Something's Going On [With A Follow Up]

Um. I saw that little worm Reince Priebus on the Sunday Shows, George and Chuck. Hm. It looked like he did George's show first. When he got to Chuck's gabfest, he was clearly rattled. Of course, it's unusual for Our Fearless Media to tangle with high ranking Republicans, even if they are worms. So when George lit into Reince and then Chuck skewered him over the reports of the CIA report and Trump's now familiar insults in response, the little worm was taken aback. Sputtering and spluttering, he flailed away, to the point that I almost felt sorry for him.

The subtext is that things are not what they seem and something is very much going on.

Is it a coup?

I think it might be...



[OT: I  think Ms Ché knew Stephen Stills back in the day. I'm not sure. He wasn't one of her primary interests that I can recall. That would have been the likes of Jim McGuinn Who-Became-Roger of the Byrds, and various other noted rockers and folk rockers and ravers of the British Invasion and such like. There were so many of them. Only recently, though, did she get together with Buffy St. Marie, one of her favorites and idols from way back. They acted like a couple of elder Indian women recognizing one another as relatives, sisters, cousins. Their mutual laughter is still ringing in my ears. I'm just a white guy on the edge of all this of course. She, Ms Ché, is now recruiting a whole new generation of Indians and non-Indians alike to go out and be themselves, enjoy life and liberty and grow in spirit, don't let the fuckers get you down. Listen, learn, be.]
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A coup?

I don't know. My spidey sense was sure tingling in the morning, but around evening it went more or less quiet. Nothing to see here, move along, move along.

What is clear enough is that one faction of the ruling clique is contending with another for power.

This does not involve the Left or even the 'left.' This is between a conservative faction and radicals among those who have ruled us in and out of government for generations.

That's as obvious as sin, and the question is whether the contending factions will reach an accommodation with one another. It's not clear whether they will at this point. Furthermore, if it is a coup, we don't know who the golpistas really are. It's almost certainly not the Clinton camp. They may or may not be involved, but if they are, it is unlikely that She Herself will be installed as Queen-Empress should the conservative faction prevail.

That would be a trigger after all. Our Rulers may not have many smarts when it comes to their responsibilities and obligations, but they're not that stupid. They couldn't be. Could they? Please.

Unfortunately, yes they could. It is their culture, after all.

It occurred to me that Saturday today December 10th12th was is the anniversary of the last coup,[h/t lea-p for the  correct date] when the Supreme Court lawlessly intervened in the 2000 presidential election and handed the presidency to GWB. That was an unmitigated disaster, but perhaps it was inevitable given the instabilities already apparent in government and the private sector at least since the Impeachment Follies of 1998. Instabilities that had been building for a generation before that.

That coup anniversary may have been a trigger in itself for the actions underway to overcome apparent election results which would hand the presidency -- and the future of the United States -- over to a gang of "unindicted co-conspirators," some very successful con artists and mobster-wannabes. This is as serious as it gets.

At the time of the previous coup, the losing faction handed the government over to the golpistas out of a misplaced sense of formalism and duty under the rubric: "How bad could it get?" Yes, well. We found out, didn't we?

Certain formalities were observed, even though they were quite outside the Constitutional framework -- for example, the Supreme Court has no constitutional authority or jurisdiction in election matters they were asked to decide; it is specifically up to state governments and legislatures, and they should not have taken the case. Once they did, and once they decided in favor of the Bush-faction, it rent the fabric of the national project, and we are living with the consequences.

And too, the Bushevik faction was a "known quantity" to The Powers That Be. They brought back some of the well-known operators from times gone by, all the way back to the Nixon regime, Bush Jr. was the son of the CIA head, vice-president, and president previous to, under and after Reagan, and Cheney was... well, Darth Cheney, but whatever else he was (Evil), he was a known quantity in the corridors of power. Same with Rummy and so forth. It was initially like Old Home Week. And then it went south, even before the attack on 9/11.

They may have been mostly familiar faces but they were acting like teenagers lolly-gagging around the pool and their media handmaidens were making utter fools of themselves trying to recreate the atmosphere and revenues of the Clinton Scandals around the disappearance of Chandra Levy.

It was a goon show that ended abruptly with the events of 9/11/2001.

While the coup of December 10, 2000, was an example of the political aspect of the Shock Doctrine, the events of 9/11 went way beyond mere politics; it was Shock Doctrine that literally consumed and transformed the very nature of US government, as well as destabilizing the cobbled together social, economic, and psychological agreements that had kept the nation whole through thick and thin.

There was an immediate unity after the attacks, one that very quickly fell apart as the Busheviks demonstrated an almost unbelievable lack of wisdom in the face of crisis. That's not to say they didn't do some things appropriate and right. But their military response and targets were wrong-headed in every way, and the conduct they permitted and encouraged their agents to engage in was criminal.

Their war of aggression against Iraq had the effect of blowing apart whatever fragile stability there had been in the Middle East and North Africa, while their pig-headed Afghanistan adventure is still a major destabilizing factor in South Asia. What were they thinking?

Well, it's obvious they weren't. Thinking that is. They were exploiting opportunities.

It was and still is all reactive and self-feeding crisis. And it's a failure on any rational or public interest plane. But some people got very, very, very rich off of it, so they're all for more, more, more.

Henceforth the world would work in a different way. Well, part of the world...

Now comes Trump. Well, it's obvious he wasn't supposed to win. It's still a question -- that will probably never be satisfactorily answered -- how or whether he pulled off the Upset of History. As we know, there will be no verification of the vote. We've seen sufficient evidence so far that it's literally impossible to verify the vote in critical areas. One must accept the election results on faith because there is no way on earth to be sure the results accurately recorded and reflected the wishes of the voters. Our electoral system is purpose-designed to be opaque in critical areas. We don't know, and we can't know, what actually happened. Intentionally so.

Given the overall results reported so far, however, it's reasonable to assume that the voters did not want Trump and his gang of thieves and mountebanks in the White House; neither did they want Hillary. Ergo, trying to force either one on the People is risky business to say the least. Uncertainty is certain to follow.

Thus the moves to prevent Trump from taking power. Or to circumvent him and his gang if he does.

There was a similar kind of instability until some time after the inauguration of GWB. But it was tamped down by the capitulation of the Democrats on Capitol Hill and the concerted efforts of the media to ignore, discredit and denounce the many protests against the coup.

Combined, the efforts to prop up the Bush Regime both within and outside the government were partially successful. The protests never stopped, and those surrounding the preparation and initiation of the Iraq War were unprecedented. Enormous.

Yet millions upon millions of Americans never considered the  Bush Regime to be legitimate, no matter the efforts of media and Democrats to make it so.

Obama calmed things down -- that was his assignment after all -- but without really changing much of  the internal dynamic of a corporatist government run amok. It is still what it was under the Bushevik Regime, it simply has softer and calmer public face.

Many people understandably felt betrayed by Obama, the longed-for Redemption from centuries of Error.

He hasn't fulfilled his promise. Not even close. But he kept the lid on the growing rage of the discouraged and dispossessed. And that was all that was necessary for him to do in the eyes of the Ruling Clique. Just keep the Rabble tame.

Hillary was supposed to continue the Obama program, maybe with an added bone or two thrown to the Rabble to keep them mostly quiet over the next few cycles of rapine and exploitation by Our Betters.

Trump was supposed to be a sideshow to keep the potential hostiles and trouble makers in line. Oops.

Now that they're planning to take over and install rich and self-righteous rebels in positions of extraordinary power to do harm domestically and internationally, regardless of any "good" they might also do, the High and Mighty are awakening to a clear and present danger to them -- they care not about the Rabble -- should Himself ascend to the throne.

Right now, they're making out like bandits themselves as the stock market soars in anticipation of Trumpian profits without end.

The anticipation of the immense profits to come from the Trumpian crony capitalist pig troughs, and the fortunes to be made from the dismantlement and privatization of Social Security and Medicare, among other public programs slated for the ax, are about the only things that Our Betters are looking forward to with regard to a Trump Regime. The downside of all that money making is collapse. The strain has already built to unsustainable levels -- that was fast. Now what to do?

Whatever is to be done has almost nothing to do with We, the Rabble. We have to be honest about that. This is not our fight. Bluntly, we, the Rabble chose neither of the candidates we were offered. A record percentage of voters stayed home. Millions, of course, were deliberately disenfranchised.

But the overall turnout was pitiful, and the majority of those who did vote, voted against each candidate. That is a majority voted against Hillary, and a similar though somewhat larger majority voted against Trump.

The Trump EC victory may or may not be up and up. We don't know, we can't know. We can take it on faith or not but there is manifestly no way to verify the vote in the crucial states -- nor for that matter can the vote be verified in many jurisdictions all over the country. Our elections are therefore easy to manipulate for the desired outcome.

This one, however, was not the desired outcome. Something went bad-wrong. Whether it is due to "Russian" interference or simply that enough of the voters made the "wrong" choice, I can't say. It isn't up to me in any case.

