Katie and I are recording this week’s Useful Idiots right now, with a great guest (a 2020 presidential candidate). We’re doing the food groups now, including a discussion of the Afghanistan withdrawal announcement. Two questions for listeners. One, in the same vein as last week’s “What’s the real reason Rolling Stone fired us?” segment last week, we’d like to hear your answers to the question, “What’s the real reason the U.S. is withdrawing from Afghanistan (if they are)?” We’ll read off the best answers on the show.
Secondly, apart from the Afghan news, is there any unusual story you saw this week you’d like us to discuss? Any video you’d like us to comment on? We even take non-necrophile content.
Origen of Covid and What the hell are we going to do about Gain of Function virus research? Anything? Cause the next one will be worse, or the one after that, or the third one. Fourth? It will happen again.
So I hear that Afghan women started refusing to have sex with American soldiers. And they refuse it because the Americans keep talking about pulling out, but they never do!
What about the catfishing of the CNN technical director by some chick working for Project Veritas? Kind of a "duh CNN sucks" story but the circumstances are hilarious. Dude went on what he thought was a Tinder date and got set up. The shit he says about how the news stories are pushed at CNN was horrifically cringey even for a jaded news consumer like myself. Is it shady journalism or just straight up conservative activism? Does James O'Keefe suck or no?
I was interested in an essay that Bari Weiss posted from a private school teacher (his name is Paul Rossi) in Manhattan who felt the need to speak out against the Wokeness indoctrination going on in his expensive private school. His essay got picked up on Twitter and in some news outlets. I thought it took a lot of courage on his part. I was wondering if you are seeing more pushback against the Wokeness agenda and could talk about that.
That school costs $60k a year and is hardly the only option in that price range, even in NYC. If the parents are aware of what's going on then I think a private institution should be able to teach what they want. I could just as easily argue any religious-based school is performing the same "indoctrination."
It is terribly difficult to find reliable and non-partisan reporting on what is going on at the southern border. I would love for you guys to discuss the current state of affairs regarding asylum procedures, holding of unaccompanied minors and in what areas the current administration's approach differs from the previous administration's.
How about a proper in-depth report on Xinjiang? Something not influenced by US government propaganda. Including why the Chinese have been able to thwart terrorism for the last four years in Xinjiang.
Yeah, US Americans ought to know that, with close to 250 years practice, and not relenting. And sadly, most US Americans are too stupid, too ignorant, and too self-righteous to take in what Chomsky argued in 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals'.
Agree. “Is Xinjiang worse than Palestine?” is a useful question. And which is the US in a better position to do something about? Yet Chomsky tends not to attribute the cause of injustice to stupidity or self-righteousness in ordinary people.
Right, because he argues that 'ordinary' people have not the wherewithal to withstand government propaganda when presented as 'news'. Fox 'News' being the most glaring example, but the rest of US news not being much better. And sadly, the same crap is spread all over the Western countries.
I hear him more often placing blame on the “vile masters” (Adam Smith), the very top who know exactly what they’re doing, and the intellectual class: something like a “comfortable” 10-20% who support and help spread the propaganda.
He often credits the “rascally masses” which many/most “classical liberals” deem incapable of running a democratic system.
He has advised, for example, that the best approach to interacting with a “typical” Trump supporter (not, say, a fundamentalist fanatic, but that person who understands things aren’t right, are understandably insecure but may not see why and so lap up xenophobia, fake projections of “strength”, etc of demagogues) with an effort to “sympathetically understand”. That is, sincerely listen, show an effort to understand why and how they can think as they do. People this treated, he has said, are more likely to hear alternative perspectives.
He also often points to the relatively good “common sense” of the average person, points out that the majority hold views much to the left of the mainstream parties and intellectuals. On more social spending, less military spending, universal healthcare, etc.
I’ve generally carried the “people are stupid” attitude most of my life, and Chomsky really changed it.
I mean, it’s not simple, certainly. But I don’t think he much focuses on most people “lacking wherewithal” as the cause of the problem.
He points to BLM as a promising and positive sign, “the largest and strongest civil rights movement in history”, the vibrancy of the Sunflower Movement, the great progress made in major areas, eg women’s rights, the strength and endurance of worker movements across US history under much more brutal suppression than people face today, etc. It feels defeatist to me, as as well as deserving of deeper thought. Not that I pretend to have such issues all figured out.
It’s very rare for a joke to make me uncomfortable, but i think the Yemen stuff was too much. Too many different elements and in the atmosphere it was said in just came across as...i’ll say unfunny and leave it at that. I hope they drop that one
Incel ape retards are having their girlfriend's boyfriend suggest stonks to buy so they can hold them with diamond hands until they rocket to the moon. Clear enough for ya?
Good question! I was wondering the same thing. But what's just as curious, if not more, is how Melvin Capital and Citadel Securities (along with other hedge funds) are playing with fire when shorting companies. What's the societal value in betting that a company is obliterated?
Interesting point. If you didn't see it, you should definitely check out Dennis Kelleher's (CEO of Better Markets) congressional testimony about the extreme risks going on.
I posted my best topic below, but over night had a thought of something that might drive a heated discussion here in Taibbi-Katie land (TK) ----->
I dare you to review (Ayn Rand - either Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged) - the staples of the right mantra (individualism, virtue of selfishness, objectivism) that seem to permeate most neoliberal institutions (left or right).
The debates on this site would be epic. As someone who cannot stand this women or her benefactors/networks who funded her work, it might be a good time to go back and see what she got right and what glaring errors she made in defense of free market capitalism.
If you want some combustible content, maybe get Rand-i
Task 1 is to drop the biased ideation. That's why it'll never happen. Getting past that is hard to impossible, as I find in myself. Every time you see a message saying "All Republicans suck" or vice versa, you're seeing the problem in the flesh, and I see those kind of messages here all the time.
Often that is surface level default bias. And second, I am just as skeptical of neutrality than bias. If someone who argues with good faith discloses a small aspect of their bias, I think it can be helpful to locate one's argument, but it is also fraught with problems because most other points coming forth get painted with a biased brush. We have to find ways to talk with people we discuss not by injecting our own views as better (equivalent of talking over someone) but find out where they got their ideas from and when. This causes much richer conversations and can explain why certain biases are consistent and why some are bloviation - cheers
I get what you are saying. I'm going to personalize this as I know myself better than anyone else. I always come from a right wing perspective, but not because of some deep belief in the tenets of this, other than free enterprise being a pretty good idea for matching outputs to inputs (that requires government intervention to maintain against collusive oligopoly and/or monopoly power, sadly). That last bit doesn't make me very right wing, in other words.
