BobDylan

I think the two largest parts of why we are where we are now in America, are that about a third of Americans have simply given up on democracy and politics, and checked out of it completely. They've lost hope in our government ever doing anything that will materially improve their lives by regulating corporate greed and power, as well as any sort of wealth redistribution that will reduce inequality. So they are simply living day to day, trying to survive. The second part of it, is the consolidation of mass media and social media, to where almost all of it is owned and run by right wing oligarchs, who have an overwhelmingly outsized voice, compared to centrist or progressive media, so at least 40% of Americans are constantly bombarded with right wing propaganda thru these sources, while those people never hear any factual, honest reporting on the issues, much less any progressive viewpoints. This process has been going on for decades, beginning in the 1980s with Reagan and the end of the Fairness Doctrine, followed by all the media mergers in the decades after that. Meanwhile, the rest of the corporate media, that isn't outright right wing, such as MSNBC, provides its own echo chamber for those on the Dem side, giving us alternating news of false hope and comfort, about how THE LYIN' KING's policies are hurting his poll numbers, along with doom news about his latest actions. In both echo chambers, people are not seeing the same stories as the other side, and so THE LYIN' KING's base will always remain from 34-39%. As long as his base sees everything that happens thru the framing of an invasion by brown people, that are hurting their culture, lifestyle and living standards, nothing else will matter to his base.. Even the economic pain he is causing them, will not matter to his base, because they're consuming media that says the immigrants are to blame for his base's poverty, declining income, affordability struggles, etc.. anything but THE LYIN' KING's trade policies or his cuts to social programs. Even the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, will be seen by his base as being caused by immigrants getting free health care they don't deserve, even tho that is all lies and propaganda...

So true! Liberals are fine with capitalism and maintaining the status quo of the economic and social hierarchy, so they can keep their privileged place in it. That's why they are all for environmental reform, identity politics and culture war stuff for queer folks, POC, civil liberties, and even an end to endless wars of choice, because none of that usually costs them anything personally, as far as their standard of living or personal comfort. I'll take a radical any day over the typical American liberal, as the latter group is what has paved the way for and given us THE LYIN' KING, twice, instead of Bernie, for example... Liberals are performative in their politics, radicals are serious and wanting to actually change things and be willing to personally sacrifice and risk themselves to make it happen..

I remember watching Mario's speech being covered on TV, when I was a child... There comes a time when you have to realize the people in power have no conscience and are not operating in good faith, and are not going to change their ways. So the only choice left is to fight the machine or submit.. If you look up Mario's history after that speech, he paid a large price for his activism later on, harassment and survelliance from the feds, etc..

One thing I believe as pretty likely, is that future wars will be fought more with drones and robot soldiers, than with cannon fodder flesh and blood soldiers on the ground. As to replacing human soldiers with robots, I'm not sure if that's an improvement or not. It will look a lot more like the Terminator movies, with a real Skynet... Your post is on the mark tho, V., in that psych ops will be an increasingly big part of wars...

I must admit that I still hate both of them, despite some of MTG's recent stands, and I too would love to see a cage match between her and THE LYIN' KING, would remind me of the Two Tribes music video from Frankie Goes To Hollywood, back in the 80s, which had imitators of Reagan and Chernenko boxing in a ring.. You're a funny guy, mac. I like your style, even if I am a irredeemable carnivore, lol...

If only we all had the superpowers of Anthony Fremont, the child monster from the TWZ episode you referenced.... Personally, I was watching the White House meeting with Zelensky and THE LYIN' KING, where THE LYIN' KING and Vance bushwhacked him, and just hoping that Zelensky would lose it and lunge across at THE LYIN' KING and clock him really good, for all of us who hate him, since unlike anyone else, he would have gotten away with it without being shot dead on the spot by the Secret Service..

Yup, under the present regime, esp. if you live in a red state, like I do, you must assume that the local cops and authorities will not protect you or seek justice for you if you are hurt by ICE or even MAGA bullies operating on their own. Your only protection is if you are armed, and careful to only exercise your gun rights in self defense. And on that note, always remember it's better to be judged by 12 (as in a jury), than carried by 6 (as in pallbearers). Because the good news is, all around the country, juries are ruling in favor of our side in trials against us by the system for defending ourselves against or protesting ICE. The key is making it to a jury trial, and getting the jury to nullify against the cops and prosecutors. It's going to keep happening a lot, at least for as long as the system allows jury trials for people defending themselves.. Won't be surprised if the cops just start executing people on the spot, for using guns to defend themselves. ICE has already shown they are willing to cross that line, even against unarmed citizens.. You nailed it, scary, we are already in an unofficial civil war, so far being waged by only one side, THE LYIN' KING's.. Him invoking the Insurrection Act, which I'm sure he will do, then declaring martial law and cancelling elections, will finally make it official... Of course, even if you do get a walk from a jury trial, you would need to leave town and find somewhere to lay low, because the cops would then stalk you and try to nail you for something later, if not execute you in secret if you gave them the opportunity.. In other words, you would have to go into hiding and run, same as the 1960s radicals that were fugitives, had to go on the run or live in exile in some other country.. Even escaping to a blue state would be no certainty of staying safe..

In the end, a society is made up of shared agreements and arrangements between very large groups of individuals, based on a variety of negotiations and coercions, all of which involve complex situations and arrangements where power is often very imbalanced between the parties who are making or enforcing the rules, and those who are actually being affected by or being told to comply with said rules. Messy, to say the least...

I hear you, mac. Offline and IRL, I'm not physically aggressive at all. But in person, if someone is not armed and there are plenty of witnesses, I will not back down from a verbal argument with someone who is 🍆>🐱ing with me and being an 🧻hole to me. Because if they decide to escalate it to a physical fight in front of plenty of witnesses, and are unarmed, I am going to let them take the first shot, and then fight back with everything I have, in self defense. And if I lose, I lose, but I will also press charges against them and go after them all I can to sue them for my injuries.. And so far, nobody has been willing to back up their mouth with that sort of physical aggression towards me, because after they've mouthed off enough to me for a couple minutes, I simply tell them I'm done putting up with their mouth, and if they aren't going to hit me, then I'm walking away, knowing I've won the verbal argument already.. In other words, I share your motto, of dying on my feet, before I will live on my knees, or bend my knee to bullies or assholes..

Much as I agree with the rest of your comment, mac, I wouldn't recommend inciting road rage with an obvious MAGA type, like your asteriked comment suggests, unless you have a firearm in your vehicle, and are prepared to use it in a shootout with said MAGA motorist. Because nowadays you just have to assume that everyone out on the roads and streets is armed and willing and ready to use said firearms in a road rage conflict..

The argument has always been something like, "If we (the pols and authorities), don't stand up for the people and defend freedom and the rule of law, Constitution, etc., then the people will come at us with pitchforks, etc.. " Well, the pols in both parties no longer fear or respect us peasants, so I really don't see any other alternatives for us, than our pitchforks and guns, figureatively, if boycotts and strikes don't work, since they sure as hell don't care about protests, at least as long as those protests are not directly outside their homes, 24/7. Money and physical force against them and their donors, are the only things that they are scared of having used against them... Both parties are sold out to the pretty much the same donors of the donor class...

I agree mac. You can't put any kind of cheating past the Repubs and their six traitors on the SC. And if they use fed troops and ICE goons to intimidate voters in blue states, as well as suppressing mail in ballots and purging voter rolls, etc.., they won't even need to declare martial law and cancel the elections. We can take nothing for granted in the new year.. I really do think it will come to civil war, from our side, not just theirs, if we are ever going to get rid of the THE LYIN' KING regime. And as far as offensive violence, any violence from our side is already defensive, not offensive, as the murder in Minnesota made it clear that THE LYIN' KING has already declared an offensive war against our side. It's just that most people on our side haven't woke up to that fact yet... As for V.'s convo with Lindy, I agree that the Dem Party is not providing any real leaders or guidance to our side, as far as direct action thru strikes, boycotts, and blackouts, and without those things, instead of just one day protests, nothing will change. Those three economic actions I mentioned above, are what actually works, because it puts pressure on the corporations that fund both the Dems and Repubs, and so it indirectly does put pressure on the pols of both parties. In that system, the 💩 flows downhill, as they say, from the donors to the pols....

I can't speak for you, but I can for myself, and I am part of the left, ineffectual, marginalized, and tiny as it is in the US. But don't ever confuse the left with the Dem Party, as the Dem Party hates the left and it's the corrupt Dem Party that sold out undoc immigrants during THE LYIN' KING's first term, not the left. It's an important distinction.. And I think we can both agree that the Dem Party paved the way for THE LYIN' KING's two terms, by shafting Bernie and instead both election cycles running corporate centrist candidates, whose main selling point was them not being THE LYIN' KING, rather than campaign platforms that actually addressed the grievances and problems of ordinary Americans.. You might even say, that the Dem Party campaigns like they don't really care about winning elections, only about defeating progressives and enjoying their continued perks and privileges as the minority party in DC... Opposing the Repubs only on culture war issues just isn't cutting it anymore, not with most voters..

Thanks mac, you said it all, way better than I would, in replying to V.'s comment. We are in fascism already here in the US, even if the corporate media and the Dem Party won't use the F-word. Renee Good's murder officially sealed it, along with the coverup that began immediately afterwards and the clear picture that Jonathan Ross is going to completely get away with it, along with THE LYIN' KING and Noem.. And none of the progress of the sixties, such as civil rights, ending the Vietnam War, or the passing of the Great Society programs like Medicaid and Medicare, as well as the anti poverty programs, would have happened if we had only had MLK and peaceful protestors, etc.. Without the Panthers, the SDS and the Weathermen, waging radical civil war against the feds, the powers that be would never have made those concessions that I listed above, to the masses here. The sad thing is, as mac pointed out, that radicals of both types of movements, peaceful and violent, end up usually being either murdered, imprisoned or exiled by the state, rather than being rewarded, honored, or allowed to actually gain or hold power in the government.. So I stand by my point, we need more radicals like the Black Panthers, not less, and as long as they aren't committing violence against innocent people, who are not acting corruptly against the rights of the people, like shooting peaceful protestors or committing racist violence against minorities, I am fine with them fighting back for us.. Because the cops and the Dems sure as hell aren't going to fight for us or protect us against these fascists. The irony is that saying these kind of obvious truths would get me banned on reddit, a supposedly left-leaning site, yet owned by a right wing billionaire oligarch, so no surprise that reddit ends up being no more tolerant or open-minded about political dissension than Facebook. I hope that this site does better by us than those two have so far, under THE LYIN' KING rule... And as far as the Dem Party, what needs fixed is not their messaging, but their policies, esp. on economics, foreign policy, and civil liberties, where they are mainly Repub lite, as well as their actions, esp. when they are in power in DC. Like not delivering on much of their campaign promises. THE LYIN' KING and the Repubs can get away with doing that, because no one outside of their cult ever believes them anyway on their promises, but the Dems will always be held to a higher standard. Time to accept that and start earning the trust and loyalty of the voters, instead of running completely on how bad THE LYIN' KING is and "at least we aren't the Repubs"... All the Repub and MAGA voters care about, is THE LYIN' KING hurting and hating on the same people they hate, not him delivering on his campaign promises. Until he starts actually hurting them, they won't ever wake up or turn on him, much less start caring about the people they hate being hurt..

Funny how the comedians tell the most truth these days of anybody, when it comes to the controversial stuff..

It is closed and clearly murder, unless of course you're part of MAGA, then you must deny your own eyes, make excuses for the murderer, and blame the victim... Anyone that sides with the shooter, is telling you everything you need to know about their character and values, and you should shun them like the devil... These people would have been making excuses for and supporting the Nazis in Germany, and cheering on the Gestapo back then, same way they support our modern American version of them..

The Repubs have been out to eliminate public broadcasting for decades, finally got their wish... Gotta keep those peasants ignorant, and keep all media in the private sector, where it can be just as easily controlled and censored, in fact more so here in America, than by the government...

That and the new video that came out today, where he shoots her dead and then mutters "🍆>🐱ing bitch", gives away his whole murderous attitude, rather than him reacting in fear or feeling traumatized, etc.. The hard fact is, he was holding his cell phone in one hand and his gun in the other, and he was lowering his phone in one hand as he was reaching for his gun, before shooting her. What all that tells me is, he made his decision a couple seconds before she began moving her car, that he was going to shoot her dead and also record it on his phone, because she had butt hurt his pride by not meekly submitting quickly enough to his bullying authority, and the other woman on the street, who told him to "go have some lunch, big boy", had lipped off to him about his bull💩, bullying behavior, so he had to get even and teach her a lesson, in front of others and make an example of someone, all to restore his macho pride. He should be convicted of at least second degree murder and rot in prison, but he never will..

I agree that we need something like the Panthers these days, as it would scare the 💩 out of MAGA and ICE. Only this time, hopefully the feds, cops, and FBI wouldn't be able to massacre and crush them.. and these days, the "radical left" and any "leftist threat" is simply more MAGA lies, propaganda, and figments of their imagination, at best. But mostly the first two of the three... The right has revolutionaries, who have succeeded thru a political coup. The left needs revolutionaries too now, tho our side is unlikely to ever win thru electoral politics, because money is way too powerful in that arena these days, compared to the 1960s...

I think you're right. As Malcom X said long ago, " America respects violence, it was founded on violence. I think it's the only thing it respects". Whether you agree with that or not, it's clear that violence, or at least physical force, is the only thing that fascists like THE LYIN' KING and his supporters and cronies respect... And yes, I remember that couple, and it made me think it's not a bad idea for peaceful protestors to have a couple of armed guards or security people at their protests, at least if there are no cops on duty around them to be able to protect them against nuts like that couple..

I would add a fourth demand to your list of three, V. And that is for ICE to finally be reined in, with them having to follow the same laws as other law enforcement officers, including no more being masked, badgeless and without names and numbers on their uniforms. And also no more sending ICE to only blue states and blue cities, all designed to target and create violence in those places. ICE should be returned to its former practices, before THE LYIN' KING got into power again. That should be an iron demand.. If they won't agree to that, then the Dems and any Repubs in congress who still have a conscience, should cut all funding to ICE and DHS immediately...

I share your anger, despair and frustration, Amanda. I really don't know what else to say. Thanks for your comment..

I really wish that were true, but the rest of the world knows THE LYIN' KING is nuts, and so are some of his inner circle, while our country is a superpower with nukes, so I seriously doubt any other country will save us from him. Best chance is either him dying of natural causes, or the very unlikely chance of another country successfully whacking him thru assassination... Iran would be my best guess for that, and THE LYIN' KING's admin. is surely keeping an eye out for that...

Exactly, it's completely bull💩 and frustrating, when one side has to practice complete restraint, while the other is able to be completely lawless and restrained in its cruelty and brutality. They want civil war and are already waging it, on their side. Meanwhile, the Dems offer no real unified leadership with any actions that would ever be effective against the regime and its oligarch backers. Instead they wring their hands, lecture about morality, and make empty gestures.. And then wonder why most of the public has no real respect for them nor sees them as any real opposition party that can or will fight the Repubs and THE LYIN' KING.. The Dems just tell people to trust them, wait for the midterms, and have faith that the midterms will happen and be run fairly. Well, most people have given up hope on any of that happening or even being effective in stopping THE LYIN' KING and the Repubs. They want to hear about organized boycotts against his oligarch backers, and organized, targeted actions that will actually scare or force Repubs into abandoning THE LYIN' KING, and bring some relief sooner, rather than later, from the domestic terrorism of ICE, such as refusing to fund DHS, same with funding the Venezuala takeover... More Americans are going to start arming themselves, on our side, and preparing themselves to shoot it and defend themselves against ICE, rather than wait on our system causing ICE to back off and stop terrorizing people. Because we all know the cops are not going to protect us against them, or they would have started taking our side and standing up for us months ago... And for that, I blame our blue state governors for not drawing a line months ago and ordering the arrest of ICE goons that started going masked, badgeless and without names or numbers on their uniforms. This would have stopped or deterred this long ago, but those governors didn't want to risk that being seen as a provocation of civil war. Well, when even white citizens are no longer safe from being murdered by ICE, even if they are unarmed and not a threat, then what do we have left to lose or protect by not having our cops stand up to these 🍆s? Somebody explain that to me....

"Hard to believe he is alive", esp. after he walked all the way down to her car and back, after he murdered her, and then was whisked away, not to any hospital, but to prevent him from being identified, questioned, or arrested by local cops. And of course, we will never get any medical reports about him made public, all because the feds will claim it's to "protect his privacy".... He will get away scot free from this, the same way Chauvin thought he would with murdering George Floyd...