The ‘Progressives’ In Congress Are Useless Wimps

October 26, 2022

Progressives urge Biden to push harder for Ukraine peace talks – 10/24/22 3:47 PM ET – The Hill

Thirty progressive House lawmakers wrote a letter to President Biden on Monday urging him to consider directly engaging with Russia and to become more assertive in negotiating a cease-fire in Ukraine.
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All 30 signatories have voted for more than $50 billion in various forms of assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion and in the letter expressed no regrets for doing so, tying the aid to Ukrainian military successes.
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“We are under no illusions regarding the difficulties involved in engaging Russia given its outrageous and illegal invasion of Ukraine and its decision to make additional illegal annexations of Ukrainian territory,” they wrote. “However, if there is a way to end the war while preserving a free and independent Ukraine, it is America’s responsibility to pursue every diplomatic avenue to support such a solution that is acceptable to the people of Ukraine.”

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Progressive Caucus tries to clarify call for Biden to find diplomatic solution to Ukraine – 10/24/22 8:43 PM ET – The Hill

The Congressional Progressive Caucus on Monday evening sought to couch a statement from earlier in the day requesting that President Biden shift his administration’s policies on Ukraine and start some form of negotiations with Russia.
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“Let me be clear: we are united as Democrats in our unequivocal commitment to supporting Ukraine in their fight for their democracy and freedom in the face of the illegal and outrageous Russian invasion, and nothing in the letter advocates for a change in that support,” [Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)] added.

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Progressives ‘didn’t consider election timing’ with letter on Biden’s Ukraine strategy – 10/25/22 11:22 AM ET – The Hill

Progressives worked over the summer to get nearly three dozen House Democrats to sign off on a letter that would call into question President Biden’s handling of Ukraine and urge him to engage diplomatically with Russia, according to two sources directly familiar with the negotiations.
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“They waited to get about 30 and released,” one source texted The Hill on Tuesday morning, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal negotiations. “Didn’t consider election timing.”

A House aide said the letter was “circulated for signatures” in June. “We aren’t sure why it was released now.”

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Progressive Caucus withdraws letter on Ukraine strategy amid blowback – 10/25/22 1:03 PM ET – The Hill

“The Congressional Progressive Caucus hereby withdraws its recent letter to the White House regarding Ukraine,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the caucus chairwoman, wrote in a statement, representing a stunning shift in their call for a diplomatic push to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

“The letter was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting. As Chair of the Caucus, I accept responsibility for this,” Jayapal wrote.

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An ex-Hill staffer who worked closely with a top progressive Democrat says there's no chance she didn't vet the controversial Ukraine letter. 'She keeps a tight grip on media relations' – 10/25/22 3:10 PM ET – Business Insider

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal withdrew a controversial letter to President Joe Biden on Ukraine, saying it was drafted months ago and "unfortunately was released by staff without vetting."

But a former Hill staffer who worked closely with her office called the idea "absurd" that a release left her office without her approval.
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A current senior Democratic aide familiar with her office operations also told Insider, "There is no way that Pramila Jayapal doesn't know every word that leaves her office."

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Progressives go on damage control after Ukraine diplomacy letter – 10/25/22 5:04 PM ET – The Hill

Few progressives on Tuesday were willing to defend Jayapal or the Progressive Caucus’s messages, particularly as they shifted over the past two days.

Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), in an interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC, noted that while she was a progressive, she was not a signatory to the letter. She deflected a question about whether sending it had been a mistake.

Others privately took shots at Jayapal, arguing the misstep was part of a broader problem.

Posted by b on October 26, 2022 at 10:24 UTC | Permalink

Comments

Lots of ignorance being displayed on this thread. The only “good” war that was fought in North America was before the USA existed as it had to fight a war to gain its independence, but not freedom for all the humans within it–that’s a very big difference for those who don’t seem to understand such things. No other war the USA entered into can be considered a good war as in WW2, the USA just took the place of the Axis forces in its aftermath- As Gruff said, wars are only seen as “good” at their outbreak. (I cannot in good conscience describe the very short resistance mounted to the Spanish invasion by the Aztecs and other First Peoples as a war; although, Mexico’s war against France I’d call a good war, and I should add Mexico fought two other good wars in defense of its territory–against the rebels in Texas then against the USA. In the same vein, the “wars” fought by First Peoples within what became the USA to defend their territory and lives were also Good Wars, despite their outcomes. So, those are caveats to what I wrote above.) Currently, there’s a hybrid war being waged on the peoples of North America by the Neoliberal Parasites that have captured the governments of the USA and Canada that’s very similar to the longstanding hybrid war waged on the Global South by the Outlaw US Empire and its erstwhile allies who now find themselves under attack too by their Neoliberal Parasites acting in common with their North American buddies.
I’ll wager that every entity commenting on this thread is a victim of the current hybrid war–yes, even the trolls–and they are the saddest of all for they don’t seem to realize they’re being fucked in the ass sideways without any KY jelly.
Currently, there’s only one Good War–the struggle to end the Outlaw US Empire and its dwindling allies’s global hegemony so the world’s people can finally enjoy the Four Freedoms. And that struggle includes Russia’s SMO, which in reality is part of the hybrid war against the Empire.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 26 2022 20:40 utc | 101

