Welcome to The Now

  Doesn't seem like the British Navy is what it once was: Two Royal Navy warships collided in Bahrain at the end of last week because one was incorrectly rewired, meaning that it unexpectedly went into reverse when it was set to go forward, military sources have said. The minehunter HMS Chiddingfold went backwards into HMS Bangor, which was lying at port, ripping a hole in a cabin above the waterline, in an embarrassing blunder that the defence secretary, Grant Shapps, insisted did not reflect incompetence. Nobody was hurt in the incident and the navy said late on Friday evening it was investigating. But naval sources said on Sunday they believed the cause of the accident was a simple rewiring error in a recently inspected vessel.

 Everything seems to be about how Biden should respond to an attack on a US military base in Jordan.  But according to this AP story : The attack hit a U.S. military desert outpost in the far reaches of northeastern Jordan known as Tower 22. The installation sits near the demilitarized zone on the border between Jordan and Syria along a sandy, bulldozed berm marking the DMZ’s southern edge . The Iraqi border is only 10 kilometers (6 miles) away. Scott Ritter was on Danny Haiphong's YouTube Channel said that if the base is actually in Syria, then it's there illegally: Doesn't justify the deaths, but they could have been prevented. 

 Russia (by Ukraine proxy) was a bust. Goading China via Taiwan isn't working. But the Israel-Gaza conflict has altered the time-table for that region, so the US is adjusting: Remember: Secretary Janet Yellen said that the US can afford to fight multiple wars.

 No doubt the pop singer has a following, but that doesn't mean that said followers will vote for whoever she may or may not endorse for president . Put is this way, if the speculation was that Swift was going to endorse a third party candidate, would there be so much worry? I doubt it. 

  So a ruling was made and while the language affords some wiggle-room , it's still stark:  Case closed, right? Wrong: Also, here's Aron Mate and Katie Halper of Useful Idiots interviewing Asa Winstanley about an Israeli publication that admits the Hannibal Doctrine was put into effect on Oct 7th:

  "They don't want homework, but if the teacher forgets to assign homework, they're the people who raise their hand, 'What about the homework?'" -- Keaton Weiss. "If you don't tell them what to do, they will create a candidate to tell them what to do." -- Russell Dobular.

 Apparently not every Boomer in a comfortable home want that much real estate : After 33 years and four children, Baby Boomers Marta and Octavian Dragos say they feel trapped in what was once their dream home in El Cerrito, California. Both over 70, the Dragos are empty nesters, and like many of their generation, they’re trying to figure out how to downsize from their 3,000-square-foot, five-bedroom home. “We are here in a huge house with no family nearby, trying to make a wise decision, both financially and for our well-being,” said Dragos, a retired teacher. But selling and downsizing isn’t easy, appealing or even financially advantageous for many homeowners like the Dragos family. Many Boomers whose homes have surged in value now face massive capital gains tax bills when they sell. This is a kind of tax on the profit you make when selling an investment or an asset, like a home, that has increased in value. Plus, smaller homes or apartments in the neighborhoods they’ve come to lo...

  From their 1/12/24 article : Political independents continue to constitute the largest political bloc in the U.S., with an average of 43% of U.S. adults identifying this way in 2023, tying the record high from 2014. Independent identification has been 40% or higher each year since 2011, except for the 2016 (39%) and 2020 (39%) presidential election years. Equal 27% shares of U.S. adults identify as Republicans and Democrats, with the Democratic figure marking a new low for that party in Gallup’s trend. Independents first outnumbered supporters of both major political parties in 1991 and have continued to do so since then, except in several years between 2004 and 2008. Over time, the increase in the percentage of independents has come more at the expense of Democrats than Republicans, which might be expected since Democrats were previously the largest political group. Gallup asks respondents in each survey whether they identify politically as a Republican, a Democrat or an indepen...

 

 Briahna Joy Gray and Norm Finkelstein discuss the potential end of Academic Freedom:

Not something you'd want to hear considering the current housing climate: Black and Latino residents in Connecticut face higher chances of losing their homes as well as getting evicted across the state. That’s according to a report released this week by the Connecticut Voices for Children, an advocacy and research organization based in New Haven. The report shows the problem is worsened by restrictive housing construction laws and regulations throughout the state. It recommends more state government action to promote affordable housing. Any solutions would need to contend with sustained local opposition to denser housing, which shows no signs of dissipating any time soon. The report shows Black and Latino homeowners have higher rates of delinquencies on their mortgage payments, said Samaila Adelaiye, a research and policy fellow for Connecticut Voices for Children. “The percentage of Black and Latino households behind on mortgage payments is notably higher in Connecticut at 15.9% ...

