It’s the hottest year on record, I’m told.
From Magnified. Recorded in summer 2011. Production by Jay Stanley.
Category Archives: Politics
Not missing the fans
I’m okay with no fans in the stands for MLB & the NBA. What anyone will quickly discover is that much of the bias in umpiring & officiating disappears when the fans are removed from the equation. So when I hear an announcer begin by saying, “We miss you– the fans in the stands,” I don’t identify with that. That’s mostly just what they are made to say, but there is some truth in their words. They miss the revenue, They miss the adulation.
I don’t miss the noise. I don’t miss the drunken & abusive fans, especially at places like Fenway Park & Yankee Stadium. I like the Rays/Yankees games much better when idiots like Yankees manager, Aaron Boone, can’t start provocations by throwing at Rays hitters, and then incite the home crowd. No home fans, diffuses Boone’s cheap-shot antics. With no fans in the stands, it makes it MUCH easier for umpires to do the right thing, and throw out a Yankees pitcher in Yankees Stadium, for throwing at opposing hitters. It removes a LOT of East coast bias, and makes the game much more fair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B6-iKZsMb4
All sporting contests should be between the players and coaching staff (when allowed) only. If you are a player who needs the crowd to “pump you up,” then what are you doing out there? Too much of sports is hype. Too many athletes, teams & organizations well-past their prime are held up as dynasties. Sponsors want the marquee names, and the biggest-market teams playing for championships. It’s what drives ratings, as well as corporate & league profits. This is why the Boston Red Sox don’t get punished by MLB for sign stealing, the way the Houston Astros did. The Red Sox are old guard, and therefore have all the bias in their favor.
With no home park advantage, and no Mookie Betts & David Price either, the Red Sox aren’t so intimidating at Fenway. They are going to finish last in the AL East in 2020, and will be second-division for awhile, as they have a barren farm system & lots of veterans with hefty contracts. This is an organization that needs fans back in the stands more than anyone. They are screaming for it behind closed doors.
I’ll bet if you asked the NBA & MLB players privately, they would share these same thoughts & narratives. The NBA is the most manipulated game in sports, as a home court advantage is worth 8-12 points for the host team. That’s the crowd influencing the calls, and in tough arenas it can be even more extreme. Now, in the Disney bubble, there’s none of that. These 7-game series don’t shift back & forth between host cities this year. It’s going to come down to who has the best team in the playoffs, and nothing else, which is the way it should be. My perspective is that of a real sports fan.
When these professional baseball & basketball seasons’ end, there’s going to be serious discussions about next season. Money, viability & safety are all issues that have been put off, but linger into our uncertain future. The NFL is going to try fans in the stands for its upcoming season, and that will be a social disaster. When I see fans in the stands these days, I’m turning it off. That’s my message to NASCAR, MLS & football.
It’s the same with these fake protests, led by the Black Lives Matter campaign run by the Democrats, against the fascists incited by Trump. If you don’t have a good reason to be out, then you should not be mingling with others, especially without wearing a mask. When I see people intentionally misbehaving, I just don’t want to meet them. I don’t miss seeing them, and running into them at the ballgame either. Neither do most of us.
No fans in the stands means Next Gen players completely rule. Next Gen fans want to see Fernando Tatis, Jr.– ‘mic’d up’ again. This is a 21-year old phenom, playing MLB shortstop, wearing an earpiece & mini-microphone, listening to & answering questions between Chris Paddack pitches. Paddack had lost command of his fastball, so Tatis had to be ready– and he was, with laughable ease. He shows everyone why he is so great, right from the start, talkin’ back to Eric Karros about his dad’s feat. More of that makes MLB more marketable to fans. Notice that fans in the stands (AKA, haters) interfere with that. It’s much more like a video game experience, without fans in the stands. That’s the youth appeal.
San Diego Padres manager Jayce Tingler is good with all this, which makes him an asset– a rare bird in a MLB dugout. Tingler has been the target of some unfair East coast bias, cited on Wikipedia, which is deep-state controlled by now. On August 19, 2020, Padres manager Jayce Tingler publicly (& mildly) criticized SS Fernando Tatís Jr., for breaking an “unwritten rule of baseball,” by hitting a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch while the Padres were leading the Texas Rangers 10-3 in the top of the 8th inning.
Jayce Tingler faced a hailstorm of fake media criticism for his remarks, when he was simply trying defuse a tense stand-off situation with his former team. Tingler & Padres GM A. J. Preller, both came from the Texas Rangers organization. That’s why Preller hired Tingler to replace Andy Green, after a disappointing 2019. I still think Green is very good, but Preller needed a bi-lingual dugout manager, so he hired Jayce Tingler, whom he already knew. Tingler played college baseball in his home state, at the University of Missouri, and later managed teams in Latin America for the Rangers organization. He is fluent in Spanish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mou39CjB7XI
Jayce Tingler’s current Padres team responded to this fake media criticism of its young superstar, by hitting grand slams in the next three games to “grand slam sweep” the Texas Rangers, and set a MLB record with slams in four consecutive games. Shown below is a screenshot of the current Wikipedia page for Jayce Tingler, and it doesn’t add any of this further context in his San Diego Padres section. It criticizes Jayce Tingler as being weak, but I ask, “Who is really weak here?”
To indicate how unserious this is, Wikipedia uses a fan tweet as a link (#20). In short, it’s very shoddy & disrespectful. East coast bias for sure.
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The NBA Boycott & Athletes’ Rights
For the record, this was not a strike. Strikes are organized workers refusing to labor, due to grievances against ownership. The NBA players were not protesting the work conditions of the bubble, money, etc. They were boycotting to protest social injustice, and other issues, that extend beyond their profession. Same with MLB, WNBA, NHL etc… It’s important for Marxists to recognize the difference.
The NBA players & NBA board met separately (& together) inside the Disney bubble on Thursday, August 27, around 11:00 AM ET, and the results were that the league announced it would re-start by the weekend. This had a ‘domino effect’ on MLB, as the postponed baseball games were re-scheduled as doubleheaders– 7-inning games, per the new rule. Many have already been made up. More MLB games were boycotted on Thursday & Friday, but they too are expected to be made up as doubleheaders. The WNBA had shut down, but returned Friday night, as it takes its cue (& name) from the NBA.
As I had suspected, many high-powered black politicians were back channeling with NBA player reps (LeBron James & Chris Paul, particularly) during this boycott.
Led by Barack Obama and multi-millionaire owner Michael Jordan (Charlotte Hornets), these black Democrats steered the players towards a reformist compromise, which will do nothing to abate police violence against the working class. Other hucksters such as Donna Brazile have been asked to weigh-in on this & help with policy, through the corporate media.
This would be a good time for many NBA fans to curtail their LeBron James worship, after seeing this linked Stephen A. Smith (ESPN) clip on how King James turned off all the young players (and others) with his selfish stance at NBA player meetings these past few days. This is a high-school graduate who is a basketball genius, but he is neither ready, nor equipped to lead a mass movement. You need to be educated & in solidarity to lead disenfranchised workers & youth out of dead-end capitalism. That’s what’s required, and the NBA players had nothing close to that revolutionary program.
The truth is that the vast majority of NBA players still in the bubble want to finish the season. These are young men who have sacrificed their personal lives for their profession, and to earn income. It’s been mentally tough & exhausting, and it’s like that for anyone who has had to work in close contact during this coronavirus pandemic, but the NBA players are determined to finish what they’ve started. Next season? That’s another matter.
What players are most frustrated about is not being able to speak their minds on trigger-happy, killer cops. The NBA, since David Stern, has applied strict censorship towards its players concerning ANYTHING controversial. Players & coaches get fined for complaining about the officiating– even when it’s Tim Donaghy or Joey Crawford. The young players, especially, don’t honor those rules anymore. They understand that they are the product, more than ever. These are unconscious Marxists. That’s the real conflict here, which has been papered over, through the use of star-powered union bureaucracy & back channel politics.
The NBA bubble courts have ‘Black Lives Matter’ stamped on their hardwood. The NBA has obviously thrown in its lot with the Democratic Party. It’s safe to oppose Trump, since everyone knows he’s a fascist sociopath. You just can’t say it. That’s why secret negotiations were held immediately after the Milwaukee Bucks refused to take the court on Wednesday night, August 26. One NBA team does this, and the entire league shuts down, because all the players are together in a bubble. They can meet and talk at length, instead of just passing-by, like they normally do during the season. New ideas are being discussed by the players, and it’s a young league.
It then spills over to other sports, as they feel solidarity. The WNBA, MLB & NHL all stopped play, either collectively, or as individual teams in protest over the Jacob Blake shooting. Women’s tennis star, Naomi Osaka boycotted her semi-final match, and was willing to accept the forfeit. Her opponent refused the forfeit win, just as NBA & MLB teams refused. The USTA wanted Naomi Osaka to play, and convinced her to change her mind. She did, and she made the finals, then withdrew. This hands the Western & Southern Open women’s trophy to Victoria Azarenka.
The US Open starts on Monday, August 31, and this was a tune-up tournament. Therefore it’s not in either players’ interest to play, so Naomi Osaka graciously withdrew. Fans must accept that. Don’t expect a protest from Serena Williams (or Venus) to cancel the US Open, so the event will go on despite all the withdrawals from top players concerning coronavirus safety.
Without athletes, there are no sports. What fascists don’t like is athletes asserting their political power, and their right to speak out on important issues. “Just shut up and play,” is an elitist & de-humanizing attitude towards athletes. If you care about sports, then you have to recognize these athletes as human beings. That means respecting their personal decisions & political statements, especially if you don’t like them.
Fans are allowed to criticize, but only rationally. Save morality for when you look in the mirror. Too often, professional & college athletes have been shackled by owners, universities & sponsors, and therefore can’t defend themselves. For this reason, media & fans should not be allowed to attack athletes personally, or use them for nefarious political purposes.
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“Patch Me Up Doc”
Recording, drums & production by Tom Pearce; bass by Bill Pelick; vocals by Rachel Decker; songwriting, guitar & vocals by Ric Size
“Patch Me Up Doc” is an A-side from Extended Play 2019-20; cover design by Ric Size & Tom Pearce
Cover Images: Photo of Rachel (& Tom) by Danny Mcguire taken during an Oak Hill Drifters live performance at Casey’s in New Smyrna Beach, FL on December 15, 2019
RockStarDentalConsulting social media profile image by Malcolm Yawn Photography, Mount Dora, FL, February 2014
False-color transmission electron microscope image of coronavirus by NIAID
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Rehabilitating Fascists
This is a miserable attempt by Russia Today to rehabilitate Joseph Stalin, the gravedigger of the Russian Revolution. Stalin’s purges of the 1930’s murdered millions of Bolsheviks who had fought in the Civil War (1918-1922) against the tsarist White Army & its imperialist backers. This made the USSR more vulnerable to Hitler’s surprise attack in the summer of 1941, which almost succeeded. Only Russia’s vast expanses, unlimited manpower, and centralized production (a product of the 1917 Revolution) saved Stalin in WWII.
Joseph Stalin was a crude & ignorant being, who played little role in the Russian Revolution. As an early Bolshevik, Stalin worked his way up the growing bureaucracy through intrigue & back-stabbing politics. He ordered the exile, and eventual murder of Leon Trotsky, the greatest revolutionary theorist of the 20th century.
Russians were lied to for decades about their history, which is why the grip of Stalinism still remains, nearly 30 years after the fall of the Soviet Union. Stalin has nothing to do with Marxism, and he is correctly understood as the planned-economy version of Adolph Hitler. Only pseudo-intellectual fascists like George Szamuely try to rehabilitate him.
