It's an understatement to state that I've never been a fan of Bill or Hillary Clinton. They made it their mission to steer the Democratic Party and the American middle (same thing) to the right, and in this they were quite successful, to the detriment of the party and the country.
In 2017, Hillary founded a PAC called Onward Together, which, according to Wikipedia, raises funds "for progressive political groups including: Swing Left, Indivisible, Color of Change, Emerge America, and Run for Something." In my 60-some years on the left, I've never heard of any of these groups, but if a Clinton is involved, that's a guarantee that none of them are at all "progressive."
It did not, however, make me want to spend $32 + shipping for a damned hat, and I do not believe that Hillary Clinton has ever worn the hat. The picture's gotta be Photoshopped.
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As for Hillary's one-time friend, Donald Trump, his indictment brings no great joy. It's deeply frustrating that Trump — the man of 10,000 crimes and 1,000 treasons — now faces prosecution for the most trivial of his myriad misdeeds.
"It is hard to overstate the gravity of the criminal indictment issued against Donald Trump," says the New York Times in a scalding editorial, but it's overstated unanimously across all mass media. A multi-charge indictment that boils down to the mishandling and misappropriation of classified documents — well, whoop-de-doo.
The federal government classifies huge volumes of documents, claiming "national security" or whatnot — another library's worth of documents no-one will ever see, every day. Charging Trump over his comical mishandling of classified materials is piffle, like going after Al Capone for failure to file 1040s on his earnings as a crime kingpin.
A government of the people, for the people, by the people, doesn't need to keep secrets from the people.
Bearing in mind the USA's longstanding penchant for lies and cover-ups and crimes against humanity, the world would be a better place if 99.99% of state secrets were published unedited on Reddit.
Until he receives his inevitable "heal-the-nation" pardon, Trump must bear the anguish of headlines and editorials calling him a mishandler of classified documents? Give me a polite synonym for shitfuck.
It would be far more fair to see Trump mocked or prosecuted as the man who installed horrendously evil judges all across America (one is presiding over Trump's case); who never divested his financial holdings, and during his term in office steered big bucks to his hotels; who ran his entire administration via cronyism, nepotism, and patronage; who abused his Presidential pardon powers to protect his buddies; who politicized the Justice Department and sabotaged the Post Office; who used his Presidency to bully-pulpit bullshit daily for four years; who sat on his ass while the Coronavirus killed its first 400,000 Americans; who tried to strong-arm Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky into producing faked evidence against Joe Biden; who obstructed and interfered in numerous investigations; who had the DHS separate children from their parents at the border; who did his damnedest to subvert the 2020 Presidential election, before and then after Election Day. And I'm probably forgetting lots of his high crimes and misdemeanors, because I wrote this paragraph in about five minutes, with very little silence between keystrokes.
But no, Trump gets scolded for sneaking a bunch of souvenir "secret" documents to Florida.
6/10/2023
They're all scum from a seagull's ass.
ReplyDeleteIf I could press a button and make every politician - from the lowliest city council members to judges to presidents to the secret invisibles pulling the strings - disappear slowly and painfully from the surface of the earth, I'd do so with glee and not one ounce of guilt.
After that: the police, lawyers, the "media," teachers, people who volunteer for military service, and performance artists.
Never stop curmudging, man.
DeleteThere are a few lawyers and many more reporters, teachers, and performance artists I'd spare. Guess I'm a kinder curmudge than you.
As for military volunteers, most get a pass from me. They're not necessarily gung-ho for GI Joe; it's that every aspect of the system is so damned rigged and leaves so many kids with so few options. If you're poor and 17 with no chance at college, and looking for a job, it's McDonald's or the military.
