The new year has hit with news flying in from a number of quarters. At home, minimum wage increased in nearly half of U.S. states; it has been 14 years since the last increase in the federal minimum wage, the longest stretch since 1938 according to the AFL-CIO. NPR correspondent David Gura quoted Goldman Sachs’s chief equity strategist to note, ”The S&P 500 index returned 26% including dividends in 2023, more than 2x the average annual return of 12% since 1986.”
That so many of the Islamic and Arab countries have called for a peaceful resolution based on a two-state solution is encouraging. Perhaps the Israelis will finally see the light, and end their persecution of Palestine, and Hamas will be out of power. A glimmer of hope in a situation that has festered for too long.
Like Putin, Netanyahu is betting that Trump will return to the White House, thus allowing him and his right-wing fanatics to destroy any hope of a two-state solution and kill many more Palestinians.
You are so right, if the bull in the China shop cheats his way back in, Putin and Netanyahu think their problems will be over. Seems that Joe’s enemies in this country give aid and comfort to our enemies abroad.
There are people in this country who air weakness they find in Biden having to do with the Willows Project, oil drilling project by ConocoPhillips located on the plain of the North Slope of Alaska in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska entirely on wetlands; attacks on the rights and lives of Black people, homosexuals, women, and other groups; on our public schools, its curriculums and books; the embrace and funding of Israel's war, which is decimating the Palestinians, etc., - without supporting Trump and the Republicans who follow him or abandoning their determination for another Biden term as president. Biden's commitment to the welfare of the American people will grow with these voices. It is our right as citizens to convey our opinions; support the principles of democracy and encourage our leaders to be the of best public servants for the people.
“The other day Tony Blinken posted an astonishingly obnoxious tweet fretting about how “This has been an extraordinarily dangerous year for press around the world,” as though his own administration had not directly facilitated the lion’s share of the deadly attacks on journalists in 2023. The utter gall of these freaks still surprises me sometimes.”
Anybody who doesn’t think Biden is complicit in genocide spews ignorance and/or a total denial of reality.
Edited to add - Jeri, the best thing about calling out Genocide Joe is watching you spew weak, imperialist American propaganda in response, and then watching the Team Blue lemming commenters here rush to your defense with a wave of ‘likes’. Tickles me no end.
Anyone who thinks genocide applies here has the IQ of a kumquat. If Israel remotely wanted to commit genocide, all it had to do was drop a hundred thermobaric bombs on Gaza, and poof, 2.2 million Gazans are ash, ready to be 'dozed into the Med. Instead, Israel is in the third straight month of through Gaza slogging building, with more months to come, crippling its own economy by NOT just killing every Gazan ever born with a bombing wave reminiscent of Dresden.
Some "genocide."
It's war, one Hamas brought on itself voluntarily by massacring more than 1,000 Israeli innocents. All Hamas has to do to end it is say two little words: "We surrender." But since it insists on fighting to the bitter end, IDF will oblige. The non-combatant Gazans also dying? That's because Hamas hides its fighters inside the civilian population. The IDF fights right out in the open, not shielding itself with babies. If Hamas did the same, no innocents would be dead. Of course Gazans are going to die, in great numbers; it's what happens to the human shields of psychopaths.
Have the guts to blame the right party for the death of 20,000+ Gazans, Tom: not Israel, but Hamas. Absent the Hamas pogrom, both parties would have celebrated New Year's with Champagne, not high explosives.
Genocide is killing to exterminate an ethnic or religious group. You may call what Israel is doing war or even murder, but it is not genocide, and using that word gets in the way of progress. (Hamas, on the other hand, really does intend genocide, and says so publicly.) U.S. options are limited, because Israel is an ally, not a satellite, and we can try to influence, but not control her behavior.
'South Africa’s genocide case against Israel sets up a high-stakes legal battle at the UN’s top court'
'WHAT IS SOUTH AFRICA’S ARGUMENT?'
'South Africa’s 84-page filing says Israel’s actions “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part” of the Palestinians in Gaza.'
'It asks the ICJ, also known as the world court, for a series of legally binding rulings. It wants the court to declare that Israel “has breached and continues to breach its obligations under the Genocide Convention,” and to order Israel to cease hostilities in Gaza that could amount to breaches of the convention, to offer reparations, and to provide for reconstruction of what it’s destroyed in Gaza.'
'The filing argues that genocidal acts include killing Palestinians, causing serious mental and bodily harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions meant to “bring about their physical destruction as a group.” And it says statements by Israeli officials express genocidal intent.'
'South Africa argues that the court has jurisdiction because both countries are signatories of the genocide convention. The convention’s ninth article says disputes between nations over the convention can be submitted to the International Court of Justice.'
'Many South Africans, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, have compared Israel’s policies regarding Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with South Africa’s past apartheid regime of racial segregation. Israel rejects such allegations.'
'WHAT WAS ISRAEL’S RESPONSE?'
'Israel’s government swiftly rejected the genocide claim. A Foreign Ministry statement said South Africa’s case lacks a legal foundation and constitutes a “despicable and contemptuous exploitation” of the court.'
'Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli prime minister’s office, on Tuesday accused South Africa of “giving political and legal cover” to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered Israel’s campaign. But he confirmed that Israel would send a legal team to the Hague “to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” he said.'
'An Israeli official said the country, which has a history of ignoring international tribunals, decided to defend itself for several reasons. Among them are Israel’s role in promoting the original genocide convention after the Holocaust and its belief that “we have a strong case.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing behind-the-scenes deliberations.'
'Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the war until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 hostages still held by the militant group in Gaza are freed. He’s said that could take several more months.'
'WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?'
'South Africa’s filing includes a request for the court to urgently issue legally binding interim orders for Israel to' “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.”
BS. Genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass murder of innocents…. all are applicable.
As to ‘control her behavior’…. BS. Reagan did it in the 80s when Israel bombed refugee camps in Lebanon. You threaten to withhold military aid, and mean it. Biden doesn’t have the guts to piss off the Israeli lobby nor the MIC. Without the U.S., there is no Israel; it most certainly is a satellite, and has been in a geopolitical context since the Iranian Revolution got rid of the Shah.
Obtuse comes to mind. Thinking requires seeing more thsn the brick wall in your lane. I will expect an adolescent response to verify your deep as a birdbath mode of thinking.
Words have meanings, and in order to communicate it's important to show some discipline in using them. Your loose use of the loaded word genocide puts you in the same group as Elise Stefanik. Are you comfortable in the company of such a person?
I also note that you do not comment on Hamas' clearly expressed intent to commit genocide, or its horrible, inhuman and unlawful acts on October 7th, or its continuing crimes against humanity by holding hostages and embedding its combatants in civilian areas. Nor do you mention that Hamas spent billions on weapons and tunnels to use for military purposes, but nothing to protect civilians against the Israeli response that it has said it wanted to generate. Why that double-standard? (Whether Israel should have reacted as it did is another question.)
Your pal Caitlin is a lunatic. She spends thousands of words condemning Israel for, well, everything, but particularly for "slaughtering fucking children." OK, I hate slaughtered fucking children too, so I went through her backlog to see how harshly she condemned Hamas for slaughtering, you know, fucking children, as well as for baking a baby in an oven, raping women, dismembering women, butchering children, burning Israelis alive, machinegunning innocents driving by on the highway--the whole psychopathic playbook. Here's the sum total of what ol' Caitlin had to say about the Hamas pogrom on Oct. 8:
"Ultimately this is just Palestinians doing what they feel they need to do out of total desperation . . ."
Goebbels is smiling from Hell.
Get back to us when you have something remotely intelligent to say about Israel-Palestine-United States. Everything you've posted today, including "Genocide Joe," is useless unless you hate Israel, in which case it's been splendid.
You’re the lunatic. Every one of your examples of the horrors of 10/7 have been either been removed from context, totally debunked, or shown to be committed by the IDF.
Could be why many of the survivors of the music festival ‘slaughter’ are suing the Israel government.
You don’t hate slaughtered children; were that the case, you wouldn’t countenance it under any circumstances.
“False accusations of anti-semitism are all Israel and its defenders have left. It’s the only tool left in their toolbox. Once you’ve exhausted the “But Hamas!” and “But October 7!” excuses they make for Israel’s deliberate butchery of civilians via airstrikes and siege warfare, false accusations of hating Jews is all that remains.
And it’s so sick, because it exploits a healthy impulse in those of us who oppose racism and genocide, and does so in order to defend racist acts of genocide. It causes people who care deeply about human rights to take a step back and say “Hold on, am I guilty of embodying the same hateful prejudices which led to the Holocaust?” and shuts us down and shuts us up, even as Israel rolls out its own holocaust against Palestinians.”
Excuses for deliberate butchery. That’s all you’ve got here, Shane.
War IS deliberately butchery. If Hamas didn't want their own people butchered by the machinery of modern warfare, all it had to do was stay home in October and Israel would have done zip, zero, nada. Hamas chose badly, and the people it governs are doing the suffering for their elected leaders' psychopathy.
Own that.
P.S. I didn't call you, or her, antisemitic. Far as I know, your hatred is aimed solely at Israel's conduct of the war. I profoundly disagree with your complaints about that, but nothing you've written makes me belive you or she are antisemitic.
Anyone, like Caitlin, who has to use profanity to bolster their argument is coming from an already weakened position. It's an adolescent attempt at creating shock so they can demonstrate how "controversial" they are. Do better.
I think we can be angry with Biden's weakness and ineffectiveness re Netanyahu- our unconditional support- WITHOUT calling Biden Genocide Joe. You shoot yourself in the foot about the point with name calling.
No, I bring the Team Blue jump-circle genocide defenders out into the light so they can be recognized. Those whose party-line allegiance clouds their understanding of right and wrong, and contributes to their defending the indefensible.
He is Genocide Joe. He’s made plenty of disastrous political decisions in his career, from dissing Anita Hill and putting Thomas on the Court, to aiding and abetting mass incarceration, student debt, and endless war. Nothing comes close to aiding and abetting the slaughter in Gaza, which he could have ended with a phone call.
Wouldn’t shock me one bit if he stumbles us into a war in the Middle East. As long as we’re talking shooting feet here.
I'm upset about the way Biden gave permission to Netanyahu. This was an emotional response and what has ensued is a disaster for Palestinians and Israel. They are trying to work it out now but Netanyahu is in charge with us or without us.. Without our involvement in the ME and Ukraine, things would be a lot different. We overall have an important role to play. Biden has been too reticent in Ukraine, though essential, very good, no question. Ukraine needs help and the Euros are stepping up now. At home Biden has done tremendously well. Team Red on the other hand has devolved into something very toxic and dangerous for this country. We have to stop thinking in terms of partisanship. I wish for the old Republicans, gone now. Conservatism has been corrupted and has gone to something else.
You insist on your Team Blue categorization which in its opposition has to dig deep to make that the primary issue here and you fail. You fail because this push behind Biden is more than about Team Blue, sir. It’s about the country. As far as war in the Middle East goes we either have it go all out or it cools down. Biden/US is only one player and a weaker one than in the past in this more multi dimensional situation. Spiro Agnew’s term “Nattering Nabob of Negativism” is useful. People evolve. Or should.
Israel, since 1948, has met antagonism with antagonism, continuously dispossessing and displacing its Palestinian opponents in the process. Has it been Israel’s goal to eliminate the Palestinian people and their culture?
Zionists, who dominate Israel’s government at present, and who have been a major force throughout its history, certainly want Palestinians either ethically cleansed or oppressed.
The earlier that Netanyahu is forced from power the better. Today would not be too soon. But it will be vital that he is not replaced by someone as narrow as he is.
Maybe once Netanyahu is gone, cooler more competent heads will prevail. And his expiration date is probably being moved up as the investigations unfold as to how October 7th happened. Don't something like 75% of Israelis want him gone?
It's encouraging that so many Gulf states envision a two state solution sans Hamas. If Hamas is not purged, there will never be a lasting peace.
What worries me a lot is the influence and activities of the ultra extremist "settlers" and their supporters who are committing crimes in the West Bank - murder and the theft of ancestral lands. They undermine their own nation's integrity and security.
Jon, did you read the Counterpunch article? The writer included a link to a letter sent to the NY Times in 1948 signed by Hannah Arendt & Albert Einstein plus several more people. I went online & it was, in truth, an actual letter. Interesting reading.
And yes, Netanyahu really does the Israelis a disservice to put it mildly. Past time!
Netanyahu and his ilk have made it worse for sane Jews in America and in other countries by his actions. He too, has adopted being a “strongman”. He has ruined Israel.
Too bad the AIPAC lobby & others voices are so loud.
What he and his cohorts are doing to the Palestinian people and quite honestly, to the Israelis right now - beyond the slaughter of non-Hamas civilians is and will create more fighters for Hamas and more hatred towards Israelis AND Americans! How hard is that to understand?
I have a newsflash for you: There is no conceivable replacement for Netanyahu who will support a two-state solution. The reason for that is simple. October 7 killed the two-state solution. Any politician who supported or advocated for it would be rejected by the Israeli people. For obvious reasons, they’ve come to disbelieve in it.
Well, I don’t wish to be rude, but I feel compelled to point out that a solution neither party wants is no solution. You’ve fallen into the error of making a picture, as Napoleon put it in a military context: seeing thing the way you want to see them, not the way they are. Instead, you might try thinking yourself into the mentality of the average Israeli and the average Palestinian. Those are the people whose attitudes are relevant. And those people have no interest in a two-state solution. What you or I or Anthony Blinken or Joe Biden may think is irrelevant. This leads me to think that the right policy going forward is one that conforms to that reality. And that means , first, putting our own preferences to the side.
I don't think I quite agree. If Hamas truly ceases to be a power in Gaza, the biggest obstacle to the two state solution is removed. And as for Bibi, October 7 has disproved the theory that having right wing maniacs in charge can keep anyone safe.
No. Recall how the overwhelming majority of Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, cheered the October 7 pogrom. The big obstacle to a two-state solution is genocidal, river-to-sea Palestinian nationalism.
It’s all very well for American progressives to talk up a two-state solution. The resultant terrorist state wouldn’t be right next door to them. After all that has happened, why should the Israeli people take a chance like that? Well, they won’t. Even the Israeli Left has soured on the peace process and the two-state solution. Think you can talk them around? Good luck with that.
There grows in today’s pieces/letters/posts a general principle inside my head. So, the players in these negotiations -whether it’s here ,there , or anywhere have PEACE the object based upon TRUTHS...is an operative anyone who sits at this table of solution negotiating?
Killing is never the answer, never has been, never will be , the innocents play too high a price , are presented as the bargaining chip. 20,000 dead over 60% + women and children brought into our livings rooms as what ? to be informed? A high mucky muck (mm) killed along with several others ( assumably also high mm’s) a conquest ? well knowing next in command could be worse but definitely already named for ‘in the position’?
If so, our scrutiny of who’s next in line is critical. The present ‘presidents’ precedents are well known ....but is it truth , is it PEACE, is it retaliation, is it consistent in message and action. Must we always wait for somebody to prove beyond the doubt shadow, or trust they aren’t insiders playing with words,lives,hidden agendas?
Track records? and Tact? Do they speak Truth? How many words, actions, bombs, dead, destruction, or lies however cleverly structured or reconstructed does it take?
And if it could just be made more clear that the reason Trump is in this position of power is because he is so controlled and “owned” by Putin and Netanyahu and probably others. He does what they tell him to do and then his Magamates do what he tells them to do. He in fact is a very frightened, impotent, not very intelligent puppet.
