Darryl Cooper’s Nuanced Analysis Regarding Israel – Gaza

I appreciate the nuanced analysis of Israel - Gaza offered by Darryl Cooper on Breaking Points.. He offers, "This is a political conflict over disputed territory. That's it. We can bring all the religious considerations into that, and maybe that intensifies the complexity of the emotions relative to other disputes. But at the end of the day, it's a dispute between two groups of people laying claim to the same piece of land. That's it. . . . . 99% of the people on both sides are just regular people."

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That Feeling that One Must Inevitably Pass the Torch

Calendars don't lie. I've already used up most of the 1,000 months I'm ever going to have on the planet.

As an older dad, I took quite an interest in Rikki Schlott’s New York Post article about her relationship with her 84-year old dad. Reading this caused me to pause and hope that I’ve helped to give my two daughters (both now in their mid-20's) the tools they need to thrive in this insane world. Rikki, BTW, is, at the age of 22, co-author of a best-selling new book on the scourge of cancel culture: The Canceling of the American Mind. An excerpt:

My dad’s breadth of life experience and wisdom woke me to the transience of today’s fads and fallacies. It’s hard to humor my peers who demand safe spaces and trigger warnings when my best friend remembers the plights of World War II. It’s impossible to flirt with socialist politics when my father recalls the rise and fall of the USSR. It’s hard to spend my days scrolling through TikTok when my dad is a living testament to the wisdom a lifetime of reading can foster.

Having an older father also means it’s difficult to swallow the victim mentality of many of my contemporaries. While Generation Z indulges in identity politics and intersectionality, it’s an attitude my father would never accept from me. He’s a self-made man who pulled himself up by his bootstraps. Now that he’s provided me with an education and life beyond what he could imagine growing up on a goose farm, I won’t rest until I make the most of all the opportunities I’ve been given and do him proud.

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The Corporate Media Convicts Itself in its Hysterical Media Trial of Trevor Bauer

Instead of "Believe the Woman" or "Believe the Man," how about Believe in Due Process? This video by Matt Orfalea illustrates why we need to be highly suspicious whenever the corporate media conducts its own hysterical "trials" of celebrities.

Commenting on this video, Matt Taibbi adds:

Most people accused of crimes aren’t famous ballplayers, but small-timers whose shoplifting or assault mugshots become ugly headlines above little online arrest reports that remain on the Internet forever, for potential future employers and friends alike to see. What should media do, about people who are accused but not yet convicted? Probably at minimum, cover exonerations with as much vigor as opening charges. Unfortunately, dirty laundry will always sell better.

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Neocon PR 101

From David Sachs:

The neocon press cycle:

1) New threat to American Democracy in country X! 2) Anyone who questions this narrative is unpatriotic/traitor. 3) Victory is imminent and guaranteed. 4) Victory will take time but is worth it. 5) If we don’t redouble our efforts, we will lose. 6) Setbacks were inevitable. 7) Internal doubts and a lack of staying power cost us the war. 8) Press blackout on country X. (Never that important.)

Wait 6 months. Repeat with country Y.

In case you are looking for a detailed definition for "neocon."

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