The Third Estate Sunday Review focuses on politics and culture. We're an online magazine. We don't play nice and we don't kiss butt. In the words of Tuesday Weld: "I do not ever want to be a huge star. Do you think I want a success? I refused "Bonnie and Clyde" because I was nursing at the time but also because deep down I knew that it was going to be a huge success. The same was true of "Bob and Carol and Fred and Sue" or whatever it was called. It reeked of success."
An e-mail asked what I think of the Gaza coverage? I cry over it. I also laugh.
Let's
deal with the laughter first. I laugh at what the Gaza Freaks do. Gaza
Freaks are the idiots who are backing Donald Trump or Jill Stein.
Backing either will put Donald Trump into the White House and that will
harm the Palestinians.
I laugh at it because they erode support for the Palestinian people.
The
Gaza Freaks made a decision and the sane people had to make a
decision. The sane people -- and I'm in that group -- have to focus on
the United States where there will be a presidential election in a
matter of days.
Without the sane people, the
Palestinians are being destroyed in the world of public opinion.
Because Gaza Freaks are freaks. They don't know to persuade anyone.
They don't know how to communicate. Without the voices of sanity,
you're left with scary Medea Benjamin and her kind -- the same
embarrassing con artists that pick up causes and drop them repeatedly.
Medea didn't help Palestinians in the summer of 2006 and she's not
helping them today.
The sane voices? We know
how to structure an argument. We know how to emphasize and how to
choose what to emphasize to make an effective argument. Our attention
is elsewhere currently -- as it should be. And without us, there's no
movement on this issue. More people are not coming to support the cause
and, in fact, a fatigue has set in.
That's because Gaza Freaks don't know how to talk to others.
CBS
does a bad report on the Palestinians? I can get on the phone with a
producer there and make an argument about what was wrong and misguided
and unfair. Gaza Freaks can't.
So they write
their poorly thought out columns and make their asinine statements and
the American people tune them out. Over and over.
Two
idiots at COMMON DREAMS prove their stupidity yet again. I'll be kind
and not name one of them because he clearly thinks he's helping. He's
not. I have no problem naming Ralph Nader.
I'm not anti-Ralph.
We
noted every press release his campaign sent to the public e-mail
account in 2008, for example. I've noted him at other times as well.
And he has his strengths. He's not a bad person.
But
electoral politics? That's not a strength for Ralph. Yes, he remains
the most successful presidential nominee the Green Party has ever had
but, again, we're talking about the Green Party.
Ralph's fired off another missive and COMMON DREAMS has posted it.
Why?
If
we're going to hear from Ralph, in 2024, ahead of a presidential
election, the only thing we need to hear from him is: I was wrong to run
in 2000.
Because he was.
He
had no plans. He had nothing to offer. In a ROLLING STONE interview,
he attacked feminists for not joining him in his war on high-heels.
I'm
not joking. He dismissed the issue of reproductive rights but wanted
women to get behind him because he was opposed to high heels.
First
off, Ralph, Cybill Shepherd beat you to that cause by many, many
years. Second of all, some women want to wear high heels. But then you
don't respect women's choices which is why, third of all, you would
dismiss concerns about abortion rights.
Ralph
is one of the reasons we got the Iraq War. He is not the only reason.
And Al Gore could have run a better campaign. Equally true, left media
-- THE NATION, DEMOCRACY NOW!, et al -- could've stopped whoring for
Ralph Nader and trashing Al Gore.
Ralph was not prepared to be president and had nothing to offer.
He still doesn't.
He's
an activist. So am I. I'm not stupid enough -- or vain enough -- to
think I could be president. I know my strengths and I know my
weaknesses.
Ralph still won't admit to his. Over a million Iraqis are dead as result of Ralph Nader's nonsense.
And COMMON DREAMS thinks we need to hear from him right now ahead of an election?
Again, the only thing we need to hear from him is an apology to the American people and especially to the Iraqi people.
Now
there is another column he could write. The one that he believes in
which is that he should have run and that he has no regrets.
That's a column people need to read and should be reading ahead of an election.