@ Hermit
Thanks for your comments about (self-styled) Greens here and there — and where they stand on warmongering. How refreshing to find completely lost (self-styled) progressives in other benighted lands than mine own!
From my own experience with friends and neighbors (here in ultra-liberal East Bay Area), and from continuing implosions throughout leftish media venues, I’m coming to believe our problem, as US Americans, is bigger than the oligarchs in control — that there’s a severe problem with the polity — with our insanely insulated people.
I have little insight into what life is like for the people I see twitching about in response to impulses from their personal surveillance devices. What can it be about a screen the size of a playing card which constantly overwhelms the actual world — the amazing, changing cloud formations in the real sky? I don’t totally understand why clouds are so dynamic lately, but I’ll never understand this ubiquitous mob of “smart phone” addicts. What the hell happened to the species formerly known as Homo sapiens?
If you’re a hermit, Hermit, then I’m with you.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Oct 26 2022 20:52 utc | 102

Today’s Ehret article at SCF, “Why Did the West Learn to Embrace Fascism… Again?” makes a very big error as its title reveals: The West never ceased embracing fascism. The USA perpetuated it in disguise initially, but as time went by it became more and more obvious that the Outlaw US Empire is a fascist entity with every nation named as its enemy–as per the new so-called National Security Strategy, no nation is to be allowed to become a competitor. Ubber Primacy is the Megalomistic aim of the Outlaw US Empire–it intends to be second to no other nation or seemingly it will die trying, for it cannot be secure unless it has its knee on the necks of all nations.
That’s why Russia’s SMO is a Good War; for as Putin vowed, the ultimate aim is to end the Outlaw US Empire’s global hegemony.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 26 2022 20:58 utc | 103

@leaf 23
Sadly, there are studies reflecting that, outside of the upper levels (PhD+, highest incomes), the best correlates for supporting the Vietnam war were years of education and wealth.

Posted by: Hermit | Oct 26 2022 20:59 utc | 104

@steve kelly 9
Americans spend their lives being told that they are free because they live in a “democracy”. It is only a tiny portion, often those with international experience who are lucky enough to come to doubt this. Even fewer who realize that it is only societies where all positions are filled by voting (or by lot), and all decisions made by voting, and where voting is universal and direct, rather than through representatives, that can be said to be “democratic”.
The oligarchs prefer it this way. After all. As von Goethe said, “The best slave is the one who thinks he is free.”

Posted by: Hermit | Oct 26 2022 21:08 utc | 105

After all. As von Goethe said, “The best slave is the one who thinks he is free.”
Posted by: Hermit | Oct 26 2022 21:08 utc | 111

Democracy is more than a deposit in a ballot box every couple of years. How you vote with your time, money and feet on a daily basis is 10,000x more important

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Oct 26 2022 21:43 utc | 106

they don’t seem to realize they’re being [something painful] without any KY jelly.
Currently, [things are happening, no thanks to self-styled Progressives]
Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 26 2022 20:40 utc | 107
Perhaps our valiant 30 P’s ARE THE JELLY. They are so compassionate for the well-being of the little people that they do not hesitate to turn their brains to jelly — but I would recommend to use it on a small skin patch first, as it can be irritating to some.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Oct 26 2022 22:06 utc | 107

Stir the Pot @ 102
I was there at the demo in Chicago for which you claim 10,000. Maybe 2000. Mostly useful for not feeling so alone. Very large fraction of those present were cops of one sort or another. I remember that whole period the Spartacist Youth League was inserting themselves as ‘leaders’ any time they showed up. And was very surprised to see 50 Sparts all at once. When did that tiny little conventicle ever have so many? Talked to them and they freely admitted they were all federal employees.
In other countries there were large demos against US action in Iraq. Not so much here. Two good friends in SF were at the demo for which you claim 150,000. That would be significant if it had happened. It did not.
Also remember talking with old guard Red Squad Chicago cops reactivated for the day. They were ready to bust heads, saw the paltry turnout and had themselves a little reunion. Overtime pay for doing not much.

