Aggressive Progressives: January 11, 2018

In Aggressive Progressives - On Demand, Membership by Gigi Manukyan58 Comments

On this week’s Aggressive Progressives, Jimmy Dore is joined by Stef Zamorano and Malcolm Fleschner talk #Timesup Hollywood supporters’ connections with Roman Polanski, Amazon CEO richest man in world, and UN votes to reject Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital. Jimmy interviews James Cromwell and Pramilla Malick on their crusade to end fracking.

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  1. Wow, this was another top notch Aggressive Progressive! I loved how much Stef and Malcolm had to say tonight, they were both just as strong as Jimmy! Way to stay on track tonight too and cover so much. Love this show, love all you, thanks for doing what you do.

  2. Part of the story I didn’t hear covered: Amazon pays publishers 45% of the cover price and the publisher pays shipping. Bookstores, which were put out of business by Amazon, paid 60%.

  3. I am going sane in aa crazy world, and so I write to make sense of things. Here is my latest.

    SHITHOLE VERSUS SHITPILE

    Everyone is outraged that Trump used shithole to describe Haiti and Afican countries. They are denouncing Trump and journalists are asking if Trump is racist. I would like to answer their question. I first heard of Trump around 1980. I determined he was racist then, and he has done nothing to change my opinion. I made a decision to not give a shit about him during the 1980’s. But these same journalists make that very difficult. Trump was thrust on the world by a corporate takeover. There is a certain jag-off comedian that pretends thaat Trump will wake people up to the corruption in our world since he puts an ugly face on things. But journalists and politicians are using Trump as a distraction from the real face of ugliness.

    Trump used the term «Shit-hole countries» to describe Haiti and African countries. The important word that he used was hole. These are places where Western governments went in and stole the resources, leaving a hole. They have never paid the people their just value, since they assumed that it was their right to do this. They then used those resources to make a pile of money. And they sit on that pile of money. So they live in «Shit-Pile countries». This same jag-off comedian also says that money is like shit; if you spread it around it makes things grow, but if you pile it up it stinks.

    I used to work in the energy field in Wyoming. In fact I helped build the largest coal mine in the world. But there was no coal mine when I started, only sagebrush and cactus and sun and wind. When they built the machines and the structures to scrape away the earth, they found the richest seam of coal the world has ever seen. It is now a Shit-Hole place. All of the money went east. I now live in Switzerland which is a real Shitpile country. Wall Street comes here to bank. People here like living on their pile of shit.

    In the 1970’s I thought it would have been better to use the sun and wind for energy instead of making a shithole. The Shitpilers told me I was crazy. I am saying the same things today, but the Shitpilers have changed their tune. They have invested in fossil fuels and don’t want to lose their shitpile. But people know there is a better way, and so they say they will get off of their shitpile for 2050, or 2035. Why have they picked those dates? To keep their pile of shit for a little while longer. I think it is time to spread that shit around. We need to make things grow. The Shitpilers have also invested in weapons to drop on people living in Shithole countries. A weapon doesn’t help anything grow except shitpiles. Stop making War.

    1. This is by far the my favorite and most eloquently written essay on “shit”. Loved it, thanks for sharing your knowledge.

  4. I was watching MAJORITY REPORT this morning and something happened that I feel the need to call out.

    I was hoping that “the feud” could FINALLY be laid to rest, but it’s obvious that that’s never going to happen.

    This morning Seder’s toilet-trained monkey began (poorly) imitating Jimmy, and that was it for me.

    When Sam isn’t taking his own shots, he’s more than happy to let his viewers, listeners, and staff take theirs. Nice.

    And, he even attacked one of his callers the other day. While interrupting the caller frequently, he gave him 30 seconds to rattle off any “proof” that Hillary and the DNC rigged the 2016 Primary. It was sad, sick, and hilarious all at the same time. But, mostly sad.

    So, I think we’ve long passed the point where we need to ask how ANY honest actor could have seen what the DNC, Hillary, and her shills in the MSM did to Bernie Sanders (and continue to do), and then, just not get why real progressives are bitter.

    Because, how dare the people at the end of the line defy Hillary and the DNC. They should know their place and be grateful for any platitudes that fall off Tom Perez’s dining table. Right?

    And, 2020 is going to be a blast. MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD-JOE criticizes Bernie, Millennials, Progressives, etc. And, then spews BOOTSTRAP talking points he stole from the GOP. Don’t forget to make a crack about Avocado Toast and iPhones. Punch Left. Punch Down. Yeah, baby. Mmmm.

    Perhaps, it’s time for the Middle-Of-The-Road Democratic Party to adopt a DEAD ARMADILLO as a mascot. (Jim Hightower reference) #DeadArmadillos

    In 2018, voters may abandon the Freak Show in the White House that they voted for last time. And, Establishment Democrats will be able to, once again, give the middle finger to progressives, but their days are numbered.

    Because people know.

    We know that if politics were a boxing match, then Establishment Democrats would be the fighter who gets PAID TO TAKE A DIVE. Every. Damn. Time.

    Establishment Democrats: Building a Bridge to Nowhere Since 1992.
    Slogan: Honey, this Shopping Cart Only Swerves to the Right!

    So, anyway, back in 2010, I noticed just how um, “uninspired” Obama appeals for voter turnout were. I couldn’t understand why. Then, he used poor voter turnout to justify compromise after compromise. And then, after winning re-election in 2012, he admitted that he’s basically a Moderate Republican.

    I guess we should just be grateful that he interrupted his lucrative Wall Street Speaking Tour to visit France and to once again lecture voters about how THEY failed (to turnout).

    So very tired of this.

  5. Malcolm was on fire today! Great to have you on the show, Malcolm, enjoyed your commentary very much, especially on the Radigan segment. Thank you!

  6. Nobody seems to treat abject greed and the pursuit of infinite zeros in your bank account as a mental disorder. I personally see the pursuit of becoming a millionaire /billionaire as being no different than hoarding old vcrs, major difference being in order to become a billionaire as a capitalist, you need to make sure everyone helping you struggles.

    Because only you can get all those zeroes.

  7. When you do your segment on worker owner businesses be sure to research how companies like Ace Hardware and Ocean Spray had to hide that they are worker owned because of the Red Scare. There are still worker owned companies of many different sorts. Peoples Food Coop in Portland and WinCo are worked owned. Radio Cab Company which I work for, and am a partial owner, is also worked owned, but as a Class C corporation. It makes sense that the workers should make decisions about how a company is run. And the supervisors and managers are people that were once just the lowest rung of the workers. When companies promote from within there is more compassion than a system in which rich dynasties make all the decisions based on money alone.

    1. Also, they should at least address how and why TYT itself is none of these things. Since TYT is a for-profit company where workers have zero ownership stake nor do they get any say over any businesses decisions (and neither do the Members, obviously, but that goes without saying).

      This is in sharp contrast with TYT’s more progressive rival organizations, such as for example The Real News. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_News

      The Real News is a <b a non-profit news organization which does not accept funding from advertising, governments, or corporations. It doesn’t take money from corporate investors either, obviously. By contrast, TYT takes high amounts of money from advertisers, corporations and corporate investors, all of which combines into a sum of money which is several times greater than the money contributed by members.

      The Real News even turned down $50,000 in funding from the Canadian government once. Apart from viewer donations, all they take is grant money, i.e. grants from other non-profit organizations such as the MacArthur Foundation which provides no-strings-attached funding to non-profit journalism and other non-profit activities in 50 countries.

  8. Hi Jimmy, I just watched the full AGGRESSIVE PROGRESSIVES show and I wanted to comment about the RIGGED 2016 PRIMARY.

    About a week ago, SAM SEDER (your biggest fan) ended MAJORITY REPORT by losing his shit when a caller mentioned the RIGGED 2016 PRIMARY.

    Sam said that there was NO WAY HILLARY COULD RIG THE ELECTION BECAUSE “SHE DIDN’T CONTROL THE STATE PARTIES”.

    Um, which state parties?

    The state parties that were heavily dependent on HILLARY for FUND RAISING?

    The state parties that HILLARY (appears to have) LAUNDERED MONEY through in order to bypass DONATION LIMITS?

    The state parties that HILLARY and the DNC (which she also controlled) STARVED FOR CASH?

    Keep drinking that Establishment Kool-Aid.

