Election 2024: final notes

Pre-election articles are here & here. Election night coverage is here.

Third party candidates as a composite (and where they were allowed on the ballot) had a hard time cracking the 2% threshold in any state. A total media blackout, combined with social media censorship, legal attacks, etc, dooms third-party candidacies to irrelevance, as both major parties claim they have the only “winnable” and “serious” candidates. It’s only when those terms are so distorted by cynical politics that this can be true, as it was in 2024.

The right-wing attack ads were endless and for much of that we have Elon Musk to thank. This crypto-currency billionaire fascist has just been elevated to political power without receiving a single vote. What we have is political opportunism & backroom deals, with nothing for working class voters– red or blue.

No left voice was allowed to be raised & taken seriously in the corporate media during the entire two-year presidential campaign. Jill Stein & the Green party, etc, orbit the Democrats. The Greens message in 2024 was “Vote Kamala, but if you can’t, then vote for Jill Stein instead of Trump.” Does this sound like a serious strategy? How can a political alternative be built with this approach? In short, it isn’t and it can’t.

Meanwhile, RFK, Jr endorsed Trump and (like Elon Musk) is in line for a cabinet position after being kicked out of the Democratic primaries. The Democrats went with a ‘Biden or bust’ strategy, until they couldn’t maintain that fiction anymore. Top CIA Democrats including Barrack Obama forced Joe Biden to step aside for Kamala Harris after his disastrous debate performance with Donald Trump on June 27. By then the primaries were over, with the delegates assigned to Biden, so a replacement candidate had to be installed. The Democratic party primary in 2024 was a rigged farce by any political definition. People noticed, and it surely influenced their voting in the general.

Recall that in 2020, Kamala Harris was schooled & badly defeated by Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) in an early primary debate. Despite being an early favorite (rising star, etc), Kamala Harris quickly faded into irrelevance– until Joe Biden put her on his ticket as VP. Nothing she did earned her that title, she simply checked the right boxes while being a toe-the-party-line yes-woman. No one thought anything of her as a VP, until Joe Biden was being pressured by party leaders & big donors to drop out of the race.

For a former state prosecutor, Kamala Harris is remarkably wooden & dull. She clearly wouldn’t have survived an open & fair primary in 2024. Instead, Kamala Harris was enabled every step of the way, the same way the Democratic party handled candidate Joe Biden until late June. The same way the DNC rigged the machinery & rescued Biden in 2020, and Hillary Clinton in 2016, both times from fake leftist Bernie Sanders (D-VT).

I earlier likened this entire campaign to episodes of House of Cards (2013-18). In Election 2024, Kamala Harris played the role of Jim Matthews/Jackie Sharp, meaning she was used & manipulated by higher powers to achieve their interests, in this case, handing the 2024 election to Trump. Opportunism, addiction to fame, flattery & celebrity, along with hubris allowed Kamala Harris to be manipulated by CIA Democrats– who prefer Trump to anything on the left. Kamala Harris & Joe Biden are now both lame duck losers. Joe Biden finally lost his grip on power because he’s an incoherent zombie. Kamala Harris never really attained any power because she’s a pretender. She’s not ruthless or smart enough in the eyes of the ruling class. That’s how she got played.

Kamala Harris started with all the momentum she needed to win, but ran a conservative run-out-the-clock campaign– befuddling insiders by avoiding press conferences, interviews, etc, for weeks on end. This was when most Americans barely knew who she was. It was a major red flag for someone running for US president, and a turning point for the Trump campaign. To Donald Trump’s credit, he apparently listened (by his standards) to his advisors more in 2024 than in 2020. Trump was able to posture himself as a folksy populist while Kamala was in hiding.

Whoever ran the Harris campaign wasn’t giving her the advice she needed to win. That’s perhaps a House of Cards episode in itself. Kamala Harris needed to tack left, anti-war with voters to beat Trump, but the CIA Democrats wouldn’t allow that. Thus Kamala Harris became politically indistinguishable from Joe Biden. When asked in an interview near the end of the campaign, Kamala Harris said she wouldn’t have done anything different as VP. That made her an easy target for Trump’s attack-ad campaign, bottomlessly funded by right-wing billionaires.

The Democrats relied on identity politics to mask Kamala Harris’ class politics. It didn’t fool voters in key battle ground districts. Being a black woman doesn’t mean anything in the arena of class & power politics. MeToo feminism, Black Lives Matter & LBGTQ+ campaigns are CIA Democratic attack dogs they unleash on the left & working class. It is a program of imperialist entitlement to create a thin later of representative stooges. Most voters despise these well-funded liberal snowflakes.

As I mix among the people the day after Election 2024, I see & hear very little jubilation. People are relieved this debased election is over, but they aren’t optimistic about the future. Most of those who voted for Trump realize he’s a sociopath & ignoramus, but they hate the Democrats even more and blame them for their misery. They have good reason for that, but the fact is nothing can be done about Trump & the CIA Democrats until workers & youth break from both parties of capitalism and take up the fight for socialism.

The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS.org) is the organ of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP), which is the Trotskyist party of revolutionary internationalism. Any nationalist reformist programs & union bureaucracies are tools of the capitalist fake left, and must be smashed by worker-led organizations with a revolutionary program, as they all paved the way for Trump.

Speak openly with your friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc, about the important issues which were never discussed during Election 2024. Issues such as the imperialist drive to WW3, capitalist induced climate change, the forever COVID pandemic, attacks on democratic rights along with ever greater social inequality can no longer be ignored & suppressed. The only way these issues will move front & center in public debate is if workers & youth organize and act in revolutionary solidarity against the capitalist ruling class. I encourage all my fans & readers to read the WSWS and join the SEP.

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New Age Gold Rush

The world’s central banks, large investors & financial houses are all buying gold. This kind…


Not this kind..

“Gold certificates” are understood as worthless by serious gold investors. This is because a gold certificate has no use value, while precious metals do.

So why this gold buying spree? The short answer is the global financial elite see the next crash coming, and are bailing out on the US dollar to hedge with gold & other precious metals. Governments see global conflict coming, and want physical gold in their banks.

For the vast majority of the world’s population, there was never a recovery from the 2007-08 economic crash. For workers it’s been suppressed wages, high debt, and an ever eroding standard-of-living. The cost-of living, particularly for housing, real food, and health care has skyrocketed.

Now, US sanctions on Iran have allowed Saudi Arabia’s barbaric monarchy to effectively control the global oil supply, so expect record gasoline prices by this summer. Oil is “black gold,” the most important commodity in modern capitalism– outside of human labor.

The US Federal Reserve’s stock market disaster of December 2018, after the beginning “quantitative tightening,” signaled the end is near. The financial markets are comparable to junkies, who need ever-increasing doses of smack (free money) to sustain themselves. They can never quit, or else they’ll die.

The Trump team now advocates more injections for corporate America, further inflating this stock market bubble. Trump’s hopes in 2020 depend on it, but it is questionable whether we will even reach 2020 before this entire house of cards collapses, and a revolutionary situation presents itself. There is mass discontent among America’s workers & youth. Everything in the media is meant to deflect from this reality.

Getting back to real gold, its demand has never been greater, and the reasons are obvious. Gold is always a safe haven for store-of-value, and never depreciates naturally. The same goes for silver, platinum, palladium, and all other precious metals.

As discussed in an earlier article, the fact that precious metals don’t tarnish, makes them useful in chip circuitry, electronics, and a wide range of technological applications. Technology is a major battlefield among competing nation states. Under US capitalism, Russia & China are considered “strategic competitors” to be crushed.

Gold is limited in supply, as there’s only a finite amount of it in the Earth, so everyone with money is looking to obtain this invaluable resource. It appears that Africa has become the major global supplier of raw gold ore. Reuters just reported on this global black market which funnels through the United Arab Eremites (UAE). For reference, the UAE is closely tied to the House of Saud– and thus Washington, Wall Street & Langley.

The environmental cost of this illicit mining & refining is devastating, and just another unaccounted cost of capitalism. Black market means no taxes are paid to the governments of these African nations on the gold that is being smuggled out. This is how 95% of Africans are being cruelly exploited & poisoned by this new age gold rush.

The World Gold Council reports that central bank gold buying is at the highest levels since 1971. Of course, this is when US President Richard Nixon (advised by Henry Kissinger) took the US off the gold standard. Gold prices had been held at $35/ounce since Breton Woods, the post-WW2 global economic agreement among the winners.

By January 1980, gold traded at $850 an ounce, proving the US had been suppressing the value of gold for decades. This had the convenient effect of inflating the value of the dollar, which held unquestioned predominance as the global reserve currency through the second half of the 20th century.

