Tuesday, February 11, 2020

What Did You Expect? Part 2--The Iowa Caucus Chaos Edition

What Did You Expect? (Part 2)
by Coast Watcher

In last week’s article my colleague Redd Phlagg nailed it by defining the United States for what it is—a system of government set up by rich, property-owning white men for future rich, property-owning white men to prosper in. Trump’s gift of tax breaks to billionaires practically as soon as his ass hit the seat in the Oval Office was a clear indicator that it was business as usual for the wealthy. As for the rest of us, we can go… quite.

Like Redd, I was amazed and not a little despairing at the mob mentality displayed by the left-leaning portion of the population salivating at the prospect of Trump’s impeachment and conviction. God knows the man has committed enough crime in his lifetime for him to be locked away for the rest of his natural span. It should’ve been easy for the House and then the Senate to follow the legal process and convict him. That it did not is down to the fact the Republican-dominated Senate had no intention of convicting Trump. In fact, many of them said so in loud voices before the event. Therefore, why is everyone on the Left so surprised and outraged at the result? What, indeed, did they expect?

They gained a little bit of recompense from Speaker of the House Pelosi when she tore up the transcript of Trump’s State of the Union speech. As a piece of political theater it came across as asinine and juvenile. Pelosi is capable of inflicting far more damage to the Orange Tyrant if she wishes—but she doesn’t wish so, because she’s another rich person in a rich person’s nation.

Likewise, those on the Right cheered to the skies when their Beloved Führer—sorry, president—escaped conviction. It appears they were genuinely

concerned that those ''libtards'' would bring their man down. Are they so ignorant of the status quo that they feared he might be convicted? Are they really so enamored of the damage their Glorious Leader is inflicting on them and theirs? Of his threats to dismantle the social security and Medicaid they’ve paid into all their lives as "a fun second term project?"

And it doesn’t stop with the antics in Congress. It’s primary season once again, and once again we’re treated to the disgusting sight of the so-called Democratic Party trying to rig the results of a primary. Iowa was a shambles, an utter debacle. The now notorious "Shadow" app used by the Democrats to tally and codify the results of caucuses across the state instead caused massive disruption. In one instance, it flipped 200 votes to candidate Pete Buttigieg before a single vote had been cast at that caucus. In another instance of Democrat corruption, a caucus captain flipped a coin several times before getting the result he wanted and awarding delegates to Buttigieg. Further, at another caucus even though voting showed a clear winner in candidate Bernie Sanders, Buttigieg was awarded an equal number of delegates.

That any accurate and reliable information came out of the Iowa farce is down to the Sanders team. Using their own app, they checked and collated everything in many caucuses. Once bitten in 2016, twice shy, I think. After the sheer duplicity shown by the Democrats last election, Sanders is determined it won’t happen to him again—and if it does, it’ll all be on record.

Would it surprise the reader to know that the Shadow app was developed by a company with close ties to Buttigieg? That development of the app was financed by contributions from a PAC related to Buttigieg, along with donations from candidate Joe Biden and others? Buttigieg served in US Navy intelligence and is said to have close ties with the CIA dating from that time. The Democratic Party didn’t even have their caucus counting app checked for cybersecurity before putting it to use it appears, in spite of their previous claim that Russian hackers influenced the 2016 election.


https://blackagendareport.com/2016-revisited-electronic-balloting-favored-clinton-paper-balloting-sanders

Who's fooling who here, DNC?

Buttigieg claimed victory in Iowa with suspicious speed, a claim which was immediately disputed by the other candidates, especially Senator Sanders who was shown to be leading by a clear majority in pre-primary polling. Buttigieg withdrew his claim, and Sanders claimed victory through his clear majority, 6,000+, of the popular vote. However, thanks to the arcane and unnecessarily complicated DNC rules, Buttigieg and Sanders will receive more or less equal numbers of delegates at the national level.

Sanders is now said to be lawyering-up ready to launch a lawsuit over the farcical handling of the Iowa primaries. Word has it that even Biden is considering a similar lawsuit because his poor showing in the primaries could well be down to the very app he sponsored. Irony of the highest order, here.


[Editor's note: As of Sunday, February 9, the DNC has officially given Pete Buttigieg more state delegates than Bernie Sanders, in spite of Sanders' plurality of votes. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/iowa-officially-gives-buttigieg-the-largest-delegate-count-followed-closely-by-sanders/ar-BBZOPbw]

Whatever the actual result of the primaries, the Iowa debacle served to kill some of Sanders' momentum, which suits the rich and powerful—his natural
targets—just fine. Sanders will probably pick up that momentum again in New Hampshire, a primary he won handily in 2016.

