Corporate media still pretending Repugs are not fascists

Sure, they are forced by necessity to report on all of Twit's and the Repug Party's fascist ploys. But they are too afraid to call it fascist because they still think they need to have them on their shows to provide fake equivalent 'balance' to  political 'debate.' It's just the manufactured war strategy that sells products with no incentive or desire to ascertain truth or justice. If effect, corporate media is enabling their fascism for a buck.



Do we Democrats want fake unity or real progress?

Now I know some of you prefer that we just go along with Biden's appointments and not create strife in the Party. But I think Bernie is right that such corporate picks will only reinforce the accurate perception of the working class that our Party favors corporations and the rich. And that will once again cause them to vote against the Party in both the mid-terms and the 2024 election.

Bernie is also right that if we want to win we MUST win back the working class, and that is by fighting aggressively for progressive policies that repeated polling shows we demand. Which is why we MUST win the 2 Senate seats in GA. And then we MUST pressure both the House and Senate to pass progressive legislation so that Biden will be pressured to sign it.

It's up to us to keep the pressure on all of them instead of just kowtowing to their typical corporate agenda under the fake guise of 'unity.' That is laughable when what they mean by that term is the statue quo. And that if we don't fall in line we are somehow against unity. We the people must continually fight to get our agenda passed, for if we don't then the status quo Party line will inevitably lead to losing more seats and the Presidency yet again to an even worse fascist next time.
 

Hartmann: If we don't want another Twitler

In his FB post today he reiterated that the Repug Party has gone fascist. Some of them have openly supported Twit's pleas for legislatures to overturn the vote of the people and give the electors to Twit. Fortunately Republican legislatures in MI, PA, WI and AZ have said they would not corrupt the system like this. So how does the Repug Party respond? By threatening to primary those who would not comply with their fascist demands. Thom recommends that we must eliminate the Electoral College to take away any advantage for the next fascist the Repugs plan to install.



Schmidt's ode to Twitler

Well said from this Republican.



Tanden for Sec. of OMB

Meaning the Office of Management and Budget. She is the presumptive nominee for this position. Sirota reports that she, like Biden, has repeatedly put social security cuts on the table noting that we must address entitlements as well as taxes. Which is code of course for don't cut the wealthy or corporate tax rates too much because they fill our campaign coffers, so instead let's take it out on those who are hurting the most.  

And btw, she loathes Bernie and progressives. And it's becoming more apparent that Biden does too with picks like this. As a senior citizen who has EARNED my social security benefits by paying into the system my entire working life I find it atrocious that Tanden and Biden, given their history, will likely cut my benefits with at least their chained CPI scam. Bernie of course is right that we need to expand our benefits instead. And to remove the cap on contributions to the system, where those making more than $142,800 don't have to contribute further. With Tanden we will not see such progressive policy.



The Repugnantan Party has embraced American fascism

From this piece:

"The Republican Party has embraced American fascism, an anti-democratic ideology that is unique to our country, and is ingrained deeper in our collective consciousness and our history than most of us have been taught. [...] The fascist KKK derived its ideology from a mass, explicitly anti-democratic movement to overthrow the government of the United States — the Confederacy. [...] The Confederacy's repudiation of equality is outlined in its founding documents, including 'The Cornerstone Speech,' a seminal speech given by Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens just a few weeks before the Civil War broke out. In it he outlined the the new nation's rejection of equality on the basis of white racial superiority.[...] It is equality that makes a democracy possible. Without it, the strong can crush the weak and impose their will on the rest of society. That is how fascist governments are structured, that is how the Confederacy came to be, and that is what Trump's Republican party is embracing now."


 

Bernie: Winning back the working class

In this piece Bernie is right. If we don't do it we ignore how Twit was elected and will pave the way for the next fascist. The question is: Will the Democratic establishment go along with it? It seems a prerequisite is to refuse to take ANY money from special interests. If not then we must primary every single one of the establishment out of office and elect progressives at every turn.
 
“But one thing is clear. If the Democratic party wants to avoid losing millions of votes in the future it must stand tall and deliver for the working families of our country who, today, are facing more economic desperation than at any time since the Great Depression. Democrats must show, in word and deed, how fraudulent the Republican party is when it claims to be the party of working families.
 
"And, in order to do that, Democrats must have the courage to take on the powerful special interests who have been at war with the working class of this country for decades. I’m talking about Wall Street, the pharmaceutical industry, the health insurance industry, the fossil fuel industry, the military industrial complex, the private prison industrial complex and many profitable corporations who continue to exploit their employees.
 
"If the Democratic party cannot demonstrate that it will stand up to these powerful institutions and aggressively fight for the working families of this country – Black, White, Latino, Asian American and Native American – we will pave the way for another rightwing authoritarian to be elected in 2024. And that president could be even worse than Trump."
 

 

Fascism or democracy?

Twitiot or Warnock? Easy choice.



New NY Attorney General is ready

To prosecute Twitler as soon as he leaves office. And we are so ready for justice.



Rising interviews Piketty on addressing inequality

Author of Capital and Ideology. Inequality is a matter of political choice. So in the US the stark inequality is by design of the corrupt government bought off by its money masters. Krystal wonders how the US left can begin to address this when the Dem Party now caters to the  professional class and has abandoned a defense of economic populism along with the working class (7:32). Piketty noted that ideas coming from Sanders and Warren, like a wealth tax and progressive tax rates, are critical in this endeavor to both reduce inequality and to reaffirm support for the working class (8:30). Will Biden and company pay heed to this advice since Bernie and Liz aren't going anywhere near his Cabinet?

Lincoln Project: Repugnantan Party is treasonous

And this is from conservative Republicans, which says a LOT.


We need help with the recount

Perhaps we should enlist The Count to help?

 

Twit's own appointment to 3rd Circuit: The campaign's claims have no merit

After losing in PA at the District Court level, Twit appealed to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Stephanos Bibas, Twit's own appointment, wrote in the decision throwing out their case:

"Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here."  

The Twitiots will now appeal to the Supreme Corp. We'll see how that goes.



Leningrad Lindsey admits Repugs can't win by legitimate votes

And that "if we don't do something about voting by mail we're going to lose the ability to elect a Republican in this country." What he means is that Repugs can't win by allowing every legal vote to be counted, including and especially mail votes. Instead they have to "do something about voting by mail." 

That's their strategy: Suppress and purge voters. And they've been doing it since forever. It's been Twit's entire strategy in the courts, to not count mail votes. And he's lost every legal challenge in this regard because the mail votes are legitimate.


Rights and responsibilities

 Yeah, so wear a f___ing mask you Twitiot children.



The lemmings cannot see the contradiction

Even on their Covid death beds.



Hartmann: The Vice President can take over the Senate

Thom has explored the Constitution and the Senate rules and apparently the VP is in charge. This will be great if Kamala walks in on day one and says "I'm in charge and I set the agenda." Some keys questions then: Will Biden have the courage to let his VP assert this power? Will he wimp out in the name of unity? Or to not cause waves? It seems to me that with Repugs power has to be grabbed, not negotiated.


Bernie: Which side are you on?

And he's not just talking about Repugnantans but the corporatists in the Dem Party too.


 

 

The Beatles - I Am The Walrus

This one came to mind today.

 

Colbert interviews Giuliani

Played by John Lithgow. Pretty accurate parody.

 

Covid Kelly Loeffler

She is corrupt to the core. If you want integrity then pick Warnock.


AOC's diet secret



The rich get richer

While the rest of us suffer and die. Let's be thankful for Bernie, AOC, Cori and the other progressives who are fighting this corrupt system. And that one day we will defeat it and return government to we the people.



A message from a sensible Christian

Unfortunately not many of the Twitler variety are, getting together in large groups today without masks to celebrate what? Being thankful that they are spreading disease and death to their own families? 



 


Georgia has had enough

Of Perdue and Loeffler. Vote for Ossoff and Warnock.


Lincoln Project gives thanks

Good one.


Michael Moore: Where to Invade Next?

Continuing the last post, in this documentary Moore goes around the world exploring progressive policies. At the end he asks each of them where they got these ideas. Invariably they respond from the US of the past. It's time to carry that past forward.

If you haven't yet seen it click on the embedded link above. Well worth your time to be thankful for what we used to be as a country, and what we can be again.


I remember when

The good old days of social democracy in America. We can have it back if we move forward with progressives in the Democratic Party and dump the corporatists.



O- blood type slightly lower risk for covid infection and severity

According to this Annals of Internal Medicine Study dated 11/24/20. 'Slightly lower' ain't much but it's something.

"The O and Rh− blood groups may be associated with a slightly lower risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 illness."

 

Pope Fancis on anti-maskers

The Pope once again hits the mark. He said in his new book

"Some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions — as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people constitute some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom. [...] You’ll never find such people protesting the death of George Floyd, or joining a demonstration because there are shanty towns where children lack water or education, or because there are whole families who have lost their income. On such matters, they would never protest; they are incapable of moving outside of their own little world of interests."


 

At least he's not hiring his relatives

True, at least that. But many of them are long-time Washington insiders in the establishment network.  


 

Progressive groups on Biden's Cabinet picks

According to this article,  they're happy with Yellen, Kerry, Mayorkas and Thomas-Greenfield. However they are adamant that Biden not pick his former chief-of-staff Bruce Reed to head the OMB, a deficit hawk who wanted cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Both AOC and Omar signed a petition to that effect. 



Biden appoints Yellen Secretary of the Treasury

At least he got this one right. Reich:

"Joe Biden will be nominating Janet Yellen to the key economic position of Secretary of the Treasury. Two cheers. Frankly, I would have preferred Elizabeth Warren, but Yellen is a good pick. 
 
"First and perhaps foremost, she's not from Wall Street. The tendency in past administrations -- both Democratic as well as Republican -- was to appease (reassure?) Wall Street by giving it its own ambassador, typically the Treasury Secretary. This not only gave the Street inordinate power over economic policy but also the more subtle power to quietly veto initiatives that might ruffle the Street. (I know. I was there.)
 
"When she ran the Fed, Yellen cracked down on Wells Fargo bank for its various fraudulent schemes -- another sign that she's not in Wall Street's corner. She also kept interest rates low even when Wall Street and corporate America fretted about inflation -- a non-existent threat then and now. 
 
"Finally, I know her personally, and can attest that she has the right values. She's concerned about widening inequality, systemic racism, stagnant wages, and soaring unemployment. She understands the structure of the economy better than most. She'll be a Treasury Secretary we can trust -- which, in the shadow of the worst administration in modern history and a plethora of awful Treasury secretaries, is no small matter."
 

 

GA really doesn't want Democrats to vote

How American of them. From Greg Palast's FB post and article:

"UPDATE: Georgia’s Board of Elections declined to discuss a new rule that could block new voter registrations before the Senate runoff to people who don’t have a car registered in the state. However, the new rule was only "shelved" after Ryan Germany, General Counsel for the Secretary of State’s office, advised the board that local officials ALREADY had the authority laid out in the proposed new rule. It was therefore decided that the Secretary of State’s office would remind election officials of this existing power by issuing the information in an official election bulletin. This bulletin has exactly the same effect. We are not fooled.

"Furthermore, we know Georgia has already been implementing this vote-denying tactic since it’s exactly how they tried to stop my daughter from registering to vote in Savannah before the 2018 election. Officials challenged her voter registration application on the grounds that she did not have in-state Georgia plates on her car. She was forced to jump through several hoops before her name was added to the voter rolls. Most young people in her position would have just given up, which is exactly what they want."
 

 

Rising on Biden's National Security team

Yes, they're all long-time, qualified, career politicos. But qualified for what? Apparently for neoliberal globalism and war mongering. Just what we progressives wanted, eh?


Push Biden left

While he's doing this? Also see Caitlin's article.



PA certifies results

With each passing day Twit's denial of the reality of our election is chipped away. He and his Twitiots likely will never concede but the laws of the land are holding firm in confirming the results. Joe Biden is our next President.

"Pennsylvania certified its election results Tuesday for President-elect Joe Biden. [...] Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, tweeted that the Pennsylvania Department of State certified the results Tuesday morning and 'as required by federal law, I’ve signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the slate of electors for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Today's certification is a testament to the incredible efforts of our local and state election officials, who worked tirelessly to ensure Pennsylvania had a free, fair and accurate process that reflects the will of the voters.'"



