Ana Kasparian: Screeching Super Spaz. And I Applaud Her
There’s a type of whining that I no longer have any patience for, which is why I got somewhat angry in the comment section of a recent The Humanist Report (THR) segment. Essentially, Mike Figueredo, the THR host, was, as is “Leftist” custom and habit, complaining about the Democrats not pushing back against the conservative idiocy and the GOP being the one’s setting the new laws despite the Dems being in control of both Houses, Biden not doing anything to make sure that Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema fall in line with the party’s supposed goals, or Nancy Pelosi voicing her desire to see a stronger Republican party—that one is truly mindboggling; the old bat needs to go—although, in this one, Figueredo’s focus was on the Progressive Caucus’ clear preference for Establishment-pleasing team players who aren’t seeking to rock the boat in progressive waters. (The comment I made is included below, as it expresses a key point I’m aiming to deliver through this post.)
Then there’s a type of whining that some classify as a “meltdown”—which, in a way, it is—but that I welcome when appropriately measured and warranted, for these betray the true nature of those expressing the whining. When what lies behind it carries genuinely good, socially-positive intent, these moments are invaluable; when they don’t these moments are intolerable.
So, in short, I briefly presented three types of ‘whining.’
The first, referring to the type voiced by Figueredo, has value, and it would be “invaluable” were he voicing these exact complaints five years ago. Now, today… this is whining for the sake of whining. It stokes people’s anger without ever lighting the fuse given that, though mostly in an indirect manner, it feeds a hopelessness, manages to disengage viewers all the more, and merely satisfies in an unproductive manner a perverse need, or survival mechanism, that we all have—a part of human nature—which is: to deflect and blame.
That said, whining that the Dems aren’t working for the people—they only care about their corporate donors and the 1%—kinda makes pundits look ineffectual and incompetent if that’s all they have to offer, and on a superficial level to boot, as none are focusing on strategies or offering info that actually helps to inform the public in a manner that can help shape a meaningful strategy. The only thing to gain from this type of whining is: Do the same, cross your fingers, and hope for the best! Maybe someday the Dems will do something for you…
Meanwhile, the wealth gap is growing, powers is increasingly being sapped away from individuals, “Democracy” is turning into a word that’s as significant as “znygaboustitboninny”, and those who have the money and who aren’t even in power are reshaping the entire country in a way that moves the majority even further away from where they’re hoping to be.
Well, why should they? The two-party system has been entirely co-opted, and those in power have merely won the prestige and bragging rights that come with the role of being President of the US, as well as the continued privileges; the job of the elected is to deliver the end goals desired by the Big-Five Big Money entities who are all interrelated, not doing so will not end well for whomever holds that office.
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Voting for the “lesser of two evils” may have had some value, back when and for a short while, but how much of a difference has that made in anyone’s lives, other than to help push forth the neoliberal globalist agenda? This ‘goal” was my prime opposition to a Biden win, though, now, I’m far from convinced that any of that would have been avoided through a more positive path had Trump been the winner.
No matter, that part is mostly irrelevant to this post other than it highlights what what is fact really driving the Dems’ no-holds-barred Trump-crushing politics, their campaign promises and the rebranded “Green New Deal” being part of what they felt needed to be said in order to assure them a win, but I honestly don’t believe that they had ever really intended to deliver on any of those things.
Sure, like any other election promise, right? True, yet, not really, for there’s a certain level of expectations that one can’t set up, fail to deliver on, and then assume that all will overlook and that things can return to “normal”. First off, there’s the compounded effect of all previous failures to deliver on promises, and now these, which serves up a situation to voters that’s akin to a parent promising a shiny new bike and delivering a stinky turd—one’s that’s giftwrapped, just to make matters all the more disappointing—and doing so while in a bike shop and the bike-shop staff are riding around on gold bikes and offering up the lamest of excuses why you can’t walk out with a bike, all as your parents nod and agree and tell you, “Shucks! We tried, though, but a bike just isn’t possible it seems. Here, have this instead.”
No parent can expect to be forgiven by their kids quite so soon after something like that…
So, either there’s a major shift underway that makes forgiveness a moot point—Elites will forge an indisputably clear oligarchic way forward—or the Dems are being unabashedly callous, counting on people being stuck between “two evils” and choosing the worse one. After all, as I mentioned a month ago, the Republicans have delivered a nice gift to the Dems in the form of a hyper-focused, pre-packaged, no-brainer campaign platform: countering the abortion issue they willingly let happen while in power… but vote for them so they can reverse it. F-cking silly.
The last sums up what upsets me so much about many of these "leftist" outlets, predominantly, TYT, for they sell themselves as progressives and for progressives, yet seem hellbent on following an unprogressive course towards change, and all they end up doing is feeding a false hope, channeling people's energy away from where they ought to help focus it, solidify a destructive divide, sap attention away from any hardore Leftist outlets and voices due to their market dominance, and dump resources and money into a "lost" cause they obstinately refuse to see as such as they whine over and over again about the state of said lost cause, i.e., the Dems and their inability to bring change from the inside.
I've long advocated for 'change from the inside" myself, believing that bureaucracy has to be fought through bureaucratic means and methods, but adopting a mindset and fighting forum isn’t the same as trying to subvert an entity that receives huge sums of money and attention to make sure it can’t be subverted, and that’s built to absorb and assimilate any element that attempts to subvert it into a placating unit that ends up entirely serving that entity’s purposes while doing next to nothing to bring about the change which was the subverting element’s primary raison d’être.
“She calls the Democrats losers but come September throughout October she will be pleading with her audience to vote for them. Her hypocrisy is outstanding and it's amazing people actually listen to her.”
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People like Ben Shapiro, Tim Pool, Michael Knowles, and Matt Walsh do a lot of whining; theirs falls almost always entirely in the “intolerable” category, though they very often hit the insufferably-and-disturbingly-so level of that category. Any real emotions they do show is tantamount to a tantrum, as there’s never anything that they do express that concerns a greater good nor the populace; if they’re upset it’s because theirs and their corporate backers’ interests are being threatened, period. These people aren’t equipped to care about anyone other than themselves, hence why they push the views and lies that they do.
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I've my issues with The Young Turks, as I've previously expressed across a few posts, though not as strongly as in this recent post. But this one isn't about that, albeit, in a way, it also is. In short, it's because they can do but usually don't, serving up what’s more damaging than constructive, is why they tend to upset me more than not. I’ll explain:
Of course what’s happening in Ukraine is awful and I support the Ukraine people, that’s a given. However, I sincerely think we’re all being duped and that the basic, oversimplified assumption that Putin is a madman who wants to reinstate the borders of the Soviet Union is wrong; I’ve every reason to believe that’s not his goal, and I’ve more substantiating proof of this than the West’s claim which we’re supposed to take on faith and accept as absolute truth… sounds more like religion than geopolitics to me. And it makes a bad situation worse.
I’ve every reason to believe that what’s happening is a proxy war designed by the West that Putin was, essentially, goaded into, and that the West is backing some truly horrifying people within Ukraine. NATO has been dicking Ukraine around with membership since 2008, why? From the Magnitsky Act to so much more, it all looks very manufactured to me, and people’s reactions are all very manipulated to be one-way and over-amped so too much goes unseen and those who speak out are vilified.
This is only the 73rd time that the US has pulled this kind of shit, and they’ve gotten f-cken good at it. This has long been in the plan; the goal is to crush Russia’s economy, and have it bend to Western Capitalism’s whims, but things aren’t working out per the neoliberal elites’ plan. And it’s creating a global regressive split.
People don’t seem to realize that there’s a big push for resources and economic domination underway due to the very severe, world-wide crisis that’s coming, thanks to climate change.
And, though I don’t condone the attack as I think there were other actions he could have taken, I firmly believe that Putin walked into a trap, and that much of what people believe to be true, from Crimea to now, is pure hogwash.
And this “hate Putin or you’re less than human” BS… Please. That’s Bush Jr. level of rhetoric to shut down all conversations. Stop being so binary and puerile, people. Stop thinking with ‘division’ in mind and reacting out of hatred.
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This type of complaining is turning into truly absurd whining that betrays just how pointless the Leftwing punditry is in [regard] to mobilizing people in a meaningful way. MONEY RULES. ACCEPT IT. THE DEMS ARE AN ESTABLISHMENT UNIT IN THE SAME WAY THAT THE GOP ARE. There is only one party: corporate money. Unless the Dems commit suicide, these types of decisions are entirely out of their hands, period! They DON'T have the power to go against a corporate agenda. ACCEPT IT AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! Whining about what everyone with a brain already knows is pointless, FFS! Mobilize the anger into a third party. Revolt! DO SOMETHING MORE THAN HOPE FOR F--KING CLICKS!!!
Third parties don't win elections.
That's the type of thinking that's useless and non-productive; leads to whining and nothing good. Now, like never before is the time—the numbers back me—if the right unifying force is willing... your attitude is why there's no change and why there can't be one. And if you're [thinking] of Ralph Nader as the excuse why, trust me, you've swallowed falsehoods fed to you by the two-party apparatus.
@pdlussier something I can see with my own two eyes is a falsehood? 200+ years of electoral history, the actual design of the presidential system? You don't need first-year political science for this basic common sense.
And you're a part of the problem, for you're not looking at this properly. Change happens. Wake up or continue whining and see how far that gets you. If all unite—which is why I specify there needs to be a solid unifying force, not a bunch of whiners—then, again: now is the time, like never before. So, what are you gonna do and what are you willing to do? If you think changing the Dems from the inside is gonna make anything happen... first-year poli-sci is too advanced...
I’ve added the bolding and made a few corrections.
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