Since early 1980, monetarists such as Fed Chairman Paul Volcker have adopted the theory that stock markets are the true measure of economic health. The market crash of 1987, due to junk bonds, established the “plunge protection team” and the “Fed put” which meant big investors would always be bailed out in times of crisis. This is where the term “too big to fail” came into being.

But the crash of 2008, and the rise of China as an economic superpower has called US predominance into question. A decade later, nothing has been resolved. The US government still insists on maintaining its economic hegemony, while electronically printing trillions of dollars for their well-connected banker cronies. The result has been the inflation of the largest financial bubble in history, the stock & bond markets.

Trump’s chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow (above) is now calling for interest rate cuts, with an immediate cut of half a point. The Fed funds rate (bank overnight lending rate) is currently ~2.4%. Any Econ 101 student would surmise that if a 2.4% Fed rate is too high, then the economy is dead. Especially when ordinary people can’t get a business loan for less than 10-12%.

Consider that ~12% of student loans are now in default, as 45 million Americans carry student loan debt. Those loans start at 8-10%, and go up from there. Student loan borrowers must “carry on,” while bankers & hedge fund speculators can’t manage their businesses with overnight loans at 2.4%!

All this reaches into the murky world of financial debt, where much is unknown (by design), with modern capitalist theory always assumed to be good coin. Let’s go back to Econ 101. Currently US national debt is officially over $22 trillion. For comparison, US GDP was calculated to be ~$19 trillion in 2017.

This GDP is an over-estimate, as the DJIA, S&P 500 & NASDAQ are all littered with zombie companies that are underwater in debt, yet counted as net contributors to America’s economy. It’s estimated that globally, one-in-six corporations are zombies. Thus, negating the fictitious value of these zombies removes over $3 trillion from the current US GDP.

By definition, zombies suck up resources, while contributing nothing of value to a society. Tesla, Netflix, Uber and just about any bank you can name are real-world examples of zombie corporations.

A dirty secret among Wall Street & government insiders is that the $22 trillion of national debt is only the tip of the iceberg. The remaining 90+% is so-called “hidden debt,” in the forms of underfunded (looted) pensions & worthless derivatives.

Social Security, Medicare, IRA’s, etc., are all bills which most taxpayers expect to be paid. These are the paychecks that many, many retirees need to survive. The truth is there is basically no money left in these accounts. They are industry-termed as “unfunded liabilities.” US militarism & Wall Street speculators have drained them for corporate profits.

This money was “borrowed” by Wall Street investors and fueled the derivatives market, which is surely the largest part of this hidden debt financial criminality, with a global estimate of $1.2 to $1.5 quadrillion in toxic “assets.”

These are “futures” contracts which have no market value, yet investors will expect payment– 100 cents on the dollar. This bailout is expected to come from the taxpayers, in case you didn’t know. Except there isn’t anywhere close to enough tax revenue to pay this bill, as Fortune 500 corporations don’t pay taxes, so the US government is now bankrupt.

Once the numbers get this huge, debt service (making just the interest payments) becomes impossible through the magic of compound interest. This is where the financial system is right now, with militarism re-arming to the teeth, trade wars erupting, and central banks scrambling to buy gold and other precious metals, as everyone gears up for war.

What’s happening in investment is a global run on the only resources that truly hold value, particularly precious metals. Gold today is trading today at ~$1,275 per ounce. This is an absurdly low price in US dollars, as discussed, with the Federal Reserve electronically printing money in order to prop up its fake economy. When the crash comes, gold & all other precious metals will skyrocket in value.

Since the US abandoned the gold standard in 1971, precious metals have been manipulated downwards in price, as government policy to discourage widespread investment. Gold is physically heavy, so it is costly to transport. Obviously transportation also requires heavy security. These are the costs & risks of maintaining gold reserves.

Many countries are now calling in their gold bullion from foreign banks, with mixed results– at best. The process of transfer which used to take weeks or a few months, now takes years at minimum. No one wants to give up gold, and possession is nine-tenth ownership– as the saying goes.

For example, Venezuela’s government trying to get its gold, which is “stored” in the UK central bank. This is a sticky example of international finance & diplomacy. It is understood that if world war breaks out, all foreign gold reserves would be confiscated by that nation’s banking system.

The stock markets have boomed, as corporations in every industry (through access to unlimited cash), have eviscerated work forces, imposed wage freezes & austerity, while skimming the surplus value for themselves. There is no longer any capital investment into innovation, R&D, or wages; as money is siphoned out through QE printing for stock buybacks, then it is moved off-shore, until it can be repatriated at an ultra-low tax rate, as happened with the Trump tax cuts.

Billionaires all over the world have their fortunes hoarded in private accounts, which does nothing helpful for the overall economy. They use it to buy more stuff like art, yachts and palatial mansions for themselves. That’s what you do when you lead a fake life, chasing fool’s gold.

The day of reckoning is coming, as the political consciousness of the working masses becomes more socialist. This level of inequality, where rich & poor people are diametrically opposed under capitalism, is not sustainable. These issues have reached the point where they can no longer be ignored, as too many people are adversely affected.

The media’s fake news isn’t working so well anymore either. The primary media narrative of the past two-and-a half years in America has been “Russiagate.” What is this about, really?

The US government & national intelligence establishment has hated Russia since the Revolution of 1917, led by Lenin & Trotsky. Before then, the US never cared about Russia under tsarist feudalism, except in literature. What this means is that all anti-Russian propaganda is about ruling class hatred of socialism.

The reaction of the wealthy class to the upcoming crisis is to hoard cash, and now gold. The working class response must be to arm & organize itself with a socialist program, which recognizes that the labor power of the worker is the only true wealth a society can create.

The only political party that can lead this global revolution is the International Committee for the Fourth International (ICFI), which is represented by the Socialist Equality Parties (SEP) in nations around the world, and can be found online at the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS), which publishes daily.

Every other political tendency which claims a leftist position or socialist/Marxist program is a false-flag organization that flows into liberal capitalism & Stalinist reaction. This includes all the labor unions, the DSA, and the now-defunct ISO.

The ICFI is a legitimate political party, with origins that go directly back to Trotsky’s formation of the 4th International in Paris in 1938, two years before he was assassinated by an agent of Stalin. Any attempts to organize, strike, or politically protest (such as freeing Julian Assange) should be done through (and in sympathy with) this revolutionary organization. The same applies to political contributions.

The ICFI/SEP/WSWS are unique in that they are the only political organization in the world that won’t stab the workers & youth in the back. Instead they seek to educate, unite & lead the oppressed workers of the world in a socialist revolution that will conquer capitalist tyranny, and establish an equal & free global society.

Is that anything to be afraid of? No, it’s something to embrace.

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Fake Intellectualism

Here’s my summary of the Slavoj Zizek vs Jordan Peterson “debate,” held April 19, 2019 in Toronto.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78BFFq_8XvM&t=6036s

To put it simply these two anti-Marxists rambled on with sophistries for over two hours, while never making sense to anyone, especially to those who work for a living.

As noted by Peterson in his opening remarks, tickets for this “debate” were scalping for over $1500, which means the audience was well-heeled. No one who works for a living (and is on a budget) could afford to attend this debate. The class bias of the audience was confirmed, with loud applause for every irrational comment disguised as meaningful philosophy by either individual. It more resembled a political convention, than a serious discussion, with the audience functioning as cheerleaders for their favored candidate. That is the definition of post-modernism, where nothing makes sense, and everything is subjective– including facts.

Post-modernism is the ideology of late-stage capitalism, where everything is breaking down & elite criminality pervades. Post modernism is used to fill in the cracks of society with irrationality, in order to disorient & demoralize the working masses. Enter Slavoj Zizek & Jordan Peterson.

Neither of these proclaimed “intellectuals” knows a real living Marxist, much less engages with them on an intellectual basis. Any leading member of the ICFI, which publishes the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS), would make Zizek and/or Peterson look silly in a real debate. Capitalism blacklists the WSWS, in order to elevate this nonsense, and present these frauds & their elitist garbage as serious analysis.

Nowhere in this debate do the speakers discuss economic equality with any seriousness. Nor do they discuss internet censorship, militarism, and the criminal wars of aggression which are all policies of the US and every other government on the planet today. These issues are fundamental to the survival of the human race, and yet they are danced around by these intellectual impostures.

Slavoj Zizek on Hegel is painful, in how he contorts his arguments in order to separate dialects from Marxism. As anyone who has ever tried knows, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is very difficult to read. If one wants to understand Hegel’s revolutionary philosophy (dialectics), the best critiques in history are those of the Russian Marxist– Georgi Plekhanov.