Nor is it up to any of us. This will have to play out at a higher level. As it apparently is doing.

Stay tuned...

A little Billy Idol to lift our spirits...

The Russian Thing

Unbelievable.

That is all.

The Nuclear Annihilation Gambit

One of the most frequently retailed "truths" during the presidential campaign was that Mrs. Clinton would surely get us into a nuclear war with Russia -- and Mr. Trump would save us from it.

I find that this "truth" is still being widely retailed as a defense of Trump. Some commenters maintain that this "truth" alone was sufficient reason to vote for him and to cleave loyally to him, come what may.

It's completely irrational. It's still being promoted as if it were established fact, but there never was any truth to it. It is no more true that Mrs. Clinton would get us into a nuclear war with Russia than Mr. Trump  saved us from it.

I've tried to briefly explain why that is so in other fora, but it's not an easy concept for some people to grasp. They are so convinced of the "truth" they've been fed about the certainty of Mrs. Clinton's nuclear warmongering and the salvation of Mr. Trump's lack of belligerence toward Russia  that they  simply can't wrap their minds around the idea that neither of them were advocating or trying to start nuclear war with Russia, and that there is a constant and inherent risk of nuclear war regardless of who is in the White House. It's simply a fact that the United States and Russia are not the only nuclear players on the face of the earth.

It is particularly difficult for those who didn't live through the Cold War to recognize what was going on with all the Putin-bashing and Russia blaming from the Clinton campaign. Its devolution since the election is frankly bizarre.

First: based on their campaign rhetoric, neither Mrs. Clinton nor Mr. Trump was likely to launch a nuclear first strike against Russia.

Second: there was no sign whatever that anyone in the Kremlin, least of all Tovarich Putin, was in any way inclined to launch a nuclear attack against the US.

Third: the anti-Russia/anti-Putin campaign rhetoric and propaganda used by Mrs. Clinton and her surrogates was transparent, often ridiculous, over the top, ill-advised and potentially very dangerous.

Fourth: on the other hand, it was a tried and true tactic directly out of the Cold War play book. It's called Brinkmanship. Dr. Kissinger was one of its chief practitioners back in the day. Dr. Kissinger and Mrs. Clinton were/are buddies.

Fifth: Brinkmanship was practiced throughout the Cold War. The threat of instant incineration and mutually assured destruction over both the Soviet Union and the United States was used as a negotiating tactic in order to establish and sustain a certain dynamic tension and world order. So long as the Soviet Union was able to project strength and wisdom as a counter to US imperialism and greed, neither side was able to fully dominate the other. It was in the interests of both to find accommodation. They did so, over and over again.

Sixth: Mrs. Clinton was not about to launch a nuclear first strike against anyone; Mr. Trump showed no interest in launching a nuclear first strike against Russia.

Seventh: if there is a nuclear first strike, it would more likely be launched by Israel or Pakistan, both of which are under increasing social, political, economic and emotional strain and both of which have governments that perceive an existential threat to their national existence -- from both internal and external forces.

Eighth: if a nuclear attack is launched by one of the other nuclear armed states, it would present a clear and present danger and an almost insoluble dilemma for both the US and Russia. I'm sure it's all been gamed out by both governments, but what would be done in the actual event is an open question.

Ninth: a US president does not have independent authority to launch a nuclear first strike. It would be incumbent for anyone receiving such an order to disobey. Mrs. Clinton could not launch a nuclear first strike on her own, and she knows it. Mr. Trump may or may not know it. He may not care.

Tenth: Brinkmanship as practiced by the Clinton campaign and as is still being retailed by neocons, parts of the government intelligence community and the media is stupid, counter productive, and borderline insane. But it never meant that Mrs. Clinton would launch a nuclear attack or that Mr. Trump would prevent one.

The idea that she would and he wouldn't is an article of faith. It has no basis in reality or truth.

Here's part  of the reason why:

Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump and I all grew up during the Cold War. Mr. Trump is two years older than Mrs. Clinton and I, and his educational and social experience during the 50s and 60s particular is very different than those of us who were students in public school -- like Mrs. Clinton and I were.

Public school students all over the country were conditioned to fear and loathe the Soviet Union and Communism and to anticipate nuclear annihilation at any time. Because the Soviets were Evil, we were told to believe that they wanted to conquer and exterminate us. Were it not for the strength and resolve of our leaders in Washington and our firm belief in our system of capitalism and democracy, they would win.

Of course this was all propaganda. My fifth grade teacher essentially said as much after we were exposed to yet another anti-Soviet propaganda film in the cafetorium. He was, of course, investigated for Communist sympathies and other purported crimes... that's the way things were then.

We weren't told and we weren't supposed to know what was actually going on in the world. But as we got older, we learned more and more of what lay behind the curtain.

Our rulers were playing a game with the Soviet Union, a game which the Soviets were playing as well. It was a game of dominance, but the intent was stalemate. In other words, the point was to keep a certain level of threat and tension between the two superpowers without leading to nuclear holocaust.

When the Soviet Union dissolved, that game of necessity stopped. Without a Soviet threat, without a Communist enemy, the US governmental premise itself came close to collapsing. There was no purpose to much of the US government anymore.

It took the designation of Iraq and Iran and ultimately most of the Muslim Middle East, South Asia and North Africa as Enemies du Jour to restore in confidence in the intelligence and military sectors that they had some purpose and meaning.

And it's been a shit - show ever since.

When the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia were sufficiently wrecked, attention turned to Russia as the next target for the wrecking crews. There have long been plans in the MIC/Intelligence community to dismantle the Russian Federation and loot whatever remains of state and private wealth, in order -- they say -- to prevent the rise of any rival to US hegemony. I understand that China is also on the list for dismantlement.

Supposedly any potential rival will face the same treatment in the by and bye.

While some of our ruling clique are convinced that a nuclear war is desirable and survivable, most clearly are not. Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton both have nuclear survivalists in their policy shops, but there never was any sign that those men and women were in charge of policy.

A complicating factor with Russia is Edward Snowden's asylum there. Until that happened, Russia and Putin were at least nominal "partners" with the US in world affairs. Maybe it was at arms length, maybe it was a tense relationship, but it was not overtly hostile most of the time.

When Snowden was granted asylum and provided a highly public internet platform by his hosts, all that changed.

And so here we are.

If the Ukrainian Nazis had access to nuclear weapons, I have little doubt they would have glassed Moscow and Leningrad long ago. Provided of course that Kiev hadn't been turned into a radioactive ruin first.

The danger of nuclear annihilation is a constant. We are not free of it no matter who is in the White House, but the likelihood of either Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton launching a nuclear first strike against Russia -- or provoking the Kremlin into launching a first strike against the US -- has always been next to nil.

OT: Oxygen!

This is more a record-keeping post than anything else.

I took Ms Ché up to Santa Fe yesterday morning. She'd been up all night completing an assignment for one of her creative writing classes, an illustrated children's book that dealt with important issues or struggles a child might face. Her story dealt with facing and coping with loss. I thought it was sweet and naive (in a good way, it's for children after all) and compelling. But it took her all night to complete it, and I didn't want her to drive up to Santa Fe on her own. So, I got myself ready, and we headed out.

It's a lovely and peaceful drive from our place on a rarely used two-lane blacktop north through the Estancia Valley and the Galisteo Basin. 50 miles or so to the IAIA campus. Takes about an hour.

There's no snow to speak of yet, though morning temperatures have been in the teens lately. So yes, it's cold but still very nice out and the roads are safe enough. The problem Ms Ché and I recognized right off was that she's driven the road so many times that it's all but automatic for her. The road is straight and true for the first 20 miles or so, and then it swoops and dives and twists every which of a way. If one is alert, it is easy enough to negotiate but since she'd had no sleep, she said she could easily have fallen asleep while driving the road she knew so well, and that could have deadly consequences. We passed by the wreck that killed a Longmire crewman a couple of years ago on a swoopy curvy part of that same road. He'd been up all night crewing and was headed home around 4 am. It isn't certain, but it is believed that he fell asleep, ran off the road, rolled his pickup and was killed. A pair of horseshoe cross descansos on the fence of the Bar-S Ranch marks the spot where he died.

This was my first trip to Santa Fe since I got oxygen. I thought I would be fine and didn't take any with me, since the last time I'd been in Santa Fe, maybe three weeks ago, I didn't experience severe breathing difficulties. But as we started heading uphill yesterday, bam... I thought I wasn't going to make it.

Santa Fe, at 7000 ft, is about 1000 feet higher in elevation than our home. When I was a smoker, I loathed going to Santa Fe because I felt I was suffocating. After I stopped smoking 20 years ago, I no longer had that problem in Santa Fe, and I could even go up to Taos from time to time and enjoy myself.

But yesterday.... oh man. I started feeling distress as we passed Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch (yes, that Jeffrey Epstein). The Zorro Ranch marks the boundary between the Estancia Valley and the Galisteo Basin, and one goes over a ridge to get from one to the other. The ridge is probably a couple of hundred feet higher than the Valley floor.

