I haven't griped about my Subway in awhile but I have to now because Karen showed up. Ahead of me in line.
Background, the Subway I go to is in a Wal-Mart. In my city, we've got a number of Wal-Marts and most have a McDonalds in them but this one by me has a Subway.
I haven't been there in about three or four months. I use the delivery option for Wal-Mart. So we get our groceries that way -- we get unlimited delivery because I opted for that monthly plan.
Here's what I hate about the monthly plan -- though I can get towels and pillows and sheets (and have), I don't have an option to order groceries and grab my meds from the pharmacy for delivery.
So that's why I was at Wal-Mart this evening -- to pick up my meds.
And since I hadn't been there in a while and since my girlfriend texted "Get salad!!!", I was looking around instead of going straight to the pharmacy. Checked out the vinyl, checked out the books (they need to restock -- apparently people are buying lots of books during the pandemic -- all of the non-fiction books were sold out except for 3 copies of Michelle Obama's book) . . .
Finally make it to the pharmacy and want to pay for everything there but I had bananas -- I love bananas and, if I eat a few a week, I don't get leg cramps. There's no scale for them to weigh the bananas in the pharmacy. So I said I'd pay for everything at the front -- and did. And used the lotto machine to buy some tickets. Then, I'm moving slowly to keep six feet between me and the woman ahead of me, I look over to my right and there's Subway.
I know I have several coupons on my phone.
I move over to Subway, staying six feet away from the woman in front of me. She keeps telling people "Six feet!" There's a couple she's standing next and she wants them six feet away. Why doesn't Karen just move?
She's a yellow blond but she needs to touch up her dark roots. She's wearing a t-shirt with Joe Biden's face on it and this slogan: Vote Biden, Vote for Life.
I have no idea what that means. First time I saw that t-shirt. I think it's saying that Donald Trump's policies will kill us all so save your life by voting for Joe. I don't know. But I do know she's flirting with the man behind the counter and that was obvious long before she started pushing her boobs up with her hands repeatedly while asking him if they were "touchable"?
While all this is going on, I notice she's not wearing a mask.
At one point, Karen walks up to me and grabs the end of my basket. I am too close, Karen insists. No, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, the tape on the floor is the first indication.
I tell her to stop touching my cart and ask why she isn't wearing a mask. She has a meltdown and starts cussing me out. I say, "Karen, I'm getting my phone out and recording this." I reach for my phone in my purse and she runs off still shrieking and cursing.
This isn't the end of the story. It's finally my turn. Now Wal-Mart requires masks.
But the man behind the counter bossing the young woman around (both White) isn't doing his job and I point that out. Karen wore no mask.
"Oh, they're supposed to check at the entrances," he says.
Excuse me, I say, pointing to the bulletin board that you pass to get in line to order. It says "Mask required. No mask, no service."
So why didn't he send her packing?
"It's not my job to make people wear a mask."
Actually, it is. You're the on duty manager and your policy is posted. You should have never started making that sandwich (that she ran out on) because she didn't have a mask. "No mask, no service." That's the posted policy and you're the manager but you chose to flirt with Karen who flirted back and, no, she' not really turned on by your 280 pound frame on a 30+ year old man who's only five feet and three inches.
But she flirted with him and that's why he never raised the mask issue.
He didn't do his job.
I told him, "I am reporting this."
He muttered something under his voice that included "Black bitch." I said, loudly, there were others in the store, "Do you want to repeat that line about me being a 'Black bitch'?" He ran to the back of the store.
The young woman who made my sandwiches was very nice and very professional. I don't usually tip at Subway but I made a point of giving her a 15% tip.
I'm done and taking my buggy to my car where I see an elderly woman (I would guess late 80s) scream because a car went barreling up and did not stop for the crosswalk. It almost hit her. We're talking three to four inches. She was pissed -- and I don't blame her.
As the car that almost hit her threw it into reverse and began to peel out of the parking lot, I noticed the driver wasn't wearing a mask and was the Karen from earlier in Subway.
Thursday, July 16, 2020. The media and the ones who refuse to hold them accountable are the clear danger to democracy.
