Readings 8.3.2020

While Covid dominates the news cycle what are we missing? 

Here are a few examples. 

Trump Inherited the Drone War but Ditched Accountability 

 

This is what happens when the war on terror is turned inward, on America

 

Afghanistan War Exposed: An Imperial Conspiracy

 

A Senior White House Official Defines the Trump Doctrine: ‘We’re America, Bitch’

 

Who are the real winners and losers of the US troop withdrawal from Germany?

 

 

Long View

Hi all. How are you doing? Are you adjusting? Yes, no, sort of? Just do the best you can and take life day by day. We are coming to a crossroads of sorts. I love MLK but I have one disagreement with him. I do not think there is a natural arc towards justice. If I understand him correctly, he has a faith in the inevitable victory of justice. I think it can only happen if WE make it happen. Dad used to tell me, "We're free here in America. That means we are free to fuck it all up." We are doing a great job of that now it seems. Have we hit the bottom yet? No, not by a long shot!

If you are reading this you still have; an internet connection, power, hopefully you are not gong hungry, you CAN read (and write). I imagine where you are there are still flushing toilets. Those things alone put you pretty high on the comfort level in today's world. You can do more than see injustice, you can fight it! You can raise awareness, you can protest and yes, even vote. You can do none of the above and watch as they all slip away. We do have a choice and there is power in that choice, for good or ill. I hope we can make good decisions and reject the approaching authoritarian darkness. We have before.

We ditched slavery. Women did get the vote.We got a New Deal. We crushed fascists (with Russia's and other allies' help). We got Civil Rights Legislation and The Americans with Disabilities Act. Hell, we even got people to the moon! None of these achievements were easy. We still struggle with  these issues to this day. We still protest and struggle for justice. We keep on keeping on.

I think Joe will win in November. That does not mean the struggles stops. Remember, he has a long and public history of supporting neoliberalism and "Law and.order." Biden is not a champion for justice and human rights. I've said it before and let me say it again, the Democrats are not your friends. I hope protesting not only continues but grows. I believe Biden is more likely to listen to the will of the people than 45. Biden is also more willing to listen to experts and follow their advice. We can see clearly "corona virus will just go away." strategy does not work. If the Donald does win, the world will not stop. We will still have to struggle and protest. Let's make it happen!      

Random Thoughts in the Covid Summer

Covid

We are all tired of Covid. Guess what? It is not tired of us. It is going to get worse, a lot worse. We are going to have to adapt and be smarter. Stay home as much as you can and always wear a mask whenever you go out around other people. There is no vaccine. There will be one but who knows when. With no national leadership, states, local governments and you are on your own. Schools? Make the best decision you can based on what local healthcare professionals are saying, not politicians or facebook friends.Work? Same deal. The economy will recover. But we got to deal with the virus first. Period. 

Women.

We have always treated women here as second class citizens. I was no Hillary fan but she was far far more qualified than her TV Reality Star opponent. Here we are stuck with the results.There are too many people here who voted against her because she was a woman. They cannot come to terms with a woman telling them what to do. Consider this article. There is still  large gender pay gap. Women get paid less the men for the same work. The dehumanizing and objectification of women in entertainment is still off the scale. Has it gotten any better? Thoughts? This is a topic I need to learn more about. The recent incident with Alexandria Ocasio Cortez made me stop and think how we treat women. The dude thought it was okay to call a sitting U.S. Law Maker "A fucking Bitch." Her response is worth watching. We, as a people, can do better. 

Culture War         

This is almost the only front The Donald seems interested in fighting for. He's serving up a heaping helping of red meat for only the reddest Republicans while the rest of us look on in horror. Not many care for nameless, faceless cop / security types beating on protesters. In the middle of a pandemic / recession / rent / mortgage crisis few few are worried about statues and flags. But go right ahead and send in more goons to more cities! Plummeting the country into deeper chaos is no way to win in November. The GOP ideologues who don't want to spend money during this crisis (except on those who don't need it) seem to be on the same path to oblivion.      

Movie Time!!! 7.24.2020

Here are a few videos well worth your time in this strange time.

George Floyd, Minneapolis Protests, Ahmaud Arbery & Amy Cooper | The Daily Social Distancing Show

Trevor Noah tries to connect some of the dots over some of the last several months. If you want to get a better understanding of the protests still going on, this is a good place to start.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Full Response to Rep. Ted Yoho

AOC uses her unfortunate encounter to give an important talk about rampant sexism at all levels of American society. It is a mature response to an immature act. I think she is one of the few bright spots in Washington because she seems to actually care about those she's there to represent.

8:46 - Dave Chappelle

Dave gets serious about the death of George Floyd and the aftermath. 

John Lewis - March on Washington Speech - August 28, 1963

The message still resonates today, decades later.

 

 

 

Lessons from Baghdad

A disappearing American right?

The recent invasion of Iraq was about more than oil. It was about occupation and control. It looks like what they learned there in now being applied here at home with recent events in Portland, Organ. I have a few questions. Was this a one off event or is there more to come? Was this some kind of test? How far are the Feds willing to go on behalf of Emperor Donald?  Most importantly, how do we react to it?

We'll soon find out if this becomes a new police (Paramilitary / Brownshirt) tactic. The individual "agents" are being puled from somewhere to carry out this most Un-American policy. I highly doubt there is some huge force somewhere waiting to do "disappearing protestors" duty. I guess these "officers" have traded their oath to the Constitution to one to Emperor Donald. This Navy Veteran dared to ask.  Sounds like the same kind of goons that separate families at the border. HELPFUL REMINDER: "I was just following orders" is NOT a defense. See Nuremberg.     