Because over one million Iraqis are dead.
And Ralph won't take responsibility.
Over one million Iraqis are dead because Ralph didn't know what the f**k he was doing and still doesn't.
By
him announcing his continued pride in his vanity campaign of 2000, he'd
be making clear just what an idiot Jill Stein is right now with her
vanity campaign.
Ralph's a great activist. And
in 1996 people started telling him he should be president. In 2000, he
agreed with them and officially ran a campaign for president.
He
won votes. I'm not attacking the people who voted for him. But it's
24 years later and he still can't get honest about the effect his failed
run had. It's 24 years later and he still can't grasp that he lacks
the skills to be a president. Or, for that matter, Congressional
support to rule.
Were the hideous JD Vance or
Ron DeSantis or whomever the GOP's presidential candidate, I don't know
that this election would be as important as it is. I'm being honest.
But I knew last year that whomever the Democratic Party nominee was, I
would have to vote for that person. Because this isn't 2016. Or even
2020. We saw what Donald did after he lost. We saw what he would stoop
to. We know what he has done via testimony. We know now how bad it
was when he was in the White House. We know he is a danger and a threat
to democracy.
This isn't, "Oh, he's a bad candiate, I'm gong to vote for John Kerry instead."
This
is: He's a despot who was barely kept in check when he was in the White
House before and now, thanks to a corrupt Supreme Court, if he goes
back into the White House, he does so with no limits.
This is not minor.
Unless you're a Gaza Freak.
I'm just not in the mood for you idiots and crazies who are willing to tank the United States.
You
Gaza Freaks don't care enough to go over there, Rachel Corrie cared
about the Palestinians. She gave her life for them. All you Gaza
Freaks do is whine and gripe and fail to realize the world around you.
You loathe the Israeli government. It's an apartheid government, so it is loathsome.
But you don't realize the environment you are in.
The Israeli government and the US government have been allies for years. Should they be?
I
don't think so. I don't think a democracy supports a government that
enforces apartheid. But, again, I was actively calling out the US
government for recognizing and partnering with apartheid South Africa.
And that took years and years. Now it could move quicker here, things
do move quicker these days. But we still aren't at a place in this
country where enough people can press Congress on this. We're not at
the tipping point on this issue. We could be. If it weren't Gaza
Freaks and their trashing Kamala, we could all be working on this. Butinstead,
you've made those of us trying to save the country have to focus even
more on that because of your uneducated, foolish and stupid actions and
statements.
We're not a place, in this country,
with the elections days away, where someone can be elected president by
saying all the things you demand Kamala say.
You
haven't done the work, you haven't put in the time. But you're like
the idiots on the left (I'm on the left) who are forever looking for
some rich sugar daddy to save them.
Remember those idiots?
One of them is Ralph Nader.
In 2009, what book did he release? ONLY THE SUPER-RICH CAN SAVE US!
You want short cuts, you don't want to do the work required.
To change US policy with regards to Israel takes a lot more work than the Gaza Freaks are willing to do.
They
just know they can rally behind one person who can do all the work for
them. Yes, they are that stupid. Con artist Jill Stein pretends to be
that person.
Not only can she not deliver on
that, if her votes cost Kamala the election, you can be sure there will
be a backlash to the Palestinian issue. When Ralph's nonsense campaign
helped put Bully Boy Bush in the White House, his various causes were no
longer concerns of the American people and various organizations he had
been part of -- and even organizations he himself had started -- had to
distance themselves from Ralph publicly in order to survive.
So
grifter Jill is playing a very dangerous game -- one she cannot win but
wants to play for her own vanity even though it could serious destroy
the Palestinian people.
And that's why I cry. Because lives are at stake.
And the Palestinian people matter.
The
current slaughter is only the latest slaughter. Kamala in the White
House and all of us doing the work required? That could result in
actual freedom for the Palestinians, not just a cease-fire.
Donald in the White House?
If
you think those of us trying to save democracy right now aren't helping
the Gaza Freaks, grasp how Trump back in the White House means we're
going to have to work that much harder protecting the American people.
