Legal equivalents

campaign spending : free speech : corporate personhood (Burwell v. Hobby Lobby) :: 
free speech advocacy of gun ownership : NRA : terrorist organization

Daniel Ellsberg interviews

TRNN has a 13 part series posted where Paul Jay interviews Daniel Ellsberg. He essentially says: given current nuclear stockpiles, a nuclear war would set off climate conditions similar to those of the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs. Terrifying. 

My comment in part 9:

In this segment and the last segment, Daniel Ellsberg described a nuclear and war-making policy largely determined by (1) a capitalistic military-industrial-complex whose raison d’etre is the pursuit of profit without regard to consequences and, (2) military commanders whose raison d’etre is ‘victory’, pyrrhic and otherwise. The absence of morality is so striking that the only rational conclusion is that the MIC and military consists solely of sociopaths. This would also explain their absolute resistance to rational reform their war planning. 

The performance of DJT as POTUS has illustrated the need to consider the mental health status of presidential candidates. This series of interviews highlights the need for a similar mental health review for leaders in other areas including military and industry {such as MIC). Sociopaths might make the best commanders for immediate [hot] combat, but their lack of empathy, morality and remorse makes them unsuitable for high level leadership positions.

My comment in part 13:

For the vast majority of people without bubble hideouts in New Zealand to wait out a nuclear winter, the only rational response to a nuclear strike is to immediate travels *towards* the first strike zone. Should humanity come to such a pass, it will prove itself not worthy of saving and not deserving of any efforts on its behalf. Let the 'true believers' of rapture inherit the destruction they will have wrought.

U.S. Department of Defense failed audit

My comment at TRNN:

We have enabled a rich and powerful Military-Industrial-Complex to legally bribe politicians, policy makers and regulators through campaign contributions, political action committees, think tanks, ideological foundations, revolving door employment, etc. In return, all American taxpayers are forced to pay for ever more expensive, excessive and often unnecessary military hardware (with a side effect of excessively militarized local police) while less advantaged taxpayers send their children to become war fodder by foreign hands or self-destruction by suicide. We pay with our treasure, we pay with our future in our children, we pay with the future of our grandchildren. 

MIC and the military get away with this degree of theft by hiding information. An audit is information about how the military spends its funds. Their audit failure is not an inability to track and report their spending; it reflects an unwillingness by the military to report their spending and allow themselves to be held accountable to our elected representatives. [BTW, elected representatives who have been bought by the MIC and eager the stories told by the military.] It's not about the defense of nation from enemies; it's the offense of military, especially MIC, against Americans and anyone who might interfere with their profits.

How do the GWB and DJT administrations differ?

Based on the economic/social 'shocks' described by Naomi Klein in The Shock Doctrine:

GWB had the 'civility' to wait for economic/social 'shocks' to occur before triggering his anti-democratic agenda. In particular, September 11 to change the balance of power in the Middle East and any number of domestic power grabs.

Every incident of DJT operating outside of 'normality' is DJT throwing bombs to purposefully manufacture economic/social 'shocks': travel ban, trade wars, 'good people on both sides', Dropping Paris Climate Agreement, dropping Iran Nuclear Deal, meeting Kim Jong-un, splintering asylum seeking families... As this is happening, DJT's Cabinet and the Republican Congress are destroying consumer/environmental protection, civil rights protection, and stacking the courts against democratic governance. And that's only the start.

posted as comment as C&L

It's just the capitalistic way

Digby pointed out the Trump administration is selling American foreign policy for private gain. The Trump cabal sees it as an extension of capitalism - profiting from the sale of a sought after service.

Watergate X.0

I noticed someone calling DJT's scandals Watergate 2.0. As someone who has no particular fondness for the Democratic Party, I am of the impression that one hairline difference between them and Republicans is actually significant. And just to be clear, this pertains only to the modern parties (FDR til today). Democrats generally hold true to the letter of the Constitution if not always the intent. So far as I am aware (and please correct me if I am wrong), every Republican since and including Nixon has challenged Constitutional precepts in some form:

Nixon:
Watergate 1.0

Reagan:
Debategate (Watergate 2.0)
Iran-Contra (Watergate 2.1)

Bush 41:
Iran-Contra (Watergate 2.1)

Bush 43:
Declaring War on Terror (Watergate 3.X) - metaphorical war that justified a state of perpetual war and all the actions the administration took to push actual war and hide their lies. Includes outing Valerie Plame, enabling torture (John Yoo), Colin Powell lied to the U.N., forced rendition to CIA black sites, etc.
Lawyergate (Watergate 3.X) - firing U.S. attorneys for political reasons
Warrantless spying on Americans (Watergate 3.X)

Trump:
Russian involvement with presidential campaign (Watergate 4.X)
Emoluments violations (Watergate 4.X)
Using Congress to attack agencies of the executive branch (Watergate 4.X)


Carter did not instigate any major scandals and Clinton's scandals were of a personal nature - he did not pose any major challenge to Constitutional precepts. It was terrible that Obama advanced the prosecution of whistleblowers initiated by Bush 43 and upped deportations but in comparison to his recent predecessors, he was at least faithful to the letter of the Constitution.

The major failing of Democrats with regards to Republicans trashing the Constitution is their acquiescence. Their token fight is meaningless in light of the successive erosion by Republican presidents of Constitutionally guaranteed rights and limits.

Large powerful nation-states are not the best way to organize society.

Arms 'Marketing'

Short video of William Hartung at TRNN describing how the MIC profits from war and government policy. My comment:

William Hartung hit the nail right square on the head. A popular meme spouted by many pro-capitalist economists is that in free markets, market forces (consumer spending/consumption) drives what gets produced. But somehow, these same economists never examine the 'market forces' of the planned military arms economy (created by governments, especially by the U.S. government). The planned military economy creates forces of lobbyists and special interests who advocate for constant war and continuous arms race. Instead of buying food, childcare, medical care, education and intact ecosystem for our children and grandchildren, American taxpayers are buying updated nuclear weapons and other military hardware, war game exercises, ill-will from hundreds of foreign military bases and global instability from waging and fomenting war. These are economic decisions and American voters need to understand the spending priorities of their government in that light. 

Another useful tool maybe to redefine what economies are. The word 'economy' has Greek roots meaning house or home. The common definition of economy is focused on production/consumption of consumer goods for the purpose of generating profit, a far cry from house/home. A much better definition would be self-organizing and self-sustaining systems of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services that promote the well-being of all participants. This would automatically make some sectors of the modern economy 'uneconomic' because they do not promote well-being... the entire offensive arms/military industrial sector.

Name of piece: Code Pink Conference: The Arms Industry Hides Behind Euphemisms (December 29, 2017)

Working Animals of these United States

A comment of implications of GOP Tax bill at TRNN:

I am reminded of the video of newly hatched male chicks being fed to a shredder and the knowledge that male dairy calves are turned into veal or beef. Federal tax policy now bins Americans like farm animals are binned: useless (no profit to be made) ones are actively destroyed to not 'drain' the system of resources, moderately profitable animals are rushed through the bulking process to quickly turn a profit, and most profitable are mass factory farmed to extract the most profits in the shortest time until their productivity drops into one of the lesser classes. It's clear the elderly and ill are 'useless' (proposed cuts to social programs); children are moderately profitable (school privatization & school-to-prison pipeline); and, finally, prime working age adults are underpaid and work long hours at multiple jobs until they fall ill of stress or exhaustion, at which point, they join the useless class. Working Americans are the farm animals of American capitalists.  

Resist!

Looting by any other name

 DWT has a post discussing the effect of the Ryan-Trump Tax Bill on education. My comment:

-Leverage buyout 'investment' (see Mitt Romney a la Bain Capital).-Agriculture caused desertification (Dust Bowl, expanding deserts in Africa, desertification in Latin America).
-Surface mining (includes strip mining, open pit mining and mountain top removal). All forms of looting with specialized knowledge. They are characterized by (1) speed - victims don't have time to realize danger and mount defenses; (2) dirty - function of speed; (3) crude - function of speed; (4) cheap operating costs - minimum investment in workers, capital, safety, etc. The goal is to strip a resource of everything that can be sold for money as quickly and cheaply as possible. The result is rich looters and no resources - businesses without capital to produce; land without water for farming; land without clean water, soil capable of supporting life and contaminated with introduced toxins and mine tailings. The Ryan-Trump Tax Bill loots the public commons by tax policy. Taxes are the resources of a nation; they pay for the public commons of education, healthcare, infrastructure, public services, defense, etc. By reducing the tax payments of the wealthy, this tax plan is effectively looting the public commons. The danger is the destruction will be so deep and thorough, recovery will be nigh impossible.

Government anti-transparency

Reality Winner has been denied bail for 'allegedly passed[ing] a top-secret document to The Intercept that claimed that Russian military intelligence conducted a cyber attack on at least one U.S. voting software company just days before the 2016 election.'

This is part of an interview of Amy Goodman with Julian Assange. I have written positively about Julian Assange in the past. His actions during the 2016 presidential election brings up lots of questions about his motives. I don't know nor do I have sufficient information to form a reasonably informed opinion. But aside from his motives, releasing information for public perusal is an important mechanism of empowerment. Legitimate decisions can only be made by informed people. 

On that note, Reality Winner is a hero for informing the public of an event that was kept under wraps. She should not be imprisoned for enabling democracy.

Secrecy aids the powerful

This is a post at DailyKos with links briefly summarizing efforts by regulatory agencies and industry to avoid regulation and keep information away from the public. This is the Intercepted article.

We need universal whisteblower protection and much, much greater transparency.

some of the links in the post:

PoisonPapers.org

The Bioscience Resource Project

Center for Media and Democracy

Economics drive Israeli - Gaza relationship

Comment at Truthout:

"...until we start dealing with Gaza as a political problem rather than an economic problem or religious problem, until we start addressing the political drivers that animate resistance from Gazans -- the right of return, the right to self-determination -- Dr. Sourani spoke very eloquently about the right to live and the freedom of movement -- until we start talking about these political rights, the situation in Gaza isn't going to change." 

It's the economic incentives that drive the politics. There are individuals and institutions that are profiting from the plight of the Palestinians; they are the ones making the politics as they are. The Israeli military 'earns' billions in U.S. military aid to defend against threats from Palestinian terrorists (has parallels to 'fear for my life' defense in extrajudicial police shootings in the U.S.). Israeli construction companies earns millions (billions?) building settlements in the occupies territories. Israel profits from export of Palestinian sourced products. 

Another metaphor: the living conditions in Gaza are completely man made. Climate disruption is also man made. In many places on the planet, climate disruption may lead to a level of disruption equal to or surpassing that of Gaza today. Men have made these situations. Men can mitigate these situations.

How he resembles devout people

Comment at C&L:

DJT has an authoritarian's respect for the law: he follows it to the sub-micron distance. He flouts ethics rules, norms and conventions because they have no enforcement consequence; no 'rule of law'. Devout followers of religion have a similar view of ethics. For them, right and wrong are predetermined by an outside force (Jesus, Muhammad, bible, koran, etc.); for DJT, 'letter of the law'. Individuals do not have the perspicacity or even the responsibility to determine the rightness or wrongness of their action.

Further proof DJT is not Presidential material. Rule books are nice and fine (actually not) for the 'known knowns'; unfortunately for DJT, U.S.A. and the planet, presidents are responsible for 'known unknowns' *and* 'unknown unknowns'.

Illegal status

TRNN answered some questions I had about undocumented immigrants:

Apparently, not having documentation is not in itself a crime-

being here if you're undocumented is not a crime, it's a civil offense.

But entering illegally is a crime (in comments)-

However, it’s also important to distinguish between "unlawful presence" and "unlawful entry". 

An undocumented immigrant who entered the United States improperly would have committed a crime, a misdemeanor.

So the  the deportation of undocumented aliens with no criminal behavior should require proof of criminal behavior... one that the Trump administration is not honoring.

Political consequences of ignorance

TRNN spoke with Robert English about the FBI leaking the Comey Memo, the one where he recounts DJT asking him to drop the Flynn investigation. I left a comment:

"let's not fall off the cliff here over Trump sharing some intel about terror attacks with the Russians..." 

After watching this *twice* over two days so this would not be a knee jerk response, I am not reacting to Trump's idiocy; that speaks for itself. I am very angry at my own ignorance of many of the events/actions described. This reflects a major failing of the American news media which I have consumed for decades and major efforts of the American state to keep its citizens ignorant of its actions. We are fed small simple good-guy/bad-guy stories by the media. Our ignorance is constantly manipulated by the state and media; we've become sheep in the face of propaganda. I'm angry and sad and I want *much* *much* more transparency.

When we are constantly lied to by the state and media, we get sham political parties with similar candidates from mock elections. The front people change but the power never changes hands; it's always the powerful elite who call the shots.

Update: It's getting worse, the rollback of net neutrality will further impede transparency.

Entitled politicians

An Oklahoma Republican, Markwayne Mullin, actually said taxpayers do not pay his salary. Instead, representing his constituents is a 'service' he provides.

IMHO, this is deserves to be filed in the dictionary under 'entitlement'.

Capitalism - entitlement to everything (profits, wages, labor, taxes, subsidies, infrastructure, public services) workers produce and pay for.

Press failure

Comment at Crooks and Liars with video clip of Sean Spicer 'gaslighting' the press:

I blame the press for the sad state of affairs. Right wing news grew, profited and flourished under the failure of the mainstream press to contain their lies and doublespeak through benign neglect. Now we have a press secretary whose starting premise is a half truth which he follows with a ninety degree pivot to a full lie which rotates in a different direction to increase the base of the lie then he turns back around to accuse the press of misdirecting/misleading. Even a partial description of the spin is dizzying. 

I'm tired of DJT and company telling me what 'the real story is' and what's important. I want the truth.

China is not responsible for U.S. decline

It seems that Truthout.org maybe censoring their comments section. This is a comment I am attempting to post here. We will see if it passes muster.

China is not to blame for the declining working class. Nor, for that matter, is capitalism at fault. The problem is the concentration of power. Concentration of economic power => concentration of political power => continuous feedback to increase power concentration => greater feeding on labor of workers => increasing the numbers of workers to feed the power hungry => globalization. The shift of manufacturing jobs overseas is the step wise consequence of the elite doing everything they can to increase their power. In capitalistic economies, the elite are the capitalists (in modern parlance, corporatists); in China, the elite are generally members of the Central Committee; in Russia, Putin confers 'elite' status. 

The solutions offered by progressives, more equitable wealth redistribution, primarily through government programs/policy, are short term fixes. They want to shift power to a (slightly) different set of elites while keeping structures of power (government & corporations) intact. This sets up a situation where the 'losing' elites will use the system to regain their lost advantages. That's the entire story of the republican effort to reverse the New Deal.  

The real solution is to fully disseminate power to every citizen and individual. And the key to that is to maximize transparency so information is freely available. The elites have power because they control information. If their hold on information is taken away, neither they nor anyone else will be able to concentrate power in the future.

Note: Truthout does seem to be censoring content/concepts and not  language/tone. It has been more than 1 hour and my comment has yet to be posted. Within that time, another comment has been written and posted. This is a sign of highly questionable journalistic integrity. The comment above is not rude nor combative in tone; it challenges the status quo and that is scary.

Note: It's been over 21 hours and at this point, this is censorship. Few readers will read articles days after posting, much less follow comments.

Note: After three days, Truthout posted my comment. They responded to my email query and said the delay had to do with a a updated word filter that picked up 'feedback' as possible expletive. I rarely use expletives. The English language is rich enough that there are plenty of ways to express expletive worthy emotions.

Update: As it turns out, Truthout.org has not changed its comment policy. They had a filter in place that disliked the word 'feedback' because it starts with 'f' and ends with 'ck'. My comment was posted days after it was submitted.

How far can the dots connect?

It turns out that Russia might have blackmail material on PEOTUS DTJ and there may have been communication between his campaign and Russian surrogates. This may rise to the level of treason.

I am not making any allegations. I do wonder if a Republican Congress will takes steps to impeach a Republican president if he actually commits high crimes. If Republican Congress people know about presidential high crimes and neglect to impeach, are they committing high crimes?

The legal provision exists; it's called misprision of treason - committed by someone who knows a treason is being or is about to be committed but does not report it to a proper authority. In many respects, this is the principle behind the conviction and execution of Ethel Rosenberg. If a Republican Congress commits the crime of misprision of treason, what action can be taken to impeach them?

Many of these rights are constrained by the Constitution. That being the case, it is time to convene a Constitutional Convention. In the preamble the goal of the Constitution was 'in Order to form a more perfect Union'. It's time to improve Constitution towards this greater purpose.

It goes back to money...

According to Israeli journalist, Gideon Levy, much of internal Israeli policy regarding settlements in Palestinian land is about money. Much of U.S. aid to Israel is military in nature and justified as needed to help Israel defend itself from its enemies, including Palestinians.

It appears there two very powerful lobbies supporting Israel and both are about profiting themselves and not humanitarian concerns. One lobby is the group in Israel profiting from the control of land, property and resources of Israel and Palestine. The other lobby represents American military contractors who profit from the goods and services directly or indirectly given to Israel as aid.

From the linked video:

SHIR HEVER: And what do Israelis think about this when the government is willing to spend so much money on such a small group of people? Is there protests about it? 

GIDEON LEVY: Unfortunately, the Israelis stopped thinking a long time ago, and those issues don't interest anybody and are hardly on their agenda. Israelis are mainly concerned about their next vacation and their next new car and this very regretful but nobody makes the linkage between deep social problems and the money that goes for the settlers. It's somehow the Israelis remain totally indifferent and blind and there is no-one to wake them up.

It's important to remember that 'capitalists' and power brokers can only steal when we (the majority of people) look away. Unfortunately, they are experts at creating distractions - Israelis are distracted with their comfortable life and perhaps some 'keeping up with the Jones' cultural meme. Americans are distracted by social issues - racism, immigration, sexism, 'religious liberty, abortion, etc. We need to learn to look past the distractions and smoke & mirrors and really see what is being stolen from us.