I can only speculate as to why Buttigieg would pursue such a reckless strategy, unless it was under a covert promise issued to him by the DNC of greater things to come. He certainly won’t win the presidency this time without major manipulation of the political system. Too many accusations of corruption and racism, mostly associated with his tenure as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, taint Buttigieg’s prospects. As an openly gay male, it’s highly unlikely Buttigieg will do well in the notoriously homophobic Southern states, and without those he’s going nowhere fast.


But really, what did you expect in this election? You really believed the Democratic Party would really change its spots and actually play fair? It promised that everything would be above board for the 2020 elections, yet already it’s been shown to cheat in the most blatant fashion through use of the Shadow app. Following negotiations with the Sanders team following the last election, the so-called Superdelegates were to be confined to operating at the secondary level of polling at the convention in Milwaukee. Yet already there’s talk of rules changes allowing them to participate in the first round in an obvious attempt to head off the popular candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders.

It remains to be seen what happens this year. It’s possible that Bernie Sanders will show up at Milwaukee with an undeniable large majority of delegates, only for the DNC to engineer matters to nominate their preferred candidate—possibly Pete Buttigieg or even billionaire Mike Bloomberg. It’s possible that the DNC will face facts and allow Sanders the nomination as the only candidate capable of beating Trump.

 
Given Trump's recent displays of power mania, it's possible he may decide to cancel the elections and declare himself President for Life as it’ll be "in the public best interest." If that happens, there’s no doubt in my mind his rabid supporters will cheer and take to the streets with their precious guns to support their Beloved Führer—sorry, president. There’s no shortage either of big business types who’d also support a dictator in the same way major businesses such as Tyssen Steel and Krupps in Germany supported Adolf Hitler’s rise to absolute power. After all, that nasty democracy does get in the way of making a decent profit.

If it happens that way—and I sincerely hope it doesn’t—then I’ll say once again: What did you expect?



BIO: Coast Watcher is keeping a close eye on the caucuses and shaking his head. Cheats will use all manner of underhanded shenanigans to get their way.  His advice? Don't be taken in by the mainstream media corporate lies. Trust no one in the establishment. Keep your own count.

Related Articles:

Senate Acquits Trump, Ending Historic Trial
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/us/politics/impeachment-vote.html


New Details Show How Deeply Iowa Caucus App Developer Was Embedded in Democratic Establishment
https://theintercept.com/2020/02/04/iowa-caucus-app-shadow-acronym/ 

Sanders Reportedly Finished 1st, Biden 4th in Unreleased Iowa Poll
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/61167-sanders-reportedly-finished-1st-biden-4th-in-unreleased-iowa-poll

Bernie Got The Most Votes In Iowa Which Means He Won Iowa
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/61240-focus-bernie-got-the-most-votes-in-iowa-which-means-he-won-iowa

Bernie Campaign App Caught DNC Red Handed (video)
https://youtu.be/tcMe2H3mIKk  

Nevada Democratic Party Hiring of Buttieg Ex-Staffer Raises Concerns
They're Going To Try to Steal California from Sanders (Again)
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/theyre-going-to-try-to-steal-california-from-sanders-again/ 

DNC Rules Committee Members Working on Bloomberg Campaign Is a 'Conflict of Interest'
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/61201-rashida-tlaib-dnc-rules-committee-members-working-on-bloomberg-campaign-is-a-conflict-of-interest

Former Heads of Lobbying Firms, Military Contractors and Fossil Fuel Interests Host Buttigeig Campaign Fundraiser
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/61200-former-heads-of-lobbying-firms-military-contractors-and-fossil-fuel-interests-host-buttigieg-campaign-fundraiser 

More About Pete
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/02/more-about-pete/ 

Iowagate (contains many video commentaries) https://beanstocksworld.wordpress.com/2020/02/09/iowagate-feb-2020/comment-page-1/

Bernie Wins Iowa, But Tom Perez Calls for "Re-Canvasing" (video)
https://youtu.be/ctasK3oslN4

DNC caught flipping votes from Bernie to Buttigeig (video)
https://youtu.be/VX4_RyfedBU

Buttigeig Smiles Creepily Instead of Talking to Reporters (video)
https://youtu.be/AIWBIOtX3Rk

***
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From Friends of the Earth:
Our public lands and precious wildlife are under attack! Trump’s Bureau of Land Management plans to sell off thousands of acres of land in Montana for new drilling while selling out the local wildlife.
The lands for sale are close to the sage-brush -- important nesting grounds for Greater Sage Grouse, which is at risk of extinction. If these areas are leased for fracking and drilling projects, the pristine ecosystems and habitats could be destroyed.
The science is clear: We must keep all fossil fuels in the ground. The BLM can still cancel this sale. But we must act fast! Now, is the time to make your voice heard to protect Montana’s lands and wildlife.
The Trump Administration wants to hand over Montana’s sensitive landscapes to Big Oil and Gas. But our planet can’t handle any more fracking and drilling projects.
Fossil fuel extraction would pollute this landscape’s air and water, while endangering its delicate ecosystems.
Moreover, the fracking technique used in Big Oil and Gas projects will be devasting to the health of local communities. Extracted fracking wastewater can be radioactive, and its disposal through injection wells has proven to increase earthquakes.
We can’t let Big Oil destroy these ecologically rich landscapes just so it can increase its profits.
In short, the BLM’s proposed leases will pose a safety and health threat to the people who live on the surrounding land, and alter the quality and nature of this pristine landscape forever.
The solution is simple: No more lease sales to Big Oil and Gas. Not in Montana. Not anywhere. But we need your help to send that message.
Standing with you,
Nicole Ghio,
Senior fossil fuels program manager,
Friends of the Earth
***

From UltraViolet:

A mansplaining conference promises to "make women great again" by having men teach them how to be admired by men, get fit, "raise your femininity by 500%," have "unlimited babies," and reject "unhealthy militant feminists."1 Really.

It sounds like a joke, right? But the scary thing is that the conference organizers are 100% serious. The conference was started by a man who identifies as a leader of the "Manosphere," a collection of ultra-sexist blogs and social media platforms often associated with the alt-right.2 Will you take action right now to help stop these bloggers from spreading their violent, misogynistic views?
The Manosphere claims that the world is biased against men and spreads misogynist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, and fat-shaming messages, using Reddit as its online home base.

Some of these men even believe that women want to be raped. And that survivors of domestic violence belong in prison.Disgusting.

Reddit has shown that it will listen to complaints about sexist and violent pages on its site. It already placed content warnings on some of the most vile Manosphere pages in response to a public outcry. It even shut down one men's rights group for inciting violence against women after a petition and negative publicity.4 This shows that with enough petition signatures from UltraViolet members and our allies, we can force Reddit to shut down the sexist sites behind the Manosphere and stop the spread of violent misogyny.


Sign the petition to demand that Reddit immediately ban Manosphere sites and stop the spread of violent misogyny.
Sign the petition
The so-called men's rights havens that make up the Manosphere, like Red Pill on Reddit, have been repeatedly linked to the alt-right. Former Breitbart contributor Milo Yiannopoulos claims to be a member of Red Pill and hosted a Q&A session on the platform.5 The Manosphere has also been linked to deadly shootings and attacks. When six people were murdered at University of California, Santa Barbara, it was revealed that the shooter was a men's rights activist on Reddit and had posted a disturbing video detailing his plans to kill women.6 As long as Reddit continues to allow violent, sexist groups to have a home on its website, it is complicit in promoting violence against women and other oppressed groups. Add your name to demand that Reddit stop letting men use its platform to glorify sexual assault and harassment.
 
Thanks for speaking out!

--Shaunna, Kat, Kathy, Anathea, Sonja, Melody, Lindsay, Pam, Maria, Kimberly, Katie, JoEllen, and Sy, the UltraViolet team
 
Sources:
1. 'Make Women Great Again' convention hosted by MEN will teach attendees how to be 'ideal women' for $2,000 per ticket, The Daily Mail, December 30, 2019
2. Mansplaining conference hopes to "Make Women Great Again", The New York Post, January 2, 2020
3. Popping the Red Pill: Inside a digital alternate reality, CNN, November 10, 2017
4. Reddit Bans 'Incel' Group for Inciting Violence Against Women, The New York Times, November 9, 2017
5. What is r/TheRedPill, the infamous men's rights subreddit?, The Daily Dot, June 6, 2018
6. Inside the 'manosphere' that inspired Santa Barbara shooter Elliot Rodger, The Washington Post, April 27, 2014

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