Glenn Greenwald has written a terrific essay that starts with the fact that all the Dems who want Biden out start with saying what a great man he is, all the good he has done, how much they admire him. Greenwald goes into a detailed history of Biden's political life to show that he is definitely not the nice guy and humanitarian these people claim he is.
This fawning is a kind of pledge of allegiance that must be placed ahead of any criticism and we see it in even the mildest criticism of Israel that must begin with professed horror at Oct 7 not mentioning a word of the awful plight of the Palestinians for three quarters of a century under the boot of Zionism.
In both cases it shows only a fear of the power of the entity that is about to be even mildly criticized. Protect the ass before being critical.
If Biden were to drop out, I have no idea who would be best positioned to run in his stead. They are ALL awful. In creating a gerontocracy, Dems have prevented truly talented and smart people from percolating to the top of the party. The only races that interest me are the Kennedy and Trump races.
Good point. The younger generation of Democrats are sycophants to Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer, who are themselves servants of corporate owners and donors.
The entire political class in the USA are servants of mega corporations and the military-industrial complex. Ain't nothing gonna change in this country until the majority of people realize the two parties do not represent them and decide that systemic change is required.
By making Trump something like a Dictator For Life?
After all, now that his Supreme Court has given him immunity for virtually anything and everything he does "when acting as the President," Who and/or What is going to stop that from happening?
Mary, it seems to me that DC politics is so corrupt there is no one to percolate up. AOC was going to be the voice of the next generation starting with her sit-in in Pelosi's office. Then they gave her a talkin' to or a future place at the big table and she's good with everything the establishment wants.
Dennis, she's 'my' Senator. I always know what year she's up for re-election because that's the only time she's seen or heard - including sending out emails.
Given where she is from ~ one of the major hubs of America's MICCIMATT ~ why is it so surprising that she has been kept in office for so long?
How many people in Washington State are totally and completely dependent on the MICCMATT for their livelihood and lifestyles?
Is it actually any surprise that they keep sending her back to DC? The return on the investment of their repetitive votes for her has been very substantial.
It needs a complete and total change as to how its system of Government and Governance is organized and works, and how the politicians, bureaucrats, and appointees running it are bought and sold, commanded and controlled by all those Vested Special Interests, starting with the MICCIMATT and the web that links the Treasury Department, Wall Street and Silicon Valley, and the federal Reserve System. To say nothing of Big Oil, Big Agriculture, Big Pharma, and so forth.
We have elections which should be the best form of term limits. Our real problem is too much money in the system and a poorly educated electorate. If people prefer keeping someone in office for a lifetime, that is their choice. Term limits on presidents ought to be removed. One other consideration: if you got term limits, what would you do with their permanent staff? We would have experienced staff and rookie congressmen which doesn’t sound like a better idea.
Bill, given that next week is the Republican convention - with the only question being who will be Trump's VP pick, Biden dropping out of the race or even stepping down from the office early to midweek would take all the MSM attention away from Milwaukee and to DC.
The Democrats would be giddy over that and would set them up for their August convention with all the manufactured suspense of who will be the Dem's VP choice (I'm assuming they will be unable then to move away from Harris).
But if Biden survives through to the convention, I think we're looking at the Tony Montana ending from Scarface in November.
There is that - escalation in Ukraine to create the need to 'rally around the President' and its unintended consequences could be the end of us all. The other unknown is what Netanyahu will demand from his DC Knesset when he comes to town later in the month - war with Hezbollah and US intervention?
One thing you have to remember. What we see of Biden is only the tip of the iceberg. What's beneath is undoubtedly worse as we are only allowed to see the best.
Heh. That's true of every politician in Washington who has any kind of real power in that World, and virtually every politician who has ever been in Washington who had any kind of real power.
Earlier, TomR made a great recommendation as to how to turn the "Distraction of Biden" into a definite asset for the DNC:
Have Biden announce that he is withdrawing from Election2024, and releasing all of his committed Delegates to choose whoever they want to see the Democrats' candidate be.
And do this right as the RNC convention in Milwaukee is hitting high gear.
One can only guess how the MSM ~ let alone Trump and the Republicans ~ would handle that, eh?
