“Cloud of darkness” was trending on Twitter when I got up this morning. It means one thing to gamers but this boomer couldn’t help but feel it probably was a reference to our collective future governed by the president-elect’s cabinet picks.
Putting female warmongers in prominent roles to please Democrats already trained to regard the warmongering Hillary Clinton as a desirable “leader” is absolutely unsurprising. What’s only mildly surprising are the weak, insincere protestations sponsored on corporate media outlets like CNN and MSNBC.
Cutting the mic of commentators who question the wisdom of appointing, say, Rahm Emmanuel, is entirely in character for these manufacturers of consent.
Because if you’re trying to spin neoliberals as progressives, muting the pushback is essential.
To get back to my original point, trying to spin corporate hacks who peddle weapons to Israel and Saudi Arabia while unwilling US taxpayers pick up the tab as feminists is laughable. Well, it would be laughable if it didn’t fool so many liberals. Identity politics has been a potent management tool for keeping the brunch eating masses stupefied while the soul and treasury of the US is hollowed out by austerity to pay for endless wars.
Real feminist leaders like Kathy Kelly have been speaking out during this transition on the urgency of ending the 19 year war on Afghanistan.
Here’s she’s joined by moderator Ann Wright, another peace leader, as well as Matthew Hoh, Rory Fanning, Danny Sjursen, and Arash Azizzada to discuss the prospects of this happening before Biden gets into the White House.
Democrats in Congress and generals at the Pentagon are putting up resistance, of course. If the cash doesn’t flow to weapons manufacturers, how will the campaign contributions and/or cushy corporate posts flow?
When you’re in the weapons business — as the US government surely is — endless wars is your go-to marketing scheme.
But the current occupant of the White House has shown less business acumen than some expected. Instead, he has appeared to focus on his image. Challenges like managing a public health crisis resulted in fatal damage to his persona as leader, but the remaining weeks do offer some opportunities for legacy repair.
Ending the war in Afghanistan (which Obama promised to do but never did) could be just the ticket.
Pardoning Julian Assange, jailed in the UK for the crime of actual journalism on Obama’s watch and since, would also be a winning move and, as an in-your-face to his rival and predecessor, likely to appeal to the outgoing chief executive.
