Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
— Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
Lord, what fools these mortals be!
— Puck, in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream
Every war is a war against children.
— Egalntyne Jebb, founder Save the Children a century ago.
Responding to the British post-war blockade of Germany and Eastern Europe, Jebb participated in a group attempting to deliver food and medical supplies to children who were starving.
In London’s Trafalgar Square, she distributed a leaflet showing the emaciated children and declaring:
Our blockade has caused this, – millions of children are starving to death.
Russiagate is dead. Long live Russiagate.
We have no doubt seen this statement broadcast; there is even a news / opinion piece in existence with a very similar title. The Narrative is dead! Long Live the Narrative! Its writer, James Howard Kunstler made an astute set of statements:
Here are three important lessons for the progressive left to consider now that it is clear the inquiry by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russiagate is never going to uncover collusion between Donald Trump’s camp and the Kremlin in the 2016 presidential election.
Painting the pig’s face
The conclusion of the Russiagate investigation, led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, was a pivotal media watershed moment. Even at the time of this writing there is a great deal of what might be called “journalistic froth” as opinion makers and analysts jostle to make their takes on this known to the world. Passions are running very high in both the Democrat / anti-Trump camps, where the reactions range from despondency to determined rage to not swallow the gigantic red pill that the “no collusion with Russia” determination offers.
The Hill reported on 14 March that the US Senate voted to reject President Trump’s recently declared National Emergency at the US-Mexico border, a move the President made in order to secure funds needed for further construction of the highly controversial Border Wall.
The political system in the United States is a plutocracy, one that works for the benefit of the wealthy, not the people. Although we face growing crises on multiple fronts – economic insecurity, a violent and racist state, environmental devastation, never-ending wars and more – neither of the Wall Street-funded political parties will take action to respond. Instead, they are helping the rich get richer.
American politicians from the two main parties have finally found something to agree upon: more intervention in Venezuela.
“Now, despite (President Nicolas) Maduro, there is hope (in Venezuela)”, wrote Democratic Senator, Dick Durbin, in USA Today. “These events (meaning the current political instability in the country) are a welcome development of Latin American nations defending democracy.”
There’s a scene in George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia where he describes how the communists propagandized the fascists during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Orwell was with a scruffy, makeshift band of fighters high in the Spanish Alps. Both the communists and fascists were dug into their trenches and a general stalemate had ensued.