I believe this, "the distraction", is all being done on purpose., by the behind the scenes players: Call them whatever you want ( the Neocons, the Elite, the Deep State, the Banksters, the New World Order, the WEF or a combination of all the mentioned). Linking today as https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/usual @
Greenwald's post from yesterday is certainly telling of how all this is taking any attention from Gaza and "Genocide Joe." Complete with Rachel Madcow extolling Biden's decades of exemplary foreign policy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW8IF028w7I
For all the noise raised about PROJECT 2025, there has been very little notice of ~ let alone discussion about ~ the 2024 Republican Party’s Platform, endorsed by Trump and approved by the Republican National Committee's platform committee on July 8, 2024, and scheduled to be formally adopted at the Convention on July 15, 2024.
Titled “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” ~ no kidding ~ it is dedicated “To the Forgotten Men and Women of America,” and it asserts:
“When America is united, confident, and committed to our principles, it will never fail. Today and together, with Love for our Country, Faith in our People, and Trust in God's Good Grace, we will Make America Great Again!“ And then declares:
“To make clear our commitment, we offer to the American people the 2024 GOP Platform to Make America Great Again! It is a forward-looking Agenda that begins with the following twenty promises that we will accomplish very quickly when we win the White House and Republican Majorities in the House and Senate”:
1. SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION
2. CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY
3. END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN
4. MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR!
5. STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER
6. LARGE TAX CUTS FOR WORKERS, AND NO TAX ON TIPS!
7. DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS, AND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
8. PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY -- ALL MADE IN AMERICA
9. END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
10. STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC, DEMOLISH THE FOREIGN DRUG CARTELS, CRUSH GANG VIOLENCE, AND LOCK UP VIOLENT OFFENDERS
11. REBUILD OUR CITIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON DC, MAKING THEM SAFE, CLEAN, AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN.
12. STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD
13. KEEP THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE WORLD'S RESERVE CURRENCY
14. FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH NO CUTS, INCLUDING NO CHANGES TO THE RETIREMENT AGE
15. CANCEL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE AND CUT COSTLY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS
16. CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN
17. KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN'S SPORTS
18. DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN
19. SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP
20. UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS
It then provides about seven pages of details on these Promises, and how they will be kept.
What is particularly noticeable about the Platform is that America’s National Sovereign Debt and Unfinanced Federal Liabilities ~ currently pegged at $34.902 TRILLION and $217.235 TRILLION and counting, respectively ~ are not mentioned at all. [https://www.usdebtclock.org/]
Which leads one to ask: What’s Trump’s plan to satisfy Promises #13 and 14? And how does he plan to make #12 and the “Iron Dome" of #8 happen without increasing that Debt, especially with all the Tax Cuts promised for Workers [#6] and planned for his owners, operators, commanders, and controllers, the Plutocrats?
And of particular interest ~ given the discussion here on BV ~ is that there is no mention of NATO at all; let alone pulling out of and dismantling it.
The platform, like all others from both parties through the years, will disappear soon after it's approved at the RNC convention, and never be mentioned again. But it says a good deal about what the party thinks will appeal to its core voters (I dislike the term 'base').
No mention of the debt - with increasing inflation and a GDP based 70% on consumer spending - is ignoring a house on fire and approaching collapse. And no mention of NATO and the risk of nuclear war it creates is inexcusable.
There is an excellent 15 minute video with Greenwald and Jeffrey Sachs talking about the wars we are in. Sachs really lays waste to Biden and his crew. Also there is an excellent article on Code Pink about the Committee on Oversight Accountability congressional hearing on "Defending America from the Chinese Communist Party Political Workers" which author Megan Russell describes as full of lies. So apparently our government which sent over to this committee three speakers who have worked tirelessly for the Republican party has lied endlessly to our apparently naive elected representatives about how evil China is, and now they are getting ready for war. Our media is so wrapped up in the Biden thing (and I agree, he should go) that we are losing sight of what is happening in the rest of the world, as we get ready for WAR. Very, very, scary!!
Correction: The government intends to implement and enforce Automatic Registration for the Draft.
Of course, there will no doubt still be exemptions for people like Clinton, Cheney, Trump, and Biden. [The only reason Obama didn't get an exemption was because there was no Draft when he became eligible for it.]
What percentage of America's GDP is spent on "War"; either waging it or preparing for the next one?
"Although the United States spends more on defense than any other country, the Congressional Budget Office projects that defense spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) will decline over the coming years — from 2.9 percent of GDP in 2024 to 2.5 percent in 2034. That is considerably lower than the 50-year average spending on defense of 4.2 percent of GDP."
As for the question of is Biden the best candidate the Democrats can roll out, it should be remembered these are the same folks who once put Michael Dukakis on the ballot.
Cliff, I have tried to find the Glenn Greenwald essay that that gives a detailed history of his political life. I recall that he was frequently in some sort disagreement, but I forget the details. Can you give a link to this or tell us how to find it? I've tried various prompts with google, but have had no luck. Thank you.
The Systemic Change that America needs will not happen simply by putting different politicians with different worldviews, ideologies, and priorities, proposals, and promises in office.
What must be changed ~ if the Experiment called America is to not end in total collapse and failure, as it is rapidly moving toward now ~ is the system of government and governance whereby Vested Special Interests bid for the legal power, administrative authority, and spending capability and capacity of that government by buying and selling the elected politicians, entrenched civilian and military bureaucrats, and anointed political appointees who run the government on behalf of those VSIs.
So who actually IS running this country? And does anybody think it will change if/when Trump gets elected in November? ... :
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS EXPOSED THE BRAIN ROT OF WESTERN LIBERALS by Caitlin Johnstone JUL 13, 2024
At the NATO summit in Washington on Thursday the US president referred to Ukraine’s President Zelensky as “President Putin”, referred to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump”, and said he is “following the advice of my commander-in-chief” on important military decisions.
This man’s brain clearly does not work. It is done. Finito. No mas. Dementia has sunk in the rear naked choke, and Joe Biden’s neurology is tapping.
AMERICANS ARE WATCHING LIVE PROOF THAT THEIR COUNTRY DOES NOT REQUIRE A PRESIDENT WITH FUNCTIONING GRAY MATTER IN ORDER FOR DECISIONS TO GET MADE AND POLICIES TO BE ENACTED IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF THE US GOVERNMENT. The wars and militarism have ticked on uninterrupted, the authoritarian agendas keep getting rolled out, and the same political status quo continues to be advanced. YOU COULD NOT ASK FOR MORE CONCLUSIVE PROOF THAT FOR ALL THE FUSS THAT GETS MADE ABOUT US PRESIDENTS AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A FIGUREHEAD POSITION FOR AN EMPIRE THAT IS NOT ACTUALLY RUN BY ITS OFFICIAL ELECTED GOVERNMENT.
And it’s only fitting that the US president’s brains should be leaking out his ears even as the brain rot of the ideology which gave rise to him is exposed in front of the entire world.
THERE IS A KIND OF POETICAL BEAUTY IN THE FACT THAT THE SO-CALLED “MODERATES” OF WESTERN LIBERALISM ARE CHEERLEADING FOR THE RE-ELECTION OF A HALF-DEAD DEMENTIA PATIENT WHILE HIS ADMINISTRATION FACILITATES AN ACTIVE GENOCIDE IN GAZA, PERPETUATES A WORLD-THREATENING PROXY WAR IN UKRAINE, PREPARES FOR WAR WITH LEBANON, AND MILITARIZES WITH INCREASING AGGRESSION AGAINST RUSSIA AND CHINA, ALL WHILE KILLING THE EARTH’S ECOSYSTEM AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE POVERTY, SICKNESS AND OPPRESSION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AT HOME. THE BRAIN ROT OF THEIR WORLDVIEW HAS A GUY WITH AN ACTUAL ROTTING BRAIN AS ITS OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE.
The Biden administration has completely discredited every value that western liberals claim to uphold. Peace. Justice. Human rights. A free press. Opposition to racism. Opposition to tyranny. These freaks just plum forgot that genocide is a bad thing on October 7, and probably won’t remember again until the imperial propaganda machine needs to use that accusation against the next government that the empire has targeted for regime change.
The “moderates” and “centrists” of the western world are in reality violent extremists, and not just violent extremists but the most murderous and destructive extremist group on the face of this planet. NOT ONE GROUP ON WASHINGTON’S LIST OF DESIGNATED TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS HAS A BODY COUNT THAT’S EVEN A TINY FRACTION OF WHAT THE US EMPIRE HAS RACKED UP JUST IN THE 21ST CENTURY ALONE.
This is the political ideology that Biden has aligned with throughout the entirety of his far-too-long career, from when he was just a baby swamp monster elected to the Senate at the age of 30 all the way until now as he watches all the cognitive flotsam and jetsam of his decades of Beltway soul-selling blur together like oil paints on the palette of his ruined cerebral matter.
This is who Joe Biden is. This is who western liberals are. They are the carnage, starvation and disease in Gaza. They are the biosphere strangling to death under the boot of ecocidal capitalism. They are the nuclear missiles being rolled into position around the world. They are a dying brain and a dying heart on a dying world of their own making.
Hopefully the death of this toxic, omnicidal ideology won’t be too far behind the death of Joe Biden.
Tell You what, Dennis: i'll give You my evidence when You provide evidence that "Dr Jill is running the whole show." Which i challenged You to do earlier and which You typically ignored.
The simple fact of the matter is that You have NO evidence or proof to back Your assertion about Dr Jill. [Or a number of other claims that You have made,]
All You have is what what You want Your world to be like, and Facts be fucked.
Glenn Greenwald has written a terrific essay that starts with the fact that all the Dems who want Biden out start with saying what a great man he is, all the good he has done, how much they admire him. Greenwald goes into a detailed history of Biden's political life to show that he is definitely not the nice guy and humanitarian these people claim he is.
This fawning is a kind of pledge of allegiance that must be placed ahead of any criticism and we see it in even the mildest criticism of Israel that must begin with professed horror at Oct 7 not mentioning a word of the awful plight of the Palestinians for three quarters of a century under the boot of Zionism.
In both cases it shows only a fear of the power of the entity that is about to be even mildly criticized. Protect the ass before being critical.
If Biden were to drop out, I have no idea who would be best positioned to run in his stead. They are ALL awful. In creating a gerontocracy, Dems have prevented truly talented and smart people from percolating to the top of the party. The only races that interest me are the Kennedy and Trump races.
Good point. The younger generation of Democrats are sycophants to Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer, who are themselves servants of corporate owners and donors.
Thus the lack of attractive candidates ...
The entire political class in the USA are servants of mega corporations and the military-industrial complex. Ain't nothing gonna change in this country until the majority of people realize the two parties do not represent them and decide that systemic change is required.
And how would You change that System, Dennis?
By making Trump something like a Dictator For Life?
After all, now that his Supreme Court has given him immunity for virtually anything and everything he does "when acting as the President," Who and/or What is going to stop that from happening?
The American Peoples?
Mary, it seems to me that DC politics is so corrupt there is no one to percolate up. AOC was going to be the voice of the next generation starting with her sit-in in Pelosi's office. Then they gave her a talkin' to or a future place at the big table and she's good with everything the establishment wants.
Well, there is that on top of everything else.
Dennis, she's 'my' Senator. I always know what year she's up for re-election because that's the only time she's seen or heard - including sending out emails.
Given where she is from ~ one of the major hubs of America's MICCIMATT ~ why is it so surprising that she has been kept in office for so long?
How many people in Washington State are totally and completely dependent on the MICCMATT for their livelihood and lifestyles?
Is it actually any surprise that they keep sending her back to DC? The return on the investment of their repetitive votes for her has been very substantial.
The US needs more than just term limits.
It needs a complete and total change as to how its system of Government and Governance is organized and works, and how the politicians, bureaucrats, and appointees running it are bought and sold, commanded and controlled by all those Vested Special Interests, starting with the MICCIMATT and the web that links the Treasury Department, Wall Street and Silicon Valley, and the federal Reserve System. To say nothing of Big Oil, Big Agriculture, Big Pharma, and so forth.
We have elections which should be the best form of term limits. Our real problem is too much money in the system and a poorly educated electorate. If people prefer keeping someone in office for a lifetime, that is their choice. Term limits on presidents ought to be removed. One other consideration: if you got term limits, what would you do with their permanent staff? We would have experienced staff and rookie congressmen which doesn’t sound like a better idea.
Bill, given that next week is the Republican convention - with the only question being who will be Trump's VP pick, Biden dropping out of the race or even stepping down from the office early to midweek would take all the MSM attention away from Milwaukee and to DC.
The Democrats would be giddy over that and would set them up for their August convention with all the manufactured suspense of who will be the Dem's VP choice (I'm assuming they will be unable then to move away from Harris).
But if Biden survives through to the convention, I think we're looking at the Tony Montana ending from Scarface in November.
I worry the "little friend" will be a nuclear missile.
There is that - escalation in Ukraine to create the need to 'rally around the President' and its unintended consequences could be the end of us all. The other unknown is what Netanyahu will demand from his DC Knesset when he comes to town later in the month - war with Hezbollah and US intervention?
Then there's the possibility of things heating up over in East Asia where NATO is preparing to take on a new and expanded mission, ie: China.
Remember: America has never voted a War-Time President out of office. This way, Biden could have three Wars to his credit.
That is a brilliant idea, TomR. You should pass that on to the DNC in case they're not already working on it.
That would just encourage them. :-)
That's exactly the point, TomR. Biden's withdrawing from the election would change Everything.
Especially if it happened during the RNC Convention.
https://babylonbee.com/news/bidens-popularity-skyrockets-after-he-announces-trump-is-his-vp
Biden will blame Putin, of course, if he loses. Get ready for Russiagate 2.0.
One thing you have to remember. What we see of Biden is only the tip of the iceberg. What's beneath is undoubtedly worse as we are only allowed to see the best.
Heh. That's true of every politician in Washington who has any kind of real power in that World, and virtually every politician who has ever been in Washington who had any kind of real power.
Earlier, TomR made a great recommendation as to how to turn the "Distraction of Biden" into a definite asset for the DNC:
Have Biden announce that he is withdrawing from Election2024, and releasing all of his committed Delegates to choose whoever they want to see the Democrats' candidate be.
And do this right as the RNC convention in Milwaukee is hitting high gear.
One can only guess how the MSM ~ let alone Trump and the Republicans ~ would handle that, eh?
I believe this, "the distraction", is all being done on purpose., by the behind the scenes players: Call them whatever you want ( the Neocons, the Elite, the Deep State, the Banksters, the New World Order, the WEF or a combination of all the mentioned). Linking today as https://nothingnewunderthesun2016.com/usual @
Well said, Watchman.
Yes indeed; the CFR was present at the Beginning.
For the curious: Do a Google Search for "council on foreign relations founders," and check out the photo list of who was present at the creation.
And Wiki has a comprehensive and detailed account of the CFR and its impact on American Foreign Policy for the last 100 years at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_Foreign_Relations .
Greenwald's post from yesterday is certainly telling of how all this is taking any attention from Gaza and "Genocide Joe." Complete with Rachel Madcow extolling Biden's decades of exemplary foreign policy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW8IF028w7I
For all the noise raised about PROJECT 2025, there has been very little notice of ~ let alone discussion about ~ the 2024 Republican Party’s Platform, endorsed by Trump and approved by the Republican National Committee's platform committee on July 8, 2024, and scheduled to be formally adopted at the Convention on July 15, 2024.
Titled “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” ~ no kidding ~ it is dedicated “To the Forgotten Men and Women of America,” and it asserts:
“When America is united, confident, and committed to our principles, it will never fail. Today and together, with Love for our Country, Faith in our People, and Trust in God's Good Grace, we will Make America Great Again!“ And then declares:
“To make clear our commitment, we offer to the American people the 2024 GOP Platform to Make America Great Again! It is a forward-looking Agenda that begins with the following twenty promises that we will accomplish very quickly when we win the White House and Republican Majorities in the House and Senate”:
1. SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION
2. CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY
3. END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN
4. MAKE AMERICA THE DOMINANT ENERGY PRODUCER IN THE WORLD, BY FAR!
5. STOP OUTSOURCING, AND TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER
6. LARGE TAX CUTS FOR WORKERS, AND NO TAX ON TIPS!
7. DEFEND OUR CONSTITUTION, OUR BILL OF RIGHTS, AND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION, AND THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
8. PREVENT WORLD WAR THREE, RESTORE PEACE IN EUROPE AND IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND BUILD A GREAT IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SHIELD OVER OUR ENTIRE COUNTRY -- ALL MADE IN AMERICA
9. END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
10. STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC, DEMOLISH THE FOREIGN DRUG CARTELS, CRUSH GANG VIOLENCE, AND LOCK UP VIOLENT OFFENDERS
11. REBUILD OUR CITIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON DC, MAKING THEM SAFE, CLEAN, AND BEAUTIFUL AGAIN.
12. STRENGTHEN AND MODERNIZE OUR MILITARY, MAKING IT, WITHOUT QUESTION, THE STRONGEST AND MOST POWERFUL IN THE WORLD
13. KEEP THE U.S. DOLLAR AS THE WORLD'S RESERVE CURRENCY
14. FIGHT FOR AND PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH NO CUTS, INCLUDING NO CHANGES TO THE RETIREMENT AGE
15. CANCEL THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE AND CUT COSTLY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS
16. CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN
17. KEEP MEN OUT OF WOMEN'S SPORTS
18. DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN
19. SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP
20. UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS
It then provides about seven pages of details on these Promises, and how they will be kept.
