Repugs win vote to prevent witnesses

As expected. And as expected they will push a vote this evening or early tomorrow to end the impeachment altogether. Good, let's get this farce over with.

The time is now

New Bernie ad by Killer Mike. We've waited long enough for a leader and a government that is truly for we the people. We will wait no longer. Our time is NOW.

Bernie's new ad on social security

Dump wants cuts, Bernie wants to expand it. What do senior citizens want? I think we know, so seniors, vote for the candidate you can count on to do it. Note: It's also indirectly aimed at Biden, who said countless times he'd make cuts.

Repugs ever-shifting impeachment narrative

And we finally get to their real position: He did it, it's impeachable and we don't care. Well we the people care and we will not forget it.

Ken Starr's hypocrisy

Given where Dump's ding dong has been I'm guessing it tasted pretty nasty Ken.

Bolton criticizes Repug Senate

He's finally learned the reality of Dump's and the Repug's motto: "The exact reverse of the truth."

Meet newest members of DNC's Rules Committee

The platform says one thing, the members do another. Surprised? Listen not to what they say but what they do.

Warren scores big with Senate question

Good one Liz. Her question, which the Chief (In)Justice had to read aloud:

"At a time when large majorities of Americans have lost faith in government, does the fact that the chief justice is presiding over an impeachment trial in which Republican senators have thus far refused to allow witnesses or evidence contribute to the loss of legitimacy of the chief justice, the Supreme Court and the Constitution?"

Even though Schiff felt the need to answer diplomatically, the unequivocal answer is YES!

What is democratic socialism?

When even corporate MSNBC gets it you have to be a special kind of stupid not to. Or a Repugnantan, same difference. If you're open to learning, this video is helpful.

Parnas for President

It's no more absurd that what we got.

The influence of emotion on fairness-related decision making

Continuing the last post, from this article in the ebook:

"The Dual-process System claims that there are dual subsystems in fairness-related decision making: one is automatic, with an immediate response and an emotional system with no cognitive effort, whereas the other is controlled and comparatively slow, with a rational system of cognitive effort. The emotional system represents the intuitive response; however, after learning and calculation, the rational system requires an adaptive response to different situations by regulating the emotional system (Loewenstein and O’Donoghue, 2004; Sanfey and Chang, 2008; Feng et al., 2015). Fairness-related decision making is influenced by systematically and effectively regulating responders’ fairness perceptions via rational cognitive control (Rilling and Sanfey, 2011). For example, the model suggests that all types of emotional regulation strategies can change fairness-related decision making through the interaction of cognition and emotion."

The neural basis of human prosocial behavior

A new Frontiers in Science ebook here. The blurb:

With the rise of laboratory and field experimental economics, the famous prisoner's dilemma, public good, dictator, ultimatum, and trust games have become the classical paradigms of studying prosocial behavior. Due to the increasing use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with human subjects playing economic games, the neural basis of prosocial behavior has been uncovered by a large amount of neural imaging and stimulating research. A wide range of brain areas including, but not limited to the prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, striatum and amygdale have been revealed highly correlated or causally related with prosocial behaviors.

Kimmel presents his impeachment case to the Senate

He boils it down to the essentials and offers a way out for Repugs.

Colbert on Dershowitz's latest absurdity

So now the defense is that anything a President does to get re-elected is fine. To paraphrase from Dershowitz's defense of OJ: "Even if it fits you must acquit." Great, prevent witnesses, get it over by Friday and we'll remember this farce of a trial when it's time to vote.

Thomas Frank on the Dem Party selling out

Continuing the last post, Hartmann interviews Frank on his book Listen Liberal, describing how the Party sold out its working class roots to favor the upper classes. Which is why establishment Dems now can't stand Bernie, who reminds them of this very sell out.

Bernie is a real Democrat

Bernie is a real Democrat, which is why the corporate establishment Dems can't stand him. That's ok, being a real Dem we the people love him and that's what counts in the voting booth. From this FB post:

For some reason there's always a few people who're mad at Bernie, not because of his policy positions, no...because, they say, "he's not a democrat!" For the record...

1. The Democratic Party of Vermont endorses Bernie.

2. Bernie caucuses with the Dems in the Senate

3. Bernie has a much better progressive voting record in the Senate than almost any other Senator, D or R.

4. Bernie's reasons for registering as an Independent are well documented and accepted by his colleagues.

Most importantly

5.Bernie Sanders will be one of America's greatest Presidents
Sanders must run for president as a Democrat because in this duopoly, the President must have a D or an R by his name.
3rd, 4th, 5th party, etc. may have a shot after we;

1. Close the Electoral college

2. Reverse "Citizens United"

3. Establish a more nationally standardized voting system

4. Establish a system of 'Ranked Choice Voting' like STAR voting.

Bernie Sanders is the classic FDR, working families style Democrat, not a corporate, Wall Street, 'third way' Democrat.

NUMTOT endorses Bernie

Which stands for New Urbanist Memes for Transit Oriented Teens, a growing Facebook group of young activists that use memes to promote policy. Bernie welcomed their endorsement. This article highlights a key reason I've chosen memetics, framing and social media as my key methods and venues of guerrilla political activism, as they are the means for powerful political influence.

"As experts on political memes, we’re well aware of the ways memes and meme groups can influence politics on the sly. Though they might seem like humorous, pithy or even nonsensical digital artifacts, memes, as our research has shown, wield the power to unite, divide, persuade and provoke voters. They’ve become an increasingly important – even indispensable – communication tool in politics, helping ordinary voters shape political debates and hone arguments from their phones."

"Research has already demonstrated how memes shaped the 2016 election. As we note in our book, memes from far-right Trump supporters effectively framed media conversations about the election, with ethno-nationalist talking points taking center stage in traditional media outlets. That may not have been the Trump campaign’s plan, but there’s no doubt that these memes funneled attention in Trump’s direction."

"Not only can memes seed talking points to campaigns, but they also give candidates a window into the issues that are important to subsets of voters. Memes have become a way for political groups to coordinate and act collectively, and guerrilla imagery has become a key component of electioneering."

57 scientists support the Green New Deal

Joe Biden said that "not a single solitary scientist" supports Sanders' Green New Deal. So 57 climate researchers and scholars sent a letter to Sanders stating the following. Joe is wrong as usual.

"The Green New Deal you are proposing is not only possible, but it must be done if we want to save the planet for ourselves, our children, grandchildren, and future generations. Not only does your Green New Deal follow the IPCC's timeline for action, but the solutions you are proposing to solve our climate crisis are realistic, necessary, and backed by science. We must protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the planet we call home."

One of the scholars went further: "What we lack most is political will. Mr. Biden's comment embodies that."

Blight House issues threat to prevent Bolton publishing

According to this CNN story:

What's in your wallet?

So quit believing the spin and look at your own economic situation. Then vote accordingly for someone who will change that situation. Btw, if your economic situation hasn't changed in the last four years then now you know who lied to you.

Inside DNC source: It's rigged for Biden

See this story. No surprise, so let's get busy to ensure Bernie wins the majority of primaries across the country.

"On January 20, 2020 at 8:20 p.m. PDT I received a communication from a reliable source. This person had interactions earlier that evening with high level party members and associates of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) who said that they have now selected Biden as the Democratic Party nominee, with Warren as the VP. They also said the plan is to smear Bernie as a Russian asset."

Democracy Index 2019

See it here. The US continues to be a flawed democracy, now in 25th place worldwide. Way to make America great again Presidunce Dump.

Freedom is just another word

For Repugnantans screwing you over. Don't fall for it. Take back the meaning of freedom for we the people to live a healthy, fairly-paid life supported by governmental protections against the fascists and oligarchs that would thwart such a life.

Ian Welsh: Why I support Bernie

Excellent support rationale. He said:


"So, I wrote the simple argument for Sanders. He plans to help the most people and it isn’t close.

To me that’s the role of government: to help the most people. There are things that only government can do or does best, and making healthcare universal (whether single payer or not), fixing student debt, and fighting climate change are three of those things. The private market isn’t going to do those things by itself, it needs the government to set things up so it makes profit doing them (for whatever pieces of health care or fighting climate change the private sector’s help makes sense.)

Many argue, “but he may not be able to pass this stuff.”

Here’s the thing. A candidate who isn’t strongly committed to passing universal health care won’t pass it. A candidate who isn’t strongly committed to fighting climate change won’t.

And Presidents have a LOT of power that doesn’t go thru Congress. Simply letting the Environmental Protection Agency do its job goes a long, long way. Deciding that conforming mortgages require energy neutral low carbon houses goes a long way. Choosing who runs the Federal Reserve, goes a long way. Treasury policy matters. Anti-trust policy against companies jacking up insulin prices is entirely possible, if desired.

Likewise the President has an effect on mid terms. A popular President simply makes the case that the Senate is blocking him. If Sanders does popular things in the first two years, more people will come out for his candidates in 2022.

NYT: Should we be afraid of a Bernie nomination?

I have to share this excellent and accurate response to a NYT piece asking if we should be afraid of a Sanders nomination. To the contrary, we should be afraid if he doesn't get it that all the things mentioned in the response below will be bartered away in the name of some fake getting along with the fascists and oligarchs. You know, Repugnantans (and establishment Dems).

"Oh yes Michelle the prospect of a Bernie Sanders presidency just terrifies me! The very notion that 100 million Americans who have inadequate or no access to health care would suddenly not have to go bankrupt or ration medications chills me to the bone. And all those kid enslaved to paying off college debt to the same banks we collectively bailed out? Letting them off the hook, so they can start a family, buy a house, or just put that money into our economy...who could hatch such a diabolical plan?? Just please don't get me started on free public college and university, allowing our young people to obtain a higher education on an equal basis so all can have a chance to excel? A moral outrage! And we will be less safe, because he will likely not only refuse to comply with the military industrial complex and their bloated budgets, but he would likely refuse to drop over 26,000 bombs on the Middle East like Barack Obama did. And he'll definitely end our complicity with Saudi Arabia in Obama's proxy war in Yemen. Who wants that?! I am so petrified of his ability to converse in a meaningful way with Trump voters and Fox News viewers, and his appeal to conservative media heroes like Joe Rogan, that I wonder if he is even really a Democrat, because they would never appeal to such a 'deplorable' constituency. Oh, I almost forgot, he's not a Democrat. Well, no wonder...."

Ball on the Bernie haters and why they should fail

That hate is coming from the Dumpsters and both Party establishments. Krystal lays out the details of those haters and why they should fail: People trust Bernie because he genuinely fights for what we the people want. Krystal also cautions the DNC that if they try to cheat Bernie out of the nomination they will not only belie their claims to Party unity but will irreparably destroy the Party and hand the election to Dump again. Hopefully they are not willing to go that far to stop a candidate that we the people really want.

Former Dump Chief of Staff: I believe Bolton

Here's what John Kelly had to say:

“If John Bolton says that in the book, I believe John Bolton. [...] I mean half of Americans think this process is purely political and shouldn’t be happening but since it is happening the majority of Americans would like to hear the whole story. So I think if there are people that could contribute to this, either innocence or guilt [...] I think they should be heard."

MLK and Bernie v. Dump

Great ad showing how Bernie is carrying MLK's legacy forward while Dump and the oligarchs are working to destroy it. Which do you want?

Reich: Big picture on impeachment

Dump committed impeachable offenses and the Repug Senate is covering it up. Remedy? Vote them all out in November. Reich boils it down to 10 points you need to know to understand this tragedy.

Jamie Dimon's corporate socialism

He rails against socialism yet he and his bank are the biggest beneficiaries of it. What he really means is the sort of socialism that helps everyday, hard-working people. We can't have that, now can we? Actually, yes we can and will, and change banking laws to prevent this sort of theft from our collective coffers. TFB Jamie Dimon.

Hartmann's strategy for progressive win

Both Bernie and Liz's delegates must unite to support who has the most delegates. Thom doesn't think either one will have the necessary 51% to win the nomination at the convention, but they then must unite to throw their delegates to the other with the higher count. We must therefore not fall for the intentional corporate strategy to create discord between them so that neither win. He also implies that if it's not one of them we'll lose to Dump.

Fascist Pompeo bans NPR reporter

We really have to vote out Dump and get rid of his corrupt fascist regime. From Robert Reich's FB post on this story:

"Every day our country moves closer towards authoritarianism. Last week, NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly interviewed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In the interview, she asked him basic questions about Ukraine and Marie Yovanovitch, which he refused to answer. After cutting the interview short, Pompeo shouted and cursed at Kelly and then demanded she locate Ukraine on a blank map. Kelly, a widely respected and experienced foreign affairs reporter with a Master’s degree in European studies, was able to complete the task.

"Following Kelly’s report of the exchange, Pompeo released a statement accusing her of lying both about the nature of the interview and about what happened after, claiming the conversation was supposed to be off the record and insinuating that she mistakenly pointed to Bangladesh instead of Ukraine (Kelly’s colleagues laughed at this suggestion). Now, Pompeo has kicked NPR reporter Michele Keleman out of his press pool for his upcoming trip to Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

"To be clear: our Secretary of State is retaliating against a reputable news outlet because one of its reporters asked him a question he didn’t like. This behavior, from one of our government’s top officials, is what you see in dictatorships, not democracies. It appears Pompeo is following his boss’s lead and restricting press access because he can’t handle being asked tough questions. Pathetic."

Schumer on the Bolton revelation and Blight House coverup

The Blight House had a copy of Bolton's manuscript for over a month so they know exactly what he'll testify if given a chance. And that, and only that, is why they and the Repugs must prevent that from ever happening. They do not want the truth. But we the people do and will remember this.

Romney wants to hear from Bolton

Especially in light of the recent revelation of Bolton's book draft. Romney said he's spoken to other Rep. Senators that also would like to hear Bolton's testimony. Collins also said the revelation adds weight to the need for Bolton's testimony. Murkowski is also curious about it. King agrees and thinks that more Rep. Senators will join in that demand. Will they hold true to this or is it just political posturing? We'll see.

Schiff on the Bolton revelation

He's right: If Repug Senators want the truth then they must hear Bolton's testimony. If not, they know they are covering up and will have to answer to the voters in November. Yes, they'll continue to create lying spin to avoid the truth but we the people have caught on to their despicable tactics and won't fall for them any more.

Stay strong and keep fighting

And continually keep the pressure on the Repugs at every opportunity to hammer home the reality of their traitorous complicity.

The downside of our digitial culture

While it can be highly useful, we must remain ever vigilant to not let it use us.

Joe lies about MFA, Bernie sets him straight

Do we want someone who won't take the necessary action to save the planet or do we want someone committed to that urgent imperative? See the video here.

Leak of Bolton's book contradicts Dump

According to this report, in a leaked manuscript of Bolton's upcoming book he said that "Trump personally tied aid for Ukraine to an investigation of the Bidens." It was also reported that Bolton's book claims that "Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr, were made aware of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani's unusual involvement in a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine well before it became a central element of the whistleblower complaint at the heart of the impeachment inquiry." Bolton and all those named must be called as witnesses.

Who is against Medicare For All?

These guys and their paid lackeys in Congress on both sides of the isle.

Pretty much sums up their spinelessness and corruption

Schiff on Meet the Press

Schiff reiterates that given the facts all the Dump defense can do is prevent a fair trial and conjure debunked conspiracy theories. Yes, it will work with ignorant Dumpsters but it won't work with the majority of us voters come this November.

Jon Stewart previews his new movie Irresistible on Colbert

With of course the usual antics beforehand.

Is DNC planning another coup?

Martinchek thinks so. She examines who is in charge of the Convention Committees. Barney Frank, co-chair of the Conventional Rules Committee, and John Podesta, also on that Committee, hate Sanders (see evidence in the link). There are details of several other people involved with the convention that thwarted Sanders last time and will no doubt do so again if Bernie doesn't get 51% of delegates. It's up to us to come out in droves during the primaries to ensure the DNC apparatus doesn't screw us again.

AOC: "We shouldn’t be scared of what will happen if we try."

"We should be scared of what will happen if we don’t." She said at an Iowa rally for Bernie. This is no time to play it safe like the Dems did with Hillary and lost. We took a risk with Obama and we won. We need to do it again with Bernie, because if we don't we'll likely get 4 more years of Dump. In that scenario democracy is likely to completely die, never to return. See AOC's full inspiring speech below.

SNL: Dershowitz goes to hell

Where he belongs and where he meets his friends.

Schiff comments on Blight House weak case

Schiff notes the Blight House team did not refute any of the facts the Dems presented. And what they did present is lame at best. It has to be given the facts are clear so all they got is smoke and mirrors, just like Dump himself.

Damasio on consciousness

From the introduction to Chapter 9 of his new book The Strange Order of Things.

“The term ‘consciousness’ applies to the very natural but distinctive kind of mental state described by the above [subjective] traits. The mental state allows its owner to be the private experiencer of the world around and, just as important, to experience aspects of his or her own being. For practical purposes, the universe of knowledge, current and past, that can be conjured up in a private mind only materializes to its owner when the owner’s mind is in a conscious state, able to survey the contents of that mind, in his or her own subjective perspective.” This perspective is combined with “integrated experience, which consists of placing mental contents into a more or less unified multidimensional panorama” (143- 44).

