Tuesday, May 07, 2019

Where have all the leaders gone?


First off, from Sunday, Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Joe Biden discovers his voting record"

joes poop


Joe Biden is the last thing anyone needs -- unless we're looking for someone to lead us off a cliff.

We don't have real leaders anymore, that's fairly obvious.

This is from Glen Ford (BLACK AGENDA REPORT):

It’s been more than a generation since the Congressional Black Caucus stood up for Black people, or progressive political principles, anywhere.
“The Black Caucus remains silent on the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine and the creation of a system of apartheid in both Israel and the Occupied Territories.”
An impressive list of Black intellectuals and activists is circulating an open letter to the Congressional Black Caucus, blasting the Black federal lawmakers for failing to mount a “robust defense” of one of their own, Ilhan Omar, the first-term Congresswoman from Minneapolis, who is a Muslim. Pro-Israel lawmakers had demanded that Omar be roundly rebuked for her critique of the power wielded on Capitol Hill by AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby. What finally emerged was a Resolution that condemned anti-Semitism, as well as Islamophobia and all other forms of racial, religious and ethnic hatred. Congresswoman Omar wasn’t named in the resolution, but was clearly the target. The signatories to the Open Letter say the Black Caucus has been passive in the face of pro-Israel power in Congress, and no longer lives up to its slogan as the “Conscience of the Congress.”
The letter comes on the heels of a rally on the Washington Mall in support of Rep. Omar, organized by the Movement4BlackLives. The assembled Black Women in Defense of Ilhan Omar called on Congress to censure President Donald Trump for anti-Muslim speech in general and for endangering Rep. Omar in particular.
“The Black Caucus has been passive in the face of pro-Israel power in Congress.”
On April 13, the Congressional Black Caucus issued a brief statement, condemning Trump and right wing media for spewing “hate and division” and “putting the life of a member of Congress in danger.” But the signatories to the Open Letter say the Caucus should support Rep. Omar in her critique of AIPAC power over the Congress. “In turning its back on Omar,” said the letter, “the CBC has also turned its back on its own history” of struggle, including the history of Black American support for Palestinians, rooted in the “shared ravages of settler colonialismand racial(ized) discrimination.”
The Black Caucus cannot “claim to be the “Conscience of the Congress…while it remains silent on the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine and the creation of a system of apartheid in both Israel and the Occupied Territories.” According to the letter: “The CBC’s treatment of Omar is symptomatic of a larger failing on the part of the Caucus to adopt a consistent ethical position on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.” The Open Letter demands that the Black lawmakers visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories on their own to bear witness to the “abuses suffered by the Palestinian people on a daily basis.” The Black Caucus “must create a platform for further debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and the role the United States should play in a resolving it.


Once upon a time, we had real leaders in Congress, like Cynthia McKinney.  Now we have fake asses like Barbara Lee.


"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Monday, May 6, 2019.  The US prepares to bury another service member who died in Iraq, co-president of the United States Marco Rubio issues a proclamation, and much more.


Today, a US service member will be laid to rest.  Alexia Walters (LEX 18) reports:


 The funeral for a soldier who died while serving in Iraq will be held Monday in Madison County. It follows a day of mourning, as family and friends gathered for the visitation for Specialist Ryan Dennis Orin Riley at the Richmond Church of Christ on Sunday.
According to the Department of Defense, the 22-year-old died while serving in Iraq in a non-combat related incident.
Family and friends say they’re devastated, but they’re holding on tight to their memories of Riley.





The governor's office issued the following statement last week:


Gov. Bevin Orders Flags to Half-Staff Monday in Honor of Kentucky Soldier Killed in Iraq


Media Contact: Nicole Burton
502-564-2611 Nicole.Burton@ky.gov
FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 2, 2019) – Gov. Matt Bevin has directed that U.S. and Kentucky flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff on Monday, May 6, 2019, in honor of a Kentucky soldier who died in Iraq while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.
According to the Department of Defense, Spc. Ryan Dennis Orin Riley, 22, of Richmond, Kentucky, died April 20, 2019 in Ninawa Province, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident.
Spc. Riley was assigned to 2nd Battallion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Services for Spc. Riley will be held at 1 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, 2019 at Richmond Church of Christ (1500 Lancaster Road, Richmond), with burial to follow with full military honors at Madison County Memorial Gardens (210 West Rice Lane, Richmond).
Gov. Bevin encourages individuals, businesses, organizations and government agencies to join in this tribute of lowering the flag in honor of Spc. Riley.
Flag status information is available at http://governor.ky.gov/flag-status.


Ryan Dennis Orin Riley died serving in Iraq, serving in the Iraq War.  The 22-year-old died in year sixteen of the Iraq War.  The Iraq War never should have started to begin with and it certainly should have ended long ago.

Why, in the United States, do we not have politicians who can actually lead and end these wars?  We're in yet another endless presidential election cycle and where are the leaders?

Betts J. Gorsky is concerned about the voters and writes THE PRESS HERALD:

 L.D. 211, “An Act to Open Maine’s Primaries,” is a common-sense proposal that would improve our electoral process by boosting civic engagement and increasing voter turnout, especially among young voters and veterans, many of whom have not enrolled in any political party. I encourage all voters to support this reform.
I strongly believe that democracy works best when more people are encouraged to participate. Maine’s closed primary law expressly prohibits 35 percent of registered voters from participating in primary elections because they have not chosen to become part of a political party. This is particularly discouraging for young voters. Fifty percent of millennials “describe themselves as political independents,” according to Pew Research, and, as such, are disenfranchised by our closed-primary law.
Maine is one of only 11 states with “member-only” elections that limit participation in primary elections to voters who register with a political party. Voters who have lived in other states are even more likely to be stymied by our “closed primaries” system. This inconsistency disproportionately impacts those voters, such as veterans, who move states frequently. Similar to millennials, 49 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans aren’t enrolled in either major party and so are disenfranchised by Maine’s current closed primary law.


Where are the leaders?  Kevin Hardy (DES MOINES REGISTER) reports:


  Campaigning in Iowa on Sunday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders sought to distinguish his legislative record from that of former Vice President Joe Biden.
At a town hall event in Spencer, a woman in the crowd told the Vermont senator that she was trying to decide between Sanders and Biden.
"I like what I heard today," she said at the Clay County Regional Events Center. "How are you different than Biden?"
Sanders smiled and promised to "answer that in a couple ways."
[. . .]
  • He said international trade agreements have been "disastrous" for American workers and farmers, particularly pointing to NAFTA and the United State's agreement to normalize trade relations with China. "I led the effort against those trade agreements," Sanders said. "Joe voted for them."
  • Echoing his critique of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from the 2016 contest, Sanders also held up the vice president's vote to authorize the war in Iraq, which he said was one of the most significant Congressional votes in recent years. "I voted against it," he said. "Joe voted for it."
  • Sanders also pointed out the vice president's vote to deregulate Wall Street by supporting the Gramm-Leach-Billey bill in 1999.  "I voted against it," Sanders said.
Bernie Sanders is clearly a leader as is US House Rep Tulsi Gabbard.  Joe Biden?  Not so much. 
Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Joe Biden discovers his voting record" went up last night.
Yes, Joe's voting record is a piece of crap.  Glen Ford (BLACK AGENDA REPORT) explains:

Even if Obama openly endorses him at some point, Biden has his own record, and it’s that of a consistent corporate stooge. particularly of the real estate and banking industries, and as one of the architects of the mass incarceration state.
Joe Biden didn’t just cast a vote for the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act , also known as the Clinton Crime bill. Joe Biden wrote the bill, including but not limited to provisions that created

  • no less than 60 new federal death penalty offenses
  • a ban on Pell grants for prisoners, from which states took their cues and enacted similar bans on higher education for prisoners.
  • $9 billion in new funding for prisons
  • sex offender registries to ensure lifelong stigmatization of the convicted
  • 3 strikes provisions
  • new funding for “boot camps” and juvenile prisons
  • funding for 100,000 new police officers
Biden’s bill resulted in a spike in mass incarceration which of course affected African American and Latinx communities more profoundly than any others. The damage to families and lives of course continues today.

For many years, Joe Biden was known as the Senator from MBNA, the giant credit card entity that was bought by Bank of American in 2006 and re-sold to Lloyd’s Bank UK in 2016. Biden was responsible for the provisions that made it impossible to discharge student debt via bankruptcy, thus shackling millions of people with ballooning student debt that lasts till their forties and fifties. Student debt of course weighs heaviest upon black women.

Joe Biden is an unwavering supporter of apartheid Israel, just like his buddy Barack, and an unrepentant warmonger like just about all of his Democrat colleagues in the House, the Senate, and among presidential candidates. Until Biden’s entrance, Bernie Sanders was the clear Democratic front runner. That’s over. The polls haven’t broken Biden’s black support by age, but it’s safe to assume that Bernie still leads among younger black voters, while Biden’s voters tend to be older.
The truth's all over Twitter as well:
 10 hours ago

Check out this Biden 2020 parody page (it's outperforming his own campaign page)

Joe Biden -
AGAINST Gay Marriage
FOR Mass Incarceration
AGAINST Abortion Rights
AGAINST School Busing
FOR Iraq War
FOR Death Penalty & Harsh Drug Sentences
30 replies223 retweets416 likes




  1.  18 hours ago

Joe Biden: “I Like Dick Cheney”

A war criminal who lied to the American people about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to start an illegal war that killed thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. And why? To enrich himself.

