The RI thread about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

[Elvis]

Well, if we're going to opt for fanciful notions of change, there are less forceful options that can be attempted, though of course it would require mass buy-in, an unlikely scenario given how efficient The Establishment is in keeping the populace fractured and divided (both in opinion and socio-economic status). But if we're gonna dream:

- Worker strikes, specifically workers deployed in services that keep the hyper-capitalist system moving: TRANSPORTATION (airline, mass transit, etc) -- we saw how quickly Trump capitulated on the govt shutown once flight attendants threatened to strike. Imagine the power we'd have as a collective to affect change if we organized on a broad scale, with specific demands?

- Mass opt-out of tax payments. Similar to the above. Tax money may not be utilized as we believe, but that's moot. It's all about the optics, which in this scenario would be in The People's favor.

- Mass opt-out of voting. Again, if organized properly with buy-in from the majority -- across demographics, race, gender, class -- they sure as hell will listen.

Yeah I did breeze past those other options, thanks for bringing them up. I tend to agree with Jack's analysis, especially about voting boycotts. Beyond the kind of desirable cultural changes we'd like to see—which are probably more in the realm of artists, making the laws is how we affect political/economic change. I can see how it might sound a bit Pollyanna-ish, but voting is probably more important now than ever. Because I can't think of any other direct way to make the laws reflect the needs and desires of the people. Right now, the laws tend to cage "us" when the laws should be caging "them."

About AOC and Venezuela, her university degree includes some concentration of international relations, she's not dumb and hopefully her constituents will hip her the situation.

[Elvis]

About this Pamela Anderson picture controversy... I missed the images in question, already deleted (a good thing no doubt); maybe we can just move on, I doubt many here are concerned about "who is right" in this case.

[JackRiddler]

^^^^ If that's the "dirt" on AOC they come up with, she should have nothing to worry about. "gas guzzling car rides!!" Hilarious.

We have a hit on #3.

[Belligerent Savant]

^^^^^^^
Ha, good stuff. I'm sure they'll have a similar strip on AOC's detractors soon enough.

[seemslikeadream]

instead of starting a new thread about another woman of color being viciously attacked by the GOP I am just going to put this here

U.S. Rep Ilhan Omar’s cousin was one of the hijackers of Flight 93 on September 11.
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Origin
In March 2019, “America’s Last Line of Defense” published an article reporting that a cousin of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) was one of the terrorists who hijacked Flight 93 on 11 September 2001, which ended with the aircraft’s crashing in a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and killing all 44 people on board:

Earlier this week, Democrats threw a hissy fit when West Virginia Republicans correctly identified Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Abdullahi Omar as “the proof we have forgotten” the lessons of 9/11.

While Democrats whined and complained that the sentiment was “anti-Muslim,” they didn’t tell their supporters as they pushed their fake outrage that Omar is literal proof of this. Her cousin was a 9/11 hijacker.

Omar’s cousin, Alqadib Aleimlaq, was a member of Al Qaeda residing in the United Arab Emirates. He assisted in the hijack of Flight 93, which crash-landed in Pennsylvania and failed to hit its target. Omar’s cousin died in the crash along with the rest of the passengers. But his legacy lives on through her.
None of the four terrorists who boarded Flight 93 on 9/11 was named “Alqadib Aleimlaq,” came to the U.S. from the United Arab Emirates, or was a cousin of Rep. Ilhan Omar. (Three of the Flight 93 hijackers hailed from Saudi Arabia and the fourth from Lebanon, while Rep. Omar’s family is from Somalia.)

This false report originated solely with America’s Last Line of Defense (LLOD), a network of junk news sites that engages in puerile political trolling under the guise of proffering “satire.”

The LLOD article falsely proclaiming Rep. Omar’s cousin to be a terrorist was quickly deleted after its publication, just as a similarly defamatory LLOD article positing that a U.S. Army sergeant killed by terrorists in Niger was a deserter was deleted.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ilhan-omar-cousin/

FBI investigating report of threatening graffiti aimed at U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar
By Mara Klecker Star Tribune MARCH 3, 2019 — 8:24PM

AARON LAVINSKY – STAR TRIBUNE
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar

Authorities are looking into a report of a threatening graffiti message aimed at Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.

A photo showing the words “Assassinate Ilhan Omar” was posted to Insta­gram on Feb. 22.

The man who posted the photo wrote that he saw it written on a stall in the men’s room at a Holiday gas station in Rogers.


The post gained more attention after Omar tweeted it on Friday
http://www.startribune.com/fbi-investig ... 506634102/

[Belligerent Savant]

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There's a thread about Omar. I asked Elvis to change the thread title simply to 'Ilhan Omar', as it was initially framed specific to the Israel Lobby issue.
He may not have had the opportunity to make the change yet.

[JackRiddler]

This is a transnational crime syndicate masquerading as a government

True of all US governments since 1945.

To the rest of you, I say, please do distinguish between AOC et al. as

- weaker than they've been portrayed and buffeted by big forces and maybe not as courageous as they believe they are or wish they were; as opposed to

- the right-wing total war on AOC et al., which is all too real and truly as gross and vulgar and misogynist and racist as SLAD suggests; and as opposed to

- corporatist efforts to coopt AOC et al., which AOC et al. must at least tactically play along with if not fully accept; and as opposed to

- the way the celebrity culture adds 1000 trivialities to the mix as a kind of force of nature.

These are all different things.

On the 10 stupidest objections to OWS chart, I think most of what is thrown at AOC et al. qualifies as #5 ("I hate hippies"), #7 ("get a job"), or #9 ("setting up the country for riots.")

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[seemslikeadream]

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There's a thread about Omar. I asked Elvis to change the thread title simply to 'Ilhan Omar', as it was initially framed specific to the Israel Lobby issue.
He may not have had the opportunity to make the change yet.

post a link and I will use it

[Elvis]

Here ya go: Rep. Ilhan Omar
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=41583

BS, I hope the new title is okay, thanks.

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There's a thread about Omar. I asked Elvis to change the thread title simply to 'Ilhan Omar', as it was initially framed specific to the Israel Lobby issue.
He may not have had the opportunity to make the change yet.

post a link and I will use it

[MacCruiskeen]

Has she her team finally worked out her "her"position on Venezuela yet? (That huuuugely complicated question.) I mean, she needs time, of course, it's not as if Miss Astroturf Latina 2019 speaks fluent Spanish or anything. It's not as if she has a team of advisors or anything. It's not as if "President" Random Guydo is unknown to 81% of the Venezuelan population or anything. It's not as if Venezuelan women are actual human women or anything.

Is Nancy Pelosi by any chance on her team? Any Clintons there?

Waiters gonna wait.

#Resistance2020

[RocketMan]

She just came up with a ridonkulously explain-y flurry of tweets about Ilhan Omar which is so fucking disappointing I'm not even posting them.

One of her pearls of wisdom was something like "Calling out should not be a 1st or 2nd resort but a last resort, after CALLING IN". What in the hell in "calling in". This is some bullshit.

[RocketMan]

Okay, now she REALLY fucked up. This is just condescending and sad. Didn't take long, did it...

[JackRiddler]

Someone better inform AIPAC about AOC's alleged abandonment of Omar. They don't seem to agree.
https://twitter.com/YousefMunayyer/stat ... 3093029889

You all could at least acknowledge the kind of heat and money and propaganda that's coming down against the new progressives in Congress. It's fine, one could have a good reason to agree with Foxnews on something, if it's true. But you all could at least acknowledge the lying shitstorm thrown at AOC, in addition to her shortcomings. You could also stand to notice how these shortcomings stack up against those of about 200 other Democrats in the House.

Miss Astroturf Latina 2019

What does this add to your defensible opinion about her bad non-stance on Venezuela, other than discredit you because it's untrue? You could condemn her for cowardice (although you could always also note she's only one of five or so in Congress so force to even give a lukewarm statement against an intervention), or say she is coopted or on the way to selling out. Is that not enough? Why choose to make an agent out of her? Insofar as astroturf applies only if she was funded in advance of her election to play this role you imagine as a fake progressive, it's false and defamatory. Her campaign had 1/10 the money of Crowley's. Also, what does Latina have to do with it?

Waiters gonna wait.

You got a problem with the working class?

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[RocketMan]

I'll acknowledge the pressure, sure. And she's sort of painted herself in a corner with Twitter, she has to now react very quickly because she's branded herself as the Twitter-savvy one. But these liberal-splaining tweetstorms aren't doing her any favours right now.

[seemslikeadream]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrsQVEk__Hc



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdBQKl2W4nY