Posted by: oldhippie | Oct 26 2022 22:21 utc | 108

ThrowsOfWar | Oct 26 2022 20:13 utc | 104
there were lots of us marching in DC in 2003. and lots to learn from the experience.
history is full of marching, that’s for sure. how can i forget seeing US chimaera John Lewis, full time Congressman and onetime Civil rights hero, do a perp walk on the grounds outside the national Capitol, on behalf of the “Dream Act.” what a fucking joke. having a jolly ol’ time getting hisself arrested. nausea and bile, just from thinking about it.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Oct 26 2022 22:25 utc | 109

oldhippie | Oct 26 2022 22:21 utc | 114
i’m pretty sure there was a legit couple of million protestors in DC for at least *one* day, maybe a weekend, in early 2003.
again, for all the good it did. it’s kind of part of the tourism scene, for sure. lots of security theater involved in democratic activism. and celebrating freedom, like on the 4th. and voting. how secure can we be in our voting, huh? why shouldn’t armed guards be at voting drop boxes, for freedom?
the Crisco of liberty doesn’t throw itself into the deep fryer, does it?

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Oct 26 2022 22:34 utc | 110

rjb 1.5 @ 117
Nah, if a couple million had shown up it would have activated a movement, there would have been lots of sequelae.
There were millions out in the street in UK, some would have it there were over ten million. Tony Blair just ignored them, paid no mind. GW Bush didn’t have to ignore anything, there was nothing to ignore.
One contingent of demonstrators in Feb 2003 were youngsters hoping to do a 1960s re-enactment.They were so disappointed.
I used to attend the Hiroshima Day memorial until I was the only one there. Did the picnic at the Haymarket Martyrs monument at the cemetery until I was the only one there. Even at those events there were always cops. I think it was when the cops called it a day those events ended.

Posted by: oldhippie | Oct 26 2022 23:00 utc | 111

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Oct 26 2022 20:08 utc | 103
“Your double post on that subject was good for a laugh.”
Fixed the problem though.
I do know about these kids.
My son has run an ISP for 20 years.
When they come knocking on my door, which they have occasionally over the last 20 years, they never want to speak to me.
Where’s you Son?
They typically look like, they have come to clean your gutters…
Then they show me their MET Fraud Squad or City of Police Badge.
If he’s here, I shout upstairs..
Someone here to see you.
My wife is very polite to them, well and so am I, so is My son if he is here.
“Your son is not under investigation we have just 4 of our heavy mob to talk to him”
He hasn’t been arrested yet, but he has helped them a lot, trying to identify these people trying to steal, and destroy the internet.
The vast majority of UK Police are trying to do a good job, under the most ridiculous circumstances of political control.
Sure, they could do a better job.
Couldn’t we all
I have never had any connection to any Military, Police Force or Any Political Party.
I just worked hard in the computer industry, to provide a home, roof and shelter for my wife and family…and travelled a lot, to meet people in many parts of the world, much poorer than us, but doing exactly the same, for their families.
I’m getting a bit past it now, but have booked tickets for 2 music festivals camping next year.
Hard work, but the mud keeps me fit, as I approach 70 years old.
Baby Grandaughter doing well.
What else is there to fight for.
Tony

Posted by: tonyopmoc | Oct 26 2022 23:07 utc | 112

So please, make yourself useful for this “good war”; buy a one way flight to Ukraine, pick up a rifle, dig a trench and face the Russian artillery.
You are being useless in fighting this “good war” by spamming & trolling this website.
Posted by: FieryButMostPeaceful | Oct 26 2022 20:02 utc | 101
No thanks. Like any good cause, I’ll pass some extra money along but I’m not about to sacrifice my life/family for strangers. C’est la vie.

Posted by: ThrowsOfWar | Oct 26 2022 23:11 utc | 113

Posted by: Sam | Oct 26 2022 23:11 utc | 114

It is the first “good war” the US has helped fight in 100 years.
Posted by: ThrowsOfWar | Oct 26 2022 16:29 utc | 40
this is a “good war”????? a blatant power grab via coup in order to kneecap a potential rival is a “good war”.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 26 2022 23:20 utc | 115

sam @122 do you have a link on bernie “piling on” against the letter? the final knife in the heart, if so. all his unions will apparently consist of good nazis.
and i loved and i mean loved him and all he did for a change.

Posted by: polarbear4 | Oct 26 2022 23:26 utc | 116

a couple of million protestors is nothing to the US government, nor millions voting for Sanders (the Sanders they thought he was, not the actual Sanders) nor more millions voting for Trump. I think a general strike would get its attention, the only time it concedes power is when there are actual threats to its power.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 26 2022 23:31 utc | 117

et tu 2
‘Yep, that was absolutely pathetic. Good thing that America is a democracy and voters will soon be able to express their outrage, by voting in the only other team of fraudsters who will do the exact same as the Dems on 99% of policy, except maybe sex change laws affecting less than 0.0001% of the population and other non-issues.’
———-
USA isnt a ‘democracy’. People keep missing this word? Voting doesnt make ‘democracy’. Democracy is rule by the people (demos), not rule by party operatives, who in the end dont even represent the people..just their party/funders.