I started feeling modest and then more and more severe  chest pain, the same kind of pain that got me in to see a cardiologist. My breathing became more and more difficult, and by the time we got to the village of Galisteo, I thought for a moment I was going to pass out.

Whoa.

The rest of the way to Santa Fe, about 20 miles or so, I was in considerable distress and chest pain, and I was having a harder and harder time concentrating on the road. I was worried I would run off the road and crash. But we made it to the campus without incident. I credit that in part to the fact that I've driven the road so many times it's almost automatic, and I wasn't falling asleep. I was in distress, but the automatic pilot was still operating.

After dropping Ms Ché off, I turned around and drove back home, still on automatic pilot, and I was paying attention to whatever was going on with my breathing difficulty. The pain and distress started easing by the time I reached Galisteo, and it was almost entirely gone by the time I passed Zorro Ranch headed south.

By the time I got back home and hooked myself up to an oxygen tank, I almost felt fine.

Later, when I went back to Santa Fe to pick up Ms Ché, I took the tank with me and breathed in oxygen the whole route. No distress at all.

It was an unintended experiment. I learned that the chest pain that had triggered a cardiac alert was due to my breathing difficulty caused primarily by rheumatoid arthritis lung disease. (There  are minor COPD and emphysema components). Altitude is an exacerbating factor and I am very sensitive to even minor increases in altitude, say from 6,200 to 6,500 feet.

Without supplemental oxygen, higher altitudes are now close to impossible for me. And this is a much worse situation than I've faced before. This tells me that the lung disease is not controlled and more and more of my lungs are scarred by fibrosis.

I see the pulmonologist Tuesday. We'll see what he says.

Reality Bites -- Nomi Prins Tells It Straight

Funny.

Jeebus.

Fore!

Trump’s Bait and Switch 
How to Swamp Washington and Double-cross Your Supporters Big Time
By Nomi Prins

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176219/tomgram%3A_nomi_prins%2C_the_march_of_the_billionaires/#more

I'll excerpt a few pertinent graphs from it, but please read the whole thing.

First of all, Nomi Prins is a well known and respected writer on matters of politics and economics. She has the requisite Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs background to know the real deal about the finance sector. She is somewhat of the leftish persuasion, but in our political realm, that's not really leftist at all. There is no left to speak of in US politics or economics, it's all rightist and it is more and more reactionary all the time.

Prins is telling the truth here, and the truth is kryptonite to Trump and his followers.

They can't stand it.

So what is the truth here? Let's go through some of her points, one by one.

Trump’s version of a political and financial establishment, just forming, will be bound together by certain behavioral patterns born of relationships among those of similar status, background, social position, legacy connections, and an assumed allegiance to a dogma of self-aggrandizement that overshadows everything else. In the realm of politico-financial power and in Trump’s experience and ideology, the one with the most toys always wins. So it’s hardly a surprise that his money- and power-centric cabinet won’t be focused on public service or patriotism or civic duty, but on the consolidation of corporate and private gain at the expense of the citizenry. 

The signs have been plain since the campaign, of course, but as the Gold Plated Great Man fills his cabinet and appoints loyalists and cronies to other positions of import in the coming Regime, literally daring anyone to do anything about it, there is no sign of public service or public interest in the choices and their life's work at all, any more than there is any sign of patriotism or civic duty in Trump's background.  It just doesn't exist. There is every sign of consolidation of (favored) corporate and private gain at the total expense of the citizenry.

It’s already obvious that, to Trump, “draining the swamp” means filling it with new layers of golden sludge...

Gee, ya think?

The rarified world of his cabinet choices is certainly a universe away from the struggling working class folks he bamboozled with promises of bringing back American “greatness.”

Let's call a con a con and be done with it.

His attacks on working people via his appointments and his Twitter machine should have been a wake-up call to his working class followers, but in the Trumpiverse, every attack is deserved. The people, institutions and companies he goes after deserve it because they are disloyal or disobedient or both. For them, no quarter. Regardless of anything else.

what is guaranteed to be an abyss of inequality and instability.

Precisely. This is what some of us have been warning of. Strangely, now that these warnings are being listened to, known of, and worried over outside the Cassandra Class, the opportunities for action become more and more limited. It doesn't mean that nothing can be done, just that what can be done about it is shrinking.

Of course for disaster capitalists, an "abyss of inequality and instability" is perfect. Let's not forget that, either.

There follow details of the Harding-esque nature of the coming Trump Regime a detailed examination of the important players in the New America being set up.

Finally, wrapping up, Prins notes that

His new incarnation of the old establishment largely consists of billionaires and multimillionaires with less than appetizing nicknames from their previous predatory careers. They favor government support for their private gain as well as deregulation, several of them having already specialized in making money off the collateral damage from such policies....

Trump is now surrounding himself with a crew of crony capitalists who understand boardroom speak, but have nothing in common with most Americans.  So give him credit: his administration is already one of the great political bait-and-switch productions in our history and it hasn’t even begun.  Count on one thing: in his presidency he’ll only double down on that “promise.”

Well, yes. Wasn't it obvious?

For some of his followers, it was. And they hope to profit on their insight and loyalty. Others may not have seen the thieves picking their pockets as they joyously shouted "Lock her up!" or whatever, and don't see them now. Little or nothing can persuade them that they've been conned and will be fleeced of what little remains of their pelf.

They're not the only victims, of course. Everyone who can be will be relieved of everything the grubbing con artists can get their hands on. That's baked in. Anyone who tries to protect and preserve any shred of their former lives will easily become a target. That's how these things work.

Some of Trump's loyalists are eager for that outcome, looking forward to how they might profit from the ascension of His Gold Plated Self. The opportunities are immense. The victims deserve their fate.

Trouble is, they don't recognize that even the strongest loyalists can wind up in the victim basket. Or if they do recognize it, they think they will escape. Maybe it's a lack of knowledge and understanding of history,  maybe it's contrariness and pigheaded self absorption, I don't know. But their illusion of safety under the circumstances is false.

"No You Can't" -- On Tone Policing, Recounts and Other Matters

Sometimes I go off on people, not necessarily nicely, either. The other day, a friend called me from California. He'd just read in the New York Times that Trump had "fired" Michael Flynn, Jr. from his transition team for spreading fake news stories about that pizza place in DC. Didn't I think that was a good thing? And then he read about Trump tweeting something about canceling the new Air  Force One from Boeing because it cost too much. Didn't I think that was a good thing? And then he said something about China and Trump, and wasn't that good, too?

"Gee," he said, "he [Trump] might not be so bad after all."

I went off on him, up one side and down the other. I told him  I didn't want to hear him defending Trump, that there were already too many on our supposed side doing that, just like they did with Baby Bush when he was installed in the presidency by the Supreme Court, and we know how that turned out, so let's not do it this time, m'kay?

We've been friends for close to forty years, so it's not like we haven't had knock down drag outs more than a few times over things we disagree about. I think we understand one another  well enough that it's OK to fiercely disagree with one another from time to time. But this time it really got under my skin -- because he did something I see way too much of.

He saw something in the newspaper (he gets hard copy NYT daily) and even though he was by no means a Trump supporter*, what he's read in the papers about him and seen in other news sources is convincing him that Trump just might be OK, because, according to what he's been seeing lately, Trump is trying to do the right things.

He "fired" Flynn, Jr. He denounced Boeing and the costs of Air Force One, he's standing up  China. The Trump regime won't be so bad after all. And he saved all those jobs in Indiana. How bad could it be?
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*Anecdote: He said he had a "feeling" election night and went to bed before the polls had even closed in California. He's met Hillary a number of times over the years, and met her once during this year's campaign. No, he didn't have to pay $150,000 or whatever she was charging for meet and greets, he gets into these things free (another story for another time). Anyway, he said this last time he saw her, he felt there was something off, he didn't know what. Maybe she was just tired. But what he said really came across to him was that she didn't care. Not any more. The "fire" had gone out. He said to himself, "Uh oh."

He said it was a sign to him that she might not win the election, even though every media outlet and poll except the Los Angeles Times was certain she had it in the bag. Her election was all but a done deal, and yet he had his doubts.

When he got up the morning after election night, he opened his paper and saw the headline and he said he felt sick to his stomach, but he wasn't surprised. Yep. That's what he sensed would happen, and sure enough. There it was in black and white.

He's spent the last several weeks going through the stages of grief, and I think when he called me about the Times stories the other day, he was reaching for "acceptance."
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Trump just couldn't  be so bad, the thinking goes, because the American People wouldn't elect a monster. We are a Good People, and even though our presidents are flawed, they ultimately reflect the Goodness of America and Americans by being elected.

Except the voters didn't elect him. A majority of voters chose someone else.  That's what happened. The narrative that got going on November 9, however, has been hammering the false notion that "WE", "America" or "the American people," or "the voters" elected him. No, an unverifiable and minuscule number of votes in a handful of states provided him with a sufficient margin in the Electoral College for him to be declared victor on election night by the media. The EC hasn't met. Consequently, every bit of Trump fluffing going on since election night is a matter of expectation and speculation. He is not officially "president-elect" because he hasn't been elected by the EC. Etc.

The point I try to make -- and it's uphill -- is that "WE" -- the voters, the American People, the Rabble -- did not elect this man. The voters' preference is clearly Not Trump. Hillary's popular vote lead is historic. Combined with the third party votes, the Not Trump vote is more than a majority of votes cast. When turned around, it looks like Trump does not get a majority by combining his votes with third party votes, but there was also a substantial Not Hillary vote, which I don't discount at all. So many people really wanted neither one of these candidates... Add in the people who either couldn't vote because of voter suppression efforts  or chose to sit this one out, and we've got a serious level of disenfranchisement and voter resistance on our hands.

Yet our media, cowards and toadies to power that they are, can barely acknowledge these simple truths. Good heavens, no. It might stir the Rabble to action if they do, and we can't have that.

The recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania are devolving fast, but that's OK with me because what's been revealed so far shows conclusively that the way elections and recounts were conducted in those states makes it essentially impossible to comprehensively verify the vote. It's particularly true in Pennsylvania where most votes are cast on DRE machines that have no audit trail or any other means of checking their accuracy or even providing a separate record of votes cast. It's all internal and unverifiable. So the request has been to do a forensic examination of the machines to determine whether they were tampered with. That is pending in court -- and given the Michigan court ordered halt to the recount there, I expect the court to halt the recount in Pennsylvania too as well as prohibit any examination of the machines.

In Michigan, where paper ballots are used, a rather remarkable election law states that if the number of ballots in the ballot box does not match the number of ballots given out in the record books, the votes in that precinct cannot be recounted. The original report stands.  Whut? This is crazy. But them's the Rules. The all-important Rules. And in any case, both state and federal courts have ordered a halt to the recount there on specious grounds. Ah yes, here we go again.

In Wisconsin, as I understand it, precincts were given the option of hand-counting paper ballots or running them through the scanners again. Some have chosen hand counts, others are repeating the election night scans on the same machines. That proves nothing and verifies nothing. But oh well. There are apparently some counties in Wisconsin that are notorious for vote padding and other chicanery, some of which cannot be detected easily. I'm not sure, but it wouldn't be surprising if they just repeat the scans and come up with the same padded results as they did initially. Uh, that's not really verifying the vote. But they have the choice, so...

There is a recount effort in Florida that will have to be decided by the courts, and another partial recount is going on in Nevada, all well and good. There are apparently routine precinct level recounts under way or completed in many jurisdictions.

We're once again privileged to witness what an incomprehensible muddle American elections are. Once again, the outrage will get ramped up and go almost nowhere.

It will be unlikely to go anywhere because the current chaos and arbitrary nature of electoral practice and law is beneficial for preserving the status quo of the Duopoly, kakistocracy, and keeping the interference of the Rabble in their Rulers' work to a minimum. The fact that courts are expected to interfere in elections is now institutionalized. Thanks Scalia!

Doing more than quietly grumbling about it is considered impolite and arrogant by the Tone Police. It's really funny. The Tone Police are practically self-parodies. "You shouldn't say that, it's rude. We can't be like them after all. We are better than that!" But then, I'm seeing a lot of self-parody online, especially among Trump Fluffers -- who seem to be losing their minds. When I point out that this is actually dangerous and people are getting hurt, some will likely be killed as the situation devolves into even greater chaos, the crazy increases.

After all, "What about Clintooooon!!!!"

Yeah, right. Nope, won't play that.

I started this post with the story of lighting into a good friend who was trying to come to grips with a potentially positive view of Trump in the White House. I don't want him to do that, but of course, my desire is not germane to what he does. I am not the boss of him. His objective, like mine, is to get through this chaos alive and in good enough shape to carry on. He can see a way forward by acknowledging that a Trump regime won't necessarily be all that bad. I say it will be worse than we can imagine.

This is the fundamental divide in the country. Many of us can recognize the clear signs of catastrophe that Trump and his toadies, cronies, and hench-people carry with them. This is no joking matter. It's on display 24/7 from all of them. They saying quite clearly that they are intent on a course of destruction, and they will not let anything stand in their way. Many of us say "Stand and fight."

Others internally recognize the same signals and signs and choose not to fight against the whirlwind that's gathering strength. Rather, they find something "good" in the Apocalypse, and would prefer to go with the flow, even as they're swept up into the Maelstrom. The operating concept being "You can't fight it, so go with it."

"No you can't." Now that was Hillary's opening gambit during the campaign. "No you can't. No you won't. Not on a bet." It's been internalized by her supporters and is the bedrock belief of the Tump partisans. "No you can't. But just watch while we  do what we want. You can't stop us. Suckers!"

So. Here we are. Chaos is increasing by the hour. Tone Police are working the refs to tamp down alarm and outrage and keep the Rabble divided and inactive. The political class and media are all in with the New Boss, currying favor, showing their bellies. Our Betters are either still in shock, or they're anticipating huge profits on their assets as an inflationary pre-Trump bubble strikes the Markets. Oh my oh my!

In fact, the passivity of Our Betters in this situation is one of its more striking aspects. They're almost all sitting on their hands, "letting it play out." Let the Rabble have their fun! They're so amusing, no?

Bah.

Our Banana Republic -- Memories and The TINA Principle

[OT: Oxygen! I got the small tanks yesterday. What relief. Couldn't deal with the big ones and the huge "portable"concentrator. Well, it's got wheels, so yah, it can be rolled from room to room, so there's that. Portability! The small tanks, about the size of a large wine bottle, can be carried about with a shoulder strap and the oxygen is dispensed in little bursts as you breathe. They last much longer than the big tanks that way, 4 hours or more as opposed to an hour and a half or less. I like it. And let me tell you, it is the simple things these days that make me smile... Oh my yes...]

Gold plated toilets. Damn, Dude has gold-plated everything. WTF? Why would anybody even want that?

But let's look back in our history. Do they teach history any more? They say that Civics isn't taught any more, so maybe they're not teaching history either.

Ms. Ché and I were yakking the other day about Our Day ("Why can't they be like we were, perfect in every way?")  We've long been convinced that our years (1965-66)  were the last high school graduating classes in California to get a comprehensive education. It was downhill from there, and we cite as evidence our nieces who went to the same high school I did. Things had changed radically from Our Day. And they, our nieces, did not get anything like the education we did. I wouldn't say they got an education at all.

We had to take six periods in class every day throughout three years in high school and one year (9th grade) in junior high -- it wasn't called middle school in those days. We took foreign language  -- Ms Ché Latin and Spanish, me French all four years; science, history, math, social studies, civics, English, Ms Ché was also taking performing arts classes and performing in plays; I wrote a couple of plays in college prep English classes which were then performed by the drama students. Electives were few, and for me, there was almost no time for much besides regular college prep classes (it wasn't called Advance Placement until several years after we graduated and went on to higher education... another story entirely.) We had to successfully complete 250 units as I recall to graduate. In order to receive scholarships and other benefits to go to college or university, our grade points had to be above 3.2, which wasn't an easy challenge in those days. Our teacher worked us hard and expected excellence.

My senior English teacher was a Stanford graduate married to State University drama professor, and her standard for us was modeled on Stanford's English class requirements. It was her intent that whether or not we went to Stanford (I think only one of those in my senior English class did) we would be prepared for any college or university English class, and because we would be prepared for that, we would be prepared for any other college course as well.

My French teacher was a Columbia graduate who had been a student at the Sorbonne when Paris fell to the Nazis. She spent almost a year in Nazi controlled Paris before she was "miraculously" able to return to the United States. Her last name was Cohen, and when she told us about this, we thought "Oh my god, she's just lucky she wasn't sent to the camps for liquidation." She said she had friends who were rounded up, but that there was little chance she would be. Not only was she American -- and at the time, the US was not at war with Germany -- but she wasn't a Jew, she was a WASP from Long Island. She would marry a Jew later, but at the time, she didn't feel she was under any particular threat because of her religion or nationality, though she knew people who were, and it tore her apart. She  was just glad to get out of there, and when she returned to Paris after the War, she said she was devastated. The city had survived more or less intact, but the people were so traumatized she wondered if they would ever recover from what they'd been through.

My chemistry teacher's last name was Tsuda. He was Nisei, and he was sent to the camps during the War. He was a teenager at Manzanar, and his experience there shaped his attitude toward the "America" as an adult. He graduated from UC Berkeley with high honors, but he had to wait until after the War, and until after some of the Anti-Jap agitation in California had died down before he could attend and complete his degree. All of the high school students he taught were white... go figure. He had no open animosity toward us, but I wouldn't say he liked us or gave a shit about us, either. I never did learn chemistry to speak of, and I doubt that more than one or two students in my class did.

When I was in high school, I lived next to the site of one of the transit camps for Japanese-Americans on their way to relocation. I knew there had been a military facility there called Camp Kohler. It had burned down-- I didn't know when at the time, but I found out later the fire was in 1947 when the camp facilities were being used to house returning US veterans and their families. All that was left of the camp were the concrete barracks pads, charred wood, fused glass, bits and pieces of metal, overgrown asphalt roads, and a spirit. A dark spirit.

I don't recall if Mr. Tsuda ever spent time at Camp Kohler before being sent to Manzanar (probably not, but who knows... ) What I do recall was his barely contained rage about what had happened to him and his family under the Stars and Stripes. I recall he mentioned being in Japan before the war and how beautiful it was, and he had returned after the war, I think he said in 1952 or 53 (Korean War? Was he a vet? I don't remember....) and it broke his heart. So much of Japan was still in ruins, of course. But it was the  broken people that hurt his heart more. I don't recall him specifically mentioning Hiroshima and Nagasaki but it was very much on our minds given the nuclear tension we were all living under during the Cold War.

I could go on describing my memories of high school and my teachers, but these examples give an idea of the kinds of people they were and the kinds of experiences they shared with us. Wartime memories were of course very important because they had so strongly shaped our parents and our teachers, and WWII had completely transformed the world we came into as post-War Boomers.

There was a level of prosperity and well-being that Americans had never experienced before. There were also severe strains and the early stages of general social unrest that seemed to begin in California and spread outward from there. Of course it had not started in California, but it became focused there as the youth rebellion took hold and Hippies became a Thing.

Ms. Ché and I were on the cusp of all that.

No doubt we were rebels, but generally were not part of the Hippie scene -- which we saw for its self-evident commercial aspects more than its social importance. We would go to San Francisco from time to time during the hey-day of Hippiedom, but it was not necessarily an attractive thing. It was just another Thing, not the only thing. We had friends who moved to the City and became part of the Scene there, and we saw it as them being who they were, not as something we were compelled to emulate or necessarily wanted to.

We did attend the Monterey Pop Festival the summer after the Summer of Love, and we almost went to Altamont, but thankfully did not.

In 1966, Ronald Reagan was -- "impossibly" -- elected governor of California promising to bring an end to the student unrest, suppress the rebellions in the black ghettos, and ensure that nothing like that ever happened again.

Ever.

His methods were cruel and violent on the one hand, more subtly destructive on the other. He deliberately set out to wreck California's Progressive operating system, and he largely succeeded. After California's Progressive Era was brought to a screeching halt under Reagan, he and his cronies would  apply the lessons learned nationwide.

And so here we are, Banana Republic.

Progressivism was itself the Enemy. Ripping it out root and branch was neither wise nor possible, but what the Reaganites did was set in motion its self-implosion and collapse, first by discrediting it, then by pushing on carefully selected pressure points -- including public education, mental health care, and "law and order" -- to produce desired results in time if not immediately. They knew what they wanted  but they didn't always know how to get there.

What they wanted -- and largely got -- was a reversion to pre-Progressive California and ultimately a pre-Progressive America.

In other words, a Banana Republic ruled by caudillos, whose favor had to be curried or else. Corporate control of government would replace Progressive "experts" and public servants. Elections would be manipulated for desired results. Tax burdens would be lightened for the well-off (why should they be forced to pay taxes anyway?) and fees in lieu of taxes would be increased for everyone else. Government would be operated by and for the rich, and barely function at all for anyone else. Public education would be administered to death. There would be no more "free" higher education in California. Students would pay increasing fees and tuition until going to college at all would be too expensive to even think about. The quality of public education at every level would decline, to the point where high school students would graduate pig-ignorant, and college graduates would barely begin to comprehend what an average high school student understood in previous generations.

"All against all," "greed is good," and "There Is No Alternative" would become the new reality.

And so it was. So it is.

I have long been a critic of Progressivism for cause, but not necessarily the same cause as its Reaganite critics. It's racist and authoritarian at its core, even in decline, and those factors were in large part responsible for the uprisings that presaged the Reaganite reaction. Progressivism led to some good things to be sure, but the costs were very high, especially for marginalized populations. Progressivism could not mask its racism and authoritarianism, though in a late fight for survival, it tried to.

The argument was that compared to Reaganism, Progressivism was less racist and less authoritarian. The lesser of two evils, eh?

Besides, what are you going to do? You have a choice between the radical return to the Bad Old Days or continuing on a failing course of what was seen as public sector stupidity.

Nobody I know of in the political realm bethought themselves to come up with something better than either choice.

There was no alternative. "None of the Above" was not an option.

Nixon was elected president in 1968, and compared to Reagan, he was practically a Communist. He was a genuine California Progressive but on the dark side of the movement, and eventually he was driven from office, not so much because he was a criminal, but I believe because he was going bonkers and had become unstable and unreliable. His judgment was so severely impaired and his actions so arbitrary that he was seen as a clear and present danger to the survival of the  Republic. That's something Our Rulers do not and cannot talk about. We the Rabble are not to know just how incompetent Our Rulers are. Please.

Incompetence is part of the package of public sector destruction that Reaganites set in motion in California and spread all over the country once they achieved the White House.

They didn't want competent public servants, and they saw to it that at the Rabble level, competence was often unavailable from government. This was actually a genius move because it destroyed confidence in government ("of the people and by the people") to get necessary things done. The only success allowed to government in the future would be police, prisons and jails, and in time, even that would be largely taken away with the substitution of private prisons, much like private schools would replace government schools.

They used some of the social strengths of the liberal-Progressives against them, and it worked.

I would say that initially the Reaganites were very weak, and they didn't really know how to do what they wanted to do. Progressives then offered them  a helping hand to get things done. They set the stage and the standard model for their own destruction. They cooperated and collaborated. Oh my, we've seen so many examples of this throughout history, haven't we?

We see echoes of it in the actions of the few Democrats still in office nationally. I wouldn't call them Progressives, good doG no, but they act as the rump remainder of what used to be Progressives.

They are notorious collaborationists.

It is one reason among many they aren't elected any more. They offer no policy alternatives, only procedural and personality ones. Bless their hearts.

The Mini-Mes of Destruction. USA! USA!

You gotta elect me cause I'm not him! YAY Me!

Jeebus what a goon show.

Thanks to Jill Stein -- bless her heart-- we're finding out just what a fucked up scam this latest election was. Honestly, at this point there is no way to tell who the voters chose in the battleground states, as there is no way to accurately count or recount their votes in too many jurisdictions. There's no way to know.

We've been experiencing fucked up scam "elections" for so long that a lot of people seem to take it for granted and accept the announced results on faith -- because you can't do anything else. There is no way to show that faith results are right or wrong. They just are what they are.

Electoral fraud appears to be pervasive but unprovable -- by design.

Voter fraud is something else altogether and appears to be rare, but maybe not. Again, there's no way to tell.

And in the common perception manipulated by the media, there's no difference. The two are conflated all the time, deliberately and with malice aforethought.

It's becoming very clear that we do not know and we cannot know who the voters in the battleground/recount states actually chose to become president. And if we can't know the actual vote in those states, it puts into question the actual vote in every other state.

And that's not even considering the active voter suppression efforts that have been under way throughout the country for years.

Reports indicate that millions of otherwise eligible voters were prevented from voting or had their votes tossed out due to a wide variety of suppression efforts, and in at least some cases due to the whim of election officials. The suppression efforts during the primaries were highlighted -- and they were extraordinarily varied and frequent. By the general election, it was all but taken for granted that the same sort of suppression would occur on an even wider scale, and nothing would or could be done about it.

After all, There Is No Alternative.

How much longer this corrupt and corrupting system can endure is anybody's guess.

With the advent of Golden Boy to the White House (will he choose to live in his hotel, will he sell or rent rooms in the White House, say tuned campers!) the inherent instabilities may become so severe that it all collapses.

I'd say we're close to that point now.

I've thought for some time that Trump will not be inaugurated Jan 20, but if he is, he won't serve more than a year in office. This is based on instinct rather than any evidence, so I won't say it's a prediction, but because he is personally so unstable -- and is known to be -- it seems to me unlikely that the Deep-State/Permanent Government will allow him to rule as president or anything else.

On the other hand, I'm not seeing any effort at all to contain him.

So.... we don't know. We can't say. And for the moment, there is no alternative to his ascension.

As they say, We Are So Fucked. No matter what.

What a whirled, what a whirled.
------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile on the Standing Rock/Archambault front. Wow. As I expected, the announcement that everybody should go home, they weren't needed any more, was met with shock, outrage, and resistance. Chad Iron Eyes, a prominent Standing Rock Sioux, all but called Archambault out for this bullshit. But some people did try to leave in the blizzard and some ran off the road and otherwise wound up in dire straits. What was he thinking? This is crazy.

There have been many attempts to rationalized Archambault's statements as primarily a matter of "safety" -- but when so many people who tried to leave were caught in the blizzard and were stuck, the "safety" argument fell apart. Safety for whom, eh? Not the Water Protectors.

Most of those who stayed were obviously better off than some of those who tried to leave.

Apparently there have been some modifications since the "leave now" statements were issued. Realizing -- gee, ya think? -- that leaving under blizzard conditions is probably unwise, the tribe and (interestingly) Morton County and AoCE officials have extended their hands to "help" by opening shelters for those who don't have winterized camping facilities, and for those who would rather not travel in such weather. Morton County officials (the source of so much pain) have said they will respond to any emergency and provide assistance to anyone who needs it due to the weather. This after saying they wouldn't.

I've been around Indian politics enough to recognize or at least suspect what's going on, but I'd rather not get into it right now -- because I can't do anything about it, and it will have to be resolved one way or another by those on scene. I don't doubt it will be, and it might get pretty ugly.

Indeed, what a whirled.

Without Comment

Asking Forgiveness

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/forgiveness-ceremony-unites-veterans-and-natives-at-standing-rock-casino_us_5845cdbbe4b055b31398b199

Video:

http://www.salon.com/2016/12/05/we-beg-for-your-forgiveness-veterans-join-native-elders-in-celebration-ceremony/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Another:

White Men Behaving Badly

This is just one example of threats, harassment and violence that Indians in North Dakota have faced for many a long year. It's nothing new. But this incident was posted yesterday, and it reflects the attitude of some -- maybe most -- white residents of the area near Standing Rock toward the Water Protectors and their campaign against the Black Snake, as the pipeline has been called.



The precipitating cause is easy enough to figure out. It's not so much the actions of the Water Protectors against the pipeline.

It is that the Indians refuse to yield to White Supremacy on demand.

This is what is so threatening to white men, and this is what is at the root of the violence by "law enforcement" against the Water Protectors. The refusal to yield on demand to White Supremacy and to obey the orders of (mostly) white men in and out of "law enforcement" is seen as an existential threat by these same men. They call it "aggression." Any challenge to the authority of white men is considered a threat to "civilization."

This is what goes on in Indian Country almost all the fucking time. This is what too many Indian people live with day by day.

And this Caucasian Id, as I call it, has been unleashed by deliberate incitement from a presidential candidate who is expecting to swan into the White House come January, and it is being used by white folk against phantom enemies who "threaten" them.

Like "law enforcement" in North Dakota, though, they are not under threat, nobody is threatening them, nobody is harming them, nobody wants to harm them. But we've seen how violent and insane "law enforcement" becomes when they believe there is a threat from the Indians and allies in the struggle over the pipeline. Water Protectors may be doing nothing but standing there, existing in space, and "law enforcement" will interpret that as a threat to be neutralized. And they do, as brutally  and violently as they choose. All because "law enforcement" is afraid.

That extends to white men and some women in the general population as well. They believe they have the intrinsic authority to order and compel the Other -- be it an Indian or any other Other -- to do as they demand, and to punish disobedience or refusal -- because they are deemed by their God "superior."

That's what White Supremacy is.

The example here presented has probably been repeated hundreds of times during the actions in North Dakota against the pipeline, repeated by random white folks as well as "law enforcement" whose ultimate purpose is to enforce White Supremacy, not the law.

Rumors Abound [With Some Follow Up]

A couple of hours ago Reuters reported that Dave Archambault II, Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman, had told the non-Sioux Water Protectors to go home:

"I'm asking them to go. Their presence will only cause the environment to be unsafe," he said of the non-Sioux protesters, adding that he hopes to meet with incoming-president Donald Trump to educate him about the decision made and the future of the pipeline.

At the time, thousands of Water Protectors,  Veterans and allies were assembling at Backwater Bridge in a fierce blizzard for morning ceremony. "Going home" in weather conditions such as are current at the camp is unwise to say the least.

I have a hard time imagining that Dave Archambault would think let alone say such a thing under the current blizzard conditions.

So far, this report is only on Reuters and the Reuters report is referenced by others.

Live streams from the ceremony at the bridge have made no mention of it, and so far, I've found no confirmation from any other source.

Until and unless I see/hear the words from his own mouth, I will consider it nothing but a rumor or fake news.

[Follow up: In fact there has been a kinda-sorta confirmation from Dave Archambault's own mouth. Apparently on the afternoon or evening of December 4, after the announcement that the ACE would not approve an easement under the Missouri River, Archambault said that the people in the camp could go home to their families and enjoy the Holidays. He was convinced that nothing would happen with the pipeline before January, and perhaps not even then. If people wanted to stay, they could, but they would be more comfortable at home. I don't know whether he was quoted accurately by Reuters, but nothing I have seen so far of what he said at the camp or to the people in the camp was in any way comparable to the Reuters quote. And meanwhile, a blizzard came in which made it essentially out of the question for anyone to leave yesterday.

Archambault's video statement made yesterday:



Defiance from Water Protectors:

Chase Iron Eyes responds:



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/06/standing-rock-protesters-asked-to-go-home-by-sioux-leader

Hate to say it, but this is a typical corporate-government divide and conquer tactic. As solid as he has been throughout this struggle, one does wonder if he's been bought off.]

Rumors abound that Energy Transfer Partners is ignoring the Army Corps and has continued drilling under the Missouri River in order to complete the pipeline. Again no confirmation, but the rumor mill insists it's true.

Fake news? I don't know.

[Follow up: there have been numerous unconfirmed reports that ETP has continued drilling under Lake Oahe in defiance of the ACE. It may be true. But I've found no proof. A suggestive indication, however, is that the FAA forbade drone flights over the drilling platform that's set up by the river had quite a lot of activity to and fro a few days ago. That suggests to me that something is going on there that somebody doesn't want seen. On the other hand, the way the drilling platform is set up, it would be difficult to tell if there is active drilling going on.]

And in that regard the story of the Pennsylvania recount has become such a muddled mess, it's almost impossible to sort out truth from... something else.

It was reported on Friday that Jill Stein had abandoned the Pennsylvania recount effort by withdrawing from the Commonwealth Court petition to compel a statewide recount.

Reporting was sensational and inaccurate, but what else is new. In fact, recounts are and were going on in some election districts, but the petition was filed -- by "100 or more" Pennsylvania voters, not Jill Stein or the Green Party -- in order to meet Pennsylvania legal requirements to contest the election as a whole.

The petition was withdrawn when the Court imposed a $1 million bond simply to hold a hearing and required full payment by today. The petitioners said they couldn't pay the excessive bond. This was inaccurately reported as the Green Party/Jill Stein refusing to pay the bond, when they weren't the petitioners, "100 or more" Pennsylvania voters were as was required by Pennsylvania law. And they didn't have the money.

By Friday evening, Jill Stein and her attorneys stated they would be filing a federal court complaint for injunctive relief to compel recounts where possible and require forensic examination of electronic voting machines where recounts were not possible. Most Pennsylvania voting machines have no paper trail or any other way to verify their count and results. Thus a recount of those machines -- in the sense of verifying the vote -- isn't possible. This was not reported at all by some outlets, whereas others garbled it. A few got it right, but the initial false "abandonment" report was already out there, and updating or correcting it was... slow or nonexistent.

Jill Stein did in fact file for injunctive relief in federal court this morning.

And as always, the Trump Trope that she's scamming the public with this recount jaggoff was inserted everywhere possible.

What a whirled, what a whirled.

[Follow up: The story is mostly comprehensible in most of the media now, but things are moving so fast that the Pennsylvania recount is more of a sideshow. Apparently problems with the initial Michigan count have surfaced which are so severe that the Michigan vote could be challenged in its entirety. Developing. And from what I've seen so far, the Wisconsin recount is almost exactly the same as the initial count. Hm. Interesting.]

Time for some Springfield:

Basking In the Glow of Victory (Such As It Is...)

The naysaying started immediately, within seconds of the announcement that the Army Corps of Engineers would not approve the easement for the DAPL crossing of the Missouri River at the border of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

"Oh, you savages haven't really won anything! You'll see!"

Yes, well. Noted.

Dave Archambault II, Chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council, was asked by a reporter minutes after the announcement if he thought this ruling meant that this fight was over. He gave her a look the way he does and considered for a moment. "Yes," he said, "it's over." Since I know he's not delusional -- no one in the public eye seems more grounded in reality at the moment -- it was obvious to me that he was "making a statement."

The fight that's been going on for months, this fight, is done. Victory to the Water Protectors and their allies around the world. The overall struggle, beyond this phase, in this place, for these ends and objectives, is continuing. And there may well be more struggles over the pipeline at Standing Rock. That's a given.

And of course, forces are marshaled to overturn the ruling denying the easement. Many observers wonder if the pipeline company has gone ahead with their drilling anyway and will announce the completion of the work sooner rather than later. That's as may be. And that would mark a different phase of the struggle or perhaps a different struggle altogether.

What the Water Protectors have won is what they were asking for: a thorough Environmental Impact Statement, consideration of re-routing the pipeline away from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, consultation with the Tribe over any project of its kind, and respect for Treaties and Treaty rights.