That said, it appears so easy for people to advocate for left wing solutions that I often just throw my thumb on the other side of the scale so as to not make it too easy based on my belief that any kind of unfettered power is bad for society as a whole and also (usually) me specifically. If I am being utterly honest, it is often out of pique at the naive things I hear coming from that side of the aisle. People just aren't thinking very hard about outcomes. Not that the Right isn't stupid, it's just that they rarely have power over me and mine. Even in Trump times, it appeared fairly gridlocked most of the time, which is good from my perspective.
For example: nuking the filibuster and packing the Supreme Court - so what do they expect to happen when the tables are turned, as they assuredly will be? Also, how many minds do they expect to change by proposing such things? Sounds like more partisan division.
I could pick out a few other issues where I have a similar question. But, I felt the same way about the forever wars and questionable foreign policy of the last 20 years. Or about tax policy changes that didn't get at the root of the problem, which is that taxation and spending are completely unrelated to each other, which by its nature is inflationary. Or things like QE (more inflation). Or allowing asset bubbles in the first place. Way down the rabbit hole here.
If someone had a solution for these problems, i'd be all for it. You're never going to solve them saying rah rah capitalism or alternatively "Workers of the world, unite!". You'd just be trading the problems of today for a new set, probably worse.
The irony of being a war profiteer opposed to warfare is not lost on me.
Atlas Shrugged is too long. Also, no BDSM fantasy could possibly punish Dagny Taggart enough for being who she is, which is a grating two-dimensional cutout of a person. I envision a parody novel with John Galt appearing at last and then laughing at her participation in propaganda that would have made Goebbels roll his eyes. Maybe "The Fountainhead" is better. After reading Atlas Shrugged, I couldn't deal with any more Ayn Rand. Her advocacy of "objectivism" reminded me too much of that science fiction author's relationship with Scientology for comfort.
i'm just curious about the people who would pump her up. How would they construct their arguments, and manage to handle the criticism. That crucible would be fascinating - but the read itself would be torturous no doubt :)
When you first read it as a kid (and I did), it sounds plausible. Spend some time living a real life, you think differently. I think people should experience as much in life as they possibly can. I certainly have. Perhaps that is the difference between partisan hacks and those with a more discerning view: life experience. I note the most irritating partisans are the young, which would be congruent with this thought. I also found religion much more plausible as a kid. I remember a Catholic tract I read as a kid stressing abstinence. Hah. I bought into that for a few moments.
Comic book nerd post ahead; you were warned in advance.
Alan Moore based Rorschach in WATCHMEN on Steve Ditko's The Question/Mr. A. Moore's use of Rorschach in his fictional scenario revolves around the concept of: "What happens to an Ayn Rand hero with no social skills in the real world? He probably isn't going to become a billionaire industrialist."
Loved me some Watchmen, did not know that. Very plausible about Rorschach how you explain it, though the Watchmen Nixon fantasy about totalitarianism was implausible to me. It wasn't who Nixon was, warts and all. The interesting part is that Ditko had some weird politics, and "The Question" was something of a stand-in for his own beliefs.
I recently watched the documentary "Seaspiracy" which was filled to the brim with pro-shark propaganda. Something about them being apex predators, which are critical for our oceans ecosystems... Anyway, we as anti-sharkers/never-sharkers know that's a load of BS. Maybe Katie wants to address some of this :-p
The real reason Biden is pulling out of Afganistan is to have those troops invade Iran 'on accident' because Russian interference rigged their navigation to send them to Tehran instead of Kuwait and before they could redirect they saw WMDs on the side of the road along with babies being ripped from incubators and democracy HAD to be restored.
Don't you think this "withdrawal" is a fake, theatrical move? The troops are being kept nearby and on the slightest provocation they will have to be sent back in, regretfully. D and R will all support re-entry and there will be zero debate about it. Agreed?
The DoD is not going to recommend that. It's been a big pain in the ass for at least the last 10 years, if not longer. They've been losing good people because of repeated tours, the senior enlisted are tired of being CAOs and dealing with that crap and getting out as soon as they can themselves. People have been using every dodge known to mankind to avoid deployments. For a woman, pregnancy does it. For men, some kind of profile. One guy I know made a big show of sleepwalking to avoid deployments. It's a readiness shitshow for the military. No, they'll recommend airstrikes and preferably missile strikes if the Executive Branch comes calling for options there.
Why doesn't the military fill the gaps with the Bill Kristol's and Max Boots? They've never seen a war from their TV in the Waldorf they did not support.
I haven't heard anything about a withdrawal of PMCs active in Afghanistan. So I'm going to assume they're staying, and the US is just fully committing to outsourcing this war.
That's like saying we wouldn't have intelligence operators. Of course we would. They won't be doing the kind of combat ops they were doing five years ago, of course. They would be easily annihilated by the locals if they put their heads above water.
You'll see even less of this once the Afghan government collapses. Set your countdown timer.
Can you cover the CDC recommending a pause to the J&J vaccine? Pausing the vaccine distribution for something which allegedly has such a low probability is just really weird given everything else that the CDC/FDA seem okay with.
And to have Faucci saying not to worry, it's all good folks, and then THE NEXT DAY have the CDC stop distribution... What happened to the various health agencies having their shit together under Biden?
After years and years of using military issue protection in Afghanistan, Biden's foreign policy has decided to use the withdrawal method --- he can sniff the soldiers when they get back too (added bonus). Inkin, Blinkin and Nod
2. Unusual story issue -----> How about Pelosi's husband buying a shit ton of MSFT and RBLX stock on possibly inside information
1) Probably just got told that our success chances in anything we do there are essentially nil.
2) That "insider information" has been out there for 2 years or so. I own a bit of MSFT stock. The actual exponential rise in the stock was about 9 months ago. Recently it's been kinda treading water. Bought my first shares in 2018, wish I had gotten more then.