Also of note is that consciousness is not located in any particular brain area but “it is possible to identify several brain regions and systems that are unequivocally related to producing key ingredients of the process as outlined earlier: perspectival stance, feeling and experience integration” (154). But “still, the panoramic integrated experience […] is not to be found in one single brain structure but rather in more or less numerous time series of frames being activated piecemeal” (156).

Damasio realizes we have two natures: One dominated by natural selection pressures and one we’ve consciously and culturally created. The former are individually selfish and the latter are communally caring. There is a constant struggle between the two.

“But here is a place for remedy: Controlling the relentless pursuit of our self-interests so that we make broader homeostasis efforts possible. […] We can directly and willfully counter our genetic mandate when we refuse to act on our appetite for food or sex, or resist the impulse to punish another, or when we follow an idea tha runs counter to a natural tendency, such as procreating or depleting natural resources like drunken sailors” (229 – 30).

The Onion on Bernie accepting Rogan's endorsement

Some liberals are in a tizzy over it. So The Onion responds:

"WASHINGTON—Slamming the campaign for promoting the popular podcaster’s backing, liberals said Friday that Bernie Sanders’s acceptance of Joe Rogan’s endorsement sends a dangerous message that the candidate is trying to win the 2020 presidential election. “This is just the Sanders campaign opening the gates to a plurality of people who would vote for him and help him win the presidency,” said political commentator Scott Griffin, who called the campaign’s promotion of Rogan’s endorsement a true “mask off” moment, exposing Sanders’s goal of winning the Democratic primary and eventually the general election. “It’s very unnerving to see a Democratic candidate like Bernie Sanders try to court voters from varying constituencies and demographics. It’s like his whole strategy is beating Trump. We saw hints of this in 2016, but I’m truly sickened to see it rearing its ugly head again. I’m all for creating a Democratic majority, but not if we have to accept more people than the other side has.” Griffin added that it was even more disturbing that Sanders would attempt this during an election year."

Maher: Face reality

When the Repugs exonerate Dump in the Senate, and Dump negates the next election results if he loses and won't go, a likely scenario given everything we know about him, what then? The Repugs would still back that coup, right? So really, what then?

Maher's monologue

Some weekly comic relief. Of note: The Clinton impeachment trial began with a blowjob; this one will end with the Repugs giving Dump one.

Latest Emerson Polling

Some interesting stats in this poll. Foremost is of the 1128 registered voters polled 741 were by landline only (66%). We know that young people don't use them. So already we have a bias toward older voters. Nevertheless, here are some more stats.

Overall Biden is leading Bernie 30-27. Sanders dominates 18- 29 age range (47%) and 30-49 age range (37%). Biden leads with 50-64 age group (40%) and 65+ (47%). Nothing new there. In terms of ideology, very liberal with Bernie (55%), Biden isn't even on this scale. Somewhat liberal Biden (32%), Bernie (26%). Conservative voters Biden (40%) Bernie (15%). Again, no surprises.

But this one is the kicker: Those who will vote for someone else if their preferred candidate doesn't get the nomination: Biden (87%), Bernie (53%), Warren (90%). That is further broken down into who will not vote for another candidate: Biden (5%), Bernie (16%), Warren (10%). And it will depend on who the other candidate is: Biden (9%), Bernie (31%).

Napolitano: Ample evidence to impeach Dump

Napolitano is Pox View's legal analyst and he said:

"What is required for removal of the president? A demonstration of presidential commission of high crimes and misdemeanors, of which in Trump's case the evidence is ample and uncontradicted."

He also criticized Repug Senators who vowed to acquit the Presidunce:

"Whoever may have whispered that into his ear is unworthy of sitting as a juror and has violated the oath of ‘impartial justice’ and fidelity to the Constitution and the law."

Putin urges us to buy American

He did and see the great deal he got?

Our Cartoon President: Impeachment

Not far off.

Schiff: If right doesn't matter we're lost

Excellent summation. And it's obvious that the Repugnantan Party is lost. We have to ensure that they are defeated and replaced with politicians where right matters.

Jared Janes on meditation and spirituality

Jim Rutt interviews him here. The blurb:

Meditator  and thinker Jared Janes talks with Jim about why he still uses the word ‘spiritual’, altered states vs altered traits, the equation and dynamics of suffering, understanding our own intentions, the confabulating mind, embodied intuition, the value and limits of conceptuality, what the self is and its usefulness, attention and awareness, the pleasure of concentration, metaphysics, and more.

Jared Janes is a podcast producer/host (The Jim Rutt Show, Both/And,  and Impactful), a management consultant, and a committed meditator. He’s been a daily meditator for over five years, has completed multiple meditation courses from different traditions, attends multiple meditation retreats each year, and personally coaches meditators in his spare time. Before podcasting and consulting he built a career in digital operations and management, started and ran a nonprofit, played a video game semi-professionally, and spent his spare time learning about personal performance, science and philosophy.

Chomsky nails it

Why Bernie pisses off the establishment so much: He's activated we the people to continually demand that government respond to us, not their big money donors. In fact, outlaw big money donors!

George Conway on impeachment

Kellyanne Conway's husband said that the prosecution was "prepared, thoughtful, factual, logical and dignified," whereas the defense was "dissembling, distorting and even lying." He also cannot understand how all the Repugs could vote to prevent witnesses and documents in a trial of this magnitude. They should want to hear the evidence. He asks: "What are they afraid of?" They know the truth but don't want we the people to know the truth. We will remember this come the next vote.

Ball on establishment Dem hypocrisy

It's not about unity; it's about power. And they don't want to give it up to we the people. TFB, because we want it back and we'll get it with Bernie.

