November 10, 2019November 10, 2019 Jonathan Simeone

Reviewing All the Shah’s Men

Stephen Kinzer’s All the Shah’s Men is one of those books far too few Americans have read.. In All The Shah’s Men, Kinzer details how the CIA led a coup to overthrow the democratically elected Iranian government of Mohammad Mosoddegh after his decision to nationalize Iran’s oil industry.

Since many Americans don’t realize the reality that America has a long history of overthrowing democratically elected governments in favor of governments that will enable corporations to exploit their people,, I will share two links. Here, the CIA publishes a review of All the Shah’s Men. While it is unwilling to go as far as Kinzer has, the review makes it very clear that the CIA played a leading role in overthrowing Mossaddegh and that the regime change era it embodied hasn’t worked out well for America.

The State Department has released reports on the United State’s action in Iran providing numerous details about the CIA-led coup in Iran.

The Teller and Platt Amendments Explained

I consider myself a student of history. I like to believe I have a good grip on why American history has unfolded the way it has unfolded.

Yesterday, I learned about the Teller and Platt Amendments for the first time. I’m writing about them because they say so much about the dominance America wishes to hold over other nations, the way American imperialism was a driving force behind Castro taking over Cuba, bungled foreign policy, oppressing people of color in the name of corporate profit, and outright racism and white supremacy on the part of the United States.

October 21, 2019 Jonathan Simeone

Reviewing the Triumph of Injustice

Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman are two economists at the University of California, Berkeley. Their book The Triumph of Injustice demonstrates how America’s system of taxation benefits the wealthy more than it has since the 1920s; in fact, the 400 richest Americans now pay less than any other group of Americans.
You may have seen this point being disputed on social media. Corporate-sponsored centrists say Saez and Zucman are wrong because their work doesn’t consider the Earned Income Tax credit that benefits low and middle income families. To that foolishness I say the following:

The idea that we are even debating whether billionaires pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes than do people who have children and are struggling to make enough to feed them is embarrassing to the United States of America. In anything approaching a fair society, people would intrinsically know that billionaires pay more than people struggling to put food on the table. The idea that centrist Democrats are engaging in this debate demonstrates why the Democratic Party is out of touch with what is happening in America.

October 19, 2019 Jonathan Simeone

Andrew Yang’s Idea’s are stupid

I have been resisting writing this post for months. I kept telling myself Andrew Yang isn’t worth the trouble. But he keeps fooling too many. He distracts from important debate topics by smugly asserting nonsense. So, I can’t resist any longer.

Most people know the ever-increasing wealth gap between the rich and the poor in America is a huge, embarrassing problem. Demonstrating the stupidity of Yang’s ideas only requires us to agree on two things: anything that gives the wealthy more is stupid; anything that makes the rest of us pay more is stupid. With those agreements established, let’s look at Yang’s ideas.

October 17, 2019October 17, 2019 Jonathan Simeone

The Dog Whistles of Reasonability and Sensibility

For those who don’t know, political dog whistles are things said that seemingly mean one thing but which are meant to communicate a hidden meaning to those who understand the language. In the Democratic primary, we are inundated with the political dog whistles of reasonability and sensibility. As you will see, the corporate-run media and their beloved bought and paid for centrist candidates use the dog whistles of reasonability and sensibility to ensure old white people they have their backs.

October 16, 2019 Jonathan Simeone

Thoughts on the October Democratic Debate

The October Democratic debate was interesting. It was different than the previous debates in several aspects. I don’t believe it will change the race much though. Warren will still be seen as on the rise. Biden will still be seen as falling. Sanders will be seen as having stabilized his campaign and still firmly in the top three. For the rest, it’s almost midnight.

October 14, 2019 Jonathan Simeone

Why Political Polls Aren’t Reliable

Tired of the corporate-run media spinning the 2020 election narratives based on their precious polling, I wanted to see how said precious polling is done. As you will see most of us either choose not to participate or aren’t asked to participate. Unsurprisingly, most of those not chosen to participate are young, poor, and people of color. So, political polling isn’t nearly as useful as the corporations want us to believe.

October 12, 2019October 13, 2019 Jonathan Simeone

Clinton set us up for Trump

Impeachment and conviction shouldn’t be only about conduct that satisfies a criminal statute. Impeachment and conviction shouldn’t be about strictly a political question. Impeachment and conviction should also involve questions of morality. No, a president shouldn’t be removed from office for committing adultery. Addultrey is wrong, but it’s not immoral enough to rise to the level of removal from office wrong. Questions of morality should impact impeachment when moral failings have taken place around a president’s official duties and responsibilities. to demonstrate this point, let’s discuss Bill Clinton.

October 12, 2019 Jonathan Simeone

There Should be no Billionaires

I will say it again: there should be no billionaires. Let me prove the point with some simple math. If a person was given five thousand dollars a day for 500 years and never spent a dollar, they would have $912,500. This means if someone got and saved five thousand dollars a day for 500 years, obviously something no person could do, they would not be a billionaire.

Now, let’s look at how that compares to the wages of Americans today.

October 12, 2019October 13, 2019 Jonathan Simeone

Reviewing Democracy in Chains

Nancy McLean’s Democracy in Chains should be read by anyone interested in understanding the radical right. Democracy in Chains highlights the complete lack of morality that exists within radical libertarians. The book chronicles their decades-long support for racism, voter suppression, and even murderous dictatorships. As Democracy in Chains makes clear: the radical libertarian movement cares about nothing beyond their ability to make money and control wealth. Everything from our lives to our government should be sacrificed so they can possess as much as possible.

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