Starting with US politics, former US House Rep and 2008 Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney Tweets:
So, let me get this straight: I'm clean as a whistle, do my job, represent my constituents, and get kicked out of Congress; my colleague, Joe Biden, is corrupt as heck, brags about it, and gets promoted to the White House! What's wrong with that picture??
n 2005, Joe
Biden’s brother bought an acre of land with excellent ocean views on a
remote island in the Caribbean for $150,000. He divided it into three
parcels, and the next year a lobbyist close to the Delaware senator
bought one of the parcels for what had been the cost of the entire
property. Later, the lobbyist gave Biden’s brother a mortgage loan on
the remaining parcels.
The Virgin Islands land deal, reported here for the first time, furthers a pattern
in which members of the Biden family have engaged in financial dealings
with people with an interest in influencing the former vice president.
In
this case, a Biden staffer left the Senate in the early ’90s to become a
lobbyist. Both before and after the land transaction, his clients
benefited from Biden’s support and appropriations requests. A firm the
lobbyist co-founded — which features a testimonial from Biden praising
his “emotional investment” in his work on its website — specializes in
federal contracts for niche law enforcement and national security
programs for which Biden long advocated.
After the land deal, Joe Biden
vacationed elsewhere on the tiny island, which once protected a nearby
submarine base before it became a tropical getaway, on at least three
occasions.
A Biden-Trump Election Is a Loss for Our Democracy https://go.shr.lc/33zrFhF
Corporations and billionaires dominate our political economy through a system of legalized corruption—They purchase the allegiance of politicians and ensure legislation is supported by pro-corporate judges
A Biden-Trump Election is a Win-Win for Wall Street
On the Republican side, the plutocrats are comfortable with Trump.
The problem was the Democratic side of the ledger. The plutocrats did
not like Warren, but they hated Sanders. Their goal was to defeat
Sanders at any cost and to select a Democratic candidate on which they
could depend. Buttigieg rose and then fell. Bloomberg spent a lot of money, rose and then fell. Biden was really their last chance. A Biden-Trump election was the plutocrats’ dream scenario. Biden Is A Product and Supporter of the Plutocracy.
Biden has been and continues to be a willing participant in the system
of legalized corruption. He has always relied on donations from Wall
Street and the billionaire donor class and he has returned the favor by
supporting policies that aide Wall Street to the detriment of Main
Street. (See this article for a detailed analysis of Biden and his relationship to Wall Street and billionaires).
Biden Relies on Wall Street and Billionaires. Wall Street has always supported Biden. According to the Center for Responsive Politics
the entire finance capital sector (Finance, Insurance and Real Estate)
has been the largest business sector contributor to Biden’s various
senatorial and his 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns. Between
1990-2007, this sector invested $6.87 million in Biden. And that support
has continued for his 2020 presidential campaign. The finance capital
sector’s investment in Biden is just behind its investment in Trump and
much greater than its investment in any other Democratic candidate. In
terms of small donors, Biden has raised $25.3 million or 37% of total
funding from small donors – much less than Sanders.
According to the Center on Responsive Politics,
the Financial Sector as a whole (Finance, Insurance and Real Estate)
has invested $47.2 million in the 2020 presidential election so far. Of
this total, $10.3 million or 22% has gone to Trump; $10.1 million or 21%
has gone to Biden and just $2.8 million or 6% has gone to Sanders. And
it is clear that Biden is due for a massive increase in funding
following Super Tuesday. These figures are just the tip of the
proverbial iceberg and will soon explode; after all, the Financial
Sector invested $338 million in the 2016 presidential election. Biden also relies on billionaires. According to an updated Forbes article
as of January 2020, sixty-six billionaires have given to Biden’s
campaign. Most of these billionaires are from the financial capital
sector. Also, expect Biden to pick up the backing of the 94 billionaires
who previously supported Buttigieg and Klobuchar – the two candidates
who suspended their campaigns and endorsed Biden immediately before
Super Tuesday. In addition, there is a Super Pac that supports Biden
called “Unite the Country.” Super PACs can legally spend unlimited
amounts of money and can buy ads to support or oppose particular
candidates. They are not supposed to be controlled by or tied directly
to campaigns. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Unite the
Country spent $8.9 million as of March 5, 2020. The
finance/insurance/real estate sector accounted for $5 million or 56% of
the total raised by this PAC. All these figures will increase
substantially in the near future
While Biden speaks of change – He literally promised Wall Street
and billionaire donors that “nothing will fundamentally change… if I
win this nomination, I won’t let you down. I promise you.” In his first campaign speech
delivered to a largely union crowd in Pittsburgh, Biden stated “Let me
say this simply and clearly, and I mean this: The country wasn’t built
by Wall Street bankers, CEOs and hedge fund managers. It was built by
you. It was built by the great American middle class.” In an interview,
Biden stated, “It’s high time we helped Main Street.” His website is
full of plans to increase taxes on the wealthy, enhance Social Security,
expand government social services and get tough on Wall Street.
