Friday, August 30, 2024

Quote of the Day


To put it simply, [Kamala Harris’s remarks on the situation in Gaza were] quite pathetic. There was a “no” on the question of whether there will be a change in policy. And let’s be perfectly clear about what the current Biden-Harris administration policy is. It’s the continued and unprecedented support through consistent weapons supplies to the Israeli military as it carries out a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, where somewhere between 40,000 and perhaps up to 200,000 people, according to some estimates, have already been killed, 80% of the structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, and nearly two-million people are homeless, displaced and living under dire humanitarian conditions due to a tightening siege. That’s the policy that Vice President Harris is committing to continue. And I think that that’s, of course, outrageous.

. . . So, [here’s] the real question [that] should have been [asked of Harris]: When are you going to start enforcing U.S. law as it relates to arms shipments? Because what we are doing right now with this U.S. government policy is in violation not just of international law, but also of American law. And Vice President Harris made it very clear in other parts of her interview that she wants to be a prosecutor. She wants to enforce the law. But Israel here is clearly getting an exception from the Harris campaign.



NEXT:
“It’s a Systematic Slaughter That We’re Funding”



Related Off-site Links:
Sen. Bernie Sanders Pledges Resolution to Block $20 Billion U.S. Arms Sale to Israel – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, August 30, 2024).
What CNN Intentionally Failed to Ask Kamala Harris – Jordan Chariton (Status Coup News, August 30, 2024).
I’m Still Hoping to Vote for Kamala Harris – Benjamin Moser (The Nation, August 30, 2024).
Muslim Voters Evenly Split Between Jill Stein and Kamala Harris, New Poll Finds – Umar A Farooq (Middle East Eye, August 29, 2024).
Democrats Dismiss the Pain of Gaza at Their Moral, and Possibly Political, Peril – James Carden (Common Dreams, August 25, 2024).
“You Must Do Better”: Harris Rebuked Over Failure to Change Course on Gaza – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, August 23, 2024).
Harris Urged to Take “Clear Stance” Against Weapons Sales for Israel – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, July 22, 2024).
“Where Is the World?”: Gaza Mourns Victims as Israel Continues to Target Humanitarian RefugesDemocracy Now! (July 17, 2024).
“Blank Check” for Genocide: Court Dismisses Palestinians’ Case Against Biden Administration Over Gaza WarDemocracy Now! (July 16, 2024).
“Unfathomable”: Lancet Study Estimates Gaza Death Toll May Exceed 186,000 – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, July 8, 2024).
Drafter of Leahy Law Says It Was Never Applied to Israel – Connor Echols (Responsible Statecraft, May 7, 2024).
How U.S. Violates Its Own Leahy Law to Ensure Military Support for Israel – Ali Harb (Al Jazeera, May 2, 2024).
“Genocidal Actions” Persist in Gaza as Israel Blocks Aid and U.S. Weapons Flow – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, April 12, 2024).
Journalist Abby Martin Explains Why She Considers Israel’s Actions in Gaza to Constitute GenocideMiddle East Eye (April 3, 2024).
“A War Machine Out of Control”: Israel Keeps Attacking Aid Workers as Gaza Faces FamineDemocracy Now! (April 3, 2024).
How Do Leahy Laws Apply to U.S. Support for Israel? – An Interview with Charles Blaha, Former Director of the State Department’s Office of Security and Human Rights – Leila Fadel (NPR News, March 26, 2024).
Draft U.N, Report Finds Israel Has Met Threshold for Genocide – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, March 25, 2024).

UPDATES: Who Is Kamala Harris? Aggressive Foreign and Military Policies – Joseph Gerson (Common Dreams, September 1, 2024).
Kamala Faces Backlash From Supporters – Sabrina Salvati (Sabby Sabs, September 1, 2024).
The Horror of It All: The Unbearable Tragedy of a War That Does Not End – Marianne Williamson (Transform, September 1, 2024).
Poll Shows Voter Support for Harris Would Grow If She Backed Arms Embargo on Israel – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, September 6, 2024).
A Last Chance for Harris to Win Back Voters Opposed to Gaza Genocide – Basim Elkarra (Common Dreams, September 6, 2024).
Much Ado About Nothing: Tim Walz’s Empty Words on Gaza – David R. Weiss (Full Frontal Faith, September 16, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Breaking Down Kamala Harris’s DNC Speech on Gaza
Progressive Perspectives on the Presidential Nomination of Kamala Harris
John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
Phyllis Bennis: “We Can Never Give Up Hope”
Nina Turner: Quote of the Day – July 24, 2024
Something to Think About – June 28, 2024
Kyle Kulinski: Quote of the Day – May 23, 2024
Judith Butler on the Ongoing Student Protests Against the Gaza Genocide
Naomi Klein’s Powerful Words on Israel’s and the West’s Ongoing Gaza Genocide
Outrage and Despair
“This Is a Genocidal Project”
“A Genocide Has Been Normalized”
Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
More Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
Josh Paul: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
Phyllis Bennis: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
Michael Fakhri: Quote of the Day – February 27, 2024
Sabrina Salvati: Quote of the Day – January 2, 2024
Christmas 2023 – Reflections, Activism, Art, and Celebrations
Jehad Abusalim: Quote of the Day – December 8, 2023
Ta-Nehisi Coates: Quote of the Day – November 2, 2023
In the Midst of the “Great Unraveling,” a Visit to the Prayer Tree
Prayer of the Week – October 16, 2023
Something to Think About – October 12, 2023
Eric Levitz: Quote of the Day – October 11, 2023
Phyllis Bennis: “If We Are Serious About Ending This Spiraling Violence, We Need to Look at Root Causes”
“Nothing About Today is ‘Unprovoked’”
“The Mistreatment and Discrimination Against Palestinians Is Not Unprecedented. It’s Baked Into the Foundation of the Political System in Israel”
Progressive Perspectives on the Ongoing Israeli-Palestinian “Nightmare” (2021)
Something to Think About – July 29, 2018
Noura Erakat: Quote of the Day – May 15, 2018
For Some Jews, Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians is Yet Another Jewish Tragedy
Remembering the Six-Day War and Its Ongoing Aftermath
David Norris: Quote of the Day – August 12, 2014

Image: Al Jazeera Media Network.


Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Marianne Williamson: “We’re Living in Very Serious Times and We Need to Be Very Serious People”

Author, activist and former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson shared yesterday her perspective on our current political climate with Brian Eskow on his podcast, Searching for Political Identity.

Brian’s conversation with Marianne is an hour in duration and can be watched in its entirety below. It’s followed by a recent article that Marianne wrote for her substack, Transform.







“Is Not Politics a Part of Dharma Too?”
Gandhi’s response to a common question

By Marianne Williamson

Transform
August 19, 2024

When people asked Mahatma Gandhi how he could be involved in something as crude as politics, he responded, “Is not politics a part of dharma [i.e., the eternal and inherent nature of reality] too?” Having had a career in something as relatively sublime as the field of spirituality, and then experienced something as toxic as the inner workings of the American political system, I understand the question.

I also understand Gandhi’s answer.

We’re not sent to earth to heal only some of the world. If we’re here to be lights unto the world, then are we allowed to be selective about which corners of darkness we seek to illumine? There is no religious or spiritual tradition that gives anyone a pass on addressing the suffering of other sentient beings.

In my interview with Booboo Garcia on his podcast Broader Lens, we discussed the relationship between spiritual and social change.

There is a lot of confusion these days about the separation of Church and State. Establishing in the First Amendment that no religious authorities are allowed to limit our ability to worship if or how we choose, our Founders were not seeking to drive spirituality out of the public square. They were seeking to protect it! And its protection serves not only the individual but the whole society. A nation should ask questions such as. “Is what we’re doing the right thing? The good thing?” no differently than we should ask such questions of ourselves.

And while in our own lives we alone must answer, as citizens of a society we often feel that the answer in our hearts is at odds with the will of other forces in society. History is divided between those who gave up in such cases and said “There’s just nothing we can do,” versus those who have risen up to say, “Not on my watch” in the face of societal wrongs.

Among white Americans, the Abolitionist movement emerged in large part from early evangelical churches in New Hampshire. Many of the main leaders of the Women Suffragist movement were religious Quakers. And Dr. King was a Baptist preacher. Throughout our history – particularly the history of social justice movements – religious and spiritual ideals have fueled our progress. Ethical questioning is the basis of moral persuasion; it is that which changes human hearts, and ultimately changes the world.

It’s ethical questioning – whether such questioning is contextualized as spiritual, religious or secular – that leads us to care if corporate greed dooms people to die if they can’t afford life-saving operations, or allows carcinogens in our food supply not allowed in other advanced nations, or ravages the earth that should be promised to our children, or influences government in the direction of unnecessary foreign wars that rain havoc and destruction on innocent lives.

So yes, politics can be toxic. And crude. And corrupt. It is all those things. But an ethical spirit cannot ignore it. There is an old rabbinical saying, “You are not expected to complete the task, but neither are you permitted to abandon it.” Whether or not we succeed at an effort is not as important as whether or not we try. A line I heard years ago has stayed with me: “Be totally invested in an effort, yet unattached to it results.”

There is a better way to live on this planet, for us as individuals and for us as a society. Politics is simply our collective behavior, and Gandhi said it “should be sacred.” Politics should be a collective effort made from the heart, from our deepest thinking, from our most soulful considerations. I have seen it be both. I have experienced both. My bet is on the better way.

– Marianne Williamson
Transform
August 19, 2024


Related Off-site Links:
Some Things Never Seem to Really Change – Marianne Williamson (Transform, August 26, 2024).
The Public Sphere Has Disappeared in a Massive Upward Transfer of Wealth – Marianne Williamson (Newsweek, August 25, 2024).
Marianne Williamson: The Left Needs to Toughen Up for the Long HaulStatus Coup News (August 25, 2024).
Political Establishment is “Resisting” Americans Having a “Deeper Conversation” Says Marianne WilliamsonAmerica Reports (August 23, 2024).
Marianne Williamson: My 2024 Endorsement Is That People “Think for Themselves”Your World with Neil Cavuto (August 20, 2024).
Bill Maher’s Elitism Exposed by Marianne WilliamsonThe Kyle Kulinski Show (August 14, 2024).

