Ann's Mega Dub

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Howie is my choice

That's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Does anyone really listen?" -- it went up Sunday. And this is an ad for Howie Hawkins campaign.

You do have choices beyond Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Howie is my choice.

This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Thursday, October 15, 2020. Podcasts? So much wasted time.

"Dismissive and glib." That's how Kyle Kulinski described Noam Chomsky's attitude on a recent YOUTUBE segment. I know this because a friend played about a minute of it to me over the phone this morning. I'm not interested in Kyle's 'podcast.' I don't like the way he speaks, I'm not talking about the sound of his voice. He needs to learn that the body has more than one resonator and take it out of his nose. His voice is thin and annoying. But I don't like the way he talks. I don't need to hear a segment about his nuts. I'm sorry, he's not good looking, he's not sexy and why do I want to hear him yammer on about his nuts and what kind of underwear they like and blah blah blah.

I'm not going to link to him for the above reason. But Noam Chomsky wants you to vote the lesser of two evils. Noam would be better off worrying about himself. He'd actually be better off getting honest with his large fan base about who he really is (Noam knows what I mean, I've known Noam for decades). Instead, he wants to hector others.

Brihana Joy Gray and Virgil Texas are doing a new program entitled BAD FAITH. On YOUTUBE, they have one brief video uploaded. I'm stating this to remind you that I'm done with 'podcasts.' I'm tired of the sound quality, it hurts my ears. If they can get on a real platform like YOUTUBE, I'll listen and even repost. But I'm tired of listening to sub-standard sound that hurts my ears. I did it over and over for years but it's just not worth it to me anymore. It's not a reflection on any host and it's not their doing, it's just the format and the sound quality. And it hurts my ears. If they post to YOUTUBE and I find out about it, I'll gladly note them here from time to time.

But our main point here is Noam has no reason to be dismissive or glib. He's doing the same nonsense he does every four years. It's a shame people are more tolerant of it today than they were in 2008. He had to change his public stance in 2008 -- or pretend to. Noam's a good little asset and he knows that and he knows how to work that. He's not an honest broker and I'm tired of pretending for him. I'm tired of being nice about it.

If his work means anything then he needs to stand by it. But he doesn't. Every four years he comes along to tell you how to vote and it's always a repudiation of his published writing but we're never supposed to notice that. 91-years-old, you'd think he'd be able to tell the truth. Pathetic.

On podcasts, Rebecca's husband texted me about Katie Halper's hideous Sausage Show. (See Rebecca's "katie halper's hideous" for more on last night's live show.) It's beyond stupid. Oh, let's be disorganized and debate which announced topic we should go with and then let's Aaron Mate run off at the mouth on the topic no one really cares about by going down a sideroad and never in the history of the UN blah blah blah blah. The announced topic was Hunter Biden.

As they drank their liquids and goofed around it was purse nonsense. It's like that horrible Vaginal Book Club or whatever that Felicity Day does. That's our 'progressive' Felicity Day who explained -- not joking -- that she didn't watch CAGNEY & LACY because it was about two lesbians. No, it wasn't. That was a right-wing reaction to the show and it was a reaction that crippled the show in many ways. CBS was forever giving notes and making demands that one's husband be on and that the other's boyfriend be in an episode -- but not too much sex, don't want them to think she's a 'tramp.'

When you present as a feminist and pro-woman, you need to know your facts. I get that she was home schooled. That doesn't excuse her ignorance as an adult. And to pimp that lie? Stop pretending you're informed and you have anything to offer because you don't.

Katie wanted to discuss Hunter Biden (we noted the story in yesterday's snapshot) but she had to stop in the middle of the podcast. Why? She hadn't read the article. She had to read the article to get up to speed. Despite the fact that this was the second billed topic for her podcast before it aired live.

This is so idiotic. You don't do your work live and make people wait for you to play catch up on their time. She had a hissy fit at the end of the first segment. Why? Her first guest was yammering away like an expert -- and he really wasn't, not on the topics he was discussing. Maybe he can fool the uninformed but I studied Constitutional Law. Jonathan Turley knows what he's talking about. Many others don't. There was a columnist who didn't. And for years, we looked the other way. Then he was doing real damage and I pointed out here that he wasn't a Constitutional Law expert despite billing himself that way, he had no training in the subject matter. He had a hissy fit over my pointing that out but it did end his column with the magazine that had been publishing him. (And that magazine should have done some research of their own to determine his credentials before presenting him as a Constitutional Law expert.) The late Michael Ratner was a Constitutional Law expert.