Fact-checking Repug impeachment defense

They outright lied repeatedly. No surprise. The facts are clear and indisputable so they have to create a manipulative story that the ignorant will eat up. Lying is of no consequence to them, only power.

"White House lawyers distorted the facts on the impeachment process and other issues during the Jan. 21 Senate trial:

• White House counsel Pat Cipollone falsely suggested Republicans were barred from the closed-door depositions conducted by the House intelligence committee. But members of three committees — both Democrats and Republicans — participated.
• Jay Sekulow, President Donald Trump’s attorney, falsely said, “During the proceedings that took place before the Judiciary Committee, the president was denied the right to cross-examine witnesses … the right to access evidence and … the right to have counsel present at hearings.” The committee chair invited Trump and his lawyers to participate, but they declined.
• Cipollone claimed Rep. Adam Schiff, the House intelligence committee chairman, “manufactured a false version” of the July 25 phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president and “he didn’t tell” the American people “it was a complete fake.” Schiff indicated he was giving “the essence” of Trump’s remarks and about an hour later said it was “at least part in parody.”
• Sekulow said the special counsel’s report on Russian interference during the 2016 election found Trump committed “no obstruction.” That’s not what the report said. While the report “does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” it said, citing “multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence.”

AOC on Biden

Them's the facts.

Climate Change Performance Index

See the Report here for the details of how countries were rated. Top 3 performers: Sweden, Denmark, Morocco. Bottom 3: Chinese Taipei, Saudi Arabia, US (at the very bottom). Hence the urgent need to elect a majority in Congress and a President in the White House that have climate policy as their number one priority. That is, if life on this planet is your number one priority?

TYT: Bernie is wrong to apologize for Teachout

Teachout's article in The Guardian points out Biden's history of corruption, which is factual. But Bernie got such grief about it that he apologized, saying he doesn't think Joe is corrupt. TYT explores Biden's history and it is true, needs to be pointed out, and the media needs to do its job of investigative journalism to report on these facts.

TYT on AOC revealing Dem Party conservatism

Continuing this post, Ana plays AOC's video and then her and Cenk discuss. The Party is of course upset because what AOC said is obviously true and they don't want that revealed. Then Cenk provides MLK quotes where he said very similar things, but the Dem establishment avoids that too.

Hartmann: Democracy on trial in impeachment

Thom's right, that the Repugs' spurious defense of Dump's criminal behavior indicates that they put their own power in front of our Democratic Republic. In the process they are blatantly destroying our democracy. But they never much cared for it in the first place, as is obvious by countless decades of supporting their rich benefactors while screwing we the people. At least now it's out in the open for all to see; they can no longer hide behind pretending.

Tulsi sues Hillary for $50 million

For Hillary calling her a Russian asset. It's about time someone fought back against the constant onslaught of slander from that vindictive snowflake. Bernie is right to ignore Hillary's comments about him for now, as to respond to them is to give them the attention she seeks. His refusal also indicates that she is irrelevant to the current political climate. Tulsi, on the other hand, has a legitimate suit and perhaps, though doubtful, Hillary will learn to keep out of where she doesn't belong, meaning current politics.

Clinton now would support Bernie if...

Continuing this post, Clinton now said she'd support Bernie if he's the nominee, since the number one task is to defeat Dump. But only after she so dumped on Bernie in a blatant attempt to destroy his chances of winning the nomination, which of course would leave Biden as the front runner. She's part of that Dem establishment that just cannot wrap their heads around being servants of we the people, instead thinking they are the elite that must lead us dolts into an imagined promised land where the benevolent wealthy trickle down their success upon us. In that regard they are just like the Repugs and they are both wrong on that account.

AOC on the Democratic Party

As  usual she nails it:

"I wanted to go back to what you said about our ‘left party’. We don’t have a left party in the United States. The Democratic Party is not a left party. The Democratic Party is a center or center-conservative party. We can’t even get a floor vote on Medicare For All. Not even a floor vote that gets voted down. We can’t even get a vote on it. So this is not a left party. There are left members inside the Democratic Party that are working to try to make that shift happen. But you’re right, it does convey a certain sentiment about true believers, and there are a lot of true believers in that we can capitalism our way out of poverty in the Democratic Party. If anything, that’s probably the majority."

Dem college student polling

The Hill interviews a specialized college polling expert who notes that among Dem-leaning college students Bernie nationally get 41% and Liz gets 21%. It is a closer race in Iowa but Bernie still comes out in 1st. The top issues for this demo is the environment, with income inequality being second. And this is the demo we progressives really need to come out in droves in the primaries and next election. And this is the demo we progressives really need to come out in droves in the primaries and general election. If this polling is any indication, we can see who must win if we are to defeat Dump and the Repugs.

The Hill on Hillary's comments

Hillary is bitter and vindictive, projecting blame for her loss to Bernie because she's incapable of taking responsibility. Worse, she couches this deficiency in false claims of Bernie's supposed faults like sexism. It's pitiful, but also revealing of typical establishment DEMagoguery.

Hillary goes after Bernie

Wow, so much for the fake Party unity BS. She also won't commit to supporting Bernie if he gets the nomination. I'm looking forward to the establishment Dems rationalizing this diatribe. Hillary said about Bernie:

"He was in Congress for years. He had one senator support him. Nobody likes him, nobody wants to work with him. He got nothing done. [...] He was a career politician. It’s all just baloney, and I feel so bad that people got sucked into it. [...] I don’t think we want to go down that road again where you campaign by insult and attack and maybe you try to get some distance from it, but you either don’t know what your campaign and supporters are doing or you’re just giving them a wink and you want them to go after Kamala [Harris] or after Elizabeth [Warren]. I think that that’s a pattern that people should take into account when they make their decisions."

