The World Today Just Nuts: Even Monsters Love Candy

From December 23, 2018, that's "Even Monsters Love Candy." C.I. noted:

War Criminal Bully Boy Bush asks, "Do you want an Iraqi flavored candy or an Afghanistan flavored one?" Michelle Obama responds, "Baby, I don't care. Blood is blood. And the blood of innocents is so tasty." Isaiah archives his comics at THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS.

That moment destroyed any kind thoughts I might ever have about Michelle Obama. She's not a good person. A good person doesn't hug a War Criminal.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Friday, July 31, 2020. We look at various candidates running to be elected president of the United States this November.

Starting in the United States where the November presidential election looms. The Democratic Party will begin their national convention on August 17th and wrap it up on August 20th if everything goes as scheduled. The party platform -- which is meaningless though people vest so much into it every four years -- will be a bigger disappointment than usual as items like Medicare For All, which the bulk of the party supports but which the Joe Biden campaign sneers at, aren't on it.

The only non-disappointment next month? Finally, the endless game of who The Bachelor Joe will give his rose to will end.

Tammy Duckworth? Because a hot head is who we think makes a good president? A conservative Democrat in the tradition of Zell Miller is who the country needs? Tammy has no base and she produces no enthusiasm. Joe already has an enthusiasm gap. Picking Tammy would be as bad as picking Susan Rice who has never held elected office but has been in the public eye for decades and no one but the circle-jerk press has ever been impressed with her. Picking Susan Rice, in fact, could be just the thing to rally Donald Trump's base.

Kamala Harris brings enthusiasm, her supporters are fierce and would provide a rapid response team unlike anything Joe currently has. Elizabeth Warren? I don't think anyone doubts that she could serve as vice president and immediately step into the presidency if that was required. (Joe has stated, alluding to his health and age, that his selection should be someone who could take over immediately if needed.) If she takes it, does she compromise her own image? It's more a possible threat to her future than to his. Karen Bass? She's a member of Congress, she's got spirit and personality. She could bring much energy and interest to the ticket. (I know Karen and I like Karen. Were I picking for Joe Biden, I would pick Karen.)

Those are the real contenders. No one believes a city mayor or Stacey Abrams is capable of being the president on a moment's notice. They lack the gravitas and the experience. Remember, Sarah Palin was a sitting governor when John McCain picked her as a running mate and the press still ridiculed her well before she was doing interviews.

The person needs to be competent, yes, but they need to be more than that, they need to bring enthusiasm. No one gives a damn about Joe Biden's campaign. He doesn't stir enthusiasm. The last two months, he's only really captured the press' attention over who he might choose as a running mate. They've spent weeks and weeks speculating.

Why?

It's cheap journalism. Doesn't cost them a damn thing. Second, it's all that's interesting about Joe.

So to pick a Susan Rice or Tammy Duckworth would be an error -- possibly a fatal one. The minute the woman is picked -- Joe has said it will be a woman -- the who-will-he-pick game is over and the nominee better be able, all by herself, to generate interest and enthusiasm.

It's a shame that Joe's been unwilling to seriously consider even one Latina for the position. It's good that the long process allowed Gretch The Wretch to be eliminated (she was eliminated because of her husband, that's when she was dropped from consideration, when he was demanding special treatment right before Memorial Day weekend) as well as Amy Klobuchar.(over civil rights questions stemming from her time as a prosecutor).

Kamala, Elizabeth and Amy all vied for the nomination. All had at least one moment of friction with Joe during the primaries. The only female who didn't? Tulsi Gabbard and she was never even on his long list.

Barring any upset, Joe will be declared the nominee of the Democratic Party next month. Donald Trump, the sitting president, is expected to be declared the nominee of the GOP at their convention as well.

We're going to stay with Donald for a moment. We've been covering Vanessa Guillen's murder since July 1st. Yesterday, the president met with her family. Tom Vanden Brooks (USA TODAY) reports:

President Donald Trump met Thursday with the family of Spc. Vanessa Guillen, who disappeared from Fort Hood in April and whose remains were found earlier this month.

“It’s an incredible story. It’s a terrible story,” Trump said to the family in the Oval Office. “So we’re going to look into it very powerfully. We already have started, as you know, and we’ll get to the bottom of it. Maybe things can come out that will help other people in a situation like Vanessa. We’ll be in touch with you constantly.”

A funeral has not been held because Guillen was dismembered and relatives are awaiting her remains, the family’s lawyer, Natalie Khawam, told Trump.

“If I can help you out with the funeral, I’ll help you out, financially, I’ll help you,” Trump said.

Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli (KPRC) adds:

“I want justice for my Vanessa,” Guillen’s mother said through tears.
During the meeting, Khawam explained Guillen’s death to Trump and asked him to consider the circumstances surrounding it as the reason to pass the #IAmVanessaGuillen bill.
One of Guillen’s sisters said that the troops who are willing to serve and protect need protection, which is why they are asking for the bill.
Trump said the DOJ and the FBI are investigating the case.
“We are going to look into it very powerfully,” Trump said. “... We will get to the bottom of this.”
Guillen’s mother said her daughter is a part of history and she pleaded with Trump to join with the family and be a positive part of Guillen’s story.
During the meeting, Guillen’s family said they have not had a funeral, yet, because the military still has Guillen’s remains because the investigation is open.
Trump responded that he would help Guillen’s family with costs for the funeral should they need it, and he would intervene to help her family get the remains from the military in order for them to have a proper funeral in Houston.

Hopefully, her family will find justice and peace.

People talk about polling. The polls are meaningless at this point. They show Joe ahead? Because Joe's buried himself. Like Hillary Clinton before him, candidate Joe is someone America likes better when they don't see him. Joe won't be able to hide forever. There's also the issue of how polls work. You have to have a free environment. When the press is conducting polls and the press has already decided to issue value judgments (Trump = bad, Donald is a racist, etc), people are not going to feel they can answer honestly. We noted that in 2016 and it's true today. The polling was wrong in 2016. It may very well be wrong today. Michael Moore was booed and hissed for offering the cautionary note that it's too early to call Joe's presidency a sure thing; but Michael was right about that. It is too early.

In addition to Joe and Donald representing the corporate duopoly, there are other candidates in the race.

Gloria La Riva is the presidential candidate from the Party for Liberation and Socialism.

While Joe bumbles around in a daze, Gloria's protesting police brutality and evictions. She travels to Portland to make her voice heard. This week, Gloria has Tweeted about Jalil Muntaqim:

What a great livestream for brother Jalil Muntaqim today, in prison an unimaginable but real 49 years! He was in at 19, truly a crime against him and a crime against Black America. #CommutationNow! #FreeJalilNow! Call Gov. Cuomo 
@NYGovCuomo
 to commute: 518-474-8390

6:55 PM · Jul 27, 2020

If you're not part of the corporate duopoly, you have to fight for media attention and for ballot access. David Wildestein (NEW JERSEY GLOBE) reports rapper, designer and social influencer Kayne West filed to run in New Jersey -- 800 signatures are required to make the ballot there and Kanye has 1,327. David explains:

He is one of seven independent candidates who filed.

A New Jersey resident, Gloria Estrela La Riva of Harrison, filed 1,589 signatures to run as the Socialism and Liberation candidate. She has designated Leonard Peltier as her running mate.
Also filing as independent presidential candidates: Rocky De La Fuente (Alliance Party); Don Blankenship (Constitution Party); Howie Hawkins (Green Party); Jo Jorgenson (Libertarian Party); and Bill Hammons (Unity Party).

Jo Joregenson is the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee. Her team is currently working to get on the Wisconsin ballot (among other states) and they have until August 4th to gather the needed signatures. On another stimulus package, her campaign issued the following this week:

GREENVILLE, S.C.; July 27, 2020— Dr. Jo Jorgensen, Libertarian for president, has released the following statement, warning of the danger of another massive COVID-19 bailout bill being negotiated in Congress:
I’d advise you to hold on to your wallet, but it won’t do you any good so long as Democrats and Republicans remain in power. To fund their bailout bills, the Federal Reserve is printing trillions of dollars out of thin air, which will tap your wallet, whether you hang on to it or not.
Democrats want to spend another $3 trillion for so-called economic stimulus. Donald Trump wants to spend another $2 trillion. Joe Biden wants to spend $2 trillion just on green energy.

We may soon see another $2 trillion spending package signed into law.
That’s in addition to the $3 trillion that Democrats and Republicans spent on the C.A.R.E.S. Act and other stimulus bills just in the last four months.
And that’s on top of the $1 trillion deficit they created by spending far more than they took in for this year’s budget.
That comes to at least $6 trillion in new debt in less than a year. To put this in perspective, $6 trillion buys half of all the gold in the world, even at today’s high price per ounce.
Where do Democrats and Republicans get the money to pay for this?
They can’t borrow it, because the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates artificially low. At these low rates, they can’t find enough buyers of Treasury bills to fund the debt.
Instead, the Federal Reserve buys T-bills from the government by printing trillions of dollars out of thin air. Poof!
Why should counterfeiters bother to print fake bills that might be worth a few thousand dollars when they can work for the Federal Reserve?
But won’t someone have to pay for all this, you may ask? Yes — you!
Politicians will take your wealth in the form of inflation. Prices will rise, making your dollars worth less.
How much will they bleed from your wallet when this bill comes due? Six trillion dollars in new debt amounts to an average of $36,689 in new debt for every working American (including those who are seeking work).
That is to say, politicians’ reckless new spending this year alone will likely cost you, on average, $36,689 in inflation, along with other forms of loss, which include future tax increases, lower wages, cuts in government benefits, or a combination thereof.
What will you get for your $36,689 loss? That depends on who you are.
If you’re a “too big to fail” corporation, K Street lobbyists have your back. You’ll probably see billions.
If you’re fortunate enough to own stock in those giant corporations, you’re seeing a stock market rise, thanks to the Fed. If you’re in the richest ten percent, which own 81 percent of stocks, you just saw your net worth increase an average of $220,000 since the stock market bottomed out in March.
If you’re a small business, you may get a loan. But for many, it won’t be enough. The Partnership for New York City estimates that one-third of all the employers in that city will be closing their doors because of the pandemic shutdown. It’s not much better elsewhere.
And if you’re an average American worker, for your $36,689 loss, you might get back another $1,200 stimulus check and a few more weeks of unemployment benefits.
Sound like a good deal to you?
Under a Jorgensen administration, none of this would have happened.
Instead of quashing coronavirus testing early on, I would have enabled rapid, widespread testing by lifting all related FDA restrictions. With knowledge of who has the virus, those who were infection-free would have likely returned to work months ago.
The economy would be in far better shape; many jobs and businesses would be saved; and there would be no justification for massive government bailouts.
How do we get out of the mess that the Democrats and Republicans have created?
First, deregulate. We can take pressure off struggling businesses by relieving them of burdensome government regulations that waste their time and deplete their profits.

As president, I will go way beyond the deregulation we’ve seen under President Trump, which still leaves many businesses bogged down in miles of red tape. In many cases, it’s easier to put up a shingle in communist China than in the United States. That will end under my administration.
By making it easy to do business in our country, we can compete successfully in a worldwide marketplace. More jobs will result.
Second, cut taxes.
I will work to end the federal income tax, and with it, the IRS. If you’re an average American family, you’ll get back over $12,000 that you now pay in federal income taxes every year. When you’re allowed to keep the money you earn, your spending and savings will stimulate economic growth well beyond anything Congress can do.
Last, stop government overspending.
We must dramatically cut federal spending and resist all temptations for phony stimulus bills that cost most people much more than they will ever get back.
As president, I will cut total spending dramatically. I’ll bring our troops home and cut unneeded spending in the military budget, as well as every other area of the federal government.
Appropriations bills that fail to substantially reduce government spending, or that add a dime to the national debt, will be met with my veto pen.
And I will demand a full audit of the Federal Reserve, so every taxpayer can see the damage it’s doing to your dollars.
By forcing politicians to be financially responsible, we’ll put buying power back in your wallet — where it belongs.

Joseph Kishore is the presidential candidate from the Socialist Equality Party.

This morning Joseph Tweeted:

There is a little, though very little, commentary on the Trump admin's reference to journalists as "adversaries." A former Obama official called it "appalling and dangerous." But this is precisely the attitude of the Democrats toward WikiLeaks and Assange.

Ten years since WikiLeaks published the Afghan war logs

The documents provided the world’s population with an unprecedented insight into the first war crimes of the 21st century.

Yesterday, Joseph noted Gretch The Wretch:

The Democrats are just as terrified of the growth of opposition in the working class as Trump. And Whitmer is enforcing the back to work campaign in Michigan, including in the auto plants.

Howie Hawkins is the Green Party's presidential nominee.

This morning, Howie and his running mate Angela Walker appeared on NON COMPETE (above).

We're also going to note this interview from two days ago on THE SHARPE WAY.

We are mainly noting that for one reason. Last week, Howie was falsely smeared as a War Criminal because he served in Vietnam. We're not going into all that nonsense but I will repeat that I do not blame US troops who are sent into battle by the government. The War Criminal is whomever sent them in. A Steven D. Green who goes to Iraq and plots and carries out a gang-rape and mass murder is a War Criminal, yes. Every US service member who went to Iraq or to Vietnam or Afghanistan or whatever is not a War Criminal. I was offended that a sweeping claim like that was offered on a podcast. The podcast was about trashing Howie so anything they could throw at him, they did. THE SHARPE WAY, beneath their video notes:

Howie Hawkins is the original Green New Dealer, the first US candidate to campaign for a Green New Deal in 2010. When his draft number was called in 1972, Howie enlisted in the Marine Corps while continuing to organize against the Vietnam War. Howie was a co-founder of the anti-nuclear Clamshell Alliance in 1976. In the 1970s and 1980s, he was also a leader in the anti-apartheid divestment movement to end US corporate investment in the racist system of oppression and labor exploitation in South Africa. Howie moved to Syracuse in 1991 to develop cooperatives for CommonWorks, a federation of cooperatives that promoted cooperative ownership, democratic control, and ecological sustainability in the local economy. From 2001 to 2018, he worked as a Teamster unloading trucks at UPS. Now retired, he remains a supporter of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, US Labor Against the War, the Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare, the Labor Network for Sustainability, and the Labor Notes network. www.howiehawkins.us www.facebook.com/runhowierun2020/ Support the show by liking and subscribing to all Sharpe Way Social Media: FB: The Sharpe Way with Larry Sharpe Twitter: @sharpe_way YouTube: The Sharpe Way Instagram: www.instagram.com/sharpe_way If you have the means, please support financially here: www.Patreon.com/SharpeWay

I did not know he was organizing against the Vietnam War. Possibly, the two who trashed him did not know either. I hope they both regret trashing him as a War Criminal and I hope that we will not hear that ludicrous claim again this year.

Yesterday, Howie's campaign released the following:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Keivn Zeese, Press Secretary
KZeese@HowieHawkins.US
303-996-6582

Hawkins Says HEAL Act will “spread the pandemic and deepen the economic collapse”

Urges Both Parties to Rewrite Bills So They Are Adequate for the Crises

The Green Party candidates for president and vice president, Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker have published Red Lines for COVID and Economic Recovery, which describes the Republican and Demoratic proposals as a danger to public health and the economy.
“The bill proposed by the Republicans will turn schools and workplaces into superspreaders in their communities. It fails to include the essential steps of rapid testing, hundreds of thousands of tracers, and fully-funded COVID treatment, which are needed to safely re-open the economy,” said Howie Hawkins. “The Democrats have put forward an inadequate bill and failed to alert Republicans to red lines that are essential in a successful bill. The two parties’ proposals will spread the pandemic and deepen the economic collapse.”
The campaign has published Red Lines For COVID and Economic Recovery. The Hawkins/Walker Red Lines will (1) Ensure the November Election, (2) Not Make Schools Super Spreaders for More Illness, (3) Protect Workers and Employers, (4) Stop the Pandemic, and (5) Stop Job Loss and Business Destruction.
“Failure to properly act now will mean more than 250,000 people in the US will be dead by Election Day and the economy will have sunk from a deep recession into a long-term depression. We will see mass evictions and foreclosures on levels never seen before along with record unemployment and rising poverty,” sad Hawkins. “By the time of the election, the fact that the two governing parties are presiding over failed state will be evident to all.”
# # #

Wrapping up with Iraq, Shelly Kittleson (AL-MONITOR) reports:

Two Iraqi commanders were killed in attacks claimed by the Islamic State in Sunni tribal-dominated areas in the second half of July.

The first was just north of Baghdad in Tarmiya, where a sniper shot a popular general on July 17. The second came on July 29 near the western Anbar town of Hit, where the commander of the 29th Brigade of the Army’s 7th Division was killed.

The 7th Division seemed generally well liked among the local population in Anbar when this journalist accompanied it on operations to liberate western Anbar in late 2017. Many of its officers have received training from the international coalition.

On July 25, when a mukhtar from a village near Samarra in Salahhuddin province and members of his family were killed, parliamentarian Muthanna al-Samarraie, whose family also hails from Samarra, called for arming local tribes to deal with security threats themselves.

IS has long focused much of its efforts on attacking Sunni provinces and fostering insurgency in them.

Though tribes in Iraq’s Shiite-majority south are also important, Shiite anti-IS tribe-based militias do not exist in those areas as IS does not try to win over Shiite areas and IS attacks on them are rarer. Many from the south are instead involved in the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), including ones linked to Iran that claim to be fighting as part of a religious jihad and operate in Salahhuddin.

Iraq has a Shiite-majority population but much of the Anbar, Salahhuddin and Nineveh provinces, where IS held significant territory from 2014 until 2017, has a Sunni majority.

Salahhuddin Trial Sheikhs Council spokesperson Marwan al-Jbara, from the Jabouri tribe, told Al-Monitor via WhatsApp July 28, “We don’t need security reinforcements so much as involvement of locals in security-related decisions.”

The Jabouri tribe is one of the largest in Iraq and some local PMUs in Salahhuddin are largely made up of its members.

Sounds like they're calling for a return of Sawha, Sons (and Daughters) of Iraq, Awakenings.

The following sites updated: