Yeah that last paragraph you highlighted is wild by western standards. That’s what needs to be done though!

I didn’t say they were all good hedge funds.

So you what makes you not a campist?

Most higher ed institutions are just hedge funds at the end of the day.

Why can’t you answer that question? Is it because you don’t know?

Hmm?

Sorry about your friend. I do not have empathy for fascists, and I won’t be asking anyone to have empathy for fascists in this space. The harm the Kirks are still causing far out weighs whatever grief his widow is experiencing.

All over the world, wherever there are capitalists, freedom of the press means freedom to buy up newspapers, to buy writers, to bribe, buy and fake “public opinion” for the benefit of the bourgeoisie.

V. I. Lenin

This has been a great early Christmas gift!

Thanks comrade! ❤️

Did we forget that he signed off on having the files released (yes, I know that likely won’t happen; you can stop typing)? Venezuela has been on the hit list of the US Empire since the Bolivarian Revolution. Liberal news never draws the connection between Venezuela’s shrinking GDP and the timing of US sanctions, starting in 2014 under Obama.

• 2014-2015 (Obama Admin): Initial targeted sanctions on individuals involved in human rights abuses and corruption.
• August 2017 (Trump Admin): E.O. 13808 prohibited U.S. entities from dealing in new Venezuelan - debt, limiting financial access.
• May 2018 (Trump Admin): E.O. 13835 expanded restrictions on specific transactions with the Venezuelan government.
• January 2019 (Trump Admin): E.O. 13857 targeted Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, and froze government assets.
• August 2019 (Trump Admin): E.O. 13884 blocked all property of the Venezuelan government.
• Oct 2023 (Biden Admin): General License 44 temporarily eased oil/gold sanctions after the Barbados Agreement for free elections.
• April 2024 (Biden Admin): Sanctions reimposed as Maduro failed to meet election fairness terms (e.g., banning María Corina Machado).
• March 2025 (Biden Admin): New order proposed 25% tariffs on countries importing Venezuelan oil.
• Late 2025 (Trump Admin): Escalated military presence in the Caribbean; FAA warnings about Venezuelan airspace

So this doesn’t appear to be some new development as a distraction from the Epstein files. This has been building for some time now.

Jesus christ…

The ANTIFA are the friends we made along the way.

The justification for this sizure is suspect at best, and naturally, the NY Crimes is out here doing their part to manufacture consent for this kind of bullshit. I do find it amusing how many liberals will froth at the mouth over Trump’s injustices demestically, but when Pam Bondi makes some shit up about Venezuela, suddenly all the liberals fall in line and salute the flag.

The long shadow of 9/11 still envelops the country.

Terms like “crony capitalism” imply that this is somehow an aberration within the capitalist system and not simply capitalism operating under its laws of motion and development. As Marx said, “The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie”, It is, in other words, the most efficient means of increasing profits, the core drive under capitalism. Lobbying, regulatory capture, and favorable legislation are not some form of corrupt distortions of the system; they aid in the process of capital accumulation. The insistence on using terms like “crony capitalism” is to secede ground to the capitalist, who would want nothing more for people to cling on to the idea that there is some kind of “pure” or “ideal” capitalism that we need to return too. So long as quarterly earnings calls are what drive the economy, capitalism will always be reaching for influence and political power to keep those profits rising.

I don’t see this as snubbing out the flame, though; we have seen what happens if pressure isn’t kept up with candidates like this. The masses engage in the election, they win, then they return home. Some become disengaged as the duldrum of life beats that revolutionary spirit out of them; others return content, thinking the Democrats are finally making progress. Time passes, goalposts are changed, and lukewarm versions of campaign promises are implemented. There is a new wave of voters every year who fall for the same traps because they’ve never seen them before. I think this kind of discussion is good, and having it openly is good. People shouldn’t take it as “doom and gloom”. They should take it as, “Look what we’ve achieved, but we can do it better next time”. This article feels very directed at the rank and file DSA members, if I’m being honest. I am interested to see what comes out of “Our Time”, if they can keep themselves out of trouble, that is. They have to be committed to critique of Mamdani, though, if he strays from his stated agenda. The risk of him straying is far more likely with him associated with the Democrats than it would be if he wasn’t.

The thing about these incremental wins, and I do see Mamdani as a win, is that the masses that are being built are now behind the Democrats and a Democratic Candidate. The Democrats will claim all his victories and push all his failures onto his socialist leanings. People who saw what Mamdani was offering and thought, “Yes, that is what we need!” are correct. He ran a very grounded and materialist campaign. The trouble, however, is that there isn’t a party that shares his values backing him, and his supporters will not be funneled into a revolutionary movement because he isn’t associated with one. He has associated himself with the status quo movement in hopes that he can shift that status quo. People who think they should join him in the realm of politics might go to the DSA, but they’re just as likely to go to the Democrats, who are a real political party and hold office in their localities.

I think now is the time to start learning how to walk; we’ve been crawling for a long time.