All these statements and plans sound very progressive. But based on
past policies and current statements, it is apparent that Wall Street
does not have to worry much about Biden actually delivering on his
anti-Wall Street rhetoric. As detailed in a previous article,
Biden has supported and often led the fight for legislation that
further consolidated the financial industry, eliminated laws that had
curbed Wall Street’s penchant for excessive speculation, and increased
protections for banks while eroding protections for consumers. And he
supported trade deals that benefitted Wall Street and other big
corporations while eliminating 4 million U.S. jobs primarily held by
union manufacturing workers. Conversely, he is culpable for the failure
to pass legislation that would have helped strengthen unions and protect
the rights of consumers. And Biden even admitted all of this when he gave a wink and a nod to
Wall Street and the billionaires at an elite fundraiser in NY City last
year. Biden stated
“The truth of the matter is, you all, you all know, you all know in
your gut what has to be done. We can disagree in the margins, but the
truth of the matter is it’s all within our wheelhouse and nobody has to
be punished. No one’s standard of living will change, nothing would
fundamentally change…I need you very badly. I hope if I win this
nomination, I won’t let you down. I promise you.”
I went to their embarrassing website tonight. It was hate Trump -- story after story.
When you've got nothing to offer, nothing to inspire, all you can sell is 'hate the enemy.'
They don't hold Joe Biden accountable, they don't try to push him to the
left. They just offer story after story attacking Donald Trump -- for
what he said, for what he didn't say, for what his daughter did, for
what some family member says . . .
They're like an obsessed ex. It's frightening.
They should be leading us to a better world, focusing on our needs,
preparing us for what to fight for should Joe Biden win and giving us
the strength to press on should we end up with another term of Donald
but instead they just do the work of the Democratic Party -- whore.
They're a joke.
She's
exactly right. And it's true of BUZZFLASH as well. They don't exist
for any real reason except to promote whatever the leaders in the
Democratic Party wants. They're too scared to be independent, they're
too scared to leave the echo chamber. Yet they present themselves as
brave new media.
How 'independent' is independent media?
Years
ago, Ava and I noted that DEMOCRACY NOW! expanded to two hours a day
for a week -- one week to cover the Democratic Party's convention and
one week to cover the Republican Party's convention. Ten hours of
coverage a week for one and then ten hours of coverage for another. And
what did DEMOCRACY NOW! do for the Green Party convention that year?
A headline.
A single headline was enough to cover the Green Party national convention.
And
we noted then, shame on the members of the Green Party who don't call
Amy Goodman out, who don't pressure her to give real coverage, equal
coverage to their party.
Well, that was many years ago. And things have only gotten worse.
And Amy Goodman's supposed to be the queen of independent media? She's more like the matron in the toilet.
Again,
Greens have allowed this to happen. Shame on you. You need to be
objecting. We've noted Howie's video this week but let's note it one
more time.
Howie's objecting to the corporate media. Why can't his supporters object to what's supposed to be independent media?
The
corporate media has largely ignored the Green Party's convention as
well. We noted that on Saturday night and it's still true. (POLITICO
would be the main exception.)
When you let
so-called independent media get away with this nonsense, then don't
complain when corporate media cuts back on their coverage as well.
Shame
on you all. Get off your ass, if you're a Green or anyone who believes
in fair journalism, and start calling out the likes of Amy Goodman.