64 replies205 retweets656 likes




 May 3

Barack Obama criticized Hillary Clinton in 2008 over her ties to lobbyists and corporate donors, Wall Street, Walmart, unfair trade deals, the bankruptcy bill, and her support of the Iraq War.

Joe Biden shares a lot of those same vulnerabilities.




2:05

303K views
96 replies454 retweets1,911 likes




  
  1.  Apr 30

JOE BIDEN
❌Wrote Crime Bill
❌Wrote Patriot Act core
❌Anti Medicare4All
❌Anti legalizing pot
❌Anti Net-Neutrality
❌Pro TPP
❌Voted for NAFTA
❌Voted for DOMA
❌Voted for Iraq War
❌Known as “senator from MBNA”
❌Anita Hill
❌Plagiarized
❌Gaffe factory
❌Creepy Videos
✔️NOPE

113 replies1,084 retweets2,131 likes
 
 

  1.  13 hours ago

Under no circumstances would I vote for handsy Joe Biden. The guy is a Republican lite with a D next to his name.
-Voting for the Iraq war alone is disqualifying
1 like
 
 
 14 hours ago

Joe Biden tried to run away as quick as possible once reminded him that he admitted to his own mistakes with the Iraq War and warned him not to repeat it in Venezuela

. telling we need a  
5 replies51 retweets81 likes
 
 
  1. Show this thread


  1.  17 hours ago
Replying to  

. voted for the Iraq war, one of the most disastrous FP decisions ever made by the Congress. We founded after serving in that war bc we know has the temperament, record, & experience required to be our Commander in Chief.
40 retweets96 likes
 
 
 May 3

The DNC wants you to vote for a candidate who:
-was once against gay marriage
-passed a harsh crime bill
-once believed in segregation, sought out racist support
-was all for the Iraq war
-helped pass legislation to spy on Americans
-was once against abortions
His name, Joe Biden
3 replies18 retweets44 likes
 
 


  1.  Apr 27

“We need better judgment when we decide to send our young men and women into war…they can’t turn around and say: ‘You supported this.’ That’s part of the reason why I think I would be the strongest nominee.” -Barack Obama, 2008

Joe Biden voted for the war in Iraq.

1:59

7,061 views
32 replies134 retweets504 likes
 
 


 May 2

Joe Biden’s embrace of war criminal Dick Cheney shows that he lacks the moral compass to be POTUS. Bernie Sanders voted AGAINST the Iraq War when it was unpopular to do so, demonstrating true moral leadership.
9 replies43 retweets110 likes
 
 
Show this thread



Joe Biden is a scary politician.  He's not the only one.  Check out the kook from Florida.


 2 hours ago

We will not distinguish between attacks from Shia militias in & the that controls them.

Any attack by these groups against U.S. forces will be considered an attack by & responded to accordingly.
462 replies457 retweets1,300 likes
 
 



I didn't realize that Marco was also co-President of the United States.  Apparently he is.  He didn't even win his party's primary last go round in 2016 but, somehow, he ended up co-president of the United States.

RUDAW reported:

Armed actors not under state control are one of the greatest threats to Iraq in the post-ISIS phase, argued a top US Department of State official on Thursday.
"To ensure durable stability, we must support Iraqi-led efforts to bring undisciplined armed actors that are not under the control of the state under full state control," said Denise Natali, the assistant secretary for the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Efforts.
She was speaking at an event at the Washington, D.C.-based think-tank Hudson Institute on Post-ISIS Stabilization and Reconstruction in Syria and Iraq. 
Militias through the conflict with the Islamic State (ISIS) had strong links to Iran-backed groups and their loyalty to Baghdad has been a question for successive prime ministers — Haider al-Abadi and now Adil Abdul-Mahdi.


Militias are not the biggest threat, Marco Rubio is.  And his remarks come as JSA reports, "The Trump administration is deploying air and sea strike forces to the Middle East in response to what it described as “troubling and escalatory indications and warnings” from Iran."


XINHUA reports:

 Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert extended on Monday her greetings to all the Iraqi people, particularly Muslims, on the onset of the holy month of Ramadan.
"Ramadan is a month of peace and reflection, where families and friends get together. It is when Muslims give and forgive, turn their thoughts to the less fortunate and those who are suffering," Hennis-Plasschaert, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), said in a statement.
Hennis-Plasschaert said that she, in particularly, sympathizes with "those Iraqis who live in the holy month without their loved ones who lost them in the conflict or who are waiting for the return of the missing. We feel for those who remain displaced, living in camps or unable to return home," according to the statement.



Of course, over the weekend, Shi'ite cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr declared that Ramadan would kick off on Tuesday.  And, of course, over the weekend, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani also declared that Ramadan would start on Tuesday.




The following sites updated:




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