“Gaslighters of God “– Being a god-fearing Christian is as easy as cheating on your wife

By SJ Otto

According to what I read in the article below, I can sexually assault women and rip off poor people, through such gimmicks as predatory lending, tax poor people at a higher rate so my rich buddies can get everything for free and I can lie and cheat. I can cheat on my wife. I can be absolutely greedy, but I will get to heaven if I can get God's political agenda passed in government. I didn’t realize it is so easy to get to be a Christian and go to heaven.

From Counter Punch:

A number of evangelical Christians tell us that Donald Trump’s presidency is heaven sent, which indicates that they know God’s will and can even speak for God. In reality, they are using God to gaslight their followers and other citizens into believing that Trump’s presidency is divinely ordained – as is their own calling.

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, a Southern Baptist, said, “I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think he wanted Donald Trump to become president . . . And I think he has done a tremendous job in supporting a lot of things people of faith really care about.” A doubting Muslim from Minnesota, Rep. Ilham Omar, responded in disbelief, “God has a strange sense of humor.” (“Rep. Ilhan Omar Reacts to Sanders Saying God Wanted Trump Elected: ‘God has a strange sense of humor!’” By CNSNews Staff.com Staff, Jan. 31, 2019)

Like Rep. Omar, writer Andy Ostroy was skeptical of Press Secretary Sanders’ divine discernment. He tweeted:

Hey @PressSec…do ya think “God” also wanted #Trump to be a pathologically- lying, sexually-abusive, foul-mouthed, bullying racist serial philanderer who mocks disabled people, attacks the Pope, cages kids, steals an election & betrays his country? –Andy Ostroy (@Andy Ostroy), Jan. 30, 2019)

Don’t think about Donald Trump’s divisive narcissistic autocratic personality. His campaign manager Brad Parscale certainly doesn’t. In fact, he testified to Trump’s divine calling on Twitter: “Only God could deliver such a savior to our nation, and only God could allow me to help. God bless America.” (“The sanctification of Donald Trump,” By Andrew Restuccia, POLITICO, 4/30/2019) It is about evangelicals “help[ing] – and being helped.

   For the rest click here.

TV Westerns—Modern re-runs allow us to revisit the Old Wild West and the terrible portrayal of Native American Indians

By SJ Otto

These days I see a lot of cowboy shows, westerns as they are called, on such re-run TV stations as ME TV and Heroes & Icons.  I get to relive all the great TV shows I saw growing up in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. One thing I don’t like about many of these shows is the way they treat the Native American Indians. On many of these westerns I’ve seen Indian attacks appear as often as cattle drives in the desert or stage coach robberies.

Many of these shows trivialize the roll that Indians played in the Old Wild West. There were a couple dozen cowboy shows. None of them were completely accurate in their portrayal of the Old West. But one of the worst aspects about these shows was their portrayal of Native American Indians. They were often portrayed as just being a nuisance, a simple danger or being in the way while people were moving west and developing the towns, rail roads and other institutions that we now take for granted. There are a lot of old shows I haven’t seen in reruns yet, but there are many I have seen including Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Rifleman, The Rebel, Maverick, Have Gun – Will Travel, Cheyenne, and The Big Valley to name just some of them. Of them, Maverick is about the worst portrayal of Indians and Gun Smoke is probably the best.

Many of these shows never or rarely portrayed Indians at all. That was a safe bet.  Maverick was one that seemed to show the Indians as they were probably viewed by white people in the actual Old West. The Maverick Brothers, Bart and Brett, said they fought Indians when they were prisoners during the US Civil War. They fought for the Confederacy. They often fought Indians during various episodes. There was no dialog to debate the reasons for killing the Indians. In one episode a cowboy casually says, “I killed two Indians on the way here.”  It was as if he just killed a couple of animals. However, that episode came up with an interesting ending. It turned out that a women who was cooking for her restaurant to feed local minors, was actually killing some of the men and stealing their valuables. When the men in the camp found out and planed to hang the women, Bart points out that the man who shot two Indians will not be charge with murder.

“It’s not murder. They were just Indians,” the man insisted. Bart pointed out that since it wasn’t considered murder for a white man to kill Indians, it should not be considered murder for an Indian to kill white men. Many of these shows had at least one episode where the morality of killing Indians was questioned. In an episode of Have Gun – Will Travel, the main character, Paladin, hires a guide to take him into Indian country. The guide said something to the effect ‘exterminating the Indians is a dirty job, but the army might as well be the ones doing it.’ That was obvious sarcasm as to what the US Army was doing during the “Indians wars.” In that episode the guide and Paladin discuss the end of the Sioux Nation, explaining that it was just a matter of time before the US Army would wipe out the Sioux Indians from their land and destroy them as an institution. The Cheyenne Show was mixed in its treatment of Indians. They are still fought and at times the main character Cheyenne seems to blame both sides for the Indian Wars. He often tries to explain to other cowboys that the Indians keep their word and can be trusted, while many of the characters around him complain that the Indians are just “savages” that can’t be trusted. Gunsmoke has been the one show that almost always portrayed the Indians in a positive way. They were shown as more than just one dimensional characters and were shown as a people, with a rich culture. Marshal Matt Dillon has a good relationship with local Indians and often defends them against cowboys who hold the kind of prejudice views that were common in the 1800s. 

Now that the “TV Westerns” are being revisited by viewers as me, how do we treat them? Many of these shows were entertaining, but they were also attempts to portray a period in US history. The Wild West lasted from the end of the US Civil war until about the year 1900. Gunslingers and other interesting characters were written about in newspapers and cheap novels, during the time period in which the Old West occurred. In the 1950s, the new invention of TV allowed a renaissance of that culture years later. The accuracy of these shows wasn’t always that good, but sometimes they got history right. We can use old movies and TV shows as an educational tool. The Indians fought to defend their land and culture, from Europeans who fought to steal their land and destroy their way of life. Later, in many Western books, movies and TV shows, we see their cause trivialized and in some cases they were portrayed unfairly. One common theme we get is prejudice against a people and their culture. There was an arrogance that gave white people the idea that they were justified to taking the Indian’s lands and moving them to reservations. Native American Indians where humiliated and treated in a way that was just plain undignified. In some ways, there are some similarities to the way the US Army treats the people of the Middle East today.

If people can learn these things from these old TV shows, then they can serve a purpose.

Pix by Best TV Westerns of all time: The Son, Deadwood an and How Well Do You Know TV Westerns? | QuizPug.

Marianne Williamson will make a good president—at least she is not a centrist

By SJ Otto

Public News Hour did an article on Marianne Williamson who is running for president. I don’t know if she has a chance, but she is a major improvement over the centrist running, who keep telling us that they are what it takes to win against President Donald Trump. I’ve already written about Pete Buttigieg who said he wanted to gradually introduce universal health care. That is not what we want. I’m totally against voting for, or backing a centrist Democrat.[1]

Another centrist Democrat running is Joe Biden. I’m not backing him either. PBH, covered Williamson on eight issues. Issues are what is important. We need to undo the damage done by Trump and his Republican Party. It is not enough to just stop trashing working poor people. We need improvements.

Here are some issues important to me:

Health care is a real important issue and we have people, as me, who are too young for Medicare, but they get sick a lot because they are old. We need health care and we need it NOW! And that is what she wants:

HEALTH CARE: Backs universal healthcare

Williamson supports universal health care coverage. She has also backed policies that would restrict the marketing and production of highly-processed and sugary foods.

She has also called for greater government investment in programs aimed at reducing patient overcharges and environmental toxins and diseases.

On foreign policy we need someone who will slow down or stop the US’ imperialist foreign policy. Occupying other people’s countries is not acceptable. We need someone who will respect the rights of other people in other countries. Williamson hasn’t come out and said that, but she has said she is unhappy with our position of supporting ANYTHING Israel does. She also criticized Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for being a hypocrite. It is an improvement over a lot of the others:

FOREIGN POLICY: Re-examine foreign relationships.

In an interview with CBS News, Williamson called Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hypocritical for, in her words, seeming to believe “you can promote values around the world and still have strategic partnerships with countries that display no such values,” she said. “You are not promoting your values if you’re not willing to stand on them.” She’s specifically criticized the relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, tweeting in February: “Any sane person would realize that if you do something completely immoral (selling arms to the Saudis while they’re killing people in Yemin[sic]) then it will probably come back at you in unintended ways?”

She has also commented on Afghanistan on Twitter. In a tweet in February, Williamson wrote:“The Taliban’s violently oppressive attitude toward women isn’t something we can change, but we should be led by a president whose concern for the well-being of Afghani women is a major factor in determining our policies there. We should always bear witness to the agony of others.”