Of god(s), societies and punishment

Societies have always found it necessary to punish rule-breakers in order to keep cohesion. It worked well in smaller groups because everyone knew each other and could directly observe behavior. But what happens with societies get so large that such direct observation was not possible? This article claims that is when Gods appeared to provide the necessary punishment for bad behavior. Shared beliefs in God(s) provided assurance that people would behave appropriately and if they didn't they'd get appropriate punishment, if not in this life than certainly in the hereafter.

But what about contemporary, secular societies without God(s) to mete out punishment? Then it is necessary to form laws and ethical rules with appropriate punishments for the wicked who violate them. It is still necessary for tracking behavior and the enforcement of punishment for violators. Otherwise they rip the social fabric and tear apart what binds us. It seems the strong reaction against what is called 'cancel culture' defends against holding violators accountable because it challenges those who are privileged who fear that they too will be held accountable for their behavior.

Of course there our instances where the privileged feel they have been unjustly called to account by rogue elements that hold unreasonable standards of behavior. But that is for the society at large to determine what those standards are. And to provide the legal and ethical means for adjudication to make a determination. It is not though up to the privileged to claim exclusion from the process, otherwise it destroys the very cohesion necessary to bind us. 

If the current political situation in the US has taught us anything it is certainly that. See the Code of Ethics for US Government Service. When violated offenders need at the very least to be publicly called out and ostracized. And further, if laws are violated, to be prosecuted and punished accordingly. This of course relates to AOC's Twitter comment and the response, and her previous comments on cancel culture.



Pox and Fiends: Grow up Mr. Presidunce

Kilmeade thinks it's in the country's best interest to acknowledge the necessity of coordinating with the Biden team on the pandemic and issues of State security. He emphasized that with the pandemic if we're to effectively implement and distribute the vaccine we'll need this coordination. Poor Twit has lost his favorite Pox sycophants.


Krystal makes the case for good, big government

Particularly this race to get the pandemic vaccine. She walks us through the myriad and complex steps to get it done and they did. Hence she confirms that big government, not without its problems, can be and is a force for good too, doing things in the public interest bigger, better and faster than any private market could.


Hartmann: Repugnantan cult of power, greed and hate

From this FB post today:

"The GOP is No Longer a Legitimate Political party: it’s a Cult.
 
It’s becoming increasingly clear to Americans that the Republican Party only stands for one thing: the privilege and power of wealthy white men. 

Over the last 40 years they have devised increasingly byzantine rules to prevent low income whites and people of color from voting and are now trying to outright throw out ballots in Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
 
They’ve worked for decades, at both the state and federal level, to make it harder for women, particularly low income women, to get access to birth control, women’s health services, and abortion.
 
When the coronavirus hit, most developed countries made direct payments to unemployed workers; Republicans only tolerated that here for a few months, and the price was trillions, which continue to flow, to fat cats and big corporations.
 
They’ve worked for years to gut workers rights and destroy labor unions, while holding the minimum wage below starvation levels.
 
They put the profits of polluting corporations above the rights of average Americans to have clean air and water and a safe food supply.
 
They fight to help monopolies and giant corporations control market share, while wiping out small and medium sized businesses across dozens of sectors.
 
They’re working as hard as possible right now to destroy America‘s national parks and wild areas so their fossil fuel donors can extract more profits from land that was wisely put in trust for all Americans decades and centuries ago.
 
They openly promote lies about global warming to help those same fossil fuel donors, at the expense of a possibly civilization-ending environmental catastrophe.
 
They have supported a president who lied about masks and other simple public health measures, while the wealthy and billionaire class live safely cocooned on their palatial estates and travel on their private jets.
 
Their 'Law and Order,' 'Save Our Confederate Statues and Military Base Names,' and 'Jobs Not Mobs' campaigns and slogans have openly targeted people of color for more than a half century. From Nixon’s Southern Strategy to Birtherism, hating on Black people has been their polestar.
 
While the majority of people in this country illegally came in as tourists and overstayed their visas, they have supported an ineffective wall on our southern border as a proud symbol of their racism.
 
It’s become impossible, for over 40 years, to name even a single major initiative or piece of legislation promoted and put into law by Republicans that benefits average Americans.
 