UPDATE: Battling the Establishment: An Interview with Marianne WilliamsonTruly Orwellian (August 30, 2024).
The Horror of It All: The Unbearable Tragedy of a War That Does Not End – Marianne Williamson (Transform, September 1, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Marianne Williamson: I Hope I Will Hear Things from Kamala That I Can Full-on Support
Progressive Perspectives on an American Coronation
Voices on the Issues That Really Matter
Active Hope
Marianne Williamson on ABC News Live – 8/20/24
History Matters
John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
Memes of the Times
On This Momentous Day in U.S. Politics, a Visit to the Prayer Tree
Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
Just Imagine
Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season
Marianne Williamson on ABC News Live – 5/19/24


Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Elise Labott on How Third Parties Can Revitalize Democracy


Third parties, or as I like to call then, alternative parties, are once again in the news here in the U.S. as we approach the November 5 presidential election.

Elise Labott is the editor-in-chief of Zivvy News and an adjunct professor at American University. Last September she was one of three political commentators asked by DividedWeFall.org to respond to the question, “Do third parties help or harm democracy?” Following are excerpts from Labott’s response.

__________________

Today’s hyper-partisanship and polarization hinder the two major political parties from nominating presidential candidates who can resonate with a wide spectrum of voters. This problem has deep-seated roots, entwined with the business of politics, which benefits from normalizing the extreme.

As a result, many voters have recently found themselves compelled to choose the “lesser of two evils” or resort to protest votes. Recent polling data from NewsNation underscores this frustration, with about 49 percent of American voters willing to consider a third-party alternative [to] both Trump and Biden.

. . . Some analysts predict a third-party candidate could draw more support from Biden’s voters than Trump’s, causing concern among Democrats. . . . Yet this argument overlooks a deeper, longer-term problem at hand: the stranglehold of the two-party system and the corrosive influence of big money in American politics. Consistently voting for the “lesser of two evils” perpetuates a system that limits voters’ personal choices and stifles innovative leadership. A vote for a third-party candidate is not just about one election; it’s about challenging the barriers that uphold the two-party duopoly.

Moreover, the fear of a third-party candidate tipping the scales in favor of either party is based on a flawed assumption – that all potential third-party voters would otherwise vote for a major party candidate. Many may abstain from voting for the presidential candidate or skip the election altogether. Allowing support for third-party candidates could invigorate democracy by incentivizing voter turnout.

A third-party candidate doesn’t have to win the presidency to have a meaningful impact. Their mere presence in the race can reshape the conversation, push major parties to evolve, and inspire a new generation of elected leaders who understand democracy centers on “We the People” rather than “We the Parties.” In this context, concerns about which party might be “hurt” by third-party candidates earning votes are less important than the broader goal of revitalizing democracy and addressing citizens’ needs.

. . . [A] third-party ticket would remind politicians they serve the people, not the other way around. It’s time to reject the false narrative that voting for a third-party candidate is a wasted vote and instead recognize it as a powerful statement in favor of an issue-focused, united America.

Elise Labott
Excerpted from “Do Third Parties Help
or Harm Democracy?

DividedWeFall.com
September 27, 2023


Related Off-site Links:
Why U.S. Elections Only Give You Two ChoicesVox (March 6, 2024).
It’s Time to Build a Third Party – Anthony Pahnke (The Progressive, April 15, 2021).
U.S. Third Parties Can Rein In the Extremism of the Two-party System – Bernard Tamas (The Conversation, June 22, 2021).
The Problem with “The Lesser of Two Evils” – Zachary Ludwick (The Uproar, November 2, 2020).
Challenging the Duopoly: Jill Stein on Why She’s Running for U.S. President as Green Party Candidate – Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson (Geopolitical Economy Report, April 20, 2024).
Democrats Are Still Obsessed With Jill Stein. They Should Start Obsessing Over Non-voters Instead – Meagan Day (The Week, June 19, 2017).
Ralph Nader: The U.S. Political and Media System Is Designed to Obstruct and Silence Third-Party CandidatesDemocracy Now! (May 10, 2016).
No, Ralph Nader Did Not Hand the 2000 Presidential Election to George W. Bush – Anthony Fisker (Reason, August 3, 2016).
Did Third-Party Candidates Cost Hillary Clinton the Election? – Byron Tau (The Wall Street Journal, November 14, 2016).
Can They Count? – Blaming Third-Party Voters for Trump’s Win Isn’t Just Bad Politics. It’s Bad Math – Jonah Walters (Jacobin, November 29, 2016).

UPDATES: Muslim Voters Evenly Split Between Jill Stein and Kamala Harris, New Poll Finds – Umar A Farooq (Middle East Eye, August 29, 2024).
Call the Greens an “Independent Party,” Not “Third Party”: Jill Stein – Rich Johnson (NewsNation, August 31, 2024).
Interview: Dr. Jill Stein on AOC’s Instagram Attack, Green Party Challenges and Victories, and More – Glenn Greenwald (System Update with Glenn Greenwald, September 10, 2024).
Yes, They’re Really Voting for Jill Stein – Aymann Ismail (Slate, October 30, 2024).
Is Voting Third Party a Vote for Trump? – An Interview with Jill SteinLet’s Just Talk with Hammi (October 31, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
“Americans Deserve Choices”: Jill Stein on Breaking Points – 4/30/24
Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
Voices on the Issues That Really Matter
Progressive Perspectives On an American Coronation
Thoughts on Cornel West’s 2024 Presidential Run
The Big Switch
The Republican Party in a Nutshell
Republicans Don’t Care About American Democracy
Demolishing the False Narrative About Jill Stein and the 2016 Election
Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season
Will Democrats Never Learn?
Celebrating Progressive Wins in the Midst of the Ongoing “War for the Future of the Democratic Party”
Ricardo Levins Morales on the “Deepest Political Fault Line” Separating Democrats
Marianne Williamson on the Movement for a People’s Party
Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
Progressive Perspectives on the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election
Hope Over Fear: Voting Green