Because Rebecca's husband texted me and because it was on YOUTUBE, I watched as much of Katie's nonsense as I could take.

Rebecca is right that it is shameful on Aaron Mate's part that he giggles -- like a little boy -- that journalism is being censored. Then, later in the broadcast, he wants to put on his stern voice. No one needs that nonsense. There is nothing funny about censorship.

Katie and Aaron both want you to know that they are sympathetic to Hunter.

What a bunch of nonsense. Corruption should not lead to sympathy. Corruption has destroyed Iraq and it's no surprise that the corruption results from a government that the US government put in place. No surprise at all. Because corruption runs rampant in the US.

And pretending that poor little Hunter deserves our sympathy? For what? For shaking up with his dead brother's wife? For taking money he shouldn't have? For shady deals? For refusing to admit that the child was his? For refusing to pay child support until the court threatened to take the whole matter public?

And let's remember when he slept with Beau's wife, he didn't just start hitting on the widow of his brother, he did it while he was married and while he had children who were old enough to know what was going on. "Call her 'Aunty Mommy,' kids."

Anyway, so Katie has a hissy fit after her first segment and tells her audience that they can't leave negative comments or ask questions for the next guest when she has one guest on!!!!

Shut the f**k up. You put on a piece of crap podcast and you should be glad anyone bothers to even listen to your nonsense. And the Hunter topic was what everyone wanted to hear about. So you shouldn't have opened with your chatterbox and done your unguided and unformed interview. You're not talented enough to go live, Katie, clearly. Having punished your audience with that dull and meandering segment, you then finally brought on Aaron for the Hunter segment. And then you wanted to waste more time going back and forth over whether or not Hunter should be the first topic of the segment or not. It's unprofessional and its unorganized.

I don't watch 'reality' TV. I don't have time for garbage that Katie's doing.

And let's also not forget that she presented as pro-woman (no woman running with Spencer Ackerman is pro-woman) but how many weeks ago was it when she last had a woman on her pretty much daily program? Multiple men, no women.

I'm sick of it and I don't have time for it. She should be ashamed of herself. At least she finally washed that greasy hair, though. I will give her credit for that.

Aaron wanted to tell you that what happened with Syria -- the attack that wasn't but was promoted as real -- is the biggest story of the century.

No, it's not. It's not even the biggest story of the decade. Russia-gate would be the biggest story of the decade. Iraq would be the biggest story of the century. But Aaron Mate doesn't talk about Iraq -- except a fleeting comment or two. Did he learn that in his years working with Amy Goodman?

I'm tired of the 'erection' of false gods (all of whom tend to be male, have you noticed?) who don't really tell the truth about anything. I'm tired of their podcasts where they bring their friends on for what amounts to Stoner Talk that they think is interesting and that whomever has built them up to god status thinks is interesting.

Jimmy Dore is worth following because he tells uncomfortable truths. He does serious issues and serious topics.

Compare the way 'journalists' Katie Halper and Aaron Mate covered the Hunter Biden story with the way Jimmy does in the video below.

Jimmy's working for the truth. He doesn't have to be. He could just waste time the way Katie does. Oh, here's what my dad, a doctor, thinks about Donald Trump!!! Just stop. If that's what you have to offer, you have nothing to offer. But, Katie, is your mom alive? I ask because I'm just wondering if your internalized sexism is so great that even with a living mom, you bring your father on multiple segments over the last weeks but never bring on your mom? Oh, Katie, your hatred for women is truly appalling.

Adam Lucente (AL-MONITOR) reports:

The media landscape in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq includes both party-affiliated news outlets and independent outlets.

Nalia Radio and Television — better known as NRT — could be labeled opposition media. Its founder, Shaswar Abdulwahid, heads the New Generation Movement political party. NRT regularly covers protests, corruption and other controversial issues, and often takes aim at the Kuridstan Regional Government (KRG) and the region's two leading parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

The outlet’s critical coverage of the KRG has led to a crackdown. On Sept. 16, NRT presenter Shwan Adil was arrested and released on bail in the city of Sulaimaniyah. Adil is being sued by a senior member of the PUK, the second largest in the Kurdistan Region, for defamation.

In the region’s capital Erbil and the city of Dahuk, NRT’s offices have been closed since August.

NRT risks all to report . . . and Katie's busy playing drinking games and thinking she's some hard hitting reporter or commentator. Wasting all of our time with nonsense.

This is a video from Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

See, there are real issues out there. There are lives actually in the balance. But by all means, let's feel sorry for Hunter Biden whose actions include cheapening the service. He gets his dad to put him into a cushy guard spot that he didn't deserve and he can't even stop the drugs long enough so he ends up being kicked out in a matter of weeks. He sullied the military and it's amazing that no one's bothered to call him out for that. He wanted a title and a credit. He didn't want to earn it, the way his brother Beau did. So he got daddy to create a position for him and he was going to ride that credit as long as he could . . . but he couldn't put down the crack pipe.

All the opportunities in the world and he misused every one of them. I don't feel sympathy for him. I feel sympathy for the victims of Iraq.

Where's the drinking game for them, Katie? Where's the endless gas bagging over their plight? Where's your sympathy?

We'll again wind down with this from The Feminist Majority:

Join us for our virtual conference Fired Up Ready to Vote this Saturday!

Dear Common Ills,

We don’t have to tell you that feminists are fired up for the election this November and ready to vote for the future that we know is possible. Join the Feminist Majority and the National Organization for Women (NOW) for a free virtual conference on October 17th and November 7th on the power of the women’s vote and what is at stake during the first 100 days of the presidency.

REGISTER TODAY!

This exciting conference will bring together a host of feminist leaders, thinkers, speakers and activists as well as top political leaders to discuss the issues that matter most to feminists, collaborate and share ideas, and strategize for the future of the movement.

Workshops will include facing the most consequential election of our lifetime, the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted women, expanding LGBTQIA+ rights after the historic June Supreme Court ruling and more.

Our two engaging plenary sessions will feature legendary feminist activist Gloria Steinem, and many feminists already in Congress including Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), former Senator Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL) and newcomers Gina Ortiz-Jones who is running for the U.S. House in Texas and Jaime Harrison who is running for the U.S. Senate in South Carolina against Sen. Lindsey Graham.

You won’t want to miss this opportunity to engage with important feminist leaders and organizers who are working to protect the decades of progress made and are paving the way for even more feminist victories this November. Register now!

For equality,

Eleanor Smeal
President, Feminist Majority

Feminist Majority
1600 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22209
United States

The following sites updated:

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Holly Racist Marie Combs

That's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "A Couple Of Paramedics Just Standing Around Talking."

Charmed. What to say? I wanted to avoid the topic. I saw it first either Monday or Tuesday. A friend sent it to me at work.

So there was some sort of Zoom event or something for the original version of Charmed and Holly Marie Combs (Piper) and Rose McGowan (Paige) participated. And?

They piped off about the reboot. They insulted it. Rose admitted she hadn't seen it and it just seemed like she was being goofy and silly. Holly Marie did not come off that way to me.

Was that fair? I wasn't sure so I was avoiding it.

Sarah Jeffrey is one of the stars of the successful reboot (the upcoming season will be its third season) and she called out both actresses for the lack of sisterhood and for not supporting women of color.

Then Rose responded:

'Dear Sarah Jeffery, I honestly have no idea who you were til you tweeted. I have been too busy fighting monsters & fighting for a massive Cultural Reset to notice who's in the reboot. Absolutely nothing to do with race, that's quite a stretch you took. I'm beyond glad any WOC has a well paying job. Hell yes to that. I'm sure you are a great actress.

'My quibble (google it) is about execs & producers & @wb network trading on years of my work & name in such a cynical and obvious way - a money grab to cash in on the Charmed name. I do not care that they remade it, I have far bigger things I'm dealing with. I do not nor will I watch a show I disagree with on principle.

Rose, I love you to death, but that's b.s. Attacking the show is attacking the actresses. You can get all wordy now but all you were doing when you made the comments originally was going for a cheap laugh. Now you're worried and you're trying to back peddle. You should have just said, "Hey, I was an asshole. We can all be assholes sometimes. My apologies."

I would've accepted that. But now you've dug yourself in and you are on the wrong side of the fence.

Holly Marie Combs is always much worse because she's such an ass all the time. And two-faced. She went along with the firing of her friend Shannen, remember? Well here's what White Mama Tweeted:

"That's some bulls---. And a lot of it. Clearly," Combs wrote on Twitter. "People speaking, excuse me, typing, derogatory accusations of a person's character despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary because of a difference in opinions about a tv show is just plain wrong. And also personal gain honey."

She added in a follow-up tweet, "There’s more important things happening in the world. Carry on."

Holly Marie, kiss my Black ass.

No, there's nothing more important than fairness. And, Holly, I don't know what the f**k you think you did, White girl, but I know what you actually did: Didn't create roles for people of color. You and Alyssa both became producers of Charmed.

