Welcome to The Now

 The star (aka Pee-Wee Herman ) was 70.

 

 

 

 How are everyday people supposed to help the less fortunate if everything they can do is against the law?

  Tell me again that only one of the major parties care about the workers : AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A bill to pay farm workers in Maine a $13.80 per hour minimum wage was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday, who says she supports the concept but had questions about the bill’s language. Lawmakers will get an opportunity to override the veto next week. House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross sponsored the bill, which would cover farmworkers under Maine’s annually indexed minimum wage. But the bill was amended to entitling them to overtime pay as well. The governor, in her veto letter, said changes made at her behest didn't alleviate her concerns about the “scope of the language.” Talbot Ross accused the governor of “using the power of her office to maintain inequality amongst Mainers.” "In its amended version, this legislation simply would have ensured that farmworkers are paid the same state minimum wage that every single other worker in Maine is paid. It would have recog...

 As this CNN article states, " History proved her right ."

 How can the Biden Administration even think about fighting China or Russia directly when they don't have enough to win a proxy war?

 Noteworthy because C-SPAN usually holds the commentary for their call-in segments. Here's the video in question. That said, it makes it harder for Republicans to attack Joe Biden's (obvious) decline without acknowledging McConnell's. 

  Courtesy of Dwayne Johnson, aka, "The Rock."  

 Sabby looks into who is (or isn't) involved in this issue of race and policing:

 Prof Wolff goes on the Zero Hour to discuss economic propaganda in American media:

 As stated before , AOC (and the Squad) attempt to "fight on behalf of railroad workers was unimpressive. Fast forward about a year, and not AOC is all in for strikes, showing up at both UPS rallies and picketing with actors ! And here's a quote involving the later that piqued my curiosity: “Direct action gets the goods, now and always,” she said. “The only way that we can do this is by showing them that we are stronger. That our solidarity is stronger than their greed, that our care for one another will overcome their endless desire for more.” This can't be stressed enough: this was not her approach for the railroad workers . Back then, it was essentially, "government will decide what's best." I say this because instead of being out there talking with the workers who would be directly impact by a crappy union deal or calling for them to strike, she was apparently listening to (or blaming, depending on how you look at it) the union leaders and wasting time o...

It's no secret that even progressive Democrats know that the differences between Democrats and Republicans are minuscule at this point (especially for the poor and working class), so why would someone like Nina Turner ask Cornel West to run as a Democrat rather than a Green? The DNC and the Biden Administration have all but ignored JFK, Jr. and Marianne Williams. Cornel West has been on both mainstream and independent media since his original announcement (dispelling the theory that third-party candidates can't get exposure). If the candidate is well-known and/or has money, they don't need to rely on the two-party system.  

 Seems like the answer is,  "Like 'Orange is the New Black,' but way worse":

 Prof. Richard Wolff explains:

 This music video is especially resonant considering the current climate:

 It appears so, and it could be costly : A 10-day UPS strike would be the most expensive strike in at least a century, costing the U.S. economy upwards of $7 billion, a study by the consulting firm Anderson Economic Group found, including $4.6 billion in losses for customers, $1 billion in lost wages and more than $800 million in direct losses at UPS. If this happens, can any other company compensate? Well: "In the event of a market disruption, no carrier can absorb all UPS volume," FedEx executives wrote in an internal company memo, according to NPR . What should we watch for?  The UPS workers’ contract will expire on July 31 and 97% of union members have voted to authorize a strike if warranted, even after an agreement was reached over hot-button issues like installing air conditioning in delivery trucks amid the warmest June on record . In the end, threatening to shut things down seems to be the only option left to get the employers to the negotiation table to begin to...

 

  Very Interesting : In the first research to look at constipation’s impact on the aging brain, scientists have found some concerning links. Being chronically constipated, defined by the authors as having a bowel movement only every three or more days, has been linked with a 73% higher risk of subjective cognitive decline, according to research presented Wednesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Amsterdam. “Our study provided first-of-its-kind evidence that examined a wide spectrum of bowel movement frequency,” said Dr. Chaoran Ma, the research’s first author and assistant professor in the department of nutrition at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, via email. “We were surprised at how strong the associations were, especially for those with very infrequent bowel movements.” Everyone stay regular!

 It appears so: Funny how this is being covered by Due Dissidence, While Kyle Kulinski (who supports Marianne Williamson) is so busy talking about RFK, Jr. , Mike Pence , Ron DeSantis , Chris Christie and RFK, Jr . again.

 The Annual Congressional Softball Game reveals quite a bit. First of all, it shows that despite the vitriol we see on cable news, elected officials from two supposedly warring parties can get together for a common cause like helping young adults with breast cancer .  Secondly, it shows that our elected officials are more athletic than we assumed .  Sadly it also shows that when it comes to helping young adults who are facing a future of climate catastrophes, some in attendance can be quite snobbish:

  US Economy showing more jobs for women, less for black people . Russia says no more grain for Ukraine .  US Soldier facing disciplinary action ( reasons unclear ) flees to North Korea .   Spain fines Apple and Amazon for bully tactics.

 Richard Medhurst on Russia's drones:

  Just saying; if you're a spy you shouldn't be on television giving interviews. Aren't spies supposed to be below the radar? If I was a spy I would never want to be recorded (video, audio, etc.) because that could be used against me. 

 Due Dissidence talks about why Morning Joe's assessment rings hollow: Meanwhile, Chris Hedges talks about what's going on in reality:  In other words: having a bunch of rich people in your country does not mean that the country is doing well, especially with some many living in poverty. 

