Our country is not suffering from a demented dictator. It is suffering from the complete corporate and banking dominance of our government and our economy. Including a completely corrupted Congress. A president can be legally and financially constrained and, if necessary, impeached by a functioning Congress and SCOTUS. Currently we have neither. Trump is an idiot. Obviously. Pretending heās the problem is a brilliant propaganda contrivance. Soon the oligarchs will toss him and throw their support behind a Democrat, like the asswipe Gov Newsom. Thus the illusion of democracy will be sustained, as well as the corporate oligarchic state. Nothing remotely progressive will ever happen.
Yes. What struck me from these interviews as well as others, although I thought these were especially informative, is not that such a person as Donald Trump exists ā that is, a deeply damaged individual without self-awareness, boundaries or principles, a power mad megalomaniac ā but that neither individuals nor institutions have stopped him throughout his lifetime of crime. Not only have they failed to stop him, they have enabled him, like our Congress and Supreme Court. That is whatās truly shocking. In the meantime, Iām following Craig Mokhiberās advice and will refuse to vote for any candidate of any party who accepts Israel lobby money or votes to fund its genocide and other crimes. We can find out who these people are online (Open Secret or Track AIPAC). As long as we continue to vote for them ā like voters recently did in Illinois primaries ā weāre part of the problem.
The problem, as i see it, is that we are only allowed to vote for either a D or R, 3rd parties are functionally kept off ballots by requirements for obscene amount of signatures required for access, and picayune technical challenges to signatures necessitating $$$$ spent to dispute the challenges ..
I voted for Ralph 4 times - he was trashed by the Ds after his 3% in '00, called a "spoiler", etc. etc.
The Ds are not afraid of the Rs as they routinely advance a common agenda in the name of "bipartisan ship", they are however, afraid of any Party to the "Left", i.e. a Party that gives a crap about we the people and the rest of the world as well ...
It isn't just AIPAC that is the problem, it is Big Corps altogether - as in the MIC, Big Phrma, Big Insurance, etc.
I think as long as we continue to vote for any D (or R), we will continue to get screwed - because, at the end of the day, any pol who attaches his/her political cart to the DP has to go where the Donkey. e.g., takes 'em and the Donkey is following the Carots ($$$) in front of his nose ... if (s)he won't do what (s)he is told by the Party (s)he will be a) kicked out of debates b) primaried c) redistricted - "Kuciniched" as they say...
So, for me, I will not vote for anyone who is beholden to the DP or the RP for a place on a ballot .. who won't promise to pass a Const Amend, such as HJR54, overturning CU, or pass M4A, or redistribute all the ill got gains of the obscenely wealthy, aka their benefactors, or promise no more wars, period, whether short or "forever" - I think it is past time to "spoil" it for both D/Rs
Yes. And itās not just (or mostly) Citizens United thatās enabling the buying of elections by big money, although CU has been a fundraising tool for political operatives who donāt intend to do anything about the legalized bribery. In 1976, the Supreme Court held in Buckley v. Valeo that money equals speech. (It struck down some campaign finance laws enacted by Congress in the process). Buckley made it lawful for billionaires ā then, mostly millionaires ā to buy elections. CU, which relied on Buckley, extended its reasoning about speech to corporations. So, if CU were overturned, or, if the Constitution were amended to address it, billionaires would still be able to buy elections under Buckley. The fact that this is little known can be blamed on pundits, the two major parties, and organizations that are trying to raise money off of CU with no plan to change things. I think thatās in part due to the fact that many of them were too young to take notice of Buckley (some werenāt even alive when it was decided), whereas CU got a lot more press when it was issued in 2010. Then, they were too lazy or too disinterested to research the history, as, again, they were busy raising money off of CU. These days, billionaires buying elections occurs more frequently than corporations buying elections, although both are clearly a problem. (For example, Musk and Miriam Adelman spent hundreds of millions of dollars to get Trump elected, and billionaires tried to buy the mayorship for Cuomo in NYC). So, as Iāve said elsewhere, you donāt cut off the leaves of a weed if you want to kill it ā you go for the root. Buckley is the root. I am hoping that like Trump v. U.S. (the presidential immunity decision), Buckley can be overturned. Roe was overturned after all, so there should be a way to overturn these two radical decisions. It would be hard, but certainly no harder than amending the Constitution. And the Constitution isnāt really the problem ā morally compromised justices are. The Constitution doesnāt say that money is speech. Fourteen Supreme Court justices did. These pundits and operatives should really read the cases before circulating misleading information. As I recall, the Center for Constitutional Rights has published refreshingly accurate and clear summaries of the campaign finance cases, if youāre interested.
