Category Archives: History

Swipe Left on the Democrats and Electoral Politics

Summary: The GOP actually takes account of and is motivated by its voting base–as dysfunctional, f**ked up and violent as it is–while the Democrats regularly tell its voting base to go to hell on issues with wide public support like public health care, emergency relief, police violence, taxing the rich, etc…..blames them for losing its elections in fact.

The GOP placates its voters by going along with actual violent white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, QAnon; the Democrats went all out to defeat and destroy a guy who was basically a New Deal liberal running in its presidential primaries, and is now on the attack against its most popular and charismatic figure, a young liberal Rep from New York.

This is who the Dems are. It’s basically a waste of time to “move them to left” or even think about them. They don’t give a damn about working people, non-white people, the victims of Capitalism, the horrors of corporations, the health insurance crisis, and so on. So in 2021 perhaps it’s time to just ditch Washington DC politics and electoral maneuvering and go all-in on street politics, mutual aid, organizing, protecting each other. Outrage over the Dems will give you agita and they’ll never listen.

In it’s own really insane way, Republicans listen to their own voters and are more “democratic” than the Democrats, who just aren’t into you and the issues you care about.
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Posted in Constitutional Crisis, Elections, History, Liberals, Politics, Protests, Repression, Trump, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Hysteria about Fascism and Coups Hurts the Left

Since 1/20/2017 huge numbers of people, liberals and on the Left alike, have been adamant, and often apoplectic, that Trump was guiding the U.S. toward fascism, that he was the new American Hitler, and that his followers were Nazis.  More … Continue reading

Posted in History, Liberals, Politics, Protests, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Is Your Outrage Pure?

Planned Election Protests Shouldn’t Have Been Postponed First, there’s not going to be a “coup” or any other type of stolen election.  The hysterics surrounding this issue have frankly become embarrassing on the Left.  No reason to go into the … Continue reading

Posted in Constitutional Crisis, Elections, History, Politics, Protests | 1 Comment

Cracks in the Empire

The Military Says “Stand Down” to Trump “I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Rights, Constitutional Crisis, History, Military, Politics, Repression, Trump, Uncategorized, Vietnam | 5 Comments

Dien Bien Phu and the First Indochina War [Part 1]

The French, Vietnamese Nationalism and Communism, and American Imperialism (Part 1 of 2, from French colonization to putative independence and war against France.  The story below is largely derived from my books Vietnam and the Transformation of American Life, and … Continue reading

Posted in Colonialism, Foreign Policy, History, Military, Politics, Uncategorized, Vietnam, War | Leave a comment

Death Cults, Wildcats, and Liberal Civility

For about a week now, media and liberal hysterics have been riveted to scenes of protestors in many states having outdoor demonstrations to demand that “the economy” reopen.  They’re white people, many of whom are hoisting Confederate flags and Trump … Continue reading

Posted in Civil Rights, Constitutional Crisis, History, Liberals, Politics, Repression, Trump, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Does Russia Matter?

Memes aren’t great ways to learn a lot about history or politics, though they’re used that way a lot.  Still, some are funny and make a good point in a few lines in a way that might take paragraphs otherwise.  … Continue reading

Posted in Constitutional Crisis, Foreign Policy, History, Politics, Repression, Russia, Trump, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Shays’ Rebellionaires

Surely, everyone knows that this year, 2016, marks the 230th anniversary of Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts.  Magazines will certainly dedicate entire issues to the event, a 2-month long CNN series is planned, and a Ken Burns documentary is inevitable.  Who … Continue reading

Posted in History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

From Tuskegee to Flint–Biological Warfare at Home

. “W” . . . as in Water; . . . as in “WMD”; . . . as in “WTF?” By now, most Americans should have heard about the lead in Flint, Michigan’s water. Lead—the stuff that was the subject … Continue reading

Posted in History, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

They’ve Hated Us . . . (Postscript: Hillary and Israel)

A few days ago I discussed a document about “resurging” anti-Americanism in the Arab world, juxtaposing it with Barack Obama’s warning of a “new phase” in Middle Eastern terrorism after the Paris andSan Bernardino attacks. The memorandum, sent from the … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign Policy, History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment