b, 'The same encrusted, narrow and hardened view of omnidirectional belligerence which drives U.S. foreign policy is visible in the way Clinton and her media run the campaign. There is no room for diverging from the compulsory norm.'

Man, you've nailed it right there. And I agree ... just as the people spurned and abused 'for decades' in Britain came out to get out of the EU, so too, there is a majority of hurting people in the USofA ... Hillary and her 'elite' gang are just so out of touch that they don't even know that.

All their crowd is doing better than ever! Depressions are great! Your money goes further, the 'help' is cheap, and there is seemingly an inexhaustible supply of them. Like the South when slaves were cheap you can afford to use 'em till you use 'em up, and then buy new ones.

Hillary is drawing more hatred everyday, she thinks she has the bucks at her disposal that can buy the election. She may well be very surprised. Hope she stays asleep till it's too late. It may be already. None of 'her' people have a clue.

Posted by: jfl | Jul 25 2016 9:18 utc | 1

The Don's game is too big. All the free publicity, it's too much... I mean, he opted out of two Fox primary debates - January and March. January: 'why do I have to make them money...? Have your debate and let me know how the ratings went.' In March the fox debate was cancelled.

Of course as American theatre goes, when you have the ability to turn major primetime viewing into dead air, messing with people's sedentary evening routine on the sofa, the attentive mob yell 'woo yeah awesome respect!'

Sideshow takeaway: During the January debate debacle GOP village idiot amd Trump's major rival Cruz also took the bait and did his bit to promote the Trump brand: 'If someone did that, didn’t show up at the interview, you know what you’d say? You’re fired!'

Top job Ted.

Posted by: MadMax2 | Jul 25 2016 9:30 utc | 2

Clinton vs Trump: back to zero options for the US voters ... again

Posted by: nmb | Jul 25 2016 9:38 utc | 3

Very fine piece of media analysis, B. The Clintonistas can only go negative, because they have nothing meaningful to offer the electorate in a positive sense.

On a semi-related note, the full edition Clinton Cash is now published on YouTube.

Posted by: Colin | Jul 25 2016 9:42 utc | 4

@2 mm2

You know, I almost feel like voting for the Don because he eliminated Ted. Ted is a very, very dangerous character. I still can't get myself worked up to fear the Don himself. The 'job' of POTUS would (will?) be his avocation, so he's not doctrinaire about anything 'serious'. What's serious to him is his performance. He's an actor, a clown, a magician ... whatever. Prez is just his ticket to the stage.

I mean things could go really wrong for all of us with the Don 'in charge' ... and, despite his casual attitude toward the 'serious' end of the gig, he would be more 'in charge' than say ... Barack Obama ever was, certainly more than Hillary Clinton ever will be ... because its not his main squeeze. They can't hurt him there. The play's the thing. They haven't even figured that out yet.

He does have a coterie of big money thugs trying to play his godfather ... and the Don loves to keep the money men hanging around, I'm sure. But if he keeps going with his miraculous, budget-plan campaign ... which he does effortlessly, as b says, he's been a four-flusher all his life, they have relatively little hold over him. And negative campaigning against him is hopeless. He pre-empts them.

He is a piece of work. I've never appreciated him at all before, but with Hillary for his victim ... how can he lose?

And he opens up the field to the 3rd party / write-in / spoiled ballot voters. No one cares if their vote might somehow contribute to Hillary's demise. In fact, for those of us who don't want to vote for Trump directly, he's a cushion ... I'd rather have the Don as Accident than the Hill.

Posted by: jfl | Jul 25 2016 9:55 utc | 5

@4, Colin 'The Clintonistas can only go negative, because they have nothing meaningful to offer the electorate in a positive sense.'

You know that's a common problem with the 1% oriented inner party and their outer party wannabes. They 'have nothing meaningful to offer the electorate in a positive sense'. That's exactly the 'problem' here in Thailand. The Democrat Party here, which is in about the same position as there, adopted the 'strategy' of boycotting elections. Not even running. They knew they had not a snowball's chance in South Thailand of winning.

The 'solution' to their problem here was ... military coup and dictatorship. Turn back the clock to the middle ages and see how that works out. The thing about dictatorships is that they make 'society' stupid and cowardly. All the state functionaries identify with the dictator and in every situation ask themselves 'what would the dictator do?' and then they do it. They are at once even more irrational and brutal than the dictator himself ... or than the dictator himself after his advisors have cajoled and pleaded or the plutocrats have threatened him ... because they are deathly afraid of incurring the dictator's wrath for being 'lax'. And at the same time they'd like to stand out as dictatoresque men of action themselves ... just like the d-man himself. Maybe they can be d-men someday. Society is degenerating, and the pace has picked up in the past couple of months on the way to the dictator's referendum on his waaaay over the top charter, aka constitution, for Thailand. They arrested and charged two 8 year-old girls the other day who appropriated some important papers they'd hung up, because they put there orders on pink paper and the girls thought the paper was beautiful.

Anyway, Trump is analogous to Thaksin, not to put too fine a point on it, at least he's talkin' the talk. The Democrats have nothing to offer ordinary Americans. They have to rely on their vote counting 'skills' ... and the Royal (Bangkok) Thai Army of Occupation when they fail.

I hope that everyone in the USA does take advantage of the opportunity to get out of the zoo this time - no more elephants, no more jackasses. And I hope the Thais reject the dictator's charter by a landslide vote. And then I hope both countries' peoples see themselves reflected in the headlines for what they are: the sovereign power in their respective countries, if they will just organize themselves and seize it.

Posted by: jfl | Jul 25 2016 10:42 utc | 6

"Trump breaks those structures and thrives. He uses the limits of mainstream framing against it. Like him or not, I don't, there is a genius in that." ~ b

Good analysis on Trump's media savvy. In the last month we in the US have seen attack ad after attack ad from the Clinton camp. Her numbers went down and Trump's went up. He ran no ads. That defies "political wisdom".

Donald Trump’s “America First” platform is an existential threat to many corporate interests that have depended upon the two parties being the same as far as major policies go. But now the people have awakened to the fact that there’s no difference between either wing of the Dem-Repub apparatus.

The billionaire underwriters for the various corporate media and candidates are going to fight it out for the reason that the real political war is now about Globalists VS Nationalists. This is why you are going to see a person you have always thought of as “conservative”, opining for the global agenda.

Donald Trump represents the populist uprising of the "common man" who has been oppressed by the globalist policies of the US for at least a generation. I predict that the Germans will see the same division soon, if it is not already visible.

There is common ground for the hard-left (like many at this site) and the hard right. The "good of the people" is not to be found in policies favored by globalist multi-billionaires and the corporations that they control. It is becoming the time of the people to over through the evil rulers.

Please note that Trump started none of this. He merely saw the parade and jumped out front. On the other hand, he is a damn smart leader of the parade as you point out in your article.

It is the time for nationalists and globalists to have a political war. This reminds me of politics in the 30's.

Posted by: Mark Stoval | Jul 25 2016 10:42 utc | 7

How Clinton And Her Shallow-Brained Media Do Trump's Bidding

The perfect headline; stand up and take a bow b.
It reminds me of part of a poem I wrote a bizillion years ago (60's/early 70's?) about U.S. society, Vietnam War, and U.S. politics: ...come with me, and fly at speed on the astral plain, and we'll plumb the shallows of each other's brain...
Seems we've come full circle.

Posted by: V. Arnold | Jul 25 2016 11:08 utc | 8

What a fantastic post. Thanks, b.

Posted by: donjuan | Jul 25 2016 11:10 utc | 9

Looks like the corporate media all got the memo concerning Trump's "dark" acceptance speech:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CoG0Q_oXEAAJlgV.jpg

Posted by: anon | Jul 25 2016 11:18 utc | 10

Campaign 2016 - Where Illusion met Delusion; Reality will follow the parade and clean up the poo of the prancing, swaggering herds (as it usually does). Slightly used Hopium for sale, buy it now, bargain prices, get it while it lasts.

Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Jul 25 2016 11:27 utc | 11

@7 ms, 'It is the time for nationalists and globalists to have a political war'

I think its time for corporatists and humanists to have a war. I know that hard-right - libertarians - conceive of the government as the arch, evil corporation, but in fact that is because it is run by the arch. evil transnational corporations. The TTP / TTIP embody that corporate manifest. They want to take decision-making out of the hands of human beings and put it in the hands of the TNCs, because as slave 'owners' or 'managers' of corporations their livelihoods are completely dependent on the 'well-being', bottom line anyway, of those TNCs. The real problem with government is that it is absentee-owned, we the people have taken a permanent vacation, and the corporations have usurped our place. So the battle is to seize control of our governments and to geld the TNCs.

There is much more overlap in our immediate goals than in our conception of how the world works, but the key word there is immediate. We have enough common ground there to form a coherent, goal directed, expeditionary-force, to battle the corporatists from the left and the globalists from the right, though we retire to separate tents with our fellows to plan the struggles of tomorrow, once the immediate battle has been closed and won.

Posted by: jfl | Jul 25 2016 11:28 utc | 12

@jfl 5
No, he cant lose vs Hilary. Impossible... as the outside observer (so more tuned to receive US foreign policy banter) The Don has benefitted not only from his worldwide brand prior to entering the race, but also from what came before him. A pretty large Paulite mobilisation in 2008, followed by an at times clinical insurgency into the party rank and file in 2012 created an atmosphere just perfect for Trump to follow in behind.

For how fortunate the republican climate was/is for The Don, it was equally balanced by how unforgiving it was to Cruz. The RNC shot stooge Cruz in the back 4 years ago.

The Paulite insurgency which in great detail engineered massive primary caucus delegate victories (see Minnesota) against the popular vote were so effective that the RNC changed the voting rules. And so, the 2016 primary delegates would be bound to the popular vote.

An unfathomable lack of foresight right there, but also gives you an idea of how shitscared Stooge Romney was of the Paul faithful, whose leader had been subject to media blackout by much of the MSM and passed off as a cuck wherever else he was mentioned. Romney couldn't have him hijacking the 2012 RNC.

Delegates now bound by popular vote instead of the caucus based system which encourages grass roots involvement is a perfect platform for...well..a populist.

I am not sure that this revolution is what Good Dr Ron had in mind, but as an outsider looking in it's not hard to tell that The Don has aimed a couple of clever soundbites in regards to foreign policy squarely at the Paulites...even though you don't need to be too anti-war entice votes from Hilary.

The Dems will have their reformation in 2020 - but I don't think they'll be feeling The Bern as much as the RNC is feeling Dr Ron's Pay-It-Forward Prescription.

The RNC imploded. Because of Paul they lost a switch and lever crucial to event rigged - whenever Trump tweets 'RIGGED' that a war chant aimed at all conscious human beings.

At least with Emperor Trump libertarians also get their wish of minimal government. Something to smile about I guess.

Posted by: MadMax2 | Jul 25 2016 11:53 utc | 13

^*crucial to event rigging

Posted by: MadMax2 | Jul 25 2016 11:55 utc | 14

For all of Hillary's weaknesses and venality it is going to be next to impossible for Trump to beat her as long as he labors under a gender gap of historic proportions. After Hillary is elected, expect even more and larger U.S. wars. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Doomsday Clock will likely tick two minutes to midnight, something it hasn't done since 1953 at the height of the Cold War.

Posted by: Mike Maloney | Jul 25 2016 11:57 utc | 15

OT Latest skinny on Turkey coup.
3 Turkish specialized NATO regiments (20,000+ troops?} led coup attempt. Using Bellingcat translated records of coup communications, Sybil Edmonds explains:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KAxjZWy-Lk

Bellingcat transcripts and photos:

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2016/07/24/the-turkey-coup-through-the-eyes-of-its-plotters/

Posted by: chu teh | Jul 25 2016 12:00 utc | 16

Obama was the last hope on the left, not Bernie. The Bern could not pick up the diversity and run with it. He couldn't do the heavy lifting except in New York City. In the end he caved quicker than a Dixie cup. Obama proved to be as big a scam as Clinton 1...not an easy task. The left had been stabbed in the back so many times during those nearly sixteen years that they look like pin cushions. Clinton 2 is more of the same or, considering the state of the nation, potentially far worse...that's a given. Trump and his cronies are right out of the old Batman tv show. Trump is the jocker. He's standing in the wings watching the dumb s#%~t dems trip over themselves just like the repubs did in the primary. Come what may, all the Donald is sure of is that he's going to make a fortune...which doesn't put him in a class of his own, but merely the only one in our political class openly admitting it.

Posted by: Lawrence Smith | Jul 25 2016 12:37 utc | 17

re 16 Bellingcat doesn't speak Turkish, but he does have close contacts with British security (GCHQ and others). I guess that's where this comes from, though there's nothing particularly secret in it.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 25 2016 13:05 utc | 18

Barack Obama = CIA creation to be a rubber stamp. He was never a leader. Early on, he'd clearly indicated that the job of the President is not to lead, but to pass or veto bills from Congress. This narrow interpretation allowed him to screw us good. He and his dupes explained that we got screwed because of meany republicans and especially b/c "his hands were tied".

So many lies. One of my favorites: "The government cannot create jobs."

Trump, OTOH, is a natural leader. He is a boor, but he is a natural leader. When Congress sets about to screw the commons, the remedy is "The Bully Pulpit".

Explain on TV the nature of the situation to the people. Watch Congress capitulate when you call the bastards out individually.

The last guy that did that was JFK.

Posted by: fast freddy | Jul 25 2016 13:16 utc | 19

Trump is an egotist but I don't think he's that smart. I think his media successes are due to his curent campaign director Paul Manafort, who takes over from Roger Stone, a long time Trump ally and Republican Party trickster. Previously Manafort ran a PR firm that catered to every dictator imaginable (it was joked about in Washington as 'The Torturers' Lobby').

Manafort and Stone formed a company in 1980 that ran the election campaigns for a generation of Republicans and held cartel-like control over the Republican primaries. As one consultant put it: "They managed all of the major campaigns. Atwater took Bush; Black ran Dole; Stone handled Jack Kemp. A congressional staffer joked to a reporter from Time, 'Why have primaries for the nomination? Why not have the candidates go over to Black, Manafort and Stone and argue it out?'"

If you want to understand the Trump campaign team and Paul Manafort then read Franklin Foer's outstanding article in Slate magazine (28 April 2016) entitled "The Quiet American". It'll blow your socks off. Manafort is selling Trump to the American people as a clean skin product, a break from insider corruption. It's a lie but it's enough to defeat Hillary.

Manafort says the Trump campaign is about law and order and that dark themes, absurdly, only elevate Trump as the peace bringer.

Posted by: damien | Jul 25 2016 13:30 utc | 20

chu [email protected] Elijah Magnier has a new post up, since you're a bellingcat follower:

https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/how-you-become-a-famous-terrorist-expert-on-social-media/

[email protected] He's up 5 points since the absurdly dark RNC. Former doc chair just got booed off the stage at a breakfast presser in Philly. He's not stupid.

Not that I'm not skeptical, he was Roy Cohn's boy long before Manafort and Stone.

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 25 2016 13:48 utc | 21

@21- dnc chair

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 25 2016 13:49 utc | 22

@b,

"A same-as-ever program for an electorate that demands changes."

Well said.

Consider it stolen. ;)

b4real

Posted by: b4real | Jul 25 2016 14:19 utc | 23

Excellent run-down on the way Visionless Twerps emphasise their lack of vision by resorting to one-word slogans as a substitute for POLICIES, b.
This observation sums up Hillary's dilemna with superb and delicious clarity:

Trump raises much less money than Clinton. He simply does not need as much as she does. He can spend more time on real campaigning than Clinton who must hurry from one fund raiser to the next one. Meanwhile Clinton's negative campaigning against Trump reinforces his message.

If she keeps believing her own bullshit (fingers crossed), and she slides in the polls, it's not hard to imagine that she'll have to put the Putin excuse on the back-burner and swing a wrecking ball through Team Clinton in retribution for her own dumbfuckery.
With Right-wing Cranks it's ALWAYS somebody else's fault when a half-baked scheme goes belly-up.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jul 25 2016 14:28 utc | 24

Good one - yes, the mass corporate press really is scripted, and really they all read from the same script.

I guess they decided that 'racist' and 'fascist' were starting to lose their shock value due to overuse, and they decided to try 'dark' for a while.

If I was a talented hacker I would love to intercept the marching orders that the media get and replace the official cuss-word of the day with something like 'ontological', and see how many media outlets blindly use the word even though it makes no sense at all…

"Donald Trump's speech darkly ontological" - NYT
"The specter of ontology haunting the Trump campaign" - The Guardian
"Putin and Trump: ontological partners?" - Time magazine

I can dream...

I think perhaps the worst thing that Bill Clinton did to this country - worse than NAFTA, worse than repealing Glass-Steagall, or bailing out the big banks that made bad loans to Mexico etc.etc., was allowing the media to consolidate.

I think the biggest priority for anyone who wants his country to stop going down the drain, would be to break up the big media monopolies, prevent news organizations from owning or being owned by any other business, and blocking foreign nationals from controlling US media outlets. IMHO.

Posted by: TG | Jul 25 2016 14:30 utc | 25

Trump was absolutely the bringer of a different message than the previous bunch of ziocruds who have driven US on the rocks of globalization.
Name one political candidate in the last 40? years who says good things about Russia?Name one other than Dr.Paul,who critiqued all these stupid wars for zion?
And today,the NYlying times says;Putin hacks DNC,as he wants Trump .
The absolute hypocrisy of Zion who spies on US constantly,has agents in every news outlet,and bribes our political whores daily,witness the collusion of every major news having the same memes time after time.
And the rep Bloomberg comes out for the HB.Hah.
Over at the Graun,Obomba intimates that Trump hears voices in his head.Wow.And his half bro will vote Trump!
And check pout AA,where Louis Proyect,that commie crud,says idiocy about the beheading of the kid.Wow again,the depravity of the Zionists.

Posted by: dahoit | Jul 25 2016 14:36 utc | 26

Bravo b. But you’ve been too kind with your description:

”The New York Times journalist tweeted” [..] The journos’ shallow-brained reaction is a main ingredient of it”

Imho, “journalist” joined the Dodos decades ago. What we now have are Stenos., Cut and Pasters at corporate media.

May I use your apt descriptor “shallow-brained”? Yes, shallow-brain Stenos. No exercise of brain cells required.

“Oh my, we need to separate the adverts, do you have a ready piece you’d like us to print? Send it over.”

On Election day, the turnout to vote may be as low as 30%.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

@ Mike Maloney 15

For all of Hillary’s weakness and venality it is going to be next to impossible for Trump to beat her…[..]”

btw, I .do. not. have. a. vote.

but
May I suggest
You underestimate the utter public disgust for the Clinton dynasty. Take any segment - from the low-informed to independents- they are tired and wish to see the backs of Clintons.

Michael Moore sees even progressives will stay at home. A low turnout favours Trump.

And do you not think the emails, ones from the DNC and HRC private servers, will keep on giving?

At the link, do scroll up to “Wow” read the DNCLeak email. Donna Brazile says there are more coming….

http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/07/24/2016-livewire-democrats-disarray-eve-hillary-clintons-coronation-convention-philadelphia/

Democrats in Disarray UPDATE 10:25 P.M. ET

Hillary Clinton, in an interview with 60 Minutes, says: “I don’t know anything about these emails. I haven’t followed it. But I’m very proud of the campaign I ran. And I’m very proud of the campaign that Sen. Sanders ran.”
When asked by 60 minutes if it would have been “improper” for anyone inside the DNC to favor one candidate over another, Hillary Clinton responds: “Again, I don’t have any information about this. So I can’t answer specifically. We ran our campaign. We ran hard. We worked to have as many successes as possible. We’re very proud we got{.}

~ ~ ~

as always HRC admits to ” knowing nothing about it “ and “is sometimes confused.”

HRC, the next president with Bill the first spouse?

Is there some real estate for sale on Pluto?

Posted by: likklemore | Jul 25 2016 14:54 utc | 27

I look at politics through what is called "Deep Politics" which to me means politics viewed as it is rather than through the lens of American Exceptionalism." The oligarchs have fallen out among themselves at the very time that they achieved absolute control over our society. Part of all the differences are about "personal" rivalries among the aristocracy, another and part is about ethnic and social rivalries, and finally there are several different ideologies at work here. This explains the drift we have seen during the Obama years. In the current system American politicians are power brokers who arrange deals and they tend to have very little personal power. Thus Obama's FP seems to be utterly rudderless and full of constant zig-zags.

The main faction which includes Soros and his gang have the advantage of controlling the major propaganda organs and they support the Clintons. Trump, in my view, saw that the dissafected factions had nowhere to go and were more nationalist and not as global in their views and believed he could Marshall those then inchoate forces into a movement. Trump was also, unlike most oligarchs, in touch with the yeoman class who do the heavy lifting in our society and are and have been ignored by the major factions as being irrelevant. Now Trump is heading the first genuine populist movement since FDR though he is much closer to Mussolini in style and substance except for the imperial ambitions.

Even if Trump wins that does not mean the dominant faction is dead because as long as the muscle part of the faction, mainly the black op faction remains in the globalist corner, they will still be able to assert themselves. Trump, if he wants to have free rein must purge some of these people and make some deals with the rest of we will see major instability. I have it from a source I trust that Trump is fully aware of some of the skullduggery of the back ops cadre which explains his alliance with Alex Jones and his posse.

The "issues" here are irrelevant. This is about a struggle for power and if it is a close election the race will come down to who can control the ballot. American elections are noonger honest so who controls the count controls the election. One little caveat here. During the 00 ballot counting period in Florida while I was working on a top secret project one of the senior people on the project who was ex-military told me his sources in th military told him that if Gore won there would be a military coup. I believe the Supreme Court was aware of this and threw the election to Bush. I think we are seeing the most important election of our lifetime and no matter who wins we will see even more unravelling of the USA.

Posted by: Banger | Jul 25 2016 14:56 utc | 28

This is exactly the analysis that Scott Adams, the Dilbert comic strip creator, has been following for over a year. Understanding Trump as a 'Master Persuader' and relying on his training as a hypnotist, he was one of the first to say Trump was on his way to a landslide win, not just the Republican nomination. Check out his twitter feed "@ScottAdamsSays" for his latest thoughts.

Posted by: kafkananda | Jul 25 2016 14:58 utc | 29

(JTA)- WikiLeaks removed tweets that described some of its Jewish critics as “establishment climbers.”

The account, believed to be run by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, was responding to tweets linking its massive release of Democratic Party leaks with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin is believed to back Republican Party nominee Donald Trump, and there is evidence that the recent hacking into the Democratic National Committee was carried out by Russians.

“Tribalist symbol for establishment climbers?” said a Wikileaks tweet on Saturday. “Most of our critics have 3 (((brackets around their names))) & have black-rimmed glasses. Bizarre.”

from the Jewish Telegraph Agency

So if I'm reading the above article correctly, Julian Assange's tweet (before WikiLeaks removed it) identified most of his critics as (((neocons))) who are promoting war with Russia.