    It’s so yummy! : )

  10. Another powerful show that heats up more and more as the hour and a half goes by. I always love when Jimmy invites environmental heroes like Cromwell and Malick. Thanks Jimmy, Stef, Malcolm and crew.

    At the end of the show, did I hear Malcolm say that maybe they could add another half hour? I sure hope so!

  11. If what you’re doing is so awful that even countries that “have no moral standing” are appalled by it, that doesn’t really help your case. Quite the opposite.

  12. Didn’t Cuomo, during the campaign, claim to have the seventh largest army in the world – the NYPD police force? He probably feels pretty safe to do whatever he wants.

  13. Way off the subject topic but AP crew as an old metal head I recognize all your intos but can’t figure out who/what they are if you read this and have time it would be great if you could clue me in. Thanks you guys rock!

  14. Well jimmy America made people hate unions they scared everyone saying that unions are communist and that the unions were run by the mafia so lets say thanks to main street media for making unions the evil do’s i know Jeff is happy yea!!!

    1. I grew up in a pro-union (teachers & auto) family in Michigan, 60s-80s.

      The amount of hate the teachers and autoworkers get here is a combination of “Greed is Good” propaganda and Union Leaders snuggling up to Management/CEOs.
      Soooo many people lost jobs and then down-graded their lives with shitty, BigBox jobs.

      Then they started voting Republican because they offered a release valve for their frustrations … HATE.
      Hate minorities, hate women, hate teachers, hate the Union… but do NOT hate the “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous,” cuz YOU could win the Lotto!

      I think some Union Leaders also became caught in the vicious cycle of having no pro-union, pro-worker candidates to support. The fucking old & useless “lesser of 2 evils” argument.

  15. Well!?!…..Roman Polanski is Frank Descent so French Values?! we r finally questioning Western Eurocentric Values?!

    The problem with EVERYONE’s issue on Capitalism is solely based on Topic of European Colonialism laying out the foundation of Western interpretation of Capitalism to be taught as unspoken word of Capitalism means.

    Regarding the LAST story of this episode. Im very conflicted….I feel like Jimmy used the wrong clip to stress this complaint but i understood his point by i also understood Obama’s point which i think Jimmy misunderstood.

  16. Hey Jimmy, Stef and Malcolm (or whoever is reading this). I just wanted to say out loud that I am letting my TYT membership go, but I would like to keep watching Aggressive Progressives, because it’s the only thing worth watching on TYT anymore. I contributed in the “Membership drive” “The Journalism drive” “The Justice Democrats drive” only to see TYT swallowed up by corporate investment when they are “member supported”, be disowned by the JD over 15-year-old blog posts, Jordan Chariton being fired for a sex scandal that could probably could have been avoided by better oversight (a failure of management, I believe Cenk said).
    I have come to the conclusion that watching TYT and maybe all news makes my life worse, not better. Because TYT, such as it is, does not break stories, and the “journalists” that were hired never appear on the main show.
    I mean, AP is just Jimmy’s show recycled (and Jimmys show is under TYTcomedy? That never made sense to me) but I still enjoy it. But it’s just not worth $10/month for this one show. I make 17 bucks an hour. I basically can’t watch Ana at all anymore because of the coughing and her obviously being burnt out. She should take time off and get healthy. Anyway I’m disgruntled and grumble grumble bitch bitch everything is someone else’s fault-
    Except that’s not true, is it? I was a paying member and contributed basically when asked, and felt like being part of something bigger, like going to see Bernie speak for the first time, before the primary. Everything since then, in local AND national politics and news, including TYT, has been disappointing. I felt like I held up my end. I caucused, contributed, participated, only to be cheated by my own party, and perhaps this network. So maybe it’s not fair to put it all on TYT… But it still doesn’t make the main show worth $10/bucks a month. Basically the entire show today was “TRUMP something something and the media is only focused on the something and we are outraged but here we go let’s talk about Trump for 2 hours and be outraged with no actual reporting or substantive commentary. Where are the journalists? I can’t remember the last time I saw a TYT microphone in front of anyone important’s face, without going to TYTpolitics. Why are they never on the main shows? Because I’m pretty sure everyone hired is just doing their own thing so you could follow them independently and get information that way. Also in fairness, it would be really hard to do stories about Trump every goddamned show. So maybe TYT shouldn’t.

