Critical Hour Discussion of So. Carolina Primary (2/28/2020)

Can Pence Manage Coronavirus Better Than His Failed Leadership on HIV in Indiana?

It’s Friday, so that means it's panel time.

The COVID-19 coronavirus has spread to at least 56 countries, and the case numbers continue to rise, fueling fears of a worldwide pandemic. "From eastern Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa, a steady stream of new cases Friday fueled the sense that the new coronavirus epidemic may be turning into a global pandemic, with some health officials saying it may be inevitable," the New York Times reported Friday. "The WHO [World Health Organization] has raised the global threat level to 'very high,' its most extreme assessment, as new outbreaks appear," the Times also reported. This comes the day after the first US coronavirus diagnosis in a person who had no known link to foreign travel. "A Northern California woman has contracted the coronavirus without traveling to regions hit by the outbreak or coming into contact with anyone known to have the infection, the first sign the disease may be spreading within a US community, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday night," the Washington Post reported Thursday. That same day, the Wall Street Journal reported: "US Coronavirus Outbreak Would Pose Risk to Record Expansion."

Bloomberg's Game

MSNBC

There are two things I feel compelled to say about Mike Bloomberg and his candidacy.

Thing One: Thank you, Mike!

In a few weeks, Mike Bloomberg—along with the Democratic Party and its allied media—has demonstrated the reality of class rule more clearly than reams of marxist analysis could.

Let’s see:

The Democratic Party, the one political instrument that purports to represent working people and the only one through which they are effectively allowed to pursue their interests politically, defined a set of rules for participation in debates that were designed to ensure that only candidates with a certain depth and breadth of support among voters and donors could participate. On the basis of strict (and some would say arbitrary) enforcement of those rules, the party serially winnowed out a number of candidates, including women and persons of color, with particular attention to excluding an antiwar woman of color (Tulsi Gabbard). Then, after it was clear that the candidate with the strongest working-class agenda was taking the lead, and after receiving an $800,000 donation from Mike Bloomberg, the party changed its rules to allow Bloomberg to participate in the debates.

Critical Hour Discussion of Bernie, Bloomberg, Dems (2/14/2020)

NYT's Smear Campaign Against Sputnik: Is This the Pot Calling the Kettle Black?

It’s Friday, so that means it's panel time.

A Thursday New York Times piece that seeks to discredit Sputnik News states, "In January, Radio Sputnik, a propaganda arm of the Russian government, started broadcasting on three Kansas City-area radio stations during prime drive times … In the United States, talk radio on Sputnik covers the political spectrum from right to left, but the constant backbeat is that America is damaged goods." In addition, The Hill reported Thursday, "A group of House Democrats criticized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday for not taking action to curb Russian propaganda aired on U. radio stations, and urged the agency to take steps to remedy this ahead of the 2020 elections." These are Democrats, who are supposed to be the liberal side of the political aisle. We'll lay out the truth and the fallacies and point out the hidden message.

Week in Review Discussion on The Critical Hour (12/06/2019)

Will Democrats be Cut by the Same Sword They are Preparing for Trump?

"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi compared President Donald Trump to a despotic tyrant in a press conference Thursday and announced she has asked House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler to prepare articles of impeachment," Common Dreams reported. "'The facts are uncontested,' said Pelosi, a California Democrat. 'The president abused his power for his own personal political benefit at the expense of our national security.'"
[Related articles: Defeat or Impeach? The (Il)Logic of Impeachment,  Dead Man’s Hand: The Impeachment Gambit]

"The proposed Trump administration changes to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) could strip 3.7 million low-income Americans of their food stamps and slash benefits for millions of others," Business Insider reported Tuesday, citing a November study by the Urban Institute. The institute said of the proposed changes: "Sixteen percent of households with no children, no adults age 60 or older, and no one with a disability would lose eligibility under the proposed changes to the ABAWD [able-bodied adults without disabilities] regulations. Nearly 12 percent of households with an adult age 60 or older would lose eligibility under the proposed changes to broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE). Households that include someone age 60 or older or someone with a disability are most likely to be affected by the proposed changes to the SUAs [standard utility allowances], although a larger absolute number of households with children would be affected than for either of these groups. Non-Hispanic white and Asian households would be somewhat more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to lose eligibility or benefits under the proposed changes to BBCE and SUAs. The estimated likelihood of eligibility loss from the proposed ABAWD changes differs little among racial and ethnic groups."