Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Keep Falling In And Out Of Iraq"
Always love Isaiah's comics. Here's the hit song that Isaiah's referencing.
Diana Ross and the Supremes are one of the legendary music pioneers of the sixties. They took rock onto TV in the same way and at the same time as the Beatles. They also crossed racial barriers in the process.
Of course, Diana's gone on to have a legendary solo career. Betty's "Love or Loneliness" on Sunday noted one of Diana's hidden solo gems from her RCA years.
Be sure to read Jim's "Jim's World" which quotes at length from a column C.I. wrote for community newsletter POLLY'S BREW. It's about Diana Ross and makes some valid and important point including why is it that when men in a group part ways and don't speak or don't even like each other, it's not news. Contrast that with the way the press has always treated Diana.
"TV: Do not feed the beast" (Ava and C.I., THE THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW):
Some on the left -- Democrats and non-Democrats -- have charged that Donald Trump won the 2016 election as a result of deep seated racism in the country. This argument has many flaws -- including having its roots in the false smear campaign Spencer Ackerman instituted in 2008 "call them racists."
That's his accomplishment, that's his lasting legacy, poisoning the well of public discussion. Here's his 'deep thinking' in full:
"I do not endorse a Popular Front, nor do I think you need to. It’s not necessary to jump to Wright-qua-Wright's defense. What is necessary is to raise the cost on the right of going after the left. In other words, find a rightwinger's [sic] and smash it through a plate-glass window. Take a snapshot of the bleeding mess and send it out in a Christmas card to let the right know that it needs to live in a state of constant fear. Obviously I mean this rhetorically.
And I think this threads the needle. If the right forces us all to either defend Wright or tear him down, no matter what we choose, we lose the game they’ve put upon us. Instead, take one of them — Fred Barnes, Karl Rove, who cares — and call them racists. Ask: why do they have such a deep-seated problem with a black politician who unites the country? What lurks behind those problems? This makes *them* sputter with rage, which in turn leads to overreaction and self-destruction."
Live in a constant state of fear that you will be falsely called a racist so you do not critique a political opponent? That's Spencer Ackerman contribution to the public discourse -- going on a private list and plotting with other journalists on how to kill a story that's negative about his candidate. That's Spencer Ackerman encouraging the response to a political critique to be a destroy everyone with a false claim of racism.
Boys and girls, that's toxic masculinity and it's all Spencer ever has to offer.
At THE NEW REPUBLIC, for example, in an editorial meeting, he declared he would "skullf**k" a dead terrorist. Also at THE NEW REPUBLIC, having a hissy fit that the political magazine was not covering baseball, he sent an e-mail to the magazine's editor Franklin Foer threatening to use a baseball bat to "make a niche in your skull."
His toxic masculinity damages us all. Some people look at him and think, "He opposed the Iraq War." Well, when the country turned against it, he opposed the Iraq War. Before that, he championed it. Others note that he supported Hillary Clinton. In 2016, he did. In 2008, he smeared her, he lied about her, he trashed her. That terrorist he was going to "skullf**k?" Killed in a strike in Iraq. But this month's drone strike? He's had a hissy fit and wants to refer to the man with quotes as a "terrorist." Not a terrorist, as a "terrorist." He also lies that Donald Trump's the one who designated him a terrorist when that designation occurred during the Obama administration.
Spencer is a victim of his toxic masculinity. We should pity him. And maybe when he gets called on it, we can pity him. Until then, he needs to come with a warning label.
"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Monday, January 20, 2020. What if you campaigned for the presidency and
no one showed up at your scheduled events (poor Deval!), War Hawk Joe
Biden remains a menace, protests continue in Iraq and at least one
protester has been killed by security forces in Baghdad . . .
In the US, the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination continues. In one of the more embarrassing moments, no one turns out for Governor Who. Let's include Isaiah's "Pro-rape Deval."
Maybe you forgot he was in the race, maybe you never knew but Governor Who is making as much of an impression nationally as he did when he was governor. Pro-rape Deval Patrick had a campaign event. Paul Duke's article (STEADFAST DAILY) e-mailed to the public e-mail account explains what happened next: Patrick showed up at his scheduled event at Morehouse College in Atlanta only to discover only two students showed up for his event (and Duke says they were stopped in the hall and corralled in). At that point, Deval cancelled the event. Governor Who indeed.
And then there's War Hawk Joe.
In the US, the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination continues. In one of the more embarrassing moments, no one turns out for Governor Who. Let's include Isaiah's "Pro-rape Deval."
Maybe you forgot he was in the race, maybe you never knew but Governor Who is making as much of an impression nationally as he did when he was governor. Pro-rape Deval Patrick had a campaign event. Paul Duke's article (STEADFAST DAILY) e-mailed to the public e-mail account explains what happened next: Patrick showed up at his scheduled event at Morehouse College in Atlanta only to discover only two students showed up for his event (and Duke says they were stopped in the hall and corralled in). At that point, Deval cancelled the event. Governor Who indeed.
And then there's War Hawk Joe.
Seriously tho
How is Joe Biden really the Democratic frontrunner?
He doesn't know where he is, he can barely speak, and he inappropriately touches women and girls
Joe is the choice of the corporate media and they prop him up.
‘Middle Class’ Joe Biden has a corruption problem – it makes him a weak candidate | Zephyr Teachout
At THE GUARDIAN, Zephyr explains:
It looks like “Middle Class” Joe has perfected the art of taking big contributions, then representing his corporate donors at the cost of middle- and working-class Americans. Converting campaign contributions into legislative favors and policy positions isn’t being “moderate”. It is the kind of transactional politics Americans have come to loathe.
There are three clear examples.
First, Biden’s support for finance over working-class Americans. His career was bankrolled by the credit card industry. He delivered for it by spearheading a bankruptcy bill that made it harder for Americans to reduce their debts and helped cause the financial crisis. He not only authored and voted for that bill, he split with Barack Obama and led the battle to vote down Democratic amendments.
His explanations for carrying water for the credit card industry have changed over time. They have never rung true.
The simplest explanation is the most likely: he did it for his donors. At a fundraiser last year, Biden promised his Wall Street donors that “nothing would fundamentally change” for them if he became president. Now the financial world is raising huge money for his campaign. It clearly thinks he’s going to be its friend if elected. Most Americans, who get ripped off by the financial sector on a daily basis, aren’t looking for a candidate who has made their life harder.
Second, healthcare. On 25 April, the day he announced his campaign, Biden went straight to a fundraiser co-hosted by the chief executive of a major health insurance corporation. He refuses to sign a pledge to reject money from insurance and pharma execs and continues to raise money from healthcare industry donors. His campaign is being bankrolled by a super Pac run by healthcare lobbyists.
What did all these donors get? A healthcare proposal that preserves the power of the insurance industry and leaves 10 million Americans uninsured.
And, of course, there's Joe's decade long war against Social Security. David Sirota deserves strong credit for getting this important news into the media cycle.
Joe Biden wasn’t being sarcastic — pass it on
David Sirota
This video now has 1 million views
David Sirota Retweeted
If Biden refuses to acknowledge his past positions on Social Security and explain how he has changed his views then he deserves all the wrath that Sanders and others can dump on him. It is that simple.
- Joe Biden is trying to distract attention from his longtime crusade to cut Social Security - and hes doing that at the same time Mitch McConnell says he wants to work with the next Democratic president to cut Social Security. We're not letting it happen. cnn.com/2020/01/19/pol…
Turning to Iraq . . .
. . . where the months long protests continue this morning. ALJAZEERA reports:
Security forces have fired tear gas and live fire in an attempt to clear roads in Iraq's
capital, Baghdad, as hundreds of protesters again took to the streets
to express their anger at the embattled government's slow pace of
reforms.
Demonstrators a week ago had given the government
until Monday to act on their demands, which include the holding of a
snap poll under a new electoral law, the appointment of an independent
prime minister and the prosecution of officials suspected of corruption.
Starting on Sunday and continuing on
Monday, young demonstrators in Baghdad and the south began sealing off
highways and bridges with burning tyres.
"We blocked the road to demand our rights ... the rights of young
people to get a job," said one of the protesters in the capital, who
wished to remain anonymous. "We demand the central government go to early elections and the nomination of a new independent prime minister. If that doesn't happen, we will escalate and block all the highway and centres of the city."
The response? ALJAZEERA's Imran Khan notes that the security forces are firing bullets into the crowd and at least one protestor has been killed.
At least 13 wounded in violent protests in Baghdad: officials bloggvalley.co/2020/01/20/at-…
What are they demanding? It's right there in the report above. So let's note the whore that's waddling his fat ass into the discussion. Ladies and gentlemen, the one, the only Raed Jarrar.
While some corrupt politicians and militias try to hijack the protest movement in #Iraq, Iraqis in #Baghdad, #Nasiriyah, and other cities took to the streets to protest all foreign interventions, including those of the #US and #Iran.
Yes, Iraqis want both US and Iran troops out -- actually, they want all foreign troops out which does include Turkish troops though no one wants to hear Iraq when they make that last call.
To be fair to Raed, whom I don't care for, I did go through his Tweets, this morning. He never notes -- going back a month -- the demands of the Iraqi people who are protesting. He notes the issue of Iraq and US troops. That's why Raed really isn't the person to speak to this issue though, it turns out, PACIFICA is again making him the go to. There are many reasons that is a problem but you can refer to 2013's "Media: The Collapse of Indymedia and its Queen." I will give Raed credit for not falling into the 'St. Soleimani was killed!' crowd. That's not a minor point if you remember how high the crazy was cranked by a number of loud voices on that issue.
Raed wants US troops out of Iraq. I do as well. My wants and my desires do not allow me to reduce a months long protest and its goals to one issue, especially when it isn't the primary issue.
You have many Iraqis on Arabic social media, Iraqis who protest, who are very nervous about this Friday. Shi'ite cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr has called for Friday's protest to be about expelling foreign troops. They're not wanting to be hijacked by Moqtada. Some of that is starting to bubble up in the media. Gareth Browne (ALJAZEERA) notes:
Many of the people in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square are deeply sceptical of Sadr’s motives, fearing he may attempt to hijack the popular protest movement for his own gain.
“Sadr has nothing to do with us, we don’t want him, we don’t want his militia, he is a part of the problem,” Hozam Hunaidi, 24, told Al Jazeera.
“I will die before I march behind his banner. I have been here for three months, sleeping in the cold, facing danger - I did not do that for him,” he added.
“He [Sadr] will try to wipe us off the map, if the Sadrists come to Tahrir, we will fight back,” warned Hamoud Ali, 32.
Qassem Abdul-Zahra and Samya Kullab (AP) add:
The U.N. envoy to Iraq, meanwhile, urged Iraqi political elites to resume pushing for reforms and for protests to remain peaceful.
“Any steps taken so far to address the people's concerns will remain hollow, if they are not completed,” said Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in a statement issued by the U.N. “Violent suppression of peaceful protesters is intolerable and must be avoided at all costs. Nothing is more damaging than a climate of fear.”
In the southern city of Nasiriyah, protesters blocked the highway linking the city to the southern oil-rich province of Basra. At least six protesters were wounded when an unknown gunmen fired at them from a speeding car, a medical official said. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations.
Disheartening reports that security forces once again meet protesters with violence in #Baghdad.
It is the right of every #Iraqi to be allowed to protest peacefully. It is the duty of Iraqi security forces to protect that right.
#العراق_ينتفض
#بغداد
Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Keep Falling In And Out Of Iraq" went up last night. New content at THIRD:
- Truest statement of the week
- A note to our readers
- Editorial: Will we use our voices?
- TV: Do not feed the beast
- Jim's World
- A story that needs more attention from the world
- Pay attention to what you buy on AMAZON
- Tweet of the week
- This edition's playlist
The following sites updated:
TV: Do not feed the beast
13 minutes ago
Love or Loneliness
13 hours ago
Sunday Reads
19 hours ago
Jazz Saxophone Legend Jimmy Heath Has Died
19 hours ago