark. The Key to Science is we don't know....!