Thanks for your excellent work! Do you have any plans to examine the complicity of Democratic legislators in Biden's patterns?
You're right to critique Biden's support for restraints on speech, which have extended well beyond student protests. I wrote last year about his revealing decision the year before to block a proposed strike by railworkers. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/washington-masquerades-as-hollywood
But Biden is far from alone. Pelosi (who I challenged, and faced in the November 2020 election only to fall prey to a racist character assassination orchestrated by her minions) recently called for FBI investigations targeting her left-wing critics. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/democratic-icon-nancy-pelosi-accuses
I wonder whether focusing only on Biden lets the rest of his party off the proverbial hook, and whether this political moment (witnessing mounting outrage at increasingly unapologetic bipartisan fascism) might present the chance for the corporate duopoly to finally face a credible threat from outside voices. I wrote at some length about Cornel West, for instance, who may be poised—with sufficient visibility—to expose the corruption on which Biden and the Democrats rely. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/cornel-west-can-force-a-reckoning
Hi, super quick question, literally what the fuck is Biden talking about? Like yes I get that he's a Zionist and Zionists are always going to respond to critique by claiming anti-Semitism, but - Jewish students getting attacked on their way to class?? Raging anti-Semitism across college campuses?? This definitely has happened before, when Nazis were marching on Charlottesville for example, but I don't recall Democrats ever having this strong a reaction to that stuff! Are there major news stories I have totally missed in which Jewish students are getting assaulted on US campuses? Or is this literally just him referring to the angry counter-protesters who have been inciting conflict at peaceful pro-Palestine protests?
Biden is an unapologetic authoritarian, and his record proves it. From his support for a genocide in Gaza to his support for domestic restraints on speech and organizing—not just by students, but also railway workers—he has revealed his unfitness for office. Democrats whining about Trump ducked into a political punch by supporting a 2024 election process lacking meaningful primaries or debates, and they share responsibility for creating Trump in the first place: first by promoting him in the 2016 primaries in an idiotic attempt to make Clinton look better by comparison; again in 2020 by proceeding with a co-opted and limited impeachment process that excluded bipartisan corruption; and again in 2023 by allowing him to duck primary debates. As I put it earlier this year, "Genocide Joe is no defender of democracy." https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/genocide-joe-is-no-defender-of-democracy
It's also worth noting that, at times like these when corruption has seized our formal institutions, the cultural work of artists to delegitimate those institutions becomes all the more important. I published a piece just this morning observing a new viral song (building on the legacy of Black & Palestinian artists who have been speaking truth to power for decades) that, one hopes, might portend a potential inflection point. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/music-against-genocide
“I think Biden will get out there and subscribe to Ken Krassenstein’s newsletter.” Asked if he was moved to be a paid subscriber, Biden’s response was blunt.
Is it that I have finally entered the middle age and that is what happens, or does it really seem like America is going to finally get the fascism that it has always craved?
Middle age might come with a shift in perspective, but the fascism you astutely recognize is also an unfortunately objective (not merely subjective) phenomenon. My only quibble with your question is that it frames fascism as a future fear, rather than a fait accompli. I explored the recent history of bipartisan fascism in the U.S. at https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/fears-of-a-fascist-future-overlook and always welcome any comments or constructive concerns.
You assume the protesters represent young people. I don't see evidence for that. And I don't think Obama is a good example of how to deal with protesters. Michael Brown was killed because he attacked a cop. Obama fanned the flames and stoked racial division while being in a unique position to appeal to reason. The claim that people of some races are subjected to lethal force by police more than others is not supported by the data.
Hello klip army, will respond to any questions you have here.
Thanks for your excellent work! Do you have any plans to examine the complicity of Democratic legislators in Biden's patterns?
You're right to critique Biden's support for restraints on speech, which have extended well beyond student protests. I wrote last year about his revealing decision the year before to block a proposed strike by railworkers. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/washington-masquerades-as-hollywood
But Biden is far from alone. Pelosi (who I challenged, and faced in the November 2020 election only to fall prey to a racist character assassination orchestrated by her minions) recently called for FBI investigations targeting her left-wing critics. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/democratic-icon-nancy-pelosi-accuses
I wonder whether focusing only on Biden lets the rest of his party off the proverbial hook, and whether this political moment (witnessing mounting outrage at increasingly unapologetic bipartisan fascism) might present the chance for the corporate duopoly to finally face a credible threat from outside voices. I wrote at some length about Cornel West, for instance, who may be poised—with sufficient visibility—to expose the corruption on which Biden and the Democrats rely. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/cornel-west-can-force-a-reckoning
Hi, super quick question, literally what the fuck is Biden talking about? Like yes I get that he's a Zionist and Zionists are always going to respond to critique by claiming anti-Semitism, but - Jewish students getting attacked on their way to class?? Raging anti-Semitism across college campuses?? This definitely has happened before, when Nazis were marching on Charlottesville for example, but I don't recall Democrats ever having this strong a reaction to that stuff! Are there major news stories I have totally missed in which Jewish students are getting assaulted on US campuses? Or is this literally just him referring to the angry counter-protesters who have been inciting conflict at peaceful pro-Palestine protests?
"an octogenarian so old he literally predates the state of Israel" 😂
Biden is an unapologetic authoritarian, and his record proves it. From his support for a genocide in Gaza to his support for domestic restraints on speech and organizing—not just by students, but also railway workers—he has revealed his unfitness for office. Democrats whining about Trump ducked into a political punch by supporting a 2024 election process lacking meaningful primaries or debates, and they share responsibility for creating Trump in the first place: first by promoting him in the 2016 primaries in an idiotic attempt to make Clinton look better by comparison; again in 2020 by proceeding with a co-opted and limited impeachment process that excluded bipartisan corruption; and again in 2023 by allowing him to duck primary debates. As I put it earlier this year, "Genocide Joe is no defender of democracy." https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/genocide-joe-is-no-defender-of-democracy
It's also worth noting that, at times like these when corruption has seized our formal institutions, the cultural work of artists to delegitimate those institutions becomes all the more important. I published a piece just this morning observing a new viral song (building on the legacy of Black & Palestinian artists who have been speaking truth to power for decades) that, one hopes, might portend a potential inflection point. https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/music-against-genocide
Keep up the good work, Ken!
Thanks, Shahid!
“I think Biden will get out there and subscribe to Ken Krassenstein’s newsletter.” Asked if he was moved to be a paid subscriber, Biden’s response was blunt.
“Yes.”
Is it that I have finally entered the middle age and that is what happens, or does it really seem like America is going to finally get the fascism that it has always craved?
Fascism is here now.
Middle age might come with a shift in perspective, but the fascism you astutely recognize is also an unfortunately objective (not merely subjective) phenomenon. My only quibble with your question is that it frames fascism as a future fear, rather than a fait accompli. I explored the recent history of bipartisan fascism in the U.S. at https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/fears-of-a-fascist-future-overlook and always welcome any comments or constructive concerns.
You assume the protesters represent young people. I don't see evidence for that. And I don't think Obama is a good example of how to deal with protesters. Michael Brown was killed because he attacked a cop. Obama fanned the flames and stoked racial division while being in a unique position to appeal to reason. The claim that people of some races are subjected to lethal force by police more than others is not supported by the data.