How far we've come

Remembering Trump's lost armada.

It was just three years ago that Trump was threatening "fire and fury" against North Korea and boasting to N.K President Kim Jong-Un, "My button is bigger than yours". He had Pentagon on a nuclear war footing and the U.S. "lost armada"  sailing into Korean waters.

 

See how far we've come.

Yesterday, it was V.P. Kamala ("Don't come") Harris, fresh off the Afghan withdrawal debacle, standing on a U.S. combat ship at the Changi naval base in Singapore warning China to end its "incursions" into the South China Sea. 

”Take a look at the map and tell me who's the one making "incursions"?

To borrow a line from Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change): "Whoever said Americans don't understand irony?"

Advancing our interests...Sounding more and more like an old-line imperialist, Harris proclaimed, “It is also imperative that as we address developments in one region, we continue to advance our interests in other regions, including this region."

New tactics called for in these difficult times

Homeless families threatened by coronavirus occupy vacant houses in southern California. 

"This is our moment to prove ourselves and a nation that, in Chicago, we may get bent, but we will never be broken." -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot

Brother Fred and I should be back on the air with Hitting Left by March 27th. Of course, we'll be doing the show from our respective homes so long as this sheltering-in-place (or as I call it, house arrest) remains in effect.

I understand, support, and am complying with the extreme measures called for here in Chicago by Gov. Pritzker and Mayor Lightfoot, necessary for containing COVID-19. But I worry about the unintended consequences and what the new, rapidly-changing conditions mean for us activists and organizers. The victories by Democratic Party centrist Joe Biden over Bernie Sanders in the primaries have progressives looking at new organizing and electoral tactics.

The collapse of the global economy could be catastrophic and will likely cause the death of nearly as many people as the virus itself, especially among the most vulnerable populations throughout the world and people currently incarcerated here in our jails, prisons, and immigrant detention facilities.

These consequences are exacerbated by the Trump gang's misleadership, political opportunism, racism, and propensity towards profiteering from the crisis. In January, millionaire Republican Senators Burr & Loeffler were given a briefing by Trump officials about the COVID threat. Then, as Trump was downplaying the risks, they dumped their stocks before the catastrophic market crash. And they weren't the only ones taking advantage of insider trading.

While some form of bailout may be necessary, it should be targetted at helping those most in need with controls in place on how that money is spent. One of the reasons industries are so short on cash right now is that they have spent billions in past bailout money, buying back their own stocks instead of investing in their workers or preparing for difficult times like these.

I'm also worried about Trump using the crisis as an excuse to suspend democratic rights, grab more power for himself, launch a war against Iran or other perceived enemies, and even canceling the November elections if it looks bad for him and the Republicans.

Some good news coming out of China where Wuhan officials have reported three straight days with no new COVID cases. Whether you believe these reports or not, it's clear that in China and South Korea, the virus now seems under control. Businesses are reopening, including American-owned companies like Apple stores. Apple just reopened 42 of them in China, while at the same time, closing all of its stores in the U.S. and Italy.

Trump and the Republicans, on the other hand (joined at times by leading Democrats), are continuing their anti-China polemics, even referring to COVID as the "China Virus." When asked to explain, Trump said, it was because the virus "originated in China." His explanation had some on Twitter referring to him as Buick Skylark and Motel 6.

Yes, humor, even dark humor, will help us survive all this.

But while Cold War and racist, anti-foreigner politics rule the WH, China and other countries continue to make progress against the disease. Chinese and Cuban doctors have been in Iran, Italy, and Venezuela recently, where they have offered their services and expertise. They have reportedly developed medical treatments that lower the fatality and suffering rates for those afflicted with COVID19, and are distributing them – without any patent or profit – to those in need. Iran and Venezuela are countries to whom the IMF has refused to offer loans under pressure from U.S.-imposed sanctions.

In Iran alone, the COVID death toll could rise to 3.5 million. But the U.S. has announced that it will be expanding its inhuman sanctions anyway.

Now, the epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox is calling Trump’s early handling of COVID-19 is "the most irresponsible act of an elected official that I've ever witnessed in my lifetime.”

Among the other unintended consequences...Hundreds of American troops are being withdrawn from Iraq in part over the coronavirus. And mother Earth is getting a breather from air pollution demonstrating the importance of and what's possible with a Green New Deal.

More good news... People here are creatively developing new ways to resist, carrying on political campaigns and where necessary, using Occupy tactics and other forms of direct action to support the homeless.

These new tactics for organizing, including a review of the March 18th NY Times piece by Astead Herndon, Progressive Ideas Remain Popular. Progressive Presidential Candidates Are Losing. Why?" will be food for our discussion on our upcoming Hitting Left shows.

Tune in on Fridays at 11a.m. CDT at WLPN 105.5 FM in Chicago or on livestream at lumpenradio.com.

