Welcome to The Now

 The self-proclaimed "Home of Progressives" have a plethora of connections to the very establishment they claim to challenge .  Puts Cenk Uygur's misinformation campaign about #ForceTheVote into perspective, huh? 

 Via TexasMonthly : The  wedding photographer had already spent an hour or two inside with the unmasked wedding party when one of the bridesmaids approached her. The woman thanked her for still showing up, considering “everything that’s going on with the groom.” When the photographer asked what she meant by that, the bridesmaid said the groom had tested positive for the coronavirus the day before. “She was looking for me to be like, ‘Oh, that’s crazy,’ like I was going to agree with her that it was fine,” the photographer recalls. “So I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And she was like, ‘Oh no no no, don’t freak out. He doesn’t have symptoms. He’s fine.’” The photographer, who has asthma and three kids, left with her assistant before the night was over. Her exit was tense. The wedding planner said it was the most unprofessional thing she’d ever seen. Bridesmaids accused her of heartlessly ruining an innocent woman’s wedding day. She recalls one bridesmaid telling her, “...

 Anyone who knows Jimmy Dore knows that for the longest time he has pushed for policies like Medicare For All and raising the minimum wage to $15/hr. In his latest push for the former, he is challenging the members of the Progressive Caucus (a group within the Democratic Party) to pressure Nancy Pelosi with an ultimatum: bring M4A up for a vote or risk losing the Speakership.  Apparently Dore's calls are beginning to resonsate, because Variety has a piece entitled, " Political Commentator Jimmy Dore Buys Rambling L.A. Compound ."  In other words: "Guy who claims to simply be a pot-smoking comedian who used to tell dirty jokes to drunks before broadcasting a show from his garage is actually part of the elite group he chastises on a regular basis."  

 Based on what the Director of the Borat sequel told Insider , Rudy Giuliani's involvement was prime focus. The director goes on to say that after the clips went viral, it all but discredited Giuliani's attempts to attack Hunter Biden, which in turn would have hampered Joe Biden.  With one less thing to worry about, Biden was able to win the Electoral College by a less-than-projected margin.  Nevertheless, let's not forget that being a white heterosexual Catholic male protected Biden from attacks that would linger on other candidates for a longer period of time. 

 With Joe Biden soon to be our next president, the question posed to the Left is now, "Who will go back to sleep?" The answer to that will be based on how the Left deals with the TYT problem. The problem? Well, with TYT's over 5 million followers, they are North Star, and with Uygur all but endorsing Neera Tanden to run the OMB there are bound to be some soul-searching and pushback. Secular Talk and Humanist Report have already weighed in on the Tanden story. Convo Couch has rightly highlighted Uygur's take . I'm sure Jimmy Dore, Status Coup, Graham Elwood and Ron Placone will also say something. Whether or not they mention Uygur's take is up in the air, and that's a problem. (well, not for Elwood and Placone; they don't really have ties to the guy) Kyle Kulinski and Jimmy Dore are friends with Uygur; Kulinski started Justice Democrats with Uygur and Dore was with TYT under "Aggressive Progressives." Mike Figueredo channel is affiliated wit...

 He was the second most despised candidate running for president in 2016, but because he beat the #1 most despised candidate, he thinks that must mean people love him. It's probably one of many reasons he cannot accept the 2020 results. 

  Anything less than 100% loyalty and obedience will earn you his wrath :  President Donald Trump on Sunday lit into Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, expressing regret for supporting the conservative Republican, a statement that could potentially create major discord only weeks before two critical US Senate runoff elections in the state. Trump, still smarting from  President-elect Joe Biden winning Georgia in the November election , has repeatedly blamed the state's usage of Dominion Voting Systems machines for his defeat. Dominion has come under fire from conservatives in the wake of the election,  with the company having to fend off debunked allegations  that their machines facilitated voting irregularities. After weeks of publicly sparring  with Georgia's GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the election results, Kemp is Trump's newest Peach State target. [snip]   "Everything has to be approved by the legislature, and they had judges making deals,...

  November 16, 2020 : Also on November 16, 2020 :  November 23, 2020 : Later that day :  Looks like Ms. Murphy will have the opportunity to get a new job after all. 

 I sure do: Looks like they didn't try to circumvent recounts , they just tried to use boring-yet-legit legislative procedures. And they were still turned away. 