 Sabby seems to think so:

 Axios: Joe Biden yells at aides and staff...a lot .  Chris Hedges (via scheerpost): The government has been, and will always, lie about war .  Seymour Hersh (via MintPress News): Prigozhin's Folly . 

 Hint: like it handles pretty much everything else:

 Contrary to popular belief, one group was excluded, as explained this Black Agenda Report article by  Jacqueline Luqman : So here we are in 2023 and the Supreme Court has banned the use of race in college admissions in any way wherever in this country it remained, with the exception of military academies - which is interesting because in the majority decision, Chief Justice John Roberts justified this exception because the academies were not parties in the cases, and that there were "potentially distinct interests" involved. What “potentially distinct interests, you might ask? Apparently, a friend-of-the-court brief was filed by 35 former military leaders — including four former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — and argued that affirmative action in higher education was essential for national security. They asked the Supreme Court to consider how reversing the longstanding admissions policy would affect the military's ability "to serve our nation's securi...

 I've mentioned (one of)  the problems with Cenk Uygur before , and now Keaton and Russell go over the most recent ordeal: Bottom line: a lot of people (including many in TYT's audience) have move on and moved to the left of the channel and it's hosts. If TYT thinks those to the left of them can't be effective in achieving change, then they should argue in that arena and not call them "secret right-wingers." Otherwise (as DD shows), they will continue to attacked by the audience they cultivated. 

 Why else would she get rid of anyone who's trying to get her ballot access instead of booking media events?

 One highlighted contradiction: If you don't pay your workers enough, they can't in turn buy your goods and/or services:

 So apparently there this story in CNN about a Yale professor who is using his (obviously large amount) of free time tracking down companies who do business in/with Russia and shaming them if they don't cease and/or leave. From the professor's perspective, these companies said that they would cease relations. But honestly when you think of all the morally reprehensible things these or any company has done, "selling beer, pizza, ice cream and Oreos to Russians" doesn't seem to be that high. Most of these "holdout" and "foot-draggers" are in the food & beverage business. How is closing down shops and stores -which would definitely hurt the Russian working class more than the Russian elites who are conducting the war- help? I mean, if I was the cynical type, I would actually support Russians buying and eating relatively unhealthy items because that could give the other side an edge.  Anyway, I feel the need to mention that,  once again , we a...

 Big revelation via The Duran: So. Many. Questions! Why take the role of supplier if you can't maintain enough weapons to actually win the conflict? If the Biden Administration/US Military can't supply enough conventional ammunitions for a proxy war with Russia, what makes them think they could sustain an actual hot war with Russia? Also, what makes them believe that they could sustain any type of conflict with China? If NATO goes down, where does that leave the US? How does any of this truly benefit Europe? What's really guiding the US here: politics, money, military hubris or some combination? On the last one, I see the convergence of American politics (as they said in the video, the desire to keep this conflict going through the 2024 election), military hubris (the belief that the US military can beat anyone hands down) and pure greed (trying to make a profit of this whole conflict/situation) in a way where one will have to give. True military personnel want to win wars ...

AOC was one of the Justice Democrats, a political group born of the idea that the best way to get progressive ideas through (at least legislatively) was is to "infiltrate" the Democratic Party. Kyle Kulinski was a founder of Justice Democrats. AOC has endorsed Joe Biden for president (super early). Kulinski is supporting Marianne Williams as a primary challenger.  So as a result, we get this: Note that Kulinski implies two very interesting things: That President Joe Biden is measurably more progressive than Senator Joe Biden; and Marianne Williamson's decision to run in the Democratic Party was a strategically sound move (compared to running independently).  Here's the thing: Joe Biden's " accomplishments " aren't evident enough to get enthusiastic support from average voters; only people who are knee-deep in Democratic Party politics can even list them. If the average lay person can't name something the president to make their life better, that...

 

 Meaning, MPN Alan MacLeod interviews JT Chapman . 

  One in particular is diapers (can't make all the women give birth and than not provide something, right?):  Over the past 10 years, distribution at Doug Adair’s Nashville diaper bank has swelled from a couple of thousand diapers a year to nearly 3 million. Running the bank, Adair has learned and relearned the critical role diaper access plays for families. But it hasn’t always felt like most other people knew that.  “I think more about diapers than anybody my age that is not wearing them — yet,” said Adair, a 68-year-old former mortgage banker turned diaper banker who got into this line of work because, in his words, he asked the second most expensive question he has ever asked in his life: “What can I do to help?” Adair started Nashville Diaper Connection because there were only two places where families could get free diapers in Nashville in 2013, and one of them had a six-week waiting list. The city has no federal, state or local assistance program for diapers speci...

 Russel Brand covers what we should still be talking about (to avoid falling for the same flawed approach again):

Fear not, poor and working class people of America: President Joe Biden has a economic strategy to save you! Of course it took serving around 40 years in Congress and as Vice President to come of with it, but better late than never, right? First is an admission about an economic model the country has been under since the 1980's: “Folks, let me say it as clearly as I can: (The) trickle-down approach failed the middle class and failed America,” said Biden. Dubbed "Bidenomics," it has (according to CNN) 3 key principles: "Making public investments in America," "Empowering and educating American workers," and "Promoting competition." Here's my humble take on this: Making public investments in America . While putting money towards infrastructure (like he promised during his campaign) is nice, working people don't just need "investments;" they also need money. A few round of stimulus checks would work just as well. And making mor...

  That said, Kyle's being disingenuous by using the story to attack RFK, Jr, knowing full well that Marianne Williamson has just as many political flaws. 

 Ray McGovern talks to Richard Medhurst: