Pro-Human Thinking Against White Supremacist Administrations

Otto Dix. The Wounded Man. Dix, (1891–1969) was an
anti-fascist, anti-war German artist whose work is known
for brutal depictions of the madness of war and oppression

Banding together against the toxic combination of belligerence and hate from white supremacists, Trump and Walker

The Trump adminstration is preying on people systemically and capriciously, partnering with the most anti-human, authoritarian forces of American society.

As Trump and Scott—"Divide and Conquer" families—Walker work against people, a nugget of wisdom comes from cj bakken in some 60 words:

As a Native American I just had an epiphany about undocumented DACA people. How big of a coronary would trump and ryan have if the tribes welcomed the DACA folk onto the reservations, affording them protection under the sovereignty of the tribes......

— cj bakken (@Eaglewoman4) January 24, 2018

Great idea. See also George Pyle, Salt Lake Tribune.

The Trump and Walker adminstration are clear and present dangers to our Republic and the state of Wisconsin.

Notes Charles Pierce commenting on the 2016 Republican presidential primary that featured Trump and Walker, both of whom were leading the Iowa primary at one point before Walker was "called" away by god and sub-one percent approval ratings in September 2015:

[A]lone among the crowd of candidates, Walker most clearly is running on his record of being a complete prick to the right people – which include teachers and nurses and the people who clean up after Alzheimer's patients in group homes. Running against the right people is a staple of all campaigns, right and left, but it's rarely as clear the raison d'etre of one as it is the raison d'etre of the Walker campaign. It is a toxic combination of belligerence and aggressive victimhood. 

Innovative ideas in launching a United Front against fascism are critical.

Killing GOP Anti-Healthcare Bill Is Genuine Feel-good Story; But John McCain Ain't No Hero

Roll Call vote on S.Amdt. 667 to S.Amdt. 267 to H.R. 1628
(American Health Care Act of 2017),
(Roll Call vote, July 28, 2017, United States Senate)

The political legend of John McCain long ago veered into the ridiculous.

But McCain's vote early Friday morning against the Republican Party's bill to take away healthcare from millions of Americans was not heroic, maverick, or confirmation of his supernatural streak of independence and decency to which we can only look upon in awe, (Business Insider).

McCain's vote was not even fleeting recognition that Americans deserve healthcare every bit as excellent as that McCain receives as he battles his own tragic bout with cancer.

No, McCain's grandstanding vote was all about McCain. And much of the American political press omits the fact two years ago McCain voted along with his fellow Republicans to deny healthcare to 10s of millions of Americans in an effort to repeal ObamaCare, (McCain and Healthcare Vote).

If we conceptualize the workings of the United States Senate in term of heroism, (never a good idea), the heroes are Sens. Lisa Murkowski, (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins, (R-Maine), along with the 48 Democratic Party and independent senators who represented the overwhelming pro-healthcare sentiment of the American people, (Esquire).

"If you want to laud Senator John McCain for his military service, or for his occasional high-profile stabs at bipartisanship, feel free. But it didn’t take a lick of courage to vote against an ACA repeal bill that was supported by fewer than 20 percent of the electorate, and which would have killed off some unknown number of his constituents if it passed," notes Joshua Holland at The Nation in a piece to which every political commentator should allude.

Friday's vote against Republicans and only Republicans including the lunatic in the White House to deny healthcare to the American people was not a "goddamned Frank Capra movie," (Pierce, Esquire); it was the sum total of American will and millions of citizens who told clueless senators they demand healthcare as an unalienable right.

"If millions of Americans had not raised their voices at town hall meetings, made phone calls to their senators, posted on social media, and resisted in other ways, this bill might already be law. But we know this fight is not over: the threat of repeal remains real. Republicans in Congress will not give up. Neither can we. MoveOn members will remain vigilant and prepared to mobilize at a moment’s notice if it appears Congress is attempting to advance a new bill," notes Anna Galland, executive director of MoveOn.org, (Stewart, MoveOn).

A citizenry prepared to mobilize. That is the real feel-good story of the Summer.

As John Nichols writes, (Twitter):

They traveled to D.C.
They slept outside in wheelchairs.
They were arrested.
They never lost faith.

Bernie and Hillary in Dead Heat in Iowa

Coin flips for delegates, Hillary Clinton falsely claiming victory last night, and a disorderly process marked the cluster-frack defining the 2106 Iowa Caucuses last night.

Sanders relied on the will of the people throughout his campaign against the Establishment.

This people-should-rule campaign is a thud to Clinton's campaign, so desperate already, she is placing placing her hopes already on the super-delegates.

Reports Tony Leys for the Des Monies Register:

'I think the people of Iowa have sent a very profound message to the political establishment, to the economic establishment and, by the way, to the media establishment,' Bernie Sanders told supporters.