Monday, August 26, 2024

Ghosts

There is a ghost
And it goes out on the land
It’s lifted up, it feels and floats

. . . There is a dream you’ve had before
And forgot many times, so many times

When you remember who I am, just call
When you remember who I am

Oh, my lover
Never was there another
Where has my lover man gone?
Away

– “There Is a Ghost
by Marianne Faithfull
(from her 2004 album,
Before the Poison)



See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
The Real Question
I Surrendr to You
Saaxiib Qurux Badan – June 27, 2024
Sweet Surrender
Like a Lotus Flower
Blue Yonder
In the Stillness and Silence of This Present Moment
I Need Do Nothing . . . I Am Open to the Living Light
What We Crave
A Sacred Pause
Saaxiib Qurux Badan – February 14, 2023
Undone
The Landscape Is a Mirror
Out and About – Spring 2020
Adnan in Morning Light
It’s You
In This In-Between Time

Image 1: “Ghost in Rainstorm” – Michael J. Bayly (Minneapolis, 8/26/24).
Image 2: Saaxiib Qurux Badan (“Beautiful Friend”) – Michael J. Bayly (4/18/24).


Saturday, August 24, 2024

Chris Hedges on the End of the American Empire

The Wild Reed’s “Breaking with Convention” series concludes with the Real Talk podcast’s recent interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author, commentator and Presbyterian minister Chris Hedges.

In this hour-long interview Hedges shares his perspective on the presidential contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. In doing so, he explains why he believes we are “at the end of empire.” He also offers his thoughts and insights on whether Trump and Harris would have different Gaza policies, the rise of Christian nationalism in the U.S., and Joe Biden’s presidential legacy.

Real Talk is a Middle East Eye interview-focused podcast hosted by Mohamed Hashem that “delves into the stories and experiences of a diverse range of guests.” Hashem’s interview with Chris Hedges was first shared online on August 5.





Related Off-site Links:
Thou Shalt Not Commit Genocide – Chris Hedges (ScheerPost, August 16, 2024).
My Promise to Gaza – Chris Hedges (ScheerPost, June 19, 2024).
Sermon for Gaza – Chris Hedges (ScheerPost, April 28, 2024).
Requiem for The New York Times – Chris Hedges (Consortium News, April 17, 2024).
The Miracle of Kindness: What I Learned From the Palestinians – Chris Hedges (ScheerPost, April 11, 2024).
The Cost of Bearing Witness – Chris Hedges (ScheerPost, December 24, 2023).
The Problem with “The Lesser of Two Evils” – Zachary Ludwick (The Uproar, November 2, 2020).
Democracy Despises a Coronation – Hamiliton Nolan (In These Times, August 15, 2024).

UPDATES: Glenn Greenwald: Democrats Are the Ultimate Establishment Party – Emily Jashinsky (UnHerd, September 10, 2024).
The American Ruling Class Explained – Chris Hedges (The Chris Hedges Report, September 13, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Progressive Perspectives on an American Coronation
Voices on the Issues That Really Matter
Active Hope
Marianne Williamson on ABC News Live – 8/20/24
Peter Savodnik: Quote of the Day – August 22, 2024
History Matters
Marianne Williamson: I Hope I Will Hear Things from Kamala That I Can Full-on Support
Progressive Perspectives on the Presidential Nomination of Kamala Harris
Breaking Down Kamala Harris’ DNC Speech on Gaza
Memes of the Times
On This Momentous Day in U.S. Politics, a Visit to the Prayer Tree
Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
Just Imagine
Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season


Friday, August 23, 2024

Breaking Down Kamala Harris’ DNC Speech on Gaza

Source: So Informed


NEXT:
Yousef Munayyer:
Quote of the Day – 8/30/24


Related Off-site Links:
Democrats Dismiss the Pain of Gaza at Their Moral, and Possibly Political, Peril – James Carden (Common Dreams, August 25, 2024).
“You Must Do Better”: Harris Rebuked Over Failure to Change Course on Gaza – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, August 23, 2024).
ICC Prosecutor Urges Swift Ruling on Warrants for Israeli and Hamas Leaders – Jessica Corbett (Common Dreams, August 23, 2024).
Slamming Israeli Media Lies, Freed Hostage Says IDF Strike – Not Hamas – Wounded Her – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, August 23, 2024).
Palestinian Exclusion Shows the Limits of Kamala Harris’s Politics of Joy – Jeet Heer (The Nation, August 22, 2024).
Vice President Harris, Here’s How You Can Earn Our Votes – Eman Abdelhadi (Common Dreams, August 20, 2024).
“Beyond Horror”: Israel Kills Mostly Children in Fresh Attacks on Gaza Schools – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, August 5, 2024).
UN Probe Finds “Appalling Acts” of Torture Against Palestinians Detained by Israel – Edward Carver (Common Dreams, July 31, 2024).
Unspeakable: We Are Swimming In A Pool of Blood – Abby Zimet (Common Dreams, July 31, 2024).
U.S. Healthcare Workers Back From Gaza Tell Harris and Biden: “End This Madness Now” – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, July 26, 2024).
“Unspeakable”: Doctors Back from Gaza Say Death Toll “Much Higher,” Push Harris and Biden for CeasefireDemocracy Now! (July 26, 2024).
Israeli Forces Have Killed 366 UN Workers and Family Members in Gaza: Leaked Report – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, July 24, 2024).
Harris Urged to Take “Clear Stance” Against Weapons Sales for Israel – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, July 22, 2024).
Report Details Israel’s “Water War Crimes” in Gaza – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, July 18, 2024).
Palestinian Envoy Demands End to “Most Documented Genocide in History” – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, July 17, 2024).
We Must Understand Israel as a Settler-Colonial State – Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (CounterPunch, July 12, 2024).
Their Goal Is Total Ethnic Cleansing: Mustafa Barghouti on Israel’s Expulsion Order for Gaza CityDemocracy Now! (July 10, 2024).
UN Experts Say “Targeted Starvation Campaign” by Israel Has Led to Famine Across Gaza – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, July 9, 2024).
“Unfathomable”: Lancet Study Estimates Gaza Death Toll May Exceed 186,000 – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, July 8, 2024).
Report from Rafah: UNICEF Decries Israel’s “War on Children” as Starvation and Deaths Mount in GazaDemocracy Now! (June 17, 2024).
Report from Gaza: “Devastating” Israeli Raid to Free 4 Israeli Hostages Kills 270+ PalestiniansDemocracy Now! (June 10, 2024).
Draft U.N, Report Finds Israel Has Met Threshold for Genocide – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, March 25, 2024).
“Genocidal Actions” Persist in Gaza as Israel Blocks Aid and U.S. Weapons Flow – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, April 12, 2024).
Journalist Abby Martin Explains Why She Considers Israel’s Actions in Gaza to Constitute GenocideMiddle East Eye (April 3, 2024).
“A War Machine Out of Control”: Israel Keeps Attacking Aid Workers as Gaza Faces FamineDemocracy Now! (April 3, 2024).
Israel Is a Settler Colony, Annexing Native Land Is What It Does – Muhannad Ayyash (Al Jazeera, July 7, 2020).

UPDATES: Muslim Voters Evenly Split Between Jill Stein and Kamala Harris, New Poll Finds – Umar A Farooq (Middle East Eye, August 29, 2024).
The Horror of It All: The Unbearable Tragedy of a War That Does Not End – Marianne Williamson (Transform, September 1, 2024).
Poll Shows Voter Support for Harris Would Grow If She Backed Arms Embargo on Israel – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, September 6, 2024).
A Last Chance for Harris to Win Back Voters Opposed to Gaza Genocide – Basim Elkarra (Common Dreams, September 6, 2024).
Much Ado About Nothing: Tim Walz’s Empty Words on Gaza – David R. Weiss (Full Frontal Faith, September 16, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Progressive Perspectives on the Presidential Nomination of Kamala Harris
John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
Phyllis Bennis: “We Can Never Give Up Hope”
Nina Turner: Quote of the Day – July 24, 2024
Something to Think About – June 28, 2024
Kyle Kulinski: Quote of the Day – May 23, 2024
Judith Butler on the Ongoing Student Protests Against the Gaza Genocide
Naomi Klein’s Powerful Words on Israel’s and the West’s Ongoing Gaza Genocide
Outrage and Despair
“This Is a Genocidal Project”
“A Genocide Has Been Normalized”
Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
More Voices of Reason and Compassion on the Crisis in Israel and Gaza
Josh Paul: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
Phyllis Bennis: Quote of the Day – March 28, 2024
Michael Fakhri: Quote of the Day – February 27, 2024
Sabrina Salvati: Quote of the Day – January 2, 2024
Christmas 2023 – Reflections, Activism, Art, and Celebrations
Jehad Abusalim: Quote of the Day – December 8, 2023
Ta-Nehisi Coates: Quote of the Day – November 2, 2023
In the Midst of the “Great Unraveling,” a Visit to the Prayer Tree
Prayer of the Week – October 16, 2023
Something to Think About – October 12, 2023
Eric Levitz: Quote of the Day – October 11, 2023
Phyllis Bennis: “If We Are Serious About Ending This Spiraling Violence, We Need to Look at Root Causes”
“Nothing About Today is ‘Unprovoked’”
“The Mistreatment and Discrimination Against Palestinians Is Not Unprecedented. It’s Baked Into the Foundation of the Political System in Israel”
Progressive Perspectives on the Ongoing Israeli-Palestinian “Nightmare” (2021)
Something to Think About – July 29, 2018
Noura Erakat: Quote of the Day – May 15, 2018
For Some Jews, Israel’s Treatment of Palestinians is Yet Another Jewish Tragedy
Remembering the Six-Day War and Its Ongoing Aftermath
David Norris: Quote of the Day – August 12, 2014


Progressive Perspectives on the Presidential Nomination of Kamala Harris


U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination last night during the final evening of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Following are progressive perspectives on various aspects of this historic event from six people – Barbara Ransby, Richard Eskow, Katie Herzog, Kyle Kulinski, Emma Vigeland, and Marianne Williamson.

__________________


[Kamala Harris’ nomination is] a historic moment in a lot of ways. Certainly it breaks a barrier. I never thought I would see a Black woman nominated.

. . . I was glad to hear her mention the suffering of the Palestinian people, but, of course, it didn’t ring true. It rang a little bit hollow, because the Biden administration could stop much of that suffering by not sending 2,000-pound bombs and $3 billion a year to the Israeli government. So if it would have been backed up by action, if it would have been backed up by allowing a Palestinian speaker to speak in their own terms, that part would have resonated.

But, of course, talking about Israel’s right to defense disguises the fact that this is an offensive war, offensive on every level. And the United States is facilitating it. . . . [So] it was not enough. It was the wrong message. And, you know, a throwaway line about Palestinian suffering does not get it.




I reviewed the Democratic Party platform for 2024 and found something interesting: When it comes to economic policy, this year’s platform is less progressive and less ambitious than it was four years ago. Democrats have tacked right or retreated on health insurance reform, drug prices, Medicare and Social Security expansion, poverty, labor, taxes, Wall Street, and the minimum wage.

Why become less ambitious on economic issues, especially when public confidence in the economy remains low? Is it the influence of big donors? Is it the willingness of the party’s internal left to back its candidates without first demanding policy concessions? Is it both?

Lobbying certainly played a part. 2024’s scaled-back health proposals, for example, are a big win for the for-profit health sector and its massive lobbying investment. Health corporations spent $751,540,000 (more than three-quarters of a billion dollars) on lobbying in 2023 alone. They employed 3,344 lobbyists, which is more than six lobbyists for every member of Congress. (Source: Open Secrets, using Senate records.)

My economic views are well to the left of the Democratic Party’s, even in its best years. But these changes don’t just repudiate the left. They defy public opinion on one issue after another, driving the party backward even as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris runs as the candidate of change

This year’s platform also undercuts a favored argument from the Democratic Party’s left wing: that Joe Biden has been “the most progressive president since FDR.” That’s always been debatable. Biden has been anything but progressive on military issues (including the Gaza genocide). By contrast, Lyndon Johnson’s domestic achievements included Medicare and Medicaid, major anti-poverty legislation, and the Voting Rights Act.

Biden did notch some progressive achievements, however, and would have had more had he not been hamstrung by Congress. A party in this situation wouldn’t normally lower its ambitions. It would raise them, pledging to do more if given full control of Congress.

Again, why? Democrats may be operating under the misguided notion that these proposals are “too far left” for voters, which polling tells us is wrong. It may also feel that it no longer needs to appease its own left flank, which is probably true. But even if the party’s internal left has fallen in line behind its leaders, key voting blocs still need and want more than this platform offers.

The race is still close. Democrats are less likely to win it with a platform that reflects the politics of caution – which, for voters, means the soft despair of the status quo.

Richard Eskow
Excerpted from “Why Has the Dem Platform
Veered Right on the Economy?

Common Dreams
August 23, 2024



Bio part [of Harris’ speech] was strong, Trump attacks were brutal and accurate. Foreign policy part was absolute trash. In terms of the normie reaction, I think they’ll like it and she’ll get a bump coming out of the convention. I can’t get over both sides [supporting] a genocide and basically committing to arming Israel/Netanyahu in perpetuity no matter what. Disgusting.

Kyle Kulinski
via social media
August 23, 2024



The most boilerplate Democratic Party speech she could have given. I understand the short-term strategy of Walz, as a white guy, taking bigger swings on progressive economic policy in his speech, but Harris needs to identify herself with those policies for sustained success.

Emma Vigeland
via social media
August 23, 2024



[A]fter four days of nonstop Democratic Party boosterism, I’d been so inundated with the message that Kamala Harris is the most qualified candidate to ever run for president, one who will usher in a new era of prosperity, that by the time she took Doug’s hand and retired backstage for a drink and a smoke, I almost, for a second, believed it.

But then I remembered that politics is theater, that Joe Biden stepped down only because Nancy Pelosi held a gun to his head (and would have pulled the trigger), and that Harris was cast in this role not because the people choose her, but because Biden needed a brown woman to appease activists and then his brain turned to mush. A month ago, the only thing left of the KHive was four gay guys in P-Town snorting Adderall off a wicker coffee table; now it’s half the country! Whoever scripted this deserves an Oscar.

Katie Herzog
Excerpted from “TGIF: We Are Not
Going Back to What Has Been

The Free Press
August 23, 2024



And finally, here is author, activist and former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson being interviewed earlier today by Fox News’ John Roberts.





NEXT:
Breaking Down Kamala Harris’
DNC Speech on Gaza


Related Off-site Links:
Kamala Harris Accepts Historic Presidential Nomination, Says Election Offers “Fleeting Opportunity” to Move Past “Bitterness and Cynicism” – Melissa Quinn (CBS News, August 23, 2024).
“Two Faces of American Capitalism”: Juan González on What the RNC and DNC Reveal About U.S. PoliticsDemocracy Now! (August 23, 2024).
Democracy Despises a Coronation – Hamiliton Nolan (In These Times, August 15, 2024).

UPDATES: AOC Gaslights on Gaza, Kamala’s “Lethal” Military; Green Party ReactsBad Faith (August 26, 2024).
Muslim Voters Evenly Split Between Jill Stein and Kamala Harris, New Poll Finds – Umar A Farooq (Middle East Eye, August 29, 2024).
Kamala’s DNC Coronation – Glenn Loury and John McWhorter (The Glenn Show, August 30, 2024).
Who Is Kamala Harris? Aggressive Foreign and Military Policies – Joseph Gerson (Common Dreams, September 1, 2024).
Kamala Faces Backlash From Supporters – Sabrina Salvati (Sabby Sabs, September 1, 2024).
Chris Smalls Blasts Biden/Harris So-called “Pro Union” Administration – Briahna Joy Gray (Bad Faith, September 12, 2024).
Are Obama and Harris Relevantly Black? – Irami Osei-Frimpong (The Funky Academic, October 31, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Progressive Perspectives on an American Coronation
Voices on the Issues That Really Matter
Active Hope
Marianne Williamson on ABC News Live – 8/20/24
Peter Savodnik: Quote of the Day – August 22, 2024
History Matters
Marianne Williamson: I Hope I Will Hear Things from Kamala That I Can Full-on Support
John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
Memes of the Times
On This Momentous Day in U.S. Politics, a Visit to the Prayer Tree
Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
Just Imagine
Marianne Williamson: “‘Vote Blue No Matter Who’ Is Not Enough to Win”
Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season
Marianne Williamson, the Ceasefire Candidate

Image: Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 22, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. (Picture: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)


Thursday, August 22, 2024

Marianne Williamson: I Hope I Will Hear Things from Kamala That I Can Full-on Support


Yesterday The Free Press reported that former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson – who participated in primary contests throughout the country, securing half-a-million votes* and out-performing Joe Biden in certain counties among certain demographics** – was told she could not be part of this week’s Democratic Convention unless she first gave a “full-throated endorsement of Kamala Harris.”

Harris, for her part, did not participate in any primaries but instead was selected by party insiders to be the presumptive presidential nominee after Biden exited the race.

Following is The Free Press’ 18-minute interview with Marianne.





I suppose I’d already figured out the reason for Marianne’s absence from the convention, especially after hearing her say at the end of last week that she hadn’t been invited to be part of it. She is, however, currently in Chicago “at the convention” on the outside, along with thousands of others, many of whom are protesting various issues in efforts to move Harris in a more progressive direction. That all being said, it’s still shocking to now read about her exclusion from being inside the convention in such a stark way.

It’s long been concluded that the Republican Party under Donald Trump has become a cult, yet there’s also a certain “group-think” mentality about the Democratic Party that is deeply disturbing and, quite frankly, on the same continuum as the Republicans. Perhaps that’s just the nature of political parties; that they’re prone to devolving in ways that stifle free-thinking and demand conformity.

On Tuesday, Marianne was interviewed by Neil Cavuto of Fox News who pressed her on the issue of endorsing Harris. I have a lot of respect for Marianne’s response. Indeed, I resonant and agree with it. I mean, it makes total sense to me to hold off on any full-on support of a presidential candidate until he/she has presented their vision for the country and their plans for achieving this vision.

Here is Marianne’s response:

I haven’t done any full-on endorsement of anyone. . . . I’m not totally into all this endorsement mentality. I think this is a very serious time in American history, and people need to think and vote their own conscience. And that’s my endorsement: that people think for themselves.

I understand that the larger opponent is Donald Trump, and I want to vote for the person – and support the person – who will have the best chance of winning in November against Donald Trump. That is where my passion lies, and it has more to do with opposition to Donald Trump than it does, at this point, with support of any other particular candidate.

I hope I will hear things [from Kamala Harris] on Thursday night that make me feel very excited; that make me feel that Kamala does have a vision for the United States and a plan for the next four years that I can full-on support. I’ll be very happy if that happens.


Following is Marianne Williamson’s full interview with Neil Cavuto.





* At one point during the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, Marianne Williamson was doing as well against Biden as Nikki Haley was against Trump.

** Following are some interesting stats compiled by Ryan Costa to do with Marianne’s primary results.

• In the District of Columbia Democratic presidential primary, Biden’s best ward and Marianne’s worst was the wealthiest and whitest. Marianne’s best ward was the poorest. She did better than “Uncommitted” in Black-majority wards.

• In the South Dakota Democratic presidential primary, some of Marianne’s best results and Biden’s worst were in Indigenous counties. In Standing Rock, Marianne got over 20%. This trend of Marianne over-performing with Indigenous voters also occurred in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

• In North Dakota, Marianne’s best and Boden’s worst Senate districts tend to have the most Indigenous people.

• In New Mexico, Marianne over-performed in Indigenous counties while Biden under-performed. Marianne won over “Uncommitted” in the Indigenous counties.

• In Oklahoma, Marianne’s best results were with Black and Indigenous voters.

• In Arkansas , some of Marianne’s best counties have the most African-Americans.

• In Virginia, Marianne did well with Muslim voters.

• In Illinois, Biden received less votes in Cook County (Chicago) than his statewide average but Marianne matched her statewide average.

• In the Massachusetts Democratic presidential primary, Marianne Williamson was the only candidate who over-performed their statewide average in all 11 original Gateway Cities, demonstrating working-class and minority support, including from Jewish voters.