Explain to me again what roles you created for people of color? I know you didn't create any gay characters -- despite your show being set in San Francisco.

Holly, you have repeatedly attacked their show. That's a lot of White privilege wafting off you, bitch. And it's hurting your show -- not the reboot. America's watching. We're seeing how you beat up on these three young women of color. We're seeing how you're an aging hag who can't get work anymore so you trash young actresses.

We see your history. It's not one of fighting against racism and it's not one of creating jobs for people of color.

So stop fronting, bitch. No one believes you.

Rose, you need to own up to being an ass. That's not the end of the world. We're all assholes sometimes. But, Holly, you're flat out racist and your response only confirms that.

This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Wednesday, October 14, 2020. The media's fluffing of Joe Biden gets some media attention, militias remain an issue in Iraq, and much more.

This morning at THE NEW YORK POST, Emma-Jo MOrris and Gabrielle Fonrouge report:

Hunter Biden introduced his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, to a top executive at a Ukrainian energy firm less than a year before the elder Biden pressured government officials in Ukraine into firing a prosecutor who was investigating the company, according to e-mails obtained by The Post.

The never-before-revealed meeting is mentioned in a message of appreciation that Vadym Pozharskyi, an adviser to the board of Burisma, allegedly sent Hunter Biden on April 17, 2015, about a year after Hunter joined the Burisma board at a reported salary of up to $50,000 a month.

“Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together. It’s realty [sic] an honor and pleasure,” the e-mail reads.

An earlier e-mail from May 2014 also shows Pozharskyi, reportedly Burisma’s No. 3 exec, asking Hunter for “advice on how you could use your influence” on the company’s behalf.

The blockbuster correspondence — which flies in the face of Joe Biden’s claim that he’s “never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings” — is contained in a massive trove of data recovered from a laptop computer.

The computer was dropped off at a repair shop in Biden’s home state of Delaware in April 2019, according to the store’s owner.

Other material extracted from the computer includes a raunchy, 12-minute video that appears to show Hunter, who’s admitted struggling with addiction problems, smoking crack while engaged in a sex act with an unidentified woman, as well as numerous other sexually explicit images.

Miranda Devine (NEW YORK POST) weighs in:

Joe Biden repeatedly has denied knowing anything about son Hunter’s lucrative work on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

“Hunter Biden is a private citizen and a lawyer. The former vice president does not endorse any particular company and has no involvement with this company,” a spokeswoman for Joe Biden said in a December 2015 statement to The New York Times.

Biden has stonewalled on the topic ever since.

“I’ve never discussed my business or their business, my sons’ or daughter’s. And I’ve never discussed them because they know where I have to do my job and that’s it, and they have to make their own judgments,” he told the “CBS Evening News” last October.

And yet, an e-mail obtained by The Post shows a senior Burisma executive thanking Hunter for the opportunity to meet Joe Biden just 12 months after Hunter joined the Burisma board at a reported salary of up to $50,000 a month.

The claims come as Mike Allen and Hans Nichols (AXIOS) observe the easy ride that Joe Biden has gotten from the press:

Since Aug. 31, Biden has answered less than half as many questions from the press as Trump — 365 compared with 753 — according to a tally by the Trump campaign, which the Biden campaign didn't dispute.

In that time, Biden has done approximately 35 local TV interviews, three national interviews and two town halls.
Biden went almost three months without taking questions from beat reporters.
Biden aides say one reason there's less scrutiny of Biden in the general election is that he already was examined thoroughly in the primary election and over decades in public life.
Andrew Bates, a Biden spokesperson, said: "Who's ‘scrutinizing’ Trump more, Maria Bartiromo or Sean Hannity?"

Biden has yet to be pinned down on an array of legitimate questions, including:

His blunt view of adding new justices to the Supreme Court, which will be a priority for progressives if Judy Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed. Biden, who had criticized the idea in the past, finally said he's "not a fan of court packing."
Biden also has mostly gotten off easy on Medicare for All, police funding, Pentagon spending, fracking, reparations for African Americans, the Green New Deal and his support for the 1994 crime bill.
Per Trump campaign spokesperson Andrew Clark: "Biden has been the least-scrutinized presidential candidate in modern history at great disservice to the voters, but the press still has time to rectify that.”

