Dan Proft sees a Marxist under every bed

Poor Dan Proft. The conservative media mogul, political activist and consultant, simply can’t let go of the Marxist demons tormenting him in his quest to disparage everything associated with Black Lives Matter.

Last month I publicly criticized his TV ad blasting GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin simply because Irvin supported Black Lives Matter. I wrote: “In Proft’s bizarre worldview, Black Lives Matter is a Marxist organization determined to burn down American cities while destroying the nuclear family. Gee, didn’t catch that part of the Black Lives Matter agenda at BLM rallies I attended.”

I sent Proft my response to his scurrilous ad. A month later I received this response: “Unaware of BLM's Marxism? Try checking out their website. Try listening to the org's founders Patrisse Cullors and Alicia Garza.”

If Dan Proft asked a hundred folks at random to explain Marxism he’d likely see an eye roll and hear them mumble something about Groucho, Chico and Harpo. If he asked the same question about Black Lives Matter he’d likely get this. Black Lives Matter is a political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and inequality experienced by black people.

Why Proft continues to conflate Black Lives Matter with Marxism and destroying society is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. If he’s the best Illinois conservatives can come up with to understand our political society, the conservative movement here is in deep trouble.

Stirring at Oak Ridge after GOP poll

Poor Abe Lincoln. A hundred fifty-seven years after his assassination, the Illinois followers of the party he put on History’s map, keep assassinating his rest at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield.

His soul cannot rest comfortably with news that 90% of Illinois Republicans still idolize the anti-Republican who staged a coup to remain president. Worse, over two thirds believe his dastardly lie the election was stolen.

What’s truly disconcerting to Abe is that there is no state among the 50 where Republicans think differently. The only hope for his soul to get needed solace and rest requires a party name change. Hence forth, he requests that GOP, Grand Old Party, becomes TTP, Trump Treason Party.

Biden’s July 16 Saudi visit in 11 words

Biden heading out to head up with head Saudi headchopper MBS.

Worst Big Bordello in DC?

We taxpayers spend $93 million yearly in salary to 535 congresspersons to care for the commons and do the People’s business. We pony up many millions more for their office staff, amenities, health and retirement benefits.

And what do hundreds, maybe a majority of them do with this trust to protect us? They sell their souls and their votes like street walkers to the special interests degrading life in America.

The most prominent sellout today involves the massive sale and availability of machine guns to disturbed persons who commit mass slaughter in public places. The weapons makers provide millions in bribes to the congresspersons in order to secure billions in blood drenched profits. Enough take those bribes to ensure their likely lifetime hold on a servant job they’ve turned into an exploitation job. Most despicable is their reliance on the Constitution to justify the bloodbath killing over 45,000 yearly with hundreds of thousands wounded.

It’s just a short stretch from domestic violence to worldwide violence perpetrated by our gargantuan defense industry. The few millions shoveled into congressional coffers by gun makers pales in comparison to that sent by weapons makers to Capitol Hill to keep the defense budget soaring upwards over $813 billion in Fiscal ’23. But not satisfied with that proposed budget, these warmongers are demanding billions more. Can you say a trillion for perpetual war? The hundreds of thousands we’ve killed all over the Middle East and Africa makes no dent in the dented souls of virtually every one of those 535 senators and representatives. Not a single strong antiwar congressperson is left to push back to our unrelenting militarism worldwide.

The third sellout by most of the folks we’re relying on to maintain sustainable life on Mother Earth is to the fossil fuel industry. With the planet in peril, these craven congresspersons exclaim “What, me worry?” as they stuff the fossil fuel industry cash into their coffers.

Never saw the 1982 Bert Reynolds, Dolly Parton flick, ‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.’ But every single day I’m bombarded with more sorrowful news from The Worst Big Bordello in DC.’

Obama Ukraine comments sidestepped beginning of the catastrophe

Former President Obama spoke about the Ukraine war at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in Denmark Friday. Two things were missing from his remarks: Anything significant, and worse, his involvement in igniting the most violent warfare in Europe since WWII.

Regarding the first omission, is there any value whatsoever in this?

“Make no mistake, this war is far from over. US support for Ukraine must be strong, steadfast and sustained. The costs will continue to mount. The course of events … are hard to predict.”

That rhetoric is simply not former president worthy.

But it was Obama’s second omission, concerning possibly his worst foreign policy decision, that began the road to Russia’s current war back in 2014.

President Obama greenlighted US encouragement and support for the coup that ousted President Victor Yanukovych. That represented an act of war on Ukraine democracy.

What could go wrong in trying to detach Ukraine from partnering politically and economically with Russia? Just Russia seizing the Crimea to protect its naval base at Sevastopol, and starting a civil war between the new hard right US installed government and the Russian leaning Ukrainians in the Donbas. Over 14,000 were killed even before Russia's criminal invasion added immensely to that Obama inspired death toll.

The US government and media have largely erased Obama’s complicity in the ongoing Ukraine war that still has the potential to go nuclear between the US and Russia. But as the late, legendary radio commentator Paul Harvey might exclaim…”Now you know, the rest of the story.”

Griffin’s $50 million going down drain with Irvin

Illinois GOP Primary voters aren’t buying Richard Irvin’s fake conservative campaign to nab the GOP nomination for governor in the June 28 Primary.

They know Irvin was a ‘far left’ Democrat before he became a conservative fighter battling the far left. They also realize that Irvin was a big supporter of Black Lives Matter before he pivoted to promote only the 'All Lives Matter' meme of the anti Black Lives Matter crowd.

Irvin wants to be governor so desperately he skipped the Democratic Primary as a lost cause against competent, caring Governor Pritzker who speaks softly but gets results.

Instead, Irvin made a pact with the devil in the form of Illinois’ richest citizen Ken Griffin, who views Irvin as his 2022 version of do nothing Governor Bruce Rauner. Actually, Rauner delivered on Griffin’s millions by opposing unions, cutting the social safety net and refusing to address Illinois’ fiscal meltdown so Griffin could reduce his billionaire tax load.

Griffin’s $50 million, producing thousands of Irvin’s fake conservative ads, finds Irvin 15 points behind true conservative Darren Bailey. It’s gotten so bad Irvin has pulled his ads downstate where Republicans hoot at Irvin’s conservative charade. But Irvin is even losing support in suburban Chicago collar counties where Irvin hoped to win big June 28.

In his ads Irvin loves to boast he’s the Governor’s worst nightmare without offering a single alternative to Pritzker’s righting of Illinois’ financial ship while expanding the social safety net.

The real nightmare is the avalanche of Irvin’s snide, dishonest, valueless ads we’ll have to endure till June 28th, possibly all the way to November.

Trib coming to senses on Ukraine war?

It was encouraging to see the Chicago Tribune publish The Rev. Martin Deppe’s letter ‘The error of NATO expansion’.

It was a baby step back from the Trib’s initial bellicose support for U.S., NATO military support to help Ukraine defeat Russia on the Ukraine battlefield after Russia’s criminal February 24 invasion.

For the Trib, as well as virtually the entire U.S. media and national security establishment, Russia’s invasion represented a titanic battle of good v. evil, democracy v. authoritarianism that required the $54 billion in military aid we’ve funneled into the war zone, but not one drop of U.S. blood.

That was the ‘tell’ that our war aim was not to save Ukrainian lives, but to further weaken and isolate Russia in our new Cold War to keep them out of Western European economic and political life.

After 109 days, two things to the ‘win at all costs except U.S. blood’ crowd are becoming clear. First, Ukraine can never push Russia out of Crimea and the Donbas. Ukraine lost Crimea in 2014 when they instituted war to crush the Donbas separatists after the U.S. supported coup to upend Ukraine democracy. Now, they’ve lost the Donbas from their provocative and self-destructive refusal to implement the 2015 Minsk II Accords which would have granted regional autonomy to the Donbas while keeping it under nominal Ukraine sovereignty.

Second, they are realizing that no amount of weaponry short of that provoking nuclear war will end the conflict which is inexorably destroying Ukraine as a functional state.

That leads inevitably to the only sane and sure method to end the war: negotiated settlement.

Rev. Deppe’s letter hints at that inevitability. Can the Trib take the hint? More importantly, can the United States?

Obama Ukraine comments sidestepped the beginning of the catastrophe

Former President Obama spoke about the Ukraine war at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit in Denmark Friday. Two things were missing from his remarks: Anything significant, and worse, his involvement in igniting the most violent warfare in Europe since WWII.

Regarding the first omission, is there any value whatsoever in this?

“Make no mistake, this war is far from over. US support for Ukraine must be strong, steadfast and sustained. The costs will continue to mount. The course of events … are hard to predict.”

That rhetoric is simply not former president worthy.

But it was Obama’s second omission, concerning possibly his worst foreign policy decision, that began the road to Russia’s current war back in 2014.

President Obama greenlighted US encouragement and support for the coup that ousted President Victor Yanukovych. That represented an act of war on Ukraine democracy.

What could go wrong in trying to detach Ukraine from partnering politically and economically with Russia? Just Russia seizing the Crimea to protect its naval base at Sevastopol, and starting a civil war between the new hard right US installed government and the Russian leaning Ukrainians in the Donbas. Over 14,000 were killed even before Russia's criminal invasion added immensely to that Obama inspired death toll.

The US government and media have largely erased Obama’s complicity in the ongoing Ukraine war that still has the potential to go nuclear between the US and Russia. But as the late, legendary radio commentator Paul Harvey might exclaim…”Now you know, the rest of the story.”