Storytelling as adaptive collective sensemaking

Bietti et al. (2018), Topics in Cognitive Science. The abstract:

"Storytelling represents a key element in the creation and propagation of culture. Three main accounts of the adaptive function of storytelling include (a) manipulating the behavior of the audience to enhance the fitness of the narrator, (b) transmitting survival‐relevant information while avoiding the costs involved in the first‐hand acquisition of that information, and (c) maintaining social bonds or group‐level cooperation. We assess the substantial evidence collected in experimental and ethnographic studies for each account. These accounts do not always appeal to the specific features of storytelling above and beyond language use in general. We propose that the specific adaptive value of storytelling lies in making sense of non‐routine, uncertain, or novel situations, thereby enabling the collaborative development of previously acquired skills and knowledge, but also promoting social cohesion by strengthening intragroup identity and clarifying intergroup relations."

Nora Bateson on warm data

Continuing this post, she describes something similar in that while the strict scientific method of extracting an object of study from its environment can give us some useful information, we also need to reintroduce that object of study back into its environment and take into consideration all of the ecological data that has been excluded by the scientific process. It makes for an entirely different story.

Speaking of Biden's electability

Just wait until his older supporters find out about his history of wanting to cut social security. Probably not so electable then, eh?

"Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, said it is no longer possible for Biden to outrun his record on attacking Social Security—a history that Republicans will surely weaponize against him in the general election."

The Hill panel on Moore's prediction

They show a clip of Moore claiming that Warren's sexism accusation against Bernie is handing reelection to Dump. They disagree that it's that serious, but they also note that it's a distraction from the real policy discussions against Biden and will likely help him. But that's the thing: If Biden gets the nomination will he beat Dump? Will the progressive youth come out to vote for him? And that is highly questionable.

Now we know why Nunes defends Dump

Because he is directly implicated in the whole Ukraine scandal, for one. Which is no doubt just the tip of his corrupt iceberg.

Jeffries on Pox defends impeachment

Pox Wallace hit him with every Repug talking point against impeachment and Jeffries, one of the impeachment managers, consistently replied with not only the facts of the case but the necessity to defend the Constitution. Excellent job of how you deal with the deniers and enablers.

AOC nails the establishment again

They hate her because she rightly points out how they've become corrupt and represent big money, not us. Same with Bernie.

NYT endorses both Klobuchar and Warren

Continuing this post, no surprise. If anything it says that Bernie really has the corporate media scared shitless. And that their choices are far safer for their own agenda.

Bernie genuinely frames our compassionate story

This is the kind of storytelling we need to repeatedly practice to connect with each other and defeat hate and bigotry.

Low infomation voters

This interview notes that about 25% of people are low information voters, meaning they don't follow politics that closely. They don't respond to the Parties or media much because they rightly think those outlets are biased and rigged. One reason they respond to Dump is that he made his pitch criticizing that system, and because he uses entertainment techniques like name calling and insults that capture their attention.

It's also why I choose to use similar techniques in my blog, because they work and capture the attention of this demographic, who are needed to win elections. All the highbrow analysis, which works with the informed high information voters, has no effect with these folks. To the contrary, per above they just tune it out. Pick your demographic(s) and use what's appropriate to get them to pay attention.

Telling the climate science story

The 'narrative turn' in social science has demonstrated not only the power but the necessity of framing our reality in story. This is of utmost importance in framing climate science, as just presenting the facts is not good enough to move voters to support such legislation. To support climate science is this Science Direct article on the importance of story telling and how scientists are learning to frame their finding in ways that connect with the public. Some excerpts:

"The framing of the problem affects the types of solutions that researchers and policymakers propose. We suggest that a more storied framing of the ‘problem’ of energy and climate change research could contribute to a wider set of 'solutions.'"

"Stories provide different material than other traditional forms of data used in energy and climate change research. [...] They often have emotional, psychological, symbolic, and cultural content absent or sublimated in more purified ‘objective’ data. So, stories invite a different intellectual and emotional framework, beyond the (fictional) logical brain. [...] These stories are not always about how to do something or what can be done. They also reveal constraints, prejudices, misunderstandings, and untruths and, include the ‘known, but under-acknowledged’ that regularly escape more formal data collection."

NYT Bernie interview

The New York Times is doing open interviews of the candidates to decide whom they will endorse. This clip of their Bernie interview is enlightening in that he succinctly focuses on the core problem: People voted for Dump because they are disheartened that the political system is rigged against them in both Parties and the corporate media. And we need a true representative that will fix that system instead of just demagogue about it. Being the Times is itself part of that problem I can't see them endorsing Bernie, but that they released the video is commendable. You can see a full transcript of that interview here.

Let's face it

Those that believe pathological liars are that kind of stupid. Yes, I sympathize with those so duped and want to help them nevertheless with public policy. And understand that they are being manipulated. But that doesn't negate that they are stupid for so easily falling prey to it.

Korten: Change the Story, Change the Future

Continuing the last post, this presentation emphasizes how our stories organize our perceptions of reality. The neoliberal story is destroying us and the planet so we need a new story to heal and enrich us and the world.

The 5 filters of the mass media machine

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now narrates this short video on Noam Chomsky's notions of manufactured consent.

Maher's monologue

He's back from a 2-month vacation.

What jobs?

Addendum: And we have made sure there are no better jobs so f___ you.

AOC: Inequality in a nutshell

She said in her recent FB post linking to this article: "The Dow soars, wages don't. Inequality in a nutshell." It's long past time to quit gauging how well we workers are doing by how well the rich are doing. It does not trickle down; we are being pissed on and we know it.

Meagan Day on the manufacted Bernie story

Good analysis of the corporate media manufactured story against Bernie. The disappointing part is that there's no way around Warren not only participating in it but feeding it as a political strategy to once again label Bernie as a sexist. It seems more than likely it is the result of Warren's strategists who were previously on Hillary's team, who did the same thing in 2016. Bottom line: It is a corporate strategy to defeat a working people's candidate, because we just can't have we the people in charge of our politicians. Well TFB, because that's exactly what we're going to have.

Bernie's Iowa State Director on the Warren flap

Krystal asks her about it and Misty said the voters there don't care about political gossip; they are much more interested in the issues and how Bernie is going to help them. More evidence that the corporate media has lost on their failed strategy to trash Bernie.

Post debate polls, Bernie leads

Krystal breaks down 3 polls and it's apparent that people are not buying the corporate media sexist story. Sanders is leading in NH at 23%, Butt 18%, Biden and Warren 14%. In a new national poll Bernie 20%, Biden 19%, Warren 12%. Last new poll: Bernie is the most popular Senator in the country at 65%, Warren  at the lower end at 40%. How come? Voters care about the issues, not BS stories designed to create conflict. It didn't work corporate media. We the people are see right through your fake woke sexist crap.

Chomsky: The case for the lesser of two evils

From this interview. That was my and several progressives' strategy when Hillary got the nomination. She was nowhere near Bernie's agenda but in most ways far less evil than Dump. And I figured at least she'd work with and likely pass most progressive legislation, unlike Dump. But this time we have a chance for the most good with Bernie, so let's hope we don't have to face the lesser of two evils again. Chomsky:

“There’s another word for lesser evilism. It’s called rationality. Lesser evilism is not an illusion, it’s a rational position. But you don’t stop with lesser evilism. You begin with it, to prevent the worst, and then you go on to deal with the fundamental roots of what’s wrong, even with the lesser evils. [...]
You continue to try to organize and develop the mass popular movements, which will block the worst and change the institutions. All of these things can go on at once."

Foregone conclusion

I guess the sacred oath they took to be impartial jurors, like every other principle they used to claim, is now just a sick joke.

Billie Eilish does new James Bond theme song

Colbert noted last night that she's been enlisted for this task, so he provided a sneak preview.

Lev Parnas sings

Joined by the chorus of Dump and Giuliani.

We are all in this together

Bernie's new ad expressing love and compassion for all humanity and our planet. This is a message we need right now. This is the leader we need right now.

More correct framing

Take control of the narrative.

Omar: We must fight the enemy, not ourselves

Time to get past the pettiness. One of these progressives must win the nomination and the Presidency. Omar said:

"Let's stay focused on the task ahead: defeating Donald Trump in November and fighting for the America we deserve. [...] Trump wants progressives pitted against each other. Corporate media want progressives pitted against each other. Billionaires want progressives pitted against each other. Pitting progressives against each other weeks before the Iowa Caucus hurts ALL of us."

GAO: Withholding Ukraine aid is violation of the law

So determined the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. Will the Repugs in the Senate trial take this into evidence? I know, LOL.

"In the summer of 2019, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) withheld from obligation funds appropriated to the Department of Defense (DOD) for security assistance to Ukraine.  Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law. OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA). The withholding was not a programmatic delay. Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA."

18 progressive groups sign unity pledge

To avoid the Sanders and Warren contingents from being split, these groups signed a pledge to stay unified with the two progressives, as the real fight is between the progressive and the corporate wing of the Dem Party. We need to join in this effort to support both progressive candidates against Biden and Buttigieg.

Audio of what Liz said to Bernie

And why she didn't shake his hand. She said: "I think you called me a liar on national TV." I can see why she's upset if she believes that, as apparently Bernie thinks she's the one that called him a liar too. Where does it go from here?

New Lev Parnas documents

From Robert Reich's FB post on this story. More evidence appears and the plot thickens. Will the Senate Repugs give a flying f___? Of course not.

"A trove of materials from Rudy Giuliani’s indicted associate, Lev Parnas, was released by House Democrats last night as part of the impeachment inquiry. Encrypted messages between Parnas and Robert Hyde, a fringe Republican House candidate, seem to indicate that Marie Yovanovitch, then the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, was under surveillance by nefarious actors. Aside from denigrating Yovanovitch, the messages indicate that Hyde was monitoring Yovanovitch’s cell phone activity and her day-to-day movements in Kiev. Just weeks after these messages, Yovanovitch was told to immediately leave Ukraine over fears for her safety.

"This needs to be the biggest news story of the week. Two associates of the president’s personal lawyer were involved in a sinister plot to surveil a United States diplomat, and possibly to commit an act of violence against her. Where was Secretary of State Mike Pompeo? Did he know that Yovanovitch was being surveilled and under threat? And if so, did he simply allow her safety to be threatened? He must be called as a witness in the Senate trial; the American people deserve to know what role he played in the plot against Marie Yovanovitch."

Climate change and social transformations

Article subtitled "Is it time for a quantum leap?" By Karen O'Brien (2016), Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 7(5), 618-626. The abstract:

"Climate change is recognized as an urgent societal problem with widespread implications for both natural and human systems, and transforming society at the rate and scale that is mandated by the 2015 Paris Agreement remains a major challenge. Do we need to be open to new paradigms for social change? In this opinion piece, I draw attention to the emerging field of quantum social theory and consider its implications for climate change responses. Quantum social theory considers how concepts, methods and understandings from quantum physics relate to societal issues, and it provides a physically based, holistic perspective on conscious and intentional transformations to sustainability. It is distinct from other social theories in that it raises deep metaphysical and ontological questions about what is really real. I explore the methodological, metaphorical and meaningful significance of quantum social theory for understandings of social change.Quantum concepts such as entanglement, complementarity, uncertainty, and superposition provide a strong basis for recognizing and promoting people as the solution to climate change."

Also see her YouTube presentation below. She starts around 6:00.

CNN's corporately framed Bernie questions

It was obvious that the CNN moderators were framing Bernie questions to support their own corporately backed agenda. For example: "Sanders' proposals would double federal spending over a decade; how will he avoid bankrupting the country?" "Does Sanders owe voters an explanation of how much his health care plan will cost them and the country?"

Who is the law and order Party?

Just the facts ma'am.

Warren campaign on the dust up

According to Twitter DMs to supporters, the Warren campaign told them to de-escalate the situation and not accuse Bernie of sexism, actually saying that "no one here is actually claiming Bernie himself is sexist." To make such accusations is a losing strategy. They also noted that "claiming you’re worried a woman can’t win/flagging that she’ll receive sexist attacks is something many, many people feel," which seems more like what Bernie might have said. Bottom line: They said instead we must focus on what they have in common and not feed this media created rift.

TYT on the Bernie/Liz debate moment

Ana is furious that Liz would keep this spurious claim of sexism going against Bernie. Cenk though gives her the benefit of the doubt, noting that she likely misunderstood Bernie during their conversation. But why did Liz refuse to shake Bernie's hand at the end. Something isn't right here.

Michael Moore on Warren's betrayal

He said in his FB post:

"Elizabeth & Bernie have both appeared in my films. I deeply admire what they’ve done for us. Why Elizabeth chose to stick a knife in Bernie’s back is beyond me. At a time when Job #1 for ALL of us is to remove Trump, how did this help us remove Trump? We live in an age now where it’s ok to create alternative facts. Smearing Bernie became more important than beating Trump. Sad. Senseless. And all you did was help Trump. January 13, 2020 — The Day Trump Won Four More Years. Thanks to Elizabeth Warren, now we fight each other instead of Trump! Stop! Enough! My RUMBLE podcast today: 'The Sad Downfall of Elizabeth Warren.' Listen to it for free on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and Google.

Bernie and Liz in the debate on the spurious claim

Bernie went first and denied he said it. Then Liz answered that she disagreed with Bernie when he did in fact tell her that. She also once again made a reference to her being the only candidate that brings all the Dem demos together, referring back to the hit piece on Bernie where one of his campaigners said Warren doesn't in fact bring in new voters. It'll be interesting to see how others report on it, forthcoming.

New frontiers in heart rate variability and social coherence research

This McCraty article is on how to use scientific methods, techniques and measurements to increase social coherence to overcome our world's problems. It's a chapter in this Frontiers in Science ebook. In the introductory chapter here's what the ebook's editors had to say about McCraty's contribution:

"In closing, McCraty is a well-known person throughout the HRV community, having been a proponent of HRV Biofeedback for decades. His experience in the field can be traced to the very roots of awareness of the power and plain excitement of HRV engagement. Among his many areas of study and advocacy can be found the concept of 'social coherence.' These ideas springboard off simple group HRV Biofeedback infused with the basic scientific notions of social nervous system and its role in social engagement a la Porges' polyvagal theory, past the newly emerging field of scientific study of interoception, and lands in the field of electromagnetic potentials in the evolutionary dynamics of ecosystems. Sound thinking prevails in the article's central thesis that feedback of individual and group HRV will increase group cohesion, thereby promoting pro-social behaviors, such as kindness and cooperation among individuals, improved communication, and decreases in social discord and adversarial interactions. 'Biomagnetic fields produced by the heart may be a primary mechanism in mediating HRV synchronization among group members' he writes. Peripheral, implicit, and embedded in this message is the 'Global Coherence Initiative' (GCI). GCI takes social coherence to its farthest limits and into the frequency zone that is shared by solar-geomagnetic field synchronization and Schuman Resonances, where it has been noted that these resonant frequencies directly overlap with those of the human brain and cardiovascular system."

Morning Joe: Repugs push Russian lies

That have been proven so by our intelligence community. And they refuse to do anything to stop those lies from once again influencing our 2020 election. How can anyone conclude otherwise that they are Russian agents?

AOC gives a behind-the-scenes look a the Capitol dome

Since I've never been on this tour it was highly informative to me.

Ball on the Warren anti-Bernie flap

Krystal is not in the least charitable toward Warren over this, accusing her personally for being behind this disingenuous Bernie sexism claim as a failed strategy.

Colbert lampoons Goop's latest product

This one has several LOL jokes.

TYT: The Politico hit piece and Warren's response

Continuing this post, Ana breaks down the Politico hit piece and Warren's response. Bernie and his campaign said that the derogatory statement about Warren did not come from them, that it was a lone campaign worker who went outside the stated directives of the campaign. So why did Liz run with it? Why didn't she research it further to get to the truth? Who is the one sowing discord here?

Bernie responds to one of the hit pieces

Corporate media will only keep at this hit parade, so here we go. Warren released a statement about her 1-on-1 meeting with Bernie. She said: "I thought a woman could win; he disagreed." I'm sure this will come up on the debate tonight so I'm looking forward to how they both deal with it.

Warren is the disappointing one

For believing a blatant hit piece against Bernie. Apparently yes, a low-level Bernie campaigner sent off an email criticizing Liz. But it was not Bernie and it was not within Bernie's campaign rules to do so. In fact Bernie criticized that email. But what does Liz directly say? She's disappointed that Bernie would do such a thing. Now her campaign is blowing it up when it's a scam hit piece in the first place. It's you who are the disappointing one Liz for believing this obvious lie.

Bernie snaps Dump

I know, it's so easy but it is fun.

Greta snaps Dump

Greta snaps the child molesting, woman hating, small penis man.

US health insurance refugees go to Mexico for care

See this piece. Millions of Americans go to Mexico for their dental care because they can't afford it here, even with so-called health insurance.  So do we get Medicare For All, which includes dental, or some BS compromise that keeps US refugees going to Mexico and money in health insurance executive pockets?