Real reason Biden isn't leaving Afghanistan - He's being blackmailed into doing it by Putin, who hacked his Peloton bike and has video of Joe's classes where he doesn't pedal but just sings along to the playlist.
If the US is really withdrawing from Afghanistan, I would suspect they've decided mercenaries and other funding mechanisms are a better way to serve US interests than direct troop deployments.
Curious to get your take on J&J's decision to suspend distribution of their vaccine. Is it an overreaction? Or have we gone crazy on the precautionary principle?
Sorry to keep adding to the list, but what about a serious segment on the history of Operation Mockingbird in the US (starting with Henry Luce and others) and fold that into today's highly visible placement of intelligence figures now working as "journalists" (scribes) for imperial corporate entities. Naming names at the same time -- so we can build off of this work and anticipate the propaganda before it even hits the presses?
This is mission impossible, I realize, but what if you guys found out why the Pentagon has never, ever, completed a successful audit. Of anything. Insane amount of taxpayers dollars technically unaccounted for. If taxpayers had even a modicum of insight on how the Pentagon spends, even if we just knew a ballpark number of the money in 'off book' accounts, I have a feeling the public would freak out.
I'd be happy to explain to whomever would like to listen why the article and any follow-ups are completely pointless. It'll diverge quite fast from the stated purpose of controlling Pentagon expenditure to the monster jobs program that the armed forces actually are. The economic hit to fixing the problem would be huge, and this is probably the single largest federal jobs program, albeit mostly off the books of the federal government. They just shovel phony cash in this direction.
My experience is all in procurement (and field support...different animal) but i'll just leave this here - something I have personal experience with - to demonstrate why nothing will ever change.
I'm actually not picking on her in particular; i'm sure I could find a dead tree reference to Biden doing the same, and could certainly find a hundred references to McCain and others doing the same thing online. GD has a large facility in Scottsdale, AZ, for instance. It's the reason these defense contractors have their operations spread across the country, in addition to the fact they were created by amalgamating via acquisition of smaller firms.
Oh, I don't disagree with you that the DOD and the services are the lardiest jobs program of all time. That's why it's funny to me when ideological lifers see a Commie behind every tree and under their beds. I'm like, "You can never escape the Commie within."
It took me a long time to get past the evil empire crap and realize that Communism in a state context is the same thing as any other form of government. You're trying to keep the population from rebelling, and certain people at the top are turning the national product to enriching themselves and living a great lifestyle for themselves and their families. And raw power. Anti-communist forces are just trying to keep the benefits from accruing to those who are leading communist movements.
That said, I feel the same about anti-fascist movements. I feel sorry for those who feel like dying for such causes, though there are plenty.
That's because you address the idea from your perspective of a few past examples. Mao's cultural revolution was an attempt to stop the communist party from becoming a bureaucracy/technocracy, which failed for many reasons but interesting regardless.
I guess what I'm saying is it's better to engage ideas than the way ideas were previously implemented.
The fastest way for Congress to fix military spending? When they don't have a choice. When the bond market collapses (ticking time bomb) and increased interest rates increase debt service, Congress will be forced to cut defense (they'll pick defense before they cut Social Security...the elderly vote reliably). And...of course, fewer foreign entanglements because, well, you can't pay for it.
- Obviously, Rolling Stone fired you because they didn't want to be associated with Katie after her erotic novel about Qasem Soleimani was published.
- And we are withdrawing from Afghanistan because Biden met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and said to them "Look fat! we need to get out of Tajikistan".
Instead of declared troops in Afghanistan, the United States will most likely rely on a shadowy combination of clandestine Special Operations forces, Pentagon contractors and covert intelligence operatives to find and attack the most dangerous Qaeda or Islamic State threats, current and former American officials said.” From the New York Times.
Explore the underlying causes of the border immigration "crisis:" US trade policy (CAFTA-DR),the imposition and support of authoritarian govternments in the Triangle, the work of the IMF to impose austerity. Why there seems to have been no marked wave of immigrants from Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica?
It's "technically" "...by 9/11," but good lord, is that ghoulish. I'm so tired of that date being sanctified, and I'm a firsthand witness. It's just an homage to imperialism at this point. "Never forget: freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, and war is peace." [eyeroll]
I was fairly close to the WTC that day (in the Village) and I swear no one I know who lived in NYC at the time supports the date or several square miles of prime downtown real estate set aside as a weepy nationalist martyrdom shrine (and three luxury malls). I remember Mayor Bloomberg suggesting a small, tasteful memorial and then the city, you know *moving on* and he got reamed for it. I'll never go to that museum and when people visiting me from out of town want to go there they hear an earful about it. In fact if another al Qaeda contingent wants to crash a 737 into it (once safely evacuated) that's fine by me.
The Pentagon is perhaps too "stoned" in Afghanistan to leave. It seems like a literal War "on Drugs." Also, Bagram A.F. Base is a convenient staging area if "we" wanted to instigate some insurrectionary shenanigans in Xinjiang. What do we know about Diego Garcia? John Pilger did a kind of mind-blowing documentary Stealing a Nation about how that Chagossian atoll in the midst of the Indian Ocean was turned into one of this country's largest overseas bases during the early 70s, and to my knowledge is completely off limits to the Press. Thank you and look forward to the show.
i imagine you will already discuss the military budget increase but i have a few points i'd like to add. has the administration even provided a reason to increase it, or is it just a given now that his already bloated mess will simply keep expanding forever? have progressives in either the senate or the house voiced their opposition to it? as far as i can tell, bernie could block it, has he said why he wouldn't? perhaps there's a media story as well, with outlets like the new york time presenting a slighty-smaller-than-expected increase as a decrease and a progressive milestone?
I would like to see the media laser focus on military budget -like they laser focused on Trump for years, but with actual in depth reporting on a continuous basis.
The real reason is that 20 years ago I stood with several women on a busy street corner with signs to stay out of Afghanistan. We did this every Friday in front of a bank for weeks and months. The manager tried to get us arrested. (public property) We had drive-by shoutings "Commies!"
Thumbs down until things slowly changed. Then we had thumbs up, approval honking, and the Bank Manger handed out carefully wrapped life savers.