  From WCVB : Classes for Newton Public Schools students have been canceled for a fifth day as teachers in the Massachusetts city continue to strike while negotiating a new contract. Both the Newton Teachers Association and Newton School Committee did report that progress was made during Wednesday's negotiations. School Committee chair Chris Brezski said that he and Mike Zilles, president of the teachers' union, decided to take a walk outside, which led to several hours of talks. "I think, probably, the biggest progress of the day is the ability of the NTA president and I to sit in a room and to speak quite frankly about what each side is looking to get from this," Brezski said. "We have a crack today where it looks like there's a space for us to move into, to get these negotiations going," Zilles said. "I'm heartened by the fact that we're making progress." Newton South High School teacher Ryan Normandin, a member of the NTA's nego...

 

 

  The best example of why "changing the party from within" doesn't work. Biden wasn't even on the ballot , nobody really wants a "Biden vs Trump" sequel, but Democrats voted for him anyway. 

 Sharmine Narwani and Rachel Blevins discuss:

 Apparently, the nation has been accused of organ theft and having a " skin bank " made of predominately Palestinian bodies. This accusation is only magnified by the fact that Israeli military has " desecrated at least 16 cemeteries in it's ground offensive in Gaza ."  That, and Israel admitted to organ thefts back in 2009 .  Anyone care to explain what harvesting the body parts has to do with stopping Hamas?

 The youngest son of MLK was 62 . 

 Don't worry; there is a tie-in:

 Can't say I had Ron DeSantis dropping out before Nikki Haley (she's still hanging in there) but I wasn't surprised that he endorsed Trump on the way out. Interesting how America reached the inevitability of the two major parties' primaries: one achieved it by ignoring/cancelling the primary process; the other used their legal troubles to frame themselves as a political martyr while simultaneously labeling his opponents as poor imitations of himself (and why would voters choose the imitation it the real thing is still available?). 

 Well...

 

 

 

 Even after years of contaminated water, Flint, Michigan continues to suffer:

 As they put it, people like Pakman sees politics as a sport; his basic needs are met so there no real concerns:

  And let's just say that it wasn't glowing : Officers had many opportunities as the 2022 school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, was still unfolding to reassess their flawed response to the shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead, the US Justice Department concludes in a damning new report. Bursts of gunfire, reports a teacher had been shot, then a desperate call from a student trapped with the gunman could – and should – all have prompted a drive to stop the bloodshed far sooner, the Critical Incident Review released Thursday says. Instead, it took 77 minutes from when the 18-year-old shooter walked into Robb Elementary School until he was stopped. The carnage remains among the deadliest episodes in America’s ongoing scourge of campus shootings. Critical failures in leadership among specific law enforcement officers who rushed to Robb Elementary are blamed by the Justice Department, whose 575-page report nearly 20 months after the massacre is the fullest official accou...

 

 They had to use a new channel to make the announcement .  Not sure what they did to get censored by YouTube; HLM hasn't done anything any more or less controversial than RBN, Lee Camp, Convo Couch or anyone else.

 From the CT Mirror: Though Connecticut has eased state and municipal tax burdens on the poor and middle class significantly in recent years, it ranks behind 29 other states and the District of Columbia in one key fairness metric, according to a new report from a liberal Washington-based fiscal policy think-tank. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report ranked Connecticut’s tax system the 21st most regressive, meaning the poorest households pay the greatest share of their income and the richest pay the least. It’s one of 44 states with an overall tax system that worsens income inequality, according to ITEP; one of 41 that imposes the lowest rate on the top 1% of earners, and one of 34 that imposes the highest rate on its poorest. But in their 7th periodic “Who Pays” analysis of states’ tax burdens, ITEP analysts cited two areas that legislators and Gov. Ned Lamont recently made more progressive: lower state income tax rates for the middle class and a larger income tax c...

 Just in case anyone missed it, here is South Africa presenting their case of genocide in Gaza:

 Former president Donald Trump attacked GOP primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy on 1/13/24 , and three days (and one primary state) later, Ramaswamy suspends his campaign (i.e., drops out in hopes of working in the new Trump Administration). 

 From PBS: The discovery of 215 bodies buried in unmarked graves behind a jail outside of Jackson, Mississippi, has left a community in disbelief. The families are angry they were never notified of the deaths and how their loved ones are buried in graves marked by just a metal rod and a number. Amna Nawaz discussed the disturbing details that have emerged with Bettersten Wade and attorney Ben Crump. Status Coup also spoke with someone who knows more about this story (including the fact that the body count is more like 600):

 

 

 

  In Chicago, the “blue code of silence” is both real and pervasive. The fact that nearly every officer on the force will look the other way when they see their fellow officers violate citizens’ rights and commit other misconduct ensures that abuse and wrongful convictions will occur regularly. It also ensures that taxpayers will continue to be on the hook for the millions of dollars per year that the city of Chicago pays out in settlements and jury awards in civil suits — not just to victims of police misconduct, but also to those officers who suffer backlash for their attempts to report it. -- Joseph R. Dole, in his article, " Chicago Police Department Perpetuates Its Violence by Punishing Whistleblowers ."