To the contrary, they have worked tirelessly to privatize Social Security and Medicare, and eliminate food stamps, school lunches and other programs the support people trapped in poverty.
 
Now, to hang on to enough suckers to keep them in power, the GOP has resorted to embracing Nazis, religious fanatics and conspiracy theorists.
 
The GOP is no longer a legitimate political party; it has become a race and wealth-based cult that pathetically hangs onto slogans like 'small government' and 'fiscal responsibility' that they completely ignore when actually governing."
 

 

Who is radical?

 The ones letting people starve and die during a pandemic, that's who.


 

Who gets the free stuff?

Bernie has it right. We pay taxes to get public services. Most corporations pay little to no taxes and get their tax breaks and subsidies for free.



Christie tells Twit and his Party to grow the f___ up

Will Twit and his Party listen to him? Of course not; he'll be run out of town. And as usual he's a day late and a dollar short, enabling Twitler the whole time. He's just another rat jumping a sinking ship to save his own ass. He said:

"Quite frankly, the conduct of the President's legal team has been a national embarrassment. [...] They allege fraud outside the courtroom, but when they go inside the courtroom, they don't plead fraud and they don't argue fraud. Listen, I have been a supporter of the President's. I voted for him twice, but elections have consequences, and we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn't happen. If you are unwilling to come forward and present the evidence, it must mean the evidence doesn't exist. The country is what has to matter the most. As much as I'm a strong Republican and I love my party, it's the country that has to come first."


 

There are 73 million American Twitiots

Excerpts from an article by Umair Haque.

"I don’t mean idiot in the way of an insult, by the way. To the Greeks, 'idiot' was the ultimate term of scorn. Idiots were the most contemptible people in classical society. Why? The term really means, in the classical context, 'people who are consumed only with self-interest.' And to the Greeks, the progenitors of democracy, nobody — nobody was more dangerous than an idiot.

"Their reasoning went like this. Should enough of a society be consumed solely with self-interest, a society would soon enough cease to be a democracy. People only concerned with themselves can’t look out for any kind of common wealth or shared interest. They can’t exercise any of the following virtues: courage, compassion, truth, beauty, grace, generosity, kindness, humility, all of which are allocentric, meaning 'other-focused,' not egocentric.

"So what will happen to such a society? [...] Soon enough, a demagogue would come along, who would prey on all those fears — conjuring up imaginary enemies, twisting rage into hatred — and democracy would flash out of existence. [...] You only have to look at America, the Land of the Idiots. This election does something remarkable — it gives us a comically exact headcount of American Idiots. There are 73 million of them. That’s how many people voted for Trump. Am I saying Trump voters are idiots? Of course I am, duh. Again, not as an insult, but as an observation. In the classical sense: people consumed with the narrowest definition of self-interest possible."


 

The Republican Party then and now

Eisenhower's Party Platform. Compare with the Party today, which platform is merely the Twit Cult.



AOC on cancel culture

Continuing this post, AOC did NOT suggest blacklisting anyone, only that we remember those who enabled Twitler's fascist tendencies and hold them accountable.  That Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson cannot tell the difference is due to their obsession with cancel culture that exists mostly in the hypersensitive defense of their own privilege being challenged. As usual, AOC has the appropriate progressive response.






 

Michael and Dawn Kiehm flashback

To their 2005 US Open win in the Sophisticated Swing division. Michael has been an inspiration and virtual mentor to me over my entire 22-year dance career. In this performance it's not about fancy tricks (even though there are a few) but more about infusing basics with the style, grace and poise typical of this long-time coach, teacher and performer. I can only hope that some of that has rubbed off on me in my quest to emulate him.


Patriotic Millionaires - Tax the rich

With Senator Jeff Merkley. It's a 30-minute video but well worth the time to see just how corrupt US tax policy is in creating income inequality and the power of the oligarchy.


Sugarloaf - Green-Eyed Lady

This morning I was reminded of this classic. The Intro is a big long though.


Who is the real AOC?

This recent speech once again shows that she is a true representative of we the people, fighting to help us in this terrible time of need. It is quite the contrast with her opponents, who cater to corporations and the rich while stealing from us to pay off their masters.


Bernie: GOP is a cult

Bernie is right. Whatever semblance of humanity their Party once might have had is now gone. It's too late to negotiate or compromise with them; our only option is to defeat them and their fascism.

"Senator Bernie Sanders criticized Republicans for refusing to speak out against President Donald Trump's  attempts to overturn the 2020 election. 'It is beyond pathetic for a sitting president to try to subvert the results of an election.. It is even worse when the Republican Party, with few exceptions, remains silent over this outrageous attack on democracy. The GOP has ceased to be a political party. It is now a cult.'"



AOC: Let's keep the pressure on Biden

From her FB post. Click the link to see the video. She said:

"Over the summer, as part of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force, Alexandria worked with the Biden campaign to develop a $2T plan that promised to address the climate crisis. On Thursday, she stood with climate advocates and asked the President-elect to keep that promise.

"Thank you
Sunrise Movement
,
Climate Justice Alliance
,
People's Action
,
Indigenous Environmental Network
,
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
,
Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective
,
It Takes Roots
,
Working Families Party
,
ARM in ARM 4 Climate
,
BLM Philly General Body Meeting
,
Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy - GCCLP
, and all the organizers of the Green New Deal Network for bringing us together to call upon our leaders to act with urgency on the climate crises our communities face everyday!"
 

 

AOC on Twit enabler accountability

I just became aware that AOC supposedly created an enemies list and called for their complete cancellation. Her Tweets are below on what she actually said. Just looking over this article titled "AOC wants to cancel those who worked for Trump" is instructive. Here is what AOC said in a Tweet: "Is anyone archiving these Trump sycophants for when they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future? I foresee decent probability of many deleted Tweets, writings, photos in the future."


The article continues that a group formed called the Trump Accountability Project  (TAP) supposedly at "AOC's call." I doubt AOC directly called them to enforce a list she never created but apparently that they did. The group said in the article: "Remember what they did. We should not allow the following groups of people to profit from their experience: Those who elected him. Those who staffed his government. Those who funded him.” On their webpage now their project has been disbanded in the name of the unity Biden is calling for.

To me it seems like AOC's statement is legitimate about recognizing and tracking those who enabled atrocious policies that broke the law and hurt people should be called out. And what the TAP did without her being involved is legitimate too in that we should remember the enablers and continue to ostracize them for that behavior. Is that cancel culture? Is that holding people legitimately accountable? Therein lies the rub. But taking what AOC said out of proportion and projecting onto to it nefarious intent is questionable.


 

Kimmel interviews Obama

I know, he wasn't the most progressive President and didn't live up to our unrealistic expectations. Still, he was a damn sight better than most who held that office. And there is NO comparison with its current resident. He is an intelligent, articulate, funny and caring human being and I for one appreciate and miss him immensely in retrospect. 


Bill Maher: The F__kening

Even though I find some of his views unacceptable he is still a funny guy. If you need a few laughs, and who doesn't these days, here's his monologue last night.


Romney: Twit is undemocratic

Yeah, he stated the obvious. But he is apparently the only Repug with enough courage to stand up to his insanity. He slammed Twit for pressuring officials to "subvert the will of the people and overturn the election. It is difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action by a sitting American President."



After Presidential meeting MI lawmakers comment

The Michigan Senate and House leader reiterated what they've said prior to the meeting. Let's hope they mean it. 

"We will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors, just as we have said throughout this election. Michigan’s certification process should be a deliberate process free from threats and intimidation. Allegations of fraudulent behavior should be taken seriously, thoroughly investigated, and if proven, prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And the candidates who win the most votes win elections and Michigan's electoral votes." 


 

We ain't all in the same boat

So quit pretending otherwise. We're drowning and you're partying on our stolen taxes. YOU are the cause of our problems, so quit trying to blame us and scapegoat others. We see who and what you are and we ain't buying your BS no more.




Don't be afraid Bernie

Call it what it is: Fascism.



MI State Senator met by protesters

He's one of the two Michigan lead legislators Twit summoned to the Blight House in order to convince them to not certify the MI vote and to have the legislature decide who gets the Electoral votes. It's good that not only were there protesters but NBC covered it so that this gets as much press as possible so we can see their coup plot up front.

 

The Rebellion: Perdue is a sniveling, conniving coward

Just the facts.

 

Georgia recount confirms Biden's win

The hand recount was completed Thursday evening confirming the initial result. Four counties did discover more votes that gave Twit a net gain of 1,400 but it was hardly enough to change the outcome. The missing votes were due to human error, not fraud. One by one Twit's delusions are crumbling. We already know he cannot accept the reality so we still have cause to worry about what he'll do when all his efforts fail. 


Lady Gaga, Blackpink - Sour Candy

As Opal Sky77 explains in the comments of the video:

"For those who don't understand what this video is, the video is supost to simulate a VR video game and if you're wondering why those things were moving so crazily was because Blackpink and Lady Gaga did the movements in real life and then they implemented it into the video. Each member is supposed to be the leader of a tribe. Lisa is yellow and is the leader of the Cyber Kids, Jennie is blue and is the leader of the Freedom Fighters. Jisoo is purple and is the leader of the Purple Tribe and Rose is red and is the leader of Government Officials (Lady Gaga is Kindness Punks). The video is set in the world Chromatica, which is also the world of a new and popular song Rain on Me by Lady Gaga ft. Ariana Grande. This one of the songs in Gaga's 6th album Chromatica. 'The song's true meaning is society's unfair expectations towards women.' What those creatures exactly are? No one knows. Just ask the Director/Animator, Sam Rolfes."

Also see this and this explanation.

 

Pox's Kristin Fischer on Fooliani's crazed rants

We can see why Twit now hates Pox Views. Fischer said what Fooliani claimed is not true. He provided no evidence at all for his bizarre conspiracy theories. She points out his continued claims of fraud in PA while in PA court he admits it's not a fraud case. Fooliani claims MI didn't certify its votes when the fact is they did. He claimed he had hundreds of witness affidavits claiming voter fraud but can't provide them. It was nothing more than a crazed performance calling into question the poor guy's sanity.

 


What if Twit won't leave?

Colbert's solution: Call F-U-Haul. 


Waleed Shahid of Justice Democrats on Biden's Cabinet

He wants a corporate-free Cabinet but we're obviously not going to get one. He starts with the appointment of Richmond. He moves on to Fraschetti's appointment, a Big Pharma lobbyist who opposes Medicare For All. He is though optimistic of Ron Klain as Chief of Staff, as he at least somewhat understands the need for more progressive voices. He hopes for more corporate-free future picks and some embedded pictures show some of their progressive Cabinet preferences. We the people need to constantly apply pressure for this but don't hold your breath.

CNN: Twit's legal clowns

After all the reputable legal firms have backed away from Twit's insanity, he's left with these clowns headed by Giuliani as examined in this piece. 


More on Richmond's dirty fossil fuel hands

Continuing this post, Ana of The Young Turks provides more information on Biden's pick for Director of the Office of Public Engagement. That office will be the liaison with the environmental movement. Richmond, in addition to taking fossil fuel money (Ana provides details), he returned the favor in legislative votes: 

"Richmond has joined with Republicans to vote to increase fossil fuel exports and promote pipeline development. he also voted against Democratic legislation to place pollution limits on fracking--and he voted for GOP legislation to limit the Obama administration's authority to more stringently regulate that practice."


Reich: The rest of the MI fascist move

In the last post I noted that the two Repugs on the certification Board relented to certify Wayne Country after first declining to do so. The rest of the story per Reich is that Monica Palmer, one of those Repugs, received a call from Twit the night before and then she wanted to change her vote. The fascist Twitler is pulling out all the stops to interfere in a legitimate election and you can be sure he's not going to stop with this.



Twit dismisses last remaining MI lawsuit

Face it fascists: You lost and it's over. In this report Twitiots withdrew their last Michigan lawsuit claiming fraud because they have no evidence. There was an earlier fascist ploy when two Repug canvassers refused to certify the results in Wayne county but then relented and voted to certify them. But now they are claiming too late that the results should not be certified, as it's already gone to the Secretary of State and a done deal. Fascists are gonna do what fascists do and democracy is going to defeat them again and again.



Twit now sues to overturn PA votes

And have the legislature decide the election. We knew this was coming as the Repugs have been open about this last-ditch strategy. In the newly filed PA court documents they ask that "this court should enter an order, declaration, and/or injunction that the results of the 2020 presidential general election are defective and providing for the Pennsylvania General Assembly to choose Pennsylvania’s electors." Fortunately "Pennsylvania Republican leaders have already said it’s not an option." We'll see if they stick with that statement.


 

Hartmann: Whose freedom?

Of course everyone wants freedom. But which kind? In his FB post he talks about how liberals and conservatives define freedom.

Liberals want to conditions that allow us to be free: National healthcare, free education, food and housing rights, a living wage, unemployment benefits, workplace safety, public services etc.

Conservatives want the conditions that allow corporations and the wealthy to be free: Tax breaks that benefit only them, laws that siphon most of the wealth to the top, the ability to buy lawmakers to do their bidding, the ability to take risks not only with their own health but to infect others too.

Which freedom do you want?


The most progressive countries in world

The following is my response to Hanzi Freinacht's recent FB post.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems social liberalism 2.0 requires that societies like the Nordic need to be the most 'progressive' or social liberalism 1.0 as prerequisite. So why then are some so determined to jump to 2.0 when their society is far from 1.0? It seems we first need to get up to speed with 1.0 to set the necessary conditions for 2.0 to be enacted.
 
Specially in the US, it seems we were much closer to 1.0 during the FDR era. That continued up to the Reagan era when we started to regress, when the oligarchy became predominant and our government subservient to it. Hence the likes of Bernie Sanders and AOC are a move to return to that sort of social liberalism. Though they have to challenge not only the Republican Party but the corrupt establishment in their own Party. The latter has been evident for some time but slowly progressives like them are making electoral advancements adding to the Congressional Progressive Caucus with each election. If that trend continues then they will have a majority soon at least in the House.
 
In practical terms then it appears the US needs to focus on getting back to 1.0 in order to set the preconditions necessary to move into 2.0 and we're working on it. But overeager idealists think we can somehow just jump to 2.0 and ignore the necessary preconditions. And some think returning to and establishing a strong 1.0 progressive base is a regression, or worse some negative form of socialism and to be shunned. They think we need to be 'post-progressive' before we are even progressive again. We need to get over all this 'post' talk, which is more like impractical pipe dreams evaporating like smoke into the void. 
 

 
 
 

Do Dems want to win?

Then pay attention to Bernie commenting on this article: "99% of Green New Deal co-sponsors won their races."

"I sometimes find it amusing when our opponents talk about the 'far-left' agenda. The truth is when you talk about raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, guaranteeing health care a human right and aggressively combating climate change, these are common sense ideas that the majority of the American people support. And we are going to fight to make sure they are implemented."



What is economic democracy?

From this website:

"One cannot understand ‘Economic Democracy’ without having an intuitive grasp of Our Commons. It is an intuitive concept, however modern society has erased the structural concepts of The Commons from our collective memory making it a hidden, largely unconscious part of our deep heritage as human beings on this planet. Learn more about The Commons.

"Implementation of principles of Economic Democracy is crucial to properly honoring Our Commons, as we believe that it defines the fairest, most balanced form of governance of our shared resources. Here are some terms that help to define Economic Democracy:

  • Self-governance of resources
  • Decentralized control of resources
  • Sustainable usage of natural resources
  • Fair access to resources for all who require them"

  •  

    Climate activists challenge Biden's pick

    Biden chose Cedric Richmond to head the White House Office of Public Engagement. The Sunrise Movement's Varshini Prakash said: "Today feels like a betrayal because one of President-elect Biden’s very first hires for his administration has taken more donations from the fossil fuel industry during his Congressional career than any other Democrat." 

    While I appreciate Biden's climate plan it's hard to believe it when he's appointing someone who takes fossil fuel money. To the contrary, it doesn't instill confidence that he's engaging the public so much as the special interests who butter his bread. Progressives are right that a public servant must pledge not to take such blood money if they claim to represent the public. And Biden must do the same in his Cabinet picks and not choose those so tainted if he really wants to convince us he's for the people. Otherwise it's just more pandering to special interests while lying to us for votes.



    Songs, lyrics, poems

    Songs, lyrics, poems and other writing/media

    Here are about a dozen songs I've recorded at YouTube.* And this link is to my lyrics and poems folder at Google docs, mostly from my ...