We broke it and now we are leaving the store with the pieces still on the floor. It's not about more $$$ or more troops, the real need was intelligence, as in SMARTS. Somebody in the US misgoverance needs to read and absorb The Art of War.
I admire your diligence in the face of the corporate state, with zero chance of success. Nothing was changing US government policy at that time and place. Arabs killed people!! Never mind that Afghanistan isn't Arab and taking over governance of a territory that bedeviled Alexander, Elphinstone and the Soviets doesn't sound easy (or even possible given constraints that all the conquerors operated under).
That said, my point of view at the time was to just nuke the place and be done with it. A nuclear parking lot is a very effective deterrent. Not that I expect you to agree.
I thought 1 was funny even though I have no idea what it was intended to refer to. I imagined Taibbi crafting a finer penis sculpture than those crafted by his editors at the Annual Rolling Stone Penis Sculpture Contest, thereby inciting their envious wrath.
I've never had either but oxy is what they give you when you strain your back, morphine when you're two days from dying of cancer so I'm guessing there's a difference.
Can you explore the possibility of an undercover invasion of various tax-haven countries to physically recover all of the money that otherwise would have been paid in taxes? Call it "Operation Panama Papers," or the like. Of course, this only works if there's a giant vault stuffed with trillions of paper dollars, or better yet, a Scrooge McDuck pile of gold coins, so admittedly there may be some holes in this plan. Otherwise, which arm of the US Govt would be best served assembling a McGruber-like crew to pull this off? The SEC comes to the top of my mind in the vein of a make-up call for looking the other way leading up to the '08 financial crisis. Of course, the comedic value skyrockets if that dumbass military contractor outfit who ham-handed the Maduro overthrow gets tabbed for this operation. My dream scenario would be Uncle Bernie being the first to bust through the front doors with his full anti-billionaire rage blazing.
Didn’t Trump sign a peace deal with the Tailban in February 2020 reducing troops within 14 months? So I think this a slight of hand maneuver. It appeases us lefties because he’s doing a thing that we have been screaming about since the war started. Stopping it. But he also doesn’t rock the defense departments boat over pulling out or at least reducing troops, because this peace process deal had already been signed anyway. Plus I mean China....duh.
I don’t really have a story but here’s a fucked up thing you might want to know. I work for Quest Diagnostics, one of the beneficiaries of this whole pandemic as we did ALOT of testing and recently it froze here in Texas. This Quest lab has couriers which drive around picking up specimens to be brought back to the lab and tested.
During the freeze these drivers did their jobs as whole cities shut down, tens of thousands lost power, and freeways were completely closed. Some of them had to be put up in hotels, away from their families while their own homes fell victim to the damage done by the freeze. How does Quest repay them? With points, in the company store. Not bonuses, not hazard pay, points. To spend at the online company gift shop where you can purchase Panera Bread and Amazon gift cards. But what you can’t do? Is pay for the pipes that burst under your foundation, you can’t pay the mortgage or rent in a time as desperate as these; this is how our drivers were rewarded. But the real kicker....
When one of our drivers asked a supervisor about why Quest didn’t offer hazard pay in obviously hazardous conditions. He was told that it was because Quest couldn’t allocate the funds. Three weeks later they have started building renovations on our lab, laying granite tile in the lobby and giving the entire front end a facelift. Which wouldn’t be so bad if the god damn lobby was more than 10 years old.
Essentially they blew workers hazard pay earned through massive deals for testing, on a vanity project.
Or at least that’s how it feels. Keep up the good work y’all. Sometimes you two are the only voices of reason in the room. What a freighting thought! Lol
Biden did tell Obama, "You're Getting Rolled by the Generals." Biden had all these interesting opinions as VP when Obama did the Cabinet votes; a lot of the time Biden was on one side and the rest of the Cabinet on the other. Hope, boredom, cynicism, smugness, and ignorance are all plausible reasons. I'm not sure what the reason was--probably a combo of all of these.
VICE: Man Fined for Farting On Cop Argues Farts Are Protected Forms of Expression.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3xb59/man-fined-for-farting-on-cop-argues-farts-are-protected-forms-of-expression
This one needs to go right to the top of the list.
Why is J&J vaccine fired when Moderna & Pfizer have had similar side effects? Check out VAERS reports on both of the mRNA vaccines.
Origen of Covid and What the hell are we going to do about Gain of Function virus research? Anything? Cause the next one will be worse, or the one after that, or the third one. Fourth? It will happen again.
banned topic in NYT.
So I hear that Afghan women started refusing to have sex with American soldiers. And they refuse it because the Americans keep talking about pulling out, but they never do!
So now they have no choice :)
Love you guys! Keep up the great work!
- Milan from Serbia
The Lysistrata strategy works. AGAIN.
Too bad it was just a comedy. The actual end of the Peloponnesian war was far more ugly than a bunch of horny men.
What about the catfishing of the CNN technical director by some chick working for Project Veritas? Kind of a "duh CNN sucks" story but the circumstances are hilarious. Dude went on what he thought was a Tinder date and got set up. The shit he says about how the news stories are pushed at CNN was horrifically cringey even for a jaded news consumer like myself. Is it shady journalism or just straight up conservative activism? Does James O'Keefe suck or no?
I was interested in an essay that Bari Weiss posted from a private school teacher (his name is Paul Rossi) in Manhattan who felt the need to speak out against the Wokeness indoctrination going on in his expensive private school. His essay got picked up on Twitter and in some news outlets. I thought it took a lot of courage on his part. I was wondering if you are seeing more pushback against the Wokeness agenda and could talk about that.
That school costs $60k a year and is hardly the only option in that price range, even in NYC. If the parents are aware of what's going on then I think a private institution should be able to teach what they want. I could just as easily argue any religious-based school is performing the same "indoctrination."
It is terribly difficult to find reliable and non-partisan reporting on what is going on at the southern border. I would love for you guys to discuss the current state of affairs regarding asylum procedures, holding of unaccompanied minors and in what areas the current administration's approach differs from the previous administration's.
Cuba! 80 years of strangling a tiny island nation!
The "Rolling Stone fired us" schtick is played out...
yup
How about a proper in-depth report on Xinjiang? Something not influenced by US government propaganda. Including why the Chinese have been able to thwart terrorism for the last four years in Xinjiang.
Lame, genocide is pretty gross.
Yeah, US Americans ought to know that, with close to 250 years practice, and not relenting. And sadly, most US Americans are too stupid, too ignorant, and too self-righteous to take in what Chomsky argued in 'The Responsibility of Intellectuals'.
Agree. “Is Xinjiang worse than Palestine?” is a useful question. And which is the US in a better position to do something about? Yet Chomsky tends not to attribute the cause of injustice to stupidity or self-righteousness in ordinary people.
Right, because he argues that 'ordinary' people have not the wherewithal to withstand government propaganda when presented as 'news'. Fox 'News' being the most glaring example, but the rest of US news not being much better. And sadly, the same crap is spread all over the Western countries.
I hear him more often placing blame on the “vile masters” (Adam Smith), the very top who know exactly what they’re doing, and the intellectual class: something like a “comfortable” 10-20% who support and help spread the propaganda.
He often credits the “rascally masses” which many/most “classical liberals” deem incapable of running a democratic system.
He has advised, for example, that the best approach to interacting with a “typical” Trump supporter (not, say, a fundamentalist fanatic, but that person who understands things aren’t right, are understandably insecure but may not see why and so lap up xenophobia, fake projections of “strength”, etc of demagogues) with an effort to “sympathetically understand”. That is, sincerely listen, show an effort to understand why and how they can think as they do. People this treated, he has said, are more likely to hear alternative perspectives.
He also often points to the relatively good “common sense” of the average person, points out that the majority hold views much to the left of the mainstream parties and intellectuals. On more social spending, less military spending, universal healthcare, etc.
I’ve generally carried the “people are stupid” attitude most of my life, and Chomsky really changed it.
I mean, it’s not simple, certainly. But I don’t think he much focuses on most people “lacking wherewithal” as the cause of the problem.
He points to BLM as a promising and positive sign, “the largest and strongest civil rights movement in history”, the vibrancy of the Sunflower Movement, the great progress made in major areas, eg women’s rights, the strength and endurance of worker movements across US history under much more brutal suppression than people face today, etc. It feels defeatist to me, as as well as deserving of deeper thought. Not that I pretend to have such issues all figured out.
Yemen has a better hummus recipe.
Genocide jokes are a little fucked up.
It’s very rare for a joke to make me uncomfortable, but i think the Yemen stuff was too much. Too many different elements and in the atmosphere it was said in just came across as...i’ll say unfunny and leave it at that. I hope they drop that one
Financial Markets. Specifically GameStop.
Brilliant suggestion! Here, here.
I keep hearing about "apes" and "retards" making YOLO plays on GameStop, what's this all about?
Incel ape retards are having their girlfriend's boyfriend suggest stonks to buy so they can hold them with diamond hands until they rocket to the moon. Clear enough for ya?
This is the way
Oh I forgot the point of the rockect stonks profit is to crush hedge funds and buy chicken tendies
This is even more the way
How can a "Blockbuster Video" type company go from trading at $5 to $400, back to $40, then back to $170 within 90 days?
Good question! I was wondering the same thing. But what's just as curious, if not more, is how Melvin Capital and Citadel Securities (along with other hedge funds) are playing with fire when shorting companies. What's the societal value in betting that a company is obliterated?
Interesting point. If you didn't see it, you should definitely check out Dennis Kelleher's (CEO of Better Markets) congressional testimony about the extreme risks going on.
Wow, somebody thinks that the Stock Market isn't fairly "democratized"? Isn't that what Robinhood was trying to do?
If there hadn't been a rebound, I'd suggest you ask that Theranos woman.
I posted my best topic below, but over night had a thought of something that might drive a heated discussion here in Taibbi-Katie land (TK) ----->
I dare you to review (Ayn Rand - either Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged) - the staples of the right mantra (individualism, virtue of selfishness, objectivism) that seem to permeate most neoliberal institutions (left or right).
The debates on this site would be epic. As someone who cannot stand this women or her benefactors/networks who funded her work, it might be a good time to go back and see what she got right and what glaring errors she made in defense of free market capitalism.
If you want some combustible content, maybe get Rand-i
Cheers.
Maybe we could break through the left-right my teamism?
Task 1 is to drop the biased ideation. That's why it'll never happen. Getting past that is hard to impossible, as I find in myself. Every time you see a message saying "All Republicans suck" or vice versa, you're seeing the problem in the flesh, and I see those kind of messages here all the time.
Often that is surface level default bias. And second, I am just as skeptical of neutrality than bias. If someone who argues with good faith discloses a small aspect of their bias, I think it can be helpful to locate one's argument, but it is also fraught with problems because most other points coming forth get painted with a biased brush. We have to find ways to talk with people we discuss not by injecting our own views as better (equivalent of talking over someone) but find out where they got their ideas from and when. This causes much richer conversations and can explain why certain biases are consistent and why some are bloviation - cheers
I get what you are saying. I'm going to personalize this as I know myself better than anyone else. I always come from a right wing perspective, but not because of some deep belief in the tenets of this, other than free enterprise being a pretty good idea for matching outputs to inputs (that requires government intervention to maintain against collusive oligopoly and/or monopoly power, sadly). That last bit doesn't make me very right wing, in other words.
That said, it appears so easy for people to advocate for left wing solutions that I often just throw my thumb on the other side of the scale so as to not make it too easy based on my belief that any kind of unfettered power is bad for society as a whole and also (usually) me specifically. If I am being utterly honest, it is often out of pique at the naive things I hear coming from that side of the aisle. People just aren't thinking very hard about outcomes. Not that the Right isn't stupid, it's just that they rarely have power over me and mine. Even in Trump times, it appeared fairly gridlocked most of the time, which is good from my perspective.
For example: nuking the filibuster and packing the Supreme Court - so what do they expect to happen when the tables are turned, as they assuredly will be? Also, how many minds do they expect to change by proposing such things? Sounds like more partisan division.
I could pick out a few other issues where I have a similar question. But, I felt the same way about the forever wars and questionable foreign policy of the last 20 years. Or about tax policy changes that didn't get at the root of the problem, which is that taxation and spending are completely unrelated to each other, which by its nature is inflationary. Or things like QE (more inflation). Or allowing asset bubbles in the first place. Way down the rabbit hole here.