What is particularly noticeable about the Platform is that America’s National Sovereign Debt and Unfinanced Federal Liabilities ~ currently pegged at $34.902 TRILLION and $217.235 TRILLION and counting, respectively ~ are not mentioned at all. [https://www.usdebtclock.org/]
Which leads one to ask: What’s Trump’s plan to satisfy Promises #13 and 14? And how does he plan to make #12 and the “Iron Dome" of #8 happen without increasing that Debt, especially with all the Tax Cuts promised for Workers [#6] and planned for his owners, operators, commanders, and controllers, the Plutocrats?
And of particular interest ~ given the discussion here on BV ~ is that there is no mention of NATO at all; let alone pulling out of and dismantling it.
Full text at https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2024-republican-party-platform .
Jeff, you raise really great questions.
The platform, like all others from both parties through the years, will disappear soon after it's approved at the RNC convention, and never be mentioned again. But it says a good deal about what the party thinks will appeal to its core voters (I dislike the term 'base').
No mention of the debt - with increasing inflation and a GDP based 70% on consumer spending - is ignoring a house on fire and approaching collapse. And no mention of NATO and the risk of nuclear war it creates is inexcusable.
Not yet. Their convention isn't until the third week in August.
You should read the whole RNC Platform and see how much of it You agree and disagree with, Dennis.
And then ask Yourself why Trump endorsed it.
There is an excellent 15 minute video with Greenwald and Jeffrey Sachs talking about the wars we are in. Sachs really lays waste to Biden and his crew. Also there is an excellent article on Code Pink about the Committee on Oversight Accountability congressional hearing on "Defending America from the Chinese Communist Party Political Workers" which author Megan Russell describes as full of lies. So apparently our government which sent over to this committee three speakers who have worked tirelessly for the Republican party has lied endlessly to our apparently naive elected representatives about how evil China is, and now they are getting ready for war. Our media is so wrapped up in the Biden thing (and I agree, he should go) that we are losing sight of what is happening in the rest of the world, as we get ready for WAR. Very, very, scary!!
Correction: The government intends to implement and enforce Automatic Registration for the Draft.
Of course, there will no doubt still be exemptions for people like Clinton, Cheney, Trump, and Biden. [The only reason Obama didn't get an exemption was because there was no Draft when he became eligible for it.]
"Only" war?
What percentage of America's GDP is spent on "War"; either waging it or preparing for the next one?
"Although the United States spends more on defense than any other country, the Congressional Budget Office projects that defense spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) will decline over the coming years — from 2.9 percent of GDP in 2024 to 2.5 percent in 2034. That is considerably lower than the 50-year average spending on defense of 4.2 percent of GDP."
Source: https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2024/04/the-united-states-spends-more-on-defense-than-the-next-9-countries-combined .
As for the question of is Biden the best candidate the Democrats can roll out, it should be remembered these are the same folks who once put Michael Dukakis on the ballot.
These are the same people who put Hillary Clinton on the ballot virtually guaranteeing a Trump victory in 2016.
Cliff, I have tried to find the Glenn Greenwald essay that that gives a detailed history of his political life. I recall that he was frequently in some sort disagreement, but I forget the details. Can you give a link to this or tell us how to find it? I've tried various prompts with google, but have had no luck. Thank you.
The Systemic Change that America needs will not happen simply by putting different politicians with different worldviews, ideologies, and priorities, proposals, and promises in office.
What must be changed ~ if the Experiment called America is to not end in total collapse and failure, as it is rapidly moving toward now ~ is the system of government and governance whereby Vested Special Interests bid for the legal power, administrative authority, and spending capability and capacity of that government by buying and selling the elected politicians, entrenched civilian and military bureaucrats, and anointed political appointees who run the government on behalf of those VSIs.
So who actually IS running this country? And does anybody think it will change if/when Trump gets elected in November? ... :
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION HAS EXPOSED THE BRAIN ROT OF WESTERN LIBERALS by Caitlin Johnstone JUL 13, 2024
At the NATO summit in Washington on Thursday the US president referred to Ukraine’s President Zelensky as “President Putin”, referred to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump”, and said he is “following the advice of my commander-in-chief” on important military decisions.
This man’s brain clearly does not work. It is done. Finito. No mas. Dementia has sunk in the rear naked choke, and Joe Biden’s neurology is tapping.
