Watching Democracy Die
Week in review: watching the collapse of Empire.
Week in review:
Comments below are largely informed by Jeffrey Sachs, Scott Horton, Max Blumenthal, Phil Giraldi, Mehdi Hassan (Zeteo), Pepe Escobar, Larry Johnson, Ray McGovern, Scott Ritter, Jonathan Cook, Alon Mizrahi, Caitlin Johnstone, Andy Worthington, Ken Krassenstein, Ryan Grim, Deaglan O'Mulrooney, Aaron Mate, Owen Jones, Heather Cox Richardson, Steve Kirsch, Norman Soloman, Ramzy Baroud, et al.
These thinkers and activists are found at the Free Press, Youtube, Substack and various foreign news outlets. This month I recommend Judge Napolitano (“Judging Freedom”)
Not consulted: MSNBC, CNN, Fox news, the New York Times or Washington Post, except when necessary to understand the lies of Empire.
The American Empire takes a giant step towards nuclear war, but life goes on as normal, as if it will never happen. The CIA has been involved in the proxy war against Russia via Ukraine since it orchestrated the very public Maiden coup in 2014. While the Empire celebrates Ukraine's surprise drone attack on Russia nuclear-capable air force, it also violated the Start treaty (2011) which requires countries to leave nuclear-capable airplanes out in the open. Scott Ritter and others expect a severe response from Russia. Trump promised to end the war on day one, but the Empire has too much invested to allow him to end it. This weeks open question is whether Trump was informed of the pending attack? Did Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth, John Ratcliffe, Marco Rubio, or Elon Musk inform Trump? Who was in the know? Neocon war mongers Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal were in Kiev the weekend prior to the attack. The usual playbook: Plausible denial.
Russia's response is not even a blip on the screen in America, but Sergey Lavrov did remind the west that nuclear weapons are not off the table. The military policy of both Russia and the American Empire is mutually assured destruction, that is that if a war starts, the brilliant plan of both countries is to destroy the planet as we know it, by firing all available nuclear weapons. Never forget that both countries have nuclear submarines, which means the idea of destroying Russia without committing national suicide is not an option.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine accomplished the goal of preventing Ukraine from joining NATO, at least until the next administration breaks that promise (again). Russia will not agree to a ceasefire until the West agrees to stop the flow of weapons. Trump is unable to turn off the flow or stop a few idiotic European countries to step into the void, notably England and Germany. Does Starmer know that London is an attractive target? Now the possibility exists that Trump would not respond to an attack on London.
The genocide in Gaza continues unabated accelerates , and with new cruelties of starvation and using food as bait to kill more of them. There was a time when I thought that the other countries of the world, protests in the West and Israel, would prevent NetanYahoo's wet dream of owning the graveyard which is Gaza. The violence inflicted on these innocent people will never be forgotten. Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler rank up there with Ghengis Khan, Nero, Lenin and Stalin. Merciless killers.
While governments ignore it, Greta Thunberg, Liam Cunningham and ten other activists are risking their life on The Madleen ship which is sailing to Gaza to provide supplies. Israel is determined to prevent it while keeping publicity to a minimum. The country committing genocide in Gaza is worried about the effect of this protest.
Speaking of merciless people, Trump and Steven Miller have unleashed the American Gestapo in the form of ICE (Immigration Control Enforcement). Public citizens are, at times, successfully protecting their friends and neighbors but Miller and Holman are putting maximum pressure on ice to kidnap more people. For them, it is not about criminality. It is about moving as many black, brown, and Asian people from the “homeland”. Racist, cruel, and completely unnecessary. I am sure Miller and Holman knew very well that when they caught all the Venezuelan gang members, there would not be enough to fill a bus. I read a story where ICE grabbed a mother and left her crying and terrified 10 year old daughter standing the street in New York City. (Dissent in Bloom: substack).
Dominating the news this week is the inevitable break up of two of the worst humans on the planet. I have no comment except to remind that Peter Theil and Palantir are equally dangerous and determined, and not dumb enough to make themselves a public target. Oligarchs rule.
Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is in danger for all the wrong reasons. There are two many odious, undemocratic items in this bill to believe . Particularly dangerous is the attack on judges and other plans to obliterate the rule of law. Trump voters expected him to demonstrate some fiscal responsibility, especially since it was his excuse to decimate the Federal government. Instead, this bill will balloon the deficit again, cut taxes for the rich (again). But several Republicans are revolting over this. Like all American Presidents, Trump brags about the increase in the Military budget, since we are supposed to believe that is more important than the working people who make this all possible.
Hint: the deficit cannot decrease while the military budget increases. Duh.
This is too long already. So much horror in a week. I despair for America. Although I have escaped the mental institution that is the American Empire, I despair for my country, my friend and my family and the proud history of America as a place we could all be proud of, at the core of our being. That has been taken away by the Orange King.
Despair:
To lose all hope.
To be overcome by a sense of futility or defeat.
To be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation
Current reading: The Franklin Scandal, American Exceptionalism (Aaron Good).