  Let's get this out of the way : Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have no plans to investigate or imprison anyone with influence, money and power unless they become a political or financial problem.  The Democrats might as well prepare for a GOP comeback in 2022. Say goodbye to the House. 

 There are so many examples, such as: His handling of the COVID-19 Calling it a "Democratic (Party) hoax, then blaming it on China Holding press conferences, then stopping because reporters didn't stop asking questions Letting every state handle things on their own, instead of establishing guidelines for them to follow Getting mad at the states who came up with innovative ways to combat COVID-19 because it made him look bad Not using executive powers to get the private sector to make critical supplies (masks, gloves, ventilators)  Not wearing a mask, or encouraging his staff/followers to wear a mask Holding super-spreader campaign rallies Not declaring a state of emergency during a pandemic Not issuing a UBI for ANYONE, even essential workers Not offering Americans the same healthcare that may have saved his life when he tested positive Claiming that Joe Biden was simultaneously a doddering braindead buffoon, the mastermind of a political crime family, and a Trojan Horse for (...

  What a difference four years and an election make .  Of course, they got what they wanted: round-the-clock ratings from covering speeches, rants, and tweets.

A bomb threat in Philly targeting the location were vote counting was taking place.  The Minnesota GOP Chair actively recruiting anyone willing to claim ballot fraud in the state, regardless of the validity of the evidence. Pennsylvania GOP isn't too sure about fraud claims, but they want an audit .  Biden lead in Arizona is shrinking , but slowly.

  Via Esquire . At least they managed to convince a lot of moderate and conservative Democrats to give them money to make anti-Trump ads (and possibly fund future GOP candidates). 

 Let's take a trip back to 2013 :  George W. Bush went to bed at around 9pm every night when he was president — except for Cinco de Mayo, that is. It’s a fact that former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez says embodies Bush’s legacy with  Latinos . [snip] In the 2004 election, he won a record breaking 44 percent of the Latino vote. It’s a record that no Republican candidate has since topped. In the last presidential election, Republican candidate Mitt Romney garnered just 27 percent of  Hispanic  votes. Arizona State University  political science professor Rodolfo Espino  says that Bush worked the hardest to build a coalition of Latino voters. “Bush set the standard for what Republicans who want to be president need to do. We’ve seen Republican candidates not follow the guidelines for the platform he was pushing for and he paid the price,” Espino says citing John McCain’s lackluster performance with Latino voters. Members of Bush’s administration say...

 Jimmy Dore explains why.

  Only took them six months to come to the conclusion that not too many people will pay for a streaming service offering 7-minute videos, pandemic or no pandemic. Don't worry about founder Meg Whitman though, Joe Biden is hiring !

  Read it and weep : Joe Biden’s transition team is vetting a handful of Republicans for potential Cabinet positions — despite doubts it will win him new support from the right and the risk it will enrage the left. Reaching across the aisle to pick senior   members of his administration could shore up Biden's credentials as a unity candidate, a message he's made a cornerstone of his campaign. Past presidents including George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have all done the same. But that tradition died with President Donald Trump, and liberal Democrats are already warning that a Republican pick, even a moderate one, could sow distrust within the party before Biden even takes office. [snip] “This plays to Joe Biden’s comfort zone,” said one former Republican member of Congress who is close to the Biden transition. “If you’re Joe Biden, of course you’re going to want to expand your base a little bit, show some outreach to the other side.” [snip]  “I don’t understand...

  Never has, never will . 

This has become completely political. Trump wanted to leave, and the doctors capitulated. If the president is just as safe at the White House, why did he have to leave in the first place?  Secular Talk has their own take on Trump's health and what the early leave may mean:

  The only thing that has been clear since it was reported that President Trump tested positive for COVID-19 is that nothing is clear.  The list of infected keeps growing . Whether due to boredom or some family-related psychological quirk , Trump wants to leave Walter Reed Hospital . And this is after Trump did a public-relations-motivated drive around the hospital, throwing doctors and secret service members alike for a tizzy.  "Not enough crazy!" you say? How about the fact that the Trump family went maskless during last Tuesday's presidential debate? Or that while this is going on, Gov. Cuomo won't close business in nine New York COVID hotspots ?  Considering that neither of the two major parties have taken COVID seriously (more focused on Wall Street and Supreme Court nominations; the tepid stimulus check with no follow-up, having no national response, leaving the trouble-shooting up to the states without giving them adequate funding to implement any of their...

  So... multiple news outlets are reporting that President Trump has tested positive for COVID-19. Speculation about how it happened, what the next steps should be, or even how credible it is aside...the victims of Trump continue to ironically be those close to him (political or otherwise).  While Trump reportedly experiencing "coldlike symptoms" and the First Lady is apparently asymptomatic, White House communications guru Hope Hicks hasn't been so lucky : Two sources said she has had a high fever and a cough, with one source adding she lost her sense of smell. Hicks is said to be frustrated with Trump for taking such a cavalier approach to the virus. She was one of the few West Wing staffers to wear a mask in meetings, which her colleagues chided her for. “She was made fun of because she wore a mask,” a friend said. Sources told me Hicks is also upset that news coverage has made it appear that she gave Trump the virus, when in fact no one knows where he got it. “It’...

During last night's debate, President Trump was asked to denounce white supremacy, and he didn't: This response made those who support white supremacy very happy .  Keep in mind that members of the Proud Boys do not have a problem with protesters being tear-gassed: Trump can use civil unrest to his advantage. Chaos always benefits the person in power more than the challenger.  Best-case scenario is that there will be reports of scuffles at a few voting locations. Worst-case scenario is the beginnings of a civil war. 

  Link .

  This is what happens when the Democratic Establishment goes, "Don't attack Joe Biden on X or Y; it'll make him vulnerable for the general election!" All Trump does is go for vulnerabilities, whether real (Biden's role in the Crime Bill) or fictional (Biden being a "puppet" of the "radical left").  But the leaders of the Democratic Party are short-sighted, and Bernie Sanders was too nice. As a result, we got last night's debate.

 The people compelled to drag Joe Biden over the presidential finish line have decided that running on policy is too cumbersome and problematic to their donors. So instead, they have decided to attack all criticism of the former Vice President. Criticize him for not giving the Left any issues to vote for? Point out how he's been condescending towards progressives? Point out his history of collaborating with Republicans more than his base? Then you are part of a Russian plot: Bring up accusations of sexual misconduct (and that's putting it nicely)? The nepotism (again, putting it nicely)? The misstatements and emotional outbursts ("Look here, Fat;" "Vote for the other guy;" "You ain't black!"). Sorry, Donald Trump has done worse, so those complaints are off-limits: So based on this criteria, Joe Biden is flawless! He's both a victim of Russian interference and an improvement over the current crass occupant of the White House. It's not hi...

 For anyone who's an environment activist, The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal's piece on the money and power-players behind the attacks on the free documentary "Planet of the Humans" is a must-read.  Before I say anymore, let me say that I saw the film , and my three takeaways are: Some of the methods greens support (like solar or wind) either cost too much to produce anything adequate or require something less environmentally friendly (like massive drilling) in order to be sustainable.  Big Business and wealthy people who have embraced going green seem particularly focused on the "recycle" component of "reduce, reuse, recycle." This makes sense from a capitalist point-of-view: reduction of goods/services or reusing something that was already purchased would lead to a decrease in profits; no self-respecting business would promote a program where you buy less  from them.  Some prominent activists in the green movement are have either been co-opted, ...

 Here are some of the factors that played into Trump's 2016 victory: Trump invoked economic populism : He spoke on trade and job creation in states that Hillary Clinton ignored. Sure half of his speeches on the matter were lies and the other half were hype, but speaking to the concerns of blue-collar workers was enough to get votes. Voters still wanted change : There were quite of number of 2012 Obama voters who voted for Trump. It's hard to believe that these people because racist or misogynistic over an election cycle. It's more likely that after witnessing Obama bailing out banks, escalating drone strikes and ignoring the needs to working class protesters voters realized that the only change Obama represented was his appearance.  Trump was willing to attack members and ideas of his own party : Calling out the Iraq War to Jeb Bush's face, bullying Marc Rubio and making Ted Cruz look like a untrustworthy moron gave Trump the "maverick" label he needed to conv...

  Police around America are abusing their authority and power, and that abuse has disproportionately impacted Black Americans.  That's it; that's the argument. Of course, it's too simple an argument for American politics and media. It's easier for American media to focus on any violence that comes out of people protesting police brutality. It's easier for American politicians to pick sides and argue how their tribe, er, party can best resolve the problem.  And very few people want to talk about how economics come into play. For example: prisoners make for excellent cheap labor.  There's little talk about how police are being armed and trained in those arms as if they are soldiers, without the conditioning that soldiers typically get.  You won't hear much about how police typically face no consequences for taking evidence, destroying property (like breaking down the door to the wrong house) and yes, shooting/choking/killing people. One of the first things I l...