    1. this show was started in response to our frustration with the Main Shows story choices of Trump Trump Trump, Russia Russia Russia!!!! So, just so you know, we feel you.

  18. Obviously Dylan Ratigan either has MET Jeff Bezos at some point and is not wanting to be horrible to him, or has done SOMETHING with someone from Amazon, and does not want to be totally horrible. This is NOT him trying to be nice about capitalism before criticizing, I don’t feel that AT ALL.

    1. No one knows but I got the same feeling. It’s good to debate with the other side and you don’t throw you’re opponents under the bus at every chance you get.

      1. Was Jeff Bezos always this far removed from what a human being is ? When he was running his business out of a garage, maybe not. And possibly that is what Dylan is referring to.

        The executives at my company who also work in distribution have given him praise in team meetings. I’m usually the only one in the room groaning, I firmly believe people can change, but in Jeff’s case, for the worse. Maybe he will redeem himself but there is carnage in his wake

  20. The reason why neoliberals are pushing fracked gas and basically liars about renewables is because THEY KNOW energy is key to keeping economic growth and therefore keeping peace and the status quo chugging along. The moment our energy system slows down you will have an economic collapse. They know and understand this VERY WELL. I’m sure it is discussed heavily in the secret congressional hearings on national security.

    It is also the main reason why DAPL went through easily. What Obama did to help “pause” DAPL was a political stunt. He knew very well it was going to happen with or without him.

  21. The criticisms against capitalism just seem so vague and ambiguous in this segment. Like having minimum wages, anti-monopolies, high taxes, and social safety nets doesn’t make a society “anti-capitalist.” That’s just nonsense laissez-faire capitalism.

    You brought up Co-ops which is a great example of alternatives to public corporations. And there’s a large variety of different ways to structure corporations in America (like apparently Kickstarter is a “Benefit Corporation”). So let’s say like 30% of corporations become some version of Co-ops, would that make America capitalist? I don’t know. They’d obviously be competing in the market and such.

    I know in Germany they have some sort of regulation that workers have like half the stake of a corporation. So the investor side and the worker side have to come to agreements. I guess that’s like a hybrid system? Still seems pretty capitalist to me (although that would be decried as socialism in America).

    So the demands for anti-capitalist rhetoric from Malcolm and Jimmy just seemed rather odd to me. Especially because a lot of TYT owed to the entrepreneurial spirit of Cenk and the rest of the team. Like it seems to me that Cenk would agree with the details with what they’re saying, but would disagree that those details are “anti-capitalist.”

    1. The difference between Cenk and Jimmy here seems based on semantics. They don’t seem to have substantively different views, but rather different views on what constitutes capitalism.

    2. I believe it’s vague because the issue is inherent in the Price System and I’m pretty sure everyone on the panel is aware of this. Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, are all versions of the Price System. Most of the alternative ideas shared will not be sustainable under any circumstances moving forward if all we do is make changes within the Price System. I believe Co-ops are a progressive next step in terms of how to operate society in a humanistic and secular way but it still leaves a lot to be desired. I think Cenk still believes in capitalism and probably thinks having a mixture will be the solution. I disagree. There will always be conflict within a Price System because the goal is to ultimately one up the person next to you in terms of resources. Additionally, growth has to happen for the society to function which is not possible on a finite world.

      At some point de-growth or “sustainable” economics will have to be introduced because the Price System is ultimately the problem. Everyone is slowly catching on and conservatives around the world are losing their shit because they think it’s a massive conspiracy that multiple think tanks, science foundations, ecology groups, academics etc are coming to same conclusion that our system is broken and it will take society at all levels to come to terms with this and create a new paradigm. It’s a slow and ugly process but it is doable. We just have to create ways to educate and communicate these ideas. I believe what Bernie Sanders and the Progressive movement are doing is hopefully facilitating a movement capable of taking power away from the corporate oligarchy and giving it to the people who actually produce and create the technology, information and products we enjoy using.

    3. I find an interesting difference between pure capitalism and the neoliberalism that authors like Chris Hedges talks about. You can have a capitalist society overtaken by the some capitalist loop-holes (ie Citizens United). Is that capitalism’s fault? Yes, the formula needs attention. When I hear anti-capitalist rhetoric I don’t hear zero tolerance but moving the discussion towards areas of improvement.

  23. Did you know…? Henry Ford originally built his Model T to run on ethanol from hemp (which he grew on his Dearborn, Michigan farm). His idea was to include an easement along all new roads where hemp would be grown and harvested by the local counties for a constantly renewable fuel source. But then oilman John D. Rockefeller “showed him the money”…

      1. I remembered hearing this when I visited there many years ago…
        “Ethanol has been known as a fuel for many decades. Indeed, when Henry Ford designed the Model T, it was his expectation that ethanol, made from renewable biological materials, would be a major automobile fuel.”
        “Ford recognized the utility of the hemp plant. He constructed a car of resin stiffened hemp fiber, and even ran the car on ethanol made from hemp. Ford knew that hemp could produce vast economic resources if widely cultivated.” — from
        http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/conspiracy/facts/fordhemp.html

  26. @25 minutes: Malcolm asks “Why do apologists of capitalism have to think only on the margins?” Great question. Thinking on the “margins” will only perpetuate the status quo. It’s imperative to have a revolutionary transformation of society to solve the problems of today. Fuck working on the margins.

  27. jimmy, you don’t need any face work at all. don’t be so stereotypical LA (; when i met you in person here in SF a few months back even then i thought you looked like you could be in your 30s and i still do. you also look distinguished. just go with it!

  28. You keep saying you’re going to do a story on Ahed but then you never do. Nothing about her and the other Palestinian child prisoners in Israel on the main show either. What’s up with that?

  29. Jimmy, maybe you can try this out: at the end of every show, name just one member of the crew. I’d like to just have that gentle familiarity with their names if I ever hear them. Listing them all would take too long, sure, but listing one each episode would be better than not mentioning any of them, I feel.

    1. I can see this happening. : )

      PROTESTOR: You hate freedom!

      TRUMP: I love freedom, really love the Statue of Liberty. Great tits.

      PROTESTOR: Just die already. Like, now would be good.

      #ShitholePresident #DeadbeatDonald #CongenitallyStupid #BungholeDonnie

  32. I’m a single mom and I do not get food stamps. It does not make me less intelligent having a child nor does it make me a leech of the system. Regardless of who you are or how poor you are I believe everyone has the right to food in their belly and a roof over their head with zero questions asked. But of course I’m a weirdo like that.

    1. I agree, what good is a system that throws us to the wolves and says “See Ya. Best of Luck”?

      The name of a recent TYT clip on YouTube was “Capitalism is Actually Socialism for the Rich.”

      That needs to be on a TYT shirt.

      I think the whole RUSSIA SCARE thing is because they plan on equating COMMUNISM with SOCIALISM, and then SOCIALISM with UNIONISM, because UNIONS slightly threaten the profits of the Oligarchs.

      1. Uh, I guess that should really have been

        #ShitBagPresident

        because I wasn’t intending to criticize the White House or America.

        There’s plenty of time for that later. : )

  33. Employees on food stamps. I am poor, I was smart enough not to have a kid when I can’t afford one. My reward. No food stamps for me, because I am single and have no kids. Go figure.

    1. It’s the shame of all humans when people can feed, cloth or house themselves not matter the circumstances. But taking food stamps from a child because their parent made bad choices is punishing a child for something that they can’t control. We don’t get to choose who our parents are. IMO the real complaint her, is everybody who needs it should have access to it and we the 99% should stick together and not allow the immoral people out there who create unfair and uneven policies so that we attack each other and not focus on the true evil.

      1. Divide And Conquer: It seems to work every time.

        Don’t blame the parasite now getting a deduction for his private jet, blame the poor.

        Punch Left. Punch Down. Mmmm, it feels so, so good.

  34. The Tapper stuff makes me sad because Tapper is generally decent for mainstream news, though perhaps my expectations have been lowered too far. I disagree with Jimmy’s stance though; you need to use both carrot and stick, otherwise what’s the point in changing? Don’t get into the purist mode which means that writing a stupid blog post in jest 20 years ago means that you couldn’t possibly have changed into a better person who knows it’s wrong.

    1. I think most people, including Jimmy, thought Jake Tapper was pretty decent. But that just makes this ugliness feel worse, doesn’t it?

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