Purple and Black
Taking Independent and Unofficial Back

Political Hodgepodge

I’m posting a long discussion from Meidas Touch here. The 3 brothers who started the network get together and talk about all manner of things. The title only reflects one aspect. It’s about 1h20m.

LIVE: Trump TEARS DOWN the GOP as Biden’s MOMENTUM Grows [MTN; 3.14.24]

What are some of the topics? The Russian guy Smirnov who was behind the misinformation upon which the gop in the House based their impeachment inquiry and a recently revealed connection to d t——. The t—— complete and final takeover of the Republican national committee to the degree that Lara t—— (Eric’s wife?) is now chair; the headquarters have been moved to be in close proximity to mar-a-lago; mass firing of staff. Developments in two of t——‘s court cases. Macron of France 🇫🇷 telling mike johnson to get serious about what’s happening in Ukraine. There’s more.
 
This strikes me as significant. The judge in Texas who is mentioned in the article has been a favorite go-to for republicans seeking to obliterate women's rights. They shop in order to get the decisions they want. Of course, they're unhappy that their devious tactics are exposed and subjected to limits. One step forward for democracy and a push against the rule of the minority. Yipee.

McConnell Leads Disgruntled Right-Wingers In Complaining About New Judge-Shopping Fix [TPM;3.14.24]

McConnell, you worn-out heel, just another dirty player without an ethical core, another t---- sell-out, who made appearances of putting up a fight. At base, a capitulating swamp-turtle covered in scum. In general, I like turtles.
 
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The NYTimes has a regular piece, The Conversation, that is a dialogue between two opinion columnists, Gail Collins and Bret Stephens. Collins is more liberal and Stephens, more conservative. It's usually an entertaining read. This week they discuss former VP Mike Pence not endorsing t----, TikTok, possible VP pick for t----, Bernie Sanders proposal of a 32-hour workweek, and concludes with a poem by Emily Dickinson, who I like.

The TikTok question is kind of interesting. They both make good points. It's all good though.

Mike Pence Rues the Day [NYTimesOpinion;3.18.24]
 
This article is shocking. Absolutely brutal. The predicament explained is one step removed from the company store concept of old, in the US. I don't want to pretend to be naive. There are other shocking stories of modern day slavery.

Before getting to the article, to explain my comment about the 'company store' concept: "Store Pay Is Our Ruin": The Tyranny of the Company Store [historymatters.gmu.edu]

In the comments of the NYTimes article, below, some criticized the sensational story-making. I hope you can read some of the comments because they're interesting. Sometimes articles like this can help bring about change.

The Brutality of Sugar: Debt, Child Marriage and Hysterectomies [NYTimes w the Fuller Promect;3.24.24]

 
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I’ve not paid close attention to Europe lately. Maybe some here at Purple & Black have more to contribute on this topic. I know France 🇫🇷 has been troubled but don’t know any details. I’d heard the same said of Germany 🇩🇪 but this is the first article I’ve read about it. From a German writing in the NYTimes:

The Germany We Knew Is Gone [NYTimes; Opinion-Guest Essay;12.17.24]

It’s not all doom and gloom. Similar to the U.S., there’s a troubling situation that can be surmounted. It’s not unprecedented. It’s been seen before and overcome.
 
barnswallow said:
I’ve not paid close attention to Europe lately. Maybe some here at Purple & Black have more to contribute on this topic. I know France 🇫🇷 has been troubled but don’t know any details. I’d heard the same said of Germany 🇩🇪 but this is the first article I’ve read about it. From a German writing in the NYTimes:

The Germany We Knew Is Gone [NYTimes; Opinion-Guest Essay;12.17.24]

It’s not all doom and gloom. Similar to the U.S., there’s a troubling situation that can be surmounted. It’s not unprecedented. It’s been seen before and overcome.
Click to expand...
I think there's general dissatisafction in a lot of the world at the moment. In Europe the wars in the Middle East, Ukraine and surrounding countries have driven a huge migration crisis, which in turn creates an area for the far-right to rise. The divisive politics used by the likes of Trump, and over here during Brexit have grown stronger and worldwide economies are struggling (regardless of which party is in charge). It's a cauldron of negativity, and one which I hope will be diffused before it all boils over. Right now there is live news of a car being used, presumably as a terror attack, in a German Christmas market which has killed two and injured many others. You just know that some will use this to further their anti-migrant stance and create even more division.

To muse a little, there is much good on our small planet, but as a species humans seem often driven by hate and greed. We have to work together if humanity is to survive on Earth, and yet, we seem determined to destroy ourselves at whatever cost, or certainly those with power do. I simply can't get my head around it.
 
This is a conversation that needs to be had...there needs to be a black exodus from the Democratic Party. And I'm glad Sabby exposed Marc Lamont Hill for his flip-flopping.
 
When Vivek Racistswamy was doing his "model minority" act and talking down to black folks during his presidential run, the MAGAs ate it up. But when he gave those MAGAs the same talk, he got his "Indian Wake-Up Call". I love it. Eventually, non-black people of color like Vivek find out what black Americans already know. The majority will always look at you as second-class no matter how much you agree with their politics. Ann Coulter pretty much said that to his face and he tucked his tail and ran like a b!tch.

 
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New Year’s Day brought 2 very unsettling events, one in New Orleans, the other in Las Vegas. One was an act of domestic terrorism by a veteran and radicalized individual. The other, a suicide staged in a Tesla truck in front of a t0000 hotel.

Here, veteran F. P. Wellman reflects on these events and how the maga republicans politicized them while making false claims about immigrants.

Veteran SPEAKS OUT on ATTACKS by Army Vet and Green Beret | On Democracy [Meidas Touch;1.3.25]
 
Here’s a little trivia:

www.forbes.com.au

Here’s how much American billionaires have lost since Trump’s inauguration

Expectations were that billionaires would be the big winners in a Trump America 2.0. Instead, their fortunes have plummeted in the first eight weeks. Here are the biggest losers.
www.forbes.com.au www.forbes.com.au

Here’s how much American billionaires have lost since Trump’s inauguration [Forbes Australia;3.16.25]

Of course, these losses make no-never-mind to people with this kind of wealth. Their personal chefs still deliver their complete nutritional breakfast on time each morning. They’re happily surfing the waning energy of the current wave, while waiting for the next big one to carry them on an endless ride as undisputed rulers of the world.

The reason I came across this: I was curious who owns YouTube (Google) and Google (alphabet) and who started same. I ended up reading about Sergey Brin and Larry Page on wikipedia and it’s really an incestuous cadre at the top, which isn’t so surprising. They’re the tech bros and naturally interact. Still, clicking on ‘spouse’ links, I kept coming across more influential companies that intersect through their personal lives (plus, who slept with elon, resulting in broken marriages, and how RFK jr’s running mate came to be anti-vax, etc) like 23 and me, which is presently going bankrupt. Btw, if you shared your genome info with 23 and me, it is advised you dial in and request that your data be deleted. Sort of a last chance while you still have some control over what happens to it / who can access it.
 
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Ta-Nehisi Coates and Joy-Ann Reid Unpack a Nation in Crisis and The Democratic Party’s Moral Crisis. [Baldwin & Co. Clips;3.26.25]

Blurb: "
If hope is a dangerous thing, then American politics is a high-stakes gamble where the house always wins. In a conversation that was equal parts intellectual dissection and existential therapy session, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Joy-Ann Reid took a scalpel to the Democratic Party’s losses, America’s selective memory, and the myths that shape our national identity.

Coates, never one to trade in sugarcoated optimism, laid it out plainly: This election was not just a loss; it was a reckoning. A party that once ran on the legacy of Jesse Jackson and Shirley Chisholm had, in his view, lost its soul. "What did all this strategizing win you?" he asked. "You lost affirmative action, a woman’s right to choose, labor rights, and possibly Obamacare—what did you actually win?"

But the conversation dug deeper than party politics. It was about the stories America tells itself. Coates and Reid traced the war on Black history from D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation to Trump’s promise to erase narratives like The 1619 Project. The right, Coates noted, isn’t just waging political battles—it’s fighting for the power to control the story, the one that justifies oppression while feigning victimhood.

And then there was the Democratic Party’s moral crisis—its fear of taking principled stands. "I just don’t want to lose while defending genocide," Coates said, dissecting how politicians calculate their moral compromises. It was a brutal critique of the political machine, one that left Reid nodding in agreement and listeners wondering if "the most important election of our lifetime" is just another rerun.

The conversation didn’t end in despair, but it certainly didn’t end in false hope either. America’s political failures are cyclical, but as Coates reminds us, understanding the game doesn’t mean accepting its rules."
 
I still miss poppy. She started this thread. Had a Siamese kitty and lived in New Orleans via NYC (where she attended wild raves) and before that? Parts unknown. Oh well. Maybe she’ll come back. Maybe she has paid her karmic debt. Anyhow, I hope she is well. I was reminded of her b/c she started this thread 🧵.

Here’s one by Robert Reich talking about how it could be . . . Or maybe how it could have been, if our economy were more fair.


Can We Fix Our Rigged Tax System? [Robert Reich;4.1.25]

It’s really not hard. Of course, it’s not the kind of policy you’re likely to find espoused by oligarchs, unless they have an Ebenezer Scrooge moment. We can hope.
 
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