David North of the ICFI has written extensively on Plekanov. Vladimir Lenin said Plekanov’s writings are the best education on the writings of Hegel, and essential reading for those who seek understanding of his complex philosophical ideas. There is no mention of any these essential references from Zizek or Peterson, who probably haven’t even read them, as neither has any real interest in truth, but only elevating themselves.

Both of these ivory tower hucksters are hung up on “hierarchies,” which is awfully convenient. Coincidentally, capitalism is hung up on hierarchies too. These “thinkers” don’t ever see beyond their own noses. Revolutions happen in history, but never in their thoughts, analysis or conclusions. Thus, when a revolutionary crisis presents itself, all this pseudo-intellectualism vanishes into nothing. The millstones of history grind exceedingly fine, and Zizek & Peterson are destined for it’s collective dustbin.

This spectacle did nothing to raise the intellect of humanity. It was really two phony emperors strutting in their underwear. With that said, Slavoj Zizek naked is another painful image, but it has value– in the negative. Physically Slavoj Zizek is a mess: overweight, slumping in posture, constantly touching his face & nose, and slobbering in his speech. If Zizek is a genius, then why doesn’t he fix his lisp, and learn to control his spitting? That’s also a measure of intelligence.

I challenge Slavoj Zizek & Jordan Peterson to address this economic problem rationally. Globally in 2019, there is now roughly $55 trillion in government-held Treasury bonds that are worthless, but counted as “assets.” Consider the global derivatives market which is conservatively estimated at $1.2 quadrillion, and held almost entirely by big banks & investment houses. That’s 20 times more “assets” that are worthless, than what the world’s governments already hold.

Global GDP is around $80 trillion, and can never grow fast enough to meet projected targets, so these futures are all unpayable. Unlike 2008, the sheer size of this fraud makes it impossible to be bailed out. When the next crash comes, capitalism will face a revolutionary crisis. This is the conundrum that Trump, the Democrats, and all the rest of their ilk seek to avoid at all costs, as its their heads that will roll. What do Zizek & Peterson have to say about this concrete problem? Nothing, at all.

As mentioned earlier, Zizek & Peterson are anti-Marxists, which means they are (in the final analysis) apologists for capitalism, and well-paid for their services. Their celebrity is just another extension of this vast fake economy, that rests on free money from the central banks, which is used to prop up a capitalist system that is about to collapse.

The rise of fascism is a serious political development, yet neither of these charlatans take it seriously. When ICFI chairman David North states in the video embedded above, “Fascism is punishment for the failure of workers to build a leadership,” one instantly grasps that meaning.

Intelligence is the ability to communicate complex truths directly & understandably. Those who attempt to dazzle their audiences with intellectual nonsense, are ultimately insecure in their ideas. Thus the constant nose-touching by Zizek. In the end someone who is smarter will challenge them, and eventually historical events will prove both of them wrong. That is an unavoidable historical truth.

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Free Julian Assange Now!!

Julian Assange has been a political prisoner for nearly eight years. For the past six years, he has been trapped in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, under conditions that have deteriorated into cruel & inhumane confinement. Julian Assange has committed no crime. He is being persecuted for exposing the crimes of the global ruling class- primarily those of the US & UK.

This attack campaign began with sensationalist rape charges in November 2010, by Swedish authorities on behalf of two women with which Assange had been intimate. These initial allegations have since been revoked by the accusers, after they were proven to be false and part of a frame-up. The criminal case has been dismissed by Swedish authorities, yet Assange’s detention continues– as the US/UK deep states are the motor forces behind silencing Assange.

This video, titled “Collateral Murder” forever earned Assange (& Wikileaks) the enmity of US imperialism. After viewing this footage, most people around the world responded with shock & horror. It’s instructive to notice how liberal apologists (CBS here) respond with blathering nonsense such as, “It’s important for all of us to remember; it was a hectic, violent, and uneasy day…”

Julian Assange can only liberated from this sadistic punishment through a direct assault on the institutions that are imprisoning him. The US government-military-corporate-intelligence apparatus has worked together to censor opposition to his illegal detention, while slandering him in the media. These corrupt bastions of reaction must been courageously confronted, ruthlessly exposed, and finally smashed.

This offensive against fascism must be relentless & global. Every government of every nation has abandoned Julian Assange and shifted to the right, and thus his only political ally is a united international working class armed with a program of revolutionary socialism.

Everyone who freely lives & breathes needs to join this fight, as Julian Assange has represented those who didn’t have a voice. Therefore, it is now our turn to speak up and act in his behalf, as he personifies the yearning for freedom that burns inside all of those who resist oppression, and strive for peace & equality.

Haters, Step Aside!

Free Julian Assange!!

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How to Win Friends & Influence Online

Content gathered & edited from the MLB.com forums, primarily SD Padres

Shields tallies 9 K’s as Padres blank Brewers 5-13-16
Let’s be clear on what James Shields is: 2-5, 3.12 ERA in 52 IP– in less than a quarter of a season, on track for another 200+ IP with an excellent ERA. He has been poorly supported in most of his outings, hence the losing record. All the other young pitchers (Colin Rea, Drew Pomeranz, Cesar Vargas, etc…) will likely be restricted to 120-150 (max) IP-limit, for their own protection. Padres can no longer count on Tyson Ross and possibly Andrew Cashner for awhile. $21M/year is what quality reliable starting pitching costs, and actually Shields’ contract is fair in open-market (capitalist) terms. If he doesn’t opt-out after this season he has $21M, $21M & $16M (team option- $2M buyout) remaining through 2019, his age 37 season. No one expects much after that, so it’s a good contract and I hope Shields stays– if the Padres can be competitive.

Note: James Shields was my favorite player in Tampa, until he was traded in December 2012 for Wil Myers. I understood why the Rays did it at the time, but it still hurt as a fan. The results of this deal illustrate how much a GM means to an organization, as soon as TBR GM Andrew Friedman left for LAD, new Padres GM AJ Preller was able to swindle Myers from their new Rays GM Matt Silverman. It cost the Padres a nice pitching prospect in Joe Ross to WAS (let’s see if he stays healthy under Dusty Baker?), and SS prospect Trea Turner who’s hitting .310/.377/.442– in AAA Syracuse. It’s the Rays who really got nothing out of the deal, and lost their franchise hitter to boot. Padres fans are grateful  🙂

James Shields

Friedrich slated for Padres debut in series rematch 5-13-16
I don’t see the Padres 23-inning scoreless pitching streak lasting much longer in today’s game, as LHP Christian Friedrich is an emergency call-up with all their injuries (Tyson Ross, Robbie Erlin, Andrew Cashner?). Hopefully they can get 5+ innings out of him (with run support) and a good extended-relief stint from someone like Luis Perdomo. Another good challenge from Andy Green last night earned Alexei Ramirez a hit.  Padres are threatening to climb out of last place, starting to come together, etc…

Tim-LIncecum

Suitors for Lincecum reportedly whittled to three 5-12-16
Padres fan here: I don’t see Tim Lincecum as a starting pitcher in the AL. His fastball velocity isn’t what it was, and it’s not enough to consistently get through stacked AL line-ups with DH’s. He belongs with the Giants, but needs to at least be in the NL. My $.02

Any organization has to insist on a reasonable base salary ($4-6M?) with performance incentives for Tim Lincecum.  He’s got reward potential, but obviously is a huge injury risk– and clubs need to protect themselves. That’s surely what’s being negotiated now.

Pomeranz leads Padres to DH sweep of Cubs 5-12-16
“I got a long memory… He’ll learn.” — John Lackey on how Christian Bethancourt — whom the veteran hurler had never faced — watched his home run.

That just sounds like an excuse to throw at Bethancourt the next time they meet. Padres (and their fans) have long memories too.
For perspective, Christian Bethancourt is a 24-YO kid from Panama, trying to establish himself as a major-leaguer. He was obviously excited in the moment, but there was no intent to show up John Lackey, who is a quality veteran pitcher. Bethancourt will ‘learn’ from Padres manager Andy Green, hitting coach Alan Zinter, and bench coach Mark McGwire– who knows all about HR etiquette.