AMERICANS ARE WATCHING LIVE PROOF THAT THEIR COUNTRY DOES NOT REQUIRE A PRESIDENT WITH FUNCTIONING GRAY MATTER IN ORDER FOR DECISIONS TO GET MADE AND POLICIES TO BE ENACTED IN THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF THE US GOVERNMENT. The wars and militarism have ticked on uninterrupted, the authoritarian agendas keep getting rolled out, and the same political status quo continues to be advanced. YOU COULD NOT ASK FOR MORE CONCLUSIVE PROOF THAT FOR ALL THE FUSS THAT GETS MADE ABOUT US PRESIDENTS AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS, IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A FIGUREHEAD POSITION FOR AN EMPIRE THAT IS NOT ACTUALLY RUN BY ITS OFFICIAL ELECTED GOVERNMENT.
And it’s only fitting that the US president’s brains should be leaking out his ears even as the brain rot of the ideology which gave rise to him is exposed in front of the entire world.
THERE IS A KIND OF POETICAL BEAUTY IN THE FACT THAT THE SO-CALLED “MODERATES” OF WESTERN LIBERALISM ARE CHEERLEADING FOR THE RE-ELECTION OF A HALF-DEAD DEMENTIA PATIENT WHILE HIS ADMINISTRATION FACILITATES AN ACTIVE GENOCIDE IN GAZA, PERPETUATES A WORLD-THREATENING PROXY WAR IN UKRAINE, PREPARES FOR WAR WITH LEBANON, AND MILITARIZES WITH INCREASING AGGRESSION AGAINST RUSSIA AND CHINA, ALL WHILE KILLING THE EARTH’S ECOSYSTEM AND CONTRIBUTING TO THE POVERTY, SICKNESS AND OPPRESSION OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AT HOME. THE BRAIN ROT OF THEIR WORLDVIEW HAS A GUY WITH AN ACTUAL ROTTING BRAIN AS ITS OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE.
The Biden administration has completely discredited every value that western liberals claim to uphold. Peace. Justice. Human rights. A free press. Opposition to racism. Opposition to tyranny. These freaks just plum forgot that genocide is a bad thing on October 7, and probably won’t remember again until the imperial propaganda machine needs to use that accusation against the next government that the empire has targeted for regime change.
The “moderates” and “centrists” of the western world are in reality violent extremists, and not just violent extremists but the most murderous and destructive extremist group on the face of this planet. NOT ONE GROUP ON WASHINGTON’S LIST OF DESIGNATED TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS HAS A BODY COUNT THAT’S EVEN A TINY FRACTION OF WHAT THE US EMPIRE HAS RACKED UP JUST IN THE 21ST CENTURY ALONE.
This is the political ideology that Biden has aligned with throughout the entirety of his far-too-long career, from when he was just a baby swamp monster elected to the Senate at the age of 30 all the way until now as he watches all the cognitive flotsam and jetsam of his decades of Beltway soul-selling blur together like oil paints on the palette of his ruined cerebral matter.
This is who Joe Biden is. This is who western liberals are. They are the carnage, starvation and disease in Gaza. They are the biosphere strangling to death under the boot of ecocidal capitalism. They are the nuclear missiles being rolled into position around the world. They are a dying brain and a dying heart on a dying world of their own making.
Hopefully the death of this toxic, omnicidal ideology won’t be too far behind the death of Joe Biden.
Source: https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-biden-administration-has-exposed ; EMPHASES added.
Back in 2016, there were some questions as to whether or not Clinton was a patsy whose task it was to ensure that Trump won the election.
And then in 2020, there were some questions as to whether or not Trump was a patsy whose task it was to ensure that Biden won the election.
And now in 2024, one has to wonder whether America's Ruling Political Class and Deep State are taking steps to ensure that Trump wins this election.
And WHY do You suppose the RPC/DS want Trump to be the next President?
Because they want to "Make America Great Again"?
WW3 will happen when the people who Trump and/or Biden work for ~ or anybody else elected President ~ decide that the time has come.
Tell You what, Dennis: i'll give You my evidence when You provide evidence that "Dr Jill is running the whole show." Which i challenged You to do earlier and which You typically ignored.
Save Your "definitions," Merwood.
The simple fact of the matter is that You have NO evidence or proof to back Your assertion about Dr Jill. [Or a number of other claims that You have made,]
All You have is what what You want Your world to be like, and Facts be fucked.