Regime Change In Washington Paves Way To More Nefarious Policies
It seems that the powers that be are finally managing to get rid of U.S. President Donald Trump.
While Trump's domestic policies have been as much to the favor of the very rich as those of his predecessors, his foreign policies were remarkably different. A Harris (Biden) regime will return to 'business as usual' and be more aggressive. That is the reason why I for one will miss Trump.
The unceremonial dethronement of Trump will also have domestic consequences. His voters will inevitably call it a fraud. A Harris (Biden) administration is unlikely to have the funds needed to fight the pandemic and its disastrous economic consequences. That together could give rise to a challenger who combines Trump's rightwing populism with political competence. That is a prospect everyone should fear.
Ever since Donald Trump entered the political stage he was fought by the military-media-intelligence establishment with ruthless campaigns designed to regime change him:
The seeds of this scheme were planted several months prior to the 2016 election when Hillary Clinton authorized a smear campaign against Trump alleging that he's secretly a “Russian agent”. It was hoped that this would discredit the race's frontrunner and thus result in handing her the presidency that November. This eventually morph into the discredited “Steele dossier” and the subsequent Russiagate conspiracy theory. The purpose of these information warfare provocations was to delegitimize Trump's election, insincerely present the Democrats as the guardians of America's electoral integrity, and therefore powerfully shape public perceptions ahead of the 2020 election. During the interim, a related narrative was weaponized claiming that Trump is a corrupt lawbreaker and wannabe dictator who'll cling to power at all costs.
Now, as it seems that Joe Biden may win the presidency, there is no longer a need to promote the fake 'Russiagate' stories.
Bryan MacDonald @27khv - 10:37 UTC · Nov 7, 2020Amazing how quick the "Russian meddling" narrative died, in the US, once it became clear that the 'correct' candidate was going to win the election, wasn't it?
After all, the folk who pushed it don't want to delegitimise Joe Biden's forthcoming presidency.
Just in time for the election three major pillars of 'Russiagate' were thoroughly debunked and quietly buried.
Michael Tracey @mtracey - 14:51 UTC · Nov 3, 2020Amazing. Hours before Election Day comes news that Mueller aggressively tried to prosecute Assange and Roger Stone for a conspiracy related to the 2016 DNC/Podesta emails, but ran into "factual...hurdles" which could not establish any conspiracy. Perfect time to memory-hole this
Raw intelligence - Meduza spoke to all the likely sources behind the ‘Steele dossier.’ The report that forever transformed Donald Trump into a ‘Russian agent’ looks less and less convincing.
Self-styled whistleblower Christopher Wylie and The Guardian reporter Carole Cadwalladr earned film deals and flashy awards by blaming Brexit and Trump on a sweeping conspiracy between data firm Cambridge Analytica and Russia. A British government investigation shatters their claims to fame.
It is no wonder then that Trump's followers now doubt all vote counts that disfavor him.
Max Abrahms @MaxAbrahms - 12:50 UTC · Nov 6, 2020
Mainstream media has played a huge role in eroding American confidence in our elections. They spent four years saying Trump’s 2016 win was just a gift from Putin. Now the media is incredulous that so many Americans don’t trust the electoral system they succeeded in discrediting.
Given the way Trump was fought throughout the last four and a half years it is hard to believe that the current part of the process, especially the counting of absentee / mail-in votes, is handled without similar shenanigans taking place.
Consider what a 2012 New York Times piece on mail-in ballots had to say:
Election administrators have a shorthand name for a central weakness of voting by mail. They call it granny farming.“The problem,” said Murray A. Greenberg, a former county attorney in Miami, “is really with the collection of absentee ballots at the senior citizen centers.” In Florida, people affiliated with political campaigns “help people vote absentee,” he said. “And help is in quotation marks.”
Voters in nursing homes can be subjected to subtle pressure, outright intimidation or fraud. The secrecy of their voting is easily compromised. And their ballots can be intercepted both coming and going.
The problem is not limited to the elderly, of course. Absentee ballots also make it much easier to buy and sell votes. In recent years, courts have invalidated mayoral elections in Illinois and Indiana because of fraudulent absentee ballots.
And what about this? Why are private media companies allowed to selectively censor the president?
Michael Tracey @mtracey - 15:14 UTC · Nov 6, 2020The majority of Trump's recent tweets are currently censored. I don't care how misleading or even false they are. That's not for Twitter to arbitrate. People cheering this power-grab by unelected tech officials are authoritarian dupes
Claiming that 'Trump is evil' or that he lies as all politicians do does not justify this.
From an international perspective Trump is certainly not the worst president ever:
Without Trump, the world stage will be poorer. Trump was good for world peace. He didn’t start a war anywhere, which is not something that can be said for most of his predecessors. Trump was a master of skulduggery — a farcical coup attempt in Venezuela, a ghastly political assassination in Iraq — but indeed knew where to stop when Iran rained a hundred missiles on the American bases in Iraq.Trump claimed to be ever ready to have a battle but never had one. He vowed to unleash “fire and fury” on North Korea but ended up saying, “We fell in love”, after the [then] historic meeting in 2018 with Kim Jong Un. In reality, Trump unwittingly speeded up the processes favouring multipolarity.
We will of course not miss Mike Pompous, the most lying Secretary of State ever, or Matthew Pottinger who tried his best to antagonize China. Nor will we miss Marshall Bellingslea who intended to destroy all the arms control agreements that have kept this planet alive.
But those were side figures and much less effective than they would have been with the full backing of a competent president. They are mere rats who are now already leaving the ship.
Ragıp Soylu @ragipsoylu - 10:13 UTC · Nov 7, 2020James Jeffrey, US Special Envoy for Syria, is leaving his post after an apparent Biden victory — Asharq Al-Awsat
What we must fear now is the 'business as usual' that is coming next:
Trump has not been defeated by a Bernie Sanders; he has been defeated by a corrupt political hack backed to the hilt by the large majority of the billionaire owned media, financed out of Wall street and with no intention of pursuing anything other than neo-liberal economic policies. It is also the firm re-establishment of the rule of the security state and the military-industrial complex. Trump’s instinctive isolationism made him an enemy of the security state interest which spent a great deal of time in trying to undermine its President.With Biden we will return to business as usual, and that means war and invasions. Under Trump we have had no new wars started, even if he continued old ones with little control. Without Trump, I have not the tiniest doubt that Syria would have been bombed back to the Stone Age, exactly like Libya, and millions more people would have been killed. Irrespective of the undoubted damage Trump has caused inside the United States across many fronts, Hillary would have killed a lot more people. Just not Americans.
The Harris (Biden) foreign policy will be much more aggressive than Trump's has ever been:
The Biden campaign has worked tirelessly over the past year to channel the image of Joe Biden as a “serious person,” particularly on foreign policy matters. Biden, according to this narrative, is an elder statesman who grasps the intricacies of international politics. Trump, by contrast, is presented as an inept bull in a china shop who only speaks the language of “fire and fury.” Only Biden, we are told, can bring back stability around the globe.
Don’t believe a word of it. This carefully curated image of Joe Biden’s strategic acumen and geopolitical foresight is at odds with the former vice president’s own stated views and policy track record. His statements about a variety of countries suggest that they are based less on a strategic view of world affairs than snap judgments.
The Harris (Biden) regime is likely to concentrate on foreign policy because it will, for lack of money, have trouble to be effective on domestic issues.
The Senate is likely to stay under Republican control. After trillions of deficits accumulated under Trump the Republicans will now, under a Democratic president, again find their inner deficit hawk:
Chris Cioffi @ReporterCioffi - 16:00 UTC · Nov 6, 2020Senate committee talk from Graham: If we keep the Senate which I think we will and I become Budget chairman. I'd like to create a dialogue about how can we finally begin to address the debt.
While a runaway pandemic unleashes its devastating economic consequences the new Republican austerity position is likely to have catastrophic effects.
For the next four years Trump and his followers will inevitably claim that fraud must have played a role in his loss.
James Melville @JamesMelville 23:33 UTC · Nov 4, 2020In the movie “Citizen Kane,” a tycoon runs for political office. In advance of the election result, his newspaper prepares two headlines after the election. One headline says: “Kane Elected” and the other says: “Fraud At Polls.”
This feels spookily prophetic today.
We have reasons to fear what is likely to evolve from this.
chinahand @chinahand - 15:12 UTC · Nov 4, 2020Watching trumpers bringing the dolchstoss is nice support for my thesis "the dark energy of fascism will draw its power from trump's defeat not his victory"
The disputed election, the gigantic economic downturn and an aggressive foreign policy will pave the way for a more effective populist:
Make no mistake: The attempt to harness Trumpism—without Trump, but with calculated, refined, and smarter political talent—is coming. And it won’t be easy to make the next Trumpist a one-term president. He will not be so clumsy or vulnerable. He will get into office less by luck than by skill.