 Long, but worth watching: Meanwhile Breakthrough News gives their take on South Africa's report: Also, it should be mentioned that back during the GW Bush Administration, a law known colloquially as " The Hague Invasion Act " was made (and the title pretty much fits the description:  The United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Act authorizes the president of the United States to use " all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court ". This authorization led to the act being colloquially nicknamed "The Hague Invasion Act", as the act allows the president to order U.S. military action, such as an invasion of the Netherlands, where The Hague is located, to protect American officials and military personnel from prosecution or rescue them from custody .[3][4] The bill was in...

 

  Bill Belichick and the Patriots part ways .

  Via Reuters : Israel faced down accusations at the World Court on Thursday of genocide in its war in Gaza, as the first residents returned to scenes of total devastation in the north of the enclave where Israeli forces have begun withdrawing this week. Three months of Israeli bombardment has laid much of the coastal enclave to waste, killing more than 23,000 people and driving nearly the entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes. An Israeli blockade has sharply restricted supplies of food, fuel and medicine, creating what the United Nations describes as a humanitarian catastrophe.  Israel says its only means to defend itself is by eradicating Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, whose fighters stormed through Israeli communities on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 240 hostages. Israel blames Hamas for all subsequent harm to Palestinian civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.

 

If you don't it's because (1) the mainstream media didn't really talk about it, and (2) the government passed a law after the 2008 bank collapse that basically puts bailouts on "auto-pilot."

 President Biden's claim that the 2024 election is one where " the fate of our democracy depends on " rings really hollow considering that the DNC has outright dismissed Democratic Party primaries and the leading GOP candidate is being bombarded with lawsuits that have led to him being removed from ballots . Add the fact that any viable third party candidate is being smeared as enabling said GOP candidate's ascension to the White House (but how could that be if he's being taken off of ballots?), and one has to wonder how much democracy exists when the options are being denied or taken away. 

 

 Sabby talks about how The Grayzone's Max Blumenthal had to go on Hill's Rising to find someone willing to push back in real time:

 So Morning Joe is amplifying Michelle Obama's concerns about Biden losing to Trump . "It's about the democracy," says Morning Joe's co-host (and Joe Scarborough's wife) Mika. Joe talks about the Obamas dragging black voters and swing state voters to the polls. But what none of the pro-Biden/pro-Democratic Party crowd will say out loud is that Obama did very little to entice voters to continue voting Democrat in the waning days of his presidency.  Nothing to address police brutality. Nothing to address growing income inequality. Nothing to address rising homelessness. No cessation of de-escalation of wars being conducted.  Obama put a happy, professional, intelligent face on a lot of horrible things going on, and the vast majority didn't realize what was happening until Trump came along.  Also, Ms. Obama fails to acknowledge that another reason Trump was even a factor was because of the supposed successor to her husband, Hillary Clinton. Not only did she r...

 According to The Grayzone's Wyatt Reed, the "source" may not be home-grown : The fallout from December 5 House Committe on Antisemitism hearings has already cost University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill her job, while demands by billionaire pro-Israel donors and politicians for the firing of Harvard’s Claudine Gay have grown by the day. Both stand accused of refusing to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews, even though no such calls have taken place on their campuses. Meanwhile, little attention has been paid to the forces orchestrating the carefully choreographed, heavily-funded campaign to crush Palestine solidarity activism on campus. The law firm leading the assault on the universities has included David Friedman, the former ambassador to Israel under Donald Trump, among its partners. Until 2021, this firm, Kasowitz Benson Torres, was registered with the US Department of Justice as a foreign agent on behalf of an Israeli principal. The firm’s clients include...

 Don't expect Alan Dershowitz to ever own up to his bet with Norman Finkelstein, just expect him to defend the nigh-indefensible . 

 I'm only writing about this angle of the Katt Williams interview because I haven't really seen/read it elsewhere recently, and I had to look for older articles for references. I don't believe the "wear the dress" phenomenon is strictly about "acting gay." There have been plenty of men in Hollywood (gay, straight, bi, trans, or otherwise) willing to wear a dress in front of the camera for reasons other than pressure from the writers/directors/producers. There are heterosexual actors willing to play gay or trans characters, just like there have been gay actors who have played heterosexual characters. I also don't see it as (pardon the pun) black-and-white race issue. As many have noted, there are plenty of white make actors playing women in movies or on television. I will add that while not in every case, most often it's plot relevant, like Adam Sandler playing twins (a boy and a girl) or Robin Williams trying to watch over/gain custody of his chi...

 Apparently, there have been some joke-stealing and falsehoods told about who was supposed to get what role in which movies, and Katt wants to set the record straight:

 

 

 How can you trust someone who lies about an incident that can be easily proven, supports one of the two major parties, and uses every opportunity to hawk questionable products?

 Apparently not Joe Biden; he's selling weapons to Israel without their input .