Doug, level-headed as usual. The young men and women I know or am distantly related to who have volunteered for military service did so so they could use GI benefits to go to college after serving. They didn't join to kill commies or anybody else. One local relative served four years, and is just finishing up his degree, substantially paid for by the military. Of course he had to attend a cheapish state university, but a degree is a degree. Eight long years, but he kept his eyes on the prize. He's not going into some mega-paying field, but at least he'll be able to support his family. Not an easy thing to do these days.
DeleteJohn
What annoys me is that there hasn't been a draft in about 50 years, so military service is entirely voluntary. As are the consequences of military service: blown off limbs, PTSD, erectile disfunction, etc. What happens in war is not a secret, and anyone stupid enough to believe otherwise and participate deserves whatever they get.
DeleteI often hear the argument about limited life choices among the poor and uneducated, and appreciate that the USA is fucked and uncaring in that regard by not providing better options (free education, sensible blue collar work infrastructure, etc.) but my high school grade average was a D (due to disinterest), and I'm a college drop-out (due to working two jobs, being in class 36 hrs a week, and doing freelance art on the side), and I've worked dozens of janitorial, cleaning, manufacturing, and other shit jobs (all the while attempting, in my off hours, to make some kind of career in art) but the notion of joining up was never an option as I'm not a stooge of the military/industrial complex.
And none of the jobs I had until the age of 47 had any benefits worth a damn, and certainly none of them offered to pay for going back to school or vocational studies, or the option to retire in your mid-40s, as does the military.
So I have no sympathy for volunteers, dozens of whom I have known and worked with, most of whom loved it, who joined out of misguided political reasons or race hatreds, or to play with guns and big equipment like overgrown little boys, and to do things that would land the rest of us in jail for life.
It goes without saying that there hasn't been a remotely justifiable military action since WW2 (and even that was questionable) and one thing no one ever talks about is the fact that the majority of WW2 soldiers were drafted, not volunteers, contradicting the common belief that all able-bodied males dropped what they were doing and hightailed it to the recruiting office.
And of course we now live in a sick culture where every one is a "hero" - teachers, cops, plumbers, veterinarians, et-fucking-cetera. I might - might - grant that designation to firefighters (would much rather go to them for help than the pigs) but I sure has hell won't assign it to the butthurt "wounded warriors" who feign surprised shock when they experience trauma being disposable bully-boys for the corporate warlords running things.
"Let me tell you something. They signed up to use their weapons. Most of them, all right. But they watch enough TV, so they know they have to weep after they use their weapons. There is no one more full of shit than a cop. Except for a cop on TV." - The Departed
Really? Germany and Japan decide to conquer the world, get a pretty good start at it, and it's a fake war? OK, Italy was kind of a joke, but most of the world was under the gun. You might be thinking of WWI, which was less clear.
DeleteAnd let's remember that the capitalists are doing all they can to build a two-class system here. I'm sure there are some gung-ho idiots who join to fight, but they constitute the minority of recruits. You had your way out of poverty; other people have theirs.
John
I stayed so far away from the military — even before I had my head screwed on right, I knew the military would only screw it on wrong.
DeleteZero first-hand experience, then, thank Christ.
I knew some gung-ho kids who signed up because they actually wanted to be soldiers. I've known more who signed up because they couldn't afford college. Knew one who signed up and got murdered by a bunkmate — never caught — on his Navy ship.
My brother went in, and almost immediately had a nervous breakdown.
My nephew went in, and almost immediately got drummed out.
I've known some who say they enjoyed it, they miss it now that they're back in 'civilian life'. I try not to judge them harshly for that.
But I have never known anyone who went into the military, served their time, and came out a better person. If that happens, well, I have never seen it.
Honest question : You know me, you know I'm asking earnestly - "tried to strong-arm Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky into producing faked evidence against Joe Biden?" I admit, I do not, AT ALL, follow the bullshit about the Biden / Ukraine stuff, but I had not heard of faked evidence before now. Is this a known thing, or a theory?
ReplyDeleteMy shorthand description probably sucks, but I think the basics are factual, or as factual as facts are allowed to get.
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