This was a comment that RT refused to post, which is why it is now published here. Notice there is no profanity, no threats of violence, nor slander. Just the truth, which is even worse for these people. That’s why it’s denylisted.
Here’s another recent New York Times propaganda piece, this one is intended to rehabilitate violent LGBT feminism. “‘Overlooked No More: Valerie Solanas, Radical Feminist Who Shot Andy Warhol’ by Bonnie Wertheim. Overlooked is a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths, beginning in 1851, went unreported in The Times.”
The Andy Warhol Museum is aware of this article, but refuses to condemn it, due to their gay politics. For these epigones, it’s okay for Valarie Solanas to shoot Andy Warhol. If that’s not fascist, then what is?
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Badges
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CHAZ folds shop
After three weeks of lawlessness & violence in six blocks of downtown Seattle, the Capital Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) has been taken down. On the evening of June 30, Democratic mayor Jenny Durkan issued a public safety emergency order to vacate the area, and the police were sent in the following morning (7/1) under the cover of rain. This roughly coincided with the end of the ban on lethal force by police to disperse crowds, issued by Durkan in her effort to promote CHAZ as a ‘summer of love’ event.
“Four shootings – two fatal – robberies, assaults, violence and countless property crimes have occurred in this several block area,” police chief Carmen Best said in a statement. The concrete barricade supplied by the city were finally removed, along with the porta-pots, furniture, and the endless streams of garbage in the streets. As of this publication, police officers have arrested at least three dozen people for failure to disperse, obstruction, resisting arrest, and assault.
For the record, it was a socialist-minded city councilwoman Kshama Sawant who led protesters to the mayor’s doorstep over the weekend, which proved to be the stunt that ended CHAZ in Seattle. The question remains: Why wasn’t this done weeks ago? The lesson is that when activists pick the right targets with a revolutionary socialist perspective– trash gets taken down. Kshama Sawant is now being investigated by mayor Jenny Durkan in retaliation.
Is there a SPD arrest warrant for Raz Simone? Since he was the CHAZ/CHOP warlord, it can be presumed that he knows much about these unsolved shootings, and the other crimes. Have the Seattle police issued a warrant for his arrest? Or is he a protected agent of US intelligence? There is blanket silence on these critical questions across the fake media.
If CHAZ got chopped, like so many claim, then where are Raz Simone & the rest of the leadership? They have unregistered AK-47’s & lots of ammunition, so why aren’t they considered dangerous by the media, and wanted by the police? If they aren’t under arrest, or being actively sought by the SPD, then these anarchists are just being hidden underground until the next time they are needed for provocation & violence. These criminal ‘anarchists’ are deep state assets– nothing more.
On June 20, 2020, this author wrote, “This anarchy is meant to divide people racially, terrorize the population, and then provoke a police crackdown. These terrorists will be the first to vacate when that happens, in fact, they’ll have advanced notice, as they are mostly provocateurs & government agents.”
This perspective has been completely vindicated, as the whereabouts of Raz Simone & his criminal cohorts remains unknown at this time. They were long gone when the police moved in to clear out CHAZ. So much for BLM resistance.
This is a complex situation, where the population of the occupied zone mostly welcomed the police to clear out CHAZ, who were dominated by gang bangers & provocateurs. Every night was marked by lawless violence. CHAZ is a Democratic party campaign meant to divide people racially and antagonize the police, in order to invite a crackdown. The leaders such as Raz Simone were given advanced notice and have disappeared. Presumably they are under federal protection. Otherwise they would have been arrested for their blatant criminal activity.
There are already multiple lawsuits being filed from residents who are suing the city of Seattle for not protecting them against CHAZ violence & terror. As revolutionists, we must keep refining our position towards the police using dialectical thinking. It’s primary to understand that police are essential, and CHAZ proves that forever. The question is who controls the police, the ruling class or the masses? That’s the revolutionary struggle, because Trotskyists can’t win a revolution without having a few trained guns on their side. To reach this end, it’s sound revolutionary strategy to split the police into good cops vs. Nazis. The same applies to protesters & activists.
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Nazis & kung flu
Fight the kung flu, which makes you sick & stupid.
We haven’t heard anything substantial from BLM Democrats on this. Why don’t they tear “kung flu” down? It would be much more meaningful & relevant. Instead, these racialists prioritize how to tear down Abraham Lincoln.
The biggest black lie is that protesting the police murder of George Floyd makes COVID-19 irrelevant. This is a conscious deep state campaign meant to manipulate all of us over race, and get us back to work, when it isn’t safe because kung flu is spiking again.
All lives matter, and all lies matter
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NASCAR & Nooses
There is always stupidity in NASCAR, but this one is surreal. The FBI investigated a noose hanging in Bubba Wallace’s garage at Talladega. Wallace is the only black driver in NASCAR. It appears to be a pull rope in the form of a noose. It’s not functional for lynching, but the intent is certainly clear. This is to be condemned.
Bubba Wallace, NASCAR & the FBI maintain this was a noose. Therefore, the racists & denialists must to admit what the evidence proves, or else they lose all credibility. Marxists were unable to definitely support Wallace until the camera footage obtained by the FBI was released to the public, which you see in this interview.
As a rule, the FBI is never to be trusted, unless it can be corroborated– which Bubba Wallace does here. The time lag between the discovery of the noose, and his definitive CNN interview, allowed right-wing propaganda to seep into the story, which played left-leaning publishers like Russia Today on this story. It’s naive to believe there isn’t malicious intent in that time lag, by the FBI & corporate media.
Amazing show of solidarity against Jim Crow racism by all the drivers & crews on Monday. No word on the alleged noose at Sonoma yet.
These are the messages I sent to the people I’m connected with on social media, that I felt could be most influential in this matter.
Mon 22 Jun 2020 12:47:37 PM EDT to Bubba Wallace: PM FB
I covered NASCAR extensively when Danica Patrick was running, up to her retiring. You were the heir to her, in that you are different and everyone knows it. That’s unfair, but you can’t escape it, and the times are a-changin’. You are ready for this challenge. The best advice I can give to you is be your own man. Speak thoughtfully when needed, then let others speak for you.
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Mon 22 Jun 2020 12:22:19 PM EDT to Dale Earnhardt, Jr: public comment FB
You definitely need to say something substantive to NASCAR fans concerning confederate flags, hanging nooses & using the n-word.
This (above pic) is not an actual noose, but a length of rope tied into a loop knot. A noose will pull tight when tension is applied, a loop knot will maintain it’s shape. Loop knots have lots of useful applications in camping, boating, fishing, etc. Stupidity doesn’t help, so learn the difference. Loop knots meant to resemble nooses are racist symbols. There are lots of lies being spread on the internet to cover this up, and they all matter.
Postscript: Thu 25 Jun 2020 04:30 PM EDT
This turned into an even bigger mess by NASCAR withholding this photo, which they finally released today. If they would have posted this on Monday, everything would have been clear to everyone. Instead they hung Bubba Wallace out to twist in the wind, with the media on at full blast. He took a lot of right & left-wing flak, all BS, which was unfair to him. Lots of murky politics involved here.
It was a noose, and it had been hanging for 9 months. According to NASCAR, it was random that it ended up being in the garage Bubba Wallace was assigned to. But NASCAR hung him out by not releasing the video footage right away on Monday. It wasn’t until his CNN interview (Tuesday evening) that the public finally saw the noose with their own eyes. All the other drivers saw it, and that’s why they pushed Bubba Wallace to the front, in solidarity. That’s the moment the Nazis were defeated forever in NASCAR. There are some hard feelings about that.
Everyone please take a good read of my social media thread on this before it disappears down the feed. Note that I was WRONG with what I initially posted, yet I leave it up. That’s because the investigative & creative process is social, and not perfect. It’s important to admit mistakes, figure out where things went wrong, and then get back on the right track. It’s also unfair to call anyone a racist, because they made an honest mistake.
This is an illustration of how anyone can be influenced by media manipulation. When valuable information is withheld, the people hoarding it are much smarter on that topic. Until the information is shared. Then it turns to who is smartest, and can write best. NASCAR, the FBI, ESPN & CNN were all in on this manipulation. They are the real story here. Very murky.
One final FYI, Bob Pockrass covered NASCAR for ESPN for years, and he was serious & dedicated. We’ve never met, but we learned to respect each other. Not coincidentally, we both stopped covering NASCAR around when Dale Jr & Danica retired. Bob Pockrass was laid-off by ESPN, supposedly due to budget cuts in 2018.
Since then, ESPN’s NASCAR coverage has been a disaster. Sometimes there are no new articles for weeks, even months. Thus, NASCAR really got caught with their pants down on this one, with no reliable friends at ESPN to spin their narrative. Conflicting interests all around. Bob Pockrass now covers NASCAR for Fox.
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Racialist anarchy
There was another shooting inside CHAZ Seattle on Sunday night, where the perpetrator(s) again remain unknown & at large. After the early Saturday morning double shooting, paramedics were unable to get to the victims, as the police could not secure the area to ensure the safety of the first responders. That’s why the victims were transported by private vehicles to the hospital. One died, and the other is in critical condition.
The Sunday evening victim was also transported by private vehicle and is in serious condition. The police are an instrument of class rule, and need to be revolutionized into a publicly controlled militia, to protect the population. Abolishing the police, with nothing to replace them, is anarchy. This CHAZ/BLM garbage (All Cops Are Bastards, etc) is reactionary to its core, while presenting the cops as our saviors is also false. Racialism & class issues must be clarified & dealt with, for any progress to be made.
CHAZ is a political stunt by Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan & governor Jay Inslee, both Democrats. This is where black lives matter, meets blue lives matter, which means it’s toxic. This can’t last much longer, as the 30,000 residents who are being held hostage mostly wish it was over. Citizens, businesses & residents have been being terrorized for two weeks by racialist gang-bangers sanctioned & funded by George Soros. Working people of all colors need to unite & reject the reactionary poison.
On tearing down statues, Trotskyists must address the racialist narrative with Washington & Jefferson, both of whom were slave owners. The points in their favor are excellent, and must be emphasized with the understanding that no one is perfect, and circumstances were much different back then.
Thomas Jefferson wanted slavery banned, but knew it wouldn’t pass, so as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence & US Constitution he did his best by laying the foundation for the abolition of slavery. Freedom from colonial rule was the primary issue for the founding fathers. Slavery was still too divided an issue in Jefferson’s lifetime to be settled, much less discussed. If the newborn US would have fought a civil war over slavery back then, the US would have been defeated in 1812 (or sometime later) by the British, and re-colonized.
The same rationale applies to George Washington. These black lies anarchists have no respect for the people who froze at Valley Forge, and those who truly sacrificed. Ask any veteran, and most will agree with this. The difference between Trotskyists & pseudo-socialist anarchists is that when a statue needs to come down, we are ready to suggest suitable replacements, for majority discussion & approval. Anarchists just tear shit down on their own, and then run wild because they are protected by the police state.
Since no one is a saint, we can’t make it the standard for statues, or else they all must come down. We look at Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Grant & Washington in bronze, and think about all this– the good, the bad & the ugly. It’s important to remember. We pick the best of each era, with the understanding that time progresses our thinking, so we can’t apply the same standards to by-gone eras in terms of morality, because their circumstances are unimaginable to most of us. We keep statues up to connect us with this historical past and educate ourselves into the future.
One final point that needs to be understood is that much of the slave trade was a business arrangement between African tribal leaders; with Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, French & English slave traders. Yes, there was much brutality & terror inflicted on Africans, and Trotskyists have always condemned that, but the slave trade really flourished when African leaders cooperated, which defined much of its era. This makes 400 years of American history more of a class issue. Racialists need to own these black lies, before tearing down monuments.
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