...
At the moment, the Democratic Party risks celebrating Trump’s loss and moving on—an acute danger, especially because many of its constituencies, the ones that drove Trump’s loss, are understandably tired. A political nap for a few years probably looks appealing to many who opposed Trump, but the real message of this election is not that Trump lost and Democrats triumphed. It’s that a weak and untalented politician lost, while the rest of his party has completely entrenched its power over every other branch of government: the perfect setup for a talented right-wing populist to sweep into office in 2024. And make no mistake: They’re all thinking about it.
While I would not have voted for Trump I rue what is following him.
Posted by b on November 7, 2020 at 12:18 UTC | Permalink
next page »This is the most important US election in history and the Communist Deep State is trying to steal it.
Literally, our freedom is at stake. Our future, and that of our families, is at stake.
Communists don't play by the rules. They believe the "end justifies the means."
They stoop to censoring, intimidating, or even killing anyone who stands in their way.
They are quite capable of rigging this vote. 75% of my readers agree (see Twitter poll.)
When you count the vote, you could run a mule as your candidate, and be assured of victory. Hunter Biden's laptop has shown that his father is a Chinese agent, but the Communist MSM suppressed this information. The "big guy" is a gangster, a traitor, and an unrepentant pedophile. He is also senile, bordering on demented. But, when you count the vote...
Posted by: Maggie | Nov 7 2020 12:36 utc | 2
>> Regime Change In Washington
The regime didn’t change.
Posted by: oglalla | Nov 7 2020 12:37 utc | 3
Interesting how you gloss over Trump's gutting of the US government scientific establishment, his climate and science in general denial, his purposeful ramping up of racist hostility, his utter corruption of the office of the presidency as just another business opportunity.
This is not to say that you are not correct that the Dems are the War Party, no doubt about that.
'Color Revolution' in this case is hyperbole, though there is little doubt that he would be made to go, by hook or crook. He has screwed up too much of the capitalist and imperial interest to be allowed to continue. The Chinese and Koreans see him coming and laugh up their sleeves.(I applaud them)
As for the coming re-assertion of 'competent imperialism', this will be greatly tempered by the USA's ever diminishing status, it's overblown but mostly useless military which is incapable of dealing with even Iran or Venezuela.(or they'd have done it already)
Helen #2
Leave the US, while I am agast at the spectacle from afar it is less pressing.
Posted by: old Bill | Nov 7 2020 12:46 utc | 5
Great analysis Bernhard. I can only agree to the fullest extent.
Posted by: DontBelieveEitherPr | Nov 7 2020 12:48 utc | 7
Agreed.
The paradox of our times.
That a compulsive liar was the one who spoke more truths about US/Nato foreign policy blunders and aggression. From the role of Obama and Gulf States in creating Isis (wittingly or not) to the corruption and dishonesty of US media and politics. All this is true, in spite of Trump being one of the worst and most prolific liars to hold public office.
The other major paradox, is that we must now rely on Russia and China to be the 'good guys' in opposing the Empire, which as outlined above, will soon be back on all cylinders and running full steam ahead again.
Can't tell you how many times i get into arguments pointing this out and more, when partisanship and biased viewpoints prevent objectively understanding what is actually going on, and even the smartest of people somehow are incapable of perceiving multiple truths at once.
People too often confuse paradox with contradiction.
Posted by: Et Tu | Nov 7 2020 12:52 utc | 9
2021-24 is not going to be an easy four years for Biden/Harris.
Will Trump stay on in the GOP to go for 2024? Or will he exit the stage (my guess) and get on with his abfab "Mr President" post-office billionaire life style of all smiles (and many new contracts)? And if he bows out, then who is next up for Republicans 2024?
And now for a vision of the future via a 10-year rear-vision mirror to 2010:
""So Long To Ya, 2010" | The JibJab 2010 Year in Review!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCuoLd0K4lY
Posted by: imo | Nov 7 2020 12:53 utc | 11
The economic/demographic historian Peter Turchin analyzes revolutions, and he has a model of how they happen: generally elite "over production" with elites openly struggling for power. His analysis of the US indicates that political antagonisms are at their highest level since the eve of the Civil War. While that kind of war is unlikely, the sort of street fighting that crushed the Weimar Republic is very likely. Whether the US descends in dictatorship is the real question. In any event, the Republic is dead, killed by egregious electoral fraud.
Posted by: bob sykes | Nov 7 2020 13:00 utc | 12
Arrest The Bidens - The FBI And The Corrupt Media
Were Handed A Laptop (From Hell) With CLEAR And
Irrefutable Direct Evidence Of Major Crimes Committed
By Joe, Hunter And The Entire Biden Crime Family
Posted by: Frank | Nov 7 2020 13:01 utc | 13
old Bill #5
Its no better on the European side, best go south, they haven't been beaten yet and are trying to fight back against Neoliberalism.
Posted by: Helen | Nov 7 2020 13:05 utc | 14
"A Harris (Biden) regime will return to 'business as usual' and be more aggressive. That is the reason why I for one will miss Trump."
Disagree completely on that point. The only reason Trump hasn't started a war yet is because he was afraid of alienating his base, i.e., of being blamed for starting the war, prior to his potential re-election - not because he actually started one. In fact, he has two months left to start one, and given his personality I wouldn't put it past him just to hamstring the incoming administration with a new disaster to handle.
"it is hard to believe that the current part of the process, especially the counting of absentee / mail-in votes, is handled without similar shenanigans taking place."
Then b cites local and regional elections - which are much easier to rig than a national election in a country this size. Very unconvincing. Speculation, nothing more. As I and others here and elsewhere have pointed out, there is a difference between rigging an election by means of redistricting and voter roll clearing and rigging one with "granny farming". I've seen nothing to suggest that "granny farming" can net anywhere near the votes needed to offset even a state election, let alone a national one, even in swing states. b needs to provide a specific case where that has ever occurred.
MAIL-IN VOTING: Sifting through the misinformation
The article is specific to Reno, Nevada, but the discussion is applicable to other states.
False Claim 4: Ballot harvesting and ‘granny farming’In August, Nevada passed AB4, which clarifies who can collect ballots. According to language in AB4, “a person authorized by the voter may return the mail ballot on behalf of the voter by mail or personal delivery to the county or city clerk.” There are strict regulations against any unauthorized person interfering with the return of mail-in ballots.
Yet, there have been misleading claims from critics of mail-in ballots that this would lead to ballot harvesting. The accusation is that dishonest people will go to assisted living homes and manipulate grandmas into giving away their ballots for harvesting.
Lately, ballot harvesting is being talked about as a malpractice. But this has been a common, legal practice of collecting and submitting the ballots by specified agents such as family members, authorized legal guardians and, in some states, paid staff where harvesting is legal, such as in California and Colorado. Some states have limitations in place on how many ballots a paid agent can collect.
In the current political climate, politicians have painted a picture of an agent running off with someone else’s ballot or “one of the post guys” delivering a “handful of” ballots “to some Democratic political operative,” as President Trump claimed at his September rally in Minden. Comments like these create an image of lawlessness, incompetency and chaos and can scare law-abiding citizens. However, the checks and balances embedded in AB4 make it nearly impossible for anyone to collect ballots without authorization.
In parts of rural and frontier Nevada, some voters have said ballot collection is a lifeline.
And this article comments:
And yes, The New York Times published a report in 2012 suggesting that mail-in voting would lead to fraud. As I wrote at the time, the story quoted a former county attorney in Florida, who was concerned about “granny farming.” This is where fraudsters allegedly go into nursing homes and “help” elderly people vote by more or less filling out their ballots for them and mailing them in.Related
Why Trump supports mail-in voting in Florida and not in NevadaBut the story never attempted to document this happening. In any event, it would be a slow and laborious way to alter an election, and easily detectable by nursing home officials who, especially in today’s pandemic, ought to monitor visitors carefully.
Back then, the Times noted, mail-in voting was seen as a way to help Republicans win. “In the 2008 general election in Florida,” the story said, “47% of absentee voters were Republicans and 36% were Democrats.”
Today, President Donald Trump seems worried it will help Democrats.
The vote-by-mail bogeyman, it seems, can be a convenient tool for whichever party feels the need to use it.
Credible evidence suggests all this is overblown. A study earlier this year by Daniel Thompson, Jesse Yoder, Jennifer Wu and Andrew Hall of Stanford University concluded, “In normal times, based on our data at least, vote-by-mail modestly increases participation while not advantaging either party.”
Part of that data came from Utah, one of five states that conduct all mail-in voting. Utah has phased this in since 2012. As a Deseret News story this week suggested, the Beehive State knows how to do it right. It has safeguards in place. No one has alleged widespread fraud here.
It's one thing to wave hands and speculate on various forms of vote fraud. It's another to produce actual evidence of any widespread use - and yet another to produce actual evidence that it has happened over the last few days in this election. b has elected to not do so, but rely on the same innuendo and speculation the Trump supporters do.
However, I do agree with the rest of b's analysis. The Biden-Harris administration will be a nightmare just as much as Trump's was. And yes, I expect them to start a war with Iran once Biden's fake attempt to restart the JCPOA is rejected by Iran due to demands over Iran's ballistic missile program. And I expect "Trumpism" - as they are calling the populist movement - to continue going forward with negative results for the country.
But it's ridiculous to start eulogizing Trump as if he wasn't the worst President in US history - which he was. He was certainly the biggest joke President in US history. Even Clinton's blue dress didn't rise to the level of Trump.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Nov 7 2020 13:16 utc | 15
the perfect setup for a talented right-wing populist to sweep into office in 2024. And make no mistake: They’re all thinking about it.
And just yesterday I read this article on express.co.uk with the headline:
Tucker Carlson bombshell: 'Door open' for Fox host to run for President if Joe Biden wins
Posted by: Down South | Nov 7 2020 13:20 utc | 16
I think calling it Harris (Biden) administration is a bit childish. Harris will have about as much effect on policy as Pence had during last 4 four years. Certainly nothing like Cheney. And she won't be the Dems candidate in four years.
Posted by: Northener | Nov 7 2020 13:21 utc | 17
I agree with your analysis but I feel there is just one thing you left out.
BLM and Antifa are going to disappear. The Democrats and George Soros don’t need them anymore, they have served their purpose.
Posted by: Down South | Nov 7 2020 13:25 utc | 19
Me thinks that in protest of the theft of the Presidency
and the disenfranchisement of those that supported Trump,
in protest, people will be far, far, far more stubborn and
aggressive about not supporting the War on Covid-19.
As a protest people will stop wearing masks and end social
distancing. And this will only be the beginning.
Me thinks.
Posted by: librul | Nov 7 2020 13:27 utc | 20
Last post from me. Wow, the last few days have seen this site sink lower than I ever thought possible. I have been torn between giving up on my beloved site, or to hang in there and hope that things eventually got back to normal.
The shark has been jumped here, this place is done.
Perhaps someone can explain something to me before I go. How do I know when I can accept a story from the NYT as factual and how do I know when I should reject them as gov't propaganda?
Because it would appear that sometimes they are to be trusted and sometimes one should assume that every word they speak is a lie. I have always operated on the obviously flawed premise that once you are a proven liar, then I can trust nothing you say without independent verification.
I have been told before that I am a little daft at times, could someone help an ignorant fella out here?
Posted by: visak | Nov 7 2020 13:39 utc | 21
"The seeds of this scheme were planted several months prior to the 2016 election when Hillary Clinton authorized a smear campaign against Trump..." --quoted by our host above.
In other words, this was initiated during the primaries, at which point Trump even being allowed to be a candidate in the general election was inconceivable. How could the Clinton campaign have known that the corporate mass media would be giving Trump hundreds of $millions in free advertising at that point? How could the Clinton campaign have known that the joke candidate could beat out serious career politicians? How could the Clinton campaign have known so early they would be facing off against the Great Orange Ogre in the general?
Obviously the 2016 elections were just as rigged and choreographed (despite backfiring dramatically) as the most recent one, but who could have done the choreography? What organization could get the "Operation Mockingbird" mass media to sing in chorus? What organization that is deeply intertwined with the State Department that Clinton was the head of also has long-running plans like color revolution preparations, proxy wars, and covert actions around the globe that would greatly benefit from a seamlessly smooth transition of imperial figureheads?
That would be the same organization that thinks crickets in Cuba are Soviet brain rays damaging its operatives' soft and fragile minds, so it really is no surprise that they screwed the pooch with their "brilliant plan" in 2016. They only managed to regain control of the imperial figurehead position in 2020 by using banana republic election fraud. Fortunately they have a lot of practice with that kind of work and they have Big Tech and the corporate mass media fully on board to help. It is quite obvious that they would have failed again otherwise.
Basically, we can take some comfort from the gross incompetence that the CIA has had on display for many years now.
Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 7 2020 13:40 utc | 22
While I agree with b's analysis, I do have a different view, at least I think it's different, in respect to the naming of political groups in the US. It seems to me that the Biden-Harris operation, whatever they spout, are crypto-fascist. And similarly, the Trump group seem more baldly fascist.
The Biden operation seems to be to use the old fellow as a cannula to insert Harris, who will be the weakest prez imaginable. Such rulers tend to start war. In this instance, given the whole matter in question, Harris is liable to start a war and lose quickly it.
What losing may bring is not a pleasant matter, but given the overall, one might expect "major domestic difficulties"...and I myself (Old Wally) tend to recall both the Deagle prediction of 54 million in 2025, and Panarin's prediction...and Leo Szilard's comparison between USSR and USA.
Posted by: Walter | Nov 7 2020 13:42 utc | 23
Chris Sweeney, UK reporter, says" Britain died for me, its become a Covid-obsessed police state."He further writes that the courageous spirit that defines Britain is disappearing. Do you feel the same about the US. I do. The response to the lockdown and masks etc. sends brave loggers here in the Catskill into a state of child-like fear . Who said there is a sucker born every minute.
Posted by: warren schaich | Nov 7 2020 13:48 utc | 24
@Posted by: visak | Nov 7 2020 13:39 utc | 23
The NYT is not trying to "lie", they are trying to serve a narrative.
In 2012 when the NYT addressed mail-in ballots they did not know at that time
what narrative they would be selling in 2020.
Posted by: librul | Nov 7 2020 13:51 utc | 25
@librul | Nov 7 2020 13:27 utc | 22
Well that's a positive outlook. I hope you are right.
Posted by: Norwegian | Nov 7 2020 13:51 utc | 26
William Gruff @ 24
Timeline according to Wiki:
Trump was declared the presumptive Republican nominee by Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus on May 3.In April 2016, an attorney for Hillary Clinton's campaign and the DNC hired Fusion GPS to investigate Trump. In June 2016, Fusion GPS subcontracted Steele's firm to compile the dossier.
Posted by: Down South | Nov 7 2020 13:54 utc | 27
"The majority of Trump's recent tweets are currently censored. I don't care how misleading or even false they are. That's not for Twitter to arbitrate. People cheering this power-grab by unelected tech officials are authoritarian dupes" --quoted by our host
There is a shorter word for "authoritarian dupes". It is "fascist".
"Sure, we'll have fascism in this country, and we'll call it anti-fascism"" --Huey Long
Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 7 2020 13:56 utc | 28
librul@27 "The NYT is not trying to "lie", they are trying to serve a narrative."
The track record of the NYT is indisputable concerning their history of lying.
You exhibit olympic level gymnastics here. What is the difference between lieing and serving a narrative?
Perhaps if I could figure out how your brain is able to do this I would have the answer to my question.
Posted by: visak | Nov 7 2020 13:58 utc | 29
Who is against re-counts? If 133,000 votes had been dumped at 4 o'clock in the morning ALL for Trump, the Dems. would have had a court case going for a re-count 15 minutes later. What is sauce for the goose...... I am all for re-counts. If it was right the first time it will be right the second.
Posted by: lizzie dw | Nov 7 2020 14:02 utc | 31
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Nov 7 2020 13:16 utc | 16
I am getting so tired of the US and US politics and the US election circus ...
But concerning Nevada, you may want to check Jonathan Turley:
https://jonathanturley.org/2020/11/06/what-happens-in-vegas-may-not-stay-in-vegas-why-the-nevada-challenge-could-be-important-to-the-presidential-election/
Posted by: vig | Nov 7 2020 14:12 utc | 32
@Posted by: visak | Nov 7 2020 13:58 utc | 31
The NYT does not **set out** to lie, they lie, lie, lie
and then lie again; but they **set out** to serve a narrative.
If the truth serves that narrative then the NYT will tell the truth.
They did not **set out** to tell the truth, the truth just **happened** to
serve a narrative.
"What is the difference between lying and serving a narrative?" - visak
When someone serves a narrative they are not necessarily lying it might just
serve the narrative to tell the truth. When someone is lying then they are lying, period.
Posted by: librul | Nov 7 2020 14:19 utc | 33
To bernhard’s query “Why are private media allowed to selectively censor the president?”
Simple. They outrank the president.
Posted by: oldhippie | Nov 7 2020 14:20 utc | 34
Trump's downfall was support for Israel over American needs (kept his hard core base, but lost the periphery), his lies about bringing the troops home and stopping the wars and support for private parties in foreign lands, lies about reducing the size of the budget, bragging about a murder of a general on a peace mission, support of MBS over murder of Khasoggi, and many failures to understand that domestic bureaucracies in government are designed to keep civil leadership from changing entrenched government.
As you investigate the private wealth and power stack that contain, and drive the elected government many things come to light that voters held Trump accountable for:
layer 1: global franchisor sets rules of play; establishes goals local nation state franchisees must obtain to remain in power.
this layer is bankers and the bureaucracies they establish-in functioning governments and the global corporations listed
the major market and exchanges.
Layer 2: oligarch <= national (wall street beneficiaries who use their wealth to conform national outcome consistent with global powers). this layer is the nation (basically local banking and monopoly powered corporations) they control access by the
governed to opportunity.. and wealth. and privilege of being an officer in the military of member of the elected government.
also in this layer are the and road and bridge building, trucks, ships, and planes contractors and transport providers..
Layer 3: the copyright and patent monopoly powers vested in 90% of the Assets corporations show on their balance sheets.
this is the relative new layer, in which all technology is saved for use by only those who are part of the nation state scam.
5g and driver less vehicles, space travel.
Layer 4: the think tank and other private organizations the bureaucracies regulate, fund and direct.
Here millions even billions of dollars in private money flows and is matched by government funding. Its is where the
secret services, home land scammers and university system resides.
public<= layer 5: the elected 527 person government that regulate the members of the public
Layer 6: Intergovernmental Bureaucracies limit and direct elected power to global goals.
this is the huge government bought and paid for bureaucracy.
public<= layer 7: the 340,000,000 members of the highly public
layer 8: Keynesian stimulus restrain economic system control
Here is the private banking system, Swift, and other financial systems, mostly this is model based.
layer 9: the media which programs the environment variables and keeps the narrative on track (many techniques)
Access to the science of psychology and propaganda are maintained as well as access to the media.
this is crowd control, thought control and mind control.
Layers 5 and 7 are encapsulated within an privately owned envelop of powers who control, support, and defend the private interest overlay that engulfs leaders trying to make some change.
the election of the president is a false flag and he of all persons should have done a better job of understanding this.
.. the purpose of the presidential election is to extract from the Oligarchs campaign funds and from corporate shareholders (their dividends) by demanding they contribute political costs to the privately owned media, via government assisted tax deductible advertising. Its those advertising dollars that makes in possible for private media to control politics in nearly every nation in the world.
Article II and amendment 12 clearly deny the American people any say in who is to be the P and VP of the USA.
Posted by: snake | Nov 7 2020 14:23 utc | 36
It will become easy to identify the enemy in the coming civil war.
Those that wear masks and those that do not.
Posted by: librul | Nov 7 2020 14:24 utc | 37
Iam always surprised to read about defintions of socialism or even communism coming from American
voices, especially when the corrupt media of the oligarchic aristocracy is labelled as such. What you have got is socialism for the rich.
Frank Jacobs
Posted by: Frank Giesen-Jacobs | Nov 7 2020 14:24 utc | 38
@librul | Nov 7 2020 14:19 utc | 35
When someone serves a narrative they are not necessarily lying it might justWhen someone prefers a euphemism for "telling the truth", he is probably lying.
serve the narrative to tell the truth. When someone is lying then they are lying, period.
Posted by: Norwegian | Nov 7 2020 14:26 utc | 39
librul@35
Again with the gymnastics! Where do you learn to do that? So, this circular conversation brings us right back where we started with my original question of how to know when they can be trusted.
I would say this is fun, but it isn't. I will answer this for you. They can be trusted when intellectual nitwits such as yourself find that what they have to say is something that supports the nitwits previously held views, and they are just liars or serving a narrative (aka. propaganda) when they oppose the nitwits previously held views.
adios fellas
Posted by: visak | Nov 7 2020 14:29 utc | 40
Okay, Self centered as I am I'll take that as a kind of answer. And yes, I and certainly many others, such as Craig Murray, share your view on Biden. Just think of the warmongering role he played for the Iraq war. The Neocons would have an easier time with Biden than with Tronald. ('Would have' because I'm not yet convinced he will ever be president. Tronald still has arrows in his quiver. It depends on how far he will go. Think of the militias).
They, the Neocons, will show up in droves and fill essential positions. And that is extremely dangerous. There can be no doubt about that.
The dissent between me and others who think like me and you, B, lies elsewhere. It lies in the assessment of the consequences of Tronald's policy, especially another four years of it. The world is by no means a more peaceful place now than it was four years ago; radical right-wing movements have received a significant boost from Tronald. Blazing nationalism. Iran is being strangled, Erdos regional imperialism tolerated, South America destabilized. European militarism, such as Germany's, is strengthened, as is Indian fascism. The urgently needed response to climate change has been obstructed to the best of Tronalds ability. Internally, the usa is further destabilized, the response to Corona is pathetic and strengthens Corona deniers across the planet. One could say that an usa on the brink of civil war is their problem, but then again, what happens at the imperial headquarters has repercussions for the whole world.
And therefore no; Tronald is not worth a shed of a tear, even if the alternative looks equally negative. The worst thing that can happen to the planet is the seizure of power by fascists, even in the imperial headquarters. That would turn it definitively into a slaughterhouse.
Posted by: pnyx | Nov 7 2020 14:34 utc | 41
@Posted by: Norwegian | Nov 7 2020 14:26 utc | 41
"When someone prefers a euphemism for "telling the truth", he is probably lying."
When someone says "probably" then they are hedging.
When someone prefers a hedge, to say that person is probably lying, is a stretch.
Posted by: librul | Nov 7 2020 14:35 utc | 42
But Trump is going nowhere but back on the campaign for four solid years.
Unburdened now by power, Trump will show real pain to all Dems each day, forever.
Maybe hold the biggest political rally in history on 1/20/21 deep in the heart of Texas or Florida.
Kick off powerful competitors for Google FB and Twitter.
The Brutus Reps in Washington will then be defanged in harming Trump. The Rep traitors in public office will have to continue to dance in lockstep with Trump's daily tune, for fear of their voters.
When the long forewarned Western currency breakdown occurs, it will now be Donald Trump picking up all of the pieces, no longer the fall guy.
Trump's only great danger is an engineered stock-market crash beginning very soon.
But the billionaires are too greedy to pull that trigger.
Posted by: Liberty Blogger | Nov 7 2020 14:37 utc | 43
@Posted by: visak | Nov 7 2020 14:29 utc | 42
You said @23
"I have been told before that I am a little daft at times, could someone help an ignorant fella out here?"
I was **trying** to be a good guy and help you out in your understanding.
Wasn't trying to help you out the door.
adios
Hope the screen door didn't hurt your backside.
Posted by: librul | Nov 7 2020 14:41 utc | 44
@pnyx | Nov 7 2020 14:34 utc | 43
The worst thing that can happen to the planet is the seizure of power by fascists, even in the imperial headquarters. That would turn it definitively into a slaughterhouse.We are looking at a group of people who are in the process of seizing power by fraudulent means, planning to use the power to implement draconian policies that may make your prediction of 'slaughterhouse' come true.
