Russia-gate, the Democrats’ over-the-top attempt to blame the Kremlin for Hillary Clinton’s disastrous campaign, has become the party’s go-to excuse to avoid confronting how it lost touch with average Americans, says Norman Solomon.
By Norman Solomon
A new book about Hillary Clinton’s last campaign for president — Shattered by journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes — has gotten a lot of publicity since it appeared two weeks ago. But major media have ignored a revealing passage near the end of the book.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow.
Soon after Clinton’s defeat, top strategists decided where to place the blame. “Within 24 hours of her concession speech,” the authors report, campaign manager Robby Mook and campaign chair John Podesta “assembled her communications team at the Brooklyn headquarters to engineer the case that the election wasn’t entirely on the up-and-up. For a couple of hours, with Shake Shack containers littering the room, they went over the script they would pitch to the press and the public. Already, Russian hacking was the centerpiece of the argument.”
Six months later, that centerpiece of the argument is rampant — with claims often lurching from unsubstantiated overreach to outright demagoguery. A lavishly-funded example is the “Moscow Project,” a mega-spin effort that surfaced in midwinter as a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. It’s led by Neera Tanden, a self-described “loyal solider” for Clinton who also runs the Center for American Progress (where she succeeded Podesta as president). The Center’s board includes several billionaires.
The “Moscow Project” is expressly inclined to go over the top, aiming to help normalize ultra-partisan conjectures as supposedly factual. And so, the homepage of the “Moscow Project” prominently declares: “Given Trump’s obedience to Vladimir Putin and the deep ties between his advisers and the Kremlin, Russia’s actions are a significant and ongoing cause for concern.”
Let’s freeze-frame how that sentence begins: “Given Trump’s obedience to Vladimir Putin.” It’s a jaw-dropping claim; a preposterous smear.
Following the Script
Echoes of such tactics can be heard from many Democrats in Congress and from allied media. Along the way, no outlet has been more in sync than MSNBC, and no one on the network has been more promotional of the Russia-runs-Trump meme than Rachel Maddow, tirelessly promoting the line and sometimes connecting dots in Glenn Beck fashion to the point of journalistic malpractice.
Yet last year, notably without success, the Clinton campaign devoted plenty of its messaging to the Trump-Russia theme. As the Shattered book notes, “Hillary would raise the issue herself repeatedly in debates” with Trump. For example, in one of those debates she said: “We have 17 — 17 — intelligence agencies, civilian and military, who have all concluded that these espionage attacks, these cyber attacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin and they are designed to influence our election.”
After Trump’s election triumph, the top tier of Clinton strategists quickly moved to seize as much of the narrative as they could, surely mindful of what George Orwell observed: “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” After all, they hardly wanted the public discourse to dwell on Clinton’s lack of voter appeal because of her deep ties to Wall Street. Political recriminations would be much better focused on the Russian government.
In early spring, the former communications director of the 2016 Clinton presidential campaign, Jennifer Palmieri, summed up the post-election approach neatly in a Washington Post opinion article: “If we make plain that what Russia has done is nothing less than an attack on our republic, the public will be with us. And the more we talk about it, the more they’ll be with us.”
The inability of top Clinton operatives to identify with the non-wealthy is so tenacious that they still want to assume “the public will be with us” the more they talk about Russia Russia Russia. Imagine sitting at a kitchen table with average-income voters who are worried sick about their financial futures — and explaining to them that the biggest threat they face is from the Kremlin rather than from U.S. government policies that benefit the rich and corporate America at their expense.
Tone deaf hardly describes the severe political impairment of those who insist that denouncing Russia will be key to the Democratic Party’s political fortunes in 2018 and 2020. But the top-down pressure for conformity among elected Democrats is enormous and effective.
One of the most promising progressives to arrive in Congress this year, Rep. Jamie Raskin from the Maryland suburbs of D.C., promptly drank what might be called the “Klinton Kremlin Kool-Aid.” His official website features an article about a town-hall meeting that quotes him describing Trump as a “hoax perpetrated by the Russians on the United States of America.”
Like hundreds of other Democrats on Capitol Hill, Raskin is on message with talking points from the party leadership. That came across in an email that he recently sent to supporters for a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser. It said: “We pull the curtain back further each day on the Russian Connection, forcing National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to resign, Attorney General Sessions to recuse, and America to reflect on who’s calling the shots in Washington.”
You might think that Wall Street, big banks, hugely funded lobbyists, fat-check campaign contributors, the fossil fuel industry, insurance companies, military contractors and the like are calling the shots in Washington. Maybe you didn’t get the memo.
Norman Solomon is the coordinator of the online activist group RootsAction.org and the executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He is the author of a dozen books including War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.
This is a party that won’t be begging Elizabeth Warren to run — and if Warren does decide to run, we can expect the party, rather than support her, will be begging someone else — a “new democrat” — to run against her.
And you are suggesting that Russia DIDN’T influence the campaign? That American Fascists and Russian government agents DID NOT intentionally run a campaign of lies and innuendo, during the campaign? That hackers were NOT paid to steal and release questionable and vague information for the purpose of getting trump (THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD) elected and the right wing fascists in total control of our government?
https://media.giphy.com/media/sOb9a6rEhTwPe/giphy.gif
I agree that Hillary lost the election (or lost the Electoral College at least) for the reasons suggested here and for other obvious reasonsothers: She ran a lousy campaign, is tone deaf to the needs of the “little people,” and has the charisma of a wet piece of toilet paper. I also see the mainstream rich Democrats failing to support competitive progressive candidates while also filling my inbox with funding requests featuring alarmist/paranoid /dishonest subjects lines in order to get more money for that little Georgia race. I agree that Blaming Putin/ Wiki-leaks and the Russian troll-bots for Hillary’s loss is stupid as well. I also absolutely believe that elements within our government, private business and finance as well as some of our federal police and intelligence agencies are looking at a long game of degrading what’s left of our democracy here in the US, breaking up the European Union and then joining forces with the Russians against China and other potential southern hemisphere and pacific rim competition. To that end, Trump (who is obviously compromised by his dependence of Russian cash and his seeming role in laundering Russian mob cash), along with some of the people who he consorts with or that suddenly gravitated to Trump’s campaign (soon after he looked like he could win) are in fact Putin’s men in Washington as he is their man in Russia. I don’t think anyone should forget that. A paranoid thought some have expressed, is that our elites here in the US along with the Russians actually anticipate that global warming is not only real but is in fact, desirable. This from the standpoint that that in the ensuing chaos, those countries in possession of cold mineral rich places (Siberia, Canada’s Northern Territories for instance) and large armies (The US and Russia) stand to come out on top, geopolitically, economically and in the sense of security…..how paranoid is that? consider that it’s known that American energy concerns have known for quite some time about global warming and that their owners,boards of directors and big stockholders exist in a revolving door between Government and the energy business (Cheney and Tillerson come to mind, but there have been hundreds of others). Putin and the Russians are in fact something to be concerned about and trump is their tool, but not just Trump’s tool.
The U$A seems to mass produce carpet chewing, mentally challenged, irredeemably ignorant, crazed loudmouthed bitches of the Rachel Maddow/ Sarah Palin/ Maxine Waters/ Marie Harf/ Samantha Power/ Nikki Haley variety. There must be a big cloning factory somewhere in Arkansas mass producing them. Whatever problems Murican manufacturing may have, this is certainly a growth industry.