You had me right up until the last sentence. Don't underestimate his intelligence. His baffoonery is an act. It makes him relatable to the masses of uncritical thinkers who follow him.
Thank you for this eye-popping article that bolsters the fact that Netanyahu and his right-wingers will go to limitless lengths until they obliterate all Palestinians out of Israel. Bibi is no "friend" of ours as long as his army is handing out rifles to the settlers! He wants nothing to do with the notion of a two-state solution...or peace for that matter. This genocide of Gaza has got to stop. NO MORE ANNUAL MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL!!!
Yes, but Israel's vision and mission is for Jews as well as "followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety where their lives, possessions and rights are concerned". Quoted from Article 6 of the Hamas Charter.
So, just a 2 state solution is insufficient unless Jewish settlers in Palestine and Gaza coexist in security and safety as citizens of Palestinian, or Morocco, Syria, Lebanon. Iran, and all other theocracy based countries.
What we should be shooting for are reforms away from ancient "beliefs and practices resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance or a false conception of causation" (Websters definition of superstition). People should be able to walk to shul, mosque or church, wear veils. kippah, or mantilla or what ever cultural garment they choose in security and safety.
Sorry. The Encyclopedia Brittanica quotes the following:
“Hamas continued to reject the legitimacy of Israel, and hard-liners within the organization remained strident in their rhetoric. Months after one such hard-liner, Yahya Sinwar, became the local leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip (2017– ), he stated in a roundtable discussion with young Gazans: “Gone is the time in which Hamas discussed recognition of Israel. The discussion now is about when we will wipe out Israel.”
Folks are failing to understand the mission of Hamas. Also, the way the MSM is reporting the war is almost as if it is only Israel doing the attacking. Hamas of course is fighting back. According to Al Jazeera, their well-funded fighting force is estimated to be 35-40,000. (To put this in context, the standing army of Canada is 68,000.) Hamas has regularly been sending rockets into Israel since 2001.
Annie, if US citizens were living in Israel, and having the power, Hamas would have been stepped on and eliminated a long time ago. We,the US would not have put up with it. Eventually,what occurred on 10-7, was bound to happen. And now everyone is shocked at the results.
And what happens after all this? Another group of psychology warped people will take Hamas place. Hopefully there will be a lull of a few years. Religion and real estate have sure been the reason for a lot of deaths. Being an atheist with some real estate, I am on the target list.
Well, I’m not so sure of that. It’s not easy to tell who is a terrorist and who is not. Witness the Islamist terrorist attacks that have taken place on US soil.
Yes! Okay, Article 6 of the Hamas Charter is not their top priority yet, but nudging them in that direction might help.
Let's ask Thaler and Sunstein on how to Nudge people on both sides to accept a better outcome.
"For Thaler and Sunstein, a nudge is “any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without [1] forbidding any options or [2] significantly changing their economic incentives."
Instead of paying Hamas terrorists to attack Israel maybe the default could be business contracts and currency transfers be between different cultures by default or suffer through a mountain of red-tape. Kind of like nudging people into 401K participation.
Say a Jew wants to build a house in Palestine. The default builders are not Jews as a Jewish builder costs X% more than other culture builders as they would be taxed X% and have more lengthy inspections and permits. Muslims would also be nudged not to use Muslim contractors. As an example.
James, Diplomacy, the act of getting obstructionists to take knee without using a 1000 pound weight to the shoulder. While being a bit slower, 900 does just fine
I’ll say it again, please everyone email the White House and tell President Biden to start a Fireside Chat reminiscent of FDR. He needs to get his message out and he is not doing so now. You can go on the White House site and repeat the request every day.
As nice as it would be, there is no current mechanism available to President Biden to do so. TV and social media are fractured to the point of uselessness. When FDR did his chats. people had radios and newspapers and that was it. Now there are 500 TV channels, streaming services, numerous social media sites and a gazillion podcasts. It's a "brave new world" and it hurts that it has contributed to the breakdown of cohesion.
MisTBlu, I get it but it’s worth a try and besides, these could be modernized to fit social media. I recognize that many of us are boomers. But there are innovative approaches that can be tried. To do nothing is a capitulation l
I hear what Bill is saying and agree that the administration has been too quiet. But MisTBlu's point about the fracturing of "media" is well taken.
The solution? An all hands on deck blistering campaign by Biden, Harris, Buttigieg and every major player in the administration - on TikTok!
Fire away everyday with Republican failures to help Americans. You know my list, I post it all the time. But here goes again.
"We tried to help with feeding poor kids - but Republicans blocked us!" Cut to hungry child.
"We tried to help with child care - but Republicans blocked us!" Cut to frustrated Mom.
"We tried to help with college expenses - but the Republican packed Supreme Court blocked us!" Cut to Thomas in a big RV.
"We are trying to stop Russian aggression and slaughter in Ukraine - but Republicans blocked us! Is Poland next?" Cut to photos of Ukraine (use your imagination).
"We have asked Congress to come together and help us address the border problem, but Republicans have blocked us!" Cut to the desperate immigrants in a food line.
"We are fighting to make it easier and safer for ALL Americans to vote - but Republicans are making it harder!" Cut to a long line of voters waiting, waiting, waiting.
"We believe a woman's reproductive decisions should be hers - hers alone. But Republicans want to tell her what to do with her body!" Cut to a group of old white men facing off with a diverse group of young women.
Here's the thing. The voters that we desperately need and who are becoming disillusioned - don't watch TV news. They watch their phones - all day long. If something is on TikTok and is provocative it will become viral and be spread around the rest of the media landscape. We need to attack. There certainly is enough ammunition. Find people where they live - it's on their phones.
Friendly correction: Pete Buttigieg doesn't have a TikTok account. No member of the administration does as it has been banned by the White House. He is often featured in TikTok posts. He does have an Instagram account.
Yes yes and yes!! And President Biden recently was in Hollywood with many celebrities for campaign donations. Have them speak out too. The Jan 6th committee had great sound bites professionally put together. Simple., clear and short.
Do celebrity endorsements have any effect anymore? That said, Taylor Swift urging her fans to register to vote had a huge effect in every city where she performed. Alas, there's only one Taylor Swift.
Because of the Chinese aspect of Tic Tok, I do not partake; however, I have found that good old Reels on Instagram can also pack a punch! Great Plan Bill!
Those videos exist on social media as that landscape is so fractured, their reach is limited.
The White House, President Biden, Vice President Harris and various members of the cabinet are active on social media. This morning I woke up thinking that the problem isn't the message but the messenger. As effective as Biden has been as an administrator, it's a sad fact that he's not a good communicator. Also, the donation videos that he makes only serve to show how old he is.
Younger people can promote the successes of the Biden-Harris administration IF they have a critical mass of followers who can then pass along their messages. Politics Girl and Victor Shu show up in my feeds but I don't know how many people they reach across their platforms.
All should move to HELL, along with Rupert and crews of vipers. Of course, DeSatan has made Florida hell, just like the evil trio in Texas has done that to us.
I accidentally watch a couple of minutes of Fox like when I go to get my car serviced, etc. All they do is whine and make fun of Democrats. Maybe they do more, but I'm not willing to watch any more. I've blocked all of Murdoch's enterprises from my news feed.
Harvey, there are a few and are acknowledged (celebrated!), tho one such insightful commenter has not weighed in here for sometime—miss his contributions. Hope all is OK & living his best life offline. I also treasure the wisdom and experience of those with more trips ‘round the sun than I.
I get a notification from Facebook almost daily that the President is “live”. I think he is trying to do the social media equivalent of the fireside chat. I am perplexed that the message is not getting out.
Yes, and people actually listened. Now that social media has taken over, we are at the whims of people like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg where money is the only driving factor. I just read the today's Civil Discourse post by Joyce Vance about how young people learn about our world. Someday very soon they will inherit all of this. The question is, how do we engage them to understand the evil that lives in the hearts of some of these people? Their future and our democracy depends on getting through to them!
It helps to start them young. I took my son (now 43) to vote with me every time and he used to listen to NPR with me when I picked him up from school. It was what was on. Today he’s politically engaged.
I agree and now listen to interesting stuff my son streams while on the treadmill. Also, talk with former exchange student who bring interesting perspective from other parts of the world. The Vance piece was very concerning.
I remember having just the three networks. Educational tv from our university was a big deal and hard to access. The three networks presented the same facts. Today companies like Fox just flat out lie. Fox is a fact free zone. Why is that happening? MONEY! An Australian carpetbagger is helping tear apart the US so he can make money. But he has a gullible audience.
True. Everyone operates within their own microcosm, as we do to a certain extent here. I doubt Fox would agree to simulcast with MSNBC even if ad revenue was guaranteed. The idea may appeal to old folks but would bypass huge swathes of would be voters.
This! Read Joyce Vance’s substack today as she addresses this very subject. My grandchildren (13 and 8) here in the UK are better informed than many Americans. I talk to them about politics and world events because it’s so important
Joyce Vance on not assuming that people know about current events when their social media algorithms do not include news about current events, so do our part to talk about it!
Ellie, thank you for this. Any of us who do the postcards and/or letters to voters (that I started doing thanks to you) need to know this, and also, when that time comes, WHAT to write when the voter might be totally ignorant? I am amazed that a 29 year old would not know who Rudy is!
IMHO the Democrats need to give more concise message than "saving democracy" because after reading this, I am not confident that all voters grasp what that means. I mean that seriously: if they don't care about voting or don't think their votes matter, are they even concerned that that right might be taken away?
Brexit was encouraged by Russia in order to divide and weaken the UK. I recall hearing citizens of the UK say at the time of this vote, “well, I voted for Brexit, but I didn’t really think it was going to pass.”
Younger persons probably don't even have cable anymore. I'm nearly 50, and we have over the air TV, but never watch unless the Olympics are on NBC. We do stream. Perhaps the Whitehouse needs to post their Fireside Chats on YouTube! Google would be happy to have them for the advertising revenue it would raise.
Yes! YouTube! Perfect! That way nearly everyone has access and could be forewarned to watch live or told afterwards and still watch! Each one should be available on YouTube at least until the next one.
A single major address would get network and some cable coverage but the fireside chats proposed by the OP would be relegated to C-Span with links on social media. It's a shame, really.
Maybe Joe should follow Trump’s lead and just start saying crazy things and lie about virtually everything. To be sure I am being sarcastic but sadly it would likely work. The press continues to publish at least 10 articles about Trump to anything about Biden.
Fireside Substack! :-) Newsletters and podcasts. How about multiple posts a week, with themes (I love themes). For example: Mondays are for climate; Wednesdays for economy; Saturdays about children (education, safety, the future etc); and Sunday mini-State of the Union updates.
I agree, Bill, thanks for the reminders — and would add that these emails should include that the issues of these chats need to be capsulized for social media, in memes and "Stories" for dissemination on sites like FB, IG, (holding my nose - X), TikTok, etc. Not that the Biden/Harris team doesn't know that part, but it's important to emphasize when we write.
Agreed, but maybe it should be VP Harris. I was up in the New England area and the saturation of ads for the primaries was about President Biden’s age and the border. Candidate Haley suggest having a coherency test and then failed to know that slavery was the reason for the Civil War.
As my friend suggested, shut down the border for just two days will show folks we can do it. I will add that we need to talk about it. Fox News is sure doing so.
Economy is back, the market is back, jobs are flowing, we just need to talk about the border. Fireside chat or a White House Substack.
Actually, I think we need to stop talking about the border. We need to stop letting republicans determine the subjects of our national conversation. We (by we, I mean the media) need to be talking about the issues important to us: health care, reproductive rights, voting rights, Ukraine, Israel and diplomacy in general etc etc.
In all due respect, every station is showing the crowds walking in, including MS-NBC and CNN. City mayors saying they are at their breaking point. Bus refusals. I volunteer for Table of Hope and there is not enough food to offer at times. As a lifetime dem, I'm concerned about the border and the safety of these people. I also volunteer at Jersey Battered Women Services. They too are hispanics with kids that don't speak English since they just came in.
And it appears no matter how much we show data, the republicans will spin the high cost of food, health care, reproductive rights, voting rights. I cannot write how many stupid things I have heard from people over the years managing a wire shop. And it is never from a respectable paper, it is from Fox and others showing images, along with TV political Ads.
We will not know the correct answer to all this, but we'll find out in Nov.
That’s my point, exactly. Every station is showing it, because we’ve allowed republicans to define the conversation. We could still focus on the border, but show the compassionate side, like you just did.
See link to the last White House immigration proposal in January of 2021. It is soft on real control of the border. Focus is on training, more court resources. There has been no proposal since then.
Let’s focus on what we do now. December saw around 300,000 illegal border crossings- around the same number of people that live in Cincinnati. Certainly many, many asylum seekers were released. The border is overwhelmed.
Kathy - "Share📣 from the conservative, Libertarian Cato Institute"
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded as the Charles Koch Foundation in 1974 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch.
Bill, you inspired me to write to the President yesterday about the fireside chat idea. (And several more topics that were on my mind). I had been thinking about writing for a while; your suggestion, your plea, caused me to take action. Thank you.
Bill, I too have called for a fireside chat alla FDR. The GOP's antics are so transparent that to fall for it suggests gullibility verging on stupidity. It does seem that the Republican's nonsense is aimed at their base who they know will believe any BS. The question is why? Stupidity? Confirmation bias? BS they need to hear to justify their fears and hatred.
Agree. Remember Nuyte’s “Contract with America” sounded good until you opened the contract. Today the border is totally broken but our side says no it isn’t. But we can possibly lose on this one issue alone. If you didn’t know it by now, people are angry. Common sense would dictate closing as I said before but received criticism for it. Such is politics. I don’t know why mayors from cities in which buses loaded with illegals (and they are illegal, btw), why the buses were never confiscated. If they were, bus companies would think twice about using them.
Great idea, Bill. It can be like Nixon and his Checkers speech. Biden and one of his rescue dogs, by the fireplace, with the growling of the dog and the shredding of human flesh with the dog biting the secret service guys. Talk about great television. Millions of hits on YouTube. Tucker Carlson would have a Stroke.
'Lots of pieces moving around the board on this second day of January 2024.' (Letter)
Is that not prose poetry at this time of what, uncertainty mixed with woe? Today's letter
is full of events, questions and threats. Our presidential election is crucial and not alone
in its importance.
The following is a long excerpt by Ishaan Tharoor with Mikhail Klimentov, in Washington Post's newsletter, Today's WorldView, as appears today.
'More than 60 countries, with some 4 billion people, are set to stage national elections in 2024. That means roughly half the planet could go to the polls in what could be the greatest rolling spectacle of democracy in human history.'
'We might not see this number of elections matched until 2048, when the world’s political landscape could look considerably different. The “third wave” of democracy — the steady global expansion of democratic governments that surged through the end of the Cold War — has ebbed over the past decade. Elections are still staged, but the underlying political culture seems to be shifting worldwide.'
'In society after society, illiberal values and politicians who embrace them are gaining ground. Numerous elected governments seem bent on undermining core tenets of the democratic project, from the freedom of the press to the independence of institutions such as the judiciary to the ability of opposition parties to fairly compete against the ruling establishment.'
'According to Freedom House, a Washington think tank that monitors the health of democracies, global freedom declined for the 17th consecutive year in 2023. The organization’s annual report cites a wave of coups that ousted elected leaders in Africa and increasing threats to the rights of journalists in dozens of countries. Separately, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, a Sweden-based intergovernmental watchdog, said in its annual report that “across every region of the world, democracy has continued to contract” and that 2022 marked a sixth consecutive year in which more countries experienced net democratic declines than improvements, per its data. It projects that 2023 will be no better.'
'The news this year could be more drastic still. The outcomes of pivotal elections in the United States — the world’s oldest democracy — and India — the world’s largest — may underscore a deepening public appetite for norm-bending strongman rule. In their shadow, elections from Mexico to the European Union to Bangladesh may each offer their own showcase of the growing traction of nationalist, authoritarian politics. “We’re electing illiberal leaders democratically,” Maria Ressa, a prominent journalist and Nobel laureate from the Philippines, said during an address to the National Press Club in Washington in September. “We will know whether democracy lives or dies by the end of 2024.” (WAPO)
I think that in some highly visible way there needs to be a more focused national conversation of what voting means; why we do, why it is necessary to our way of life, and what it means to our society and the lives of individuals if we muck it up. If each and every one of us does not make a responsible effort to get it right, who will? With a share of power comes a share of responsibility. It just checking off boxes.
Perhaps we should teach civics and history to our children. I have a big fat resentment about all the stuff I was taught in history class in K-12. You know like the Pilgrims partying with the Indians at Thanksgiving.
We have a duty to be accurate. My elementary school history was mostly myth, either heavily slanted or just plain made up, I was taught that Columbus was the very first person to realize the earth is round, Washington and the cherry tree, the "first Thanksgiving" which was more BS than true, how Pocahontas rescued John Smith from certain death, and American Exceptionalism in all things. The one thing that I was taught that stuck was the egalitarian philosophy of Lincoln. Lincoln the man was oversimplified of course, and there were one or two apocryphal quotations, but Lincoln came the closest, in my opinion, to articulating and applying the core principles of a just democracy for others to follow. That was a presented in a focused way because of the "Lincoln's Birthday", which has since been submerged into socially meaningless "President's Day".
As far as civics, we got some, but not nearly enough for a meaningful learners permit for driving the country.
That is not a serviceable definition of "voting" in anything worthy of being called a "republic". That is the definition of "political corruption". That's exactly why a serious reckoning and conversation waaaaay overdue. The "Gilded Age" was also marked by plutocratic corruption, and we beat some of the worst of it back. It's our democracy to lose if we remain indifferent.
When I moan about how one orange bufoon can cause so much chaos I am reminded of the Koch Bros plan beginning in the 70's I think. I feel like we were asleep at the wheel. I certainly was until I read Dark Money by Jane Mayer. We are trying to fight a group that has been actively moving their ball closer to their goals for years.
I missed them, but I caught up with Nixon and Reagan, who made it clear what his goal was, in spite of the "good ole boys" blather to the devoted, including Reagan Dems. BTW, Koch goal is to amend the constitution and they have made headway getting states on board. Scary, it may need some amendments, but God help us if Charles is in control.
Jeri, I think it will be crucial that we not see "them" as the "Cheaters" because "they" are the capitalists who simply seek to make ever more money while we buy what they are selling whether it be cars, RVs, boats, news, easily-ordered and promptly-delivered products on-line, sleek and powerful phones, computers & watches or the very computer searches and and underlying algorithms which drive them (and us) toward what we come to see as "facts." To a very real extent, "they" are us! We need to ask ourselves how we can best harness us toward a more coherent future?
D4N, a dear friend said to me recently that he, '...will worry less and drink more.' I thought of that line as I read the piece by Ishaan Tharoor about the elections around the world. My question to myself is drink what? I'll think about that.
My Grandma Salome, at 100, was still leading a parade of nursing home residents with walkers around the halls every morning! But still voting for whomever her priest told her to vote for.
P.S. Yes, Salome was Catholic. Her father, however, wore a yarmulke, and had the Star of David on his headstone. We all found out at her 100th birthday party that it wasn't just because "great grandpa loved beanies."
It was hard to "like" your post Fern, however, it seems critical that we see and understand this trend as having sources and contributors. I am struck by the comparison of the contents of earlier posts in this Comment section with yours and led pretty directly to the conclusion that the "Balkanization" or splintering of our information sources, especially those driven by the algorithms of capitalism ("more clicks means more money"). This splintering has led away from any common body of facts and to increasingly splintered perceptions of the world around us and others who don't look, act, or talk like us making it much easier for authoritarians to spew whatever "facts," "factoids," or innuendos serve their pitch best. Then their adherents can be fed whatever continues to serve their world view, which is to say whatever serves themselves best.
GULP: “We’re electing illiberal leaders democratically,” Maria Ressa, a prominent journalist and Nobel laureate from the Philippines, said during an address to the National Press Club in Washington in September. “We will know whether democracy lives or dies by the end of 2024.” (WAPO).
Does anyone else believe as I do that unacknowledged fear of climate change (given the obvious results in many countries) contributes to the desire for a “god” to keep Mother Nature in check? That’s so we don’t have to face the enormous changes necessary for our continuing survival on planet Earth.
So let me get this straight. The US is sending money and selling arms to Israel, which will be used to murder Palestinians. And the US is sending money for humanitarian aid to Palestine so that we can help the victims of Israeli attacks. The world is beyond crazy.
And on top of that there are plans to rebuild Gaza at $3billion a year for ten years, but Netyahu says the destruction/massacre will go on for many more months, senselessly destroying housing, schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, and God knows what else. 🤯
The followers of the crazy Rabbi, Meir Kahane. One of them was the nutcase "Doctor" Goldman, the mass murderer in the Cave of ther Patriarchs 30 years ago next month. The looney Rabbi founded "Kach", which was declared illegal, but which is the party that most represents the extremists, like the convicted dometic terrorist, Itamir Ben Gvir, the "Minister of Just Us" in Nitwit's "government.
The cost will be higher than the Holocaust. Jews have been unjustly vilified for centuries, now historical enemies will have cause to vilify with self-righteous indignation
A leg I think is a bigger deal then my left wrist falling on ice a couple of years back! Then I also broke my ribs falling on ice. I now have spikes on my boots for walking Bear (our dog) and snow blowing.
Hope you recover soon and have help from friends and family!
Thanks, my husband has been away since before it happened but returns tomorrow night. Feeling pretty powerful for handling it on my own. Onward and upward!
‼️ I had a PRP procedure on my leg yesterday and it is quite sore today. Propped up in recliner with cup of coffee and fireplace working! Quick recovery to you!
Without a change in leadership, Israel will cease to exist in my lifetime (I'm probably good for another 20 - 25 years). What will likely happen is first a "brain-drain" from Israel to Europe and the US, then a more generalized emigration, weakening the country to the point where external and internal pressures lead to collapse.
Under its current leadership, Hamas will cease to exist before 2025. Hamas miscalculated in that they equated the character of Israel with the character of Netanyahu. Israel has made repeated miscalculations in their treatment of the Palestinians within the areas they control (the West Bank is technically part of Jordan, and the Gaza Strip is part of Egypt). True democracies make such miscalculations much harder to make. I pray Israel, at least, can return to one soon.
'Miscalculations' is your description of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Oh, dear, that seems rather miscalculated by you, to put it 'politely'. Subscriber, Maureen Clavel, mentioned the Palestinian born, Professor Rashid Ismail Khalidi. I believe that she is reading his 'The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017', which I highly recommend to you. Professor Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University and written several other excellent books.
The word 'miscalculation' in my post is used for both the leadership of Hamas and Israel to signify "deliberate actions leading to disaster". Fern, you of all people, should be astute enough to pick that up from context. I understand you care deeply about the Palestinian people, but attacking me will not help them.
Biden is the wise man in all of this. He is and his team are pushing Bibi so hard that either the Israelis vote him out or put him in jail. Biden is thinking of democratic institutions as Zelenskyy is: for desired ends, do not go autocratic. That’s what Republicans in America and the dictators of the world do.
Well, we (US) paid for its destruction of Gaza through US weapons sales to Israel and, the money for the weapons also came from US through foreign aid.
Might as well send some money to rebuild what we destroyed.
Maybe it doesn't immediately make sense Mike S but then what must Lend-Lease Act after WWII have looked like at the time? Yes we paid for a lot (most?) of Israel's armaments but once they had been used in wholesale destruction one can focus on punishing the perpetrators (Israel) or focus on the benefits of funding rebuilding, especially in an economy with majority unemployment. As with Len-Lease, the rebuilding should go hand-in-hand with rule of law. It seems one is always best served by working toward going forward rather than looking back towards vengeance and retribution.
Or perhaps Jeri, a region steeped in what I understand as "Old Testament" vengeance, eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth. What made the New Testament new was the idea of loving one's neighbors and turning the other cheek. It was that kind of preaching which got one crucified in the past. Perhaps still in the present.
I don't agree with the conclusion about lots of pieces moving about the board.
Heather Cox Richardson's today (good economic news in the U.S. notwithstanding) instead emphasizes the ongoing paralysis by which Republicans throttle their own country.
Early on she notes how, "The Republican House has been one of the least effective in history," but of course we all know that do-nothing-ism deliberately repeats for us now the know-nothing-ism of similarly racist and hate-filled Americans of the 1850s.
The tens of thousands of immigrants spilling over the U.S. southern border? Serves the Republicans perfectly, letting them avoid any real programs to remedy that problem -- because their real agenda, their only agenda, is to keep the MAGA base riled up, sensationalized, paranoid, full of hate just as the enslavers of the U.S. South wanted poorer whites to feel way back. They hated government programs then. They hated everything about Yankee urban, immigrant, diverse culture as counter to the proto-billionaire-ism for enslavers then.
The boasts that Biden has Arab moderate states coordinating diplomatically? I'd believe it were I to see any mention of anyone checking the far-right Israeli settlers as they ever thieve more West Bank land for themselves, ever provoke Palestinians there -- guaranteeing more madness such as birthed Hamas in the first place.
"because their real agenda, their only agenda, is to keep the MAGA base riled up, sensationalized, paranoid, full of hate"
It's not their only agenda. The Republicans are being paid by the Russians to cripple the US government as much as they can. They don't "have their work cut out for them", as Heather writes, they know exactly why they *shouldn't* go to work: their job is simply to stall, hinder and obstruct. Their mission is to block support for Ukraine in every way they can, there will be no negotiations with Biden about this: "Sorry comrade, orders from Moscow". The MAGAts, and Trump foremost, are doing Putin's bidding.
You've got it down well, how these Republicans further Putin's causes.
Only caveat, I don't think Putin needs to pay them. Putin's other U.S. allies, its billionaires, its billionaire classes all pay mucho dinero to have the Maga enablers cripple U.S. government at all levels -- to leave the field open for their rapacious, predatory imitation of the Russian oligarchs in their turn having despoiled the landscape and working classes of that now-similar country.
Or, are the U.S. billionaires but extensions of the former American South, as Heather Cox Richardson traced so charmingly in "How the South Won the Civil War"?
Hm, acute analysis, Phil. I think it could be either, and it could be both. It could be that the billionaires are the evolved versions of the slave owners of the Confederacy, it could also be that they are in league with Putin because he leads a cause that they admire. It could also be both: that the billionaires and Putin simply share a common goal: to destroy democracy. Because they consider themselves superior men and, in extension, rightful rulers of the Earth. Which also means that the inferior people, the common folk, owe them obedience instead of making rules for them, and that they can do with us as they please. Which is also Putin's mindset, btw...
Let's note how "the inferior people," as you note, "the common folk," so easily get seen that way, classified that way. The crude labels rule because the social media psychopaths fix algorithms to manipulate that way -- and also because the billionaires' first crusade (immediately post-1971 Powell memo) so erased humanities from all levels of American education that today we find virtually no one with ready references to them.
A vast sludge rules now. Thanks for your good eloquence on its permutations.
I think you should have the words "evolved versions" in quotes. In truth, the Confederate slave owners are the ancestors of these billionaires but that is in no way evolution. It is perhaps "reborn" but not "evolved". And yes, they are in league with Putin in all their self-aggrandizing "glory".
Evolution is not always a pretty sight. These billionaires are a 100 times more powerful and dangerous than any slave owner ever could have hoped to be.
It goes a LONG way to explaining SO MUCH in our world! So much can put in better balance by a government of, by & for the people which provides and enforces effective rules and limits on the capitalist drive for more, evermore money.
The GOP and the Russians are very strongly intertwined. Don't forget, Putin and the GOP share a common goal: they are both hell-bent on destroying democracy. Why? They don't like a government form where common people establish laws that restrict them; that's why they prefer fascism and dictatorship: it allows them to write their own laws as it suits them, and do with the common people as they please.
Appalling to watch #118 HR delay moving on the budget, approve funds for hiring boarder personnel, reforming immigration policy & programs whilst the GOP spends funds and devotes time to visit the US southern boarder for a fear mongering "look-see" sensationalist photo op.
The GOP ego appears to be based on fear, anger, and anti-culture reactions. The Dems demonstrate and promote a hummanitarian approach to same situations with little fan-fare. What have we become?
The White House (it's capitalized, Paul) proposed immigration reform on day one, 2021.
Dems in Congress have worked with ostensibly bi-partisan Republican colleagues since then for practical solutions, but to no avail. Republicans want only chaos -- more bait for the MAGA whirling dervishes.
A computer with a search engine in it will let you follow the details. Or, if you live in a U.S. community with a local library, you can go there and ask a librarian for help.
It's ironic that the majority of people baying for an airtight southern border are probably themselves the children or grandchildren of immigrants. Whatever happened to "Give me your tired and your poor..."?
In waves, we reject our beacon of welcome and demonize those who are related in need to our own ancestors. It apparently takes only one or two generations to separate ourselves from the lessons of our past.
I just bought the Khalidi book on the history of Palestine. I’ve read histories before, but I have to say, I am so confused. Why the unquestioned support of Israel, why the allowance of colonial settlers, why arm Israel to teeth in a war they have as much as said is aimed at the genocide
of a people. I know it is complicated, but Bibi is horrendous. How did he get back in office?
Bibi got back in office the same way Trump may. You don't actually sound confused to me, Maureen. Were you referring to Rashid Ismail Khalidi's book, 'The Hundreds Years' War on Palestine'? I have admired him for many years. He is a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East and the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University.
Support of Israel followed the horror of the Holocaust and Netanyahu has now squashed the good will of much of the world after that debacle. At least my take on it.
Maureen, my gut reaction to your first question is that there was a ton of guilt (mostly from Europe and the US) following Hitler's extermination of six million Jews in the death camps. It is exacerbated by the attempts of first Britain, then the US, in trying to "fix" the "problems" in the Middle East as oil became the huge commodity that it became as the world industrialized with petroleum products as the main fuel source, and England and the US wanted access to that "black gold".
Hold on to your hats and be ready for anything because anything just might happen. We know we should have been hard at work yesterday and not be planning to start tomorrow. We can only do what we can do, better get on it now.
Like in pay through the nose for a mature one so you can enjoy it before you die.
20 years ago we were asleep at the wheel, sweet dreams of our succeses in the 60s and 70s, while our avowed enemies, like rust. never slept. We should have been hard at it 20 years ago, as, we hopefully have not learned too late, democracy requires constant use and oiling.
As in TODAY! I vow to write more postcards to Democratic voters who vote infrequently (addresses and script provided by Activate America.) Not waiting til before the November election. There's a special election February 13 to fill George Santos' seat with Democrat Rubin Gallegos. Sent for my mailing list this morning.
Love this, will save for later if OK. Lord, am I tired of the whining. I had a sign in my office as school counselor, NO WHINING. Should be applicable for adults too!!! Ye hear that MSM
Nitwityahoo is in need of termination. Permanently. Along with the Fascist Fundamentalists masquerading as "Jews" of his cabal that's masquerading as a "government."
Assume that the Supreme Court rules, in January, 2024, that a President is not Criminally, or Civilly, liable for actions taken during his time in office. Assume in March, President Biden declares by Executive Order, National Martial Law using the Insurrection Act. In May he declares all individuals either indicted, or charged, and convicted, for Insurrection subject to the death penalty. The penalty is to be performed within 15 days of this Executive Order. In July 2024, Martial Law is rescinded and the election can proceed in November.
The ‘liberal’ class doesn’t do government takeover as blatantly as the ‘conservative’ class. It prefers technocracy totalitarianism to the authoritarian kind.
Either way, your choice, as Carlin noted, is still just Coke vs. Pepsi.
Seeing that most water is, or will be, chemically contaminated, you die, probably of some cancer variant, just like the rest of us Coke or Pepsi drinkers will.
TONIGHT is a nightmare. Japan lost another airliner on the runway, the US is sinking terrorist boats, North Korea is flexing,
And 2024 is going to be a difficult year... we must hope that Ukraine, NATO and Moscow, Gaza, Lebanon, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthi's, the blessed Yazedi in Mount Sinjar, can find their way -
What’s more important, more complicated, more acute, more difficult...AND more dangerous - tonight - than the complex of issues and actions mentioned in tonight’s Letters from an American... I turn 85 this month, and well remember... the 1940s seem like yesterday. We had war everywhere, peace nowhere... and North Korea followed, then came Vietnam and Laos... with nuclear war threatened, On the Beach was playing... and people were thinking of moving to Australia or New Zealand and the children that had them were hiding under their desks for the fire drill... as SAC B-47s refueled over the Pole and visions of one way bombing with no return were the nightmare scenario .... well, tonight we can worry about Iran and the Houthi movement, Lebanon again, GAZA, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran... not Kuwait, we devoted 550,000 troops called up by GHWB for that one... but it never ignited, while this one is overdue for a major conflagration...
We are looking down the barrel... and it's hot. Should Israel pop a few more Hezbollah and Houthi boats in the Gulf... should Iran tempt our fly boys, should we fire into the hot zone with missiles... and kill and kill and kill... Hamas will be a distant memory as we mop up Iran, avenge Nadia Murad's Yazidi people in Mount Sinjar, they may be the oldest religion in north eastern Iraq, they have their own Pope... and ISIS wants to do to them what Hamas to Iran wants to do with us...
Cuba is no longer on the path... the poverty is heavy, the boom box music in Havana.. Haiti is erupting, Venezuela is a total mess, Mexico is over run, and warming and war are combined to send them... they are never going back, either, and many of lost everything...
I remember, or heard about very young, the horror of war, the losses of the young, the horror of Hitler. A respite would be nice on our very rare and beautiful pale blue dot..
Maybe it is a necessary diplomatic step, but I don't see how a so-called two state solution is either a solution or even a salve on wounds regarding the governance and sovereignty challenges in the territories that are under Israel's domination. Would some sort of superior plus inferior state situation put to rest the many grievances of the Palestinians? If not, would it provide Israel with a sense of long term security with its neighbor? Plus there is the issue of the West Bank settlements that were established after the '67 and '73 wars. Would a so-called two state solution just forget about those and the old deal about a Palestinian capital in some portion of Jerusalem, which was part of what was being negotiated back in the late '70s?
It sounds an awful lot like Quanah Parker's fairly eloquent description of how Native Americans felt about their ever shrinking territories, and then reservations. He invited his questioner to sit with him on a log in his front yard, and then asked him to move over a bit. He kept on asking his guest to move over, until he fell off the end of the log - question answered.
Then there is the longer term likelihood that the current cycle of periodic violence will recur sometime in the future. Even if every last member of Hamas is killed, the grievances and lack of equal justice under fair laws and symbols of nationhood that are personally meaningful to all, surely some children not yet born will grow up hating everything Israel stands for relative to the Palestinians. And just as there is a steady stream of new generations of Armenians, Kurds, and even some Greeks who grow up unhappy with the Turks and what they either did in the past or are doing now, going back to the days of Mustafa Kemel Ataturk, it would seem that any conceivable two state solution would guarantee the same for the Israeli and Palestinian relations. I just don't see how two states is a meaningful concept in any sentence that includes the word "solution."
I agree with this sentiment, but that means a fairly serious process of reconceiving the state of Israel and what it is about. They just aren't there yet, nor are they even on a path that gets to that. So the cycle of violence will continue.
Conservatives of all stripes in all countries have a fairly strong tendency to double down on their ideals, even when they have been proven to be impractical or even wrong in some fundamental way. And they tend to do this, no matter how much harm results to either themselves or to others. This is not to suggest that liberals are any less impractical at times, especially when it comes to issues involving money.
Gaza is not a sovereign state, any more than Belarus is, and for the same general reasons. The people of Gaza are not free to do the things that normal states do within their borders, such as raise an army for their common defense, and so on. Belarus is a client of Russia and must do whatever Moscow dictates. Probably the biggest difference there is that Belarus and Russia are mostly in agreement on things that each other cares about, so being a client state is not the odious thing for the Byelorussians that it is for the Palestinians. As for the general statement that the people of Gaza do not want Hamas in their country, it's probably true for most who live there. Most have basically accepted the notion that they are at best a semi-autonomous nation not that different from a Native American reservation. But it would be a fool's pipe dream to interpret that as meaning that they were even a little bit happy about the situation. Acceptance is not an embrace. But again, there is no point in debating this stuff. This cycle of violence is an intractable permanent condition until the people of Israel choose to end it, and they show zero inclination to do that. The next round of peace may last for several decades, but it's eventual disintegration is a certainty.
So there is no demand that Hamas end it? Hamas has been harassing and attacking Israel with rockets since 2001. Personally I would find that intolerable.
Of course it is intolerable. What two combatants do to each other in war is always intolerable. And so they continue to fight. One beats the other, and peace ensues. Sometimes it lasts because a new order emerges for the survivors and sometimes a resumption of hostilities is merely a matter of time. In the classical world, empires survived with their "client" states for centuries at a time, but as soon as the aggrieved people perceived an opportunity, they struck back. The only way to end it is to take away the perception of having grievances that are unresolved. To do that, you have to acknowledge the perceptions of the aggrieved parties as being real and figure out a mutually acceptable path forward. That typically requires both extreme generosity on the part of the victor and the creation of new institutions that include the vanquished in a way that makes them feel whole and equal partners in whatever the future has for all concerned. The aftermath of WWII in western Europe and Japan are good examples of how this can work. The integration of Native Americans in to American and Canadian society, while certainly is still a work in process, is another good example of how a workable path forward can be found.
But if the victor simply stomps on the vanquished, if there is even one surviving community, the seeds of vengeance will remain. On the current course, Hamas or something equivalent to it will reemerge every time Israel strikes it down, no matter how many people they try to kill each time. This is because a perfect ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians everywhere is not something that even Bebe Netanyahu has the stomach for. A permanent peace will only happen when Palestinians and Israelis start to see each other as countrymen with a shared destiny, and it is purely up to Israel to find a way to make that happen. But so far, it is beyond what their leadership is capable of considering, so it will continue until that or something equivalent to it on the other side changes.
"News flying in...", "pieces moving around the board... " . The world in turmoil...
And yet the puffed up, self-important folks are off on holiday for another week... another one.... letting it brew and getting their spanners ready to throw in the works. Then they will feel more important and consequential.
Israel (Netanyahu) won't see the light until we threaten or actually cut aid or really get in his face. He's a smug as Trump and. just as corrupt. The coalition to rebuild Palestine is the most encouraging news in a sea of despair.
I'm not sure I entirely agree with this BlueBootsRadio. The sins of the fathers tend to have long tails. The anti-Semitism in the west outside of Germany contributed significantly to the catastrophe of WWII and the holocaust, including the millions who died in the aftermath. This makes it very difficult for us to not be supportive of Israel, especially given the orientation of the Iranians. I think we have to support them at some level while still expressing our dismay with their approach to things. Now how much support is a really tough question to answer. I think it's whatever we think is necessary to keep the nukes in storage. Using them is the one thing we must avoid at all costs, and Israel has them.
I just want to point out I didn't say Israel, only Netanyahu. I'm for all the people on both sides not calling for the genocide of the others. It's a difficult, if not impossible, situation but one man is calling for/allowing escalating the situation. I'm focused on Netanyahu. Here's some clarity and background for my reasoning: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-malign-codependency
EXACTLY BlueRootsRadio! The coalition to rebuild, despite its superficial appearance of having fed both the destruction yet now the rebuilding. Encouraging because it employs in the rebuilding so many of those harmed and displaced in the destruction greatly amplifying the sense of ownership. We were able to somehow make that work during Lend-Lease following WWII.
That so many of the Islamic and Arab countries have called for a peaceful resolution based on a two-state solution is encouraging. Perhaps the Israelis will finally see the light, and end their persecution of Palestine, and Hamas will be out of power. A glimmer of hope in a situation that has festered for too long.
Like Putin, Netanyahu is betting that Trump will return to the White House, thus allowing him and his right-wing fanatics to destroy any hope of a two-state solution and kill many more Palestinians.
You are so right, if the bull in the China shop cheats his way back in, Putin and Netanyahu think their problems will be over. Seems that Joe’s enemies in this country give aid and comfort to our enemies abroad.
There are people in this country who air weakness they find in Biden having to do with the Willows Project, oil drilling project by ConocoPhillips located on the plain of the North Slope of Alaska in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska entirely on wetlands; attacks on the rights and lives of Black people, homosexuals, women, and other groups; on our public schools, its curriculums and books; the embrace and funding of Israel's war, which is decimating the Palestinians, etc., - without supporting Trump and the Republicans who follow him or abandoning their determination for another Biden term as president. Biden's commitment to the welfare of the American people will grow with these voices. It is our right as citizens to convey our opinions; support the principles of democracy and encourage our leaders to be the of best public servants for the people.
The bull in the China shop is America. Genocide Joe is giving aid (bombs) and comfort (no to a ceasefire) to Israel. Just to clear that up.
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/i-dont-care-what-religion-the-genocidal
“The other day Tony Blinken posted an astonishingly obnoxious tweet fretting about how “This has been an extraordinarily dangerous year for press around the world,” as though his own administration had not directly facilitated the lion’s share of the deadly attacks on journalists in 2023. The utter gall of these freaks still surprises me sometimes.”
Anybody who spews Genocide Joe is giving aid and comfort to Putin.
He's crossed over into a troll. Don't engage
I wish we had an ignore or mute option so as not to even have to see such ridiculous comments.
I've reported, Miselle.
The troll should not be reading Heather Cox Richardson's letters and should not be making his/her stupid remarks.
The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!
Anybody who doesn’t think Biden is complicit in genocide spews ignorance and/or a total denial of reality.
Edited to add - Jeri, the best thing about calling out Genocide Joe is watching you spew weak, imperialist American propaganda in response, and then watching the Team Blue lemming commenters here rush to your defense with a wave of ‘likes’. Tickles me no end.
Anyone who thinks genocide applies here has the IQ of a kumquat. If Israel remotely wanted to commit genocide, all it had to do was drop a hundred thermobaric bombs on Gaza, and poof, 2.2 million Gazans are ash, ready to be 'dozed into the Med. Instead, Israel is in the third straight month of through Gaza slogging building, with more months to come, crippling its own economy by NOT just killing every Gazan ever born with a bombing wave reminiscent of Dresden.
Some "genocide."
It's war, one Hamas brought on itself voluntarily by massacring more than 1,000 Israeli innocents. All Hamas has to do to end it is say two little words: "We surrender." But since it insists on fighting to the bitter end, IDF will oblige. The non-combatant Gazans also dying? That's because Hamas hides its fighters inside the civilian population. The IDF fights right out in the open, not shielding itself with babies. If Hamas did the same, no innocents would be dead. Of course Gazans are going to die, in great numbers; it's what happens to the human shields of psychopaths.
Have the guts to blame the right party for the death of 20,000+ Gazans, Tom: not Israel, but Hamas. Absent the Hamas pogrom, both parties would have celebrated New Year's with Champagne, not high explosives.
Tom High, "Tickles me no end." You live in a sad world.
Genocide is killing to exterminate an ethnic or religious group. You may call what Israel is doing war or even murder, but it is not genocide, and using that word gets in the way of progress. (Hamas, on the other hand, really does intend genocide, and says so publicly.) U.S. options are limited, because Israel is an ally, not a satellite, and we can try to influence, but not control her behavior.
'South Africa’s genocide case against Israel sets up a high-stakes legal battle at the UN’s top court'
'WHAT IS SOUTH AFRICA’S ARGUMENT?'
'South Africa’s 84-page filing says Israel’s actions “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part” of the Palestinians in Gaza.'
'It asks the ICJ, also known as the world court, for a series of legally binding rulings. It wants the court to declare that Israel “has breached and continues to breach its obligations under the Genocide Convention,” and to order Israel to cease hostilities in Gaza that could amount to breaches of the convention, to offer reparations, and to provide for reconstruction of what it’s destroyed in Gaza.'
'The filing argues that genocidal acts include killing Palestinians, causing serious mental and bodily harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions meant to “bring about their physical destruction as a group.” And it says statements by Israeli officials express genocidal intent.'
'South Africa argues that the court has jurisdiction because both countries are signatories of the genocide convention. The convention’s ninth article says disputes between nations over the convention can be submitted to the International Court of Justice.'
'Many South Africans, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, have compared Israel’s policies regarding Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with South Africa’s past apartheid regime of racial segregation. Israel rejects such allegations.'
'WHAT WAS ISRAEL’S RESPONSE?'
'Israel’s government swiftly rejected the genocide claim. A Foreign Ministry statement said South Africa’s case lacks a legal foundation and constitutes a “despicable and contemptuous exploitation” of the court.'
'Eylon Levy, an official in the Israeli prime minister’s office, on Tuesday accused South Africa of “giving political and legal cover” to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered Israel’s campaign. But he confirmed that Israel would send a legal team to the Hague “to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” he said.'
'An Israeli official said the country, which has a history of ignoring international tribunals, decided to defend itself for several reasons. Among them are Israel’s role in promoting the original genocide convention after the Holocaust and its belief that “we have a strong case.” He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing behind-the-scenes deliberations.'
'Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to press ahead with the war until Hamas is crushed and the more than 100 hostages still held by the militant group in Gaza are freed. He’s said that could take several more months.'
'WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?'
'South Africa’s filing includes a request for the court to urgently issue legally binding interim orders for Israel to' “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.”
https://apnews.com/article/un-court-south-africa-israel-gaza-genocide-71be2ce7f09bfee05a7cae26689ee262
BS. Genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass murder of innocents…. all are applicable.
As to ‘control her behavior’…. BS. Reagan did it in the 80s when Israel bombed refugee camps in Lebanon. You threaten to withhold military aid, and mean it. Biden doesn’t have the guts to piss off the Israeli lobby nor the MIC. Without the U.S., there is no Israel; it most certainly is a satellite, and has been in a geopolitical context since the Iranian Revolution got rid of the Shah.