Posted by: anon | Jul 25 2016 15:05 utc | 30

The statistic crackers at FiveThirtyEight:
2016 election forecast

Chance of winning:
Trump 57.5%
Clinton 42.5%

Posted by: b | Jul 25 2016 15:16 utc | 31

It seems odd that this post seems to be advising Clinton on how to change her tactics against Trump in order to avoid defeat. I hadn't gotten the impression that Moon of Alabama was in favor of a Clinton victory?

I see all the op-eds from the NY Times, the Atlantic, the LA Times, and the DNC claiming that Trump is a Putin agent as being a form of mass psychosis. The only end to this I see coming is on the end of a Russian ICBM.

So advocating for Hillary seems equally crazy and unethical to me.

Posted by: Perimetr | Jul 25 2016 15:19 utc | 32

I like your compendium of Trump is "Dark" headlines.

doesnt the MSM have any imagination anymore? no, they probably never did.

you would have thought that they could have tried something different,
like irony, and other forms of wit.

Posted by: chris m | Jul 25 2016 15:24 utc | 33

...
I think we are seeing the most important election of our lifetime and no matter who wins we will see even more unravelling of the USA.
Posted by: Banger | Jul 25, 2016 10:56:01 AM | 28

I suspect that's true.
Team Chipnik's disturbing-but-true warnings point to the likelihood that the Academy of Assholes is on the cusp of Total Victory in AmeriKKKa. They've certainly pulled out all the stops and aren't even bothering to conceal their psychopathy any more.

Thank God for Putin & China (and the Greedy Cretins who've been using the US Military, and a 'rising China' to loot AmeriKKKa for 50 years).

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jul 25 2016 15:24 utc | 34

{QUOTE} It Is true that there was slight chance of slipping, for the news funneled to the papers was uniform and the position and emphasis It was to be given were usually dictated by the propaganda ministry. This uniformity was deadly, The reader, knowing hi the first in. stance that he could not trust what fie was be. Ing told, could not even obtain the relief of variety in the statement of what he was per. mitted to know. When circulations went Into a precipitous decline even Goebbels denounced the "lap dog press," calling upon newspaper men to show more courage and decreeing that the press should be " In Its will, but polyform. In expressing that will." {UNQUOTE} -- Chicago Tribune -- Apr 6, 1943 -- Web page:
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1943/04/06/page/14/article/the-lap-dog-press/

Posted by: blues | Jul 25 2016 15:29 utc | 35

How many people does this scaremongering about Russia persuade? Back in the Cold War, they convinced us to oppose the USSR because it threatened to extend its godless Communism and totalitarianism to us. But now, why should we care?

Thanks for the reference to Scott Adams. I see he suspects a lot of secret Trump supporters refuse to admit it to pollsters. I suspect the same. I remember -- and I suspect Scott Adams remembers -- how it was thought impossible for Ronald Reagan to win in 1980, and how he ended up winning in a landslide.

Posted by: lysias | Jul 25 2016 15:33 utc | 36

A train wreck is a train wreck; and the Clinton locomotive is already off the rails. Way too late to change direction. Decades of machination, a lifetime of dirty tricks, piles upon piles of dead bodies, big lies followed by bigger ones, ---this is the legacy. No one should be surprised.

kudos to b, for a great post.

Posted by: Copeland | Jul 25 2016 15:47 utc | 37

Banger @28

Even though I disagree with your 'social libertarianism' philosophy (more libertarian, I think than socialism), I'm glad to see that you now have your own website.

As for this comment, some constructive criticism:

1) The innuendo of your comment generates more heat than light. Your ominous talk of coups actually detracts as: a) you provide no source; b) you leave the reader with nothing more than fear and dread. What would you have us do, not try to make things better?

This is something I've pointed out to you numerous times already but you seem to like to rattle your audience.

2) You say it's not really about the issues but that is patently false as you implicitly point out when describing the overall change in direction that Trump represents. Although most voters may not be aware of the 'macro' issue(s) and the trade-offs/horsetrading that the Trump campaign engages in to win, it is incorrect to say that the election is not about issues.

3) It's mildly amusing that you've altered your label from 'Deep State' to 'Deep Politics' even though the concerns you express are essentially the same as always.

4) You need to have more than truisms and innuendo. Unless you are trying to appeal to an audience that likes that sort of thing.

Good luck with your blog!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 25 2016 15:49 utc | 38

killbilly minus her mask of sanity

2 minute video
13 minute video

Posted by: Barbara | Jul 25 2016 15:50 utc | 39

Barbara @39

The 2 minute video link has a quote from George Washington near the end of the post that more than worth the price of admission.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 25 2016 16:06 utc | 40

"when the voting machines vote for Hillary..." James Corbett. kind of hard to know how much of this is nothing more than electoral theater to entertain the masses, incl. the candidacy of Trump himself, who threw himself into the ring at Bill C's advice. they gotta keep the race close, though. lots of media bucks involved in drumming up interest in which candidate gets shown the real Zapruder film the moment they walk into the ovoid office. oh wait, HRC's seen that one already.

Posted by: jason | Jul 25 2016 16:19 utc | 41

Whoever wins, the U.S. will be incompetent at the top, a good but a bit scary thing for the rest of the world.

I wouldn't get too optimistic about a Trump presidency. He, unlike Hill, at least knows be would be incompetent at the job and has already signed up an array of usual suspects who'll do the actual presidential work. Perhaps the only deviation from the usual neocon/neolib routine would be friendlier relations with Russia, which sure would be nice!

The thing about Trump is that what matters more than anything to him is winning. It's essential to the family brand. He'll do whatever it takes, and he seems to have an excellent grasp on saying what people want to hear. But don't expect anything much in the way of 'keeping promises' post-election. "What, those were promises? I was just putting on a show, and you _loved_ it."

Posted by: fairleft | Jul 25 2016 16:28 utc | 42

Relax people, enjoy the show. It matters not who wins. The "Corporate Empire", rolls on, no matter the puppets face to the world. As long as the $ reserve is the US dollar, nothing can change. Trump, Clinton, no difference. Peons of the world, lube up.

As our old friend Chipnik was fond of saying, "It's just business, get over it."

Posted by: ben | Jul 25 2016 17:19 utc | 43

b, you made a typo that actually works perfectly: "While new unemployment numbers seem to go down, labor partition rates are very low and sinking." You meant 'labor participation rates' but 'labor partition' is actually accurate--there is a divide between those able to get jobs and the poor, the uneducated, the older, the displaced workers who can no longer get any jobs other than part-time, temporary, minimum wage jobs--if even that. Clinton, of course, has nothing to offer these 'partitioned' workers and while Trump doesn't really either, he at least addresses their concerns.

Posted by: WorldBLee | Jul 25 2016 17:21 utc | 44

b,

The quality of your political discourse has drawn the literati from around the world to your MoA blog. The comments reflect this in a positive manner. Another great piece today. Thanks

Posted by: ALberto | Jul 25 2016 17:21 utc | 45

Expansion of this post's title, "How Clinton And Her Shallow-Brained Media Do Trump's Bidding":

-By alienating all "DARK"-skinned voters who had planned to vote for her in November. They now plan to vote for Trump whose "Dark" campaign targets them directly.

Posted by: nudge | Jul 25 2016 17:21 utc | 46

The Lawsuit Covers Claims of Negligence and Fraud
https://youtu.be/hU4I6C-9JZw
In a YouTube video about the lawsuit, Jason Beck said there were six claims to the case. The first is fraud against the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, stating that they broke legally binding agreements by strategizing for Clinton. The second is negligent misrepresentation. The third is deceptive conduct by claiming they were remaining neutral when they were not. The fourth is is retribution for monetary donations to Sanders’ campaign. The fifth is that the DNC broke its fiduciary duties during the primaries by not holding a fair process. And the sixth is for negligence, claiming that the DNC did not protect donor information from hackers.

You can read all the documents associated with the lawsuit at this http://jampac.us/DNCLawsuit/

Posted by: okie farmer | Jul 25 2016 17:48 utc | 47

Add "dark" headlines...

Lead editorial in today's Toronto Star: "Trump's dark, lonely vision."

Posted by: Captain Cook | Jul 25 2016 17:58 utc | 48

OT, but Masdar is claiming that part of the rebel front in Aleppo has collapsed, at least the FSA part. Is this the end? Of course Nusra holds most of it. Don't know whether to believe it. But surprising.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 25 2016 17:59 utc | 49

Looks like western MSM going full in psyops. disinformation attack against Trump and stupid Russian ties right now, so incredibly pathetic.

Posted by: Oaz | Jul 25 2016 18:24 utc | 50

In the end the (foreign) policy of Trump and Clinton will be the same like the amount of spilled blood and the destruction (lest we forget the new US wars Libya, Syria, Mali, Ukraine). The difference is that outside the US, there will be more resistance to Trump the bigot than to Hillary the banshee that will play the gender card. And then there's the fact that Trump wouldn't care for the deadly results of his actions while Hillary who also doesn't care might even get some joy out of it. Remember her reaction on some head of state being viscously murdered and knifed up the anus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgcd1ghag5Y

Michael Moore is an ignorant bastard when he says "I actually like Hillary – a lot – and I think she has been given a bad rap she doesn’t deserve."

Posted by: PA7 | Jul 25 2016 18:47 utc | 51

Not that I would claim to know much about it, but both candidates seem catastrophic. I wouldn't necessarily go along with Pat Lang and decide not to vote, if I had a vote. Putting someone in power for four years is a big issue. They're free to do what they want for four years. I remember well what the Palestinians said when Ariel Sharon was elected. It's a good thing, they said. That'll show the world what Israel is really like. The result was catastrophic for the Palestinians. Here you have to choose between two catastrophes.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 25 2016 19:11 utc | 52

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, speaking to her Florida delegation, was loudly booed this morning. At least per tape of the meeting used on WNYC pubic radio broadcast this morning. An NBC video had microphones which captured DWS's speaking, but barely caught the crowd noise.

Mostly Bernie supporters booed, per one article.

https://www.rt.com/usa/353145-wasserman-schultz-booed-stage/

Apologies if this has already been posted.

Posted by: jawbone | Jul 25 2016 19:15 utc | 53

...
Michael Moore is an ignorant bastard when he says "I actually like Hillary – a lot – and I think she has been given a bad rap she doesn’t deserve."
Posted by: PA7 | Jul 25, 2016 2:47:03 PM | 51

Pure wishful thinking...
Mike, zmart, but fat, old and 'cosmetically-challenged' has picked Hillary, smart, pleasantly plump, old-ish, easier on the eye than he, has predicted that she'll lose. He's putting in a good word for himself for the day when she's as popular as a fart in a perfumery and needs an admiring friend. It's a common male fantasy.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jul 25 2016 19:33 utc | 54

Remember Obama railed against "stupid wars". I assumed that he was referring to the destruction of Iraq.

Since then, Obama has engaged the USA in more stupid wars than any president in history.

Now we have Trump - America First. Also opposed to stupid wars.

But his favorite Foreign Policy guy is Zionist for Yinon Plan for Greater Israel John Bolton. That can't be good.

BUT Trump is not saber rattling straight out of the box like the Hell Bitch is doing.

Posted by: fast freddy | Jul 25 2016 19:42 utc | 55

Could Hillary be the underdog pick now? All i read about her are about how horrible and terrible she is. It's quite surreal, although she and Bill deserve it.

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 25 2016 19:45 utc | 56

This may be the only u.s. presidential election in history where the winner will be the candidate who says and is seen the least. Maybe Trump understands that.

Posted by: poggwillie | Jul 25 2016 19:46 utc | 57

@4 jfl - Taksin is not Trump - he is a globalist tool whose main objective was the looting of Thailand to the benefit of oligarchs like himself and color revolution if that failed. The general is a nationalist which is the only redeeming quality of military rule. Sure Taksin threw some populist peanuts to the poor - that was the plan all along to create a base - but he stole vastly more than he ever redistributed and the Thai middle class paid for all of it anyway. Talk to ordinary middle-class Thai and they mostly feel the same way - they hate the dictatorship - but the options (Taksin and his band of globalist thieves, and the decrepit self-serving yellow shirt elites) are even more unpalatable. There are no obvious solutions to this mess and the nationalist elements who are presently in control are simply playing for time.

Posted by: bigmango | Jul 25 2016 19:46 utc | 58

...
But don't expect anything much in the way of 'keeping promises' post-election. "What, those were promises? I was just putting on a show, and you _loved_ it."
Posted by: fairleft | Jul 25, 2016 12:28:47 PM | 42

You wish...
Trump, unlike most politicians, isn't a pitiful, cowardly liar who'd sell his soul, his mother and his best friend for a fistful of cash. You're probably confusing him with Tony Bliar, Bush II and 'Mr Magoo without the good intentions' - John W Howard, a creepy sell-out with no presence, personality or moral compass.

After one of his early promise-laden election victories, he had the gall to dismiss a press query about several of his broken promises thus:
"Uhh, they were non-core promises."

Trump's too smart and proud to box himself in with false promises. If he's flogging a vague idea it'll be vague BEFORE the election, not afterwards.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jul 25 2016 19:56 utc | 59

Man, I nominate this site for a Pulitzer Prize in the category Exposing Bullshit. Well, if there were such a category.

Posted by: Erelis | Jul 25 2016 19:56 utc | 60

Did I miss something ? You want Hillary clinton to win US presidency ?!

Posted by: Brian | Jul 25 2016 19:59 utc | 61

Scott Adams believes "dark" is a Trumpian word. Very persuasive for Hillary. And the fact she got all the media to parrot it reinforces the word. It says something when all the media work in lockstep to campaign for Hillary and then you have neocons like Kagan and Wall Streeters like Hank Paulson and Mike Bloomberg all supporting Hillary. And the fact that the Republican establishment like the Bush family, Romney, Kasich, etc all opposed to Trump.

I find it really amazing that the effort to defeat Trump is so widespread and intense. Why are they so afraid?

Posted by: ab initio | Jul 25 2016 20:10 utc | 62

@61 One bit of reasoning is that we're still in a evil/less-evil paradigm, so the system will continue on. Trump is probably the most maverick candidate I've ever seen in my 39 years, but he's 'billionaire' that has mingled with many of USA's power-players for decades. He's also got some serious skeletons (and allegations) in his closet

Posted by: bbbb | Jul 25 2016 20:32 utc | 63

I really wonder who's going to declare war in Syria, if they win. Frankly "winning" in Syria means putting jihadis in power. That is not a good idea, whatever they say.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 25 2016 20:47 utc | 64

There's nothing genius about Trump, that's just stupid. How could a "genius" give his enemies endless ammunition against him on an hourly basis. Trump is a contradictory, lying, moronic, self-serving, doubtless, thoughtless halfwit.
He could've kept his message on bring jobs back to America and the corrupt US political system, and it would've been the biggest landslide against Hillary Clinton we've seen in a long time. But no, the "genius" couldn't help him self and have to be a torture loving, war warmongering, war crime endorsing, racist, women hating fucktard. YEah, great genius.

When the media attacks Trump, that simply serves his anti establishment and political corruption line. There's nothing genius about that. All he does is repeat the same lines when he's attacked. Creating a loop in the mind of an idiot where repetition of lies/ lines wins the day.

And Trump will be just as corrupt as POTUS, if not more, if he get power. If you thought Hillary Clinton was self-servingly corrupt wait till Trump gets there. And is jobs back to America is the biggest load of bullshit I've heard this whole campaign.
Trumps main messages are the biggest load of horse shit I've ever heard and yet it will probably propel him to victory
Trumps claims of restoring America are complete lies, but his vicious, bloodthirsty and racist "policies" I expect to be wholly carried out if elected.

Posted by: tom | Jul 25 2016 21:02 utc | 65

So Clinton has been booed. Good start.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jul 25 2016 21:08 utc | 66

US Monarchy - Royal Family

We, the citizens, are dealing with a small number of criminals who are toxic to all life. One of the landmark events was Iran Contra where in my opinion the Military Industrial Complex fully embraced and became partners with the International Narcotics Cartel.

Bush I - 4 years as President with the possibility 11 years had the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt not been entrusted to an individual who was not capable of aiming a firearm and pulling the trigger. Hinkley's parents are/were Bush family friends and part of the US Royal family.

Bush II - 8 years of the most disastrous foreign policy decisions in the history of the Republic.

Bush III - Potential of 8 years as President.

Clinton I - 8 years as President. Involved in Iran Contra as Governor of Arkansas. Without a doubt a serial criminal.

Clinton II - Potential 8 years as President. A totally incompetent criminal lacking even a hint of charisma. A criminal of the first order.

Obama I - Due to the fact that at the last moment the people backing Hillary Clinton for President realized that she was unelectable a suitable actor/droid had to be found. Enter Obama who's Presidency presaged 8 years of slaughter of Middle East men, women and children. There is no doubt that Obama's Administration carried on the 'Agenda' pursued by Bush/Clinton at the behest of the US Royal Shadow Government.

So we have 12 years of Bush Familia Presidency with the possibility of 8 more if III ever wins office. 16 years of Clinton/Obama with the potential of 8 more if Clinton II were to win.

With the Bush/Clinton/Obama regimes we are talking 28 years in the office of President of the United States with the potential of 16 more years if Bush III and Clinton II succeed in being 'selected.'

44 years of criminality that boggles the mind.

Just my opinion.

Posted by: ALberto | Jul 25 2016 21:28 utc | 67

Re: "(Isn't it amazing how Putin can compel all U.S. media to parrot the very same message?)
Reminds me of this:

During the Cold War, a group of Russian journalists toured the United States.
On the final day of their visit, they were asked by their hosts for their impressions.

'I have to tell you,' said their spokesman, 'that we were astonished to find after
reading all the newspapers and watching TV, that all the opinions on all the vital
issues were by and large, the same. To get that result in our country, we imprison
people, we tear out their fingernails. Here, you don’t have that. What’s the secret?
How do you do it?” --- John Pilger Address at Columbia University on 14 April 2006

Posted by: erichwwk | Jul 25 2016 21:40 utc | 68

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Republican National Convention
https://youtu.be/zNdkrtfZP8I

Posted by: okie farmer | Jul 25 2016 22:20 utc | 69

The uniform reiteration of the word "dark" across the entire MSM is jawdropping. The hallmark of a totalitarian media. It seems the Iraq War concept of an "embedded" press has undergone its own version of mission creep.

Posted by: jayc | Jul 25 2016 22:22 utc | 70

One day when future linguists are studying the English language, they will be puzzling over how the word "dark" went the way of words like "wicked" to mean amazing or amazingly good. They only have to start with the examples MoA has linked to.

Posted by: Jen | Jul 25 2016 22:32 utc | 71

Even the Washington Post, a very pro-Hillary, anti-Trump newspaper, has mentioned the booing of Clinton's name in its lead front-page article. Democratic National Convention: Sanders supporters boo every mention of Clinton’s name as event opens.

Posted by: lysias | Jul 25 2016 22:39 utc | 72

Jack Rabbit @ 38

Innuendo is what I like and it is the soul of Washington intrigue. No one is to the point only hints and wink-wink, nudge-nudge. My source for the coup is a former Army officer whose name, even if I remembered it, I would not give. I'm not, I repeat, not a journalist in the traditional sense. I'm an occasional activist and propagandist for my side. If you want one of my sources I will name him--Roger Stone--I used to know him a shoot the shit with him in the 80s and 90s after which we stopped hanging in the same places and he was mainly in NYC. I haven't spoken to him in about fifteen years.

Posted by: Banger | Jul 25 2016 22:41 utc | 73

Hoarse @ 54: Freudian, but true.

Posted by: ben | Jul 25 2016 22:48 utc | 74

Sanders urges supporters to back Clinton, draws boos

Speaking at a rally on Monday, Sanders called Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump a “demagogue,” saying he must be defeated.

“We have got to defeat Donald Trump. We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine,” the Vermont senator said, adding “Trump is a bully and a demagogue.”

His remarks drew boos, loud jeers and shouts of “We want Bernie” by his supporters, one of whom said Clinton “stole the election.”

The boos indicated the towering rage his convention delegates are feeling at both Clinton's victory and embarrassing emails revealed Friday, showing the party leadership had been working to sabotage Sanders' campaign.

... [M]any of his supporters have said they would not vote for Clinton.

On Sunday, thousands of his supporters kicked off a week of planned demonstrations to protest an electoral process they believe is “rigged.”

The protesters were chanting, “Hell no, DNC (Democratic National Committee), we won’t vote for Hillary,” and, “This is what democracy looks like.”

Hell NO! D-N-Cee ...

We Won't Vote for Hill-a-ree!

The time is ripe for the repudiation of the War Party's menagerie; no more elephants, no more jackasses.

Work for a 3rd party / write-in / 'spoiled ballot' total in excess of either candidate from the zoo!

Posted by: jfl | Jul 25 2016 23:11 utc | 75

@71 You aren't the first to wonder about that Jen....

http://www.metrolyrics.com/anything-goes-lyrics-cole-porter.html

Posted by: dh | Jul 25 2016 23:23 utc | 76

This certified insanity is true.. Only the country has been changed to protect the guilty
======
• His Tone Dark, Vladimir Putin Takes G.O.P. Mantle - NYT
• Vladimir Putin Takes America on a Journey to the Dark Side - NBC
• In acceptance speech, Putin’s America is a dark and desperate place - WaPo
• Putin’s emotional and dark message: How it will play out - CNBC
• Will Vladimir Putin's dark view of America resonate with voters? - CSM
• Putin paints dark image of America - CBSNews
• Putin’s dark, dystopian — and false — version of America - MinnPost
• Clinton Campaign Slams Putin For Painting A 'Dark Picture' Of America - IBT
• Chuck Todd: Vladimir Putin's dark vision of America has risks - Today
• Obama rejects Putin’s dark America - Politico
• US election: Vladimir Putin's dark vision of America 'doesn't really jibe' with facts, Obama says - ABC
• Clinton: Putin 'painted a dark picture of America' - The Hill
• Clinton on Putin: 'I can't really imagine him on a white horse' - CNN
• Clinton-Kaine Ticket, in First Rally, Repudiate Putin’s Dark Vision of U.S. - Bloomberg
• His dark materials: After that diabolical, masterful performance, Vladimir Putin could easily end up president - Salon
• Vladimir Putin's Dark and Scary Night - Alternet
• 'The party I worked for died tonight': Republicans decry Putin’s dark vision - Guardian
• Vladimir Putin's Dark And Scary Night - HuffPo
• Vladimir Putin's Dark, Dark Convention Speech - The New Yorker
• The dark, frightening America of Vladimir Putin - Boston Globe
• Twitter found Vladimir Putin's speech to be the darkest timeline - Vox
• Vladimir Putin's dark speech to the Republican National Convention, annotated - WaPo

Posted by: DavidKNZ | Jul 25 2016 23:44 utc | 77

There's nothing "genius" about Trump's "strategy", it's only the logical and long overdue way to respond to one's opponent in a media manufactured reality. If Clinton actually were savvy, she'd give him some of his own medicine, but curiously she isn't "going there". Above it all, I'm sure.

His political success, however one measures it, only proves exactly how wealthy one must be in order to participate in American politics. This shows how debased the American public has become; they look at two, well, oligarchs - and determine one of them to be more qualified simply because he has the cold hard cash, while the other only has the "connections". Shallow indeed. "In the kingdom of the blind.." etc

Posted by: L Bean | Jul 26 2016 0:13 utc | 78

@25 TG, 'I think the biggest priority for anyone who wants his country to stop going down the drain, would be to break up the big media monopolies, prevent news organizations from owning or being owned by any other business, and blocking foreign nationals from controlling US media outlets.'

Anti-monopoly / anti-trust in general. Enforcing the laws built on top of the perdition and suffering of other periods 'just like' our own is an essential component of our restructure.

@28 Banger, 'Trump, if he wants to have free rein must purge some of these people and make some deals with the rest of we will see major instability.'

Must purge ALL of these people and make NO deals with the rest. Obama wasn't up to it. I can't imagine the Don even being interested in doing so ... but maybe I'm wrong.

@35 blues

That's a great quote. I'm going to pack it away myself. Thanks.

@39 barbara 'http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2016/07/2-minute-videos-copied-leadership-speeches-reveal-left-right-arm-puppets-one-us-political-body-psychopathically-pretending-care-engaging-rogue-state-endless-wars.html'

That 2 minute video is sweet.

@42 fl, ' [Trump], unlike Hill, at least knows be would be incompetent at the job and has already signed up an array of usual suspects who'll do the actual presidential work'

Yeah, that's the turn about. As in the obvious case of Obama, the 'array of usual suspects who'll do the actual presidential work' have signed up Hillary to front for them ... actually, of course, their bosses have.

But Trump will have oh so many opportunities to say ... you're fired.

@43 ben, 'Peons of the world, lube up.'

Not all of us are as anxious to be screwed as you are ben. Try to contain your masochist delight.

@52 Laguerre, 'Here you have to choose between two catastrophes.'

Only those shackled in voluntary slavery 'have' to choose between two catastrophes.

ฺBlow it off!

@58 bm, 'The general is a nationalist which is the only redeeming quality of military rule.'

Save that line - there is no redeeming quality to the dictator that I can see - I agree with you. Well, if the Thai Middle Class feel 'they' paid for it anyway it's because in their atomized, "I'm soon going to be a plutocrat myself" state, they roll over for plutocrat privilege and rule.

@67 AL,

Your rundown of our voluntary slavery to the alternating, clone dynasties is right on.

It doesn't have to be that way. All we need to is stand up on our hind legs, cast of the bonds, take over.

I imagine you've noticed how I imagine we might do that.

Posted by: jfl | Jul 26 2016 0:35 utc | 79

Trump and Clinton are very different. One is a proven liar, machine politician with a trail of scorched earth, death and destruction in her wake and the personal assurance of much more to come. The other is a plain-speaking, boorish megalomaniac with a relatively clean record of no death and destruction. Roll the dice.

Posted by: fast freddy | Jul 26 2016 0:38 utc | 80

@78 L. Bean

Lest we forget, among the most fully invested of the corporate sectors in on the charade are the corporate media themselves. To meet Trump's attacks they'd have to admit their own - at this point - uselessness.

The quadrennial election festival is the corporate media equivalent of the consumer retail Xmas Season ... payday. They cannot drain the swamp. It'd be suicide.

However it ends, Trump's campaign is working out real well, so far.

Posted by: jfl | Jul 26 2016 0:43 utc | 81

ff @80: Roll the dice.

You don't have to roll the dice. Unhappy with the choices? Vote Green Party.

What'll ya get? Support for:

> Preference voting that makes third-parties a lot more viable;

> 50% reduction in MIC;

> No TTP/TTIP (aka "Obamatrade");

> Higher taxes on oligarchs and living wages;

> Clean water, healthy food, strong communities;

> End of Citizens United / campaign finance reform;

> And more.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 26 2016 0:58 utc | 82

Opinion: Does Hillary Clinton have a political death wish?

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/does-hillary-clinton-have-a-political-death-wish-2016-07-25?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo&ref=yfp

Posted by: virgile | Jul 26 2016 1:06 utc | 83

"Donald Trump has made yet another announcement that will dismay Democrats across the country, and that is his choice for Attorney General. Trump tweeted that his pick for Attorney General is South Carolina conservative Rep.

Trey Gowdy, who currently chairs the U.S. House of Representative’s Select Committee on Benghazi.

Gowdy has been a constant thorn in the Obama administration’s side, and has exposed the White House’s incompetence on everything from amnesty to IRS abuses to the illegal deletion of Clinton’s emails.

Trump’s tweet read, “@HillaryClinton’s toast. Dems had better get the”B Team” off the bench. @TGowdySC for Attorney General under President Trump.” This tweet came right on the heels of an announcement that Trump would want Sarah Palin on his Cabinet."

source - http://endingthefed.com/breaking-donald-trump-just-announced-his-pick-for-attorney-general-hillarys-worst-nightmare.html

Posted by: ALberto | Jul 26 2016 1:28 utc | 84

[email protected] I can't believe no one has yet suggested that it's Bill Clinton's death wish for his wife. It makes perfect sense.

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 26 2016 1:34 utc | 85

@84 Interesting theory. I think we have to wait for Wasserman-Schultz's book.

Posted by: dh | Jul 26 2016 1:47 utc | 86

@80 ff @82 jr. 'roll the dice'

The choice is not a binary one. That you accept that it is ff, and not only you, is a tribute to the brain-washing of the political-economic machine. Lose your preconceptions. Anyone with a pencil and access to a paper ballot can vote for anyone she/he wants to. It is true that the political-economic machine will likely term your ballot 'spoiled' in the event that it is not a check-off of one of their vetted and pre-approved candidates. That does not negate it, that does not negate you.

We have the ability to force the total of the 3rd party- / write-in- / 'spoiled'-ballots above the elephant or jackass total. If we do so, it will be the shot heard 'round the world. We have that ability in every election, but this one is distinguished by the animal crackers in the corral and our all-around dissatisfaction with them.

So this November we should stir our stumps and accomplish the utter repudiation of the menagerie and the geeks in animal costumes within it. It can only accrue to our well-being if we do so.

Having accomplished 'the impossible' we will be filled with admiration for ourselves, and find ourselves both ready and capable of doing what must be done by way of follow up to shake off the tyranny of the TNCs. There Will Be An Alternative. A new day will have dawned.

We need only to rise up and shake ourselves, like a horse shaking off flies. How can we pass it up?

Posted by: jfl | Jul 26 2016 2:01 utc | 87

Why has nobody brought up the incredible violence of Hillary Clinton; she, by all measure, is the most violent candidate in my memory.
And, judging by the opening of the DNC Convention, her violence is coming back at her.
Very well deserved, IMO.

Posted by: V. Arnold | Jul 26 2016 2:10 utc | 88

bigmango | Jul 25, 2016 3:46:14 PM | 58

Yep, sums it up nicely.

Posted by: V. Arnold | Jul 26 2016 2:22 utc | 89

87

Nothing spoke to that so well as Michelle's bleeting 'we loves our chillins' speech, transforming her touching story of life in the Big House, to life for all the field slaves, and how the New Massah loves da chillins' just as much, so that by the time you got done with sobbing, your disassociation evisioned Hillary as beautiful big-lapped Miss Celie, in The New Color Purple is Blue.

The only problem with that 'shiney object' is that Clinton grew up in a All-White business class suburb of Chicago, lived in an ostentatious two-story brick home, the Rodhams were life-long White Republicans and chose Park Ridge public schools because there were *no blacks whatsoever*. I know. I lived two blocks from her, and went to the same high school, at the same time she did.

Rodham-Clinton went to an All-White private upstate New York college, she came out for a Cracker-White Goldwater, and once she was emancipated, she worked in WA DC, then for an All-Cracker law firm, she cut sweetheart deals with All-Cracker developers, and otherwise has comported herself throughout her entire life as a Cracker Chosen-loving pretend parent and a pretend progressive and pretend Democrat Senator from New York, spending her term protecting the Mob, and money-grubbing and grifting her way to the DNC podium.

Hold on, ...Bernie is handing his Left delegates to Hillary now....ROFL.

You can't make this schtuff up.

"The choice (applause) this election this election this election is about a (garbled) who with tears in her eyes, she was scared to death about the future, because she and her daughter was not making it on the $10.85 she earned."

Hillary Clinton has never worked for less than $125 an hour. She wouldn't bend over to pick up less than $100. Given SecState position consolation prize in 2008, she comported herself around the globe, the most traveled SecState of any SecState in US history, selling Pay-for-Play in every country with two nickels to rub together, and retired 4 years later worth at least $135 MILLION dollars!

"We came, we saw, He died with a bayonet stuck up his ass, and I just watched it on closed-circuit satellite TV from our agents at the scene, haw, haw, haw."

It just doesn't get any sicker than this.

Posted by: Cho Nyawinh | Jul 26 2016 3:10 utc | 90

"Brothers and sisters, you sent an average of $27 to help fund the campaign of a man who doesn't bother to comb his hair. What did you expect?"

Feeling the Bern yet?

Posted by: hejiminy cricket | Jul 26 2016 3:32 utc | 91

Cho Nyawinh | Jul 25, 2016 11:10:18 PM | 89

I can no longer bear to listen to any of the sycophants spout their glorified, gold-plated, bullshit (no insult intended to bulls).
The only bright moment was Wasserman Schultz getting booed off the stage. And that just about sums up how much time (3-4 minutes) I spent listening to any of the DNC propaganda extravaganza.
In a perverse sort of way, this may be an interesting few months. Maybe...

Posted by: V. Arnold | Jul 26 2016 4:02 utc | 92

False flag against Bernie in preparation?

Crisis Actors Sought for Statewide Disaster Drill in Vermont « Memory Hole

Posted by: ProPeace | Jul 26 2016 4:40 utc | 93

@ Cho Nyawinh

I agree with your assessment that it doesn't get any sicker than this but would challenge you to understand that it has been this sick for the 40+ years I have been watching but it was done more off the radar of the public.....Henry Kissinger, for example.

We live in a world that is run by the global plutocratic families that have owned private finance and much of everything and everyone for centuries. If we could get humanity to understand that it is in their best interest to evolve beyond this anti-humanistic form of social organization, we could end it in a heart beat. But the folks at the top have a devils pact with the religions of the ME and City of Rome to keep them relevant controllers of sub-groups and nation states as well as funding fighting amongst each other.

TV is a very effective brainwashing/world defining tool that is now in almost global control by the global plutocrats. They use that tool to define the boundaries of acceptable thought and action. There use to be a Fairness Doctrine that encouraged more discussion but now even that pretense has been abandoned.

The DNC kabuki this week is an example of media combined with the bought political system to create the sham of democracy. I go to DOS to read the comments and am entertained by the weekly Gun Fail posting. This week, with the friction at the convention the comments are all about personality and nothing about the issues of what happend and how might have it affected the primary outcome. This is a consummate Wag the Dog event and try not to retch as you observe how effective the media is at obfuscation and brainwashing the public.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 26 2016 4:50 utc | 94

Perfidious Albion's drums of war beat loudly.

Tarpley: "UK Defense Minister Fallon Sabotages US-Russian Cooperation Against ISIS"

British Defense Minister Michael Fallon at this week’s Andrews AFB Conference of the Anti-ISIS Coalition took a leading role in attempting to prevent vital cooperation between Russia and the United States against ISIS. Fallon also attempted to spread defeatism to stall the planned attacks on Mosul and Raqqa, the last big cities held by ISIS...

NATO ON EDGE: Top military chief warns Putin is ready to start World War Three ‘OVERNIGHT’

Posted by: ProPeace | Jul 26 2016 4:52 utc | 95

That should be KOS not DOS.....http://www.dailykos.com

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 26 2016 4:52 utc | 96

@Banger

Personally, I like your spiritual writings more than your Deep State ramblings.

I always thought that one of your best series of comments was about mushrooms. Truly inspired. I learned a lot.

And I think you have a gift for writing so I think you should do well with your blog when you hit your stride.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 26 2016 5:09 utc | 97

jfl @86

Requesting a paper ballot makes electoral fraud more difficult. If you don't vote or vote electronically, electoral fraud is easier.

IMO voting for a third-party with a paper ballot is preferable to spoiling the ballot.

US MSM election reporting generally focuses on two numbers:

1. Voter turnout as a percentage of eligible voters, and

2. The percentage of valid votes cast for the winner.

Now, political pundits and bloggers may be able to find or calculate the number of spoiled ballots, but the general population will not generally be told (except in fine print or as a wonkish aside).

MSM will occasionally report on surveys that show that Americans don't trust government. This is attributed to a 'divided nation' and is not treated as an issue of legitimacy.

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 26 2016 6:00 utc | 98

Hysteria never ends,

Think Tank Unveils 'Secret Methods' of Alleged Russian Propaganda in Europe
http://sputniknews.com/world/20160726/1043613211/russian-propaganda-in-europe.html

Posted by: Todd | Jul 26 2016 6:19 utc | 99

2

Agreed. Trump is a buffoon, paying off his marker debt to the Mob money-launderers (which is how his campaign is being financed, duhh). He's pied-pipering all the Rabbinicals and Evangelicals out into the wilderness, then dropping an LGBTF neutron bomb on their ass. He has already stated that if the RNC reigns anyway, that Pence will be the real POTUS.

Trump will early-retire to his Make Trump Rich Again casino in Macau, and phone in his Executive directives by satellite virtual reality. I hope everyone understands that an image of Trump can be i-manipulated in real time to appear as though he's live on TV!

It's the same kaleidoscopic illusion as Bernie rounding up the Left, tying a big pink ribbon around them, then today, astoundingly, apocryphally, he delivered them up to The Hill with his $15 minimum-wage neutron bomb on her growing Central-Right business base.

Vote Your Conscience 2? A poison pill against a hostile takeover by Goldman-Clinton?

But it's all because we cannot, and we're trained not to, and then we're deliberately cognitive-dissonanced from being able to connect the dots, to see zBig Picture: a wide-open Citizen's United Clinton Cash 501(c)3 river of raw sewage flowing into WADC-NOVA.

"All the trends are one-way, degenerate, and undeniable. Not even prophets like Chris Hedges decode it. Journalists are trained not to. Not even moral philosophers question the system worship masked as ‘the free market”. 'Freedom and Democracy' means no further accountability to human and world life, while 'Competition' means racing to the bottom to externalize all private costs onto the public lives of citizens and the environment."

"The value driver behind it is no more questioned than the Almighty. It can do no wrong.
But one underlying lock-step of *false equations* [Zn = Z(n-1)^2 + C, a Mandlebrot Set] propels this unnamed war on the world through all its mutations and metastases:

Zn = Self-Maximizing Corporate Choice [Goldman-Trump -or- Goldman-Clinton]
Zn = Always Maximizing More Money-Value Profit for the Corporate is Good
Zn = Self-Multiplying Ever More Money to the Top as Ruling Growth System
Zn = All Else is a Disposable Means to this Multiplying Pathogenic Growth

"The Cancer Stage of Capitalism: From Crisis to Cure"

Except there is no 'cure' on the horizon, and Corporate doesn't sell cures. There are way too many 'useless mouths to feed', and 'really, at this point, what difference does it make?'

Posted by: Cho Nyawinh | Jul 26 2016 6:51 utc | 100