Damon Linker - still " feeling the Bern " ?

More from Damon Linker :
[" I almost can't believe it's come to this. I spent most of the 1990s as a neoliberal, the first few years of the 2000s as a conservative, and then every year since 2004 as a Democratic-leaning centrist once again. My political instincts run toward moderation. I'm reflexively hostile to radical politics. Yet here I am, strongly tempted to support lifelong democratic socialist Bernie Sanders for president.

How has it happened? Why am I feeling the Bern? "  ]
" Feeling the Bern " in Boston, at Harvard ? 

What was Marx's solution for the lumpenproletariat ? Not Hitler's !

Capitalism - like ancient slavery - works just fine for our privileged class. But not for the wage slaves!

Again I can connect Bernie Sanders SOCIALIST vision with that of the late Irving Howe. An excerpt from a March 13,2019 article in " This Week " by Damon Linker :

[ " My favorite definition of socialism, because it so well captures the dreamy, circular, and largely contentless character of the way it is usually invoked, comes from Irving Howe, the New York intellectual, founder of Dissent magazine, and a life-long figure on the social-democratic left. Howe famously defined socialism as 'the name of our desire,'with the 'our' referring to highly literate, non-Stalinist leftists like himself. Socialism is what people like Howe desired."]

Karl Marx did say that the ruling ideas are the ideas of the ruling class. The American ruling class makes the very idea of SOCIALISM anathema.

But could its mainstream news media really succeed in making working class people LOVE the reality of rotten capitalism and loathe the dream of socialism ?

My favorite Malcolm X quote : " Show me a capitalist and I'll show you a blood sucker ".

Capitalism - like ancient slavery - works just fine for our privileged class. But not for the wage slaves!

Bernie Sanders has more in common with Irving Howe than Fidel Castro

I give your comment an UP vote because I realize that confirmed socialists -whatever their base of operations - have a lot of EXPLAINING to do . To be sure , the history of SOCIALISM as political movement right here in the United States has succumbed to collective amnesia.
In brief , I think " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders, for decades now, has more in common with the late Irving Howe, author of " World of Our Fathers ". In that book Howe explains the political evolution of numerous New York " radical " Jews.
In his youth Irving Howe was infatuated with Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and thrilled - as were millions of working class people-with the drama of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
That revolution was indeed betrayed as Trotsky said.
Nevertheless the democratic socialism as an ideal survived the nightmare Stalin era.
It also survived the nightmare McCarthyism era in the USA. It continues to defend those very ALL-AMERICAN principles of FREE SPEECH and FREE THOUGHT .
Bernie Sanders has nothing to apologize for - except perhaps endorsing " Corrupt Hillary " in the 2016 presidential election.
I would hope a once again "defeated " Bernie Sanders would advocate for an independent third party in the United States. WE THE PEOPLE need to institutionalize a THREE PARTY SYSTEM in the USA. The new party will resemble the British Labor Party in its CLASS base. Call it the American Labor Party. This has nothing in common with bloody , " revolutionary " chaos- unless the American plutocracy provokes it .
Who does not see that the present Democratic Party is as unstable as a U-235 nucleus ?
I too deplore the lack of civil debate in the United States. FREE SPEECH and FREE THOUGHT must always be respected simply because any group in power or craving power can be mistaken in their ideas and opinions.
To be sure , no individual or political party has a patent on SOCIALISM or the blessing of HISTORY . Belief in a Higher Power , in God , is the perfect anti-dote to fatal hubris.
Good luck to Bernie in Mass. on Super Tuesday !

Jewish socialist Bernie Sanders has much in common with Irving Howe

@g miXail I am not completely negative on David North . His articles refuting old smears against the Russian Revolution and " communism " and " socialism " are well worth reading and should be on shelves in public libraries . HIs SEP is another matter. There is point where any small political party can cross over to CULT . Whole books have been written about this. To what degree does the SEP smother internal party democracy ? I see this GROUP THINK disease in the now illiberal liberal Democratic Party ( where it is THOUGHT CRIME not to think of Donald Trump as the root of all evil in " OUR democracy ). I never had any crush on the talented actor Tom Cruise. He had a remarkable performance as young Ron Kovic in " Born on the Fourth of July ". Where did I ever make a homophobic remark ? Where did I ever make a purely anti-Semitic remark not connected to anti-Zionism. How can I respond if I am BANNED ON THE WORLD SOCIALIST WEB SITE ? I find it odd the WSWS should accuse the New York Times - of all news organizations -of being anti-Semitic ? Does the Sulzberg family preside over this ? [ The Church of Scientology - see the TV documentary - is the quintessential PERSONALITY CULT . ] As a critical " critical supporter " of Bernie Sanders how can I be deranged with anti-Semitism ? By the way , Sanders might have more in common with the late Irving Howe, Jewish author of " World of Our Fathers ". Howe also was once infatuated with Leon Trotsky and the Russian Revolution. But he indentified himself as a SOCIALIST to very end - unlilke the neo-con right winger , belligerent Zionist David Horowitz ( one of those Jewish " red diaper babies " )

Today the decaying Left is increasingly contemptuous of the FREE SPEECH, FREE THOUGHT tradition of Western Civilization

We can find similar cheer leaders for the GREAT LEADER in the daffy " Clears " of the Church of Scientology . Many on the passionate Left might benefit from reading Eric Hoffer 's classic " The True Believer ". A traditional FREE THINKER would not hesitate to read the FOX NEWS articles and editorials . I even recommend Judge Bork 's book " Slouching Toward Gomorrah " . And Bertrand Russell's " Wisdom of the West ". Read the " reactionary " pre-Vatican II " Catholic Family News ". But also read the Fabian socialist H.G. Wells on World History . FREE SPEECH even in SCIENCE has a very practical value : you may be mistaken . But even SCIENCE is a god-that-failed in the 20th century. For me even the science buffoon and New Atheist Neil DeGrasse Tyson has as much credibility as an old Kevin Trudeau TV infomercial. Trudeau is still in federal prison last time I checked .Today the decaying Left is increasingly contemptuous of the FREE SPEECH, FREE THOUGHT tradition of Western Civilization. The term " democratic socialism " actually makes them nervous . They really don't believe in a fundamental principle of any democracy : MAJORITY RULE . If the sectarian Marxist party member has a soul , it is still the soul of an obtuse bureaucrat. The MASSES are not as docile as they think .

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Rhode Island Pro-life activist Chris Young dies of heart attack

Very sad to read about the sudden death of PRO-LIFE activist Chris Young. Any politicians who would still call themselves Catholic would side with Chris on the RIGHT TO LIFE of the unborn . That West Warwick priest was excoriated for citing Catholic Catechism -last time I checked about 1500 years old .
I hope his young Young family gets all the needed financial support on " GO FUND ME ".
RIP Chris Young.[ I did notice Chris years ago working on a computer at the CCRI library in Warwick . He was very intense. He was up against the hubris of " liberal" Democrat political correctness. On the PRO-CHOICE side this : " Kill it ", said billionaire Michael Bloomberg presently a Democrat candidate for president of the United States. " IT " was a baby in the womb !

Young had been known as a fearless pro-life advocate in Rhode Island for the last 20 years. Tuesday evening was no different.

A Happy Pro-Life Family of  Chris Young 

On the Left the Socialist Equality Party has a reputation for smear tactics, rudeness and disruption

I think very many honest democratic socialists would agree with me that David North's Socialist Equality Party resembles the gang of daffy " Clears " in the Church of Scientology ". What Black Muslim Malcolm X said about ALL capitalists applies to the " enterprising Jew " David North ( David Green ) : " Show me a capitalist and I'll show you a blood sucker ". Among the " Clears " in the SEP is one lawyer " Joe Williams " who imagined that he had FINALLY unmasked me as a vicious anti-Semite. When I asked him to produce ONE comment that qualified me as a Neo-Nazi anti-Semite - not a rather common anti-Zionist - I did not get the courtesy of REPLY . On the Left the Socialist Equality Party has a reputation for smear tactics, rudeness and disruption. It is indeed a David North personality cult. North , " The Great Oz " , the permanent GREAT LEADER of the VANGUARD of the working class. Yet , this sectarian Marxist party has no roots at all in the real working class. Here is a whiff of "Joe Williams " : [ "There has always been an element of society that would prefer to live as the opposite sex, and there's no reason to believe that they suddenly need aggressive marketing from medical companies to use new technology to do it. If more people are openly identifying as transgender, it is probably because technology has advanced so far over the last century that gender has become obsolete. There are very few jobs today that require the specific attributes of one sex or the other, and reproduction can occur in the lab. Gender existed to organize the division of labor by sex, and there is no longer any reason to do that."\ Lawyer Joe sounds like he would be right at home on the editorial board of the New York Times . No wonder he unmasks me as a " Catholic fascist " . Check with Darwin, not the Pope, if you think that MALE and FEMALE are irrelevant in human biology. Since when does Marxist historical materialism consider objective reality irrelevant ? Do you think you can sell Sam Harris New Atheism to the workers of the world - millions of them still religious , God fearing , millions of them Catholic ? The SEP will always be a TRUE BELIEVER isolated and much disliked sect . I blush with embarrassment : The Great Oz - the capitalist swindler David North - does not even know that " Radical Ron exists ". But his petty bourgeois lawyer does !

" Yellow Peril " revival hysteria over Chinese " Confucius Institutes " in the United States ?

As a democratic socialist I must deplore this " Yellow Peril "  revival hysteria over these Confucius Institutes. Did not our JFK inspired " Peace Corp " amount to the same thing : an opportunity for nationalist intrigue beside valuable cultural exchange ?  And as a democratic socialist I cannot be too anxious for the safety of sacrosanct " intellectual property ". The spirit of the PUBLIC LIBRARY !
                 If the Bryant University Student Senate wants to condemn  un-democratic China , it should also condemn -and call for a boycott - of Zionist Apartheid Israel.  Show some support for the dispossessed and oppressed Palestinians - also " genocide " victims .

How is FOR PROFITABLE capitalism compatible with a livable world ?

" The Founding Fathers penned these words in the Declaration of Independence and laid forth a vision of what America could be. There is hope in these words — hope for a world in which all people have their basic needs met, have the freedom to make their own choices, and have the opportunity to pursue a meaningful life in their own way." 

As an old democratic socialist myself -and a critical " critical supporter " of "socialist Democrat Bernie Sanders I must raise this question : how is any guarantee of economic security compatible with the nightmare world of global capitalism ? 

How is FOR PROFIT capitalism even compatible with a livable world ?

I am very impressed that young people today are not brainlessly turned off by the very idea of SOCIALISM. 

Do they realize how modest is Bernie Sanders " socialism " ? And yet the mainstream news media -his own Democratic party establishment - smears him as some weird old communist Russia loving Bolshevik . Naturally any form of SOCIALISM is anathema to our privileged plutocracy .

Also the Student Senate at Bryant University might consider condemning Zionist Apartheid for its continuous dispossession and oppression - even genocide -of the Palestinian people.

As a democratic socialist - a critical " critical supporter " of " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders - I have no problem with Chinese cultural institutions on college and university campuses. I can have a sardonic laugh over " Yellow Peril " revivals , the HATE RUSSIA, HATE CHINA New McCarthyism . The socialist in me has little anxiety for the safety of sacrosanct " intellectual property ". 

Also the Student Senate at Bryant University might consider condemning Zionist Apartheid Israel for its continuous dispossession and oppression - even genocide -of the Palestinian people.

         Just recently Bernie Sanders described Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu as a "racist reactionary ".

Footnote on Bernie Sanders- "RADICAL communist"

        As a lifelong democratic socialist I knew about Bernie Sanders when he was a more militant socialist than he is today.  Way back in 1980 I was a presidential elector for the Socialist Workers Party in Rhode Island ( along with A.Gagne ) when this same Bernie Sanders was a presidential elector for the Socialist Workers Party in Vermont .

                As for the history of socialism in the United States there is nearly a state of complete amnesia. The SWP - for all its flaws past and present -  denounced totalitarian STALINISM  way back in 1929 - after Leon Trotsky's exile.  True enough that middle class " democracy " in Russia after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution never  had a chance. Yes, today " socialist " Bernie is lot closer to FDR than to Lenin and Trotsky. And so am I . TRUTH is hidden by " Darkness Visible " in the FAKE NEWS mainstream news media .

                      All over the world you will never convince the vast majority of working class people that there is something inherently wicked about the very idea of SOCIALISM .

                      Could American capitalism survive an honest referendum ?

So the SEP in power would ostracize any working class people who " still believe in a higher power "?

g miXail [ @Ron Ruggieri try using your real name, moRon. You’ve been banned by half the internet community because you’re a senile old fascist who needs professional help. I can’t help you because you need to help yourself first and that’s going to be impossible because you still believe in a higher power. You talk about freedom of speech but dismiss freedom from religion. You reek of hypocrisy and I’m a fool for responding to your uninformed opinions. Take care moRon and seek some help before it’s to late. ]

@g miXail  What is  your name , smear artist ?   Ron Ruggieri is my real name . I was a presidential elector for the Socialist Workers Party here in Rhode Island ( now decayed and pro-Zionist ) way back in 1980 ( along with a Ms A. Gagne ) when a younger-and more radical - Bernie Sanders was a presidential elector for this same Socialist Workers Party in Vermont .
                      An old STALINST tactic is to attribute dissenting political views to mental illness.  So the SEP in power would ostracize any working class people who " still believe in a higher power "?  No wonder these cult Marxist parties always get an official ZERO PERCENT of the vote in any " bourgeois " election. How popular can making YOUR state " officially atheist " be ?
       Perhaps David North can use his private wealth to build a " Museum of Atheism " in the United States ?  And charge admission , of course. What would Engels do ?

How many anti-Semites quote Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky , Norman Finkelstein , and Irving Howe ?

g miXail @Ron Ruggieri try using your real name, moRon. You’ve been banned by half the internet community because you’re a senile old fascist who needs professional help. I can’t help you because you need to help yourself first and that’s going to be impossible because you still believe in a higher power. You talk about freedom of speech but dismiss freedom from religion. You reek of hypocrisy and I’m a fool for responding to your uninformed opinions. Take care moRon and seek some help before it’s to late.

  On the Left this " enterprising Jew " David North/ Green is not well liked -  mostly because he is perceived as a fraud and his  SEP followers much like the " Clears " of the Church of Scientology.  How many " socialist " parties denounce UNIONISM ?  Naturally David Green's printing company was NON-UNION . How convenient . But Engels would approve ? Leon Trotsky would approve? 
                   How many racist anti-Semites would quote Black Muslim Malcolm X with approval ? My favorite Malcolm X quote : " Show me a capitalist and I will show you a blood sucker "  ?
                  How many anti-Semites would be even  very critical " critical supporters " of " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders when nearly all the sectarian Marxist parties - with no roots whatever in the working class - are increasingly STALINIST in manners and morals ?  Like many " left-wing " thugs you show a disdain for the FREE SPEECH, FREE THOUGHT tradition of Western Civilization. And contempt for MILLIONS of the world's Christians ( Catholics too ) put you closer to that militant atheist reactionary Ayn Rand than to the " workers of the world .
                        Sad to see Chris Hedges " Truthdig " becoming as hostile to TRUTH as David North's World Socialist Web Site. A while back North and Hedges teamed up to demand respect for FREE SPEECH rights on the Internet. This " resident Catholic , anti-Semite , fascist " has been banned on " Truthdig " and the WSWS . Also I have been banned on NPR station( WBUR ) , on ABC on line, on the Brown Daily Herald on line.  But none of the PRO-ZIONIST censors produce ONE quote from my numerous past comments that would qualify me for membership in " Storm Trooper" or any other neo-Nazi group . How many anti-Semites quote Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky , Norman Finkelstein , and Irving Howe ?  Check out Radical Ron's Blog .

What WE THE PEOPLE really need is to institutionalize a THREE PARTY SYSTEM in the USA

Commented on Bernie Sanders responds to Mike Bloomberg's dig about Russia

As a longtime independent democratic socialist myself I am a critical " critical supporter " of Bernie Sanders . I think Bernie would be wise to distance himself from the HATE RUSSIA , New McCarthyism. I think his Democratic Party presently is as stable as a U-235 nucleus . What WE THE PEOPLE really need is to institutionalize a THREE PARTY SYSTEM in the USA . The plutocrats control both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. A once again betrayed " socialist " Democrat Bernie Sanders might consider calling for an American Labor Party similar in its class roots to the British Labor Party . Bernie Sanders - himself from a Jewish background - is a " Profile in Courage " in recently branding that Zionist friend of Trump , Benjamin Netanyahu , a " racist reactionary ". In the USA anti-Zionism is NOT anti-Semitism whatever FAKE NEWS says .