All true but Trump is demented. Also a sociopath. Still not the reason we are what we are, the most dangerous country in the world, controlling or being controlled by another most dangerous country in the world.
Trump is more than a depraved idiot, heās also a significant distraction and place holder. The US oppression of minorities, involving police and judicial harassment, lower incomes, substandard housing and healthcare, is apartheid & fascism. Jim Crow laws are extant. Capitalism requires fascism in order to sustain high profit margins for the elite. Yachts & private jets. Trumpās assault on civil rights will make the transition to a Democratic Administration, without any actual shift to Progressive policies, seem like a positive change. While sustaining an oligarchic, anti-democratic, governance.
RALPH, UNFORTUNATELY THE AMERICAN EMPIRE WAS ALREADY AN EMPIRE BY 1976, WHEN YOU RAN FOR PRESIDENT, WHEN YOU WERE CAGED IN BOSTON, AND WHEN I HAD THE HONOR TO SEE YOU AT THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH IN PORTLAND, AND WHEN I HAD ANOTHER GREATER HONOR OF BEING ABLE TO TALK WITH YOU REGARDING THE DANGER OF A GROWING EMPIRE.
Craig Mokhiber details the horrific attacks against Iran by the Israel-US coalition of aggression. He details the duopolyās involvement in the aggressive expansion through violence of Israel in the Middle East. Many Jews like myself were blinded by Israelās propaganda war over the decades and slandered when writing the truth about that rogue and violent state.
The Democratic leadership and most of its sycophants have long been blind supporters of Israel and their cooperation with the far-right Republicans has allowed for the rules or laws of war to be thrown on the trash heap of history. Many thanks to the Radio Hour for hosting this interview!
To say a wild man occupies the White House is not hyperbole. Trump, the narcissist with limited intelligence and an unlimited penchant to do violent harm to others, has almost three more years of his second term in which to cause economic, social, and political mayhem.
All U.S.wars and the military budget should be financed exclusively by taxes on capital. See the last sentence in the Declaration of Independence when the signers pledged their fortunes to support the Revolutionary War. Currently the military budget is financed primarily by taxes on labor.
this comment is for David I think. There is a legitimate reason for Iran to refuse UN nuclear inspectors that unfortunately was not verbalized as you pleaded your case about over enrichment. Originally, and up till the inspectors were kicked out, Iran submitted to an extremely intrusive inspection regime, I have heard and believe, the most stringent inspection regime ever, and they always passed. Last year, 9 Iranian atomic scientists were, along with their neighbors, "surgically" bombed in their homes with their families by Israel. Some of the UN nuclear inspectors had pilfered and stolen the exact addresses of Iran's key nuclear scientists and engineers. The information was given to Israel who then targeted and killed 9 leading nuclear program scientists in simultaneous air strikes in Tehran, using the stolen info given to them by members of the UN nuclear inspectors. This was the last straw for Iran and they broke with the UN inspectors.
Sometimes people get taken into other people's religious wars and they join sides because they can make a buck and think know one will notice. In the old world war 2 movies John Wayne said, " be a hero" " take the high ground" and then there was "our" Fail-Safe, Dr Strangelove, and Catch 22. Stop those Iranian's from coming ashore they want to shop at Walmart and Target for better deals ,and then lock and load, you're a short timer don't get fragged, make those big hedge fund profits and bonuses off those no bid ammo contracts, the poor will die with honor and the rich protesters will get their MBA 's and PhD 's.as usual .
