The U.S's Unstoppable War Winning Syrategy.

Or Dixie Chicken, Little Feat.

Or even Black Betty.

Say, Elizabeth. Has it been long enough since we've done a Southern Rock theme? I promise I'll show up.

This, from a Guardian Opinion piece about the Chinese "threat."
The greatest danger we face today is not coming from China. It is our drift toward proto-fascism. We must be careful not to demonize China so much that we encourage a new paranoia that further distorts our priorities, encourages nativism and xenophobia, and leads to larger military outlays rather than public investments in education, infrastructure, and basic research on which America’s future prosperity and security critically depend.

Throughout history leadership has often focused the populace's attention on "external threats" (e.g. "the other") to distract them from noticing what a lousy deal the leadership is giving them.

i posted at least one song.

"Caddy, do you read me
"(Am I coming in loud and clear)
"Send a message if you need me
"And you know that I'll be there"

got a bit of songwriting inspiration this morning too. guess it's going to be an interesting time.

@crs,

i don't see what's so impractical about setting a ceiling on interest rates. if the sharks stop lending to people who have no business borrowing in the first place, wouldn't that be a good thing?

furthermore, you've left out a third option, which is to take some of the teeth out of personal bankruptcy, especially when taken due to medical or educational debt. if 'caveat emptor' should apply to borrowers, then it should apply to lenders too, without exemption.

JL

Okay, I'm going to close out my portion of the night's festivities with a favourite from Tom Lavin and the Legendary Powder Blues band ...

Doin' It Right!

... but, the night is stil young, my dear Caddy, so take me, er .. it away! :)

We all have free will and we can choose to use it for good or ill. Tonight, it's all about using our 'freewill' to do what we can to move the struggle for justice forward to a better place.

"Freewill...Mine to decide

"Freewill...The choices are mine

"It's all up to you no one else is to blame
You make your own odds and you're ahead of the game"

Freewill - Live from Detroit's Royal Oak Music Theatre, 1978

See more about how he came to write the song here.

Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday

In the meantime, here's something else that's pretty special.

"Hello. How are you all doing? I'd like to dedicate this show to the American Deserters, Society [Ahem][Heh]... ... I'd like also to dedicate this show to Eva who keeps sending us roses but we've never seen her before, so ... "

Ah, Jimi could be a real hoot!

Here is Almost Sixty Minutes With... The Jimi Hendrix Experience in Sweden!

Marvin Gaye

https://youtu.be/ySP3SuFulmI

The Impossible Dream

It's time for the CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party, celebrating a very happy Juneteenth to everyone!

I'll get things started with a special dedication going out to our very own CRS - let's have some fun!!!

Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now!

And, don't be broken-hearted! Come to the party tonight ...

Obviously it's possible to legally limit interest rates, but when you do, the loan sharks stop lending.

I thought the new holiday was "Juneteeth" in honor of my new dentures. Now I have a broken heart.

The theme for this evening is Happy Juneteenth! See you all later tonight at the CW Sunday Night Music Festival and Dance Party!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/06/16/merrick-garland-apple-schiff-justice/

How do your stop/prevent "credit usury"? The only two options (ban borrowing/lending, or limit interest rates) simply aren't viable options.

although the new federal holiday was observed yesterday, today is the actual 19th. hooray for the permanent end of legalized slavery, and let's make it our country's continued mission to prevent all other forms of enslavement, such as human trafficking and credit usury, just to name two.

JL

Thank goodness he is still in office, refusing to be Frankenized.

'Mr. Northam’s arc, from political pariah denounced by nearly every national Democrat to a popular incumbent with support from Black elected officials and even progressive activists, is a complex story of personal growth and political pressure, a testament to how crisis can also provide opportunity. However, it would not have been possible without the Black Virginians who rallied around him even as they stared down immense pressure to help force him from office — Black staff members who stayed in the administration, a Legislative Black Caucus that chose to focus on policy goals rather than resignation, and a Black activist community that quickly followed the lawmakers’ strategic lead.

The result is a reshaped Virginia. Since 2019, and aided by a Democratic sweep of both state legislative houses, the commonwealth has become the first state in the South to abolish the death penalty, allocated more than $300 million to the state’s financially struggling Black colleges, passed sweeping police reform measures, and created the country’s first state cabinet-level position for diversity, equity and inclusion.
...
Ms. Travers was among the first to show public support for Mr. Northam, joining well-known Black activists and clergy members in a news conference urging Virginia to give him another chance. Ms. Travers said they were met with condemnation from other activists — particularly younger ones.

She said what happened would serve as a lesson for a younger generation of Black activists: There are times when the carrot is more powerful than the stick.

“We didn’t see ourselves as being used,” Ms. Travers said. “We saw ourselves as looking at an opportunity to get this man to create some laws and programs that can move Black people forward.”'
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/us/politics/ralph-northam-virginia.html

... vaccination is a political issue, and the stubborn refusal of many Republicans to get vaccinated is going to directly cause more deaths in red states in the very near future ...

Actually vaccination is a global issue, and until we all realize this, it won't matter if every single American gets fully vaccinated so long as the virus is spreading and mutating in most of the rest of the world where there are little or no vaccines.

No (rich) country is safe, regardless of vaccination rates, until all countries are safe. It really is as simple and worrisome as that.

I heartily agree. I was living in North Little Rock, AR in the early 2000s when I first heard the word 'Juneteenth'. A radio station whose listeners were predominantly African-American had organized a celebration in downtown Little Rock.

It's amazing that the entire nation will be commemorating the date annually, less than 2 decades later. That's due in no small part to the grassroots efforts of African-Americans and their allies - who we can safely presume vote Democrat.

You have a good starting point here: 'What few in the mainstream media have pointed out is just going to become more and more obvious as time goes by: vaccination is a political issue, and the stubborn refusal of many Republicans to get vaccinated is going to directly cause more deaths in red states in the very near future.'

New York state, with Democrats firmly in control, reached a marvelous milestone. As a result, the state can begin the long process of full recovery from the pandemic's economic and social losses.
'Today New York State reached our goal of 70% adult vaccination.

That means we can return to life as we know it.

Effective immediately, state-mandated COVID restrictions are lifted across commercial and social settings'
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/558538-new-york-hits-70-percent-vaccination-goal-lifts-covid-restrictions

Well, that and the fact that some countries haven't even had the vaccines to vaccinate their front line health workers, let alone the most vulnerable to severe COVID-19 disease and death, we are all now more vulnerable to the emergence of variants that are immune to the vaccines we have. Ahem.

In other words, good luck to us all!

Other than Trump, eh? Hmmm. That is really rather amazing.

Indeed!

Having said that, there have always been significant areas of mutual interest between these two great powers, not least of which is reducing the number of nuclear weapons. There is some optimism that talks regarding all nuclear weapons will now proceed after being dormant under Trump.

Biden said that we will know in three to six months if any progress can be made on this and other issues.

For me, all of this spells a successful meeting that can be described as constructive. If I can understand this, why can't any CNN reporter? Heh.

If yes, why should we expect them to change now?
If no, when did the change happen and what was the reason for the change?

Ah, I think it was wildly more complicated than that.

That's a pretty packed schedule, but Biden seemed to manage just fine.

You write that like you're still surprised??

You really shouldn't be, ya know. :)