Posted by: Norwegian | Nov 7 2020 14:42 utc | 45
My takes:
1) I disagree with the bombing Syria part. By the time Obama was still in office (2016), the USA had already been completely stopped by Russia, therefore militarily defeated. When Trump succeeded him in January 2017, that defeat already was a fait accompli. It wasn't Trump who stopped the US Army (which includes here ISIS, which fought as their auxiliaries) - it was Russia and Assad;
2) It is more likely that the USA will descend into fascism than for it to have a revolution. The reason for this is the country's material base favors fascism. Fascism, if we're to remind ourselves, arises when an Empire is declining but declining very slowly. The speed of decline gives time for the ruling classes to prepare a contingency plan (anti-revolutionary plan) that amalgamates all the relics of the Empire (church, racial supremacism, other types of superstition etc.) into a paleo-liberal mass movement directed to total war against a foreign power - the classical definition of (nazi)fascism;
3) The far-right militias won't get anywhere unless they manage to have tacit support of the Armed Forces - or, at least, manage to keep it divided. The issue here is that, no matter how well those militias seem to be prepared and armed: at the end of the day, they are buying the leftovers of the Army in the stores. The US Army can, therefore, easily crush - with no casualties - all the militias at the same time. It is a completely different scenario of the War of Secession, when the US Army was torn apart and fought against itself (with militias playing little to no role);
4) Americans will have to get used to a new era marked by the objective fact the POTUS is not the most powerful man in the world. They will not ever touch Syria again. They will never touch Eastern Ukraine ever again. They won't be able to save Taiwan. They lost South China Sea. At the same time, this new sensation of impotence will be matched with economic and social decline in the domestic front. This will generate a vicious cycle where the American people will pressure more and more their POTUS to be more and more aggressive in the foreign front - i.e. wage more wars against a foreign enemy. The reason the destruction of Iraq of 2004 was so popular among the American people was because it lowered the price of the gallon of gas to historical lows. But this also made the American people accustomed to "prosperity from the outside", that is, to a situation where Trajan triumphantly returns to Rome with a huge Dacian treasure. This will only strengthen fascism;
5) It is a myth fascism can only exist on the Trumpist side. As Domenico Losurdo scientifically demonstrated in his book "Liberalism", Nazifascism is a form of liberalism. It perfectly possible for what we call nowadays the "woke left" to descend into a form of fascism (if they aren't already there). In fact, the "woke left" is the other side of the coin of the alt-right: there's no racism/oppression against (male) whites because (male) whites are the universal human being (transcendental human being; human being in its spiritual/ideal form), the others being imperfect human beings who must be "universalized". The only difference here is that genocide would occur on cultural basis, not on a racial basis (as the alt-rightists prefer);
6) Americans know what's wrong with their economy. Both sides - Trump and Biden (I watched both political commercials) - know the USA must reindustrialize. They both know the debt is a problem. They both know they're relatively declining vis-a-vis China. The problem is that they can't solve their problems because those problems are problems of the capitalist system itself, not of who is in charge. If we read the documents of the end of the USSR, we can see a lot of intelligent people in charge correctly diagnosing what was wrong with the nation: the Soviets knew what was wrong with their system. But knowing what's wrong is different from being able to fix it: just because you are correctly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer it doesn't mean your doctor will be able to cure you. Sometimes, the problems are insoluble and terminal;
7) The frauds that happened in these elections are normal, inherent to the system and happen in every elections. I don't see the results overall as fake. Biden did receive more votes than Trump, and he deserves to be the new POTUS. That's who the American people are - look yourself in the mirror.
The main reason to read the NYT is to be aware of the prevailing narratives of the powerful.
Know thine enemy.
Posted by: librul | Nov 7 2020 14:46 utc | 47
I would also add Bolton to complete the list of crazy-hawk Trump appointees.
While some credit is due to Trump not starting any wars, I have to think it was unintentional on Trump's part, as evidenced by the same list of ultra aggressive foreign policy advisors he appointed.
More likely, the subpar crop of new wars was the result of the foreign policy apparatus refusing to give his administration the authority to launch any original policy of their own. Venezuela, Iran, Yemen, Syria were continuations of existing policy, and sponsored by "respected" interests (respectively: by the Oil Industry, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and all of the above).
The biggest foreign policy initiative of all, cold war with China, is a long term bipartisan project.
Posted by: ptb | Nov 7 2020 14:58 utc | 48
What is wrong with populism? Also every Democrat has served the rich dating back to the days of plantations. The current party is the really rich man's party. This isn't meant to give the GOP a pass. However wouldn't populism be the little guy's party? Kinda baffled here.
Posted by: Old and Grumpy | Nov 7 2020 14:58 utc | 49
b, I read Andrew Korybko's article somewhere else yesterday, there were times I found his dot-connection narratives more impressive. ;)
Posted by: vig | Nov 7 2020 14:59 utc | 50
I can't dispute b's assessment of Biden but I think he is wrong about Trump. Trump is not the captive of the "deep state." He is responsible for a set of policy choices that have been catastrophic. Those disastrous policies were not going to change in a second term. Some people on this board remind me of the people who proclaim that John Kennedy would have ended the Vietnam war in his second term. When Kennedy was assassinated they instantly forgot his policy to escalate the war and introduce the horrific defoliation campaign. They forgot that Kennedy got elected as a cold warrior who accused Nixon of being part of an administration responsible for a "missile gap" that gave the Soviets nuclear superiority, something Kennedy knew to be untrue. A second term of Trump would likely to be even worse than his first. Pnyx has it entirely right, "Tronald is not worth the shed of a tear, even if the alternative looks equally negative."
Posted by: David | Nov 7 2020 15:02 utc | 51
Re: Et Tu #9: "Paradox??, Good heavens, man, this is Contradiction, Paradox is two more doors down and on the left."
trump wasn't quite as bad on foreign policy as obama, and much better than bush jr, but he wasn't much different either. see caitlin johnstone.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Nov 7 2020 15:06 utc | 53
trump went even further than obama in trying to get assange renditioned to the u.s. it's the warmonger party, with 2 faces.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Nov 7 2020 15:07 utc | 54
I agree with critics of b's POV.
- With oglalla @Nov7 12:37 #3: the US regime has not changed;
With Richard Steven Hack @Nov7 13:16 #16: Trump as peaceful is magical thinking after Trump's belligerent rhetoric and acts of war :
- assassination of Gen. Soleimani;
- crushing 3rd-party sanctions amounting to an embargos on multiple countries;
- attempting to negotiate a bombing of Iran - including seeking approval from Russia when Iran refused to allow it;
- breaking a peace agreement with North Korea by not following the agreed order of actions;
- attacking and occupying large parts of Syria;
- seizing Venezuela State assets and supporting a coup in Venezuela;
- etc.
<> <> <> <> <>
IMPORTANT
RSH's warning that Trump could still start a war should be taken very seriously. Trump has vowed that he will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Will he leave office without ENSURING that they cannot?
Israel Warns Of Coming War With Iran If Biden Wins As Trump Calls
I don't think for a minute think that Zionist Biden will do anything to upset Israel. But the election of Biden is a convenient excuse for Trump to start a war (probably based on a false flag of some sort) that Biden (or Kamala-Hillary) will "inherit".
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Nov 7 2020 15:08 utc | 55
@ pnyx #43
. . .on Biden. Just think of the warmongering role he played for the Iraq war. The Neocons would have an easier time with Biden than with Tronald
Yes. Biden is a Clintonite, Trump was anti-Clinton.
The US war in Iraq - Operation Iraqi Freedom - with its death, destruction and displacement has been rightly called the worst US foreign policy move ever.
The Clintons started it, and then promoted it with Biden's assistance as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
President Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act into law on October 31, 1998.
On December 16, 1998, President Bill Clinton announces he has ordered air strikes against Iraq because it refused to cooperate with United Nations (U.N.) weapons inspectors.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Nov 7 2020 15:14 utc | 56
So we`re giving Trump a pass on COVID-19, then? No war, no invasions? That`s a "domestic issue"? Canada`s top soldier, General Vance, in an interview that I can`t find right now with some radio station in Toronto at the start of the pandemic, mentioned that Canada has a strong deterrent against anything conventional. Implying...? And the first citizens arriving in Canada from the epicentre in Wuhan and from some cruise ship were kept in isolation on a military base. Not because COVID has anything to do with war or invasions or anything, just because this was the only place Canada could house them other than in igloos maybe??
Posted by: Quasi Retired anonym | Nov 7 2020 15:15 utc | 57
@ vk #48
Americans will have to get used to a new era marked by the objective fact the POTUS is not the most powerful man in the world. . . . They won't be able to save Taiwan. . .
Yes, and to his credit Trump and his subordinates have avoided any language which implied that the US would defend the province of Taiwan against any China attack. Instead the US has promoted the idea of Taiwan defending itself.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Nov 7 2020 15:22 utc | 58
Can the next government be brought into compliance with basic common law and international law?
Will crimes committed by members of the next government be prosecuted, as well?
Biden was elected president. Harris is merely the vice president and I doubt she will even be busy casting tie-breaker votes in the Senate. She certainly will not take over as president until Biden dies or goes into a coma. Like Wilson and Reagan, mere incapacitation will not remove him from office. The only reason for falsifying the name of the new administration, the Biden administration, is to enrage cothinkers who dislike miscolored and misgendered people.
Nearly as blatant a falsification is the re-writing of recent history. The idea that Russiagate was a plot by Clinton to unfairly tarnish Trump as a traitor fails miserably. First, the real blow against Trump was supposed to be the Access: Hollywood tape, not rumors about the Steele dossier. Second, the real traction on "Russiagate" came from Trump openly asking for Russian help in spying on the Clinton campaign. Any deep laid plot that needs publicity from the target is not a plot at all. Indeed, the real thing about Assange/Wikileaks/Russian spying was just as apt to be about damage control for the embarrassment of the Podesta leak (hack?) as scheming a decade long campaign.
(By the way, the shaky evidence/gossip of the Steele dossier is so far as I can judge very much like the feeble grounds for a FISA warrant, namely, the way things are usually done. Standard operating procedure is not evidence of conspiracy.)
It is still a blatant lie to claim the military/media/intelligence establishment fought against Trump. There were quite a few generals on Trump's payroll. Fox News and AM radio are mass media for Trump. The CIA leaving Clinton high and dry for covering up for them in Benghazi and Comey's BS letter to intervene in the election proves the security services had viciously pro-Trump factions.
The version of history peddled here is false in detail and false in general.
Nobody ever claimed the votes were falsified in 2016 but Trump is the one lying about massive vote fraud in counting ballots or filling them out. The discovery that millions of senior citizens had their ballots voted for them would be an unpleasant shock, were it not obviously more Trumpery. The one who deliberately undermined confidence in the actual voting is Trump, not Russiagate conspiracy theorists.
Economic warfare is warfare. Arms races are warfare. Dismissal of the JCPOA to besiege the people of an entire country was a monstrously malevolent act, even if you secretly wish for the sufferings of evil Muslims. Trump's military budget is a war budget, not a peace budget. A peace president actually ends wars. Lowering the bar so that a Trump somehow counts as a peace president is cheating an argument.
The notion that a private media company of course should be allowed to profit from people lying without suffering any consequences needs defending. The notion that if a president lies, any media company should be expected to dutifully retail the lies, needs even more defending. What can't be defended is simultaneously whining about lies in the Steele dossier *and* whining about Trump's lies not being publicized.
bobsykes@12 The Weimar republic did not perish from street fighting. Hitler was invited into power by Hindenburg (as a consequence of intrigues by General von Schleicher and Franz von Papen,) then used intimidation of the Reichstag to expel the Communists and abrogate the constitution. Hitler paid off the establishment by eliminating the hard-core street fighters with the Roehm purge. The syskes version of German history is as fictional as the mass vote counting fraud. The election was rigged in all the usual *legal* ways, starting with the Electoral College. The vote wasn't even close, everyone knows Biden won, despite Trump being the incumbent, despite blaming the recession solely on the pandemic, aka Act of God hence not his fault.
Posted by: steven t johnson | Nov 7 2020 15:24 utc | 60
Some readers don't recognize that war is the worst kind of hell, and not at all comparable to assassinations, ship highjacking etc.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Nov 7 2020 15:27 utc | 61
Some readers don't recognize that wars start with assassinations, ship highjacking, etc.
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Nov 7 2020 15:30 utc | 62
In all honesty, this outcome cannot be all that surprising.
I mean, this dude (Trump) literally has an international arrest warrant issued against him for a war crime that he publicly admitted to commiting while he bragged about doing it on his official twitter while that crime was happening.
Trump's foreign policies were remarkably different? How? He assassinated an Iranian general, which nearly had the US enter into a hot war with Iran, bombed Syria twice, put additional sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, Russia and the DPRK. Trump's State Department has successfully enacted regime change in Zimbabwe, Sudan, El Salvador, Chile, Honduras, Bolivia (Mike Pompeo congratulating Luis Arce on his win -- very suspicious), and is trying regime change in Hong Kong, Belarus, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Iran, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe again, and as of late, Nigeria.
You could argue that Trump wants Iran to be somewhat stronger so he can sell more weapons to his MIC buddies and profit that way, therefore he pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, and the weapons import/export sanctions on Iran expired. But that's a different and more brash method of managing Empire. It's different from Biden's "strategic de-escalation" policy with Iran via the Iran nuclear deal, but not that one that necessarily yields better results for Iran in the long term.
Posted by: David | Nov 7 2020 15:35 utc | 65
Calm down folks, the elected officials in the US have been puppets of the elite for the entire history of the country.
The problem we're facing is within the elite community and far above any government's control.
They didn't legalize drone striking "terrorists" any where on the globe by accident.
This means the elite are terrified of the fact that the internet and Trump both have exposed them for the morally bankrupt, greedy, mass murdering psychopaths they truly are.
The accidental presidency of Trump made them realize that their useful idiots(elected officials) where more idiots than useful and that they had to use the state sponsored monopolies in the press as well as their privately controlled publicly funded covert community to steer the narrative away from actual reality into their alternative commoditized version of reality.
Trump was never trying to defend America from the elite for the common man. He was trying to exploit the elite who had rejected him and his father for decades as well as cash in on their predicament in order to pay off his debts and start his own reality TV network.
I agree Trump was useful and informative but in the end he, like us is just along for the ride.
Don't do anything rash and don't for one second think a regime change in America is a rare occurrence. Remember the Kennedy's ?
The only way to win is to not become one of the elite's useful idiots by lashing out against another citizen. Poor and middle class only get the illusion they help decide policy.
The policy is decided and auctioned off within the billionaire funded think tanks and sent to the useful idiots in DC to be rubber stamped in order to trick you into thinking the legislative branch is legitimate. These people could f*ck up a two car parade and prove it over and over again.
Stay sane folks, the motives haven't changed in centuries and the elite are far more scared of us than they are the other elite's because they all know they're all cowards.
Posted by: dave | Nov 7 2020 15:35 utc | 66
In addition, considering Trump was supposedly a Russian puppet, Congress under his admin passed a bill which allowed the US to arm Ukraine against Russia even more.
Posted by: David | Nov 7 2020 15:37 utc | 68
Wonderful and thought provoking analysis of current political affairs b. However I would like to add that Biden and Trump are the products of political trends that have deep roots in modern US and world political affairs that have been ongoing for some 100 years or more. Biden and Trump did not occur in a vacuum. Both are products of the two world wars that were fought in the last century. More recently, the US since 1940 and continuing to the present day, has been actively preparing or fighting a major war somewhere on this planet. This development has in turn created a vast military and civilian bureaucracy that constantly needs to be fed a diet of real or imagined threats in order to survive.
Posted by: GeorgeV | Nov 7 2020 15:39 utc | 69
Lots of talk about narrative, and with good reason. Narratives control mass behavior in that they pave the way for Directed History. Predicitive programming is essentially brainwashing on a mass scale. As Giuliani not so famously said: "We live in a post truth world". As we have seen policy both domestic and foreign can be predicated on outright lies with little to no consequences. There is an art to it really. When faced with solid evidence that the destruction of Iraq was implemented for specific reasons (other than the official ones) using outright lies as justification, the response from the slighly informed public is something like 'Oh well'. The oft repeated narrative is what most people base their flimsy Reality Tunnel on. Any information that challenges this is discarded. The mechanics for this have been fine tuned over the past few decades. With the help of media domination, meme control and false gatekeepers, any voice that steps out of line is tarred and feathered as a whack-0, regardless of the information that is presented. As demonstrated in this election, near total censorship is a go. It borders on witch hunting.
Regardless of the RedBlue UniParty antics being foisted on the USAn population, The Great Reset appears to have been sprung. Creative Destruction, Controlled Chaos, Draconian Plutocracy are the watch-words. It is no longer convenient or even possible to keep up the appearance of faux-democracy and the brick wall behind the curtain is exposed. Any nation that tries to haveit's own currency, culture or trade outside the structure being forced on the globe will be destroyed. Wesley Clark's '7 coutries in 5 years' interview comes to mind. I dont think the billionaire class can afford a full blown world war this time to get to the next level of control. For one, materials technology has made a few crucial leaps which means they could be targetted. It also allows the little guy to resist more fiercely. It also would not do to have whats left of the infrastructure razed to the ground, thus the virus terror.
As far as the next fed-gov configuration in the USA, speculation abounds. Apparently if Biden can last 2 years then the following 2 years occupied by Harris doesnt count as a full term and she can run two times more. Perhaps Hillary will be selected as VP? No matter because the forces backing these people will likely do much more destruction on the international front than OrangeManBad. With a population that just had their livelihood ripped from them, that's alot of dog-soldiers. Drum up enough hate-blame for Russia, China, and everything Muslim and you might just get a flood of enlistees. PMC's can fill in the gaps at great expense. The rest of the world has been backing away slowly for a couple of decades and arming up. The run-up to Agenda 2030 could be explosive.
Posted by: Chevrus | Nov 7 2020 15:42 utc | 71
Hardworked meticulous compilation which could give an idea for Trump on how leave with dignity through the great door, thank everybody, concede, and, in any case return to business or consitute yourself as patriotic oppostion, but that will not happen will it, since that does not give huge ammounts of money and influence which translate into opportunities..
https://twitter.com/edubayon_/status/1325013178938499072
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Nov 7 2020 15:47 utc | 72
So this is the progressive wing of the Democratic Party ?????
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
@AOCUS House candidate, NY-14
Is anyone archiving these Trump sycophants for when they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future? I foresee decent probability of many deleted Tweets, writings, photos in the future
10:16 PM · Nov 6, 2020·
Among those who replied to Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet was Michael Simon, a former Obama administration official who cited the Trump Accountability Project.“Yes, we are,” Mr Simon wrote. “Every Administration staffer, campaign staffer, bundler, lawyer who represented them – everyone.”
Trump Accountability Project
Posted by: Down South | Nov 7 2020 15:47 utc | 73
The United States is a monopoly two-party fascist system. It is a nexus of profiteering corporate power, and a two-party cabal of American Exceptionalism. The idea the Democrats are 'commies' is laughable and shows how deeply red the Kool Aid runs. The Democrats just told the Bernie wing of the Party to shut-up or leave. And why not? The Democrats will tally up a five million vote plurality over Trump by playing to the right. It got them a President without a Congress. Thank the “Karen” constituency. Mission Accomplished.
Sure, bring on Tucker as the next Trump, or Don Jr or whatever other celebrity fascist you want. This particular bell of Pavlov's doesn't work on all the dogs. There is a seething anti-fascist sentiment out there against for-profit healthcare, politics and war. Before a 4th Reich takes hold in the USA, a Civil War will be fought and the left, verified by study after study, is more intelligent as a group.
The foreign policy of the USA is fully bi-partisan. Did a Democrat make a peep about the all the weapons-based 'peace deals' Trump made with the Oil Kingdoms? No. Do the Dems disagree about regime change anywhere the USA contemplates it? No. Do the Dems want to get rid of anything but bad manners? No.
So please, knock off the existential BS about Dems 'stealing' the election. Stealing what exactly? The high ground of plausible deniability? Hilarious.
Posted by: gottlieb | Nov 7 2020 15:51 utc | 74
The US public are quite happy being mushrooms, being kept in the dark and fed manure.If they wanted to pull the cover off this charade all they would have needed to do was vote third party. We all know the powers that be would never let this happen and the deep state would have to come out into the sunlight. The last thing the public wants is to be confronted with reality. By now people should know that no computer system is safe, it's just a matter of how bad someone wants into it. Paper ballots is awful had to hack and leaves traces.
Posted by: Tobi | Nov 7 2020 15:53 utc | 75
Here agarrándose a un clavo ardiendo...
https://twitter.com/remix_36/status/1221537027721768961
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Nov 7 2020 15:53 utc | 76
This election was really about a lot of things.
But a big question that arises will be the delivery of college-graduated young people into good-paying jobs.
These young people probably pushed Biden into the presidency, especially in Georgia, but in others as well.
The latino and black vote increased for Trump election-over-election, which tells you a lot: POTUS was able to convince many of these manual laborers that their lot was bettering.
We will see in the years ahead more clearly if Trump really was a blue-collar champion.
C1ue was right in a prior comment that the Dims have an insurmountable road ahead of them, provided they not tip over the card table completely and launch a war which will drag Russia into an end game scenario.
Indeed, they will have to prove to those college-bound and educated young people that a neoliberal economy can work for them.
It is an impossible chore and will push more into the DJT phenomenon, provided the GOP does not actively sabotage it going forward.
Posted by: NemesisCalling | Nov 7 2020 15:57 utc | 77
Trump claims to have won
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1325099845045071873
Posted by: Norwegian | Nov 7 2020 16:02 utc | 78
I'm looking for an argument that grants both sides are cheating. A reality-based thing.
Posted by: Lawrence Magnuson | Nov 7 2020 16:02 utc | 79
1. The phrase 'Make America Great Again' implicitly acknowledges that America which is supposedly, 'the greatest country in the world', is not great and hence needs its 'greatness' restored.
The problem is that the US rose to global hegemony amongst a backdrop of huge industrial and manufacturing power. Whilst the Europeans were fighting each other on their continent in WW2, US manufacturing was booming.
Then in the 70s US courts said factories were liable to huge lawsuits for environmental and medical problems caused by them hence the resultant 'outsourcing' or transfer or labour to countries with cheaper labour costs such as China, Vietnam, Bangladesh etc.
2. This de-industrialization of the US or at least decimating of its manufacturing leads to systemic unemployment in the long run. The US is lucky in that it can still flourish with the reserve dollar, a status it enforces with its global imperial power. However with the Sino-Russian block seeking to end dollar hegemony the questions are:
- How long will dollar hegemony last for?
- At what pace will it decrease?
-To what point does the US economy experience decline until it substantially impacts the US itself?
3. The same sort of 'patriots' and right-wingers in the early 2000s who would have cheered on a US war in the early Bush era and before are now often the most opposed to war. Not on grounds of altruism but because it doesn't benefit the US, or they themselves see no tangible benefits whilst the US experiences socio-economic decline.
This trend of economic decline is only going to continue and with it US power.
The US is hardly interested in flexing its - still considerable - muscles in Libya. That theatre is between the Turks, Arabs and Russians. The US is hardly much of a party in the tension between Greece and Turkey over their EEZ claims.
This is now replicating itself in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict where the US has little power and the main external actors are the Turks and Russians and some others.
Expect this sort of trend to continue whereby regional actors and others will decide on regional 'solutions' (arrangements) free of the US.
4. As for the US internally, it will experience some sort of internal decline and it will either:
a: Change itself fundamentally.
b: Experience cessation or 'semi-cessation'. The latter meaning that the states will have a new deal with the centre, whereby the 'US' can still exist but the states can opt out of things they don't like.
c: Civil war or internal conflict, think post-George Floyd riots X 10 amidst the background of far greater poverty in the future.
P.S. In terms of right-wing militias, the military if anything has indicated it is slightly 'anti-Trump' (the hero of the right-wing militias). The military is a civic-nationalist, racially inclusive organisation whose current head of the air force is a black man. This is why in some quarters of the internet some US right-wingers who aware of this are not so confident about default US backing of any right-wing
Posted by: Muslim_Dude | Nov 7 2020 16:04 utc | 80
Best thing I've yet seen on the big statistics reasons why the Biden vote is fraud
https://monsterhunternation.com/2020/11/05/the-2020-election-fuckery-is-afoot/
Posted by: Patrick Armstrong | Nov 7 2020 16:07 utc | 81
By the way, just to add. Trump being booted out of office 'unfairly' may be the optimal scenario for him in certain ways.
1. He is a victim/martyr to his right-wing constituency, in much the same way that Erdogan has always portrayed himself as a 'man of the people' and representative of the poor conservative rural Turks and still an outsider in comparison to the secular urban elites.
This 'otherness' or being separate from the establishment/elite/'swamp' is very good for Trumps' image. Even though he is a billionaire and has been part of the US elite for decades.
2. With the economy going to go through problems due to covid and other issues, Trump can try and attribute blame for the then incumbent Biden/Harris regime and free himself of any blame and say that he has better answers.
3. He may well go on to forming his 'Trump TV' with Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham as is the current chatter amongst some and be seen as the de facto 'leader of the opposition', a term not really used in the (dis)United States but common in many/most other countries.
Posted by: Muslim_Dude | Nov 7 2020 16:08 utc | 82
@Posted by: H.Schmatz | Nov 7 2020 15:47 utc | 72
Well, in this retwit the original video got cut leaving out the final apotheosis of Trump´s farewell...here the full video for those who would want to share...
Especially dedicated to those taking it the tragic way, like Pat at SST ( theater, obviously...) Show must go on!...( notice the sympathetic smile with wink of complicity by Nancy Pelosi in that scene at Congress where she broke Trump´s speech papers, and which I fear none of us noticed at the time...
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Nov 7 2020 16:11 utc | 83
Glad to see the color revolution (call it blue revolution) finally came to home, is like smelling napalm in the morning
Posted by: Kooshy | Nov 7 2020 16:15 utc | 84
b's whitewashing of the Trump presidency is sad to read
Just like it is delusional to write that Clinton would have bombed Syria while Trump did not. If you will remember Obama lost Syria and the only reason Trump has not started wars like the days of old is because MAD.