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Rain-soaked Pride crowds and Chicago's new mayor revel in a historic parade: "Our battles are not over, but today feels particularly sweet" -- Chicago Tribune

Hawaii Rep.Tulsi Gabbard at Rainbow-Push Convention

“We have no time to waste. There is so much at stake. We have too many leaders who have, for so long, been dragging us into these wasteful, regime-change wars one after the other, costing us so many lives, taking trillions of dollars out of our pockets... dollars that belong here in rebuilding our own communities.” -- Sun-Times

Rev. Jesse Jackson on Elizabeth Warren

 “Personality is the conduit through which information gets — she has a personality that’s magnetic, and she’ll be in this race to the end. I don’t know how it’ll end up, but she’ll be a factor in the outcome of this race. ” -- The Hill

Jackson defends Buttigieg...“What happened there is not his fault,” he said, blaming structural problems of longtime segregation in the city’s housing and the fact that most of the city’s police officers live outside the city, making them what he called an “occupying force”.  -- Politico

Van Jones on Kamala Harris

 CNN political analyst Van Jones praised Harris' "masterful" debate performance, saying "a star was born" Thursday night. -- CNN

A 16-year-old mother from El Salvador

“My baby and I slept directly on the cement. Two hours after we crossed, we met Border Patrol and they took us to a very cold house. They took away our baby’s diapers, baby formula, and all of our belongings. -- HuffPost

Tucker Carlson on Trump/Kim DMZ photo-op 

 "You've got to be honest about what it means to lead a country, it means killing people. A lot of countries commit atrocities, including our allies." -- Daily Beast

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

“The new contracts ensure that hotel workers will keep their health care if they’re laid off in the wintertime,” UNITE HERE Local 1, the union representing the striking workers, said in a statement. 

Rebecca Solnit

This has been a truly remarkable decade for movement-building, social change, and deep, profound shifts in ideas, perspective, and frameworks for broad parts of the population (and, of course, backlashes against all those things). -- On Hope in Dark Times

 Weekend Update co-anchor Michael Che

"Typically, when you’re asked about a sexual assault and you’re drinking problem at a job interview, you don’t get the damn job." -- SNL

Peter Greene

 Parents can try to do their due diligence, but part of running a business is doing marketing, and charters are not going to market themselves with phrases like "financially troubled" or "featuring a curriculum made up by unqualified amateurs" or "barely hanging on." -- Forbes

D.T. on Kim Jong Un

 "...And then we fell in love, OK? No, really, he wrote me beautiful letters, and they’re great letters. We fell in love.” -- WSJ

CA Sen. Scott Wiener, Net Neutrality law’s author 

“This is a historic day for California. A free and open internet is a cornerstone of 21st century life: our democracy, our economy, our health care and public safety systems, and day-to-day activities." -- Sun-Times

Korean summit about much more than Kim/Trump wrestling match

It was just a few months ago that Trump was threatening "fire and fury" and boasting, "My button is bigger than yours". He had Pentagon on a nuclear war footing and the U.S. armada sailing into Korean waters.

Big media is looking at the Singapore meeting as if it was a pro-wrestling event. Who will win, Trump or Kim? The talking heads on CNN ponder the question. Should Trump be shaking hands with a dictator? Has he done his prep work? Is Kim just playing him? Many Democrats hope to God that the Summit is a PR flop for DT and that he returns home without a feather in his fascist cap. Trump's base will stay with him come what may.

But the way I see it, once you cut through all the bullshit, the summit offers positive prospects in a dangerous, rapidly changing world order. With an economically self-confident China, now tamping down the trade war threat and working along with South Korea to push diplomacy on the Korean peninsula, both Trump's and Kim's hands have been forced.

With the U.S. declining in global power and stature and the atomic clock edging closer to midnight, these are dangerous times. Trump is playing on American fears of lost privilege and economic ruin.

Cold War with Russia, trade war with Europe, Canada and China, and Bolton itching for pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Iran and North Korea, and all this playing on our growing sense of national insecurity. Building on that fear and insecurity was the cornerstone of Trump's election campaign in 2016. Now it's seen as the only way out (aside from purging the voting rolls) for Trump and the Republicans in the November elections. The Summit changes none of this.

But remember, it was just a few months ago that DT had the Pentagon on a nuclear war footing and sending its lost armada into Korean waters (shadowed by Russian and Chinese war ships). Remember him saber-rattling, threatening "fire and fury", and boasting: "My button is bigger than yours..."?

Kim defied repeated economic sanctions and international pressure over its nuclear regime and vowed a “merciless response” to any US provocation. Hopefully, popular world pressure and current negotiations will put a damper on all that empty, but provocative, chatter.

To the people of the Korean Peninsula, who have suffered from war -- hot and cold -- for the past 68 years and more, with distorted economies and families on both sides of the arbitrary 38th Parallel torn from each other, both captives to superpower rivalry, this is about so much more than a personal rivalry between autocrats. The people on both sides of the line want assurances of peace on a nuclear-free peninsula, trade and normalization of relations, and ultimately national reunification.

None of those things will likely come out of this first round of diplomacy. But I'm glad the Singapore meetings are taking place. If nothing else, they buy time and pull us from the brink. And right now, time is the enemy of Trump and his Republican hangers-on.

Deja vu all over again?

The missing piece is still a powerful anti-war movement here on the ground. It was such a movement 50 years ago that pressured both Democrats and Trump's reactionary, Republican and anti-communist forbearer, Richard Nixon to finally end the war in Vietnam and normalize relations with China.

Deja vu all over again? Could be.