When
Goodman shuts out the Green Party convention, she doesn't just shut out
their candidates, she also shuts out their ideas. This year, some
Democrats are promoting the Green New Deal. Howie was promoting a
version of it back in 2010.
Ten years later, some Democrats in office are supporting it.
Imagine
how much larger that number would be if the media had been addressing
the deal when the Green Party was first proposing it.
Independent
media could play a significant role in bettering our world but it
instead whores for the Democratic Party. Instead of addressing what's
needed or what we could have, they throw all their resources into
demonizing whichever Republican is the target.
Joe Biden is a center-right, War Hawk corporatist. And that's the challenger to Donald Trump? That's the difference?
Only in a landscape where the media has abdicated their role.
We
need a better world but we also need a better media. I seriously
wonder if there's a chance for this world. How do we survive climate
change and these never-ending wars (which do impact climate change,
let's stop pretending all these bombings have no effect on our ecozone)
when the most 'radical' action we can imagine is voting for a used up
hack like Joe Biden?
Ajamu Baraka, the Green Party's 2016 vice presidential candidate, Tweeted the following:
The democrats are doing all they can to prevent agreement that would end the 19 year Afghanistan war. What is the difference on issue of war & peace between Democrats & Trump? Answer: democrats might be worst. Make peace a campaign issue. Support Black Alliance for Peace.
The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) has determined climate change and the interlocking issues of war, militarism, and the now-normalized and still illegal U.S. interventionism pose the greatest threats to humanity.
That is why we have launched a campaign demanding all 2020 candidates for local, state and federal offices in the United States take a position on U.S. interventionism (read our official statement).
In 2019, the Trump administration announced “Operation Relentless Pursuit,” a program that claims to support local "crime fighting" efforts by injecting federal funding for a “surge” of new hires and equipment, as well as coordination of federal agents at the local level.
Of the seven targeted U.S. cities, four are predominantly African:
Baltimore (62.8% African)
Cleveland (50.41% African)
Detroit (79.12% African)
Memphis (63.9% African)
The Nixon-era "War on Drugs” actually was a war on Africans, since it was an aspect of the state's counter-insurgency effort against the Black Liberation Movement. Trump's Operation Relentless Pursuit is an initiative in the same vein, being the latest version of the ongoing war against the African working class.
Operation Relentless Pursuit is the logical extension of the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1033 program, which is primarily responsible for transferring more than $4 billion in military-grade equipment to local police forces over a 15-year span. Along with “Deadly Exchange”—whereby Israeli Defense Forces train local U.S. police executives—these three programs represent the core elements of the U.S. national security state's repressive strategy to contain the resistance of oppressed communities and peoples in the United States.
Jimmy Dore addressed the issue of Democrats working with Republicans to destroy peace.
Jimmy
Dore: Hey, what did Congressional Democrats do this week? Well, they
prevented Trump from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. What did
Congressional Democrats do last week? They increased Trump's military
spending. What gets bipartisan support in Washington, DC? Endless war.
In August 2018, in the course of
researching a book on the lead-up to the Iraq war, I went to see Powell
at the office in Alexandria, Va., that he has maintained since leaving
the Bush administration in early 2005. Powell, who is now 83, is as
proud and blunt-speaking as he was during his career in public service.
Over the course of our two hourlong conversations, he made clear that he
was all too aware of the lonely turf he was destined to occupy in
history.
It was not the turf that
anyone, least of all Powell himself, would have imagined for him in
2001. He entered the Bush administration as a four-star general of
immense popularity and political influence. He left it four years later,
discarded by Bush in favor of a more like-minded chief diplomat,
Condoleezza Rice. He mournfully predicted to others that his obituary’s
first paragraph would include his authorship of the U.N. speech.
Draper,
it's hard for me to understand everything you're trying to say when
you're speaking at the same time you're juggling Colin's balls in your
mouth.
Colin lied. To the UN, to the world.
It's a little late for you to start pretending otherwise and no one
should believe your lies about Colin being misled. He knew what he was
doing. He exploded at one point that he wasn't going to say that "s**t"
because he knew it was a lie.
I'm
so sick of this garbage and this media environment -- big and small --
that allows the lies not just to be told once but to be retold over and
over.
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