Many political experts dismissed Sanders’ chances when he joined the race last May. But the Vermont senator drew increasingly big and enthusiastic crowds by relentlessly projecting his passion to fight economic injustice.

He lives this. He’s the real deal,' said Lloyd Levine, 62, of Des Moines, a retiree who watched Sanders speak at Grand View University on Sunday night. 'He’s speaking the truth, and he’s supported these issues all his life.'

Grassroots v. the Establishment

From the Bleeding Heartland:

2:30 am: The Iowa Democratic Party released a statement a few minutes ago, which I’ve enclosed below. According to the party, statewide turnout was 171,109, much higher than I expected but nearly 70,000 below the record turnout of 2008. The party says 'Clinton has been awarded 699.57 state delegate equivalents, Bernie Sanders has been awarded 695.49 state delegate equivalents, Martin O’Malley has been awarded 7.68 state delegate equivalents and uncommitted has been awarded .46 state delegate equivalents.'

O'Malley announced he is suspending his campaign.

The Clinton campaign looked dazed and confused last night, as its massive campaign infrastructure coronating her as the nominee met the will of the citizenry who in theory elect public officials in American democracy.

Reports Jason Noble of the Des Monies Register: "In all five situations [where a coin toss took place], Clinton won the toss."

The state delegate equivalent totals as of early this morning are just outside the margin of coin tosses.

Hillary Clinton decided she is entitled to win, the people voting in the Democratic Party primary for the presidency the have different thoughts on the topic. We should all listen before the Democratic Party rigs the election and blows a historic opportunity.

Pierce on the Anti-Clinton Politics Embodied in Bernie Sanders

Charles P. Pierce on the progressive politics waiting to explode in Iowa: "people ignore it at their peril."

Water Crisis Isn't Looming, It's Here

Note: Our friends in Wood and Adams counties are reminding us what's at stake, (Anderson, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune): Jan 16; 1 p.m. Saturday with the Rome Town Board to discuss the possible implications of the proposed Golden Sands industrial farm. Rome, located in Adams County, is adjacent to Saratoga.
---
Thanks to our friend Charles P. Pierce at Esquire.

Big Ag is, in an act of lunacy unhinged even for these scoiopaths, working with Republicans at the state and national level to eviscerate the Clean Water Act.

Writes Pierce:

The commodification of something as fundamental to human survival as water already has begun. It's tied into climate change. It is the battle of the next 100 years and, unlike the oil wars, you can always decide not to drive a car or use gasoline. You can't decide not to drink any water.

Notes Pierce in his lede:

It has long been the opinion here at the shebeen that we are dooming ourselves to nearly endless political, cultural, and perhaps literal fistfights over water over the next several decades. We're seeing a particularly grotesque example of this underway in Flint, Michigan, at the moment. (Most recently, Governor Rick 'Accessory Before The Fact' Snyder has called out the National Guard to help hand out bottled water and other supplies. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the need for possible 'pacification' duties if the residents of Flint finally get completely fed up with being poisoned.) But there are things happening in the Congress as well. 

In Wisconsin, Scott Walker has already handed over clean water to the polluters. Time for Wisconsin's sleepy rural municipalities to wake up, and protect their water ... by any means necessary.

Sanity on Scott Walker's Yelling "I'm Not Intimidated"

"Unintimidated! I am not intimidated by you, sir, or by anyone else out there."​

Thus shouted Scott Walker to an American citizen in Iowa yesterday.

Is anyone falling for Walker's schtick?

The right-leaning Wisconsin State Journal is commenting and reporting uncritically on Walker's affront to representative democracy, and the story for them is not whether Walker is inauthentic and a pathological liar.

Reading this newspaper every morning is becoming a controversy in our household as we discuss whether we should cancel our longtime subscription in light of the downward trajectory of the news and editorial columns on the Scott Walker run for the presidency.

At what point are we supporting a propaganda sheet increasingly devoid of facts and analysis?

Haven't decided though the Wisconsin State Journal—to survive as a hardcopy newspaper—refused to endorse Scott Walker last year citing in part his divisive approach to governing and campaigning.

For some sanity on Scott Walker's imbecilic approach to political dialogue, check out Jake's Economic TA Funhouse, Charlie Pierce from Esquire and Jeff Simpson at CognitiveDissidence.

Notes Pierce: "The fearsome gentleman of whom Walker was unafraid was a skinny guy in the middle of the scrum, holding up a sign suggesting that, perhaps, Walker should not be allowed to do to the country what he's done to Wisconsin. Standing on stage, with Iowa State troopers on either side, Scott Walker, American He-man, boldly faced down this sign-waving Bakuninite. The rest of the crowd went wild. Later, Kelly O'Donnell [NBC News] pronounced herself charmed by the confrontation.​"