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Here's a unspoken link between American business and the American military: America does not attack it's business partners, especially if the "business" is selling weapons.  Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Japan, Israel, Australia ...they are all good customers; Saudi Arabia gets 24% of US arms exports alone. And again, this tends to apply to other businesses as well (hence the NBA tip-toeing around criticism of China).  Bottom line is, if a country plays ball with America, they won't get experience a coup, invasion, or political uprising. That said, America needs a reason to keep making and selling weapons, and that's where the Foreign Boogey-Man comes in. And while China and North Korea can be useful in that role, nothing beats going after Vladimir Putin, as global affairs analyst and opinion writer Michael Bociurkiw writes in this CNN article : As 2022 nears, the West is trying to figure out Russian President Vladimir Putin's next move on a complex geopo...

 In light of Joe Manchin's decision to finally drop the pretense, former Democrat and current MPP Paula Jean Swearengin decided to remind/inform people how she was treated endorsement-wise when she ran for office . (FYI: It's more or less a practice that US Senators do not support primary challenges to other sitting Senators, regardless of party). While most of the responses were positive and/or encouraging, others choose to attack Swearengin for daring to criticize the Democrats (or in Bernie Sanders' case, Democrat-affiliates). I'm curious how these people reacted to Hillary Clinton's blaming everyone and everything for her 2016 loss. Also, Sarah Silverman got a taste of Democratic Party retribution as well . 

 After successfully convincing many potentially radical left-leaning voters that Joe Biden would be some progressive hero, and now facing backlash because (despite Democratic Party control of two branches of government) of all the broken promises, AOC and the Squad are switching back to their pseudo-activist role, trying to come across as scrappy fighters against something they actually championed.  

  The Jean-Luc Picard of the Democratic Party, who had no problem keeping the NBA from protesting or consolidating support around Joe Biden to help sink Bernie Sanders' chance of winning the 2020 primary, is noticeably absent as Joe Manchin has decided to decapitate Biden's (supposedly) signature legislation. Anything to the left of Democratic Party Leadership is a threat .

  An admirable idea , but vaccines alone will not defeat COVID. We need a universal health care system.  I'm sure on some level he realizes this, but he is a former police officer and he seems to be looking at COVID like it's some kind of criminal.

  Case in point : More than 600 employees at the Department of Correction may opt to test weekly in lieu of being vaccinated against COVID-19, a CT Mirror analysis has found, because the state is not requiring prison medical staff to apply for medical or religious exemptions. That policy is inconsistent with rules for the majority of health care workers at the departments of Veteran’s Affairs, Children and Families, Mental Health and Addiction Services, and Developmental Services. About 3,700 workers at those agencies must have exemptions approved by the state if they want to test weekly instead of getting vaccinated, as per Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order. The governor’s office confirmed that correctional employees are not bound by this rule. The administration’s restrictive mandate for most health care employees is similar to practices in private hospitals in Connecticut, which also require workers to apply for exemptions if they do not want to be vaccinated. The governor’s vac...

It was always, at best, a juvenile bit of logic: vote for Joe Biden (he of 40 years of legislating as a Reagan Democrat) to oust Donald Trump, and then push (or lobby) to get him to be more progressive/left. First things first: there are a number of reasons to suggest Biden over Trump, like Biden would accept the result of the election, win or lose, and not attempt to wreck what's left of our electoral process.  There's no need to try and make the real base believe that it's even remotely possible that Biden can be pushed to go back on decades of center-right policy. Why? Because there's this assumption that there are elements and mechanisms within and/or connected to the Democratic Party that can push him in the first place . As this little graphic highlights, that doesn't exist. Anyone to the left of Democratic Party Leadership is either humbled, co-opted, or excommunicated.  If you choose to stay, you must play by their rules. If you choose to leave, prepared to ...

Let's get to the point: The US has about 61% of the population vaccinated (which is close to the percentage of Americans who vote , by the way).  The rest of the world is a coin flip , depending on their government and their resources.  America won't get COVID under control without a Universal Healthcare System (aka, Medicare For All). The world won't improve until America takes the lead and offers vaccinations to nations who need and accept them for free .

  This Twitter thread is from August 2021 , and it hasn't gotten any better. There is a reason the guy is polling so badly , especially on economics. Erasing student loan debt, passing Medicare For All, giving Americans a $2,000 stimulus check, pushing for a national minimum wage increase to $15/hr; these things would have improved the economic well-being of millions of Americans and allowed the Democrats to cruise to re-election.  UPDATE: a better way to read that thread . 

 I don't fault CNN for having a food section, or even for their celebrity journalists for having recipes, but considering all the things that are going on in the world, like: Julian Assange War Sanctions against other Counties (which is basically a declaration of war) Or things going on in America (in addition to the above): Police Brutality/Militarization of Law Enforcement People Trapped in Student Loan/Credit Card/Medical Debt Homeless Crisis Flawed Healthcare System Increasing Infringements on Speech ( currently being disguised as "protection" ) Continued Deregulation Crusade Against Worker's Rights Institutional Racism Media Consolidation The Defunding of our Educational System Or heck, even positive things like: Steven Donziger leaving jail ( but still being under house arrest) The first (and second) Starbucks Union Democratic Elections in the Global South They decide to put a section of their celebrity journalist's personal recipes on the front page of t...

 Apparently Nancy Pelosi is still upset about what happened on 1/6/21: “I'll never forgive president — former president of the United States and his lackeys and his bullies that he sent to the Capitol for the trauma that he — that wasn't what was exerted on our staff. These are young, largely younger people who come with the idealism to work in the Capitol on either side of the aisle and whatever it is. And for us to sign up for this when we run for office, it's bad enough for our families to see the danger we're in.” Keep in mind Pelosi didn't seem that upset with Trump when Congress approved his Pentagon budget .  In fact, how many times did Pelosi lead the charge to stymie Trump's legislative agenda. I mean, as Speaker and one of the leaders of the Democratic Party, she could have actively made every day of Trump's presidency a living nightmare.  She could have.

 When you leave one of the two major parties to either go independent or third party, their supporters never let you forget it. But considering the vast number of times Democrats and Republicans have switched with each other, you'd think most of that hostility would be directed toward the people who "changed teams." You'd think. Apparently, the party supporters don't care. Do search on any social media platform to see anyone attacking a Democrat who was formerly a Republican or a Republican who was once a Democrat. They exist, but the vitriol is no where near that towards anyone who decides against the duopoly.  It's almost like Reds/Blues would rather you be a Blue/Red than third-party/independent. And if they're more focused on the party than the policies being championed and implemented, than the party might not be worth supporting. Bonus! Democrats fight against ending Surprise Medical Bills :

 Sure Chris Cuomo being fired calls CNN's credibility to attention, and apparently Don Lemon may be next . But remember Roger Ailes , Bill O'Reilly and Fox News? Cable News is problematic, full-stop. We just haven't learned about the crazy things that's been going on over at MSNBC yet. 

We started with "reform the police" but it was either ignored or diluted to the point of being ineffective. We toyed with "abolish the police" because we figured that professionals like social workers, fire fighters and medics could fill a lot of the needed roles, with the community stepping up to fill any other gaps. We settled on "defund the police" because they are being militarized to a ridiculous degree, and the money could be better used to combat crime in other ways (improving education and/or reducing poverty).

 So after both the VPOTUS  communications director and chief spokesperson (who incidentally, worked on Biden's 2020 campaign as well as Sander's 2016 campaign) have called it quits, CNN's Chris Cillizza asks, " What the heck is going on with Kamala Harris ?" The answers range from "dysfunction" and "lack of focus" to "exasperation" over Harris' "future political ambitions." There's also the fact that (as quoted reporter Mark Z Barabak put it) the role of Vice President, "is an inherently diminishing one." All possible, especially the last one (it's likely Harris thought of her role as VP as a stepping stone, ala "VEEP"). Still, Cillizza must be one of those political media people who believe that being the benefactor of a winning presidential campaign equates into being loved by the populace. He ends with a twinge of confusion about Harris's dwindling popularity. The fact of the matter i...

 As Graham Elwood shows us , "Yes it is."

 In the US, the call to blame any and everyone who has either (a) not received a vaccine, (b) sympathizes with those who haven't been vaccinated, or (c) criticized how vaccinations have been distributed, administered and politicized is reaching an apex, despite around 64% of the country being vaccinated. Meanwhile, a bunch of countries and at least one continent on planet Earth are being denied vaccines because of the guy who's best know for having a monopoly on operating systems .   Why aren't the people who are attacking their neighbor for refusing the vaccine not attacking Bill Gates for trying to extort nations? Does it have something to do with his years-long push to get the media in his back pocket ?  Update: There are apparently some people willing to at least go after the WTO .