• Assuming they actually follow through on their recognition of a Palestinian state, France, UK, Germany, and Canada are showing a lot more moral courage than American law firms and universities, not allowing themselves to be bullied over something so morally significant. I am ashamed to be an American watching these "institutions" doing the wrong things, all for the sake of money, pure and simple. Disgusting.
• American universities are also caving to the ADL, having official required "training" that defines any opposition to the Israeli genocide as antisemitism. If I had kids at that age, it would be tough to find a school I would be willing to send them to.
• To be fair, I used the term Israeli genocide, but I could just as well call it American genocide, since America is officially 100% on board (and I include the Biden administration here). We fund it, run interference for Israel at the UN, publicly lie about it, and go after Americans who protest it. An immense stain on our history.

 

 

Policy Differences between Democrats and Republicans

Here is my list of issues for which there is barely any daylight between the party position of Republicans and Democrats (some overlap on issues to be sure):

• Gaza (the most important issue of our time)
• Funding of Israel's genocide
• Border policy
• Crypto 
• Homelessness
• Alliance with AIPAC and ADL
• Defense spending
• Housing crisis
• Surveillance of American citizens (FISA Courts, etc.)
• Censorship of campus protests with phony cries of antisemitism
• Police
• Cuba
• Trans rights
• Minimum wage
• Medicare for All (or other universal health care)

This is a list I put together here in about twenty minutes. If someone took a couple days, the list would be way longer.  Getting harder and harder to justify my vote for this.

 

 

 

It's Not Only the Dems That Suck

A couple days ago I ranted on the Dems, claiming that most of them--at least the elected ones--pretty much suck. But they aren't the only ones. Have you watched American TV news, both network and cable? It's kind of rhetorical, since I honestly stopped watching years ago. Why do I want to watch Jake Tapper or Claire McCaskill or James Carville or other talking heads with their breaking news that turns out to be inacurrate anyway in a couple days? They are all pretty much all in with the Gaza genocide, for example, not just Fox news. If there is any bias, it is toward Third Way conservatism, nothing lefty at all. 

In our house we actually found that watching France 24 or DW (Germany) or Al Jazeera gives us more thorough and in depth coverage of what's happening in the US than their US counterparts, without the endless panels of political operatives and hacks spouting their savvy insider "knowledge." Who needs it?

Print media is hardly better. NY Times coverage of the NY mayor's race has been a disgrace, and--as with the Iraq War and 2016 election--they double down on their biased and bad coverage, essentially endorsing the corrupt candidates because of "experience" (yeah, lol, amirite?).

In short, all the institutions suck, at least the ones funded by the oligarchs of both parties. Corporate media isn't there to serve you, except for serving you pablum that their oligarchs will allow. They even bribe Donald Trump in the form of court "settlements" for phony lawsuits. Fuck you CBS.

 

What If the Dems Didn't Suck?

Seven months since my last post. I've pretty much left social media--who knows for how long--so found myself back here, and who knows why. I was on Bluesky for the last couple years or so and liked it there as well as the people I followed. But I also found that I don't need to be pumped up with anger and total disbelief about this country, and the whole world for that matter.

Maybe I will write about some of that here, I have nothing better to do. Since my last post, the war in Gaza seems exactly the same as it was, which means it's worse, because it means more and more people are needlessly dead. It's doubly sad and troubling, because most (elected) Democrats are fully in support of the genocide. What's a person to do? Who's a person going to vote for?

The argument seems to be that it's a no-brainer. Of course you have no choice but to vote for the Dems. But there are problems with this argument. Most recently, for example, many of these voices (the vote shamers) are the same voices that are condemning the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York. Apparently "Vote Blue No Matter Who" only applies to those that they approve of. I also have difficuty with the notion that we have to support the evil Israeli tyrant because it is necessary so that we can defeat the evil American tyrant. Quite a trade-off, huh?

Well, I'm not buying it. It is time for the Schumers and the Jeffries and the Pelosis and the rest to listen to the people who want to vote for them instead of thr other way around. I will not vote for anyone who doesn't in some way explicitly oppose and condemn the genocide that the US is currently and financing. Thta's the current no-brainer for me. I will vote third party if the Democrats continue to support things that are evil.

And it's not only Gaza (and the West Bank). These vote-shaming lecturers vote to confirm most of Trump's nominees. They voted for the crypto scam bill. They invite Third Way conservatives to their retreats and ignore the left (disdain the left is more accurate). Medicare for All? Nah, they aren't for that. Trans rights? Nope, just the latest group tp throw under the bus. They are the Party of donors and consultants and their own oligarch buddies. Time to listen to voters like me instead of David Shor and Ezra Klein and James Carville. You want to endorse Andrew Cuomo? Go for it, but you've lost me.

In short, to steal from a Congressional candidate in my district, I'm not voting for candidates who suck anymore.