Williamson also offered her perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace process, saying in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: “I don’t think the ultimate answer will be about settlements or checkpoints,” she said.

After seeing Republicans trash abortion rights and the rights of doctors, so it is a relief that Williamson supports abortion rights and the rights of LGBTQ people:

SOCIAL ISSUES: Supports LGBTQ rights, access to abortion

Williamson supports the Equality Act to protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in the workplace, housing, health care and service industries.On her campaign website, Williamson said she is “one hundred percent pro-choice.”

Williamson has also proposed providing reparations to descendants of African American slaves. Her original proposal was $100 billion, distributed $10 billion per year over 10 years. She’s since proposed $200 billion to $500 billion over 20 years.

Whether Williamson can beat out the other Democratic competitors is a big question. But if she can, she is a welcome improvement over the centrist who need to be rejected. We badly need a progressive. There is no reason to keep putting up “do nothing, meaningless Democrats” who offer us no real improvements over their Republican rivals. We have put up with conservative politicians and their governments long enough! It is time for some real change!

For the rest of the article click here.

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[1] Rep. Alexandria also rejects the centrist or “middle of the road” Democrats….

A day after calling Republicans "sea sponges" for believing she was serious when she said "the world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change," democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took clear aim at a key figure on her side of the aisle: Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden, who is reportedly working on plans to provide a "middle ground" approach to address the "existential threat."

"I'll be damned if the same politicians who refused to act (in past decades) are going to try to come back today and say we need a 'middle of the road' approach to save our lives," Ocasio-Cortez declared at a rally Monday hosted by the radical left Sunrise Movement, the same group the incoming congresswoman joined in a sit-in protest at the office of presumptive Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi just days after getting elected last year.

As CNN notes, Ocasio-Cortez's "middle of the road" comment appears to be "aimed directly at Biden," about whom fellow democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders had just blasted on the same stage for not being progressive enough. Their complaints appear to be in reference to a recent Reuters report on Biden's plans to find "middle ground" on climate change.

"Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden is crafting a climate change policy he hopes will appeal to both environmentalists and the blue-collar voters who elected Donald Trump, according to two sources, carving out a middle ground approach that will likely face heavy resistance from green activists," Reuters reported Friday. "The backbone of the policy will likely include the United States re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement and preserving U.S. regulations on emissions and vehicle fuel efficiency that Trump has sought to undo, according to one of the sources, [former Obama adviser] Heather Zichal, who is part of a team advising Biden on climate change."

But Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez made clear Monday that they want none of Biden's "middle ground" when it comes to the issue that Ocasio-Cortez has said is "our World War II." To combat what she and Sanders portray as an existential threat, the freshman congresswoman has proposed her radical "Green New Deal," which even CNN admits would "fundamentally overhaul the US economy," and includes unsustainable promises, like a federal jobs guarantee and complete carbon neutrality in ten years — costing what a former director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates could cost anywhere from $50 trillion to over $90 trillion over ten years.

Republicans try to destroy a woman’s right to an abortion

By SJ Otto

Until recently the Republican Party has c controlled every branch of government, and most of the governor mansion in this country, and they have let us all know it.  So it is no surprise that they are now trying to eradicate abortion from this country. The latest and most drastic attempt now comes from Alabama. The Senate there has passed the most restrictive abortion bill yet. If it is upheld in the courts, it bans abortions for everything except a medical emergency. What it considers an emergency is very vague. There is no exception for rape or incest.

The fact that they want to force a rape victim to carry a pregnancy to term shows the outright contempt that Republicans have for women. Rape is one of the most horrific crimes a woman can go through. Forcing them to carry a pregnancy of the rapist’s baby is an unthinkable crime. Such a policy will devastate some women and force them to produce the product of rape.

All of this is not surprising as the Republicans, with their grand leader President Donald Trump, pushed through Brett Kavanaugh, for Supreme Court justice, a man who has been accused of several sexual attacks on women. He clearly does not respect women and the only reason the Republicans wanted him on the Supreme Court was so he can vote to ban abortion and over turn Roe v. Wade . According to Yahoo News:

“Supporters said the bill is designed to conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationally, because they hope to spark a court case that might prompt the justices to revisit abortion rights.”

Also from Yahoo News:

“Democrats, who hold eight seats in Alabama's 35-member Senate, criticized the ban as a mixture of political grandstanding, an attempt to control women and a waste of taxpayer dollars.

During debate, Singleton pointed out and named rape victims watching from the Senate viewing gallery. He said that under the ban, doctors who perform abortions could serve more prison time than the women's rapists.

In a statement, Staci Fox of Planned Parenthood Southeast said, "Today is a dark day for women in Alabama and across this country. ... Alabama politicians will forever live in infamy for this vote and we will make sure that every woman knows who to hold accountable."

This bill also disrespectful to doctors who can get up to 99 years and a felony conviction for practicing a medical procedure that has been legal for decades. This is one more example of Republicans pandering to religious zealots who see their religious doctrine as more important than a woman’s rights or even life.

Unfortunately it WILL happen again.
_______________________________________

Many died before abortion was legal.

Pix by Here's What Life Was Like for American Women in Am and Irish abortion debate after woman's death resonates in.

I am no fan of warriors—they are nothing but legal Murderers—for a career

By SJ Otto

M*A*S*H used to be one of my favorite TV shows. It still is. But I can’t help feeling there is no way that show would make it to prime time if it had been developed today. M*A*S*H satirized the military and the US war in Korea. Today all TV shows seem to glamorize war. War could not be more popular than it is today. Today we have shows such as The Code, which takes place in Afghanistan, where a real war still rages today.
I live in a time when warriors are very popular. On the CBS Sunday Morning Show that provides us with interviews and explores both issues and persons, they often interview such conservative people as they did this Sunday with Admiral William McRaven, now retire. He was the commander who lead the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. It’s not that there are many people in the US that like bin Laden. He leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to popularity, at least here in the US. Killing a couple thousand people in the twin towers of New York is not something most Americans wanted to see. I didn’t want to see that either.
But McRaven himself leaves a lot to be desired. On the Sunday show he openly admitted he is a warrior. He said he doesn’t like times of peace.

"Peace was meant for some people, but probably not for me."….

….“But somehow, McRaven writes in "Sea Stories," "War challenges your manhood. It reaffirms your courage. It sets you apart from the timid souls and the bench sitters. It builds unbreakable bonds among your fellow warriors. It gives your life meaning. ... War would never lose its allure.”

I find all of that disgusting. To admire fighting wars has got to be one of the most disgusting ideas I can think of.
He has been rewarded with a lot of attention, including being the University of Texas, at Austin, to be the commencement speaker in 2014. His speech led him to a book deal. So he has made a lot of his killing career.
Warriors are people whose occupation is to kill other human beings. I realize that there are times when we need war and killing people needs to be done. I don’t admire people who have chosen fighting wars for their personal ambitions. President Theodore Roosevelt loved war. He saw it as an opportunity for a young man to build a name for himself. If find such love of war revolting. I find warriors revolting. I am disgusted by people who see killing other human beings as career opportunity.

Pix by M*A*S*H TV Show: News, Videos, Full Episodes and and The Code (TV Series 2019– ) - IMDb.

Manufactured Iranian Threat in the Persian Gulf

Thanks from Democracy and Class Struggle.

Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris calls for Attorney General William Barr to resign immediately

Kamala Harris is a Senator from California and Candidate for President of the United States. Just yesterday I received this letter encouraging me to sign a petition to get Attorney General William Barr to resign immediately. Here is the letter:

-SJ Otto

Attorney General William Barr is acting more like the President’s personal attorney than the Attorney General of the United States. Recently, Attorney General Barr refused to answer most of my questions during his Senate hearing — and when he did, his answers were alarming.

His job is to defend the rule of law and serve the American people, not shield the President from justice. He made something very clear: he must resign.

During his hearing, Barr admitted he had never even reviewed the underlying evidence of the Mueller report, and refused to say whether the President has ever ordered him to investigate anyone. This is unacceptable. 

I’m running for President[1] because the American people deserve truth and integrity from their elected leaders. That’s not what we’re getting right now. If you’re with me in this fight, I need you now. 

Thanks for being in this fight with me.

— Kamala Harris
Senator of California and Candidate for President of the United States.

I’m calling for Attorney General Barr to resign for his mishandling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in our election in 2016. Join me and sign my petition right now. 

ADD YOUR NAME

Pix From Kamala Harris, a Presidential candidate for 2020 – T.

[1] This is not an endorsement for Harris’ bid for the presidency. I have not had time to study her positions on the issues. This is just the letter I received and the information it contains.

Die Toten Hosen: Bye Bye Alex

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/bye-bye-alex-bye-bye-alex.html

Bye bye Alex

The great rebell of yesterday

Agrees to everything now

To the middle-class life

And the things he opposed once

 

He changed fronts

Everyone likes him

Though his character

Hasn't actually changed

 

Hey, bye bye Alex!

Only a clown now

Sad to look at you

 

Cause and effect

Oppression and aggression

It's always the same curse

And nobody will be spared

 

They all belong to the machinery

As cogwheels in the system

Without them the clockwork

Would not go on for long

Die Toten Hosen: Return of Alex

A few conservative politicians are all that stand between the people and their expanded Medicaid health care

By SJ Otto

For eight long years, Kansans have fought to for Medicaid expansion, which is supposed to be a part of Obamacare (Affordable Care Act or ACA). All this time it was blocked by our anti-progressive, far-far-far to-the-right governor Sam Brownback. First there was an effort to remove and replace the far-far-far-right, anti-healthcare politicians from the Kansas legislature. That effort and those elections were successful. Then there was a tough governor’s campaign and we finally got a progressive Democrat, Laura Kelly elected. Expanding Medicaid was a key campaign promise. It is something that the majority of the Kansas’ people want. Many of us need it.

I for one could make use of it. I have had a really terrible health plan through Obamacare. I am 64 years old and I have a lot of health issues. I was on my wife’s health insurance, but she retired last year. Now she has Medicare, but I am too young for that. My Obamacare plan was over $200 a month and I would have to have already spent more than $2,000 before the plan paid for anything. And the policy is only good for three months so I had to renew it each three months. I would have to have spent my $2,000 within that three month period for that policy to do me any good. I have been told that Kansas is one of the worst states to be in the US for Obamacare to do any good.

Given all of this, it is infuriating that just a tiny handful of conservative Republicans worked so hard to kill Medicaid expansion. Those of us who could make use of this can now kiss it good bye for the immediate future.

Right now I feel like we need to pull out all the stops to make life hard for those conservatives who have made it their life’s work to make life hard for us; the working people, especially working poor. Luckily I’m not alone. According to the Star Tribune; “Kansas lawmakers who support expanding Medicaid promised Friday to try to block passage of the next state budget in a high-stakes standoff designed to force the Republican-controlled Legislature's conservative leaders to allow (a vote on) an expansion plan.”  

There have already been a lot of protesters trying to persuade the conservatives to support Medicaid expansion. Again from the Star Tribune:

“The protest didn't move prominent Medicaid expansion opponents. Senate health committee Chairman Gene Suellentrop, a conservative Wichita Republican, noted that a leaflet with his photo contained another senator's quote on the other side and he said the mismatch suggest the protesters "probably know very little about Medicaid expansion."
"They need to go back to college," Suellentrop said.”

When it comes to conservative Kansas politicians, they never run short of insults for their political opponents. They are also arrogant and patronizing.
Also according to The Kansas City Star:

“Sen. Barbara Bollier, a Democrat from Mission Hills, was one of several who decried efforts to bottle up the bill and prevent a straight majority vote.
“To be denied that opportunity through maneuver after maneuver is abhorrent to me and should be to the entire state,” Bollier said.”

And I totally agree with that. Of the few Republicans who blocked this, some have already felt the heat. Again from The Kansas City Star:

“Tensions between Kelly and (Jim) Denning over Medicaid heightened last week when a negotiating session between the governor and Senate Republicans fell apart.
In an interview with The Star Monday, Denning accused Kelly of threatening his political future and expressing “viciousness towards me personally.” Kelly’s chief of staff, Will Lawrence, disputed Denning’s assertion.”

Denning was one of the conservatives that helped block Medicaid expansion. He should feel threatened. He has hurt a lot of people. He and Susan Wagle have worked hard to block this needed legislation. They deserve to be attacked politically at every corner. They need to have their careers damaged. We need to be out to get these people and they need to feel the heat.

Pix by Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care Act -

Michael Moore: Democrats Aren't Running The Right People

By SJ Otto

Michael Moore has a lot to say about who the Democrats should run. He gives some sound advice:

Michael Moore: Democrats Aren't Running The Right People | Morning Joe | MSNBC

And While we are at it, how about some interviews of AOC?:

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez: Trump Isn't Ready For A Girl From The Bronx

This May Day- some bad news, some good

By SJ Otto

This is a rather bleak May Day, May 1, the international workers’ day. Most years I either attend a May Day celebration or, as in a few years past, I have organized events for this holiday. This year my wife has had health problems and I simply have not had the time to organize anything. Also there has been nothing organized by anyone else. So I have nothing planned today.

This holiday is for just about any faction of the left, except for most (but not all) liberals. Internationally rallies have been planned all over the earth. In one of the day’s major ironies, Juan Guido, the phony would be president and virtual US puppet has declared his protests against the government, this May 1, a major May Day holiday. He is probably the most right-wing political figure to ever invoke May Day for his actions.

On the other had we can celebrate that socialist leader President Nicolás Maduro has thwarted right-wing efforts to oust him. He is still in power and he has overcome both Guaidó and the Donald Trump Administration’s best efforts to bring him down. Trump and his people are out to destroy socialism in Latin America and every left leaning activist in the world can take pride on Trump’s failure.

Last year we had a pot luck dinner and a movie.

We can still celebrate the importance of this day.

For a brief history of this day we have:

From the Brazilian Newsletter,\; A Nova Democracia:[1]

Adaptation of text excerpts from the Operative League published in AND nº 139 (May 2016)

1º de Maio held by the Workers' League in Belo Horizonte (MG), 2018

133 years ago, thousands of workers, mostly immigrants, took to the streets of Chicago in the United States, unfurling the claim of an eight-hour work day in protest against the overexploitation and oppression they were subjected to. They fought the forces of repression and several shed their blood in the combative struggles for the labor claim and the liberation of the class. On May 1, 1886, the trade union organizations agreed that the workers should impose the eight-hour day and close the doors of any factory that did not join. The eight-hour demand would turn, from an economic claim of the workers against their immediate bosses, into a political claim from one class against another. 

The leaflet that circulated in Chicago in 1885 already called for:

"A day of rebellion, not a day of rest! One day not ordered by the arrogant mouthpieces of the institutions that have handcuffed the workers! A day when the worker makes his own laws and has the power to execute them! All without the consent or approval of those who oppress and rule. One day, with tremendous strength, the united army of workers will mobilize against those who today dominate the destiny of the peoples of all nations. A day of protest against oppression and tyranny, against ignorance and wars of all kinds. One day to start enjoying eight hours of work, eight hours of rest and eight hours for whatever we please. "

For the rest (in Spanish) click here.

Here are scenes from last year’s May Day celebration.

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[1] This is a Marxist publication but their history of May Day is pretty much accurate.

Trump is so stupid he thinks Nicaragua is a dictatorship

By SJ Otto

Trump is so stupid he thinks Nicaragua is a dictatorship. In fact, Daniel Ortega was elected through elections that the US helped set up. Apparently Trump and his people do not understand the concept of “democracy.” That’s not surprising since Trump got elected using the Electoral College and got less than a simple majority of the vote. The simple truth is that trump and his people don't respect democracy.

According to Aljazeera:

“The administration of United States President Donald Trump intensified its crackdown on Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela on Wednesday, rolling back Obama administration policy and announcing new restrictions and sanctions against the three countries, whose leaders were dubbed the "three stooges of socialism" by US National Security Advisor John Bolton.

"The troika of tyranny - Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua - is beginning to crumble," Bolton said in a hard-hitting speech near Miami, Florida on the 58th anniversary of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, in which the US attempted to overthrow the government of Cuba.”

While Cuba doesn’t have elections, all they have to do is point to Trump for evidence that elections can bring about tragic results.

Much of what Trump has done is to roll back all the changes that former President Barack Obama, who had relaxed the restrictions on Cuba. Again from Ajazeera:

"The United States looks forward to watching each corner of this sordid triangle of terror fall: in Havana, in Caracas, and in Managua," Bolton said.” 

That so called “terror” exist only Bolton and Trump’s imagination. The real terror is Trump himself. It would be great if we voted him out and a Democratic Socialist in.

Pix by Cartoon Movement.

Israel threatens Iran with war for selling their own oil

By SJ Otto

Those who fallow the constant barrage of hate against Ilhan Omar, are well aware that she has been called anti-Semitic for criticizing Israel. But for those of us who are honest about the status of Israel, we see a country bent on war with its neighbors, especially Iran. According to this Reuters’ article:

“Israel’s navy could take action against Iranian oil smuggling, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, urging world powers to foil any effort by Tehran to evade U.S. sanctions.

The Israeli leader told naval officers that Iran was still resorting to clandestine measures to ship fuel that it first used prior to a 2015 nuclear deal easing Western sanctions on its oil sector.

U.S. President Donald Trump last year quit the nuclear deal and reimposed some sanctions, aiming to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero.”

As with Trump and the US, Israel has ignored the agreement that this country made with Iran during the Barack Obama Presidency. Iran was trying to cooperate with this country, but according to Trump and Netanyahu there is nothing that country can do to stop the sanctions, short of complete surrender to its enemies. One thing both countries want is for Iran to stop their support of proxy armies in the region (terrorism according to Trump and Netanyahu). That is something that most of the government in the Middle East do. The US does that a lot. Supposedly Iran supports terrorism. In reality it supports groups with a similar ideology and most are NOT terrorists.

I’m not a fan of the Iranian government or any other Moslem government. These sanctions will not just affect the leaders of Iran; it will affect the people who are living there. Maybe they think if they cripple the economy of Iran and cause hardship on its people, they will turn against their leaders as has happened in Venezuela. But this is a terrible precedent to set for foreign policy. It is brutal and barbaric to tell a sovereign nation that they can’t sell their own resources to anyone. Now they want to fight a war with anyone who chooses to buy Iranian oil.
This is a policy of pure arrogance and Israel is talking about starting a war that is just plain not necessary. Is it really anti-Semitic to oppose starting a war? This is the kind of absurdity that journalists and pundits in this country need to expose. We know that does not mean help from the mainstream media. Let’s give Omar the credit for being brave enough to take on the Republicans and the corporate Democrats who want to label everyone who criticizes Israel as anti-Semitic. And let’s confront those who use the façade of anti-Semitism to approve of un-necessary war.



Right-wing, quasi-fascist warrior Netanyahu!

We need progressive change, not just a manager of conservative ideas—to replace Trump

By SJ Otto

Just this week I read an article by Doyle McManus called “Pete Buttigieg has everything except positions on major issues,” an article I found quite relevant for the upcoming Democratic primaries for president. His article was in both TheWichita Eagle and it was also posted in the Los Angeles Times.

The article focused on Buttigieg (Television anchors have learned how to pronounce his Maltese last name “boot edge edge,” he says)  and he pointed out that this man has risen to number three in the polls. The problem he points to is that Buttigieg has skirted and avoided giving any real positions or issues. This is not surprising. Many Democrats have followed a strategy of raising lots of money, sticking to the political middle and avoiding any issues that might offend someone. It is a bad strategy and it needs to go.

This is a special election in that many of us want to prevent an eight year presidency for Donald Trump, who may be one of the worst presidents this country has ever had. But Trump has spread a lot of damage to this country and that needs to be reversed.

One of the most important issues of this campaign is health care. Trump has cost millions of people their health care and insurance by dismantling much of Obamacare (Affordable Care Act). He is trying to destroy all of Obamacare and costing even more people their health care, including getting rid of protections for people with preexisting conditions.

According to McManus:

“At a CNN town hall last month, voters asked his views on healthcare, unemployment, veterans’ benefits, climate change and whether technology companies like Facebook should be regulated.

His answers were a blend of generic Democratic positions and suggestions that more venturesome ideas should be considered.

On healthcare, Buttigieg says he believes the United States should “move in the direction of a ‘Medicare for all’ system,” but only gradually — not the immediate change to a government-run system proposed by Bernie Sanders.”

That is not good enough. That is the kind of answer, on healthcare, that we don’t need. People need health care now, not some time in the future. Trump and other Republicans have held back healthcare relief for many people who need it. It is time to reverse this kind of folly. We need a bold aggressive person who will reverse the damage Trump has caused. We don’t need a Democrat who just wants to manage it.

Now we have Joe Biden putting his hat in the ring. He was vice-president to Barack Obama and Obama was not a very progressive president. He tried to develop a national health care program while at the same time he wanted to protect insurance and pharmaceutical companies. It was better than nothing, but it is almost gone now. It can be fixed, but it would be better to have a government-run system as proposed by Sanders.

Biden is using words like “progressive” but he needs to be way more progressive than his former boss, Obama. He has already jumped to the top in the polls. But if he wants support from people like me, he better be way more progressive than Obama or Buttigieg. Once again we need an aggressive progressive, not a manager of conservative politics.

We need to kick some ass—Trump's ass!