NEXT:
Progressive Perspectives on the
Presidential Nomination of Kamala Harris


Related Off-site Links:
Marianne Williamson: My 2024 Endorsement Is That People “Think for Themselves”Your World with Neil Cavuto (August 20, 2024).
The Democrats Are Having a Convention About Nothing – Peter Savodnik (The New Press, August 22, 2024).
If You’re Looking for Democracy in Chicago, You’ll Find It in the Streets – Iman Jodeh (The Hill via Common Dreams, August 22, 2024).
Palestinian Exclusion Shows the Limits of Kamala Harris’s Politics of Joy – Jeet Heer (The Nation, August 22, 2024).
Harris and the Dems Still Have a Chance to Correct Course on Gaza – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, August 20, 2024).
Progressives Back Harris Plan to Raise Taxes on Billionaires – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, August 22, 2024).
On DNC Sidelines, Progressives Push Democrats to Fight for the Working Class – Jessica Corbett (Common Dreams, August 21, 2024).
How Long Can Kamala Harris Avoid the Press? – The Editors (The Free Press, August 21, 2024).
Vice President Harris, Here’s How You Can Earn Our Votes – Eman Abdelhadi (Common Dreams, August 20, 2024).
Kamala Harris and the Misalignment with Black Voter Expectations – ElleBeah LB (ElleBeah’s Substack, August 14, 2024).
Kamala Harris and the Election of Laughter and Forgetting – Eli Lake (The Free Press, August 10, 2024).

UPDATES: Political Establishment is “Resisting” Americans Having a “Deeper Conversation” Says Marianne WilliamsonAmerica Reports (August 23, 2024).
Marianne Williamson: The Left Needs to Toughen Up for the Long HaulStatus Coup News (August 25, 2024).
The Public Sphere Has Disappeared in a Massive Upward Transfer of Wealth – Marianne Williamson (Newsweek, August 25, 2024).
The Horror of It All: The Unbearable Tragedy of a War That Does Not End – Marianne Williamson (Transform, September 1, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Progressive Perspectives on an American Coronation
Voices on the Issues That Really Matter
Active Hope
Marianne Williamson on ABC News Live – 8/20/24
History Matters
John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
Memes of the Times
On This Momentous Day in U.S. Politics, a Visit to the Prayer Tree
Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
Just Imagine
Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season
Marianne Williamson, the Ceasefire Candidate
Super Tuesday in Minnesota
Marianne Williamson on ABC News Live – 5/19/24
Marianne Williamson on How Centrist Democrats Abuse Voters with False Promises


Quote of the Day

While (rightly) pummeling the GOP–Donald Trump cult of personality, Democrats have mythologized Kamala Harris and turned her into an alternate-Harris who would have been unrecognizable to Harris herself just a few weeks ago: tough, caring, super-smart, results-oriented. Hillary Clinton 2.0.

But no one has ventured to say what this alternate-Harris would do in office. Or, more broadly, what her party wants to accomplish over the next four years. There is no program.

To be fair, the Republican agenda is a mosh pit of confusions – a free-market, tariff-laden, stick-it-to-the-establishment, fuck-China, go-America mélange of half-baked, sort-of proposals.

But the idea behind that confusion is straightforward. It is America first. Americans first. And every bill, initiative, executive decision can be, should be, viewed through that lens. Whether that amounts to a coherent theory of government remains to be seen. (The Republicans seem to be trying to figure out in real time the how behind the what.) But there is a focal point.

No one says what the Democrats’ North Star is. They have wielded enormous power for most of the past two decades, and they insist they won’t “turn back,” but no one says where we’re going. Or what they want beyond the blandest of platitudes about “freedom” and “choice” and “identity.”

These people know how to throw a fantastic party, and it’s full of flashing lights and smiling delegates and Stevie Wonder and dancers and tears streaming down faces and wild roars of hope and love and drama. But for now, after three days of this four-day convention that is really just a supremely entertaining infomercial, no one can say whether the drama is a three-act play that takes us somewhere uncharted, or whether this is a gilded sitcom.

Peter Savodnik
Excerpted from “The Democrats Are
Having a Convention About Nothing

The Free Press
August 22, 2024


NEXT:
Marianne Williamson:
I Hope I Will Hear Things from Kamala
That I Can Full-on Support


Related Off-site Links:
If You’re Looking for Democracy in Chicago, You’ll Find It in the Streets – Iman Jodeh (The Hill via Common Dreams, August 22, 2024).
Palestinian Exclusion Shows the Limits of Kamala Harris’s Politics of Joy – Jeet Heer (The Nation, August 22, 2024).
Harris and the Dems Still Have a Chance to Correct Course on Gaza – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, August 20, 2024).
Progressives Back Harris Plan to Raise Taxes on Billionaires – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, August 22, 2024).
How Long Can Kamala Harris Avoid the Press? – The Editors (The Free Press, August 21, 2024).
On DNC Sidelines, Progressives Push Democrats to Fight for the Working Class – Jessica Corbett (Common Dreams, August 21, 2024).
Vice President Harris, Here’s How You Can Earn Our Votes – Eman Abdelhadi (Common Dreams, August 20, 2024).
Democracy Despises a Coronation – Hamiliton Nolan (In These Times, August 15, 2024).
Kamala Harris and the Misalignment with Black Voter Expectations – ElleBeah LB (ElleBeah’s Substack, August 14, 2024).
Kamala Harris and the Election of Laughter and Forgetting – Eli Lake (The Free Press, August 10, 2024).
Will Kamala Be Hillary 2.0? – Matt Stoller (Compact Mag, July 29, 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Progressive Perspectives on an American Coronation
Voices on the Issues That Really Matter
Active Hope
Marianne Williamson on ABC News Live – 8/20/24
History Matters
John Cusack: Quote of the Day – July 26, 2024
Memes of the Times
On This Momentous Day in U.S. Politics, a Visit to the Prayer Tree
Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics
Something to Think About – August 15, 2024
Just Imagine
Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season