Posted by: brian | Oct 26 2022 23:31 utc | 118

polarbear4 | Oct 26 2022 23:26 utc | 125
Yes, here is the link to the direct source:
https://www.semafor.com/article/10/25/2022/bernie-sanders-the-house-progressive-caucus-ukraine-letter-was-wrong

Posted by: Sam | Oct 26 2022 23:32 utc | 119

There is no such thing as progressives, they are pre selected and chosen and pushed to be elected as gas valves. They truly are the useful idiots for the oligarchy that runs this country.

Posted by: Kooshy | Oct 26 2022 23:33 utc | 120

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1585098197110001664
Sanders piling on.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 26 2022 23:36 utc | 121

polarbear4 | Oct 26 2022 23:26 utc | 125
Also, I would like to add I am in the same camp as you. I thought he did a lot to change the conversation. But now it is clear his time is past.

Posted by: Sam | Oct 26 2022 23:36 utc | 122

this is a “good war”????? a blatant power grab via coup in order to kneecap a potential rival is a “good war”.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 26 2022 23:20 utc | 123
A few years ago I would have called it a muddle, with slights from both sides. The brash decision to roll the tanks to Kiev made it black and white.

Posted by: ThrowsOfWar | Oct 26 2022 23:39 utc | 123

Indian Punchline’s latest 2 posts, Shoigu’s
doings, and the US progressives latest, are excellent 👍 Do read them.

Posted by: donten | Oct 26 2022 23:40 utc | 124

Posted by: brian | Oct 26 2022 23:44 utc | 125

The House has 400 representatives. So 30 is not a lot.
It’s no surprise, the US people overwhelmingly support Ukraine on this one.
It is the first “good war” the US has helped fight in 100 years.
Posted by: ThrowsOfWar | Oct 26 2022 16:29 utc | 40
——————–
only its not a ‘good’ war

Posted by: brian | Oct 26 2022 23:50 utc | 126

In response to
”
a couple of million protestors is nothing to the US government, nor millions voting for Sanders (the Sanders they thought he was, not the actual Sanders) nor more millions voting for Trump. I think a general strike would get its attention, the only time it concedes power is when there are actual threats to its power.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 26 2022 23:31 utc | 126
”
What us barflys need to see is that there IS a current threat to the God Of Mammon power cult that runs the shit show of the West. And it is not us internal folks, it is the China/Russia axis that has formed.
What those self-called progressives have done is to call attention to their God of Mammon fealty morals
Many of us barflys have written for years about how the only successful way to bring down the God of Mammon meme of private finance, ownership of property and ongoing inheritance was to show how anti-humanistic that social contract is. What part of ugly is the world not seeing currently?
By explicitly NOT using the Might-Makes-Right method of social control, the God of Mammon tool, the China/Russia axis is showing the world an alternative way for society to co-exist.
The sell-out of Bernie Sanders (who I supported), is another nail in the coffin of the God of Mammon social order that cannot go down quickly enough, IMO.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Oct 26 2022 23:51 utc | 127

https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1585098197110001664
the rash decision to instigate a coup on 2014, and the rash decision to expand NATO to Russia’s borders, and the rash decision to sabotage the Minsk Accords, and the rash decision to support neonazis to bleed Russia–all black and white. the current rash decision to emulate JFK’s rash decision to approve US missiles in Turkey in order to encircle the USSR, by establishing a ring of hostile countries around Russia, is the worst black and white decision of all. and you claim you are antiwar. I haven’t seen yenwoda around lately, maybe there was a name change.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 26 2022 23:54 utc | 128

@1112 Opport Knocks, who said:
“How you vote with your time, money and feet on a daily basis is 10,000x more important” … [than voting for Coke or Pepsi]
Yes, of course. Now, how are you going to apply your time, money and feet? Which actions yield results?
Are we good at this yet?

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Oct 26 2022 23:58 utc | 129

sam @128 thank you. heartbroken. i’m sure there is rage under this tiredness, too.
bernie sanders supporting the ripping apart of russia by nazis.

Posted by: polarbear4 | Oct 27 2022 0:15 utc | 130

thank you, too, pretzel attack @130
the truth hurts, but it’s good to face it.

Posted by: polarbear4 | Oct 27 2022 0:16 utc | 131

the truth hurts, but it’s good to face it.
Posted by: polarbear4 | Oct 27 2022 0:16 utc | 141
yeah, I believed Sanders too, then he caved in to Clinton in 2016 and supported her, and my belief waned–but I still made excuses, then came 2020 and the Obama/DNC inspired night of the long knives in the primaries, and he still fucking caved, and now this.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 27 2022 0:23 utc | 132

No thanks. Like any good cause, I’ll pass some extra money along but I’m not about to sacrifice my life/family for strangers. C’est la vie.
Posted by: ThrowsOfWar | Oct 26 2022 23:11 utc | 121
Azov Battalion and Prvy Sektor send their thanks…

Posted by: AParadiseLost | Oct 27 2022 0:34 utc | 133

Modern Progressives: more war, more tax, more spending, more woke, more bureaucracy, more affirmative action regardless of skills lacking, more government intervention, more Pfizer. They are the cause, they offer no cure, just more pain for the lower and middle classes as they live the high life.
Modern conservatives are little better. The system is corrupt and broken.

Posted by: Organic | Oct 27 2022 0:54 utc | 134

fyi – Bernhard retweeted this yesterday from A. Baraka, see below
wdyt – Which will happen first: the awakening of The People, or the running out of the time on the Atomic Clock?
that’s where we are at as far as I’m concerned.
https://twitter.com/ajamubaraka/status/1585076879794454528
Ajamu Baraka @ajamubaraka
There are no progressives in the democrat party. The “squad” is a fraud, the Congressional Black Caucus a joke & there is nothing progressive about the “progressive caucus.” The retreat on tepid letter to Biden on Ukraine confirms democrats are politically & morally bankrupt.

Posted by: michaelj72 | Oct 27 2022 1:19 utc | 135

@ sippy the shot glass | Oct 26 2022 16:39 utc | 43
thanks… i just find the use of the word ”progressive” especially appalling in this instance..

Posted by: james | Oct 27 2022 1:57 utc | 136

This humiliating embarrassment has truly broke the camels back. It has now been conclusively shown there is not a single way to reform this thoroughly corrupt, thoroughly authoritarian system from the inside. Clearly it was a waste of time considering it; when even Bernie Sanders is piling on over the letter, the show is over, it’s all a fraud. The one single truth is, rich Americans must stay rich Americans at the expense of everyone else, and if you disagree then you are the enemy (or far worse, you are a Russian agent for Putin).
Posted by: Sam | Oct 26 2022 23:11 utc | 122
Put so beautifully, but so sad about Bernie. As a naive liberal once upon a time I supported Obama and thought he was mostly for real (there were some red flags…) Then he turned out to be a fraud as soon as he took office. Bernie’s 2016 campaign was such an inspiration that the propaganda machine had to crank up to suppress it. The guy himself, though, also had some red flags – like his comment dismissing Hugo Chavez as a “dead communist dictator.” Still, I wanted to believe that he was secretly on the anti-imperialist side, until the $40B vote that permanently removed any illusions I had about either him or anyone in the Democratic Party. Why do we dissidents find so obvious what others apparently cannot see at all? Facetiously, but not quite, I say that we are mentally “handicapped”, and are missing the herd instinct that would make proper sheep of us. Is there any way to spread this deficiency more widely?

Posted by: TM | Oct 27 2022 2:16 utc | 137

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Oct 26 2022 10:42 utc | 3 Who posted:
https://nypost.com/2022/10/26/british-radio-host-tim-gough-suddenly-dies-on-air-during-radio-genx-show/
Surely twas the Russians wot done it with Novachok. Some DJ’s will do anything for ratings.

Posted by: Paul GV | Oct 27 2022 3:12 utc | 138

@ Sam | Oct 26 2022 23:11 utc | 122
@ psychohistorian | Oct 26 2022 23:51 utc | 136
Yes, it would take a revolution to root out the unelected power elite of the US. Such a revolution could only take place, however, if a split developed in the ruling class, with some of it taking up leadership of the revolt. And this may happen yet because of distributional conflict caused by a shrinking economic pie. For example, the rapacity of the banks does not benefit most corporations. But until now there is not much sign of any real fissures in the ruling class, and Trump also was not really a manifestation of such a break because he did not really have a program of his own and merely irritated and maybe frightened the rulers with his unvetted and uncontrollable statements frequently exposing their faults. He also became the symbol of their alarm at the threat of white nationalism, because they will be in trouble if they lose the loyalty of the white majority population that the US regime has always depended on and whom it has also so relentlessly bamboozled and exploited. It remains to be seen if that can really happen.
If a revolution were to break out in the US, it would be unbelievably ugly; indeed, it might be the end of the world, because the power elite have an absolute contempt for all who are not part of their group and would think nothing of killing ten or even hundreds of millions of people, even using atomic weapons on their own people if necessary. The only way it could succeed would be through plotting by some of the elite who might exploit such a movement to arrive at power for themselves, in conjunction with nationalist elements in the military and police who might sympathize with a movement to overthrow the regime. But the power elite have all kinds of resources and surveillance and are very careful to watch and control those they suspect, so it would have to start clandestinely.
However, a sudden shock such as a general economic collapse also might set off great disorder. Should a panic set in that would crash the dollar, different elements in the power elite might clash over protecting their individual interests and over how to address the crisis in a way they couldn’t plan for in advance. That might bring the house down. The sign of it must be the collapse of the dollar, the lynchpin of the whole system. As long as the dollar continues to ride high, as it is still currently doing, it isn’t the big one. And such a sudden historical lurch would also be extraordinarily violent and bloody, in all likelihood.

Posted by: Cabe | Oct 27 2022 5:04 utc | 139

@ Cabe | Oct 27 2022 5:04 utc | 153 who wrote
”
However, a sudden shock such as a general economic collapse also might set off great disorder. Should a panic set in that would crash the dollar, different elements in the power elite might clash over protecting their individual interests and over how to address the crisis in a way they couldn’t plan for in advance. That might bring the house down. The sign of it must be the collapse of the dollar, the lynchpin of the whole system. As long as the dollar continues to ride high, as it is still currently doing, it isn’t the big one. And such a sudden historical lurch would also be extraordinarily violent and bloody, in all likelihood.
”
I posit that the Reserve Currency crash is happening as we write our textual white noise. The planning for this event went into high gear after 2008, IMO and what happens in the RoW may expectedly be quite different than in the Western countries that have to work out their zombie cognitive dissonance about the social contract with private finance at the core.
Is there a Western power elite interested in becoming part of the merit based instead of Might-Makes-Right multi-polar world?
I am not sure but they are the ones to watch as empire crashes.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Oct 27 2022 5:23 utc | 140

If I read Throws(sic)ofWar @ 40 and 121 correctly, s/he believes the US is fighting a “good” war in supporting Ukraine – a country with a cynical and greedy political elite, and psychopathic Nazi elements in its security forces among other things – yet at the first suggestion that s/he should put money where mouth is, chickens out faster than those 30 Democratic Party signatories did in retracting the letter urging diplomacy.

Posted by: Jen | Oct 27 2022 6:10 utc | 141

@ sippy th spyglass 42
” God is working in the world right now “.
God says un the Qur’an that he used the Rome against Jerusalem when they rejected their prophet Jesus peace be upon him.
He appears to be using Moscow against the psychosis of Washington, London and Jerusalem right now.
That doesn’t mean necessarily that God likes Moscow. It means that He doesn’t like psychosis which is caused by neglecting Him and worshipping Mammon. He appears to have created a historical skill at supersonic flight in Russia that is absent in USUKIS, whobsay it us impossible.
This weapon will shortly be used to take out the Pentagon. God working in the world right now. I believe that as a Muslim. Certainly God is able to make something work for the sane abiders to international Law and not work for the deluded ravers who think they are God’s gift to humanity because they have raped the planet by printing money.
Banksters can print money but God can print anything , including the banksters destruction. He says in the Qur’an that if His Chosen People neglect His scriptures He will raise another community to destroy them. I think that’s why Usukis have tried so hard to change the meaning of the Qur’an to SUPPORT terrorism and oppression.

Posted by: Giyane | Oct 27 2022 6:16 utc | 142

No thanks. Like any good cause, I’ll pass some extra money along but I’m not about to sacrifice my life/family for strangers. C’est la vie.
Posted by: ThrowsOfWar | Oct 26 2022 23:11 utc | 121

In other words, “I prefer encouraging OTHER people to go in as a cannon fodder for a war I consider “good”, to demanding politicians negotiate a ceasefire & truce like a rational person.”
Ladies & gentlemen, pay close attention, that quoted comment by that person shows the whole act of fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian in it’s most blatant form.

Posted by: FieryButMostPeaceful | Oct 27 2022 6:32 utc | 143

Giyane | Oct 27 2022 6:16 utc | 156
“God says un the Qur’an that he used the Rome against Jerusalem when they rejected their prophet Jesus peace be upon him.”
The Bible says also in the Olivet discourse and Revelation that Jerusalem reaps its reward for rejecting Jesus.
“He appears to be using Moscow against the psychosis of Washington, London and Jerusalem right now.”
It’s clear that God now takes up the sword and has chosen Russia to be his sword. (But he won’t force Russia to accept this role. Russia will have to choose, just as China has to choose whether to hang together with Russia or hang separately without them. But so far both are showing much ambivalence.)
“That doesn’t mean necessarily that God likes Moscow.”
The Bible depicts some of God’s agents as “bad guys” (Assyria, Babylonia, Rome) and some as “good guys” (Persia). We can’t know yet which Russia will be.

Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Oct 27 2022 6:39 utc | 144

FieryButMostPeaceful | Oct 27 2022 6:32 utc | 157

No thanks. Like any good cause, I’ll pass some extra money along but I’m not about to sacrifice my life/family for strangers. C’est la vie.
ThrowsOfWar | Oct 26 2022 23:11 utc | 121

In other words, “I prefer encouraging OTHER people to go in as a cannon fodder for a war I consider “good.”
Ladies & gentlemen, pay close attention, that quoted comment by that person shows the whole act of fighting Russia to the last Ukrainian in it’s most blatant form.”
Yes, and unlike most cases where it’s impractical and therefore stupid to say “Why don’t YOU get off your ass and go fight?”, in this case the Ukrainians are literally recruiting exactly these armchair warrior types from all over the West, and any pro-Nazi here who’s remotely in physical condition for it could easily go sign up.
So it’s literally true that “Throws” and his ilk are physical cowards who personally never would fight in what they call a “good war” (but if they’re “strangers” to you, how can you possibly know that theirs is a “good war”?), but are very happy to see every last khokol exterminated in order to present Russia with a speed bump on its way to bringing down the empire.

Posted by: Flying Dutchman | Oct 27 2022 6:51 utc | 145

sam @122 do you have a link on bernie “piling on” against the letter?
Posted by: polarbear4 | Oct 26 2022 23:26 utc | 125
I got to this late and found that others had answered it, but having watched Bernie for a long time I do have some observations about Bernie and the disappointment many have with him.
Bernie never has had much in the way of foreign policy chops, and his foreign policy advisor is at least equally clueless, being apparently unaware of the evil we do short of outright war and how much that contributes to the current Ukraine situation. Bernie has always had a deep dislike for authoritarian leaders, having had no executive experience beyond being Mayor of Burlington, VT for close to a decade which hardly prepared him to understand the difficulties in managing a country subject to intense internal and external disruption. The only country he seems well-prepared to deal with is Israel, where his stances have been well-balanced for over 30 years.
Bernie has blind spots (e.g., how long it took him to understand the need to be more specific in addressing ethnic groups rather than just assume they’d respond to generic class issues), plus the need to function in an environment which constrains how he can act without losing the limited but significant effectiveness which he has spent the last several decades developing (an accomplishment which his detractors don’t seem to recognize as being worthwhile). The most obvious example is the inspiration for progressive policies which he was able to develop during his two presidential campaigns, for which he was required to pledge to support the eventual Democratic nominee (and without which he would have had little more influence than, say, Jill Stein) – a strategy with which Ralph Nader, arguably the man with the most experience in the world in tackling the forces of the duopoly, agreed. Less obvious is Bernie’s 3+ decades of hard work making bad bills better by working around their edges in areas where he could build bi-partisan agreement. In both cases he understands his limitations and how to avoid squandering his strengths fruitlessly by making the kinds of grand gestures others imagine he could use to magically metamorphize the entire system by snapping his fingers. Bernie’s own experience with progressive third parties early in his political life (and the ineffectiveness of such parties ever since) further influences his inclination to work largely as an adjunct to the Democratic party as ‘the lesser evil’ rather than try to destroy it (he and I part company in this area because I have no significant influence to protect).
Bottom line: Bernie is not Superman but I still value his contributions. The CPC just shot itself in the foot but I hope they survive, learn from the experience, and that the situation develops in a direction that makes this likely.

Posted by: StirThePot | Oct 27 2022 6:51 utc | 146

Russia will only negotiate total capitulation at this point. The delay from 2014 was to build up the necessary force structure to take on both the US and all of Europe with a fair chance to win should it go south as it has. The Sarmat missiles will be delayed next month which is game set match for a nuclear deterrent (worse if you factor in the Poseidon FOAB weapons). The limited number of forces used from the beginning was a balancing act to demonstrate the willingness of Russia to defend its people. Note Putin always refers to defending the Russian people which includes ethnic Russians living outside of Russia and in this case to defend themselves from imminent genocide by the Ukrainian military. Note the normal defensive posture for a threat of imminent invasion is to amass your forces in a defensive line. Russia had postured early its intentions and we can all recall the warnings beginning in December of this. Ukraine amassed its forces along the Donbas and not in a defensive line to the north and began shelling the Russian people at volume 1,000x normal. This provoked the response by Russia who I believe was actually not eager to trip this early. Note also the forces used were limited and battlefield shaping was initiated to pin down Ukrainian forces from maneuvering to support the forces arrayed to invade the Donbas. At this point, Ukraine should have negotiated terms beneficial to both (basically adopting the Minsk II agreements) but didn’t do it and backed out at every opportunity. I believe the remaining forces are deployed to defend Russia from a US invasion. The mobilization is to augment the forces arrayed along the very long front to stabilize it and provide maneuver and reserve force for an imminent advance. Should NATO or the US/UK alone invade Russia then all bets are off and it is showtime. The West is now semi-de-militarized and the US petroleum reserves are now incapable of supporting a real peer level war. The time is ripe for China to move on Taiwan once the US commits large forces to Europe. In reality if you factor in support verse combat soldiers there are actually only 87,000 gun-fighters in the US Army. The rest are REMFs, capable of pointing a weapon and that is about it. This would leave the US homeland basically undefended.
The US may find itself on a 3 front (Middle East is still in play) war very soon which might be the end goal Russia had planned all along and just might end up with the US being invaded by China (why build all those ships?).

Posted by: Old Microbiologist | Oct 27 2022 8:20 utc | 147

If you want change, think about my proposal, NOTaParty (None Of The above Party) or something like it.
Posted by: Hermit | Oct 26 2022 19:07 utc | 78

Hermit Brewster?

Posted by: David Levin | Oct 27 2022 19:05 utc | 148

@Paul Greenwood I can assure you, true progressives saw the letter AND the withdrawal, and we are not happy. But what are we going to do? Vote “3rd party,” which will get less than 1% of the vote? The United States of America is a truly screwed up country, with no relief in sight.

Posted by: David A Hart | Oct 27 2022 19:49 utc | 149

Posted by: pretzelattack | Oct 26 2022 23:54 utc | 129
«the current rash decision to emulate JFK’s rash decision to approve US missiles in Turkey»
There are conflicting opinions as to that: apparently when Krushev and the soviet ambassador mentioned the turkish nuclear warhead missiles he was completely astonished.
If that was sincere that means that someone at the very highest level of the USA government moved from storage and armed for launch nuclear weapons and missiles to the shortest-flight place they could be put, of their own initiative, hiding it from the president, a monstrous case of treason, that makes then Iran-Contra affair look like a prank.
Apparently JFK then asked his brother Bob, the attorney general, to do a very highly confidential investigation of how that could have happened and who was responsible.
Shortly after they were both assassinated by “deranged loners”, nothing to see here, move on.
«in order to encircle the USSR»
Not quite encircle because India was neutral and China a buffer state on the south-eastern flank of the USSR. it was to have a short flight time to do a decapitation strike.
Now it is the RF that is a buffer state on the northern and western flanks of the PRC. How are the mighty fallen! 🙂

Posted by: Blissex | Oct 27 2022 19:49 utc | 150

«The time is ripe for China to move on Taiwan once the US commits large forces to Europe.»
The Chinese Communist Party, especially at the higher levels, is one of the most sophisticated, level headed organisations ever existed, and if anything they suffer from the traditional flaw of the chinese mandarinate, excessive caution.
Their model is the “Koxinga” “secession” and “reunification”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koxinga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Taiwanese_history#17th_century
There are already so many economic ties between China-Taiwan and China-mainland, because China-Taiwan oligarchs love to offshore to much lower paid China-mainland workers, and many China-Taiwan upper-middle and upper class people have homes on China-mainland (and viceversa). The China-Taiwan government is trying to get them to re-offshore the factories from China-mainland to Vietnam and the Philippines, but they are nowhere as convenient as China-mainland. Frankly there is no practical or even imaginary reason for China-Taiwan to stay “independent” (when it is already closely managed by the USA), but the USA will never allow them to do re-unification as long as they have the power to do that (some for Korea-south).
BTW the timeline shows that the japanese empire has been attacking Taiwan (as well as Korea) for several hundred years, as it is ruthlessly expansionary (admittedly Japan is a very poor island).

Posted by: Blissex | Oct 27 2022 20:57 utc | 151

Posted by: Christian Chuba | Oct 26 2022 12:29 utc | 11
Caitlin Johnstone has far more class, insight, intelligence, soul, and wit, than The Onion.

Posted by: Jon_in_AU | Oct 28 2022 4:20 utc | 152

There is no such thing as a “good war”.
We all agree on that, except for Mr Goodwar.
And please don’t encourage Tony O.
His posts are space wasters.

Posted by: Theodore Roosevelt | Oct 28 2022 4:40 utc | 153

Posted by: Chris Cosmos | Oct 26 2022 12:50 utc | 13
“The only chance North Americans have to create a decent society is to get the government out of their lives as much as possible and count on the kindness of the aristocrats/oligarchs…”
You poor, sad, deluded, fool.
Your solution to a fascist oligarchy controlling your government, is not to get active and change your government, but to do away with government and practice your fellatio skills in order to please your corporate masters.
No wonder the USA is inches away from total implosion, and well deserved, too.

Posted by: 8Jon_in_AU | Oct 28 2022 5:01 utc | 154

It’s simple. There are no progressives in Congress. The US is a One Party State and congress don’t represent ordinary”people” because they don’t matter to their election. Congress is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fab 500 who own everything. https://open.substack.com/pub/julianmacfarlane/p/midterms-a-bloodletting?

Posted by: julianmacfarlane | Oct 28 2022 5:03 utc | 155

There is no such thing as a “good war”.
We all agree on that, except for Mr Goodwar.
I’m not here to argue with pacifists and isolationists. Your philosophy is yours to have.
I was just explaining why some Americans (including me) don’t see this the same way we saw Iraq.

Posted by: ThrowsOfWar | Oct 28 2022 16:42 utc | 156

@Posted by: Jen | Oct 27 2022 6:10 utc | 142
@Posted by: FieryButMostPeaceful | Oct 27 2022 6:32 utc | 144
This sort of “if you love it so much then why don’t you die for it” attitude suggests that you have never supported a cause in your life.
In real life, if you meet a beggar on the street, you don’t NEED to invite them to live with you in your house. You can just give them some bread and move on.

Posted by: ThrowsOfWar | Oct 28 2022 16:49 utc | 157

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