 Notes/Comments/Opinions on American Politics as We Enter the Endgame: Everyone who is praising Kamala Harris is talking about who she is (a WOC, a former prosecutor, a Senator) and saying very little about what she has done . I may be in the minority here, but shouldn't the 2nd most powerful person in the country be evaluated on their accomplishments and their policies?  Joe Biden needs to do two things to convince enough people to vote him into office: (1) make it through at least one debate looking like a competent politician , and (2) control his temper . I'm not confident that he can do either. The GOP claiming that Biden and Harris -who crossed political swords with Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard, respectively- are being controlled by the "Radical Left" is laughable to anyone who watched the Democratic Primary. Neither Biden nor Harris support Medicare For All. Neither Biden nor Harris have plans to change the nature of criminal justice system ( especially...

Watching the guys on MSNBC freak out and go through the five stages of grief during Sander's Nevada win had me thinking about an old Media Matters story I saw (back when I read them regularly). See, back in the 2004 election a guy named Matt Drudge was very influential in getting George W. Bush re-elected. A lot of this has to do with Drudge's claim to fame: being one of the first people to use the internet for posting info regarding the Starr Report. Basically he found stories that would align with his political beliefs and posted links using headers and pictures that reinforced those beliefs. Most of them were slanted stories anyway, but Drudge never met a smear he didn't like. Drudge became the internet version of Rush Limbaugh for many Republicans and conservatives, even though he never provided any real analysis or confirmed sources or made retractions when he got stuff wrong. In short, he was perfect for the era of "Weapons of Mass Destruction." Fast-...

To get an idea how there's little difference between the movers and shakers in the two major political parties: Michael Bloomberg, a former Republican turned Democrat, may become the candidate to challenge President Trump, a former Democrat who ran as a Republican. This possible scenario also highlights one of biggest problems with the Democratic Establishment: they depend on ex-Republicans to help win elections against current Republicans. It's been that way since the historic shellacking the Democratic took in 1984 . Democratic insiders believed that the reason Republicans were winning was a combination of the Trickle Down Economics, neo-conservatism and "family values." There is some truth that getting the factions of social conservatives, pro-war Republicans and the wealthy (political affiliation is not relevant, as the possibility of Bloomberg vs Trump has made clear) helped the GOP stay strong through various Democratic waves. But at it's core, the GOP s...

Joe Biden : For someone who is pulling in more older voters, Biden doesn't seem to be pushing for the issues they would car about . In fact, it's almost like he's pushing people to vote for other candidates . Maybe because his past is catching up to him? Also, his temper is starting to get the better of him .  Amy Klobuchar : She's repeating the same joke over and over ; hoping to gain ground. Elizabeth Warren : She wants to punish anyone found guilty of "misinformation."  Michael Bloomberg : He's shaking a dog's face .  Tulsi Gabbard : She's campaigning in New Hampshire, calling for the legalizing of drugs , voting on the right side of history and making Hillary Clinton squirm . Pete Buttigieg : is doing a convincing Jeb Bush impersonation .  Andrew Yang : He's making good use of Dave Chappelle's help and leaves the door open for his supporters to aid another candidate.  Bernie Sanders : He's not acting like a candidate ...

John Kerry on his and Joe Biden's interpretation of the Iraq War : “I think Bernie is regrettably distorting Joe’s record,” Kerry, a Biden campaign surrogate, said Sunday on CBS “Face the Nation.”   He added that Sanders “doesn’t have what Joe Biden has,” in terms of eight years on the national security council.   Kerry continued that he knows “very well what Joe’s position” since he answered the same questions in 2003 and 2004, when he was running for president.   “ It was very clear that what we were doing was listening to a president that made a pledge, that he was going to do diplomacy, he was going to exhaust diplomacy build a coalition , and ultimately we learned, as Joe did and I did, that the intelligence was distorted,” Kerry said.   “So Joe spoke out and criticized, Joe was against what they were doing,” he added. Kerry added that  the vote “ was not a vote especially to go to war it was a vote for the president to have ...