On “The Nation magazine and the campaign to reelect Obama”

The lies and twists of the Nation are astounding. Thank you for this thorough debunking and, also, thank you for the hyperlink. I tend to keep my eyes on the incisive thoughts of your web site. It is helpful to read the mainstream press and its appendages in the flesh if only to familiarize myself with the trajectory of its sophistry.

Also, the tone and tack of this article is remarkably similar to the socialist worker’s justification of the Chicago sell out. While the SW is more enthusiastic, both have to admit "painful concessions" while reassuring the reader that "the conversation" has or will be fundamentally changed. They are moral shepherds preaching patience and commitment in the desert. To them, a murky puddle is a sparkling fountain.

Gabe E
24 October 2012

On “Obama and Romney concur on war, assassination and reaction”

On Tuesday (October 23), I learned from Bill Van Auken’s excellent review of the third Presidential Debate no matter which contender is elected, the program remains the program: total war! I learned from Patrick Martin the day prior how both nominees really are defenders of American Imperialism. I learned from Christoph Dreier about the rise of fascism in Greece at the hands of Golden Dawn, an SA-styled violent paramilitary group with police sanctions and open state support. Clearly, there seems no stopping the momentum toward right-wing governments in Europe and in the US.

What I learned elsewhere is that a good portion of American voters see no evil in any of it. I see that the average voter has been radicalized to the Right, by both the Murdoch machine and President Obama. A long-standing Progressive friend shuns my mentioning of Obama's criminal war record. He watched the debates like a juvenile watches a basketball game, "Go Obama!", "Slam Dunk!" While half the world is overtaken by US military force and the other half waits for assassination drones to arrive, the political scorecard takes precedent over issues, and all semblance of morality is repulsed—the news topic instead is the new mini-iPad.

I'm afraid America's sociopath orgies in the world (which are beginning at home using the same Machiavellian strategies) will continue until her bestiality is blunted and stopped. That day will come, but I don't expect it will from today's voter who can't meet this challenge by remaining numb or authoritarian or virtually ignorant of the details and sources behind their country's immorality and dissolution.

What appears to be mushrooming now globally is the destructive force. A bittersweet reminder that helps me keep sane during this period of mass dementia is this: In order for the new to be built, the old must first be destroyed. Indeed, true, and the old is now destroying itself.

Michael B
Maine, USA
23 October 2012

On “Afghan schools and clinics built by British military to be closed down”

In reading about the closing of schools in Afghanistan, I was a bit surprised to see the stripping of social services begin so soon. Don’t the bourgeoisie usually give people a few decades before they start dismantling social programmes?

Vance O
California, USA
23 October 2012