AOC’s Statements on the Israel-Palestinian Conflict Illustrate Modern Political Messaging Strategy and Tactics

When she condemns Israel's killing of Palestinian civilians (including children), why is AOC attacking mayoral candidate Andrew Yang instead of attacking the high ranking Democrat leaders who determine and implement the unquestioningly pro-Israel U.S. policy: Biden, Harris Pelosi, Schumer & Blinken? Glenn Greenwald offers a lesson in modern political messaging and fund-raising.

AOC said nothing about the State Department's ongoing defense of Israel. She condemned none of her powerful colleagues in Congress who did the same. She refused to call on the Biden administration explicitly to change its policies or denounce Biden's fanaticism on this issue. Her only previous utterance was a mealy-mouthed, barely cogent tweet in which she randomly threw the Israel/Gaza conflict into a laundry list along with “paramilitary violence in Colombia” and “the detention of children on our own border and the militarization of US police departments” to say: “the United States must seriously assess its role in state violence and condition aid.”

So when she finally worked up the courage on Monday to single out a political official for public scolding and shaming on the issue of Israel, she decided that it should be Andrew Yang.

Continue ReadingAOC’s Statements on the Israel-Palestinian Conflict Illustrate Modern Political Messaging Strategy and Tactics

Alienation on the Political Left and Right

I look forward to reading Chloe S. Valdary when I'm looking for intelligent, good-hearted, nuanced and hopeful ideas. I like her approach here. We desperately need big unifying ideas at this point. This is an excerpt of her recent Tweet thread, focusing on the universal plight of alienation. [Note:DEI is an acronym referring to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion].

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Sam Harris Explores the Dangers of Peacetime Nuclear Arsenals

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Fred Kaplan about the ever-present threat of nuclear war. I have listened to most of this podcast. It reminded me of the insane peacetime costs and risks of the world's vast nuclear arsenals. Harris describes his reaction to delving into this topic: It is like learning that for your entire life you have lived in a house that is rigged to explode.

From listening to this episode, I learned that a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defence Forces, Stanislav Petrov, should be a household name for preventing a nuclear war that would have cost hundreds of millions of lives, American and otherwise. In this episode you will also learn the insanity and technological fragility, past and present, of the American nuclear arsenals and strategies.

There's no paywall on this episode. I highly recommend it.

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Resisting Wars of Discretion Could Save Lives at Home

Our belief in war as a solution to our foreign policy issues, despite the lack of clear objectives and confirmatory metric of "success," is hemorrhaging the U.S. budget. Where are the voices of politicians demanding that we justify this annual military spending by pointing to real life successes?

In the meantime, many Americans are going bankrupt in an effort to get the necessary medical care to stay alive (2/3 of all bankruptcies). Others simply give up and die.

Continue ReadingResisting Wars of Discretion Could Save Lives at Home