Humanity is in a civilization war between public and private finance control of mankind. To write that Trump was not instrumental in fighting that war over the past 4 years is a lie. That lie is furthered by writing that Pompeo and the rest were all not projecting Trump policies but those of ???
Continuing to portray our world as left/right instead of the top/bottom reality is a disservice to humanity.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Nov 7 2020 16:15 utc | 85
@Tobi |#75
If they wanted to pull the cover off this charade all they would have needed to do was vote third party.
No, it's obvious to most anybody that we have an established two-party system, managed by the states, and third parties are not part of the process. Ralph Nader wrote a book about it: "Crashing the Party."
Posted by: Don Bacon | Nov 7 2020 16:16 utc | 86
@Posted by: Billosky | Nov 7 2020 15:03 utc | 53
"Paradox??, Good heavens, man, this is Contradiction, Paradox is two more doors down and on the left."
"Contradiction" by definition means that only one statement can be true. The truth of one negates the truth of the other.
Paradox: 'a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true.'
-Trump is indeed a liar, yet as i explained, he has (occasionally) dished out some inconvenient truths, which the media promptly dismissed as 'conspiracy' while itself engaging in conspiracy.
-Neither China nor Russia (more precisely the USSR, my personal impression of modern Russia is more positive) have much of a record/reputation for being the 'good guys', both domestically and in international relations.. yet lately they are more and more being perceived as reasonable and reliable partners, i would almost say preferable to a point, thanks to their more tempered and patient foreign policy approach, in contrast to the US' shameless aggressions over the past 20 years and growing appetite for endless wars... not quite the 'freedom loving' nation it purports to be after all is it?
Do you understand the difference now?
Posted by: Et Tu | Nov 7 2020 16:17 utc | 87
I would be remiss if I did not mention that I am less than enthused by the prospect of having a 'Weekend at Bernie's' prop presume to be our president.
I think calling it Harris (Biden) administration is a bit childish. Harris will have about as much effect on policy as Pence had during last 4 four years. Certainly nothing like Cheney. And she won't be the Dems candidate in four years.
Posted by: Northener | Nov 7 2020 13:21 utc | 19
Gilbert Doctorov picks up on the narrative. It no doubt may have been an ethnic choice, that may not have worked in the larger American identities wilderness. Latinos?
Arbitrary selection:
Trumpism without Trump
Though Biden is likely to continue the policy of economic disengagement from China and military rivalry with the Middle Kingdom, it is also likely he will restore Russia to its place as the top arch-enemy. The new anti-Russian sanctions that his administration will bring to Congress may go well beyond the taps on the wrist we have seen so far and may threaten full economic warfare, with all the risks of miscalculation and unleashing of kinetic warfare that it entails.
https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2020/11/05/trumpism-without-trump/
Posted by: vig | Nov 7 2020 16:19 utc | 89
As for vote rigging, using mail fraud, it is so apparent that even questioning it would be pointless. During the past few days you had all the evidence on the Internet.
Even Postal workers and voting supervisors are coming forward and admitting voter fraud. The elite forgot that in order to execute a complex plan, you need plenty of people. The more people you hire, the more will talk.
Posted by: [email protected] | Nov 7 2020 16:21 utc | 90
@ Tobi 75
The US public are quite happy being mushrooms, being kept in the dark and fed manure.
Wrong. Polls show that citizens are not happy at all with Congress nor the direction of the country. This is why millions voted for the upstart Trump. The media is the culprit, with ninety percent of the MSM owned by half a dozen corporations, all saying the same thing.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Nov 7 2020 16:22 utc | 91
The mainstream media (which are owned by Zionist Jews and staffed by leftists) are telling us that Donald Trump’s lawsuits against several states for election fraud are “false” and “baseless.” The mainstream media are lying, once again. Trump’s accusations are almost certainly correct because they are based on a great deal of evidence.
We knew that the Democrats were using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to cheat in the US presidential election with fake mail-in votes. And that’s exactly what they did in several key battleground states: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Arizona. Several observers predicted ahead of time that the Democrats would do this, and the prediction proved to be correct. [We also now are hearing claims, unverified so far at least, that there is an ongoing sting operation using hidden watermarks that will lead to the cheaters being exposed. — Ed.]
But knowing what happened, and fulfilling the due process requirements in documenting it for a civil process, are two different things. Even with everyone (including some “liberals”) knowing full well what has happened, the Democrats’ cheated-up election result might stand.
Let us wish all the good luck we can for Donald Trump to prevail in the state courts and in the US Supreme Court, because we will otherwise most likely become a communist country.
Posted by: mant | Nov 7 2020 16:24 utc | 92
Let's all hope that the Democratic party will be able to appeal to the working class and put into motion at least a few relevant policies with the help of the activism of the progressives within their ranks. As for foreign policy, it will not be softer yes, but it will also be less erratic and more responsible with the adults in the room in charge.
Posted by: Innocent Civilian | Nov 7 2020 16:27 utc | 93
Excellent commentary from Moon of Alabama.
Very little to add to it except this.
As the article points out imperial militarism is definitely going to increase. At some point Russia or China will have to stand up to it and fight back. That will be the apocalypse moment. Either the Empire backs down and peace reigns or we all go up in a nuclear furnace. I don't see any other scenario.
Posted by: Mike from Jersey | Nov 7 2020 16:29 utc | 94
@JimmyGreek | Nov 7 2020 16:21 utc | 90
As for vote rigging, using mail fraud, it is so apparent that even questioning it would be pointless. During the past few days you had all the evidence on the Internet.Yes, we shall see if the US will get their first Mail Order President.
Posted by: Norwegian | Nov 7 2020 16:29 utc | 95
@Posted by: psychohistorian | Nov 7 2020 16:15 utc | 85
But notice that the process of whitewashing and beatificating Trump is in full display at all the usual pro-Trump sites, like The Saker, in spite that they simulated having given away with him in previous months...
IMO, this fits with the current effort by the far-right in rewritting history...It´s a duty of future generations to keep the record, and memory, of Trump´s and his administration´s misdeeds, like the ongoing genocide in Yemen, the intend of destruction of statehood, infrastructures and stealing of Syrian resources, the killing of hope of Palestinian people, the pirate take over of Lybian resources, the summary execution of main effective commander in the fight against IS, the destabilization through color revolutions, sabotage of vital infrastructures and invason intends of Bolivia, Venezuela, Belarus, Moldova, Nagorno- Karabakh, Georgia, Hong Kong, Thailand, destabilization of European societies through introduction of far-right and islamic extremist formations/operatives to sow division and revive ancient grudges in Spain, France, Austria, Germany, Italy...
It is not a detailed list...
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Nov 7 2020 16:32 utc | 96
If you examine the results granularity, who ever is orchestrating the voter fraud campaign in the states where the vote counting is currently taking place is doing a hell of job in every county. They are remarkably adept at creating numbers that are reflective of the history of voting in each county. Every state has a different system, every county, at least in NY has its own board of elections. If Biden's people are fixing this election, then I want Biden as my president because at least they are competent. My only complaint would be that they are keeping things unnecessarily close. They should be generating much larger margins of victory, especially in Georgia. It also leads me to wonder why they failed to come through for Hillary Clinton in '16. They allowed Trump to win three swing states by less than eighty thousand votes. There is no excuse for that. It appears to be nothing other than laziness.
Posted by: David | Nov 7 2020 16:34 utc | 97
I have always operated on the obviously flawed premise that once you are a proven liar, then I can trust nothing you say without independent verification. ...
Posted by: visak | Nov 7 2020 13:39 utc | 22
It ain't that easy. It may be for truth warriors like you. I by now have a solid database on lies told, or let's say divergences vs what he wrote over the distance of decades online vs offline. You feel it should/would interest anyone but me?
At what point do you lie, and for what reasons?
Posted by: vig | Nov 7 2020 16:34 utc | 98
The US public are quite happy being mushrooms, being kept in the dark and fed manure.
Posted by: Tobi | Nov 7 2020 15:53 utc | 75
I perceive animosity toward Mushroom-Americans and unwarranted generalizations. Many of us tolerate light, and more educated mushroom prefer wooden logs -- shiitake mushroom are not named for "shit take" -- or wood chips. [back to reading Protocols of Atlantic Council]
Posted by: Piotr Berman | Nov 7 2020 16:41 utc | 99
IT'S OOOOOOVER!!!!!🎉🎊🎈🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
🎶THANK YOU VERY MUCH...THANK YOU VERY MUCH🎶
Posted by: Circe | Nov 7 2020 16:42 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
So the question is: How does the ordinary voter neutralise the powers that be
Posted by: Helen | Nov 7 2020 12:35 utc | 1