This was an excellent show. I don't understand why people have to condemn some people. Zionists, dancing and watching carnage disturbs. I call them savages for what they are doing. I don't understand why people do not understand why Hamas, after watching the light go out in their children's eyes, conducted a completely reasonable, patriotic attack on people that were illegally occupying them. Any man would fight back, gamble, to seek a remedy to their slow, painful, demise. And let us not forget the stack of cars bombed from attack helicopters and evidence that the Zionists engaged the Hannibal Directive slaughtering a great many of the victims. All of this travesty pretty much evolved out of Western manipulations. Enjoy the interregnum. Since surviving the war of aggression in South East Asia I have live in pretty easy times. Good luck to you youngins.
Israeli zionists are not only the terrible sportspeople they prove to be, they are also terrible tourists. Right now, in Brazil, cities in one of the most beautiful areas of the coast are experiencing abuse by IDF soldiers on vacation. The area is poor and needs the tourism, so they cater to them, with menus in Hebrew, for example. but since the genocide in Gaza started, there have been several instances of locals complaining about abuses like mocking people, demanding that they cook whatever they want, not paying the full price of art, and even violence. All this has been reported in the local news. The police, when alerted, usually don't do anything.
The local population is now being educated on ethical tourism and some activists, part of internationalist organizations and mutual aide are helping them. Recently, during one of those meeting, on the beach, informal, a couple of IDF soldiers attacked them, and was kicked out (literally)
This is the only group of tourists that go to natural and culturally rich area of the country and ignores the uniqueness of the place.
But things are starting to change, even with proposed laws that will really punish them if they attack anyone. One of the attackers was arrested, shamed and mocked.
I wish Craig Mokhiber had clarified why, after being relentlessly attacked by Netanyahu, the UN allows (invites?) him to speak in front of the General Assembly. He is an indicted war criminal and yet is given the platform by the same organization he despises. What is going on? Why not prevent him from all the hate that is the only thing coming out of his mouth?
Mokhiber is brilliant. The very soul of true justice, and humanity
Thanks for calling out Biden and the democrats for genocide šŖš» (Iām a dem)
Excellent interview. All relevant facts together, the truth and nothing but the truth. Thank you so much, Ralph Nader and Craig Mokhiber.
Keep up the good work! There has to be some place we can find the truth!
Our country is not suffering from a demented dictator. It is suffering from the complete corporate and banking dominance of our government and our economy. Including a completely corrupted Congress. A president can be legally and financially constrained and, if necessary, impeached by a functioning Congress and SCOTUS. Currently we have neither. Trump is an idiot. Obviously. Pretending heās the problem is a brilliant propaganda contrivance. Soon the oligarchs will toss him and throw their support behind a Democrat, like the asswipe Gov Newsom. Thus the illusion of democracy will be sustained, as well as the corporate oligarchic state. Nothing remotely progressive will ever happen.
Yes. What struck me from these interviews as well as others, although I thought these were especially informative, is not that such a person as Donald Trump exists ā that is, a deeply damaged individual without self-awareness, boundaries or principles, a power mad megalomaniac ā but that neither individuals nor institutions have stopped him throughout his lifetime of crime. Not only have they failed to stop him, they have enabled him, like our Congress and Supreme Court. That is whatās truly shocking. In the meantime, Iām following Craig Mokhiberās advice and will refuse to vote for any candidate of any party who accepts Israel lobby money or votes to fund its genocide and other crimes. We can find out who these people are online (Open Secret or Track AIPAC). As long as we continue to vote for them ā like voters recently did in Illinois primaries ā weāre part of the problem.
The problem, as i see it, is that we are only allowed to vote for either a D or R, 3rd parties are functionally kept off ballots by requirements for obscene amount of signatures required for access, and picayune technical challenges to signatures necessitating $$$$ spent to dispute the challenges ..
I voted for Ralph 4 times - he was trashed by the Ds after his 3% in '00, called a "spoiler", etc. etc.
The Ds are not afraid of the Rs as they routinely advance a common agenda in the name of "bipartisan ship", they are however, afraid of any Party to the "Left", i.e. a Party that gives a crap about we the people and the rest of the world as well ...
It isn't just AIPAC that is the problem, it is Big Corps altogether - as in the MIC, Big Phrma, Big Insurance, etc.
I think as long as we continue to vote for any D (or R), we will continue to get screwed - because, at the end of the day, any pol who attaches his/her political cart to the DP has to go where the Donkey. e.g., takes 'em and the Donkey is following the Carots ($$$) in front of his nose ... if (s)he won't do what (s)he is told by the Party (s)he will be a) kicked out of debates b) primaried c) redistricted - "Kuciniched" as they say...
So, for me, I will not vote for anyone who is beholden to the DP or the RP for a place on a ballot .. who won't promise to pass a Const Amend, such as HJR54, overturning CU, or pass M4A, or redistribute all the ill got gains of the obscenely wealthy, aka their benefactors, or promise no more wars, period, whether short or "forever" - I think it is past time to "spoil" it for both D/Rs
Yes. And itās not just (or mostly) Citizens United thatās enabling the buying of elections by big money, although CU has been a fundraising tool for political operatives who donāt intend to do anything about the legalized bribery. In 1976, the Supreme Court held in Buckley v. Valeo that money equals speech. (It struck down some campaign finance laws enacted by Congress in the process). Buckley made it lawful for billionaires ā then, mostly millionaires ā to buy elections. CU, which relied on Buckley, extended its reasoning about speech to corporations. So, if CU were overturned, or, if the Constitution were amended to address it, billionaires would still be able to buy elections under Buckley. The fact that this is little known can be blamed on pundits, the two major parties, and organizations that are trying to raise money off of CU with no plan to change things. I think thatās in part due to the fact that many of them were too young to take notice of Buckley (some werenāt even alive when it was decided), whereas CU got a lot more press when it was issued in 2010. Then, they were too lazy or too disinterested to research the history, as, again, they were busy raising money off of CU. These days, billionaires buying elections occurs more frequently than corporations buying elections, although both are clearly a problem. (For example, Musk and Miriam Adelman spent hundreds of millions of dollars to get Trump elected, and billionaires tried to buy the mayorship for Cuomo in NYC). So, as Iāve said elsewhere, you donāt cut off the leaves of a weed if you want to kill it ā you go for the root. Buckley is the root. I am hoping that like Trump v. U.S. (the presidential immunity decision), Buckley can be overturned. Roe was overturned after all, so there should be a way to overturn these two radical decisions. It would be hard, but certainly no harder than amending the Constitution. And the Constitution isnāt really the problem ā morally compromised justices are. The Constitution doesnāt say that money is speech. Fourteen Supreme Court justices did. These pundits and operatives should really read the cases before circulating misleading information. As I recall, the Center for Constitutional Rights has published refreshingly accurate and clear summaries of the campaign finance cases, if youāre interested.
All true but Trump is demented. Also a sociopath. Still not the reason we are what we are, the most dangerous country in the world, controlling or being controlled by another most dangerous country in the world.
Trump is more than a depraved idiot, heās also a significant distraction and place holder. The US oppression of minorities, involving police and judicial harassment, lower incomes, substandard housing and healthcare, is apartheid & fascism. Jim Crow laws are extant. Capitalism requires fascism in order to sustain high profit margins for the elite. Yachts & private jets. Trumpās assault on civil rights will make the transition to a Democratic Administration, without any actual shift to Progressive policies, seem like a positive change. While sustaining an oligarchic, anti-democratic, governance.
Ralph, in passing called Trump demented - indeed, but there are indications he in fact has dementia which is progressing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OtO-cypKmY
RALPH, UNFORTUNATELY THE AMERICAN EMPIRE WAS ALREADY AN EMPIRE BY 1976, WHEN YOU RAN FOR PRESIDENT, WHEN YOU WERE CAGED IN BOSTON, AND WHEN I HAD THE HONOR TO SEE YOU AT THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH IN PORTLAND, AND WHEN I HAD ANOTHER GREATER HONOR OF BEING ABLE TO TALK WITH YOU REGARDING THE DANGER OF A GROWING EMPIRE.
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM, IMHO, IS THE ONLY WAY OUT OF TODAYS IMPERIALIST EMPIRE.
LOVE
OVER
VIOLENT
EMPIRE
The US has been an empire since 1776
Craig Mokhiber details the horrific attacks against Iran by the Israel-US coalition of aggression. He details the duopolyās involvement in the aggressive expansion through violence of Israel in the Middle East. Many Jews like myself were blinded by Israelās propaganda war over the decades and slandered when writing the truth about that rogue and violent state.
The Democratic leadership and most of its sycophants have long been blind supporters of Israel and their cooperation with the far-right Republicans has allowed for the rules or laws of war to be thrown on the trash heap of history. Many thanks to the Radio Hour for hosting this interview!
To say a wild man occupies the White House is not hyperbole. Trump, the narcissist with limited intelligence and an unlimited penchant to do violent harm to others, has almost three more years of his second term in which to cause economic, social, and political mayhem.
All U.S.wars and the military budget should be financed exclusively by taxes on capital. See the last sentence in the Declaration of Independence when the signers pledged their fortunes to support the Revolutionary War. Currently the military budget is financed primarily by taxes on labor.
this comment is for David I think. There is a legitimate reason for Iran to refuse UN nuclear inspectors that unfortunately was not verbalized as you pleaded your case about over enrichment. Originally, and up till the inspectors were kicked out, Iran submitted to an extremely intrusive inspection regime, I have heard and believe, the most stringent inspection regime ever, and they always passed. Last year, 9 Iranian atomic scientists were, along with their neighbors, "surgically" bombed in their homes with their families by Israel. Some of the UN nuclear inspectors had pilfered and stolen the exact addresses of Iran's key nuclear scientists and engineers. The information was given to Israel who then targeted and killed 9 leading nuclear program scientists in simultaneous air strikes in Tehran, using the stolen info given to them by members of the UN nuclear inspectors. This was the last straw for Iran and they broke with the UN inspectors.
. So much savagery, brutality, corruption and pompous arrogance. We are supposed to be a civilization
Sometimes people get taken into other people's religious wars and they join sides because they can make a buck and think know one will notice. In the old world war 2 movies John Wayne said, " be a hero" " take the high ground" and then there was "our" Fail-Safe, Dr Strangelove, and Catch 22. Stop those Iranian's from coming ashore they want to shop at Walmart and Target for better deals ,and then lock and load, you're a short timer don't get fragged, make those big hedge fund profits and bonuses off those no bid ammo contracts, the poor will die with honor and the rich protesters will get their MBA 's and PhD 's.as usual .
Good luck America have a great day my friends
"all the countries in the Middle East are terrible regimes that hurt their own people" (paraphrasing)
So is the US.
This was an excellent show. I don't understand why people have to condemn some people. Zionists, dancing and watching carnage disturbs. I call them savages for what they are doing. I don't understand why people do not understand why Hamas, after watching the light go out in their children's eyes, conducted a completely reasonable, patriotic attack on people that were illegally occupying them. Any man would fight back, gamble, to seek a remedy to their slow, painful, demise. And let us not forget the stack of cars bombed from attack helicopters and evidence that the Zionists engaged the Hannibal Directive slaughtering a great many of the victims. All of this travesty pretty much evolved out of Western manipulations. Enjoy the interregnum. Since surviving the war of aggression in South East Asia I have live in pretty easy times. Good luck to you youngins.
Israeli zionists are not only the terrible sportspeople they prove to be, they are also terrible tourists. Right now, in Brazil, cities in one of the most beautiful areas of the coast are experiencing abuse by IDF soldiers on vacation. The area is poor and needs the tourism, so they cater to them, with menus in Hebrew, for example. but since the genocide in Gaza started, there have been several instances of locals complaining about abuses like mocking people, demanding that they cook whatever they want, not paying the full price of art, and even violence. All this has been reported in the local news. The police, when alerted, usually don't do anything.
The local population is now being educated on ethical tourism and some activists, part of internationalist organizations and mutual aide are helping them. Recently, during one of those meeting, on the beach, informal, a couple of IDF soldiers attacked them, and was kicked out (literally)
This is the only group of tourists that go to natural and culturally rich area of the country and ignores the uniqueness of the place.
But things are starting to change, even with proposed laws that will really punish them if they attack anyone. One of the attackers was arrested, shamed and mocked.
I wish Craig Mokhiber had clarified why, after being relentlessly attacked by Netanyahu, the UN allows (invites?) him to speak in front of the General Assembly. He is an indicted war criminal and yet is given the platform by the same organization he despises. What is going on? Why not prevent him from all the hate that is the only thing coming out of his mouth?