As a life-long (actual) democrat for only eighty-three (83) years, and a harsh critic of the largely non-democratic “Democratic Party”, this is more an Alice in Wonderland scenario by the day, even without considering the juvenile Trump thug or his neofascist gang of criminals…the corporate/war mongering, financial district money grubbing “D” establishment is itself corrupt beyond immagination.
It’s almost comical in a nightmarish way that the clueless US public seems to accept the nonsensical claims of Russian interference in the election, when the lame accusers have never bothered to even show ANYthing they actually did.
@John L Opperman – Hello – I am curious, and have a question for you in regard to your comment/post:
What is it which has you convinced of such a statement: “the juvenile Trump thug or his neofascist gang of criminals”?
I am genuinely curious as to why you have determined this accounting of a man to be true, if it is waged against the man, or the party.
Or, would you have made this statement regarding any other Republican candidate’s success in obtaining the White House via the past election …say if Bush, Kasich, or Rubio succeeded, would you have posted the same statement in opposition? Since as you state, you’ve been a Democrat for 83 years, so of course, it’s logical to not support the opposing side’s election win. I get it – when the Democrats win the WHouse, Republicans aren’t in support of that win.
But, again, I am genuinely curious as to why your statement of “juvenile; thug; neofascist; criminal gang” is applied here.
Is it applied as to ANY Republican, or just Trump in particular …and specifically WHY you chose to affix these labels.
Are these labels stuck-onto the “Man” Trump, or just the Republican party in general? I have tried desperately to figure-out exactly where these accusations have risen from, and more specifically, what resides anywhere to back them up. Are these “labels” coming from personal belief systems of all Republicans, or is it because of what a man’s (Trump’s) lifelong history in his non-political existence has shown to represent himself as “juvenile; thug; neofascist; criminal gang”.
Frankly, I’ve yet to find any accurate accounting of anything, anywhere – except for what the media has told us of course.
Thank you.
Hello GrimmTale. I am not here to speak for Mr. Opperman, but would like to share my own thoughts. There are two main points to what I think is an excellent comment. The Democratic Party has become woefully corrupt; and the degree to which the public seems to be “buying” the “Russia did it” bullshit is astounding.
Is “neofascist criminals” an apt description of the Trump Administration? The “criminal” aspect is nothing new really….the dirty wars on the people of Syria and Yemen were enabled by the Obama Administration and Trump has continued down that path. So yes, now he is a war criminal as well.
The jury is still out on whether or not the Trump Administration will exacerbate trending fascistic elements of our society…trends noticeable beginning with the Patriot Act and metadata collections and furthered by Obama’s war on whistleblowers, his National Defense Authorization Acts (particularly year 2012), and his expansion of surveillance, data sharing, and police militarization. But it doesn’ look good.
Our nation has a history of support for fascistic thugs that do the bidding of corporate America, and the Trump Administration’s continued embrace of governments in Kiev, Tel Aviv (or is it now Jerusalem?), and Riyadh is telling.
Your remark “Frankly, I’ve yet to find any accurate accounting of anything, anywhere – except for what the media has told us of course” is a real puzzle. But spare me, I’m not that curious.
If you sometimes wonder where we are and what is really going on, don’t miss Hedges’ essay that Jessica mentioned:
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/reign_of_idiots_20170430
Chris Hedges has a very hard-hitting essay on Truthdig and Common Dreams, “Reign of Idiots”, which lays out a case for last days of empire. It is typical Hedges, excoriating of what is happening in the US, but he does not bring up the fact that Clinton would be an equal participant in the “idiocracy” that the US has become. He also does not excoriate the press, unusual in that he is hard-left press. But it is well-written. Also at Black Agenda Report, Margaret Kimberly has an essay laying out that Americans ought to be participating in a “March of Contrition” to apologize to other nations for the dastardly deeds of this government in overthrowing many elected governments throughout this empire’s existence, instead of “pink pussy” issues. She puts Russia in the list as needing apology for western “shock economic therapy” of the 1990s under Yeltsin.
mike K, I brought up the issue of organized crime because of Americans’ complete misunderstanding of Putin and Russia, as talking points to propagandised Americans. I read ignorant, venial comments about Putin on other websites, some incredibly vitriolic, showing how ignorant and propagandised many people are in this country. It is important to have specific information. Global Research has an article “There Will Be No Russia Reset”, the point being that it is in the Deep State’s interest to keep the Russia “threat” going. Which is why we have to counter it. It will work with intelligent but misinformed people to give them information they don’t know; I already saw that with my neighbor and one sister. The CIA will work overtime against the Russia election, I am sure.
One fun comment on a website referred to “Rachel Beck and Glenn Maddow”.
I strongly endorse the article There Will Be No Russia Reset (also available on Counterpunch). It explains why we will continue to demonize Russia, as we do North Korea – even though both of these countries have offered to negotiate peace. By “we” I mean the US under control of the neocons and their military and Zionist supporters. I was drafted to go to the Korean war long ago, and refused to take part. Ironically a close friend on mine later was a North Korean. We have no real reason to hate or fear these people, or the Russians. This is all invented falsehoods by the warmongers that seek to turn our country into a military dictatorship – and sadly they are succeeding…..
The Rachel Madcow show is accomplishing two things for the oligarchy. It is demonizing Russia to keep the MIC and Wall Street happy, and it is readying the public for the next DINO to run in 2020. For her $30,000 per day, she and her latte sipping cohorts do the old “bait and switch” to distract the masses from the DNC sabotaging Sander’s campaign to “the evil Ruskies” stole our election. $30,000/day is cheap compared to what it would cost her employers if they had to pay middle class wages again to the masses.
The next election in Russia will be very important because of the US insanity about Russia, and particularly because the secret government of the US will set up a “maidan” operation, as they are already at it through Alexei Navalny. I believe it’s in 2018, and Putin has not said if he’ll run (no wonder, with what the West has loaded onto his plate.) Those of us who have been reading truth about Russia will have to be prepared with facts for ignorant, propaganized Americans.
The gay issue will most likely be a part of the attempt of the US to smear Putin. I wonder if Maddow’s harping on Russia might be part of the setup, since Russians are conservative and do not foster gays as the West does? That is her gripe, but might it actually be part of a destabilizing effort in advance?
Then there’s the issue of purported torture of gays in Chechnya, which their president denies because the gay lifestyle is very unacceptable there, even more than in Russia (where it is tolerated but not elevated). Apparently Chechnya is among the toughest areas of Russia, mountainous and with clans, having many Islamics. It is incredible that people like Nikki Haley and Ellen DeGeneres weigh in on this, since they know nothing about it.
There is a particularly interesting article I found today about organized crime in Russia. It is from 4-16-08 by the Stratfor Institute, www. stratfor.com., “Organized Crime in Russia”. Americans seem to like to label Putin a “thug” without knowing a thing about it. The article explains very well how organized crime has been around since Tsarist days, and when the USSR fell apart, organized crime got more active. Putin and authorities have been cracking down on the Russian Mafia, but it’s quite entrenched. Very good article, and is a good source for refuting the John McCain thug remarks. Chechnya and Ukraine have much organized crime activity. It is likely that Anna Politskaya, the journalist who was murdered some years ago and whose murder was not solved, was taken out by organized crime elements in Chechnya, it was stated. Carl Gershman of NED went so far as to blame her murder on Putin when he has no evidence. Of course, he wants to bring down Putin.
The young people in Russia appear to be set up for the protests, as they do not know enough of the history in Russia.
About organized crime, a Rolling Stone article stated that organized crime in America made a comeback after 911, when law enforcement became more dedicated to homeland security. So, the US ought to “take the mote out of its own eye” instead of everyone else’s, including Russia. It’s not Russia threatening the world, it’s three letters within “Russia”, USA!
The criminal activity of the US government, the MIC, MSM, Intel agencies. etc. dwarfs the minor problem of traditional organized crime factors like the Mafia. Our whole society is controlled by a giant loosely organized and mostly chaotic Super Mafia. The wealthy are the most powerful mafia in the US.
Whether in Russia, the US or elsewhere – the small crime operations try but fail to out compete the huge central operations of government and extreme wealth. It is almost a joke to blame our problems on the puny operations of the traditional crime families.
In Russia the oligarchs strive to compete with the central government, but the Russian government under Putin has largely defanged these operations, and operates with greater freedom than the gov here in the USA, which is greatly under the thumb of oligarchs.
agreed…This is a paste from another CN article…but it fits here also…
The fact that, in Russia, Putin is very moderate…he has done his level best to keep the lid on a large segment of the Russian government that wants to have a war with USA as bad as USA wants to have a war with them…There are major elections coming up in Russia…Putin has a very high favorability rating with russian voters, but it is possible to get a MUCH WORSE leader than Putin…if we dont take advantage of negotiating with Vladimir, there may be no negotiating at all in the future…
negotiate with Putin or have a cruise missile duel with the Old School Oligarchs… whats it gonna be?
ps…i meant comment…not article…
D
Putin will run and win … it’s not even close. He’d probably like to believe his job is finally over … think where he has brought Russia from the low days of the 90’s. But, the alliance project with China (and Iran, India, South Asia, maybe Germany, etc.) is not complete enough yet.
The tragedy is that while these elites are busy deceiving the voting public using the MSM propaganda machines like Rachel Maddow, they are simultaneously preparing their offspring to take over the party leadership positions once they exit; and some of these people retire from screwing up citizens when they are well over 90 years old! Some of them die in office.
Many hardworking Americans are forced to retire by companies, sometimes as young as 60 years old. These are the same companies who do not mind giving large campaign contribution to Nancy Pelozi at the age of 77 or Dianne Feinstein at 83 years old! There are many senior citizen lawmakers who have no problem with companies where age discrimination is practiced on ordinary Americans!
We vote for these people after being brainwashed by the likes of Rachel Maddow and their well-compensated campaign strategists!
ANAMNESIS: TRUMP AND “POCAHONTAS”
– (“Real Americans” vis-a-vis Original Americans)
The True Story of Pocahontas: Historical Myths Versus Sad Reality
by Vincent Schilling
• March 21, 2017
The story of Pocahontas is a tragic tale of a young Native girl who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and allegedly murdered by those who were supposed to keep her safe.
According to Mattaponi oral history, little Matoaka (Pocahontas) was possibly about 10 years old when John Smith and English colonists arrived in Tsenacomoca in the spring of 1607. John Smith was about 27 years old. They were never married nor involved.
The children of the Powhatan were very closely watched and cared for by all members of the tribe. Since Pocahontas was living with her father, Chief Powhatan Wahunsenaca, at Werowocomoco, and because she was the daughter of a chief, she was likely held to even stricter standards and provided with more structure and cultural training.
When she was a child, John Smith and English colonists stayed near the Powhatan on the nearby Jamestown Island, but later began to explore outlying areas. Smith was feared by many Native people because he was known to enter villages and put guns to heads of chiefs demanding food and supplies.
Because the English and Powhatan feared the actions of the Spanish, they formed an alliance. Eventually and according to oral history and contemporary written accounts by the Mattaponi, Wahunsenaca grew to like Smith, eventually offering him the position of ‘werowance’ or leader of the colonists as recognized by the Powhatan as well as a much more livable area for his people with great access to game and seafood.
In 1608 and 1609, John Smith’s role as the werowance (chief) of the colonists had taken an ugly turn. The colonists made inadequate attempts to plant crops to harvest, and Smith violently demanded supplies from surrounding villages after once again holding a gun to the heads of village leaders.
Accounts from Mattaponi histories tell of one tribal woman proclaiming to Smith, “You call yourself a Christian, yet you leave us with no food for the winter.”
Pocahontas’ father, who had befriended Smith, once said to him, “I have not treated any of my werowances as well as you, yet you are the worst werowance I have!”
Smith claimed Wahunsenaca wanted to kill him, and asserted he knew of the plot because Pocahontas had come to warn him.
As Colonists Terrorized Native People, Pocahontas Married and Became Pregnant
Young children were targets of rape and Native women in the tribe would resort to offering themselves to men to keep their children safe. The Powhatan people were shocked by the behavior and were horrified that the English government offered them no protections.
In the midst of the horrible and atrocious acts committed by the colonists, Matoaka (Pocahontas) was coming of age. During a ceremony, Matoaka was to choose a new name, and she selected Pocahontas, after her mother.
Pocahontas Was Kidnapped, Her Husband Was Murdered and She Was Forced to Give Up Her First Child
An English colonist by the name of Captain Samuel Argall sought to find her, thinking that a captured daughter of the chief would thwart attacks by Natives.
Hearing of her whereabouts, Argall came to the village and demanded Chief Japazaw, brother of Pocahontas’ husband, to give up Pocahontas or suffer violence against his village. Overcome with grief at a horrible choice, he relented with a hopeful promise that she would only be gone temporarily. That was a promise Argall quickly broke.
Before Argall left the village, he gave Chief Japazaw a copper pot. He later claimed to have traded it for her. This “trade” is still taught by historians. This is akin to the way that Smith ‘traded’ for corn by holding a gun to the heads of chiefs.
Before leaving the village, Pocahontas had to give her baby (referred to as little Kocoum) to the women of the village. Trapped onboard an English ship, she was not aware that when her husband returned to their village, he was killed by the colonists.
The tribal chiefs of the Powhatan never retaliated for the kidnapping of Pocahontas, fearing they would be captured and that the beloved daughter of the chief and the “Peace Symbol of the Powhatan” might be harmed.
Pocahontas Was Raped While in Captivity and Became Pregnant With Her Second Child
Dr. Custalow writes in his book, The True Story of Pocahontas, The Other Side of History, that when Mattachanna and her husband Uttamattamakin, a spiritual advisor to Chief Wahunsenaca, Pocahontas confided in her sister.
When Mattachanna and Uttamattamakin arrived at Jamestown, Pocahontas confided in that she had been raped. Mattaponi sacred oral history is very clear on this: Pocahontas was raped. It is possible that it had been done to her by more than one person and repeatedly.
The possibility of being taken captive was a danger to be aware of in Powhatan Society, but rape was not tolerated. Rape in Powhatan Society was virtually unheard of because the punishment for such actions was so severe. Powhatan society did not have prisons. Punishment for wrongful actions often consisted of banishment from the tribe.
John Rolfe Married Pocahontas to Create a Native Alliance in Tobacco Production
Mattaponi history is clear that Pocahontas had a son out of wedlock, Thomas, prior to her marriage to John Rolfe. Prior to that marriage, the colonists pressed Pocahontas to become “civilized” and often told her that her father did not love her because he had not come to rescue her.