Fernando Rodney RHP

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Padres closer Fernando Rodney shoots 2 arrows at Wrigley, in one day!!
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To Cubs fans– your team’s winning percentage is no longer double that of the Padres. Wrigley Field is the most beautiful ballpark ever. Great series, tight games–good luck until Petco! Over & out

Padres claim catcher Sanchez from White Sox 5-11-16
AJ Preller trying to add some catching depth, which you can never have too much of. Example– top prospect C Austin Hedges (was raking in AAA) is now out with a hamate fracture. We’ll see if Hector Sanchez, the switch-hitting witch sticks. I just wanted to say that 😉

Wallace ends up-and-down day with a blast 5-11-16 Beats Cubs 7-4 @ Wrigley
Padres need Brett Wallace to stick at 3B. Both his errors earlier today were throwing, which is easier to fix than a bad glove. He showed a decent glove with a nice pick to snuff a Cubs rally later, so there are signs of improvement. This lets GM A.J. Preller wait for Yangervais Solarte get 100% healthy, while getting a good look at Wallace who walks a TON and has a stick. A bunch of organizations have tried this guy and given up on him. He just needs some coaching, and a chance to play. Preller cleaned house (mostly), and kept what was essential (Balsley) this off-season, so their dugout staff is much stronger. Brett Wallace is another Preller lottery ticket, and it’s great that fans have bought into his plan of trying these guys out, with less regard for winning.

Andy Green ejected

It’s Andy Green’s job to put the expectation of winning on the players, so they don’t embarrass the organization and their fans, Green has done this well so far and Padres fans have (mostly) noticed & appreciate it. Padres now have much more upside, with young players like Wallace, Colin Rea, Drew Pomeranz, Cesar Vargas, Luis Perdomo, Jabari Blash, & others. An organization with brains that isn’t afraid to lose games, can quickly spot & develop its talent.

Brett Wallace 3B

Weeks strains hamstring, likely headed to DL 5-8-16
How many groin/hamstring/quad injuries for the Padres so far?  Looks like Adam Rosales at 2B with Brett Wallace at 3B for awhile. Infield depth is now stretched to its limit, any more injuries at those positions and the Padres are well below replacement level. Who gets the call up?
@Alvin77 & Rolfes: I’d forgotten about 2B Jose Pirela. AJ Preller got him from the NYY for 21-YO RHP Ronald Herrera, who’s in AAA (Scranton). That indicates depth, which is something this organization has lacked in the past. GM did his job (extremely) well this off-season, and this is where it shows up. Manager Andy Green still has usable options, which is nice 🙂

Sabathia says injured groin improving daily 5-7-16
I know it was a great start for him, to get a win the Yankees needed– but it wasn’t worth it to land on the DL. A player has to be honest with himself & his team in that situation. CC Sabathia’s quotes indicate he’s still in denial about his injury. Sad & scary; hope he figures it out.

CC Sabathia

Ross progressing, but not ready to throw 5-4-16
Thanks for this injury report, AJ Cassavell.
The Padres approach with RHP Tyson Ross is correct– let the labrum tear heal, while building protective muscle in the shoulder. You can’t rush tears of ligaments, cartilage and tendons; if you try, you just risk setbacks with no real improvement. The labrum is a piece of fibrocartilage, therefore no throwing yet for Ross. He’s probably at least 4-6 weeks away from throwing, if things go well in his rehabilitation. If things aren’t going well, then much longer.
Also, it sounds like LOOGY Matt Thornton will likely be awhile w/ his Achilles tendonitis.

Padres-Tyson-Ross

Kemp & Myers work well together 5-3-16
Appreciate Matt Kemp (career .289/.344/.491) is the point. He may soon be a luxury the Padres can no longer afford.  Meanwhile, appreciate him.
For the record, it’s at least a push for the best player Wil Myers has ever played with. Evan Longoria 3B (gold glove) career .270/.346/.485.

001H0783

Vargas cements spot in Padres’ rotation 5-4-16
Can the Padres keep him healthy, or will he flameout?  That is always the question with promising young pitchers.

Vargas turns in solid outing, but Padres fall short
PadsFans: 8 shutouts in out first 28 games. I really don’t know any other way to describe it except pathetic.
RicSize: Don’t be sad, two out of three ain’t bad

Ceasr Vargas

Upton, Rea lead way in game-changing 5th inning 5-1-16
Luckily there’s some depth a C, so the chances of that turning around for the Padres are decent. ATL is the worst team in the NL (by far), precisely because they do stupid stuff like giving up on C Christian Bethancourt, who at least has upside. Instead ATL went with veteran CWS-rejects– Tyler Flowers & AJ Pierzynski.

Matt Kemp is better defensively in RF, partly because BJ Upton covers so much room in LF, so CF Jon Jay can shade more to right field. Thus Kemp’s lack of range becomes less of a liability. Still not great, but at least passable in RF at present. BTW– if Jay (presently .271/.333/.323) can move his walk rate up a tick, he becomes a very valuable player.

Kemp’s homer snaps Padres’ skid in LA 4-30-16
Matt Kemp increases his potential trade value, while beating the Dodgers– Padres fans approve!

Matt Kemp 2015

Wallace is becoming an elite pinch-hitter 4-30-16
What the Padres like about Brett Wallace is that he walks. In 31 PAs so far in 2016 his line is .174/.387/.217. He’s walked 6 times, and been HBP twice. For comparison Matt Kemp has walked only twice (!) in 91 PAs for a .284/.297/.591 line. It’s the low OBP (lack of walks) that hurts Kemp’s value at the plate. Wallace is brutal defensively at 3B, and not much better at 1B, so his value is primarily depth off the bench– until an opportunity presents itself. His career .399 SLG is pedestrian, and needs to improve.

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Posted @  wsws.org

Support White and Niemuth in 2016!

Niles Niemuth & Jerry White

Socialist Equality Party announces presidential campaign    22 April 2016
SEP has tried ballot access in the past and has always been blocked & cheated (every step of the way) by Democratic Party machinery, proving it’s mostly pointless to pour resources into reformist measures.

Obama in Flint: Let them drink lead     6 May 2016
Barack Obama drinking Flint water is reminiscent of gubernatorial candidate Montgomery Burns eating 3-eyed fish on The Simpsons.

Look at today’s filmmaking … then look at the world      11 May 2016
There are important parallels between David Walsh’s discussion of ‘feminist filmmaking’ and current ‘feminist’ politics, personified in Hillary Clinton.

Obama and the bombing of Hiroshima     13 May 2016 
“The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb” by Gar Alperovitz is the scholarly work on the subject, and was referenced in an older WSWS article. Also read the “Hiroshima Diary: The Journal of a Japanese Physician, August 6th – September 30, 1945” by Michihiko Hachiya for details of its horrible aftermath. The Hiroshima & Nagasaki atomic bombings were imperialist war crimes of the highest magnitude.

Scarred Survivor

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Are You a Socialist?

The theoretical founder of socialism was Karl Marx (1818-1883).

Marx 1

The most brilliant expression of 20th-century Marxism was Leon Trotsky (1879-1940).

Trotsky 1

True socialists have read & absorbed these books. Pseudo-socialists don’t read anything serious.

Lenin 1

Socialists understand the USSR was Stalinism, which is collectivist property relations controlled by a fascist bureaucracy. Trotsky fought ceaselessly against Stalinism, and was historically vindicated in December 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed back into capitalist Russia.

Trotsky 4

If Russia hadn’t had a workers’ revolution led by Lenin & Trotsky in 1917, it would be completely dismembered (balkanized) today.

Trotsky 5

Instead, modern Russia retains much of it’s size, and possesses the second-largest nuclear arsenal in the world.

Lenin 2

A third world war would end human civilization. Today’s thermonuclear devices are orders-of-magnitude greater than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki at the end of World War 2.

Marx 2

Human society can only be preserved (meaning a world war can only be prevented), by a permanent socialist revolution led by the workers & youth of the U.S. The epicentre of global capitalism (culturally, economically & militarily) is the United States; a socialist revolution here leads the way for the rest of the world.

Trotsky 2

Marxist analysis in the 21st century is found at the World Socialist Web Sitewsws.org.  The WSWS is published (6 days a week, since 1998) by the International Committee for the Fourth International (ICFI), the party founded by Trotsky in 1938.

Trotsky 3

The U.S. branch of the ICFI is the Socialist Equality Party (SEP). The SEP announced its candidates for U.S. president & vice-president on April 22– Earth day.  Ric Size officially endorses the Socialist Equality Party’s presidential campaign. [1]

Niles Niemuth & Jerry White

Niles Niemuth & Jerry White SEP: US president & VP candidates

To those interested in actual socialism, this is the only choice.  If you would like to be a socialist, you must put in the work.  Every other leftist political party, from the Democrats & Greens to the anarchists, are opportunist– meaning they are capitalist to the core.  Marxists always spot them quickly, and easily dispatch them when engaged in polemics. That’s why Trotskyists are always blacklisted from ‘official’ discourse.

WSWS-SEP

Those who are politically naive, but well-meaning, need to work through this as quickly as possible.  Read the books shown, along with the WSWS on a daily basis to arm yourself politically.

screenshot-WSWS

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