The fact that this series elicits little response compared to my main thing, which is of of coursse the ongoing revolutioary communist criticism of the American System and its politcal culture, was anticipated and reflects the simple fact that alot of folks who read me are caught up in or more of the 17 affllictions I'm going through here. Just a cold fact. I may add two more to make the series even more unpopular: neo-Narodniskism and left antiquarianism, the bizarre obsession I see online with anectotal and baseball card collector-like details about stuff past radical thinkers may or may not have said in obscure forgotten manusrcripts and letters to eachother....quite the time waste. Some fading Marxist historian has apparently recetly put out of a 1400-page manuscript on ten years in the life of the pioneer US Trotskyist James Cannon. The book is available for $443. Not sure how much better that is than jumping down the JFK assassination rabbit hole for a decade or so.
Paul, in today’s Chris Hedges Subsrack column he discusses his participation in an Rage Against the Machine anti war protest that will be held 2/19 in Washington DC, where a number of right wing figures such as Ron Paul will particate. Even the “evil” Max Blumenthal will be there. He supports left-right coalitions on issues they both agree. What do you think? Is this a betrayal of his left, progressive values?
Oh, it's obvious that I disagree, no? I would never set foot on the same stage with those people and I was glad that Medea Benjamin decided to honor Code Pink's membership's request that she not do so. I almost went on Dore's show years ago and cancelled after watching some episodes. Something was just off - and this was before he had on the Booogaloo Bois guy and went on Tucker and become buddies with GG and all that. I'm every bit as radically critical of the Dems as anyone alive, but to me there's no Caitlin Johnstonian need to hang with the right and look for pink--red-brown alliances on anything ever at all, especially now that "conservatives" have become radicals of the right, that is, fascists. Among the pink-brown crowd, there's a lot of failure to pay attention to the social science on the Trump base and thus a lot of fake populist exaggeration of how "working class" it is.
I disagree with you conerning this event. The world is on the edge of WWWIII and a nuclear catastrophe, an anti war peace event even with people you disagree on some issues is appropriate to support and participate. There is not going be participation from really despicable people such as members of the Proud Boys. I listen to a podcast with Kyle Anzalone, a Liberatarian, Conflicts of Interest which is better than the corporate media in covering the Ukrainian War and US military activities around the world. He never brings up any of his other Libertarian beliefs which as a progressive, I would strongly disagree. Even though I disagree with some of the views of Max Blumenthal he has provided me with many insights about what is really happening. He is strongly anti war which has to be supported. One reason I have admired your work and have read your columns for many years is that you have also provided me with many insights concerning what is really happening. Sorry to say, in this respect I put you and Max Blumenthal in the same category!
I like something Ron Jacobs wrote today on CounterPunch: "If you have a political difference too great to overcome with one or the other organizations currently organizing these protests, organize your own." That's good advice. Neat essay: https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/02/15/blood-money-and-imperial-war/
BTW I'm not sure if I ever called Blumenthal "evil" -- hope I didn't; that would not be productive. I just live in a different part of the left than all those guys and it is mainly guys on....the trumpy putimty assady geopolitical-neo-campist pink-browny Greenwaldy C.Johnstoney left. Ick. Not my moral or intellectual scene as a revolutionary socialist-communist-Marxist, and, as Stuart Smalley would say, "that's okay."
Was only joking and exaggerating about Max Blumenthal being “evil.” Actually he is basically a good person trying make the US and world a better place. Also he is sincere, not phoney.
Working on my worst behaviors, interior at first , any county sherif can black crepe the microphone tell me Michael Brown stole cigarettes and turn me towards jack booted bastardsy. But the adaptive work I am slated for was the old saw of Kurt Vonnegut's about gaining part in an extended family. Three pages of the story of the very beginning if the Pullman strike and I consider that PROBABLISTICALLY I would not pass among the many unions Debs organized during the strike. Is absurd but a private belief, in the actual really existing Any brown haired male could use my ID. Next Monday a verbal encouragement for you. I found this word tap between 19th century word coven and I don't know "confront" for a list of over an hundred words in English that describe "resigning" yourself to real natural forces. Help you reel the feeling back in because you are fiery. 19th cent'y words like "sustain and underwrite" dig it.
I thought it was really quite explicit with CJ: no hiding of the pursuit of a full on red-brown alliance. She doesn't even hide it, really, to anyone who investigates --- not that I've looked in a couple years (I gladly admit that I have not). You have to be pretty bad to ket kicked off CounterPunch (as also did the other Johnstone), which is a very big tent and allows some space for a kind of red-browniness. Notice I use pink instead of red here as the tragically moronic/cynical bleed over to the fascist right comes here rarely if ever from actual radicals and more from social-democratish sorts. I am a dedicated enemy of Western/US/NATO imperialism and provocation (I think Washington poked the bear big time and on the bear's own repatedly invaded underbelly/border ffs) in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and everywhere else, of course, but as I explained two Thursday ago, I reject the apparently widespread left notion that there's only one national capitalism-imperialism in the world. No campist geopolitical "multipolarista" excuse-mongering for the fascist Putin's bloodsoaked butchery from me. As for the butcher Assad, there are no words for what he has done and the criminality of his response to popular revolutionary and radical socialist movements.
The fact that this series elicits little response compared to my main thing, which is of of coursse the ongoing revolutioary communist criticism of the American System and its politcal culture, was anticipated and reflects the simple fact that alot of folks who read me are caught up in or more of the 17 affllictions I'm going through here. Just a cold fact. I may add two more to make the series even more unpopular: neo-Narodniskism and left antiquarianism, the bizarre obsession I see online with anectotal and baseball card collector-like details about stuff past radical thinkers may or may not have said in obscure forgotten manusrcripts and letters to eachother....quite the time waste. Some fading Marxist historian has apparently recetly put out of a 1400-page manuscript on ten years in the life of the pioneer US Trotskyist James Cannon. The book is available for $443. Not sure how much better that is than jumping down the JFK assassination rabbit hole for a decade or so.
Paul, in today’s Chris Hedges Subsrack column he discusses his participation in an Rage Against the Machine anti war protest that will be held 2/19 in Washington DC, where a number of right wing figures such as Ron Paul will particate. Even the “evil” Max Blumenthal will be there. He supports left-right coalitions on issues they both agree. What do you think? Is this a betrayal of his left, progressive values?
Oh, it's obvious that I disagree, no? I would never set foot on the same stage with those people and I was glad that Medea Benjamin decided to honor Code Pink's membership's request that she not do so. I almost went on Dore's show years ago and cancelled after watching some episodes. Something was just off - and this was before he had on the Booogaloo Bois guy and went on Tucker and become buddies with GG and all that. I'm every bit as radically critical of the Dems as anyone alive, but to me there's no Caitlin Johnstonian need to hang with the right and look for pink--red-brown alliances on anything ever at all, especially now that "conservatives" have become radicals of the right, that is, fascists. Among the pink-brown crowd, there's a lot of failure to pay attention to the social science on the Trump base and thus a lot of fake populist exaggeration of how "working class" it is.
I disagree with you conerning this event. The world is on the edge of WWWIII and a nuclear catastrophe, an anti war peace event even with people you disagree on some issues is appropriate to support and participate. There is not going be participation from really despicable people such as members of the Proud Boys. I listen to a podcast with Kyle Anzalone, a Liberatarian, Conflicts of Interest which is better than the corporate media in covering the Ukrainian War and US military activities around the world. He never brings up any of his other Libertarian beliefs which as a progressive, I would strongly disagree. Even though I disagree with some of the views of Max Blumenthal he has provided me with many insights about what is really happening. He is strongly anti war which has to be supported. One reason I have admired your work and have read your columns for many years is that you have also provided me with many insights concerning what is really happening. Sorry to say, in this respect I put you and Max Blumenthal in the same category!
I like something Ron Jacobs wrote today on CounterPunch: "If you have a political difference too great to overcome with one or the other organizations currently organizing these protests, organize your own." That's good advice. Neat essay: https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/02/15/blood-money-and-imperial-war/
I appreciate you good comments and thoughtfulness concerning this issue.
BTW I'm not sure if I ever called Blumenthal "evil" -- hope I didn't; that would not be productive. I just live in a different part of the left than all those guys and it is mainly guys on....the trumpy putimty assady geopolitical-neo-campist pink-browny Greenwaldy C.Johnstoney left. Ick. Not my moral or intellectual scene as a revolutionary socialist-communist-Marxist, and, as Stuart Smalley would say, "that's okay."
Was only joking and exaggerating about Max Blumenthal being “evil.” Actually he is basically a good person trying make the US and world a better place. Also he is sincere, not phoney.
Working on my worst behaviors, interior at first , any county sherif can black crepe the microphone tell me Michael Brown stole cigarettes and turn me towards jack booted bastardsy. But the adaptive work I am slated for was the old saw of Kurt Vonnegut's about gaining part in an extended family. Three pages of the story of the very beginning if the Pullman strike and I consider that PROBABLISTICALLY I would not pass among the many unions Debs organized during the strike. Is absurd but a private belief, in the actual really existing Any brown haired male could use my ID. Next Monday a verbal encouragement for you. I found this word tap between 19th century word coven and I don't know "confront" for a list of over an hundred words in English that describe "resigning" yourself to real natural forces. Help you reel the feeling back in because you are fiery. 19th cent'y words like "sustain and underwrite" dig it.
Well said.
I thought it was really quite explicit with CJ: no hiding of the pursuit of a full on red-brown alliance. She doesn't even hide it, really, to anyone who investigates --- not that I've looked in a couple years (I gladly admit that I have not). You have to be pretty bad to ket kicked off CounterPunch (as also did the other Johnstone), which is a very big tent and allows some space for a kind of red-browniness. Notice I use pink instead of red here as the tragically moronic/cynical bleed over to the fascist right comes here rarely if ever from actual radicals and more from social-democratish sorts. I am a dedicated enemy of Western/US/NATO imperialism and provocation (I think Washington poked the bear big time and on the bear's own repatedly invaded underbelly/border ffs) in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and everywhere else, of course, but as I explained two Thursday ago, I reject the apparently widespread left notion that there's only one national capitalism-imperialism in the world. No campist geopolitical "multipolarista" excuse-mongering for the fascist Putin's bloodsoaked butchery from me. As for the butcher Assad, there are no words for what he has done and the criminality of his response to popular revolutionary and radical socialist movements.
I was at Truthdig until the Scheer and Hedges meltdown. That sucked. Apparently Truthdig is recently back in some new form.