What is being done to counter these crimes against freedom? The ACLU is responding. A Wall of moms and dads has formed. Will this help or make it worse. Thugs with badges and legal immunity are not a good mix. There are just too many who get into law enforcement for all the wrong reasons. Meet force with force- bad idea. Protesters are simply not going to win a gun battle. More violence is what 45 is hoping for.  Here are some alternatives to violence. Massive numbers of silent, peaceful protesters on the streets with lots of live streams. Veterans, we need you now. Bring your US flags, show people what it truly represents. We don't do boot licking here. This may be as important ...sunshine. Shine a very bright light on who these "agents" are, who is sending them and who is getting the bill.

In the longer term, The Donald has got to go one way or another. This latest stunt will do nothing to revive his sagging poll numbers. Protection of statues and monument is far down on the list of national priorities right now. 50 million plus unemployed, a raging pandemic while the rich get richer and fast approaching catastrophic climate change and the Great Orange Man thinks, "Ah let's crack down on protesters!" Most of us don't like seeing our fellow citizens manhandled and taken away by paramilitary thugs with covered badges. This is even worse knowing the city of Portland did not request such "assistance." And if you think this is any more than political theater by the Reality TV President, consider this... He's only targeting cities run by Democrats.       

Now what?

EMERGENCY!

It is easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged by everything going on. Don't! Evil wins when good goes silent. We are in a very dangerous time. We can work to make a lot of changes for the better as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Make no mistake, this is going to be a long painful process. Vaccines are months away if they are even possible. The way I see it, we cannot rebuild a better economy until we have got the pandemic under control. Returning to work, school and life as it was before and risking your very life is not a good choice. I'm no health expert, so I don't know what or how long it will take to defeat covid-19. I do know our government's current plan of reopening everything and hoping the virus "just goes away" is utter madness. 140,000+ dead and this is the best they can come up with? I understand they got statues to defend, election year politics to deal with, fat corporations to take care of and other ongoing absurdities but damn. So what are we to do?      

1) Take care of yourself. Still stay home as much as possible. Eat healthy, sleep good and exercise to keep your immune system up. This will give you a better chance if you do get Covid-19.

2) Wear a damn mask! Here is why. Don't worry about the fools who don't wear a mask. That's on them. Keep a safe distance (more like 12 feet). Too many "Anti-Maskholes"? Go to another store or go at a different time.

3) If you have to return to work wear a mask, stay apart and wash your hands like your life depends on it. If your work is unsafe- fuck 'em don't go. Catastrophically sick you or dead you cannot pay bills either. It is better to be around to solve the problem than in an early grave. No job is worth it.

4) Stay informed. Know what's going on in your local area. Listen to healthcare professionals and be cautious of politicians who put an economic recovery over your life. Here are a few sources I use.

The CDC's Covid-19 page.
Peak Prosperity -  Doctor who has been covering this from the start.
Duc Vuong- Another doctor. 
NC DHHS Covid-19 Response

5) Help others who are struggling as best you can. A random African American woman paid for my white friend's groceries near the start of all of this. He caught up to her in the parking lot to pay her back (he's well off). She held up her hand to say stop, "No hun, it's about the love." With that, she left. Acts like this all over the country are going to get us through this in the end. Take care of each other without judgement, prejudice or praise seeking is what I took away. I'm sure you too have seen or heard of similar acts.

Have we already reached the dystonia of our nightmares with people being disappeared into unmarked vehicles by people in military style uniforms? Looks that way. More on that soon. In the meantime, get ready to raise some hell.              

Trifecta of Doom

Will the trifecta of a pandemic, an economic meltdown and mass protesting be enough to end the nightmare of the 45 presidency? I think so but as we have seen things can change in a very short amount of time. I think it is vital that 45, his crime family and his Republican enablers go. Four more years will be enough time to consolidate rule by crime family and crush any opposition left. There will be no action on climate change, there will be no nuke treaties left and there will be no police reform. There will be a doubling down on the war on science and reason leaving us in a dark world of never ending conspiracy theories, alternative facts and fake news. There will be gated and guarded green zones for the haves and one big red zone for the rest of us as the lessons from Iraq settle all across our land. I'm not exactly inspired by Joe "Basement" Biden either.

It was good ole Joe that helped write a major crime bill in 1994 that we are reeling from today. His party, the Democrats, sold out working Americans a generation or two ago. They now carry water for banks, credit card companies and healthcare conglomerates. Why do people vote for Trump? Look into the mirror Democrats. The Donald just took the opening you gave him. Once again we voters find ourselves with the Devil's favorite choice- the lesser of two evils. But there is one thing Joe offers, Just a little more time. Let me explain.

If Joe wins (as I think he will), we will need to turn up the heat on him and the other Neoliberal Democrats that will continue to haunt Washington D.C. That means more protests, acts of civil disobedience, boycotts and rabble rousing; not less. Unless you want more focus group approved half measures that ultimately changes nothing. Joe, on his own, will gravitate to the Neoliberal center doing little more than kicking the can along for four more years. This is less bad than four more years of The Mad Emperor Donald but given our problems time is not on our side. Still, four years is more than we will get with more environmental damage, less national / global security with a tone deaf and erratic Donald pretending to be in charge.