It is my hope to see the day when both conservative-Republicans and liberal/progressive Democrats will become more politically honest and truthful with the American people. There is tremendous room for improvement by both sides. For example, I just had the displeasure of reading a letter to the editor in which someone claims that all liberal/progressive Democrats are “dangerous” because they want to deny freedom of speech to all conservative-Republicans. Can we please stop this kind of over-generalizing and over-exaggerating that is done by both sides?
The one constant mantra, myth and “greatest hit” that comes from the conservative-Republican side is the false belief that most of the “mainstream media” is heavily pro-liberal/progressive Democrat. This is “an oldie but a goodie” from the right-wingers amongst us. If there is some way to do this, I would love to provide your readers with research evidence that proves that the opposite is true.
I have read it. One objective study found that more Americans read pro-conservative-Republican daily newspaper editorials than the opposite. If anyone looks up “conservative think-tanks” and “liberal think-tanks” online, they will see and prove to themselves how many times there are more conservative ones than liberal ones. Look it up. It is overwhelming.
I can also direct readers to the recent empirical research done by The Brookings Institute, which concluded that conservative-Republicans in the news media and conservative-Republican politicians and political candidates all insult liberal/progressive Democrats more than the reverse.
Also, a well-known conservative author has admitted that the “mainstream media” is now more conservative-Republican than the opposite. She states that many conservatives know that this is true, but pretend that it is not true because they love to play the “underdog” and to act like they are “victims” and are “outnumbered” because it gets them a lot of votes and a lot of financial donations.
I could go on and on because I have more research evidence and studies that I can share with your readers.
Stewart B. Epstein, Rochester, N.Y.
When Trump turned to Venezuela in his State of the Union Address, Nancy Pelosi clapped. Pelosi clapped when Trump said that “America will never be a socialist country.” When Trump went to the topic of the US Embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Pelosi clapped. Those were telling moments.
The chants of “USA” during the address reflect nationalism that will admit no wrong.
Senate Bill 1 in the 116th Congress, including unconstitutional anti-BDS measures, received the majority of Democratic senators’ votes. The Republicans were worse with zero nay votes. Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has written from experience on the power of the Israel lobby.
Nowhere can bipartisan agreement be found to a greater degree than in foreign policy.
In 2009, under Obama, the US sponsored a coup that overthrew the legitimate government of Honduras. Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. Empire is bipartisan. The military budgets are passed with bipartisan support. The Iraq “wars” received bipartisan support.
President Maduro of Venezuela was elected fairly. Guaido has recently appointed himself president, never having run in an election for the office. Paul Craig Roberts summed it up: “Maduro, like Chavez before him, has committed the unpardonable crime of representing the Venezuelan people instead of American corporate and financial interests.”
The examples are many of our country’s warmongering. A 2014 US coup in Ukraine has been replaced with Russian aggression. Similarly in Syria, our government considers a troop presence a right rather than a violation of that nation’s sovereignty. Somehow when foreign militants in the Middle East are counted, the objectivity to include US troops is lacking.
On foreign policy and a number of domestic issues, it is no wonder that many citizens such as myself voted for Jill Stein. Hillary’s record was simply not palatable. The Democratic Party could have pushed for rank choice/instant runoff voting years ago to eliminate the “spoiler effect”.
Demonizing Putin and Russia is both dangerous and false. Julian Assange — a man of impeccable honesty, bravery, and service to humanity — has maintained from the start that the DNC e-mails were leaked and not hacked, and that Russia played no role. Knowledgeable honest former intelligence professionals Ray McGovern and Bill Binney have condemned the Russian hacking narrative. Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh concluded that the story is a CIA hoax.
Russia did nothing that influenced the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Peace with Russia does not jibe with the military-industrial complex’s greed. There is plenty to impeach Trump on; collusion with Russia on the election is not valid.
The election story that should be talked about by progressives is completely absent. Namely, the theft of the primary from Bernie Sanders. Sanders and his supporters were cheated in state after state. Richard Charnin has documented the theft of elections at the vote count level for decades, always with the more “conservative” candidate prevailing. While pro-Republican people generally do the cheating, in the 2016 primary it was pro-Clinton actors. In his book, 77 Billion to One: 2016 Election Fraud, Charnin documented how the divergence between exit polls and official results went well beyond the margin of error.
Bernard Dalsey, Whitewater, Wis.
I just read Adam Turtle’s piece, “Adapt or Die: This is the Lesson of Both Evolution and History” [2/15/19 TPP]. nnAdam’s idea, to give refugees a “grant of 5 acres and a modest startup loan” is brilliant. I’ve been in tech since ’89. My #1 concern now is the environment. I read a lot and study whatever I can.
I’m familiar with the permaculture concept and the importance of rebuilding our soil. But I’ve never seen an idea so simple and powerful. When I read his piece it stopped me in my tracks. I called Adam to thank him.
Refugees probably are already adept at farming. They’d create healthy soil to grow food. They’d share the food with neighbors. They’d change what Trump wants people to think about them. Adam’s idea is a perfect fit for what ails us.
Imagine a small town that gets most of its food from refugees. Imagine the town getting together once a week to share a meal. Imagine the love that would grow.
It’s all about the soil.
Adam’s idea should be everywhere in the media, but it’s not. We should do this now, but we aren’t. Adam’s piece is why I read the Populist.
Thank you for publishing his work. I’m looking forward to reading more of Adam’s thoughts.
Paul Kulas, Eagle, Colo.
I’m not sure it’s possible to quantify, describe or come to terms with the planet’s most powerful nation embracing and fostering hysteria and a “state of emergency” over a needless border wall. Any human being who harbors even a particle of reason, common sense or decency will openly recoil at the prospect of this “national emergency.”
There’s also an element of stark, unwavering horror at work. The United States elected a demagogue who is with intent and precision destroying all of the planet’s institutionalized environment safeguards. There’s a persuasive element of true evil in Trump’s onslaught against nature that should have every global citizen in a state of alarm if not outright panic.
If we’re going to sound the alarm for a national emergency, we should hone in on those areas that threaten life on Earth, such as climate catastrophe and the insane “nuclear modernization plan” which the US has embarked on. We could also make a “state of emergency” claim for our epidemic of daily gun carnage and the growing economic inequality which hollowed out and gutted the nation’s middle class.
If we’re honestly accountable we can also make a case for a “national emergency” as the nation’s moral, ethical and intellectual fabric appears to be in disarray, chaos and free fall. This perhaps is the direct end-result of a population appeasing, placating and rationalizing the ascendancy of a narcissistic sociopath to the nation’s highest office. There is indeed a national crisis and a state of emergency and it has absolutely nothing to do with a border wall or the demonization of dark-skinned women, children and families fleeing war torn countries.
Jim Sawyer, Seattle, Wash.
Re: Gene Lyons article, “Age Matters” in your March 1, 2019 issue [which said Bernie Sanders, at 77, Joe Biden, at 76, and Michael Bloomberg, at 76, are too old to run for president]. Suggest you rename your paper “The Regressive” for running such an article. Sanders has led the way for the younger progressives on issues such as single payer health insurance, living wage minimum wage, and making a college education more available to more people. And, after a couple of days and contributions of $6M plus from 225,000 supporters to Sander’s campaign, it appears there are quite a few others that do not agree with Gene Lyon’s thoughts on “age matters” either.
Rex Carey, Midlothian, Texas
Rather than bemoan the demise of dairy farms, let’s drink to the future and embrace healthy, environmentally friendly plant-based diets. Soy milk is available everywhere, and even Carl’s Jr. has an awesomely delicious plant-based burger.
If we really care about animals, we should stop milking them.
Kerry Masters, Liberty Lake, Wash.
From The Progressive Populist, March 15, 2019
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