We're not going to be able to help the Gaza freaks. We'll be too busy
trying to protect journalists and Donald's political rivals, and people
of color, and people of color who are immigrants, and women who need
real healthcare, and the LGBTQ+ community, and our schools, and our
doctors, and . . .
And while we're doing all of that work? Donald's going to be destroying the Palestinian people.
Gaza Freaks are destroying the future for Palestinians.
That's reality. And that's why I cry.
And
if you think about, if you really think about it, and you look around
and think how there's no rallying right now around the Palestinian
cause, you'll grasp what happens when those of us who are sane are
forced to put the issue aside because we have to deal with a local
pressing issue.
Gaza Freaks aren't helping
build support for the Palestinians. And they can't even be honest about
that. I read a story about another attack in Gaza or hear about one
and I want to cry. But even though things have gotten even worse since
we've had to focus on this election, the Gaza Freaks just toss this
stuff out there, throw it on the wall, have no idea how to shape the
content or build an argument.
Because they
don't know how to do anything. You want their bodies at a protest but
you never want to put them in charge of a protest because they're not
smart enough, they lack the skills.
That's the same reality when it comes to Jill Stein.
If you care about the Palestinians, you're voting for Kamala.
You
can lie and pretend otherwise but if Donald gets back in the White
House, you better expect all the hate scorn you're going to get.
Because there is no chance for the Palestinian people with a Trump
presidency.
You're having a hissy fit that
there's no cease-fire. But you're not adult enough or smart enough to
grasp that Donald and War Criminal Netanyahu are speaking regularly on
the phone.
That's just how stupid the Gaza Freaks are.
On
COMMON DREAMS, I actually was going to praise them and note some of
their recent articles on Kamala. I don't have time now. I'll pull what
I can over to THIRD. But I'm tired. I'm damn tired. I'm tired of
having to make the argument for Kamala every day here -- seven days a
week -- because idiots want to pretend that they can waste their vote on
Jill Stein as they pretend that it will make no difference whether
Donald Trump is in the White House again or not.
I'm tired because I'm on the road speaking to a minimum of seven groups each day about the need to vote for Kamala.
I'm tired because I'm doing the work that we all should be doing to save our country.
I'm
tired because I can't believe that the left -- THE NATION, DEMOCRACY
NOW!, IN THESE TIMES, et al -- can't get over their racism and get
behind Kamala.
I guess, for
example, Katrina vanden Heuvel of THE NATION is comfortable seeing a
Black woman as her mammy or a maid but not as a president. Oops, did I
go there? Read Rebecca's "how we're going to win this election"
because I might really go there here. Rebecca's right it will probably
go up in a community newsletter instead. The reason being, I am calmer
since Friday when I wrote the unpublished post -- and left the comments
for Katrina -- and I realize that punishing THE NATION for what they've
done means I should use those e-mails privately. Wait until the days
after the election where we big donors discuss what worked and what
didn't, and, as I advocate for us to cut off all funding to the Katrina
owned NATION magazine, work those e-mails into my presentation to really
seal the deal.
Everybody's updated -- most of
us not only wrote but we also posted the videos of Michelle Obama and
Beyonce and Kelly Rowland speaking with Kamala on Friday and Saturday.
And Tina! Tina Knowles did a great job as well.
Michelle was so amazing and so from the heart, let me include this.
My
point being I'm tired and I'm just noting this from the community sites
-- it may not be the post that they wrote, you might have to go to the
previous post. Again, I'm tired. I'm doing everything I can to see
that our democracy is saved by electing Kamala Harris.
These are the most recent posts by community sites:
That's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Jill FrankenStein." And she is a monster. She is a monster who will destroy us all.
In 2012, I voted for Jill. I voted for her in 2016 as well. I'm a Green. I will not be voting for her this year.
And that's for a number of reasons including my party needed to pick a better nominee but instead wanted to run a two-time failure for the third time.
She had nothing to offer in 2016. And I blindly put party ahead of country and voted for her so that we could have ballot access. Ballot access is supposedly so important to us in the Green Party. But look at the races for Congress and count the handful of actual Green Party candidates that we are running.
Jill's not helping the party and she's not helping the country.
Gaza? I care about Palestinians. I want a cease-fire and I want so much more. But Jill's not helping with that either.
Donald Trump? He's on the phone with Netanyahu all the time. THE WASHINGTON POST reported last week that he told Netanyahu -- of the killing of Palestinians, "Do what you have to do."
And that means handing the White House over to Netanyahu's buddy Donald Trump.
I applaud Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for putting country above party. But when I hear whiners on the left attack Liz and Adam and others? I just remember that we're out there too. Green Party voters are out here. And we're putting country above party as well and saying no to Jill Stein's vanity campaign.
We're all pulling together to try to save the country. And only by saving the country will we really be able to help the Palestinian people.
On COMMON DREAMS, I actually was going to praise
them and note some of their recent articles on Kamala. I don't have
time now. I'll pull what I can over to THIRD. But I'm tired. I'm damn
tired. I'm tired of having to make the argument for Kamala every day
here -- seven days a week -- because idiots want to pretend that they
can waste their vote on Jill Stein as they pretend that it will make no
difference whether Donald Trump is in the White House again or not.
I'm tired because I'm on the road speaking to a minimum of seven groups each day about the need to vote for Kamala.
I'm tired because I'm doing the work that we all should be doing to save our country.
I'm
tired because I can't believe that the left -- THE NATION, DEMOCRACY
NOW!, IN THESE TIMES, et al -- can't get over their racism and get
behind Kamala.
Wrong.
She and Ava are scheduled with a minimum of seven groups each day. She does not speak to a minimum of seven groups a day. Looking over her schedule, the minimum last Sunday was twelve. Monday through Thursday she spoke to a minimum of nine a day. Friday, she spoke to eleven groups and, yesterday, she spoke to twelve.
She is scheduled with seven for each day before it starts. I know because I do the schedule. But people will hear she and Ava are in the area and a dean or a professor, who is a friend of Ava and/or C.I. -- or with some group will call or e-mail and I'll add them to her schedule. She has never had only seven groups, by the end of the day. Most days she starts out scheduled to speak to seven. But groups are added constantly each day.
I titled this "C.I. lied" because I knew it would get more attention that way. She's aware of the seven because that's what she agreed was manageable. She knew it would be tough -- because most of these groups require travel -- but she thought she could handle seven groups a day. She knew she'd be tired and exhausted. Ava had said six so we got together and tried to figure out six or seven. Ava said if C.I. was up for seven groups, so we she.
But while that was the agreement and that is what is scheduled at the start of the day, it never ends up being just seven.
I can't do what Ava and C.I. do. But I can call friends and make sure they vote. I can give rides to the polls for friends who need rides. I can make the case for Kamala to people I know are undecided. We can all do much more than just vote. And we've got to -- this election, we have got to.
26) "shannen doherty" -- Rebecca notes the passing of the TV actress.
27) "Bob Newhart" -- Marcia notes the passing of the TV sitcom star.
28) "Richard Simmons" -- Ruth notes the passing of the fitness guru.
29) "Obituaries -- thoughts on Sheila Jackson Lee and others"
-- Elaine notes the passing of Sheila Jackson Lee -- exposed as a crook
in Greg Palast's THE BEST DEMOCRACY MONEY CAN BUY -- and why we cover
the deaths we cover.
30) ''Gena Rowlands" -- Stan notes the passing of a legendary actress.
Stupidity. Nine days away from the election and all the
idiots won't shut the hell up. I'm voting for Kamala. I'm a grown up.
I want to save the nation. And I was thinking of a Carly Simon song
yesterday afternoon when C.I. called me. There was a senior citizens
home 90
minutes from me and she'd heard from a local Democratic Party leader
that they were really wanting someone to speak there but they were
spread thin. So I said, absolutely and my wife and I went spoke there
last night. But while we were on the phone, I said, "I'm tired of all
the
people pressuring Kamala to do this and to do that and it's like a Carly
Simon song I can't think of the name of . . ." C.I. responded, "New
York women wanting me sounding off like a suffragette?" Yes! "Safe And
Sound." So let me note the video and the lyrics for that song from
Carly's HOT CAKES album.
Marahaj wants you to lead a pilgrimage to Tibet
New York women want me sounding off like a Suffragette
I know that each of us is alone in the end
But the trip still feels less dangerous when you've got a friend
If we stick together
You and me forever
We're safe and sound
The world's just turned inside out and upside down
The world's just turned inside out and upside down
We
just need to stick together. Kamala's got this and we just have to do
our part. And there is heavy reachout to the seniors. We needed that.
And I see that for all the reasons C.I. outlined to me back in August.
I see it face to face when I'm speaking with them. And the first thing I
ask is, "Have any of you been called for a poll about who you're voting
for." Not a single hand. And I'm speaking some Friday nights,
multiple times on Saturdays and Sundays. And been doing that for
weeks. So it does make a difference when you're seeing people face to
face as opposed to hearing from this small polling service that tends to
ignore entire groups of people -- especially those in assisted
living.
So while those of
us who support Kamala are working to get out the vote, Michael Moore's
going on TV saying Kamala's got to "break with Biden." The election is
nine days away. If she does that, it really won't help her because so
many people have voted. It could greatly hurt her. It would feed in to
the what the right wing's been trying to do: Paint her as an ingrate
who stepped over Joe to get the nomination. I'm finding it hard to
believe that Michael Moore couldn't see that. But he is a moron. Then
there's this fool:
While
some Democrats in close races have cozied up to Khan to churn out the
base, Harris has, so far, avoided appearing publicly with Khan.
That, warned economist Hal Singer of the University of Utah, is a mistake.
“When
she won’t defend Biden’s record on antitrust, or defend Khan against
the attacks by the billionaire donors — guys like Reid Hoffman, who’ve
basically been calling for Khan’s head — it kind of zaps the life out of
the progressive base,” Singer told Politico.
Let
me tell you something about voters, I don't care if the voter is 65 or 92, every one
of them brings up their vote sites Lina Khan. Every one.
Every. One.
Are you laughing yet?
Good because not one damn person has mentioned her or her position.
You're
so far in the weeks, Hal Singer, that they're up your ass. Voters
aren't sitting around obsessing over the FTC. But, notice, it's always
men -- and women who identify with male norms -- who think, "I know the
election is only days away but it's a woman so let me tell her how she
should be running her campaign because I'm a man and have a lot of time
to reflect on politics while standing as I pee."
Wisconsin lawmaker Rob Cowles, the longest-serving member of the state’s Senate, told local radio station Civic Media that he plans to cast a ballot for Harris following reports that Trump previously praised Hitler and his generals.
“I
probably should have done this sooner, but there was concern about
blowback, you know, and public safety,” Cowles admitted. “This is one of
the most important things I’ve done.”
For
Cowles, the decision to endorse ultimately came down to Trump’s
reported support of the Nazi leader and what Cowles sees as his disdain
for the Constitution.
Now
the Nazi wasn't an issue until last night. That's the first time I've
spoken to a group since Sunday. And the news broke mid-week. But on
Friday I heard it and all day today I heard about it when I spoke to
voters. I'm really tired of these losers who aren't out there speaking
to voters telling the rest of us -- the people who actually are going
out and talking to voters -- what's on the mind of voters.
We got this. We're going to turn out. We're going vote. Kamala's going to be our next president.
Jim, Dona, Jess, Ty, "Ava" started out this site as five students enrolled in journalism in NY. Now? We're still students. We're in CA. Journalism? The majority scoffs at the notion.
From the start, at the very start, C.I. of The Common Ills has helped with the writing here. C.I.'s part of our core six/gang. (C.I. and Ava write the TV commentaries by themselves.) So that's the six of us. We also credit Dallas as our link locator, soundboard and much more. We try to remember to thank him each week (don't always remember to note it here) but we'll note him in this. So this is a site by the gang/core six: Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I. (of The Common Ills).