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/theyre-calling-ethnic-cleansing-voluntary
And if you’d like a more detailed look at why what Israel is doing is indeed a genocide, here you go. You’re welcome.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/03/the-genocide-will-be-televised/
Obtuse comes to mind. Thinking requires seeing more thsn the brick wall in your lane. I will expect an adolescent response to verify your deep as a birdbath mode of thinking.
Words have meanings, and in order to communicate it's important to show some discipline in using them. Your loose use of the loaded word genocide puts you in the same group as Elise Stefanik. Are you comfortable in the company of such a person?
I also note that you do not comment on Hamas' clearly expressed intent to commit genocide, or its horrible, inhuman and unlawful acts on October 7th, or its continuing crimes against humanity by holding hostages and embedding its combatants in civilian areas. Nor do you mention that Hamas spent billions on weapons and tunnels to use for military purposes, but nothing to protect civilians against the Israeli response that it has said it wanted to generate. Why that double-standard? (Whether Israel should have reacted as it did is another question.)
@Jon Margolis. There it is. Thank you. Well said.
Your pal Caitlin is a lunatic. She spends thousands of words condemning Israel for, well, everything, but particularly for "slaughtering fucking children." OK, I hate slaughtered fucking children too, so I went through her backlog to see how harshly she condemned Hamas for slaughtering, you know, fucking children, as well as for baking a baby in an oven, raping women, dismembering women, butchering children, burning Israelis alive, machinegunning innocents driving by on the highway--the whole psychopathic playbook. Here's the sum total of what ol' Caitlin had to say about the Hamas pogrom on Oct. 8:
"Ultimately this is just Palestinians doing what they feel they need to do out of total desperation . . ."
Goebbels is smiling from Hell.
Get back to us when you have something remotely intelligent to say about Israel-Palestine-United States. Everything you've posted today, including "Genocide Joe," is useless unless you hate Israel, in which case it's been splendid.
You’re the lunatic. Every one of your examples of the horrors of 10/7 have been either been removed from context, totally debunked, or shown to be committed by the IDF.
Could be why many of the survivors of the music festival ‘slaughter’ are suing the Israel government.
You don’t hate slaughtered children; were that the case, you wouldn’t countenance it under any circumstances.
More Caitlin for you - https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-says-its-anti-semitic-to-invoke
“False accusations of anti-semitism are all Israel and its defenders have left. It’s the only tool left in their toolbox. Once you’ve exhausted the “But Hamas!” and “But October 7!” excuses they make for Israel’s deliberate butchery of civilians via airstrikes and siege warfare, false accusations of hating Jews is all that remains.
And it’s so sick, because it exploits a healthy impulse in those of us who oppose racism and genocide, and does so in order to defend racist acts of genocide. It causes people who care deeply about human rights to take a step back and say “Hold on, am I guilty of embodying the same hateful prejudices which led to the Holocaust?” and shuts us down and shuts us up, even as Israel rolls out its own holocaust against Palestinians.”
Excuses for deliberate butchery. That’s all you’ve got here, Shane.
Own it.
War IS deliberately butchery. If Hamas didn't want their own people butchered by the machinery of modern warfare, all it had to do was stay home in October and Israel would have done zip, zero, nada. Hamas chose badly, and the people it governs are doing the suffering for their elected leaders' psychopathy.
Own that.
P.S. I didn't call you, or her, antisemitic. Far as I know, your hatred is aimed solely at Israel's conduct of the war. I profoundly disagree with your complaints about that, but nothing you've written makes me belive you or she are antisemitic.
I recognize a troller. 😈
Anyone, like Caitlin, who has to use profanity to bolster their argument is coming from an already weakened position. It's an adolescent attempt at creating shock so they can demonstrate how "controversial" they are. Do better.
Excellent clueless comment, mother. Can I have a cookie now?
I think we can be angry with Biden's weakness and ineffectiveness re Netanyahu- our unconditional support- WITHOUT calling Biden Genocide Joe. You shoot yourself in the foot about the point with name calling.
No, I bring the Team Blue jump-circle genocide defenders out into the light so they can be recognized. Those whose party-line allegiance clouds their understanding of right and wrong, and contributes to their defending the indefensible.
He is Genocide Joe. He’s made plenty of disastrous political decisions in his career, from dissing Anita Hill and putting Thomas on the Court, to aiding and abetting mass incarceration, student debt, and endless war. Nothing comes close to aiding and abetting the slaughter in Gaza, which he could have ended with a phone call.
Wouldn’t shock me one bit if he stumbles us into a war in the Middle East. As long as we’re talking shooting feet here.
I'm upset about the way Biden gave permission to Netanyahu. This was an emotional response and what has ensued is a disaster for Palestinians and Israel. They are trying to work it out now but Netanyahu is in charge with us or without us.. Without our involvement in the ME and Ukraine, things would be a lot different. We overall have an important role to play. Biden has been too reticent in Ukraine, though essential, very good, no question. Ukraine needs help and the Euros are stepping up now. At home Biden has done tremendously well. Team Red on the other hand has devolved into something very toxic and dangerous for this country. We have to stop thinking in terms of partisanship. I wish for the old Republicans, gone now. Conservatism has been corrupted and has gone to something else.
You insist on your Team Blue categorization which in its opposition has to dig deep to make that the primary issue here and you fail. You fail because this push behind Biden is more than about Team Blue, sir. It’s about the country. As far as war in the Middle East goes we either have it go all out or it cools down. Biden/US is only one player and a weaker one than in the past in this more multi dimensional situation. Spiro Agnew’s term “Nattering Nabob of Negativism” is useful. People evolve. Or should.
Oops, sorry, Miselle has it right.
Israel, since 1948, has met antagonism with antagonism, continuously dispossessing and displacing its Palestinian opponents in the process. Has it been Israel’s goal to eliminate the Palestinian people and their culture?
Zionists, who dominate Israel’s government at present, and who have been a major force throughout its history, certainly want Palestinians either ethically cleansed or oppressed.
Amen!
Aid and comfort and lots of it! Johnson et al should be ashamed.
And visa versa.
The earlier that Netanyahu is forced from power the better. Today would not be too soon. But it will be vital that he is not replaced by someone as narrow as he is.
Agreed.
Maybe once Netanyahu is gone, cooler more competent heads will prevail. And his expiration date is probably being moved up as the investigations unfold as to how October 7th happened. Don't something like 75% of Israelis want him gone?
It's encouraging that so many Gulf states envision a two state solution sans Hamas. If Hamas is not purged, there will never be a lasting peace.
What worries me a lot is the influence and activities of the ultra extremist "settlers" and their supporters who are committing crimes in the West Bank - murder and the theft of ancestral lands. They undermine their own nation's integrity and security.
Right you are.
I worry that if Trump returns to power, the support for Netanyahu will be 100%. And that will please Putin. And Ukraine will be left by the wayside.
Exactly. Just one more reason he cannot be permitted to attain the presidency again.
We owe it to the entire world not to let Trump regain access to the Oval.
I share your concern.
I should have added......: and there will be no peace
If Ukraine is abandoned, Putin will feel empowered to attack other countries like Poland...
Jon, did you read the Counterpunch article? The writer included a link to a letter sent to the NY Times in 1948 signed by Hannah Arendt & Albert Einstein plus several more people. I went online & it was, in truth, an actual letter. Interesting reading.
And yes, Netanyahu really does the Israelis a disservice to put it mildly. Past time!
Netanyahu and his ilk have made it worse for sane Jews in America and in other countries by his actions. He too, has adopted being a “strongman”. He has ruined Israel.
Too bad the AIPAC lobby & others voices are so loud.
What he and his cohorts are doing to the Palestinian people and quite honestly, to the Israelis right now - beyond the slaughter of non-Hamas civilians is and will create more fighters for Hamas and more hatred towards Israelis AND Americans! How hard is that to understand?
I have a newsflash for you: There is no conceivable replacement for Netanyahu who will support a two-state solution. The reason for that is simple. October 7 killed the two-state solution. Any politician who supported or advocated for it would be rejected by the Israeli people. For obvious reasons, they’ve come to disbelieve in it.
But a two-state solution is the only way to attain a durable peace. Full stop. So it is necessary to work did that even when it seems impossible.
Well, I don’t wish to be rude, but I feel compelled to point out that a solution neither party wants is no solution. You’ve fallen into the error of making a picture, as Napoleon put it in a military context: seeing thing the way you want to see them, not the way they are. Instead, you might try thinking yourself into the mentality of the average Israeli and the average Palestinian. Those are the people whose attitudes are relevant. And those people have no interest in a two-state solution. What you or I or Anthony Blinken or Joe Biden may think is irrelevant. This leads me to think that the right policy going forward is one that conforms to that reality. And that means , first, putting our own preferences to the side.
Do you not believe that Israelis and Palestinians must find some way to live together? If not, what then? If so, how?
I don't think I quite agree. If Hamas truly ceases to be a power in Gaza, the biggest obstacle to the two state solution is removed. And as for Bibi, October 7 has disproved the theory that having right wing maniacs in charge can keep anyone safe.
No. Recall how the overwhelming majority of Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, cheered the October 7 pogrom. The big obstacle to a two-state solution is genocidal, river-to-sea Palestinian nationalism.
It’s all very well for American progressives to talk up a two-state solution. The resultant terrorist state wouldn’t be right next door to them. After all that has happened, why should the Israeli people take a chance like that? Well, they won’t. Even the Israeli Left has soured on the peace process and the two-state solution. Think you can talk them around? Good luck with that.
There grows in today’s pieces/letters/posts a general principle inside my head. So, the players in these negotiations -whether it’s here ,there , or anywhere have PEACE the object based upon TRUTHS...is an operative anyone who sits at this table of solution negotiating?
Killing is never the answer, never has been, never will be , the innocents play too high a price , are presented as the bargaining chip. 20,000 dead over 60% + women and children brought into our livings rooms as what ? to be informed? A high mucky muck (mm) killed along with several others ( assumably also high mm’s) a conquest ? well knowing next in command could be worse but definitely already named for ‘in the position’?
If so, our scrutiny of who’s next in line is critical. The present ‘presidents’ precedents are well known ....but is it truth , is it PEACE, is it retaliation, is it consistent in message and action. Must we always wait for somebody to prove beyond the doubt shadow, or trust they aren’t insiders playing with words,lives,hidden agendas?
Track records? and Tact? Do they speak Truth? How many words, actions, bombs, dead, destruction, or lies however cleverly structured or reconstructed does it take?
Huh?
Huh.
I’m VOTING BLUE💙💙
And of course, many Israelis, civilians and IDF soldiers, will also be killed. The killing must stop!
And if it could just be made more clear that the reason Trump is in this position of power is because he is so controlled and “owned” by Putin and Netanyahu and probably others. He does what they tell him to do and then his Magamates do what he tells them to do. He in fact is a very frightened, impotent, not very intelligent puppet.
You had me right up until the last sentence. Don't underestimate his intelligence. His baffoonery is an act. It makes him relatable to the masses of uncritical thinkers who follow him.
Wonder whether Israeli bots are supporting that happening as well as Russian bots.
Speaking of festering, why did Netanyahu SUPPORT Hamas for so many years?
https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/
Thank you for this eye-popping article that bolsters the fact that Netanyahu and his right-wingers will go to limitless lengths until they obliterate all Palestinians out of Israel. Bibi is no "friend" of ours as long as his army is handing out rifles to the settlers! He wants nothing to do with the notion of a two-state solution...or peace for that matter. This genocide of Gaza has got to stop. NO MORE ANNUAL MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL!!!
I agree Sophia. Israel has a robust military. If it were up to Netanyahu all Palestinians would be killed under the guise of going after Hamas
I agree. The only way to stop Netanyahu is to demand be step down or the US stops sending them money, like they are our belligerent child
John Schmeeckle "https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/"
FWIW: To add validity.
"𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑤𝑒 (MediaBiasFactCheck<dot>com) 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐼𝑠𝑟𝑎𝑒𝑙 𝑎𝑠 𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑡-𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑖𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡. 𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡-𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑑."
Because it is always in the best interest of a dictator to be able to point focus to an external enemy. Which, John, you already know.
Haaretz also pointed this out, as Bibi’s move to avoid a two-state solution. The settlements he encourages make it harder still.
Good point
Here's an article from Haaretz, talking about what is really going on in the Gaza campaign:
https://archive.is/RauFq
Yes, but Israel's vision and mission is for Jews as well as "followers of all religions can coexist in security and safety where their lives, possessions and rights are concerned". Quoted from Article 6 of the Hamas Charter.
So, just a 2 state solution is insufficient unless Jewish settlers in Palestine and Gaza coexist in security and safety as citizens of Palestinian, or Morocco, Syria, Lebanon. Iran, and all other theocracy based countries.
What we should be shooting for are reforms away from ancient "beliefs and practices resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance or a false conception of causation" (Websters definition of superstition). People should be able to walk to shul, mosque or church, wear veils. kippah, or mantilla or what ever cultural garment they choose in security and safety.
Sorry. The Encyclopedia Brittanica quotes the following:
“Hamas continued to reject the legitimacy of Israel, and hard-liners within the organization remained strident in their rhetoric. Months after one such hard-liner, Yahya Sinwar, became the local leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip (2017– ), he stated in a roundtable discussion with young Gazans: “Gone is the time in which Hamas discussed recognition of Israel. The discussion now is about when we will wipe out Israel.”
Folks are failing to understand the mission of Hamas. Also, the way the MSM is reporting the war is almost as if it is only Israel doing the attacking. Hamas of course is fighting back. According to Al Jazeera, their well-funded fighting force is estimated to be 35-40,000. (To put this in context, the standing army of Canada is 68,000.) Hamas has regularly been sending rockets into Israel since 2001.
Annie, if US citizens were living in Israel, and having the power, Hamas would have been stepped on and eliminated a long time ago. We,the US would not have put up with it. Eventually,what occurred on 10-7, was bound to happen. And now everyone is shocked at the results.
And what happens after all this? Another group of psychology warped people will take Hamas place. Hopefully there will be a lull of a few years. Religion and real estate have sure been the reason for a lot of deaths. Being an atheist with some real estate, I am on the target list.
Well, I’m not so sure of that. It’s not easy to tell who is a terrorist and who is not. Witness the Islamist terrorist attacks that have taken place on US soil.
And, there are actually many Jewish Americans living in Israel.
Yes! Okay, Article 6 of the Hamas Charter is not their top priority yet, but nudging them in that direction might help.
Let's ask Thaler and Sunstein on how to Nudge people on both sides to accept a better outcome.
"For Thaler and Sunstein, a nudge is “any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without [1] forbidding any options or [2] significantly changing their economic incentives."
Instead of paying Hamas terrorists to attack Israel maybe the default could be business contracts and currency transfers be between different cultures by default or suffer through a mountain of red-tape. Kind of like nudging people into 401K participation.
Say a Jew wants to build a house in Palestine. The default builders are not Jews as a Jewish builder costs X% more than other culture builders as they would be taxed X% and have more lengthy inspections and permits. Muslims would also be nudged not to use Muslim contractors. As an example.
James, Diplomacy, the act of getting obstructionists to take knee without using a 1000 pound weight to the shoulder. While being a bit slower, 900 does just fine
I’ll say it again, please everyone email the White House and tell President Biden to start a Fireside Chat reminiscent of FDR. He needs to get his message out and he is not doing so now. You can go on the White House site and repeat the request every day.
As nice as it would be, there is no current mechanism available to President Biden to do so. TV and social media are fractured to the point of uselessness. When FDR did his chats. people had radios and newspapers and that was it. Now there are 500 TV channels, streaming services, numerous social media sites and a gazillion podcasts. It's a "brave new world" and it hurts that it has contributed to the breakdown of cohesion.
MisTBlu, I get it but it’s worth a try and besides, these could be modernized to fit social media. I recognize that many of us are boomers. But there are innovative approaches that can be tried. To do nothing is a capitulation l
You are both right!
I hear what Bill is saying and agree that the administration has been too quiet. But MisTBlu's point about the fracturing of "media" is well taken.
The solution? An all hands on deck blistering campaign by Biden, Harris, Buttigieg and every major player in the administration - on TikTok!
Fire away everyday with Republican failures to help Americans. You know my list, I post it all the time. But here goes again.
"We tried to help with feeding poor kids - but Republicans blocked us!" Cut to hungry child.
"We tried to help with child care - but Republicans blocked us!" Cut to frustrated Mom.
"We tried to help with college expenses - but the Republican packed Supreme Court blocked us!" Cut to Thomas in a big RV.
"We are trying to stop Russian aggression and slaughter in Ukraine - but Republicans blocked us! Is Poland next?" Cut to photos of Ukraine (use your imagination).
"We have asked Congress to come together and help us address the border problem, but Republicans have blocked us!" Cut to the desperate immigrants in a food line.
"We are fighting to make it easier and safer for ALL Americans to vote - but Republicans are making it harder!" Cut to a long line of voters waiting, waiting, waiting.
"We believe a woman's reproductive decisions should be hers - hers alone. But Republicans want to tell her what to do with her body!" Cut to a group of old white men facing off with a diverse group of young women.
Here's the thing. The voters that we desperately need and who are becoming disillusioned - don't watch TV news. They watch their phones - all day long. If something is on TikTok and is provocative it will become viral and be spread around the rest of the media landscape. We need to attack. There certainly is enough ammunition. Find people where they live - it's on their phones.
Good idea about Tic Tock. Pete is there. Usually he talks about policy. Great idea about spreading the message.
Friendly correction: Pete Buttigieg doesn't have a TikTok account. No member of the administration does as it has been banned by the White House. He is often featured in TikTok posts. He does have an Instagram account.
He could use Instagram. Whatever would become viral enough - to be reposted on other apps and sites.
Yes yes and yes!! And President Biden recently was in Hollywood with many celebrities for campaign donations. Have them speak out too. The Jan 6th committee had great sound bites professionally put together. Simple., clear and short.
Do celebrity endorsements have any effect anymore? That said, Taylor Swift urging her fans to register to vote had a huge effect in every city where she performed. Alas, there's only one Taylor Swift.
Because of the Chinese aspect of Tic Tok, I do not partake; however, I have found that good old Reels on Instagram can also pack a punch! Great Plan Bill!
Replying to myself to alert you to this just out from Simon Rosenberg. If you don't get his substack, I highly recommend it!
https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/new-biden-democracy-ad-lets-watch
Here is the ad we have been hoping for.
https://youtu.be/opICiMkVhc4
Those videos exist on social media as that landscape is so fractured, their reach is limited.
The White House, President Biden, Vice President Harris and various members of the cabinet are active on social media. This morning I woke up thinking that the problem isn't the message but the messenger. As effective as Biden has been as an administrator, it's a sad fact that he's not a good communicator. Also, the donation videos that he makes only serve to show how old he is.
Younger people can promote the successes of the Biden-Harris administration IF they have a critical mass of followers who can then pass along their messages. Politics Girl and Victor Shu show up in my feeds but I don't know how many people they reach across their platforms.
Fox has been creative in their take over of our communications system. Surely we can out maneuver Rupert in some fashion.
Did you notice the story about Hannity moving to Florida from New York?
Rejoice New Yorkers. Perhaps Fox News, WSJ and the New York Post will also relocate to red states.
Can't wait for the next defamation suit against FOX since this is the biggie $$$$ wise.
All should move to HELL, along with Rupert and crews of vipers. Of course, DeSatan has made Florida hell, just like the evil trio in Texas has done that to us.
I accidentally watch a couple of minutes of Fox like when I go to get my car serviced, etc. All they do is whine and make fun of Democrats. Maybe they do more, but I'm not willing to watch any more. I've blocked all of Murdoch's enterprises from my news feed.
But yes, they should move to HELL Jeri.
Please read Joyce Vance piece from last night. It was eye opening.
Here is a link. https://open.substack.com/pub/joycevance/p/a-warning
It does seem that most of us on this thread are oldies. I do wonder if there are any number of "youngsters" here.
Harvey, there are a few and are acknowledged (celebrated!), tho one such insightful commenter has not weighed in here for sometime—miss his contributions. Hope all is OK & living his best life offline. I also treasure the wisdom and experience of those with more trips ‘round the sun than I.
I get a notification from Facebook almost daily that the President is “live”. I think he is trying to do the social media equivalent of the fireside chat. I am perplexed that the message is not getting out.
WH fb page is dominated by the anti Biden pro TFG rants
The joys of free speech ;-(
Have written once to both Biden and Harris. Will start a daily email to them.
Yes, and people actually listened. Now that social media has taken over, we are at the whims of people like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg where money is the only driving factor. I just read the today's Civil Discourse post by Joyce Vance about how young people learn about our world. Someday very soon they will inherit all of this. The question is, how do we engage them to understand the evil that lives in the hearts of some of these people? Their future and our democracy depends on getting through to them!
It helps to start them young. I took my son (now 43) to vote with me every time and he used to listen to NPR with me when I picked him up from school. It was what was on. Today he’s politically engaged.
I agree and now listen to interesting stuff my son streams while on the treadmill. Also, talk with former exchange student who bring interesting perspective from other parts of the world. The Vance piece was very concerning.
I remember having just the three networks. Educational tv from our university was a big deal and hard to access. The three networks presented the same facts. Today companies like Fox just flat out lie. Fox is a fact free zone. Why is that happening? MONEY! An Australian carpetbagger is helping tear apart the US so he can make money. But he has a gullible audience.
True. Everyone operates within their own microcosm, as we do to a certain extent here. I doubt Fox would agree to simulcast with MSNBC even if ad revenue was guaranteed. The idea may appeal to old folks but would bypass huge swathes of would be voters.
This! Read Joyce Vance’s substack today as she addresses this very subject. My grandchildren (13 and 8) here in the UK are better informed than many Americans. I talk to them about politics and world events because it’s so important
Joyce Vance on not assuming that people know about current events when their social media algorithms do not include news about current events, so do our part to talk about it!
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/a-warning
Thanks for providing the link Ellie. My daughter in 29 and clueless about national and world events. If I'm honest even local events.
Ellie, thank you for this. Any of us who do the postcards and/or letters to voters (that I started doing thanks to you) need to know this, and also, when that time comes, WHAT to write when the voter might be totally ignorant? I am amazed that a 29 year old would not know who Rudy is!
IMHO the Democrats need to give more concise message than "saving democracy" because after reading this, I am not confident that all voters grasp what that means. I mean that seriously: if they don't care about voting or don't think their votes matter, are they even concerned that that right might be taken away?
It was excellent. One of the comments mentioned Brexit, and the fact that many didn't know what they were voting for, until it happened.
Another chump-type boondoggle
Farage's masterpiece.
Brexit was encouraged by Russia in order to divide and weaken the UK. I recall hearing citizens of the UK say at the time of this vote, “well, I voted for Brexit, but I didn’t really think it was going to pass.”
Sad.
I try, one will engage, the other tunes out.
Lee, maybe your grandchildren should be educating young voters in the U.S.!
Younger persons probably don't even have cable anymore. I'm nearly 50, and we have over the air TV, but never watch unless the Olympics are on NBC. We do stream. Perhaps the Whitehouse needs to post their Fireside Chats on YouTube! Google would be happy to have them for the advertising revenue it would raise.
Maybe he should take a page from both Politics Girl and Beau of the Fifth Column. "President Joe" on TikTok and "Joe of the Oval Office" on YouTube.
Love Politics Girl!, Ally House!
Yes! YouTube! Perfect! That way nearly everyone has access and could be forewarned to watch live or told afterwards and still watch! Each one should be available on YouTube at least until the next one.
No reason to take any of them down! It is not like Google doesn't have the storage for YouTube videos.
Good! Archived.
With my tired eyes, I misread streaming services as screaming services (like some old friends try to point me to).
Indeed that problem is too many voices. An announcement of a major address from the WH should get enough ears - maybe.
A single major address would get network and some cable coverage but the fireside chats proposed by the OP would be relegated to C-Span with links on social media. It's a shame, really.
Maybe Joe should follow Trump’s lead and just start saying crazy things and lie about virtually everything. To be sure I am being sarcastic but sadly it would likely work. The press continues to publish at least 10 articles about Trump to anything about Biden.
Biden's every word is examined for signs of senility. If he says anything approaching "crazy" it's put down to that. It's not just that Trump makes for clickable content, it's that he has a strategy to "earn" free media. In 2016 he billions worth of free media. I didn't bother to look for 2020 but we know that he's running the same playbook in 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/upshot/measuring-donald-trumps-mammoth-advantage-in-free-media.html?unlocked_article_code=1.LE0.1HzB.22Tq4USF2kJS&hpgrp=ar-abar&smid=url-share
Good point
Fireside Substack! :-) Newsletters and podcasts. How about multiple posts a week, with themes (I love themes). For example: Mondays are for climate; Wednesdays for economy; Saturdays about children (education, safety, the future etc); and Sunday mini-State of the Union updates.
I agree, Bill, thanks for the reminders — and would add that these emails should include that the issues of these chats need to be capsulized for social media, in memes and "Stories" for dissemination on sites like FB, IG, (holding my nose - X), TikTok, etc. Not that the Biden/Harris team doesn't know that part, but it's important to emphasize when we write.
I will thank you.
yes and 2 words for his campaign - Biden Delivers. Simple, easy, makes people question and think.
Agreed, but maybe it should be VP Harris. I was up in the New England area and the saturation of ads for the primaries was about President Biden’s age and the border. Candidate Haley suggest having a coherency test and then failed to know that slavery was the reason for the Civil War.
As my friend suggested, shut down the border for just two days will show folks we can do it. I will add that we need to talk about it. Fox News is sure doing so.
Economy is back, the market is back, jobs are flowing, we just need to talk about the border. Fireside chat or a White House Substack.
Actually, I think we need to stop talking about the border. We need to stop letting republicans determine the subjects of our national conversation. We (by we, I mean the media) need to be talking about the issues important to us: health care, reproductive rights, voting rights, Ukraine, Israel and diplomacy in general etc etc.
In all due respect, every station is showing the crowds walking in, including MS-NBC and CNN. City mayors saying they are at their breaking point. Bus refusals. I volunteer for Table of Hope and there is not enough food to offer at times. As a lifetime dem, I'm concerned about the border and the safety of these people. I also volunteer at Jersey Battered Women Services. They too are hispanics with kids that don't speak English since they just came in.
And it appears no matter how much we show data, the republicans will spin the high cost of food, health care, reproductive rights, voting rights. I cannot write how many stupid things I have heard from people over the years managing a wire shop. And it is never from a respectable paper, it is from Fox and others showing images, along with TV political Ads.
We will not know the correct answer to all this, but we'll find out in Nov.
Take care, be safe.
That’s my point, exactly. Every station is showing it, because we’ve allowed republicans to define the conversation. We could still focus on the border, but show the compassionate side, like you just did.
Share📣 from the conservative, Libertarian Cato Institute
“ New Data Show Migrants Were More Likely to Be Released by Trump Than Biden”
https://www.cato.org/blog/new-data-show-migrants-were-more-likely-be-released-trump-biden
See link to the last White House immigration proposal in January of 2021. It is soft on real control of the border. Focus is on training, more court resources. There has been no proposal since then.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/fact-sheet-president-biden-sends-immigration-bill-to-congress-as-part-of-his-commitment-to-modernize-our-immigration-system/
Let’s focus on what we do now. December saw around 300,000 illegal border crossings- around the same number of people that live in Cincinnati. Certainly many, many asylum seekers were released. The border is overwhelmed.
Kathy - "Share📣 from the conservative, Libertarian Cato Institute"
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded as the Charles Koch Foundation in 1974 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch.
"𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝑤𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑡𝑜 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑅𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡-𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐵𝑖𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑. 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑡𝑜’𝑠 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑒𝑠. 𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑅𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡-𝐶𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒. 𝑊𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒." --MediaBiasFactCheck<dot>com
Thanks
I did! Thanks for the idea.
Bill, you inspired me to write to the President yesterday about the fireside chat idea. (And several more topics that were on my mind). I had been thinking about writing for a while; your suggestion, your plea, caused me to take action. Thank you.
No thank you. We must begin speaking up.
Bill,
I have noticed a decrease in public exposure for Biden. Which, of course, comes at exactly the wrong time.
Bill, I too have called for a fireside chat alla FDR. The GOP's antics are so transparent that to fall for it suggests gullibility verging on stupidity. It does seem that the Republican's nonsense is aimed at their base who they know will believe any BS. The question is why? Stupidity? Confirmation bias? BS they need to hear to justify their fears and hatred.
Agree. Remember Nuyte’s “Contract with America” sounded good until you opened the contract. Today the border is totally broken but our side says no it isn’t. But we can possibly lose on this one issue alone. If you didn’t know it by now, people are angry. Common sense would dictate closing as I said before but received criticism for it. Such is politics. I don’t know why mayors from cities in which buses loaded with illegals (and they are illegal, btw), why the buses were never confiscated. If they were, bus companies would think twice about using them.
Bill, the Biden Team opens it 2024 campaign messaging on Friday, January 6. I am sure you can predict the Topic.
The J6 campaign speech will be at ... wait for it: ...Valley Forge.
More than sitting near a Fireside 🔥 was needed at Valley Forge.
Great idea, Bill. It can be like Nixon and his Checkers speech. Biden and one of his rescue dogs, by the fireplace, with the growling of the dog and the shredding of human flesh with the dog biting the secret service guys. Talk about great television. Millions of hits on YouTube. Tucker Carlson would have a Stroke.
The WH fb page is nothing more than rants by the pro tRump crowd
Thank you for this suggestion and the site. I read it yesterday. Done and dusted.
'Lots of pieces moving around the board on this second day of January 2024.' (Letter)
Is that not prose poetry at this time of what, uncertainty mixed with woe? Today's letter
is full of events, questions and threats. Our presidential election is crucial and not alone
in its importance.
The following is a long excerpt by Ishaan Tharoor with Mikhail Klimentov, in Washington Post's newsletter, Today's WorldView, as appears today.
'More than 60 countries, with some 4 billion people, are set to stage national elections in 2024. That means roughly half the planet could go to the polls in what could be the greatest rolling spectacle of democracy in human history.'
'We might not see this number of elections matched until 2048, when the world’s political landscape could look considerably different. The “third wave” of democracy — the steady global expansion of democratic governments that surged through the end of the Cold War — has ebbed over the past decade. Elections are still staged, but the underlying political culture seems to be shifting worldwide.'
'In society after society, illiberal values and politicians who embrace them are gaining ground. Numerous elected governments seem bent on undermining core tenets of the democratic project, from the freedom of the press to the independence of institutions such as the judiciary to the ability of opposition parties to fairly compete against the ruling establishment.'
'According to Freedom House, a Washington think tank that monitors the health of democracies, global freedom declined for the 17th consecutive year in 2023. The organization’s annual report cites a wave of coups that ousted elected leaders in Africa and increasing threats to the rights of journalists in dozens of countries. Separately, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, a Sweden-based intergovernmental watchdog, said in its annual report that “across every region of the world, democracy has continued to contract” and that 2022 marked a sixth consecutive year in which more countries experienced net democratic declines than improvements, per its data. It projects that 2023 will be no better.'
'The news this year could be more drastic still. The outcomes of pivotal elections in the United States — the world’s oldest democracy — and India — the world’s largest — may underscore a deepening public appetite for norm-bending strongman rule. In their shadow, elections from Mexico to the European Union to Bangladesh may each offer their own showcase of the growing traction of nationalist, authoritarian politics. “We’re electing illiberal leaders democratically,” Maria Ressa, a prominent journalist and Nobel laureate from the Philippines, said during an address to the National Press Club in Washington in September. “We will know whether democracy lives or dies by the end of 2024.” (WAPO)
I think that in some highly visible way there needs to be a more focused national conversation of what voting means; why we do, why it is necessary to our way of life, and what it means to our society and the lives of individuals if we muck it up. If each and every one of us does not make a responsible effort to get it right, who will? With a share of power comes a share of responsibility. It just checking off boxes.
Perhaps we should teach civics and history to our children. I have a big fat resentment about all the stuff I was taught in history class in K-12. You know like the Pilgrims partying with the Indians at Thanksgiving.
We have a duty to be accurate. My elementary school history was mostly myth, either heavily slanted or just plain made up, I was taught that Columbus was the very first person to realize the earth is round, Washington and the cherry tree, the "first Thanksgiving" which was more BS than true, how Pocahontas rescued John Smith from certain death, and American Exceptionalism in all things. The one thing that I was taught that stuck was the egalitarian philosophy of Lincoln. Lincoln the man was oversimplified of course, and there were one or two apocryphal quotations, but Lincoln came the closest, in my opinion, to articulating and applying the core principles of a just democracy for others to follow. That was a presented in a focused way because of the "Lincoln's Birthday", which has since been submerged into socially meaningless "President's Day".
As far as civics, we got some, but not nearly enough for a meaningful learners permit for driving the country.
JL,
Voting is what I do to put in place a "representative" who then collects "lobby" payments from special interests to represent that lobby.
Just to provide a clear definition of what voting does in 'Murca.
That is not a serviceable definition of "voting" in anything worthy of being called a "republic". That is the definition of "political corruption". That's exactly why a serious reckoning and conversation waaaaay overdue. The "Gilded Age" was also marked by plutocratic corruption, and we beat some of the worst of it back. It's our democracy to lose if we remain indifferent.
The cheaters have been busy stacking the deck, time’s a wasting
When I moan about how one orange bufoon can cause so much chaos I am reminded of the Koch Bros plan beginning in the 70's I think. I feel like we were asleep at the wheel. I certainly was until I read Dark Money by Jane Mayer. We are trying to fight a group that has been actively moving their ball closer to their goals for years.
I missed them, but I caught up with Nixon and Reagan, who made it clear what his goal was, in spite of the "good ole boys" blather to the devoted, including Reagan Dems. BTW, Koch goal is to amend the constitution and they have made headway getting states on board. Scary, it may need some amendments, but God help us if Charles is in control.
Jeri, I think it will be crucial that we not see "them" as the "Cheaters" because "they" are the capitalists who simply seek to make ever more money while we buy what they are selling whether it be cars, RVs, boats, news, easily-ordered and promptly-delivered products on-line, sleek and powerful phones, computers & watches or the very computer searches and and underlying algorithms which drive them (and us) toward what we come to see as "facts." To a very real extent, "they" are us! We need to ask ourselves how we can best harness us toward a more coherent future?
Thanks for illuminating some other pieces moving Fern. "Lots of pieces moving around the board on this second day of January 2024."
D4N, a dear friend said to me recently that he, '...will worry less and drink more.' I thought of that line as I read the piece by Ishaan Tharoor about the elections around the world. My question to myself is drink what? I'll think about that.
Fern,
I highly recommend Johnnie Walker Red. The drink of choice in trailer parks all over the USA!
Naw, a good Irish whiskey.
You would, in lacking of care and conscience.
Fern, it might be a stretch for me to be around in 2048, i would be 93 years old then. However, my Mother did live to be 90 years old.
John, stretching is good; go for it!
Thank you, FERN.
She’s right, of course. It’s Pilates that keeps me going to 90 (and beyond?).
My money's on you!
My Grandma Salome, at 100, was still leading a parade of nursing home residents with walkers around the halls every morning! But still voting for whomever her priest told her to vote for.
P.S. Yes, Salome was Catholic. Her father, however, wore a yarmulke, and had the Star of David on his headstone. We all found out at her 100th birthday party that it wasn't just because "great grandpa loved beanies."
Pope Francis May stretch Catholicism a bit more and even get the Curia in check. Watching and waiting.
Love Pope Saint Francis!
Thanks, Fern. The phrase "underscore a deepening public appetite for norm-bending strongman rule" is both accurate and awful.
It was hard to "like" your post Fern, however, it seems critical that we see and understand this trend as having sources and contributors. I am struck by the comparison of the contents of earlier posts in this Comment section with yours and led pretty directly to the conclusion that the "Balkanization" or splintering of our information sources, especially those driven by the algorithms of capitalism ("more clicks means more money"). This splintering has led away from any common body of facts and to increasingly splintered perceptions of the world around us and others who don't look, act, or talk like us making it much easier for authoritarians to spew whatever "facts," "factoids," or innuendos serve their pitch best. Then their adherents can be fed whatever continues to serve their world view, which is to say whatever serves themselves best.
Sometimes overstating and intellectualizing your point comes up as incomprehensible, if you know what I mean and understand that you may not. Cheers!
Yeah, Fern, I often use too many words in trying to make a point. I'll work on slimming it down.
Simple and clear is an uncomplicated way of reaching your goal.
GULP: “We’re electing illiberal leaders democratically,” Maria Ressa, a prominent journalist and Nobel laureate from the Philippines, said during an address to the National Press Club in Washington in September. “We will know whether democracy lives or dies by the end of 2024.” (WAPO).
Does anyone else believe as I do that unacknowledged fear of climate change (given the obvious results in many countries) contributes to the desire for a “god” to keep Mother Nature in check? That’s so we don’t have to face the enormous changes necessary for our continuing survival on planet Earth.
So let me get this straight. The US is sending money and selling arms to Israel, which will be used to murder Palestinians. And the US is sending money for humanitarian aid to Palestine so that we can help the victims of Israeli attacks. The world is beyond crazy.
And on top of that there are plans to rebuild Gaza at $3billion a year for ten years, but Netyahu says the destruction/massacre will go on for many more months, senselessly destroying housing, schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, and God knows what else. 🤯
Bibi and his right wing must go. As I understand it the current administration has a 15% approval rate.
Yet they voted the bastards in. Half a million illegal settlers in the West Bank...
All Fundamentalist Americans. Kach Krazies
Please elaborate. I've no knowledge of this regarding Fundamentalist Americans settling the West Bank. Speaking in good faith and not sarcastically!
The followers of the crazy Rabbi, Meir Kahane. One of them was the nutcase "Doctor" Goldman, the mass murderer in the Cave of ther Patriarchs 30 years ago next month. The looney Rabbi founded "Kach", which was declared illegal, but which is the party that most represents the extremists, like the convicted dometic terrorist, Itamir Ben Gvir, the "Minister of Just Us" in Nitwit's "government.
Just like "they" voted the GOP into control of Congress.
True.
Israel's war has cost the Palestinians mortally, the US monetarily and Biden votes, particularly, by young voters, and morally, Morally!, what's that?
What will the cost be to Israel?
The cost will be higher than the Holocaust. Jews have been unjustly vilified for centuries, now historical enemies will have cause to vilify with self-righteous indignation
That is not a fair statement.
Well said Fern. It’s nice being up with the big kids, maybe breaking my leg and not being able to sleep has an upside!
A leg I think is a bigger deal then my left wrist falling on ice a couple of years back! Then I also broke my ribs falling on ice. I now have spikes on my boots for walking Bear (our dog) and snow blowing.
Hope you recover soon and have help from friends and family!
Time to move to a warmer clime, Matt.
Ouch!
Gail, that's not good news concerning your leg. I hope your healing is easy and that a full recovery is in store. (I know, not soon enough!)
Thanks, my husband has been away since before it happened but returns tomorrow night. Feeling pretty powerful for handling it on my own. Onward and upward!
‼️ I had a PRP procedure on my leg yesterday and it is quite sore today. Propped up in recliner with cup of coffee and fireplace working! Quick recovery to you!
Thank you so much MLM! Hope you have a speedy recovery!❤️🩹
Gail, hoping that you heal quickly.
Thanks, Mary!
Yikes!! Heal quickly. I hope it is not the only upside of your misadventure.
Thanks Ally. The EMTs were wonderful, but I was so embarrassed! At my request they arrived with no sirens to wake the neighbors lol.
Without a change in leadership, Israel will cease to exist in my lifetime (I'm probably good for another 20 - 25 years). What will likely happen is first a "brain-drain" from Israel to Europe and the US, then a more generalized emigration, weakening the country to the point where external and internal pressures lead to collapse.
Under its current leadership, Hamas will cease to exist before 2025. Hamas miscalculated in that they equated the character of Israel with the character of Netanyahu. Israel has made repeated miscalculations in their treatment of the Palestinians within the areas they control (the West Bank is technically part of Jordan, and the Gaza Strip is part of Egypt). True democracies make such miscalculations much harder to make. I pray Israel, at least, can return to one soon.
'Miscalculations' is your description of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Oh, dear, that seems rather miscalculated by you, to put it 'politely'. Subscriber, Maureen Clavel, mentioned the Palestinian born, Professor Rashid Ismail Khalidi. I believe that she is reading his 'The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017', which I highly recommend to you. Professor Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University and written several other excellent books.
The word 'miscalculation' in my post is used for both the leadership of Hamas and Israel to signify "deliberate actions leading to disaster". Fern, you of all people, should be astute enough to pick that up from context. I understand you care deeply about the Palestinian people, but attacking me will not help them.
Biden is the wise man in all of this. He is and his team are pushing Bibi so hard that either the Israelis vote him out or put him in jail. Biden is thinking of democratic institutions as Zelenskyy is: for desired ends, do not go autocratic. That’s what Republicans in America and the dictators of the world do.
Israel is destroying Gaza but we the US taxpayer will pay for rebuilding it is there something wrong with this picture.
Well, we (US) paid for its destruction of Gaza through US weapons sales to Israel and, the money for the weapons also came from US through foreign aid.
Might as well send some money to rebuild what we destroyed.
Makes all the sense yea? Maybe not.
Doh!
Maybe it doesn't immediately make sense Mike S but then what must Lend-Lease Act after WWII have looked like at the time? Yes we paid for a lot (most?) of Israel's armaments but once they had been used in wholesale destruction one can focus on punishing the perpetrators (Israel) or focus on the benefits of funding rebuilding, especially in an economy with majority unemployment. As with Len-Lease, the rebuilding should go hand-in-hand with rule of law. It seems one is always best served by working toward going forward rather than looking back towards vengeance and retribution.
Have you not considered Israel's role in the impoverishment of the Palestinians, JohnM?
$3 billion a year won't even make a dent. And all those prosthetics for amputated limbs and therapy of every kind. It makes no sense at all.
The Middle East has been for all of my long life. Playground bullies
Or perhaps Jeri, a region steeped in what I understand as "Old Testament" vengeance, eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth. What made the New Testament new was the idea of loving one's neighbors and turning the other cheek. It was that kind of preaching which got one crucified in the past. Perhaps still in the present.
It's called "playing both ends against the middle" or "let's you and him fight". Kids do it to their parents all the time.
Bingo! You win the prize!
I don't agree with the conclusion about lots of pieces moving about the board.
Heather Cox Richardson's today (good economic news in the U.S. notwithstanding) instead emphasizes the ongoing paralysis by which Republicans throttle their own country.
Early on she notes how, "The Republican House has been one of the least effective in history," but of course we all know that do-nothing-ism deliberately repeats for us now the know-nothing-ism of similarly racist and hate-filled Americans of the 1850s.
The tens of thousands of immigrants spilling over the U.S. southern border? Serves the Republicans perfectly, letting them avoid any real programs to remedy that problem -- because their real agenda, their only agenda, is to keep the MAGA base riled up, sensationalized, paranoid, full of hate just as the enslavers of the U.S. South wanted poorer whites to feel way back. They hated government programs then. They hated everything about Yankee urban, immigrant, diverse culture as counter to the proto-billionaire-ism for enslavers then.
The boasts that Biden has Arab moderate states coordinating diplomatically? I'd believe it were I to see any mention of anyone checking the far-right Israeli settlers as they ever thieve more West Bank land for themselves, ever provoke Palestinians there -- guaranteeing more madness such as birthed Hamas in the first place.
"because their real agenda, their only agenda, is to keep the MAGA base riled up, sensationalized, paranoid, full of hate"
It's not their only agenda. The Republicans are being paid by the Russians to cripple the US government as much as they can. They don't "have their work cut out for them", as Heather writes, they know exactly why they *shouldn't* go to work: their job is simply to stall, hinder and obstruct. Their mission is to block support for Ukraine in every way they can, there will be no negotiations with Biden about this: "Sorry comrade, orders from Moscow". The MAGAts, and Trump foremost, are doing Putin's bidding.
Very good, Dutch.
You've got it down well, how these Republicans further Putin's causes.
Only caveat, I don't think Putin needs to pay them. Putin's other U.S. allies, its billionaires, its billionaire classes all pay mucho dinero to have the Maga enablers cripple U.S. government at all levels -- to leave the field open for their rapacious, predatory imitation of the Russian oligarchs in their turn having despoiled the landscape and working classes of that now-similar country.
Or, are the U.S. billionaires but extensions of the former American South, as Heather Cox Richardson traced so charmingly in "How the South Won the Civil War"?
Hm, acute analysis, Phil. I think it could be either, and it could be both. It could be that the billionaires are the evolved versions of the slave owners of the Confederacy, it could also be that they are in league with Putin because he leads a cause that they admire. It could also be both: that the billionaires and Putin simply share a common goal: to destroy democracy. Because they consider themselves superior men and, in extension, rightful rulers of the Earth. Which also means that the inferior people, the common folk, owe them obedience instead of making rules for them, and that they can do with us as they please. Which is also Putin's mindset, btw...
Amen, Dutch.
Let's add another angle.
Let's note how "the inferior people," as you note, "the common folk," so easily get seen that way, classified that way. The crude labels rule because the social media psychopaths fix algorithms to manipulate that way -- and also because the billionaires' first crusade (immediately post-1971 Powell memo) so erased humanities from all levels of American education that today we find virtually no one with ready references to them.
A vast sludge rules now. Thanks for your good eloquence on its permutations.
That *is* really it, huh? Education... It is the lifeblood of civilization, without it, the "sludge rules", as you say.
I think you should have the words "evolved versions" in quotes. In truth, the Confederate slave owners are the ancestors of these billionaires but that is in no way evolution. It is perhaps "reborn" but not "evolved". And yes, they are in league with Putin in all their self-aggrandizing "glory".
Evolution is not always a pretty sight. These billionaires are a 100 times more powerful and dangerous than any slave owner ever could have hoped to be.
Agreed.
Aye, Dutch Mike and Phil, Follow The Money!
It goes a LONG way to explaining SO MUCH in our world! So much can put in better balance by a government of, by & for the people which provides and enforces effective rules and limits on the capitalist drive for more, evermore money.
Hear, hear!
Chump the puppet master ruling from the sidelines.
Exactly.
Yes, and to further weaken the USA by maintaining the divide
Yep. Divided people are angry people...
How are they being paid? Serious question. I often wonder what the manner of payment is. Teach me please.
The GOP and the Russians are very strongly intertwined. Don't forget, Putin and the GOP share a common goal: they are both hell-bent on destroying democracy. Why? They don't like a government form where common people establish laws that restrict them; that's why they prefer fascism and dictatorship: it allows them to write their own laws as it suits them, and do with the common people as they please.
There's a lot of info here:
https://thedemlabs.org/2023/01/17/george-santos-andrew-intrater-columbus-nova-putin-helps-kevin-mccarthy-republicans/
Much of the money flows via real estate:
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/real-estate/russian-money-flows-us-real-estate-rcna17723
And via the NRA, which is a big GOP donor and enabler:
https://americanjournalnews.com/nra-russian-funding-ron-wyden/
Repubs and Moscow Mitch cover rich Russian *ss:
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republican-sanctions-russia-780221/
This is somewhat older, but not less relevant:
https://democracyguardian.com/trump-pence-and-the-entire-gop-deals-with-russian-oligarchs-bc7d9f312fd4
Appalling to watch #118 HR delay moving on the budget, approve funds for hiring boarder personnel, reforming immigration policy & programs whilst the GOP spends funds and devotes time to visit the US southern boarder for a fear mongering "look-see" sensationalist photo op.
The GOP ego appears to be based on fear, anger, and anti-culture reactions. The Dems demonstrate and promote a hummanitarian approach to same situations with little fan-fare. What have we become?
A mini-oligarch Russia, Margaret.
Regarding immigration, when you say real programs, to what are you referring ? What has the white house proposed?
The White House (it's capitalized, Paul) proposed immigration reform on day one, 2021.
Dems in Congress have worked with ostensibly bi-partisan Republican colleagues since then for practical solutions, but to no avail. Republicans want only chaos -- more bait for the MAGA whirling dervishes.
A computer with a search engine in it will let you follow the details. Or, if you live in a U.S. community with a local library, you can go there and ask a librarian for help.
I’m sorry you feel it necessary to be condescending Phil. The 2021 proposal is soft and likely doesn’t slow asylum flow.
Despite what you think, most of my conservative friends don’t want chaos, but are looking for order. Enjoy your evening.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/fact-sheet-president-biden-sends-immigration-bill-to-congress-as-part-of-his-commitment-to-modernize-our-immigration-system/
There’s so much going on. I appreciate the concise and extremely clear summary. No wonder my head felt like it was on a swivel.
Gig Harbor. Some very fine older wooden boats live there. Love the Salish Sea.
It's ironic that the majority of people baying for an airtight southern border are probably themselves the children or grandchildren of immigrants. Whatever happened to "Give me your tired and your poor..."?
In waves, we reject our beacon of welcome and demonize those who are related in need to our own ancestors. It apparently takes only one or two generations to separate ourselves from the lessons of our past.
This is why history is so important.
Is it still written on the Statue of Liberty?
That ship has sailed...
I just bought the Khalidi book on the history of Palestine. I’ve read histories before, but I have to say, I am so confused. Why the unquestioned support of Israel, why the allowance of colonial settlers, why arm Israel to teeth in a war they have as much as said is aimed at the genocide
of a people. I know it is complicated, but Bibi is horrendous. How did he get back in office?
Bibi got back in office the same way Trump may. You don't actually sound confused to me, Maureen. Were you referring to Rashid Ismail Khalidi's book, 'The Hundreds Years' War on Palestine'? I have admired him for many years. He is a Palestinian-American historian of the Middle East and the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University.
Salud!
Support of Israel followed the horror of the Holocaust and Netanyahu has now squashed the good will of much of the world after that debacle. At least my take on it.
Maureen, my gut reaction to your first question is that there was a ton of guilt (mostly from Europe and the US) following Hitler's extermination of six million Jews in the death camps. It is exacerbated by the attempts of first Britain, then the US, in trying to "fix" the "problems" in the Middle East as oil became the huge commodity that it became as the world industrialized with petroleum products as the main fuel source, and England and the US wanted access to that "black gold".
Right wing Zionists.
Hold on to your hats and be ready for anything because anything just might happen. We know we should have been hard at work yesterday and not be planning to start tomorrow. We can only do what we can do, better get on it now.
I'm hoping it is like what I have heard about planting trees. The best time is 20 years ago, the next best time is today.
Like in pay through the nose for a mature one so you can enjoy it before you die.
20 years ago we were asleep at the wheel, sweet dreams of our succeses in the 60s and 70s, while our avowed enemies, like rust. never slept. We should have been hard at it 20 years ago, as, we hopefully have not learned too late, democracy requires constant use and oiling.
Ransom Rideout
"do what we can do, better get on it now."
As in TODAY! I vow to write more postcards to Democratic voters who vote infrequently (addresses and script provided by Activate America.) Not waiting til before the November election. There's a special election February 13 to fill George Santos' seat with Democrat Rubin Gallegos. Sent for my mailing list this morning.
Yes, I think that is what I was referring to. Jesica Craven is also a VERY good source of actions to take and all up-coing electios to focus on.
Anything just might happen, no kidding. But chump’s script remains the same. Waaa, I’m a victim
Jeri, have long thought we should change TFFG’s common memes:
“You’ll be tired of all the winning” to “You’ll be tired of all the whining” and
“Stop the steal” to “Stop the squeal”. Much more accurate imho!
Love this, will save for later if OK. Lord, am I tired of the whining. I had a sign in my office as school counselor, NO WHINING. Should be applicable for adults too!!! Ye hear that MSM
Funny, Jeri. I had one at the front of my classroom for juniors and seniors. When necessary, I silently pointed to it.
Now you need to throw that eraser. Dead aim required.
Nitwityahoo is in need of termination. Permanently. Along with the Fascist Fundamentalists masquerading as "Jews" of his cabal that's masquerading as a "government."
Assume that the Supreme Court rules, in January, 2024, that a President is not Criminally, or Civilly, liable for actions taken during his time in office. Assume in March, President Biden declares by Executive Order, National Martial Law using the Insurrection Act. In May he declares all individuals either indicted, or charged, and convicted, for Insurrection subject to the death penalty. The penalty is to be performed within 15 days of this Executive Order. In July 2024, Martial Law is rescinded and the election can proceed in November.
Would President Biden have permanent Immunity?
Neil, No, Biden would be subject to the Flip Flop Gang of 6 SCOTUS judges
Too late. Martial Law exists until July and the guilty parties have been legally executed.
The ‘liberal’ class doesn’t do government takeover as blatantly as the ‘conservative’ class. It prefers technocracy totalitarianism to the authoritarian kind.
Either way, your choice, as Carlin noted, is still just Coke vs. Pepsi.
Tom, I drink water. What do I do????
Seeing that most water is, or will be, chemically contaminated, you die, probably of some cancer variant, just like the rest of us Coke or Pepsi drinkers will.
Never a pony under that pile, huh?
TONIGHT is a nightmare. Japan lost another airliner on the runway, the US is sinking terrorist boats, North Korea is flexing,
And 2024 is going to be a difficult year... we must hope that Ukraine, NATO and Moscow, Gaza, Lebanon, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthi's, the blessed Yazedi in Mount Sinjar, can find their way -
What’s more important, more complicated, more acute, more difficult...AND more dangerous - tonight - than the complex of issues and actions mentioned in tonight’s Letters from an American... I turn 85 this month, and well remember... the 1940s seem like yesterday. We had war everywhere, peace nowhere... and North Korea followed, then came Vietnam and Laos... with nuclear war threatened, On the Beach was playing... and people were thinking of moving to Australia or New Zealand and the children that had them were hiding under their desks for the fire drill... as SAC B-47s refueled over the Pole and visions of one way bombing with no return were the nightmare scenario .... well, tonight we can worry about Iran and the Houthi movement, Lebanon again, GAZA, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran... not Kuwait, we devoted 550,000 troops called up by GHWB for that one... but it never ignited, while this one is overdue for a major conflagration...
We are looking down the barrel... and it's hot. Should Israel pop a few more Hezbollah and Houthi boats in the Gulf... should Iran tempt our fly boys, should we fire into the hot zone with missiles... and kill and kill and kill... Hamas will be a distant memory as we mop up Iran, avenge Nadia Murad's Yazidi people in Mount Sinjar, they may be the oldest religion in north eastern Iraq, they have their own Pope... and ISIS wants to do to them what Hamas to Iran wants to do with us...
Cuba is no longer on the path... the poverty is heavy, the boom box music in Havana.. Haiti is erupting, Venezuela is a total mess, Mexico is over run, and warming and war are combined to send them... they are never going back, either, and many of lost everything...
I remember, or heard about very young, the horror of war, the losses of the young, the horror of Hitler. A respite would be nice on our very rare and beautiful pale blue dot..
Sadly, it is not in the nature of man to have a respite. At least from where I sit.
Maybe it is a necessary diplomatic step, but I don't see how a so-called two state solution is either a solution or even a salve on wounds regarding the governance and sovereignty challenges in the territories that are under Israel's domination. Would some sort of superior plus inferior state situation put to rest the many grievances of the Palestinians? If not, would it provide Israel with a sense of long term security with its neighbor? Plus there is the issue of the West Bank settlements that were established after the '67 and '73 wars. Would a so-called two state solution just forget about those and the old deal about a Palestinian capital in some portion of Jerusalem, which was part of what was being negotiated back in the late '70s?
It sounds an awful lot like Quanah Parker's fairly eloquent description of how Native Americans felt about their ever shrinking territories, and then reservations. He invited his questioner to sit with him on a log in his front yard, and then asked him to move over a bit. He kept on asking his guest to move over, until he fell off the end of the log - question answered.
Then there is the longer term likelihood that the current cycle of periodic violence will recur sometime in the future. Even if every last member of Hamas is killed, the grievances and lack of equal justice under fair laws and symbols of nationhood that are personally meaningful to all, surely some children not yet born will grow up hating everything Israel stands for relative to the Palestinians. And just as there is a steady stream of new generations of Armenians, Kurds, and even some Greeks who grow up unhappy with the Turks and what they either did in the past or are doing now, going back to the days of Mustafa Kemel Ataturk, it would seem that any conceivable two state solution would guarantee the same for the Israeli and Palestinian relations. I just don't see how two states is a meaningful concept in any sentence that includes the word "solution."
There are never easy solutions but abandoning the effort because it’s complicated is also not a solution.
One state solution is the only answer.
Can’t make more land, unless other countries want to donate some.
I agree with this sentiment, but that means a fairly serious process of reconceiving the state of Israel and what it is about. They just aren't there yet, nor are they even on a path that gets to that. So the cycle of violence will continue.
Conservatives of all stripes in all countries have a fairly strong tendency to double down on their ideals, even when they have been proven to be impractical or even wrong in some fundamental way. And they tend to do this, no matter how much harm results to either themselves or to others. This is not to suggest that liberals are any less impractical at times, especially when it comes to issues involving money.
Israel left Gaza in 2005. Gaza is not occupied. Egypt keeps the southern border of Gaza closed. They do not want Hamas in their country.
Gaza is not a sovereign state, any more than Belarus is, and for the same general reasons. The people of Gaza are not free to do the things that normal states do within their borders, such as raise an army for their common defense, and so on. Belarus is a client of Russia and must do whatever Moscow dictates. Probably the biggest difference there is that Belarus and Russia are mostly in agreement on things that each other cares about, so being a client state is not the odious thing for the Byelorussians that it is for the Palestinians. As for the general statement that the people of Gaza do not want Hamas in their country, it's probably true for most who live there. Most have basically accepted the notion that they are at best a semi-autonomous nation not that different from a Native American reservation. But it would be a fool's pipe dream to interpret that as meaning that they were even a little bit happy about the situation. Acceptance is not an embrace. But again, there is no point in debating this stuff. This cycle of violence is an intractable permanent condition until the people of Israel choose to end it, and they show zero inclination to do that. The next round of peace may last for several decades, but it's eventual disintegration is a certainty.
So there is no demand that Hamas end it? Hamas has been harassing and attacking Israel with rockets since 2001. Personally I would find that intolerable.
Of course it is intolerable. What two combatants do to each other in war is always intolerable. And so they continue to fight. One beats the other, and peace ensues. Sometimes it lasts because a new order emerges for the survivors and sometimes a resumption of hostilities is merely a matter of time. In the classical world, empires survived with their "client" states for centuries at a time, but as soon as the aggrieved people perceived an opportunity, they struck back. The only way to end it is to take away the perception of having grievances that are unresolved. To do that, you have to acknowledge the perceptions of the aggrieved parties as being real and figure out a mutually acceptable path forward. That typically requires both extreme generosity on the part of the victor and the creation of new institutions that include the vanquished in a way that makes them feel whole and equal partners in whatever the future has for all concerned. The aftermath of WWII in western Europe and Japan are good examples of how this can work. The integration of Native Americans in to American and Canadian society, while certainly is still a work in process, is another good example of how a workable path forward can be found.
But if the victor simply stomps on the vanquished, if there is even one surviving community, the seeds of vengeance will remain. On the current course, Hamas or something equivalent to it will reemerge every time Israel strikes it down, no matter how many people they try to kill each time. This is because a perfect ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians everywhere is not something that even Bebe Netanyahu has the stomach for. A permanent peace will only happen when Palestinians and Israelis start to see each other as countrymen with a shared destiny, and it is purely up to Israel to find a way to make that happen. But so far, it is beyond what their leadership is capable of considering, so it will continue until that or something equivalent to it on the other side changes.
Very well stated, Craig. Thank you
"News flying in...", "pieces moving around the board... " . The world in turmoil...
And yet the puffed up, self-important folks are off on holiday for another week... another one.... letting it brew and getting their spanners ready to throw in the works. Then they will feel more important and consequential.
And the GOP HR holiday destination is the "Southern Boarder".
What would we do without you to pull these disparate pieces together in a coherent manner?
Today's events feels like the starting gun went off to start 2024. So much for easing back into things after the holidays!
Israel (Netanyahu) won't see the light until we threaten or actually cut aid or really get in his face. He's a smug as Trump and. just as corrupt. The coalition to rebuild Palestine is the most encouraging news in a sea of despair.
I'm not sure I entirely agree with this BlueBootsRadio. The sins of the fathers tend to have long tails. The anti-Semitism in the west outside of Germany contributed significantly to the catastrophe of WWII and the holocaust, including the millions who died in the aftermath. This makes it very difficult for us to not be supportive of Israel, especially given the orientation of the Iranians. I think we have to support them at some level while still expressing our dismay with their approach to things. Now how much support is a really tough question to answer. I think it's whatever we think is necessary to keep the nukes in storage. Using them is the one thing we must avoid at all costs, and Israel has them.
I just want to point out I didn't say Israel, only Netanyahu. I'm for all the people on both sides not calling for the genocide of the others. It's a difficult, if not impossible, situation but one man is calling for/allowing escalating the situation. I'm focused on Netanyahu. Here's some clarity and background for my reasoning: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-malign-codependency
EXACTLY BlueRootsRadio! The coalition to rebuild, despite its superficial appearance of having fed both the destruction yet now the rebuilding. Encouraging because it employs in the rebuilding so many of those harmed and displaced in the destruction greatly amplifying the sense of ownership. We were able to somehow make that work during Lend-Lease following WWII.