Because you’re once… twice… three times a loser. Jim Jordan can’t get it done. What a surprise that one of the most extreme members of Congress can’t achieve consensus on whether or not he should be the one to decide what bills come before Congress. Watching Republicans try to blame Democrats for dysfunction in the House would be joyful if it wasn’t so transparent and pathetic.
If you haven’t watched Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef on Piers Morgan, do yourself a favor. It’s been viewed more than 15 million times on Morgan’s channel alone, so I imagine you’ve seen it. But still… This is next level irony that manages to entertain, enrage and inform all at once in the style of Jon Stewart.
As many listeners of the pod know, I have been planning at least one episode on Israel/Palestine for several months. Honestly, I was taking my time, and the socialism series took waaaay longer than I anticipated. With a renewed sense of urgency, I’ve pushed aside the editorial calendar to focus on a mini-series that tackles the issue, UNFTR-style. This will be slow going as well, and deadlines may be blown. I air out the reasons why I decided to cover the conflict in the introductory episode, so give it a listen.
Credit card delinquency rates have crept back up, and are now exceeding pre-pandemic levels. While the rate is only 2.7%, which is still relatively low in historical terms, the trend-line is steep, steady and undeniable. I think Powell is pausing because he knows his job is about to be done. Meaning, he’s almost there in manufacturing the recession he wanted. These are the small indicators that we’ve been talking about—the ones that will bely the “bottom-up and middle-out” narrative of the Biden administration. The consumer has more debt, less cash in the bank and it’s getting harder and harder to find the balance. It’s bleeding through to the commercial sector, as well as commercial deposits have leveled off, and even shrunk a tiny bit. Big business will be fine as large sectors begin to receive the windfall of stimulus cash from the government, but it’s hard to imagine the average consumer doing well while rates remain so high. The real shame of it will be the timing of the election.
Headlines
What Friends Owe Friends
Richard Haass was the President of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations for 20 years under multiple administrations. I wanted to include his advice to Israel to get a feel for the warm tones of diplomacy during a time of horror and mayhem. As the former special envoy to Northern Ireland, Haass also draws parallels between Israel and Britain to offer a more diplomatic path forward to easing tensions, as though that’s possible in the Middle East. China, Iran, Lebanon, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are all drawn into Haass’ geopolitical puzzle, which provides a view into the tricky waters our aging and beleaguered president is about to wade. Far from an endorsement of Haass’ worldview, I’m sharing this to help explore the mind of those responsible for crafting U.S. policy in the world.
From the article:
“The first argument against a large-scale invasion is that its costs would almost certainly outweigh any benefits. Hamas does not present good military targets, as it has deeply embedded its military infrastructure in civilian areas of Gaza. An attempt to destroy it would require a large-scale assault in a densely populated urban environment, which would prove costly for Israel and lead to civilian casualties that would generate support for Hamas among Palestinians. Israel would also suffer extensive casualties, and additional soldiers could be abducted. If there is a historical analogy, it is closer to the U.S. experience in Afghanistan and Iraq than to what Israel accomplished in its 1967 and 1973 wars.”
Trying to navigate current events in the Middle East is nearly impossible. Separating propaganda from reporting is a true science these days that most of us aren’t qualified to do. That’s why it’s critical to find sources you trust who are steeped in reporting on certain issues. One of the writers I admire most when it comes to unpacking U.S. foreign policy is Spencer Ackerman, who has moved his publication Forever Wars from Substack to Ghost. This article addresses the double speak from the Biden administration where aid to Gaza is concerned.
From the article:
“Whatever the modalities of getting aid into Gaza—again, amidst conditions of total siege, which is unmistakably collective punishment, so there's an arsonist-as-firefighter element at work here—the administration clarified its position at the United Nations on Wednesday. There, the U.S. vetoed a resolution demanding ‘humanitarian pauses’ in the forthcoming Israeli sack of Gaza (and I presume Hamas rocket attacks) for the delivery of needed assistance to desperate people, as Amb. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the resolution ‘did not mention Israel’s right of self-defense.’ That put the U.S. squarely on the side of the continued bombing and potential re-invasion of Gaza, not the provision of aid—to say nothing of the preservation of life.”
Dave from UNFTR’s resident band, Hold Fast: “After a few whiskeys and cigars at a recent social gathering, a conversation between myself and The Captain spawned a random thought…We should separate the profits created from the outputs of Capital from the artificial wealth built by financial systems that simply use money to create money. You can keep your share of your company's real profits. But we should tax the fuck out of the phony money that was created out of thin air.”
This Week on the Pod
Palestine: An Introduction.
The Land Imperialism Left Behind.
Max finally takes aim at the Israel/Palestine conflict with an introduction that frames the approach for the mini-series and sets guardrails for what will undoubtedly be an emotional journey for many UNFTR listeners. This episode answers why we decided to tackle this issue and how we’re examining it through a socioeconomic lens and Marxist view of history. It also dismisses two foundational deceptions pertaining to the larger narrative surrounding the conflict. This introductory episode concludes with several “level-setting” statements and a challenge: “If you can hold these thoughts in your mind at once, we can proceed.”
Here’s a snippet from the pod:
“Palestine has the unfortunate distinction of being the least conducive territory to nationalistic tendencies, and therefore the worst expression of them in a world that demands that we identify as such. Who are you if you do not belong to a nation? Who are you if you cannot define the borders in which you exist? Gone are the days of empire. This is the time of nation states. The Vatican can exist in the comfortable enclave of a predominantly Christian nation state. But what of Jerusalem? The Kingdom of David. Where Muhammed took flight on his night journey. Where Christ was crucified.”