All of these things were requested/demanded from the Corps and the regulatory bodies well before the project started construction, as made clear in the recording of the Tribal Council meeting of September 30, 2014 that I posted earlier. There really were no new demands by the Tribe through all the twists and turns of the actions by Water Protectors and the so-called "law enforcement" of the region (supplemented by mercenaries from other areas and private companies.)

What the Tribe wanted was all very clear and was based on the requirements of the laws that were flagrantly ignored by North Dakota, the Army Corps, and by the pipeline companies. At no time were Tribal officials requesting or demanding anything outside the requirements of those laws. They were demanding that the laws be observed.

If those laws were observed and the pipeline went through anyway, the Tribe would still object, but at least the pipeline would be a lawful (if wrong) intrusion -- of which there have been so many over the centuries.

But in this case, North Dakota, the Army Corps, and the pipeline companies appeared to collude in order to circumvent the laws in existence that regulated pipeline routing and construction, and which required close consultation with Tribal interests along any proposed route, required a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement, and required respect for and honoring of Tribal Treaties.

This collusion to circumvent the laws regarding these matters was the core of the objections by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the pipeline. Of course there were many other reasons to object, most of which were highlighted during the campaign by the Water Protectors.

So, after months of campaigning against the pipeline, a campaign that attracted world-wide support, and after hundreds of arrests on bogus charges, after hundreds were injured (some seriously) in police assaults on Water Protectors, and after the pipeline was nearly completed, and after thousands of veterans assembled at Standing Rock to protect the Water Protectors from the pipeline protectors the government in Washington and the Army Corps in (Nebraska?) bestirred themselves to declare: "Ooops, we shoulda done this the right way, shouldn't we? Let's have a do-over, mkay?"

Damb.

It's not too little, too late, it's more like WTF?

But this isn't anything new to the Tribes. They know WTF inside and out.

So. This is an important victory, despite the naysayers. Anything could happen from this point. A spanner has been thrown in the works, and at least temporarily the actual regulations and laws about these things are supposed to be followed.

Nevertheless, the pipeline may still be finished on the current route and even on the current schedule (though that's unlikely -- even if Trump reverses the ruling by the Corps.)

I think everybody involved in the campaign is aware of that, and has been all along.

And the campaign isn't ending.

My understanding is that the camp "Oceti Sakowin" will remain at least until these matters are settled. Some of the veterans will stay on site for the duration; they're not going anywhere. Their assignment and duty is to protect the Water Protectors come what may. The numbers in the camp will fluctuate as they have throughout the campaign to date (I heard that yesterday there were an estimated 16,000 in the camp or more). There is little doubt that the pipeline companies in collusion with the authorities in North Dakota -- but without overt federal support at least until the Trump regime takes power -- will attempt to circumvent law and suppress the Water Protectors as they have been accustomed to do.

This is not naysaying, it's reality, one that the Standing Rock Sioux and the Water Protectors know all too well.

The struggle continues.

Yesterday's victory is gratifying. It gives courage to those of us who seek a better future for us all.

Much gratitude to the Water Protectors who have shown us the way.

And So It Begins [UPDATED: Pipeline Easement Denied!]

Mirrors on the prairie

I've read that there may be as many as 14,000 people in the Oceti Sakowin camp in North Dakota by now, and more are arriving minute by minute. They're coming from all over the country, some from all over the world. Expressions of solidarity and support are nearly universal.

And the dumbfukks of "law enforcement" lie and threaten and fantasize, discrediting and delegitimizing themselves as they hide in their armored cars behind their barricades, cannons at the ready, fearing... something. They always fear... something.

I've been trying to keep up with the progress of the veterans on their way to Standing Rock, but it's been kind of frustrating. There are plenty of stories, some of them based on false narratives developed in news rooms to "clarify" the situation, but for the most part, the mainstream media has avoided the story and really has no idea what's going on or why. To them it's just a bunch of Indians and trouble makers doing what they do to no particular object.

But then some of the news rooms start to see there really is something going on, something profound, and these Indians and trouble makers might actually have a point and are not just pissing into the freezing wind.

When serious and sincere American veterans of all persuasions essentially spontaneously decided to head to Standing Rock in the midst of a bitter winter to protect the Water Protectors from the violence of "law enforcement" it started becoming clear that a tipping point had been reached. A stop would be put to the violence used against the Water Protectors and the militarized response to the objections to the pipeline would be withdrawn... or else.

It's all very symbolic and spiritual. I'm all that worried about physical violence. I doubt there will be any -- at least not in this phase of the action. "Law enforcement" has been shamed and discredited about as thoroughly as I've ever seen it done in this country -- at least since the days of Bull Connor.

It's an epic reversal of fortune.

If the pipeline advocates and protectors have any sense at all, they will give up. It's not clear they do have any sense, but one can always hope.

I'm embedding an hour long recording of a Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council meeting from September of 2014 when DAPL representatives came before the Council to explain the plans and take questions about the pipeline. Kelsey Warren, the CEO of Energy Transfer Partners, the construction company for the pipeline, has lied and said there were no objections from the Tribe prior to the start of construction. Construction had not been approved and had not started at the time of the meeting more than two years ago. Though the recording is long, if you listen you will hear one solid objection to the pipeline after another, many of them the very same objections the Water Protectors make today about treaty rights, sacred sites and potentials for water fouling from pipeline leaks. THE SAME OBJECTIONS.

The DAPL reps don't even acknowledge these objections. Perhaps they never passed them on. But the pipeline and its construction next to the boundary of the Standing Rock Reservation and particularly crossing the Missouri River were strenuously objected to by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council throughout this meeting. It is absolutely and demonstrably false that there was no objection from the tribe prior to construction.



That is the underlying falsehood, piled upon so many other falsehoods going back to First Contact that has got us to this point.

Have enough people woken up yet? I don't know.

A Butterfly Effect got going some years back when the Occupy Movement arose. (still flapping its tiny wings, btw. You'd be surprised!) By opening the possibility of direct action in opposition to the malevolent forces surrounding us, by discommoding the comfortable, by shaming the powerful, by taking a stand and holding out against the odds, the neoliberal consensus began to shudder.

It hasn't come crashing down, not yet. But its shaking and shuddering is becoming chaotic. It's not sustainable.

The Indians and their allies in North Dakota and around the world are saying, "This is really where we need to take a stand and stop the madness." They are dealing with the basics, the fundamentals of survival. Water is Life. Mni Wiconi. It couldn't be simpler.

And so it begins.

Prelude: The Dark Reality



UPDATE:

According to news reports, the pipeline easement under the Missouri River has been denied by the Army Corps of Engineers. Word was sent to the Standing Rock Tribal Council this afternoon, and news is just breaking.

Well deserved cheers. But something tells me this ain't over. Not by a long shot.

Much admiration for the strength and solidarity of spirit and purpose of the Water Protectors and their allies around the world. Many thanks to the Veterans who stand with Standing Rock. When duty called, they answered.

Everything I've seen of today's assembly at Oceti Sacowin tells me that it has been a beautiful day. A good day to win.

Ho.

Michael Woods comments on the Twitter Machine:

The Army Corp of Engineers is blocking the Dakota Access Pipeline. We won!  WTF! Done. It's a new day. pic.twitter.com/mr20akdyaU

— Circles of Voices (@JCFaulk_CoV) December 4, 2016

Step one is right. The Army Corps is denying the easement pending further environmental review to find another route. Fight isn't over. Not yet.

The statement.

Shock Doctrine in Reverse? [Updated]

As thousands of US military veterans assemble in North Dakota to protect the Water Protectors from the pipeline protectors, we're witness to a phenomenon I don't think we've seen before, at least not in my lifetime.

Essentially, it's a form of shock being applied to those who have always before been able to shock their adversaries without accountability or consequence. Now, all of a sudden, there will be witnesses who matter in the context of what's colloquially known as "law enforcement." And for once, the adversaries "law enforcement" is facing down -- and perhaps brutalizing as they have brutalized the Water Protectors -- will be their own peers, their own tribe, their own kind.

"Law enforcement" has been trying to squirm out of their self-created dilemma, first by issuing commands and orders for the protesters to leave their camps or face dire consequences; ordering supporters not to deliver essential supplies or they will face fines of $1000 or more; ordering emergency services not to provide emergency services to the camps without prior authorization from "law enforcement;" and so on.

And then, within hours, countermandering their own orders, denying they ever intended them to mean what they say, yadda yadda.

And when the vets started arriving and staring down "law enforcement" on the other side of police barricades (oh, how evocative, but I may not explore that in this post) the sound cannon is used to command a vet with a backpack to separate from the crowd and because "protesters have brought weapons..."

What do the vets do? They turn their backs and walk away.



Issue of the 'backpack' starts about 6:50 but the whole confrontation is worth watching.

Heh.

They turn their backs and walk away.

It was brilliant.

When there are thousands of vets there staring down "law enforcement," I can well imagine that the officers behind their barricades will literally pee their pants.

It would be nice to think that many more of them will quit on the spot and at least some of them will join the vets with the Water Protectors, but that's not likely. Apparently the pipeline protectors are making a lot of money in overtime and other compensation (partly paid by the pipeline company? This isn't entirely clear.) and they can't afford to lose this added income. But we'll see.

Michael Woods and Wes Clark Jr are the instigators of this action, and so far, it seems to be going really well. They've raised about a million dollars to cover their own expenses, more than 3,000 have signed up to protect the Water Protectors, and 2,000 + are expected on scene by tomorrow.

That's apparently the maximum number the Standing Rock tribe thinks they can host at one time.

I'm finding I really like Standing Rock chairman David Archambault II and his steady, calming, and very positive approach to all this. He knows what he's doing and what needs to be done and he's become a wonderful counselor to those who sometimes let their anger or fear run away with them.

Something is definitely coming.

It's probably not what any of us expect.

Ho.

-------------------------------
UPDATE: A delegation from the Veterans group and the various Native groups  met with representatives of "law enforcement" on Backwater Bridge (the scene of the notorious attack on Water Protectors on November 20) and apparently reached a tentative agreement to avoid further police assaults. According to a news conference given by the various sheriffs and the National Guard commander, "law enforcement" agreed to pull back from the north side of the bridge where they have erected their barricades and strung their razor wire in front of their military vehicles to protect the pipeline. They will do this, they say, in the interests of peace and harmony (bless their hearts) so long as the Water Protectors do not pass beyond the south end of the bridge, do not make any "aggressive" moves toward the police lines (wherever they may be), do not try to make a water crossing or pass over the land on either side of the bridge toward the north, and do not fly any drones over or beyond the north end of the bridge.

They are particularly annoyed with the drones that the Water Protectors fly over the scene documenting what's going on below. They've tried to shoot them down. It's really one of the more overtly cowardly responses that "law enforcement" has shown toward the Water Protectors.

Meanwhile Dave Archambault and the Governor of North Dakota (a newcomer named "Dalrymple") have agreed to meet face to face sometime in the future (no date set) to help resolve some of the outstanding issues surrounding the pipeline and the continuing opposition of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe to it.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has bestirred itself from its rather remarkable months-long slumber and is sending "mediators" or "arbitrators" and community policing representatives to the scene to help defuse and deescalate conflict. That's nice. The Water Protectors have been asking DoJ and the White House to intervene for months, but their pleas have gone largely unheeded. Now that the Vet contingent is almost fully assembled, it appears that The Powers That Be have awakened to a new reality.

While the "law enforcement" officials (particularly the sheriffs) tried to puff their chests and strut around like banty roosters, it's clear they are feeling somewhat chastised in the face of the resilience of the resistance, especially after their lies about the November 20 assault on the Water Protectors were revealed within minutes of their statements that night. (One reason they don't want drones or journalists documenting what's going on). The arrival of the Veterans standing with Standing Rock, as well as many, many others in support of the Water Protectors -- in the middle of a growingly harsh winter -- has demonstrated to them better than most anyone could have imagined that they are... wrong.

They've tried to make the Indians and their allies go away, and every time they try out some new brutality, more Indians and allies come. There are now perhaps 10,000 people gathered in the camps and more are arriving by the hour. I saw a report -- can't find it now -- that the women had gone over to Turtle Hill, a sacred site of ancestor burials, which "law enforcement" had been guarding against Indian intrusions. The women had removed the razor wire and other impediments to access and reclaimed the Hill.

Of course Trump has declared that the pipeline should go ahead and be finished as planned. After all, he has investments in it.

That's the important thing, isn't it?

Keeping it Together; Flying Apart; A Gathering of Nations

The Standing Rock resistance actions in North Dakota have been an inspiration to me just as they have been to millions of allies and supporters around the country and the world. We've had friends go up there a number of times, and we wish we could go too, to stand in solidarity with the Water Protectors and Grandmother Earth Defenders, but it's not an option for us at the moment due to age and infirmity in my case and Ms Ché's intensive class schedule in hers.

So we support them how and when we can. It's an obligation on the one hand; a blessing on the other. Part of the inspiration for me is that those on the front lines are sticking together no matter what comes their way. They are strong in spirit and they stand united against the Black Snake; that's the key to their ultimate victory which I'm more convinced that ever will come, regardless of whether the Black Snake eventually tunnels under the Missouri River-Lake Oahe it is poised to violate.

Indigenous resistance around the world has gathered strength from the resistance in North Dakota, but at the same time, the Standing Rock resistance gains strength and power from indigenous resistance movements in the rest of the world. It's a circle, and it is a circle that is spreading ever outwards as the Dominant Society flies apart.

That's what it looks like to me. Many observers have been trying to "make sense of" the rise of Rightist-Racist National-Populism throughout the Euro-American cultural sphere. What's going on? Why is it happening? And why the focus on it, when there are other powerful movements in the rise as well?

To me, it's a sign that the Dominant Euro-American socio-economic and political experiment is coming apart, nearing its end. It's been bankrupt for some time. The opposition to its unfettered continuance has reached a tipping point.  Repent and all that.

I've been seeing more and more commentary that says the EU is dead and cannot be resuscitated. Other commentary suggests the crisis election in the United States will lead to... something, call it an end to the 40 year long experiment in neoLibCon rule and potentially the break up of the US into regionally autonomous units. Self-determination and independence movements are growing and spreading everywhere, and the United Empire (US and (primarily) its European allies) has shown itself to be highly vulnerable to these movements wherever they crop up and regardless of their ideological or religious foundations.

The United Empire has been engaged in -- indeed, has provoked -- what amounts to Endless War against shadows and internalized fears for over fifteen years. It creates its own enemies, fights them, supposedly defeats them, then wonders why they keep coming back. How can that be? Who are these "enemies?" Why are they always there?

They're shadows. They're fears. They don't go away. They can't be defeated, they can only be denied. But by denying them, they are strengthened. It's the most amazing thing.

Fear can be a  useful and normal state of mind in some circumstances. It can goose the adrenalin to enable remarkable bursts of strength and feats of daring. But it can't be maintained over the long term without causing serious physical and psychological damage.

Those who live in fear all the time, as our governments do and as they and their propagandists try to induce the People to do, are crippled in spirit and in strength. The fight or flight mechanism is meant as a temporary expedient, not the central fact of one's existence, but in the Dominant Society, it is becoming the only thing.

It's obvious that since the (s)election Americans have been whipsawed between abject fear and despair, and some sort of wan hope that It (eventually) Gets Better. The efforts to normalize what's happening are ongoing, but the Chaos merely grows -- regardless of what "side" one is on -- and as it grows, the fears take over. As I've said, it's a classic Shock Doctrine tactic for control of the masses, but it's a risky one, too, as its results become less and less manageable and predictable.

This is one reason why positive and active resistance is necessary. The Water Protectors and the Grandmother Earth Defenders are the example of what resistance can and should look like. There are all kinds of other resistance movements, many of which look nothing like the Water Protectors, and they act nothing like them, either. Direct attacks on the Empire generally won't succeed, but a Butterfly Effect can cause the course of Empire to change. Not necessarily for the better, however.

We hear all the time that the Empire is on its last legs, collapsing, yadda yadda, and I've never believed it. With every turn of the screw, the Empire is strengthened. It's doing fine, and it will survive the lot of us. This widespread return to White Rightism/White Supremacy within the Imperial construct is a defense mechanism, deeply ingrained in the psyches of Euro-Americans, that they can never truly escape. They're defending the Empire (of the mind) against the Savage Hordes of Dusky "Mud People" at the gates. It's been that way for thousands of years, and I don't see it changing for the better any time soon.

The Water Defenders in North Dakota include the feared "Savages" -- but they also include a broad cross-section of non-Indian allies on the front lines as well as in every other possible venue they can find in the US and around the world. Soon, a contingent of US military veterans will converge on the Standing Rock Reservation to protect the Water Protectors from the violent repression of the Pipeline Protectors. 

The Vets may number in the hundreds or thousands, who can say. But they will appear like the wild bison appeared during one of the law enforcement "engagements" with the Water Protectors.

Every time this happens, the pipeline protectors lose some of their courage (not that they had much to begin with, they have shown themselves to be cowards through and through) and some more of them leave the fight against phantoms they've been assigned to battle.

Of course should they choose to use "overwhelming force" against their phantom foes, the consequences may be "victory" in the immediate case, just the opposite over time. The Water Protectors are using their spiritual strength to stand firm against the physical violence and repression being used against them to protect the pipeline, but in the end, Power will have to yield. The coward will yield to the brave.

The Standing Rock resistance represents the largest gathering of Indigenous nations in modern history, perhaps ever. The unity of purpose and spirit at Standing Rock is unprecedented though it is inspired by Native Resistance movements everywhere and is part of them.

As long as they stand and stay together, they will succeed.