If someone had a solution for these problems, i'd be all for it. You're never going to solve them saying rah rah capitalism or alternatively "Workers of the world, unite!". You'd just be trading the problems of today for a new set, probably worse.
The irony of being a war profiteer opposed to warfare is not lost on me.
Atlas Shrugged is too long. Also, no BDSM fantasy could possibly punish Dagny Taggart enough for being who she is, which is a grating two-dimensional cutout of a person. I envision a parody novel with John Galt appearing at last and then laughing at her participation in propaganda that would have made Goebbels roll his eyes. Maybe "The Fountainhead" is better. After reading Atlas Shrugged, I couldn't deal with any more Ayn Rand. Her advocacy of "objectivism" reminded me too much of that science fiction author's relationship with Scientology for comfort.
i'm just curious about the people who would pump her up. How would they construct their arguments, and manage to handle the criticism. That crucible would be fascinating - but the read itself would be torturous no doubt :)
When you first read it as a kid (and I did), it sounds plausible. Spend some time living a real life, you think differently. I think people should experience as much in life as they possibly can. I certainly have. Perhaps that is the difference between partisan hacks and those with a more discerning view: life experience. I note the most irritating partisans are the young, which would be congruent with this thought. I also found religion much more plausible as a kid. I remember a Catholic tract I read as a kid stressing abstinence. Hah. I bought into that for a few moments.
Funny, I had less problems with Baptists at 5 than when I was old enough to drink.
They care more about things that adults do, which is unsurprising.
Comic book nerd post ahead; you were warned in advance.
Alan Moore based Rorschach in WATCHMEN on Steve Ditko's The Question/Mr. A. Moore's use of Rorschach in his fictional scenario revolves around the concept of: "What happens to an Ayn Rand hero with no social skills in the real world? He probably isn't going to become a billionaire industrialist."
Loved me some Watchmen, did not know that. Very plausible about Rorschach how you explain it, though the Watchmen Nixon fantasy about totalitarianism was implausible to me. It wasn't who Nixon was, warts and all. The interesting part is that Ditko had some weird politics, and "The Question" was something of a stand-in for his own beliefs.
I recently watched the documentary "Seaspiracy" which was filled to the brim with pro-shark propaganda. Something about them being apex predators, which are critical for our oceans ecosystems... Anyway, we as anti-sharkers/never-sharkers know that's a load of BS. Maybe Katie wants to address some of this :-p
Feed the producers to great whites. Win-win on land and sea
The real reason Biden is pulling out of Afganistan is to have those troops invade Iran 'on accident' because Russian interference rigged their navigation to send them to Tehran instead of Kuwait and before they could redirect they saw WMDs on the side of the road along with babies being ripped from incubators and democracy HAD to be restored.
Don't you think this "withdrawal" is a fake, theatrical move? The troops are being kept nearby and on the slightest provocation they will have to be sent back in, regretfully. D and R will all support re-entry and there will be zero debate about it. Agreed?
I think it will end up being a fake. On that note, the always terrific Citations Needed podcast: https://soundcloud.com/citationsneeded/episode-133-the-art-of-fake-ending-wars
The DoD is not going to recommend that. It's been a big pain in the ass for at least the last 10 years, if not longer. They've been losing good people because of repeated tours, the senior enlisted are tired of being CAOs and dealing with that crap and getting out as soon as they can themselves. People have been using every dodge known to mankind to avoid deployments. For a woman, pregnancy does it. For men, some kind of profile. One guy I know made a big show of sleepwalking to avoid deployments. It's a readiness shitshow for the military. No, they'll recommend airstrikes and preferably missile strikes if the Executive Branch comes calling for options there.
Why doesn't the military fill the gaps with the Bill Kristol's and Max Boots? They've never seen a war from their TV in the Waldorf they did not support.
Do you really think those chickenhawks would be seen anywhere near enemy fire?
Now i'm thinking of Kristol in a Dukakis helmet.
I haven't heard anything about a withdrawal of PMCs active in Afghanistan. So I'm going to assume they're staying, and the US is just fully committing to outsourcing this war.
Mercs without military backing aren't super effective.
Funny enough, this just got published.
I just don't think the US would ever leave a country bordering China, Russia and Iran.
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/04/16/biden-afghanistan-war-privatizing-contractors/
That's like saying we wouldn't have intelligence operators. Of course we would. They won't be doing the kind of combat ops they were doing five years ago, of course. They would be easily annihilated by the locals if they put their heads above water.
You'll see even less of this once the Afghan government collapses. Set your countdown timer.
Could also be the Trump head fake? Where they told Joe it's a withdrawal but actually increase troops.
Another important topic I recommend is water privatization (see David Dayen - https://prospect.org/environment/corporate-merger-aims-to-build-water-privatization-giant-veolia-suez/ )
Can you cover the CDC recommending a pause to the J&J vaccine? Pausing the vaccine distribution for something which allegedly has such a low probability is just really weird given everything else that the CDC/FDA seem okay with.
And to have Faucci saying not to worry, it's all good folks, and then THE NEXT DAY have the CDC stop distribution... What happened to the various health agencies having their shit together under Biden?
1. Afghanistan -----> withdrawal.
After years and years of using military issue protection in Afghanistan, Biden's foreign policy has decided to use the withdrawal method --- he can sniff the soldiers when they get back too (added bonus). Inkin, Blinkin and Nod
2. Unusual story issue -----> How about Pelosi's husband buying a shit ton of MSFT and RBLX stock on possibly inside information
Cheers!
1) Probably just got told that our success chances in anything we do there are essentially nil.
2) That "insider information" has been out there for 2 years or so. I own a bit of MSFT stock. The actual exponential rise in the stock was about 9 months ago. Recently it's been kinda treading water. Bought my first shares in 2018, wish I had gotten more then.
https://www.dote.osd.mil/Portals/97/pub/reports/FY2020/army/2020ivas.pdf?ver=d0z6Z47TQU0PDSJ8zmwgtw%3d%3d - from 1Q20 aka Oct-Dec 2019.
Let's be clear here: no Pelosi fan or Biden fan, but I like William of Ockham better than lambasting shitbags.
Real reason Biden isn't leaving Afghanistan - He's being blackmailed into doing it by Putin, who hacked his Peloton bike and has video of Joe's classes where he doesn't pedal but just sings along to the playlist.
In the same spirit as the financial crisis, how did the govt fuck us over while distracting us with covid checks?
On a lighter note..
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/ben-cohens-new-prerolled-joint-business-will-fund-black-owned-cannabis-companies/Content?oid=32762685
1. We’re leaving Afghanistan so that the Taliban can build it back better.
2. Bernie Madoff, Myanmar Coup
Ongoing issue: "How do we best prepare young people for the shitshow they're about to inherit?"
Afghani necrophiliacs!
If the US is really withdrawing from Afghanistan, I would suspect they've decided mercenaries and other funding mechanisms are a better way to serve US interests than direct troop deployments.
Curious to get your take on J&J's decision to suspend distribution of their vaccine. Is it an overreaction? Or have we gone crazy on the precautionary principle?
Sorry to keep adding to the list, but what about a serious segment on the history of Operation Mockingbird in the US (starting with Henry Luce and others) and fold that into today's highly visible placement of intelligence figures now working as "journalists" (scribes) for imperial corporate entities. Naming names at the same time -- so we can build off of this work and anticipate the propaganda before it even hits the presses?
This is mission impossible, I realize, but what if you guys found out why the Pentagon has never, ever, completed a successful audit. Of anything. Insane amount of taxpayers dollars technically unaccounted for. If taxpayers had even a modicum of insight on how the Pentagon spends, even if we just knew a ballpark number of the money in 'off book' accounts, I have a feeling the public would freak out.
MT wrote an extensive article on this topic two years ago. It's worth your time.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/pentagon-budget-mystery-807276/
I'd be happy to explain to whomever would like to listen why the article and any follow-ups are completely pointless. It'll diverge quite fast from the stated purpose of controlling Pentagon expenditure to the monster jobs program that the armed forces actually are. The economic hit to fixing the problem would be huge, and this is probably the single largest federal jobs program, albeit mostly off the books of the federal government. They just shovel phony cash in this direction.
My experience is all in procurement (and field support...different animal) but i'll just leave this here - something I have personal experience with - to demonstrate why nothing will ever change.
https://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/elizabeth-warren-defense-massachusetts-115157
I'm actually not picking on her in particular; i'm sure I could find a dead tree reference to Biden doing the same, and could certainly find a hundred references to McCain and others doing the same thing online. GD has a large facility in Scottsdale, AZ, for instance. It's the reason these defense contractors have their operations spread across the country, in addition to the fact they were created by amalgamating via acquisition of smaller firms.
Oh, I don't disagree with you that the DOD and the services are the lardiest jobs program of all time. That's why it's funny to me when ideological lifers see a Commie behind every tree and under their beds. I'm like, "You can never escape the Commie within."
It took me a long time to get past the evil empire crap and realize that Communism in a state context is the same thing as any other form of government. You're trying to keep the population from rebelling, and certain people at the top are turning the national product to enriching themselves and living a great lifestyle for themselves and their families. And raw power. Anti-communist forces are just trying to keep the benefits from accruing to those who are leading communist movements.
That said, I feel the same about anti-fascist movements. I feel sorry for those who feel like dying for such causes, though there are plenty.
That's because you address the idea from your perspective of a few past examples. Mao's cultural revolution was an attempt to stop the communist party from becoming a bureaucracy/technocracy, which failed for many reasons but interesting regardless.
I guess what I'm saying is it's better to engage ideas than the way ideas were previously implemented.
The fastest way for Congress to fix military spending? When they don't have a choice. When the bond market collapses (ticking time bomb) and increased interest rates increase debt service, Congress will be forced to cut defense (they'll pick defense before they cut Social Security...the elderly vote reliably). And...of course, fewer foreign entanglements because, well, you can't pay for it.
When they can print money (or create from thin air), why do they care about the cost of debt service?
- Obviously, Rolling Stone fired you because they didn't want to be associated with Katie after her erotic novel about Qasem Soleimani was published.
- And we are withdrawing from Afghanistan because Biden met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and said to them "Look fat! we need to get out of Tajikistan".
Withdrawing troops? Maybe. But how about the 6,000 or so U.S. contractors there? And does this mean the U.S. will cease bombing the place?
Instead of declared troops in Afghanistan, the United States will most likely rely on a shadowy combination of clandestine Special Operations forces, Pentagon contractors and covert intelligence operatives to find and attack the most dangerous Qaeda or Islamic State threats, current and former American officials said.” From the New York Times.
Explore the underlying causes of the border immigration "crisis:" US trade policy (CAFTA-DR),the imposition and support of authoritarian govternments in the Triangle, the work of the IMF to impose austerity. Why there seems to have been no marked wave of immigrants from Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica?
Fact-check the "Fact Checkers" offered up in Google News
How the head of Russia's space agency called US diplomats "assholes" for not mentioning Yuri Gigarin's historic space flight :-)
It seems odd that the announced Afghanistan withdrawal date is 9/11.
It's "technically" "...by 9/11," but good lord, is that ghoulish. I'm so tired of that date being sanctified, and I'm a firsthand witness. It's just an homage to imperialism at this point. "Never forget: freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, and war is peace." [eyeroll]
It would be the 20th anniversary, probably intending some kind of ball spiking event.
What was that giant banner on the battleship that GWBush flew? "Mission Accomplished?" LOL
Ugh god, you're exactly right. [barf]
I was fairly close to the WTC that day (in the Village) and I swear no one I know who lived in NYC at the time supports the date or several square miles of prime downtown real estate set aside as a weepy nationalist martyrdom shrine (and three luxury malls). I remember Mayor Bloomberg suggesting a small, tasteful memorial and then the city, you know *moving on* and he got reamed for it. I'll never go to that museum and when people visiting me from out of town want to go there they hear an earful about it. In fact if another al Qaeda contingent wants to crash a 737 into it (once safely evacuated) that's fine by me.
You had me until the last sentence Jesus Sam
They're pulling out because Afghanistan instituted a law that is designed to keep black people from voting.
The Pentagon is perhaps too "stoned" in Afghanistan to leave. It seems like a literal War "on Drugs." Also, Bagram A.F. Base is a convenient staging area if "we" wanted to instigate some insurrectionary shenanigans in Xinjiang. What do we know about Diego Garcia? John Pilger did a kind of mind-blowing documentary Stealing a Nation about how that Chagossian atoll in the midst of the Indian Ocean was turned into one of this country's largest overseas bases during the early 70s, and to my knowledge is completely off limits to the Press. Thank you and look forward to the show.
i imagine you will already discuss the military budget increase but i have a few points i'd like to add. has the administration even provided a reason to increase it, or is it just a given now that his already bloated mess will simply keep expanding forever? have progressives in either the senate or the house voiced their opposition to it? as far as i can tell, bernie could block it, has he said why he wouldn't? perhaps there's a media story as well, with outlets like the new york time presenting a slighty-smaller-than-expected increase as a decrease and a progressive milestone?
I would like to see the media laser focus on military budget -like they laser focused on Trump for years, but with actual in depth reporting on a continuous basis.
Good questions
“What’s the real reason the U.S. is withdrawing from Afghanistan (if they are)?” Because they lost.
Empires come to Afghanistan to die.
Which was predictable in 2001.
The real reason is that 20 years ago I stood with several women on a busy street corner with signs to stay out of Afghanistan. We did this every Friday in front of a bank for weeks and months. The manager tried to get us arrested. (public property) We had drive-by shoutings "Commies!"
Thumbs down until things slowly changed. Then we had thumbs up, approval honking, and the Bank Manger handed out carefully wrapped life savers.
We broke it and now we are leaving the store with the pieces still on the floor. It's not about more $$$ or more troops, the real need was intelligence, as in SMARTS. Somebody in the US misgoverance needs to read and absorb The Art of War.
I admire your diligence in the face of the corporate state, with zero chance of success. Nothing was changing US government policy at that time and place. Arabs killed people!! Never mind that Afghanistan isn't Arab and taking over governance of a territory that bedeviled Alexander, Elphinstone and the Soviets doesn't sound easy (or even possible given constraints that all the conquerors operated under).
That said, my point of view at the time was to just nuke the place and be done with it. A nuclear parking lot is a very effective deterrent. Not that I expect you to agree.
1) The real reason RS fired you was due to penis sculpture envy.
2) The real reason US is withdrawing from Afghanistan is that US is not really withdrawing from Afghanistan.
Talk about whatever, just keep it real.
and my reading comprehension not so hot...ignore 1
I thought 1 was funny even though I have no idea what it was intended to refer to. I imagined Taibbi crafting a finer penis sculpture than those crafted by his editors at the Annual Rolling Stone Penis Sculpture Contest, thereby inciting their envious wrath.
Who needs heroine from Afghanistan when we have oxycontin to make America Great again?
Oh, Richard, oxycontin is to heroin as White Castle sliders are to a superb prime rib. Have you ever had morphine? No comparison.
I've never had either but oxy is what they give you when you strain your back, morphine when you're two days from dying of cancer so I'm guessing there's a difference.
As i previously stated: You were fired from Rolling Stone because keeping Rolling Stone relevant IS necrophilia.
assange's association with " israel shamir ".
Can you explore the possibility of an undercover invasion of various tax-haven countries to physically recover all of the money that otherwise would have been paid in taxes? Call it "Operation Panama Papers," or the like. Of course, this only works if there's a giant vault stuffed with trillions of paper dollars, or better yet, a Scrooge McDuck pile of gold coins, so admittedly there may be some holes in this plan. Otherwise, which arm of the US Govt would be best served assembling a McGruber-like crew to pull this off? The SEC comes to the top of my mind in the vein of a make-up call for looking the other way leading up to the '08 financial crisis. Of course, the comedic value skyrockets if that dumbass military contractor outfit who ham-handed the Maduro overthrow gets tabbed for this operation. My dream scenario would be Uncle Bernie being the first to bust through the front doors with his full anti-billionaire rage blazing.
It's all electronic, our govt could seize it at any time. I'll let you guess why this hasn't happened yet.
Two warships sent to Black Sea. Bravado? Saber rattling? PR? Tell Americans about AZOV brigade.
interview yanis varoufakis
Afghan Withdrawl:
Didn’t Trump sign a peace deal with the Tailban in February 2020 reducing troops within 14 months? So I think this a slight of hand maneuver. It appeases us lefties because he’s doing a thing that we have been screaming about since the war started. Stopping it. But he also doesn’t rock the defense departments boat over pulling out or at least reducing troops, because this peace process deal had already been signed anyway. Plus I mean China....duh.
I don’t really have a story but here’s a fucked up thing you might want to know. I work for Quest Diagnostics, one of the beneficiaries of this whole pandemic as we did ALOT of testing and recently it froze here in Texas. This Quest lab has couriers which drive around picking up specimens to be brought back to the lab and tested.
During the freeze these drivers did their jobs as whole cities shut down, tens of thousands lost power, and freeways were completely closed. Some of them had to be put up in hotels, away from their families while their own homes fell victim to the damage done by the freeze. How does Quest repay them? With points, in the company store. Not bonuses, not hazard pay, points. To spend at the online company gift shop where you can purchase Panera Bread and Amazon gift cards. But what you can’t do? Is pay for the pipes that burst under your foundation, you can’t pay the mortgage or rent in a time as desperate as these; this is how our drivers were rewarded. But the real kicker....
When one of our drivers asked a supervisor about why Quest didn’t offer hazard pay in obviously hazardous conditions. He was told that it was because Quest couldn’t allocate the funds. Three weeks later they have started building renovations on our lab, laying granite tile in the lobby and giving the entire front end a facelift. Which wouldn’t be so bad if the god damn lobby was more than 10 years old.
Essentially they blew workers hazard pay earned through massive deals for testing, on a vanity project.
Or at least that’s how it feels. Keep up the good work y’all. Sometimes you two are the only voices of reason in the room. What a freighting thought! Lol
Regarding Nancy Pelosi's street fighter comment about 1/6
https://twitter.com/LumpyLouish/status/1382321885652848646
Biden did tell Obama, "You're Getting Rolled by the Generals." Biden had all these interesting opinions as VP when Obama did the Cabinet votes; a lot of the time Biden was on one side and the rest of the Cabinet on the other. Hope, boredom, cynicism, smugness, and ignorance are all plausible reasons. I'm not sure what the reason was--probably a combo of all of these.