Pocahontas as Rebecca Rolfe.
In the midst of her captivity, the English colony of Jamestown was failing. John Rolfe was under a 1616 deadline to become profitable or lose the support of England. Rolfe sought to learn tobacco curing techniques from the Powhatan, but curing tobacco was a sacred practice not to be shared with outsiders. Realizing the political strength of aligning himself with the tribe, he eventually married Pocahontas.
Though some historians claim Pocahontas and Rolfe married for love, it is not a certainty, as Pocahontas was never allowed to see her family, child or father after being kidnapped.
After the two were married, the Powhatan spiritual leaders and family to Pocahontas shared the curing practice with Rolfe. Soon afterwards, Rolfe’s tobacco was a sensation in England, which saved the colony of Jamestown, as they finally found a profitable venture.
The Powhatan tribal lands were now highly sought after for the tobacco trade and the tribe suffered great losses of life and land at the hands of greedy tobacco farmers.
It is worth noting that though it was custom for a Powhatan father to give away his daughter at a marriage, Wahunsenaca did not attend the wedding of his daughter to Rolfe for fear of being captured or killed. He did send a strand of pearls as a gift.
Pocahontas Was Brought to England To Raise Money and Was Then Likely Murdered
Rumors of the colonists desire to bring Pocahontas made its way to the Powhatan, who feared for her well-being and considered an attempt to rescue her. But Wahunsenaca feared his daughter might be harmed.
Rebecca “Pocahontas” Rolfe traveled to England with John Rolfe, her son Thomas Rolfe, Captain John Argall (who had kidnapped her) and several Native tribal members, including her sister Mattachanna.
Though many settlers were committing atrocities against the Powhatan, many elites in England did not approve of the mistreatment of natives. The bringing of Pocahontas to England to show friendship with Native nations was a key to continued financial support for the colonists.
Pocahontas at Court of King James.
According to the accounts of Mattachanna, she realized that she was being used and desperately desired to return home to her father and little Kocoum. During her travels in England, Pocahontas did meet John Smith and expressed outrage due to the mistreatment of his position as leader of the colonists and the betrayal to the Powhatan people.
After the journey and showing off of Pocahontas to the English elites, plans were made to return to Virginia in the spring of 1617. According to a recounting by Mattachanna, she was in good health while in England and on the ship preparing to go hom
Shortly after a dinner with Rolfe and Argall, she vomited and died. Those tribal members who were accompanying her, including her sister Mattachanna, said she was in previous good health and assessed she must have been poisoned due to her sudden death.
According to Mattaponi oral history, many of the Native people accompanying Pocahontas were sold as servants or carnival attractions or sent to Bermuda if they became pregnant after being raped and sold into slavery.
Pocahontas was just under 21 at the time of her death. Instead of being taken home and laid to rest with her father, Rolfe and Argall took her to Gravesend, England, where she was buried at Saint George’s Church, March 21, 1617. Though Virginia tribes have requested that her remains returned for repatriation, officials in England say the exact whereabouts of her remains are not known.
Wahunsenaca learned from Mattachanna that his beloved daughter had died but had never betrayed her people, as some historians claim. Heartbroken that he had not ever rescued his daughter, he died from grief less than a year after the death of Pocahontas.
The Descendants of Pocahontas
Oral histories of both the Mattaponi and Patawomeck and historical references say she mothered two children, Thomas Rolfe, who was left in England after the death of his mother, and ‘little Kocoum.’
According to Deyo, Little Kocoum was the name that Dr. Linwood Custalow used for the purpose of his book to reference a small child whose name was not yet known. In the sacred oral history of the Mattaponi, the child was raised by the Patawomeck Tribe. The name of that child was passed down in the Patawomeck oral history was discovered to be Ka-Okee, a daughter.
This lineage to Ka-Okee includes the world famous entertainer Wayne Newton, a member of the Virginia state-recognized Powhatan Patawomeck tribe.
Thomas Rolfe stayed in England and was educated there. He later returned to the Powhatan as an adult. He was married and had many descendants.
A special thank you to the following sources:
Mattaponi Tribal Historian, Dr. Linwood ‘Little Bear’ Custalow, and Angela L. Daniel “Silver Star’ for the book The True Story of Pocahontas, The Other Side of History
Pamunkey Chief Robert Gray
Patawomeck Chief John Lightner
Powhatan Patawomeck Tribal Historian Bill Deyo
Countless council members and tribal members of the 11 Tribes in Virginia, who have been gracious in sharing their stories.
Follow the author of this article, Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk) – ICMN’s Arts and Entertainment, Pow Wows and Sports Editor –
This story was originally published on February 16, 2017.
TRUMP AND “POCAHONTAS” HEADLINE: TRUMP AND “POCAHONTAS”
– (“Real Americans” vis-a-vis Original Americans)
The True Story of Pocahontas: Historical Myths Versus Sad Reality
by Vincent Schilling
• March 21, 2017
It is time to bust up the misconceptions perpetuated over 400 years regarding the young daughter of Powhatan chief Wahunsenaca. The truth—gathered from years of extensive research of the historical record, books, and oral histories from self-identified descendants of Pocahontas and tribal peoples of Virginia —is not for the faint of heart.
The story of Pocahontas is a tragic tale of a young Native girl who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and allegedly murdered by those who were supposed to keep her safe.
According to Mattaponi oral history, little Matoaka (Pocahontas) was possibly about 10 years old when John Smith and English colonists arrived in Tsenacomoca in the spring of 1607. John Smith was about 27 years old. They were never married nor involved.
The children of the Powhatan were very closely watched and cared for by all members of the tribe. Since Pocahontas was living with her father, Chief Powhatan Wahunsenaca, at Werowocomoco, and because she was the daughter of a chief, she was likely held to even stricter standards and provided with more structure and cultural training.
When she was a child, John Smith and English colonists stayed near the Powhatan on the nearby Jamestown Island, but later began to explore outlying areas. Smith was feared by many Native people because he was known to enter villages and put guns to heads of chiefs demanding food and supplies.
Because the English and Powhatan feared the actions of the Spanish, they formed an alliance. Eventually and according to oral history and contemporary written accounts by the Mattaponi, Wahunsenaca grew to like Smith, eventually offering him the position of ‘werowance’ or leader of the colonists as recognized by the Powhatan as well as a much more livable area for his people with great access to game and seafood.
In 1608 and 1609, John Smith’s role as the werowance (chief) of the colonists had taken an ugly turn. The colonists made inadequate attempts to plant crops to harvest, and Smith violently demanded supplies from surrounding villages after once again holding a gun to the heads of village leaders.
Accounts from Mattaponi histories tell of one tribal woman proclaiming to Smith, “You call yourself a Christian, yet you leave us with no food for the winter.”
Pocahontas’ father, who had befriended Smith, once said to him, “I have not treated any of my werowances as well as you, yet you are the worst werowance I have!”
Smith claimed Wahunsenaca wanted to kill him, and asserted he knew of the plot because Pocahontas had come to warn him.
As Colonists Terrorized Native People, Pocahontas Married and Became Pregnant
Young children were targets of rape and Native women in the tribe would resort to offering themselves to men to keep their children safe. The Powhatan people were shocked by the behavior and were horrified that the English government offered them no protections.
In the midst of the horrible and atrocious acts committed by the colonists, Matoaka (Pocahontas) was coming of age. During a ceremony, Matoaka was to choose a new name, and she selected Pocahontas, after her mother.
Pocahontas Was Kidnapped, Her Husband Was Murdered and She Was Forced to Give Up Her First Child
An English colonist by the name of Captain Samuel Argall sought to find her, thinking that a captured daughter of the chief would thwart attacks by Natives.
Hearing of her whereabouts, Argall came to the village and demanded Chief Japazaw, brother of Pocahontas’ husband, to give up Pocahontas or suffer violence against his village. Overcome with grief at a horrible choice, he relented with a hopeful promise that she would only be gone temporarily. That was a promise Argall quickly broke.
Before Argall left the village, he gave Chief Japazaw a copper pot. He later claimed to have traded it for her. This “trade” is still taught by historians. This is akin to the way that Smith ‘traded’ for corn by holding a gun to the heads of chiefs.
Before leaving the village, Pocahontas had to give her baby (referred to as little Kocoum) to the women of the village. Trapped onboard an English ship, she was not aware that when her husband returned to their village, he was killed by the colonists.
The tribal chiefs of the Powhatan never retaliated for the kidnapping of Pocahontas, fearing they would be captured and that the beloved daughter of the chief and the “Peace Symbol of the Powhatan” might be harmed.
Pocahontas Was Raped While in Captivity and Became Pregnant With Her Second Child
Dr. Custalow writes in his book, The True Story of Pocahontas, The Other Side of History, that when Mattachanna and her husband Uttamattamakin, a spiritual advisor to Chief Wahunsenaca, Pocahontas confided in her sister.
When Mattachanna and Uttamattamakin arrived at Jamestown, Pocahontas confided in that she had been raped. Mattaponi sacred oral history is very clear on this: Pocahontas was raped. It is possible that it had been done to her by more than one person and repeatedly.
The possibility of being taken captive was a danger to be aware of in Powhatan Society, but rape was not tolerated. Rape in Powhatan Society was virtually unheard of because the punishment for such actions was so severe. Powhatan society did not have prisons. Punishment for wrongful actions often consisted of banishment from the tribe.
John Rolfe Married Pocahontas to Create a Native Alliance in Tobacco Production
Mattaponi history is clear that Pocahontas had a son out of wedlock, Thomas, prior to her marriage to John Rolfe. Prior to that marriage, the colonists pressed Pocahontas to become “civilized” and often told her that her father did not love her because he had not come to rescue her.
Pocahontas often tore off her English clothes, because they were uncomfortable. Eventually, Pocahontas was converted to Christianity and took the name Rebecca.
Pocahontas as Rebecca Rolfe.
In the midst of her captivity, the English colony of Jamestown was failing. John Rolfe was under a 1616 deadline to become profitable or lose the support of England. Rolfe sought to learn tobacco curing techniques from the Powhatan, but curing tobacco was a sacred practice not to be shared with outsiders. Realizing the political strength of aligning himself with the tribe, he eventually married Pocahontas.
Though some historians claim Pocahontas and Rolfe married for love, it is not a certainty, as Pocahontas was never allowed to see her family, child or father after being kidnapped.
After the two were married, the Powhatan spiritual leaders and family to Pocahontas shared the curing practice with Rolfe. Soon afterwards, Rolfe’s tobacco was a sensation in England, which saved the colony of Jamestown, as they finally found a profitable venture.
The Powhatan tribal lands were now highly sought after for the tobacco trade and the tribe suffered great losses of life and land at the hands of greedy tobacco farmers.
It is worth noting that though it was custom for a Powhatan father to give away his daughter at a marriage, Wahunsenaca did not attend the wedding of his daughter to Rolfe for fear of being captured or killed. He did send a strand of pearls as a gift.
Pocahontas Was Brought to England To Raise Money and Was Then Likely Murdered
Rumors of the colonists desire to bring Pocahontas made its way to the Powhatan, who feared for her well-being and considered an attempt to rescue her. But Wahunsenaca feared his daughter might be harmed.
Rebecca “Pocahontas” Rolfe traveled to England with John Rolfe, her son Thomas Rolfe, Captain John Argall (who had kidnapped her) and several Native tribal members, including her sister Mattachanna.
Though many settlers were committing atrocities against the Powhatan, many elites in England did not approve of the mistreatment of natives. The bringing of Pocahontas to England to show friendship with Native nations was a key to continued financial support for the colonists.
Pocahontas at Court of King James. Photo – Library of Congress
Library of Congress
Pocahontas at Court of King James.
According to the accounts of Mattachanna, she realized that she was being used and desperately desired to return home to her father and little Kocoum. During her travels in England, Pocahontas did meet John Smith and expressed outrage due to the mistreatment of his position as leader of the colonists and the betrayal to the Powhatan people.
After the journey and showing off of Pocahontas to the English elites, plans were made to return to Virginia in the spring of 1617. According to a recounting by Mattachanna, she was in good health while in England and on the ship preparing to go home.
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Shortly after a dinner with Rolfe and Argall, she vomited and died. Those tribal members who were accompanying her, including her sister Mattachanna, said she was in previous good health and assessed she must have been poisoned due to her sudden death.
According to Mattaponi oral history, many of the Native people accompanying Pocahontas were sold as servants or carnival attractions or sent to Bermuda if they became pregnant after being raped and sold into slavery.
Pocahontas was just under 21 at the time of her death. Instead of being taken home and laid to rest with her father, Rolfe and Argall took her to Gravesend, England, where she was buried at Saint George’s Church, March 21, 1617. Though Virginia tribes have requested that her remains returned for repatriation, officials in England say the exact whereabouts of her remains are not known.
Wahunsenaca learned from Mattachanna that his beloved daughter had died but had never betrayed her people, as some historians claim. Heartbroken that he had not ever rescued his daughter, he died from grief less than a year after the death of Pocahontas.
The Descendants of Pocahontas
Oral histories of both the Mattaponi and Patawomeck and historical references say she mothered two children, Thomas Rolfe, who was left in England after the death of his mother, and ‘little Kocoum.’
According to Deyo, Little Kocoum was the name that Dr. Linwood Custalow used for the purpose of his book to reference a small child whose name was not yet known. In the sacred oral history of the Mattaponi, the child was raised by the Patawomeck Tribe. The name of that child was passed down in the Patawomeck oral history was discovered to be Ka-Okee, a daughter.
This lineage to Ka-Okee includes the world famous entertainer Wayne Newton, a member of the Virginia state-recognized Powhatan Patawomeck tribe.
Thomas Rolfe stayed in England and was educated there. He later returned to the Powhatan as an adult. He was married and had many descendants.
(PS) – REAL AMERICANS…
please accept my humble apology for the erroneous duplicate posting…
Then there was Les Moonves over at Corporate Bull Shit (CBS) who said he realized all the free publicity presidential candidate Trump was getting was bad for America, but it was great for CBS’s revenues. Nothing like true patriots in the corporate boardrooms.
Absolutely, susan_sunflower,
I see Maddow as Aggressive/Pedantic and Chris Hayes as her sideshow-barker Clone – a team of fraudulent illusionists — in the ‘game for fame’ and notoriety and perhaps, book contracts.
— Their 15 seconds of fame/as it were… .
(how did O’Reilly get away with his neurotic bullspit for so long? and Limbaugh still pontificates in “Real America”?)
I think Maddow is “on a mission” … she has an evangelical righteousnesss that her fans seem to absorb the “glow” of … It’s unprofessional and dangerous. I recall early days when she surprised us all by being shamelessly smitten by men in uniform and war correspondent Richard Engel … Strong scent of “daddy’s girl” fandom of manly men and things that make loud noises (and kill people).
I sense a near-apocalyptic “clash of civilization” battle to be won in her cosmology … all those wrong thinking others …
Watched part one of a 3-part documentary with Richard Dawkins last night (Netflix) on morality/values without religion … It was nice to be reminded of a humanism we used to take for granted not that long ago, that now seems water for the thirsty … imagine a morality based on empathy and compassion …
YES! And that smug face of of the conniving Rachel Maddow is appropriately the poster child for this nonsensical campaign of deception. The Dems cannot be called on this absurdity–and the consequences it will have–often enough. Thank you.
I caught a brief segment of Maddow recently and was impressed by her “schoolteacher” approach to the news, with maps and visual aids, carefully explaining the who, what, why of events (I think this was in anticipation of one of Korea’s missile launches) … there was absolutely no claim of impartiality or doubt. It was easy to imagine the manufactured smug self-regard of regular viewers who — although the details might be fuzzy — could hold forth at gym or at work with vastly superior “certainty” if not nuance or depth.
It was quite shameless and stunning propagandizing ….
So, right wing anamnesis of and Longing for “when america was White” has nothing to do with it’s election of the bigot Trump?
His Slash & Burn of all-things-Obama as Policy Directive isn’t proof enough of the resurrection of “Real Americans” into their Rightful Authority?– As if make america great again isn’t evidence enough??? Build a wall? Muslim Ban? —
Calling for Russia to Hack the Democrats came out of Trump’s mouth, or am I wrong?
Isn’t the actual Russia Question a look into Trump proposed BUSINESS DEALS with Russian oligarchy?
Are we being corralled into the false equivalency of Russia gate over Trump’s surrupticious self-aggrandizement?
Anamnesis is the remembrance of things we learned and experienced in a previous Materialization of Events as in 9/11 or the Murders of JFK, MLK and RFK.
Trump-i-teers’ nostalgia for America past and their vapid approval of walls and bans and 2nd amendment rights and shutdowns on pollution controls and environmental protections, for example, are clear indications of a Specific Direction our nation is heading.
We should all know that Russia gate is a diversion and that Maddow hates Putin because of his anti-gay stance — so, must we all drink the purple kool-aid and fall in line with the malicious saga about Russian election hacking? — As if Republicans in america aren’t capable of hacking and rigging elections through computer manipulation?
as if Citizen’s United had not already “rigged” our elections, Clinton’s loss notwithstanding.
The “fix” has been in wrt Putin going back to his first assertive acts to stop the hemorrhaging / loss of all of russia’s assets to would-be foreign interests … which is why we have such media created “heroes” as Mihail Kodorkovsky, Pussy Riot and the example of the Kiev Maidan (swastikas blurred) and the preceding “orange revolution” … we are supposed to believe that 80+% approval ratings notwithstanding, there are legions of Russian would-be freedom fighters yearning to breathe free … under a rainbow flag … allowing free-market capitalism to reign … etc. or something
With twenty five million Muslims, Russia can not have this gay marriage, non-gender bathrooms and other such liberal nonsense in their country. It is true of many countries, including India. No body discriminates or cares whether you are a gay or regular in Russia, India, and many other countries. It is a tool which the West is using to destabilize the Governments in those countries.
Have we forgotten that opportunistic Obama saying during 2008 election campaign that he is against gay marriage?
The whole progressive liberalism has been reduced by the Wall Street DEMs, and the likes of Rachel Maddow to non-gender bathrooms and Gay marriage, and all these trivial things. The bigger issues of the day are reforming the economic system, reducing inequality, single payer health system, eliminating nuclear war threat, restoring Peace in the World, and so on.
Instead criticizing those Nations for not holding gay parades in their capitols, Rachel Maddow – earning $30,000 a day for her gig – should spend her time on discussing some real issues.
Rachel Maddow is literally an insane person now.
The Democratic/Liberal establishment refuses to admit that their shaming “political correctness” has cost them votes … but you cannot “shame” a fundamentalist christian (who believes that homosexuality is beyond sinful abomination) into “smiling” on gay marriage… you can respectfully tell them that the law protects all people — including homosexuals — and those protections are the law “now” (see also end of jim crow and the voting rights act) … but attempting to shame or browbeat folks is likely to lead to nasty blowback. Yes, Muslims need to know that apostates and atheists are protected BY LAW and that the state will enforce those laws (and others) and punish those who harass and disciminate (or whatever the law prescribes) …
Following the civil law in these matters does not confer endorsing homosexuality, or atheism or apostasy … there are PLENTY of precedents from availability of birth control, legalized abortion, conscientious objector status and other mat ters of personal choice and conscience … makes me CRAZY to watch them make enemies wholesale in this way …
What I have found lacking here at CN is writers who are willing to give Vladimir Putin the full praise he so richly deserves. Always their positive statements about Putin are quickly qualified with remarks like, “Of course he is no saint.” It’s like they are covering their ass to make sure nobody takes them for a Russian stooge or giddy Putin lover.
I recommend the link below to Mike Whitney’s positive appraisal of the Russian leader. Let’s give this friend of peace his full due, in spite of the howls of the brainwashed:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/04/28/putins-new-world-order/
The threat of the Red Menace is still very effective, even though the USSR is no more.
The technique is simply called associative piggybacking on established prejudices.
It took about 75 years to establish them, why should all that good propaganda go to waste?
You are so right about that, mike. That disconnect from reality has bugged me too, and I do think it is for the reason you stated. The thinking always seems to be that if we give them something, they may grudgingly admit to our argument and perhaps even start to like us. Probably a natural human defense mechanism.
Mike, I agree with you one hundred percent. I can not find one thing bad which Russia has done to us. But I can give one thousand examples of wrongs we have done to Russia since 1991.
Let us face it. Putin is a far more mature, well read leader than any leader in the West these days. And Russia is very fortunate to have him as their leader during these very perilous times in their history when their very existence as a Sovereign Nation is under threat. And more, he and a very smart and mature people in the government around him have made great efforts, and shown great patience to avoid all out conflict with the West, in spite of all the indignities thrown at them.
As a person, he is no worse than these Clintons, Obamas, Cheneys, and others who have become filthy rich serving the interests of Wall Street bankers and MIC.
Russia had a different history than ours. They can not have same kind of democracy, the Imperial Western Nations have. With their borders, location, and the population, Russia like many other Nations on Earth need to have democracies suitable to them without interference by the West.
Here at home, with people brainwashed for many decades now, our democracy is not what the rest of the World should strive for.
Instead of dwelling on Putin, we need to work on fixing our own democracy.
mike k: excellent link, thank you.
I think something should be cleared up. Putin is seen through the eyes of our MSM as a bad person. It is accepted without question. He is not a bad person and there is proof of that. He turned his country around after the disaster of Boris Yeltzen, a drunken thug whom the US called “democratic,” since he was “ours,” you know, the kind of patsy the US likes. Putin is always mentioned as being KGB. Truth is, he was a mid-level analyst for a mere five years, spending most of that time in Dresden. He refused a KGB promotion when back in Moscow and moved to St. Petersburg to be deputy mayor to Sobchek, a progressive, democratic leader. When a movement to assassinate Sobchek reached Putin, he gathered trusted people and prevented the attack. Thanks to Putin, somewhat of a renaissance has been going on in Russia. He recently built a huge theater in Vladivostock for art, ballet, theater, opera, symphony, which just had its first annual 12-day Art Festival. He has also offered any Russian a hectare of land in the east for free, in order to have more citizens living in the east. His 86% high rating by the people is for real. He is NOT aggressive, as the US press makes out. The US is the aggressor all over the world. How many bases does Russia have? How many does the US have? I’m sick of the propaganda that is accepted by most Americans who seem incapable of research. Clinton pushed hard the denigration of Putin because she was sure she would be president and in her emails stated she would bomb Iran and then take on regime change in Russia, moving right along into WWIII. Trump and Clinton were both very bad candidates. We had Jill Stein and the mainstream media refused to air both her and Bernie’s speeches. We are getting what we let happen. Obama is directly responsible for the election of Trump, which couldn’t have happened if Obama had done his job. At least the false flags to attack Russia may be lowered. BTW, Putin has never cared about money for himself. Yes, there are oligarchs in Russia, but many even less than we have here. When Putin was elected, he cleaned house, and unlike America, actually prosecuted and put guilty oligarch criminals in jail.
(After note: I was wrong to think we could avoid wars with Iran and Russia, as HRC wanted; it seems Trump is quickly being turned by the military.)
I agree with what Mr. Solomon writes, I understand that Hilary and many supporters, especially her top level political operatives, want to deflect and propagandize about how and why she lost. I do not like or agree with this blind obsession that it was all ‘big bad russia’.
I also abhor the neocon/predominately Govt view which basically is exactly the same – Russia is the biggest menace to the world. My opinion is the exact opposite – it is the US political and military aggression through actions and words thru out the world that is most threatening by far.
Having premised this all – I do not quite understand this idea or thought that we should not investigate, or that there may not or has not been interference, or more, in our elections by Russia? I do not have the answers, maybe at this point nobody does, but that begs the question. if we do not know either way should we not be open minded and diligent in investigating?
I inquire just as I did when we were told there were ‘wmd’s in Iraq, when we were told that Syria used sarin gas in 2013, etc. I asked because we the public were given little if no info to verify either position. There had been either little, or biased, investigating followed by a propaganda effort to steer the topic in one direction only.
Pile on Hilary and her supporters all you like – at this point that seems fairly redundant. She is gone, hopefully forever, from the US political world. Maybe they and she deserve but I care not.
But I do want some answers, and hopefully truth ( I know I know), concerning this issue. If all of our Intelligence Agencies were monitoring and investigating possible interference in our election, and/or governance by those who were thus elected, should this not be of concern to any American? Regardless of which countries or persons were involved? This in my thinking is not a political battle, or partisan issue. Black out all of the names – but follow the money and power and find out if or when our political leaders have been compromised/ influenced/blackmailed/etc.
Who is against investigating? Of course, everything can be investigated.
But since there still is no evidence for the original claim that Russian secret services were behind leaking e-mails to Wikileaks and the original story of Crowdstrike about alleged common features with hacking of military devices in Ukraine has broken apart, this certainly does not look promising. If there is still the idea that after all the failed attempts, some evidence for the allegations may be discovered, there certainly can be an investigation – the main thing is that people don’t falsely pretend that there already is evidence.
Bit if “investigating” means attempting to create a scandal out of the fact that RT and Sputnik News have a bias that is somewhat different bias from US mainstream media or the xenophibic idea that it is a scandal when Americans who have contact with many people also had conversations with Russians, then, in my view, this is a very bad idea.
I agree with Adrian, ADL. You don’t investigate any damn fool thing people come up with, only thigs for which some real evidence exists.
It’s the same reason we don’t have all our intelligence agencies investigating Bigfoot or Lizard Peolple.
The American public, including it’s leadership is addicted to violence, power, and pleasure. “Hitting bottom” for an addict is a great danger/great opportunity moment for an addict: it may destroy or catalyze new life. It is the same for nations. Also the shock that triggers possible awakening must not be too severe, or like nuclear war it will preclude any positive sequel. So the American Empire will hit bottom, but the probable result will be the final nail in all of our coffins.
Here is another good example of a massive media smear in Europe right now…this one matters for us too…
http://journal-neo.org/2017/05/01/if-france-elects-rothschild-s-manservant-president-2/
The Dems have become the otherside of the Globalists coin…they are beyond redemption or repair, their own actions declare this to be true…
Its time for at least one new political party…or only a very painful US disaster will change the course of this Dark
American Ship…
We american vote for Hillary because who that insane to vote for a mental ill person that have no clue about american history. When has american start let russia run are country for a price yes we alway been greed hole but the kremlin their trick whore give me a break here, the kremlin target white red neck hillbilly with racial hatred for minority. That make meth and crack all day and drink moonshine mix with there kool-aid.
Donna, mixing meth, crack and moonshine can really mess up your mind, and make it hard to communicate.
I’m hoping this is an attempt at sarcasm on your part!
LOL
Ok, thanks. Good morning! I just spit out, all my cup coffee, all over the kitchen floor, and now I am going to have to go get a mop, and clean up this mess. Thanks Donna! Have a great day!
Norman nails it very well with this:
“Imagine sitting at a table with average-income voters who are worried sick about their financial futures—and explaining to them that the biggest threat they face is from the Kremlin rather than from US Government policies that benefit the rich and corporate America at their expense.”
This meme is done and will quickly fade from here. Further, the DEMS are in dire straits with the American people, as with this from Zero Hedge support at 67%.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-30/two-thirds-americans-think-democratic-party-has-lost-touch-nation
Amazing how the DNC is following in GWB’s footsteps with America/Americans as victims of “evil doers” … still resonates … much of America believes we’re misunderstood and misunderestimated … it can even in time be morphed to exonerate Trump voters …
Personally, I anticipate and fear Trump’s “pivot to Asia.”
Being able to blame Trump on Russia: Priceless …
Who knew America’s democracy was so fragile as to be undone by some e-mails and some facebook “fake” news …
This is the payoff of a half-century of brainwashing Americans to believe that they are too stupid to understand current events and issues … learned incompetence / helplessness.
I don’t think it will hold up. There are certain things Americans are not stupid about, and the further into disempowerment we go with the current aristocracy (sorry, plutocracy) the closer to 1798. Plus the one honest fact we can lay to is Sanders’ appeal last year. Note I said last year. His appeal is considerably diminished now, but the spirit he evoked has not died. We need as Cornel West called for the other day a people’s independent party. Third party’s time is now here. Let some bright new star like Tulsi Gabbard step forward.
[D5-5: Please don’t use the word “meme” without a clue of it’s meaning.]
and your definition is…???
I can appreciate that long term readers of CN may be getting bored with all this attention to Russia Gate. It is so transparent, and so much has been revealed about those concocting it. Propaganda does become boring to those in a fascist state like Amerika who are on to it’s phony messaging. And there is so little that we can do to a populace not interested in doing the investigating needed to unmask these lies – one gets weary wishing folks would wake the hell up. Hannah Arendt’s thoughts on the “banality of evil’ come to mind. The meat grinder of fascist propaganda works slowly, but grinds down people’s minds very effectively.
Grinds down only the minds of those who consume that sewage. Dr Kiza’s prescription is teetotaling and Kiza is leading by own example. Starve the bastards of the click traffic.
Why are you torturing yourself?
The Clinton Legacy seems to be having turned the Party of Gene McCarthy to the Party of Joe McCarthy.
Then there is the supporting cast at MSDNC that encourages Rachel Maddow’s apparent sense of self-esteem that might be better described as conceit: Chris “Motormouth” Matthews, Joy Reed, Andrea Mitchell, Brian “beautiful display of Tomahawks raining down on Syria” Williams, etc.
And Lawrence O’Donnell who promoted the idea that Putin told Assad to launch a chemical attack so that Trump could launch a “for-show only” missile attack for the sole purpose of fooling people that he wasn’t a Putin puppet.
I missed that O’Donnell joke. Talk about conspiracy theories, who’s your daddy now?
I can’t thank you enough for the timing and the selection of this essay Robert Parry. We’re a society deeply affected by long time propaganda and it will take a concentrated effort to understand and when it is being “applied” and how to combat it on an equal scale.
Please see this article on Off Guardian and follow its research link…
https://off-guardian.org/2017/05/01/new-mccarthyism-39-of-democrats-name-russia-biggest-threat/
The link to Pew Research is here…. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/20/share-of-democrats-calling-russia-greatest-danger-to-u-s-at-its-highest-since-end-of-cold-war/
The rebranding of the infamous Howard Cosell rubber Brick to Rachel MadCow disease brick would be appropriate. Yeah MSDNC as you refer too them, is a huge let down when it comes to representing a liberal slant. On another comment Kiza and I had a conversation to the short lived American empire reign, and why the U.S. is in decay. To expand upon that discussion I would hold up our sick corporate owned media as exhibit A which has brought our number one spot to an end, if I were to have that opportunity too approach a qualified jury to make my case.
No offense Bob but my comment was to respond to Bill Bodden.
BTW Bob your references are right on to the subject we are discussing. Of all things this Russian bad guy talk by the Dem’s is seriously ill thought out. As you know Bob we are all living in a time where the last thing we need is another Cold War with Russia. Henry Wallace got ignored back in 46 with his warnings about this demonization of Russia, and as Twain had stated ‘history rhymes’, so here we are mimicking Joe McCarthey. Although this time, of all things, it’s the pseudo liberals leading the charge.
Thanks for clearing that up Joe, can’t afford to lose the few who listen to me…
Bob I sure hope I didn’t upset you. After I posted my first comment I could see it didn’t match up to what you had commented with, and then I saw what I did….so sorry, you know I always enjoy reading your comments, so excuse me Joe
Sometimes I feel these days that some how we are all living in a lunatic asylum, not in the Richest and Powerful Nation on the Earth. It seems like that, from all what you read, the World beyond the borders of ‘The Exceptional West’ should behave according to the polls,opinions, and whims of these chosen lucky people of the West
Have people of this country taken a look at their inner cities, Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago, . . . and seen the plight of people living there? Go to deep south and have a look at the black population there. It is sad to see it. And the brainwashed population living beyond the cities does not know a thing about the World outside the borders of U.S. either. And they are taking polls about their opinions of that other World! And how to run that outside World. How preposterous!
People in Russia, and probably in China too now, are any less educated than what we have here now – may be more educated.
I am not joking; we may be heading towards a different type of dark ages – may be some kind of a catastrophe. Please correct me if I am wrong, but the things are sliding in a downward spiral since 2001, and have accelerated during the last year.
Rachel Maddow is just symptom of this decline – this serious disease.
Bob, I also always read and enjoy your comments, you always make a worthwile contribution to the debate.
Absolutely.
I’m happy to see this appearing on “progressive” websites as well. This was the true “jumping the shark” of the democratic party and their final loss of legitimacy. What is really frightening is the final implication of this false narrative: inability to live with nuclear armed Russia. The real reason for the demonization of Russia is the fact the government is resisting rather than collaborating with a yankee regime bent on absolute corporate control.
Putin also tossed Soros and Rothschild out of his country…for obvious reasons…what got to Rachel MadCow anyway? she wasnt this blatantly subservient a year ago?
$30,000 a day can easily drive a mild-mannered human being so up in the clouds that plights of other humans on the ground s(he) looks at from that height resemble ants whose desires to survive must be meaningless!
It is apparent that those maligned blue collar folks, Hillary’s deplorables, have in many respects, far more common sense and intelligence than the 5% progressive zombies who watch Rachel Maddow show.
An economic system which pays the likes of Rachel Maddow, $30,000 per gig – which is more than annual earnings of many blue collar folks – to blurt out that garbage of lies every day needs to be replaced.
The Rachel Maddow and her cohorts are destructive, and a threat to the physical well being of the planet and it’s inhabitants.
Turn her off. I did. And MSNBC and CNN too.
Now the only “news” show I watch regularly is Tucker Carlson. At least by tuning in to FOX I got to see a great interview he did with Richard Dreyfuss regarding his Civics Initiative!
The real reason for the demonization of Trump is the fact that his proposed collaboration with Russia, and implicitly with China, would put the finish off the entire post-war system of “globalization” i.e. London-Wall Street financial dictatoship, that has been rejected by Brexit, by Trump’s win, in Italy, and perhaps soon France, Should Trump break out of that paradigm, the entire system of Empire, pitting West vs, East, will break down, as the world center of political and economic gravity has already shifted to the Chinese led “Belt and Road” initiative. The whole story has yet to be revealed, but today’s accusation by Sen. Grassley, of improper collaboration between the FBI and Christopher Steele, the MI6 author of the “dodgy dossier” the seminal report of the Russia-gate hoax, underscores the truth of the allegations by the president and Fox’s Judge Napolitano of the leading role of Britain’s intelligence and its HGCQ in the Russia-gate hoax, sometimes attributed to the mysterious “deep state.” Now which country was it that meddled in our elections?
The Democratic Party lost touch with Americans? I don’t think the explanation is THAT innocent for Hillary’s loss to Trump! The truth would land the Clintons and many more government officials in prison! Bernie Sanders was cheated out of a rightful candidacy for President! That’s the REAL truth as to why the Democratic Party lost the Presidential election like it did. Despite all the smoke and mirrors that we have seen coming from the Clinton/Soros camp, there STILL have been no indictments or HONEST investigations as to the criminal antics that sunk Clinton’s candidacy!
exactly…the actions of the DNC were criminal…people should be going to prison for tampering with a US election at this level….The fact that Bernie never said anything about what they did to him, was my initial reason to begin being suspicious of his role…Bernie may have better table manners, and pleads for better domestic issues, but he bears watching nonetheless…am pretty sure he would fold his hand to the Zionists anytime they asked…He would have to publicly leave the Dems for good before i would consider him in the future…and change his straight neo-liberal attitude in foreign policy
regards
D
Easy on the anti-semetic stuff Jesus was a Jew. Zion is going to be great. Fallafals for everyone.
Yes, but for one thing: Bernie wasn’t cheated out of his candidacy…he let it happen. Jill Stein, the best qualified candidate offered him the top of her ticket and he didn’t bother to reply. She should be president (the media wouldn’t let her, of course), but Bernie could have been with her, easily.
I agree. If Bernie was the “real deal” he would have jumped ship and joined Jill on the campaign trail. He sold his faithful out for the trappings of the DNC.
I think there are plenty of elites in this country who admire Putin’s Russia, and would like to emulate it. Others simply see him as a security threat and/or competition. You would be mistaken to think that either camp doesn’t want corporate control.