Click here to listen to the topic discussed in an AXIOS podcast. Scott Jennings (LOUISVILLE COURIER JOURNAL) also marvels over the lack of real media scrutiny of Joe, "Biden changes his stripes more than a chameleon in a Skittles factory. And he’s doing it again by claiming the mantle of unity in this election. Today’s Biden is a made-for-media candidacy untested by interactions with his base." On court packing, Jonathan Turley points out, "A recent Rasmussen poll found that 55 percent of Americans opposed any court packing plan and only 27 percent was in favor of the idea." John Kass (CHICAGO TRIBUNE) reminds:

Biden once thought court-packing would undermine the court’s independence and called it “boneheaded” years ago.

But he’s been dodging the court-packing issue on the campaign trail for weeks.

Just the other day, a reporter in Las Vegas pressed Biden, asking: “Don’t the voters deserve to know where you stand?”

“No, they don’t deserve,” Biden said. “I’m not going to play (Donald Trump’s) game.”

Mike Davis (NEWSWEEK) offers:

Another day, another crazy way Joe Biden tries to get out of answering a simple question.

When asked by reporters on October 10 whether, if elected, he would seek to create additional Supreme Court seats, a radical plan known as "court packing," the former vice president replied that "[i]t's not constitutional what they're doing." This baffling response apparently refers to President Trump and Senate Republicans, who are working to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

This clip spread quickly, and it is easy to see why. Many Democrats have condemned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham's plan to confirm Judge Barrett before the election, using adjectives like "wrong," "hypocritical," "shameful" and "stupid." While these comments have no basis regarding a confirmation timeframe comparable to those of many justices who came before her, "unconstitutional" carries far more serious implications. Biden must explain what he meant by this allegation.

On this issue, Jonathan Turley Tweeted the following last week:

Joe Biden just declared “You'll know my opinion on court packing when the election is over.” So the Democratic presidential candidate is telling the voters that he will not tell them if he plans to destroy a core institution in our constitutional system...

...this is an idea put forward by the Democrats, including Biden's own running mate, and a major issue in this election. The test of principle is when it is neither popular nor convenient...

...this is why James Freeman Clarke said that "a politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation." Which is Biden thinking about in refusing to tell the voters whether he will pack the Supreme Court?

Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi continues to embarrass herself and look out of touch to everyone. She scolded Jake Tapper during an interview and everyone largely looked the other way. So now, instead of answering questions, she thinks it's acceptable to act like an ass. Well, maybe not act. Here she is with Wolf Blitzer.

Jimmy Dore addresses Nancy's nonsense in the commentary below.

She can't answer the question. She just distracts and scolds. She has nothing to offer and has accomplished nothing in her time of leadership. Her claim to represent her constituents is a joke. I'm one of them. We supported marriage equality long before Nancy finally came around. She doesn't represent us. We were opposed to the Iraq War before it started. She promised in the 2006 elections to win the Iraq War if the American people gave the Democratic Party control of just one house of Congress. We gave them control of both houses. The Iraq War continues to this day.

Hammam Latif (ARAB WEEKLY) notes:

The relationship between the controversial Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the activists supporting the popular protest movement in Iraq has moved towards increased tension, after Sadr attempted to put the brakes on the momentum of the popular demonstrations by placing a number of conditions on the street movement, described as arbitrary.

Sadr had hesitated a lot before siding with the protest movement that began in October 2019. Activists said that the Sadrists, the moniker given to Sadr’s followers, did not join in the protests until they realised that they were overwhelming; so they jumped on the wagon of the protests for fear to see their place on the street disappear.

During the months-long series of demonstrations, the relationship between the protesters and the popular current affiliated with al-Sadr was erratic at best. The two parties converged repeatedly at some points but also diverted repeatedly at some others. This relationship, however, witnessed a clear turning point when the United States killed the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Qassem Soleimani, and the field commander of the Popular Mobilisation Forces, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a raid near Baghdad airport in early 2020.

While the protesters welcomed the US action and saw in it an opportunity to reduce Tehran’s dominance of political, security and economic decisions in Iraq, Sadr and his followers sided with Iran and participated in a partisan demonstration demanding the condemnation of the United States, before the representatives of the Shia cleric in the Iraqi parliament participated in drafting a resolution compelling the government to remove US troops out of the country.

The protests continue. Moqtada lost all standing long ago. He turned on the protesters then retracted the turn, then spun around again. After that? He just became a sad joke. He didn't want men and women protesting together. He issued an order. His order was ignored. It was mocked. Protesters -- men and women -- carried signs mocking him.

Moqtada has his cult. But that's all he has right now. He had a great deal of power; however, he lost it and became a joke. He might regain it, he might not. But no one's really listening to him. Even his recent call to disband all militias got little attention from the press.

On the issue of the militias, MIDDLE EAST MONITOR notes:

Washington called on Iraqi factions to surrender their weapons to the government in Baghdad, following the Hezbollah Brigade’s announcement that it would suspend attacks on US forces in the country.

The US Department of State told Al Jazeera that America urged all armed parties in Iraq to act responsibly and surrender their weapons to the government, adding that the actions of “Iraqi militias” jeopardises the government’s attempts to attract international investment.

It added that the United States and its partners are focusing on helping Iraq face the ongoing economic crisis, security instability and the coronavirus pandemic.

Following successive missile attacks on the Green Zone, seat of US embassy’s headquarters, and military bases accommodating US and International Coalition troops, the US last month threatened to close its embassy, which many Iraqi observers considered as a prelude to launching air strikes on the factions.

We'll wind down with this from The Feminist Majority:

Join us for our virtual conference Fired Up Ready to Vote this Saturday!

Dear Common Ills,

REGISTER TODAY!

For equality,

Eleanor Smeal
President, Feminist Majority

Feminist Majority
1600 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22209
United States

The following sites updated:

Howie

Four comics Sunday? That's Isaiah THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Howie speaks." He did four. I think that was my favorite since I am a Green Party member and since I am voting for Howie Hawkins.

Here's the latest news release from Howie's campaign:

For Further Information:
Virginia Rodino, Press Secretary, virginia@howiehawkins.us
Robert Smith, Deputy Press Secretary, robert@howiehawkins.us

Hawkins demands equal time on Rush Limbaugh after Trump’s “Radio Rally”

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for president, is demanding equal time on the The Rush Limbaugh Show after Limbaugh hosted a 2-hour “radio rally” for Trump on Friday.

In a letter to Limbaugh, Hawkins invoked the equal time rule of the Communications Act of 1934 to ask Limbaugh to contact him to arrange a date and programming format for equal time for Hawkins.

“Limbaugh’s audience deserves to understand that it is me, not Biden, who is the democratic socialist in this race. It is me, not Biden, who supports Medicare for All and a Green New Deal,” Hawkins said. Hawkins was the first US candidate in 2010 to campaign for a Green New Deal, which became the signature policy of the Green Party.

“Limbaugh’s listeners also deserve to hear my responses to Trump’s claims about Covid-19, so-called fake news, mail-in ballots, Black Lives Matter, immigration, fracking, and the economy,” said Hawkins who is on 30 state ballots representing 73% of American voters and 381 electoral votes. 270 electoral votes are needed to win the presidency.

Including the other states where he is an official write-in candidate, 96% of Americans representing 514 of a possible 538 electoral voters will be able to vote for the Green presidential ticket. Angela Walker, a veteran labor and racial justice activist in Florence, South Carolina, is the Green candidate for vice president.

Hawkins said he wants equal time to speak to Limbaugh listeners because many live in media markets where the only news/talk commercial radio station on the dial features arch-conservative programming 24 hours a day, as is the case in Hawkins’ home town of Syracuse, New York.

The equal time rule is not the same as the fairness doctrine, a former policy of the Federal Communications Commissions that it revoked in 1987. The fairness doctrine had required federally licensed broadcasters to present balanced points of view on controversial matters of public importance.

Hawkins’ letter to Limbaugh

Dear Mr. Limbaugh:

I am the Green Party candidate to be President of the United States. I am hereby invoking my right to equal time on your program under 47 U.S.C. 315 (a) to match the “radio rally” you conducted Friday, October 9, 2020, with Republican Party candidate Donald Trump to advance his 2020 president ambitions. Please contact me to arrange a date and programming format for your compliance with section 315 (a).

Sincerely,

Howie Hawkins

This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, October 13, 2020. The children of Iraq continue to suffer but, don't worry, the US is sending approximately $2 million to Iraq to help -- help with animals, Joe Biden questions the memories of the American people during the same week where he again declares that he's currently running for the US Senate and much more.

Saturday on the latest installment of THE KATIE HALPER SAUSAGE FEST, Katie was joined by three men. Our interest here is Chris Hedges (but good to see you washed your hair, Katie, if I'd known calling you out publicly was all it took, I would have done so long, long ago).

Chris explains that he will not be voting for Joe Biden. Was he not allowed to say that he was voting for Howie Hawkins? I don't know. This seems to be a pattern with Katie Halper interviews.

I believe we're the only ones -- here and with Ava at THIRD -- who commented on the nonsense of her USEFUL IDIOTS podcast in August with Eugene Puryear who revealed he wouldn't vote for Joe Biden. The logical follow up? Who will you vote for? It wasn't pursued.

That was embarrassing. Eugene wasn't just a voter. In 2008, Joe Biden was Barack's running mate. What Katie wouldn't tell you was that in 2008, Eugene was Gloria La Riva's running mate. That's right, he ran against Biden in the 2008 presidential election. Kind of an important detail as he weighs in on Biden. Kind of an important detail to establish who he is and where he is coming from. He's not just a journalist, he's an activist and he's a politician. Running to be vice president of the United States? That makes you a politician.

Chris has endorsed Howie Hawkins. That happened a long time ago. In fact, it was long enough ago that Dario Hunter -- failed Green Party presidential candidate -- was able to go on Cindy Sheehan's podcast and trash Chris and Howie.

While I appreciate Chris' critique of "the boutique left or boutique activism," he's for Howie Hawkins for a reason. So why won't Katie let him discuss that? And why does Katie have on various people but bury their connections to third parties? (Eugene is a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.) Is she censoring for a reason?

Were it a one time thing, we could look the other way.

But this has become a pattern with Katie.

Speaking of patterns, last month, Amy Goodman finally discovered Howie Hawkins. She's ignored the Green Party presidential nominee. Ms. Go Where The Silences Are has ignored the party. Ava and I warned you in 2008 that she was tossing out token crumbs to the Green Party. We stated that the Green Party needed to start placing demands on her and calling her out.

They didn't.

The result?

She's done nothing to cover the party. She hasn't had Howie on. She hasn't done one of her mock debates where she invites the candidates for president who aren't Democrat or Republican on the show to respond.

She's been paid very well. PACIFICA has gone into debt paying her millions for a program that they don't even own after paying all that money.

She's a con artist on the grift and you should have called her out long, long ago.

So she and Juan (shame on you, Juan) weighed in with a guest to insist that Howie's ballot access problems were his own. Remember that, American activists. Ballot access? Not a systematic problem, just Howie's personal problem.

Why is Jimmy Dore the only one with a show who does not have a domestic violence relationship with the truth?

He's not beating up the truth, he's not manipulating it. He's doing his best to tell the truth and get it out there.

Let's note this Jimmy Dore video too.

He's covering the Gallup poll that found voters feel they are better off now than they were in 2012 and 2004. Emily Jacobs (NEW YORK POST) notes:

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden questioned the memory of voters who felt they were better off economically under President Trump than under former President Obama — saying that those individuals “probably shouldn’t” support him.

Speaking during an interview with local station WKRC in Cincinnati Monday, the 2020 Democrat made the remarks after being asked about a recently released Gallup poll which found that 56 percent of voters felt that their financial situation improved under President Trump’s administration.

Biden was asked why those 56 percent of voters, who liked President Trump for his economic policies, should instead vote Democrat.

“Well if they think that, they probably shouldn’t,” the former vice president quipped before going on to incorrectly restate the poll’s findings while asking the news anchor a question.

“They think — 54 percent of the American people believe they’re better off economically today than they were under our administration? Well, their memory is not very good, quite frankly,” Biden continued in his rebuke.

Their memory is not very good? This from the man who, on a public stage, confused his sister and his wife?

Here's REUTERS from February of this year covering Joe's declaration that he's running for the US Senate.

That's not a one time mistake. Harriet Alexander (DAILY MAIL) reports this week:

Donald Trump on Monday night mocked his Democrat rival Joe Biden for stating he was 'running for Senate' - using the momentary lapse as more evidence of his claim that Biden is unfit for office.

Trump, 74, has made the age and frequent gaffes of Biden, 77, a recurrent line of attack.

On Monday, campaigning in Toledo, Ohio, Biden provided the president with yet more fodder. Biden addressed United Auto Workers who represent a local General Motors powertrain plant.

Donald Trump's election campaign has a clip with that line already up online.

And Joe wants to question the memories of others?

Hmm. I want the press to question Joe. Specifically, to ask him why he want from DOMA supporter to gay rights activist? It wasn't episodes of WILL & GRACE. It was the realization and admission of a family member. Joe sure loves to talk about his family -- especially the ones who are dead. But somehow this never comes out -- comes out. Ask Joe about it, there's a story that which has not been publicly told. For now.

Speaking of Joe's family, this morning at POLITICO, Ben Schreckinger reports:

At the same time that Joe Biden’s son-in-law, Howard Krein, has been advising Biden’s campaign on its coronavirus response, Krein’s venture capital business has been running a special initiative to invest in health care startups that offer solutions to the pandemic.

In March, as Covid-19 began spreading in the United States, the investment firm, StartUp Health, unveiled a new coronavirus initiative soliciting pitches from entrepreneurs with products that addressed the outbreak.

The next month, reports in Bloomberg and the New York Times listed Krein among those participating in daily calls to brief Biden on health policy during the pandemic, while StartUp Health announced its intention to invest $1 million across 10 startups with coronavirus applications within 30 days.“StartUp Health is putting the full support of its platform and network behind building a post-Covid world that uses technology and entrepreneurial ingenuity to improve health outcomes,” the firm said at the time.

Krein simultaneously advising the campaign and venturing into Covid investing could pose conflict-of-interest concerns for a Biden administration or simply create the awkward appearance of Krein profiting off his father-in-law’s policies. Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, the federal government has directed tens of billions of dollars in coronavirus medical spending in areas like testing and vaccine research to private firms. It is poised to spend billions more next year and possibly beyond.

The potential conflicts are not limited to the coronavirus for Krein, 53, a Philadelphia-based head-and-neck surgeon who got into venture investing not long after he began dating Biden’s daughter, Ashley, in 2010.

Since StartUp Health’s 2011 launch, when Krein came on as its chief medical officer, it has invested in more than 300 health care businesses, according to its website, which prominently features the term “moonshot” to describe its investment goals — language that echoes that of Joe Biden’s own signature Cancer Moonshot initiative. In its early years, the firm enjoyed close ties to the Obama administration and described Krein as a White House adviser.

The corruption just wafts off the Biden family. On the coronavirus, XINHUA reports:

The Iraqi Health Ministry reported on Monday 3,107 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the nationwide infections to 405,437.

The new cases included 1,268 in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 291 in Erbil, and 246 in Duhok, while the other cases were detected in the other provinces, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also reported 60 more deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 9,912 in the country.

This takes place, this pandemic and its rising tolls, as children continue to suffer in Iraq. Mina Aldroubi (THE NATIONAL) reports:

Iraq’s most vulnerable children are facing challenges with remote education that are widening the country's learning gaps, teachers in displacement camps told The National.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic this year, thousands of schools have shut down, leaving more than 10 million children aged 6 to 17 without education, a study by the Norwegian Refugee Council shows.

The study of more than 6,000 children found that almost 83 per cent of children in camps across the country did not receive any type of education in April.

That spurred the charity to warn that an entire generation could be chronically uneducated as a result of the crisis.

“The outbreak of the pandemic had a huge impact on Iraq’s education sector," Tais Mejbel, a teacher from Hamman Al Alil camp in southern Mosul, told The National.

"The majority of students living in displaced camps have had little access to education since March."

Mr Mejbel, who teaches in a state school inside the camp, said it was overwhelmed with pupils and understaffed, and has now begun to teach over the internet.

But don't fret America, your tax dollars are en route to Iraq. 2.2 million dollars in fact. That's how much the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency has just donated "to strengthen veterinary services in targeted provinces in Iraq.'' Let the kids suffer, apparently.

The United Nations noted the bleak realities for Iraqi children earlier this week:

According to the GBV Information Management System's data of the first two quarters of 2020, 23 per cent of the incidents of violence reported to the service providers were among children and adolescents, of which 6 per cent were aged between 0 and 11 years, and 17 per cent were aged between 12 and 17 years old.

Interviews conducted by the United Nations with families living in displacement camps across Nineveh governorate, affirm that child marriage remains a frequent practice and a coping mechanism for families living in poverty to reduce the financial strain.

Education and learning are some of the best ways to empower girls and protect them against violence, exploitation and social exclusion by providing them with the opportunity to build a better life for themselves, their families and their communities. To make education and learning accessible and empowering for girls, it needs to be safe and gender sensitive.

Having zero tolerance to bullying, cyberstalking, sexting and harassment should be a priority for all as part of the national COVID-19 efforts to reimagine school systems and learning, we must address violence against girls of all ages in and around classrooms and on digital learning platforms. Because girls have higher risk than boys to experience violence, verbal and sexual abuse, a multi-sectoral approach is needed to address all risk factors and cases. Youth-friendly, accessible and quality education and learning, health and social services are essential for girls' empowerment and their development.

Ending gender-based violence is not a far-fetched dream; this is a real possibility. All that is needed is for girls to have access to formal education, , skilled, civically engaged, healthy, supported, and protected at home, in institutions and at the community. The alternative is devastating with a lasting negative and damaging impact to the health, education and well-being of Iraqi girls.

The following sites updated: